New England glimpses

I visited New England during the fall of 2015. It had been a couple of months since my previous solo trip, and I felt the itch to take a trip. I had never visited the New England region and so I had plenty of scope to explore that area. New England, particularly the states of Vermont and New Hampshire, is most famous for the vibrant fall colors in the region. Seafood and lighthouses are added attractions in the area. The coast along Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine has around 170 lighthouses.

Day 1:

I landed early in the morning in Boston. One of my friends in Boston was kind enough to let me freshen up at her place. We made breakfast at her place and spent some time catching up with each other. I had planned to meet another friend for lunch near the Harvard university area. We were meeting after nearly 15 years, so it was really very enjoyable. After lunch, I headed back to my friend's apartment. We got ready and drove to the Bunker hill monument. This was a monument built in memory of the Battle of Bunker hill, where American soldiers fought British troops. After spending some time there, I started driving towards Portland in Maine, where I had a hotel booked for the night. 

Day 2:

In Portland, I had a lobster fishing tour booked for the morning. A small boat took us to the floating markers where the traps had been set the previous day. During the tour, we pulled up the boxes to check for lobsters, cleaned out the traps and put in fresh bait. The tour guide explained how the traps worked and how the fishing companies shared the sea space for fishing. Each company had a different colored buoy to mark their assigned area. If a company does not comply with the rules and attempts to do any malpractice, their fishing license is canceled and they won't be allowed to fish on that coast again. 

        

After the tour, I went to check out the Portland Head Light. The sight of the lighthouse along the sea coast was really beautiful. I then headed to the Permaquid Point lighthouse. This is one of the few lighthouses which use a Fresnel lens. The specialty of a Fresnel lens is that it magnifies the light from a small bulb by reflecting the rays multiple times.

I continued driving towards Ellsworth where I had a hotel booked for the night. On the way, I stopped at the L.L.Bean flagship store. Due to living on the west coast of USA, I had never seen a store for fishing and hunting equipment till then. L.L.Bean had all sorts of equipment needed for fishing and hunting - knives, guns, fishing rods, various anglers etc. They also had an entire section for winter clothing and boots. 

Day 3:

On day 3, I covered the Acadia national park. The views of Jordan Pond and Cadillac mountain were amazing with fall colors.  I did a few short hikes and took lots of photos. That night I drove to Conway where I had booked a hostel. 

Day 4:

The last day, I started with a ride on Mount Washington Cog rail. Due to the cold weather, the rail was running only till halfway. There was a lot of ice and snow along the way. The weather was really cold and windy.

     

After the rail ride, I started drive along the Kancamagus highway, which had the best views of fall colors in New Hampshire. Along the highway, I stopped at the Flume gorge. This had a short hike to a waterfall. The hike was again covered with maple trees and leaves strewn on the floor. 

I had a quick bite at the restaurant outside the flume gorge and then started driving towards Boston. On the way back I had planned to meet another friend for dinner at Lawrence downtown. After dinner I continue to Boston and crashed at an Airbnb for the night, before my early morning flight the next day.

This trip was one of my favorites, I loved the fall colors, where every tree is a different shade of red, orange or yellow. The east coast is lucky to experience this season where nature decides to paint the trees with yellow, red and orange. The trip had a healthy mix of socializing, catching up with friends and enjoying the beauties of Acadia in solitude.