21 April 2011
We flew to Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport from Columbus, Ohio on Southwest airlines.
We picked up a compact size white Chevelot Aveo from Avis that I bid on priceline. We stopped at Sedona, Arizona which was well-known for its red rocks formations.
22 April 2011
We decided to
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Land of the Lobsters (2-11 Jul 2011)
Day 1 (2 July 2011)
We drove the entire day towards White Mountains National Forest (New Hampshire) and stopped at the Comfort Inn Trolley Square, Rutland (Vermont) for the night (redeemed 10,000 choice points for a $109 king bed room). The room seems to be newly renovated, and the furnishing looks new and well-designed.
Day 2 (3 July 2011) - Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour
It started raining heavily on our way to White Mountains National Forest. We decided to make a detour to Ben & Jerry at Waterbury, north of Rutland, a 2 hour drive since we would not be able to do any hiking at White Mountains.
We joined the 30-min tour which leaves every 20 minutes ($3). The tour took us to a short video presentation of Ben & Jerry's story, the factory floor and the sampling of AmeriCone Dream ice-cream (highlight of the tour!). Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield (amazingly I can still remember their names) were the co-founders of Ben & Jerry's. They founded a ice-cream parlor 1978 in a renovated gas station at Burlington, Vermont.
After the tour, we headed to the White Mountain National Forest. We decided to camp at North Conway - Cove area camping as it is near to Mount Washington, and we can drive and do some hiking along the Kancamagus Scenic Byway.
We hiked the Franconia Falls, a 3-mile hike to the finest swimming hole in the entire forest, complete with a natural rock slide. It was an easy and refreshing walk along the stream.
By the time we returned to the suspension bridge at the starting point, it was almost 7pm. We decided to head straight to the campsite.
Jason asked for the campsite in front of the lake. The lady requested we take a look at the camp ground. We pitched our tent after seeing the campsite as it was getting dark. We were shocked later to find it this site costs $52 instead of $26. The reason given was because the site is facing the lake.
It happened that the private house next to our campsite was celebrating July 4 Independence day with small-scale fireworks. I didn't particularly enjoy the fireworks as it was deafening loud. I ended up eating the dinner we cooked in the car.
Day 3 (4 July) - Mount Washington, Here We Come!
We started climbing Mount Washington at 10.30am from Pinkham Notch via the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Tuckerman Ravine Trail. It is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288 ft (1,917 m), famous for dangerously erratic weather.
The hike gains 4,280 feet (1,300 m), leading straight up the bowl of Tuckerman Ravine via a series of steep rock steps which afford spectacular views of the ravine and across the notch to Wildcat Mountain.
The first part of the hike was a gradual slope along a trail filled with stones.
We stopped at a shelter which is 2.4 miles up the trail where there is a well pump for drinking water and a small hiker's store.
After lunch, we continued with the climb via the Tuckerman Ravine, famous for its Memorial Day skiing and its 45-degree slopes, to the summit. We were surprised that there is still snow/ice at this slope and there were a few crazy youngsters skiing on this very steep slope.
The Tuckerman Ravine is a steep climb up to the summit and we had to stop to catch our breath after climbing 10 or more steps. The summit looked so near and yet so far. It was such exhausting climb that we were thinking of taking the shuttle bus down to Pinkham Notch!
By the time we made our way down, it was about 6pm. We took about 6.5 hours to make this arduous climb!
Day 4 (5 July) - Acadia National Park
We stayed at Bass Harbor campground which is about 30 minutes drive to the attractions of the Acadia National Park. It is 5 minutes to the Bass Harbor lighthouse. On hindsight, I should have booked a campground that is nearer to the attractions which are on the eastern side of the National Park. The infrequent 1-hourly shuttle bus schedule was too much of an inconvenience.
Our first lobster meal - a 1 pound lobster from Hannaford supermarket, which became our favorite destination for cheap lobsters ($8.90 per pound). We had the lobster at the beach before joining the 'Star Gazing' Ranger-led program. See what Jason used to crack the lobster - a small rock! I must admit that it is more effective than the cracker.
Day 5 (6 July)
We joined the free Ranger-led 'Acadia Bird' program at 8am where we were introduced the birds that migrate here during summer. Some of the birds we learned are the 'American Redstarter', 'American Robin', 'Phoebe' (we suspect this is bird that tried to build its nest at our balcony), 'Loons', 'Chickadees'. I began to appreciate and respect the birds that God has created. Now I would pause to identity them and listen to their singing.
The next Ranger-led program we went to was the 'Cadillac Mountain' talk that introduces the geology of the mountain and how it was formed. At 1,532 feet, Cadillac Mountain is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard. What is unique about this mountain is its pink granite. Here, you can have a spectacular view of the other surrounding islands.
We drove to Ocean Drive on Park Loop road (1-way) which is the most popular scenic drive with dramatic rock formation and crushing ocean waves. We stopped at the picnic area to have our lunch. Yes, lobster again. In fact, we had lobster for almost every meal we were in Maine!
The ocean coast along Ocean Drive is simply breathtaking. We stopped at the 'Thunder Hole' during the high tide to wait for the moment where the huge waves make a loud thunder when they crushed against the rocks.
We drove the entire day towards White Mountains National Forest (New Hampshire) and stopped at the Comfort Inn Trolley Square, Rutland (Vermont) for the night (redeemed 10,000 choice points for a $109 king bed room). The room seems to be newly renovated, and the furnishing looks new and well-designed.
Day 2 (3 July 2011) - Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour
It started raining heavily on our way to White Mountains National Forest. We decided to make a detour to Ben & Jerry at Waterbury, north of Rutland, a 2 hour drive since we would not be able to do any hiking at White Mountains.
We joined the 30-min tour which leaves every 20 minutes ($3). The tour took us to a short video presentation of Ben & Jerry's story, the factory floor and the sampling of AmeriCone Dream ice-cream (highlight of the tour!). Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield (amazingly I can still remember their names) were the co-founders of Ben & Jerry's. They founded a ice-cream parlor 1978 in a renovated gas station at Burlington, Vermont.
After the tour, we headed to the White Mountain National Forest. We decided to camp at North Conway - Cove area camping as it is near to Mount Washington, and we can drive and do some hiking along the Kancamagus Scenic Byway.
We hiked the Franconia Falls, a 3-mile hike to the finest swimming hole in the entire forest, complete with a natural rock slide. It was an easy and refreshing walk along the stream.By the time we returned to the suspension bridge at the starting point, it was almost 7pm. We decided to head straight to the campsite.
Jason asked for the campsite in front of the lake. The lady requested we take a look at the camp ground. We pitched our tent after seeing the campsite as it was getting dark. We were shocked later to find it this site costs $52 instead of $26. The reason given was because the site is facing the lake.It happened that the private house next to our campsite was celebrating July 4 Independence day with small-scale fireworks. I didn't particularly enjoy the fireworks as it was deafening loud. I ended up eating the dinner we cooked in the car.
Day 3 (4 July) - Mount Washington, Here We Come!
We started climbing Mount Washington at 10.30am from Pinkham Notch via the 4.2-mile (6.8 km) Tuckerman Ravine Trail. It is the highest peak in the Northeastern United States at 6,288 ft (1,917 m), famous for dangerously erratic weather.
The hike gains 4,280 feet (1,300 m), leading straight up the bowl of Tuckerman Ravine via a series of steep rock steps which afford spectacular views of the ravine and across the notch to Wildcat Mountain.The first part of the hike was a gradual slope along a trail filled with stones.
We stopped at a shelter which is 2.4 miles up the trail where there is a well pump for drinking water and a small hiker's store.
After lunch, we continued with the climb via the Tuckerman Ravine, famous for its Memorial Day skiing and its 45-degree slopes, to the summit. We were surprised that there is still snow/ice at this slope and there were a few crazy youngsters skiing on this very steep slope.
The Tuckerman Ravine is a steep climb up to the summit and we had to stop to catch our breath after climbing 10 or more steps. The summit looked so near and yet so far. It was such exhausting climb that we were thinking of taking the shuttle bus down to Pinkham Notch! 
By the time we made our way down, it was about 6pm. We took about 6.5 hours to make this arduous climb!Day 4 (5 July) - Acadia National Park
Our first lobster meal - a 1 pound lobster from Hannaford supermarket, which became our favorite destination for cheap lobsters ($8.90 per pound). We had the lobster at the beach before joining the 'Star Gazing' Ranger-led program. See what Jason used to crack the lobster - a small rock! I must admit that it is more effective than the cracker.Day 5 (6 July)
We joined the free Ranger-led 'Acadia Bird' program at 8am where we were introduced the birds that migrate here during summer. Some of the birds we learned are the 'American Redstarter', 'American Robin', 'Phoebe' (we suspect this is bird that tried to build its nest at our balcony), 'Loons', 'Chickadees'. I began to appreciate and respect the birds that God has created. Now I would pause to identity them and listen to their singing.
The next Ranger-led program we went to was the 'Cadillac Mountain' talk that introduces the geology of the mountain and how it was formed. At 1,532 feet, Cadillac Mountain is the highest point along the North Atlantic seaboard. What is unique about this mountain is its pink granite. Here, you can have a spectacular view of the other surrounding islands.
We drove to Ocean Drive on Park Loop road (1-way) which is the most popular scenic drive with dramatic rock formation and crushing ocean waves. We stopped at the picnic area to have our lunch. Yes, lobster again. In fact, we had lobster for almost every meal we were in Maine!
The ocean coast along Ocean Drive is simply breathtaking. We stopped at the 'Thunder Hole' during the high tide to wait for the moment where the huge waves make a loud thunder when they crushed against the rocks.
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