Bluwater,
The AOL board seems to be dead! Not very many posts even from the "oldies." Most have gone to this board and USVI online. We still keep in touch though. Good luck on your travels to NE, hope the rain stays away for your sake. Leaves are dropping here too. Might have to get the rake out soon. Let us know how your trip was.

Hey Bluwater! Are you into hiking & climbing? I am from Massachusetts and own 100 acres that is all hilly, and has some unique rock formations and is the site of a 100 year old abandoned quarry. It's on the northern edge of MA, less 30 minutes from Greenfield, MA and Brattleboro, VT, off route 91. Here are a couple photos:

http://picasaweb.google.com/TSMannLumber/BearMountain

My family has owned this property for 70+ years. You are welcome to stop by and take a walk, or even camp here, if you are into true camping. It's a minimum of a half a day hike, just to see the quarry and views. It also abuts 7500 acres of conservation land. This is back woods land. No buildings or porta potties. Just trees, leaves, and rocks. We normally do not advertise its presence because it is managed timber-land, but this forum seems to be the right crowd. email me if you want directions.

Just for reference, I've been to STJ once, a few months ago, but expect to be back soon. I watch this forum to remind myself how bad I need to work to earn a trip back.

Stayed at a nice place, Villa Cielomar, and was fortunate enough to have dinner at Eden's Whim, if anybody needs a Villa report. Both are nice places.

Thanks Marie. Please give my regards to the AOL folks....they probably won't remember me since I haven't remained in touch - screen name was GoGlobalX7 or Steffani or something similar. I still remember Karen with the palm tree in her signature and her complaints about a certain STT restaurant having dusty potted plants. LOL

Tom, Is your property on Bear Mountain? Looking at your pics, I see a reference to Bear. Fond childhood memories of my dad (adventurous-type) and mom (princess-type) taking us up there to a cabin. Mom pulled back the sheets on the bed and found a huge black bug (I can still picture this scene, and I couldn't have been more than 6 then since we were still living stateside). I recall mom screaming and the next memory if of us checking into a beautiful hotel - same night. 🙂

Your offer to explore your beautiful property is very generous - thanks! Actually, I can't camp this weekend - not enough time to prepare and not enough time to spend 🙁 I am not a backpack camper anyway. I have a cabin style tent in which I place an inflatable air mattress and lanterns. It kind of looks like a cozy bedroom when I am done with it - so I like to stay put for a while and not move around to various sites since it is a pain to get my little cottage set-up. I guess I am the camper that others laugh at. Hey, at least I get out there - bugs, mud, wildlife and all. You know - the kind of camping where you drive into the National Park and they give you map and tell you that you're on site B-27 and the site is pre-cleared and your little fire ring is all set with wood and everything for you - and somewhere close by is a cedar bath house with a hot shower 🙂

However, at this point, I am having a hard time finding a nice place to stay anywhere in VT or NH - seeking a B&B, cottage or Inn kind of accommodation. I did find one place where I can get a standard king bedroom for $485 per night (riiiight). Back to searching...

Blu - good luck trying to get ANYTHING in VT or NH at this late date.

Alternative to consider might be Lake George area in NY which is close to VT. Or Lake Placid area. Both have lots of accomodations, LG being a summer resort and LP being a winter resort area.

In northern VT, check Burlington on Lake Champlain. Was very pleasantly surprised when we stopped there on way up to Quebec last summer how nice a college town this is with a vibrant restaurant and shopping scene on its downtown pedestrian mall. Would be OK to stay in the city because you would see all the awesome leaves to/from Burlington.
JMQ

Forum Friends:

Here's the plan:

We're heading to somewhere in VT very , very early tomorrow AM. No plans - no lodging reserved.

However far I can go, that's where I'll end up. I have a map and a credit cards. It may work out, may not. It'll be an interesting tale, either way.

Every now and then you just have to try it this way. 🙂

Thanks for everyone's suggestions. I hope to see some of what has been suggested.

Sounds like a bit of an adventure - have a great time!

Bluwater have a wonderful time. Every so often it's fun to do something not pre-planned. The Manchester area has a lot of places to stay because it's ski country.

Yes, it is Bear Mountain. We own a chunk of the west face. The other side is the State Forest, and some other conversation land. Your cabin was probably there. have a good trip.

Checking in:

Hi everyone. Thanks for all of the suggestions. We're in New Hampshire now. We drove up to Lake George,NY yesterday and spend last night at a lakeside resort called "The Sagamore" in a very small town called Bolton's Landing,NY. More later - resort was perfect.

Drove north today and crossed lake Champlain at Ticonderoga on the car ferry to get from NY State to Vermont - then went North to the Shelburne Museum (with a quick stop at the Vermont Teddy Bear factory). We LOVED the Shelburne museum - 40 acre collection of homes moved here to house period collections from 1700 and 1800s New England - various period buildings, a steamboat, many exhibits, period homes,a school house, etc. Picked apples here from trees on the grounds and snacked in the car on the way thru VT to the east. Rain was coming all day - light and hard. No chance to cruise for moose.

Foliage fairly green in NY, yellow in CT and red and orange in NH. Prettiest in NH - around New London. We viewed it at dusk, surrounded by low clouds/fog, and in heavy rain, and it was still spectacular.

Mountains raised up into clouds and fog loomed down on the mountain lakes. Temperatures are mild, despite the rain. The scenery is majestic and surreal.

One thing - people are just darned awfully nice! At the Sagamore, everyone was so relaxed and pleasant - not overly chipper (annoying) - but mannered and genuinely nice. It stuck me as soon as we arrived. The resort takes up an entire island jetting out into the lake - and I had to ask for directions to our lodge (buildings arranged in lodges and hotel room in the main house). The employee that I stopped to ask for direction immediately offered to lead me to my door and wait until I made sure my key worked - and he was happy to do it. Other guests were equally as endearing. Dress is a little more formal than I am used to and you could tell that children were expected to be well behaved since the literature mentioned children's behavior requirements for the places where children were allowed - I believe at least one restaurant in adults only. There was a large playground with basketball and sandy volleyball courts, so children are certainly welcomed and we saw plenty of families on the grounds.

More later. Rain drove us south at the end of today. Need to work our way back to Philadelphia tomorrow.

Thanks again everyone. Sorry we missed so many suggested places. The driving rain dashed any hopes of meandering.

wow its sounds like you're having a great time in spite of the rain. Weather today in here WV was a perfect 10! just 1or 2 puffs of clouds. I'm glad you found such a nice place to stay, just flying by the seat of your pants as they say!

Hey Mountaineer Girl! We are from WV, also. Let's go, Mountaineers!!! Have you been to the VI? Which island?
Have are going to STX in June of 07. It will be our 1st trip and also our honeymoon. Nice to know someone from WV on the board.

bluewater....i know what you mean!
I TOO give everyone here a CYBER HUG

ALSO i just went to that trip to providenciales (turks and caicos) and got a lot of info from a couple of the message boards and in particular one guy who was a font of information!

let me tell you it is GORGEOUS there i hadn't been there since YEARS ago in the club med days and expected it to be crowded and miami/like BUT it was wonderful we met some great people and wow it was great getting to the hotel TEN MINUTES from the airport!

don't get me wrong WE STILL ARE ST THOMAS FANS FIRST AND FOREMOST! but if you want a change of pace email me i will give you detailed info
i will not write more here out of respect for you islander!!! lolol

AND if the guy who welcomed me on the turks forum hadn't sent me such great advice i would not have gone!

IN CLOSING let me also say that THROUGH THIS FORUM i have made some LASTING DEAR FRIENDSHIPS and i thank you so much!

hugs to all

Kasmor - we have yet to make our first VI trip. It will be April '07. I've been counting down the days starting like, 2 months ago! 6 more months to wait - and then only 7 nights there. I wish we could stay longer but I have a feeling that one of boys is going to need help moving the weekend we get back. I wanted to schedule the week after the rates went down at Secret Harbour but not the last weekend of the month, so we're doing a Thurs-Thurs thing. send me a PM and let me know where you live! Let's Goooo Mountaineeeeers!!

Mountaineer girl, Have fun in ST. We hope our time in STX will be the honeymoon we have dreamed about.

Sorry this is Off Topic. New England Travelers - hope you enjoy....

This is a tale of a mom and daughter (8) who set out on a long-weekend adventure through New England with no specific direction and no hotel reservations.

In accordance with the relaxed mood of this adventure, we slept in on Saturday morning and got a later start than we had planned. By the time we packed the car in Philadelphia and got onto the road, it was 10:30am. The sun was shining and the cool fall air was drifting down from the North, which we were planning to meet head-on.

Since we had no idea what the weather would bring, we packed several different jacket weights in the trunk - light windbreakers, heavier ski-type jackets, and heavy and light sweaters. What we didn't pack was rain-gear (mistake).

We set out onto the Pennsylvania turnpike, which took us to the New Jersey turnpike and then to I-287 N. Here, we exited the highway at a mall to pick up a New England guidebook and a road atlas.

We took I-287 through NJ and to I-87 N into New York State. It was here that I considered whether or not to cross into Vermont to the east, or continue North on 87 through New York State. The idea was to use I-87 to get us as far north as I felt like driving, and then to cross into Vermont whenever the timing felt right…..so we kept going North…..farther and farther….passing Albany……

I recalled the advice on the VINOW forum about the ease of ability to find lodging on Lake George. Since my map showed it to be about 1 hr away when I checked, I decided to head there. I also called friends who were married there and go there every year to camp. They told me to go through the Village of Lake George and on to Bolton, where I would find "The Sagamore" resort. I knew these two wouldn't steer me wrong, so I trusted their advice. Thank you Ann and Steve!

Upon entering the Village of Lake George, I became a little concerned. It seemed a little "cheesy" to me. I had expected it to be quaint and pretty. It wasn't. It was busy and had typical tourist-trap kind of places lining the main street. Of course, my daughter was breaking her neck to see the mini-golf places, the wax museum of horrors, the arcade, etc. It kind of reminded me of riding through Ocean City, NJ. Not that it was bad - it seemed very family friendly and fun - but not what I wanted to experience on this trip.

As we followed route 9N out of the Village and on to Bolton, the scenery began to change. The trees began to thicken and little quaint shops were here and there - with color schemes that matched the landscape. Finally, we reached the little town of Bolton - just what I had been looking for…..a couple of quiet restaurants and little shops - and a small Grand Union supermarket - and the sign for Sagamore -->

We rolled over the little bridge that crossed Lake George and entered the circle for the reception area of the Sagamore. The front desk receptionist was extremely pleasant and had an accent that I couldn't recognize - maybe English, but pro baby not. She was so kind and welcoming. Actually, there were two receptionists, both of whom smiled and welcomed us as we walked into the Adirondack themed lobby - antlers and all. Our hostess called the manager to explain that we had arrived without a reservation and had asked for a favorable rate for one night - two double beds. She was openly pleased to have received word that we had been approved for 25% off of the brochure rate. Fine with us - it was agreeable - $177 plus taxes and fees.

We were given a map of the property and the route to our lodge was highlighted. She explained how to get there and asked if we would be dining with them tonight. Yes! So she then recommended a dining room - Mister Brown's Pub - kid friendly - and she noted that our lodge room was adjacent to the playground. She asked my daughter what she liked to eat (Hamburgers!) - and she assured us that Mister Brown's had the best burgers around. My daughter believed it! Our front-desk experience was perfect - reflecting a well-trained staff who knew how to "sell" the resort to guests. We felt as though we were going to float through the next 24 hours - no worries with these folks in charge.

After a few mis-turns in our car, we stopped and asked a man in a "Sagamore" van for directions to our lodge. He told us where it was, but also said he would meet us at our "porch" to make sure we were okay. We parked and entered without a problem. Our escort waited outside and chatted with other guests while we checked out our room. The downside is that these "best price" rooms do not face the lake - so your view if of the foliage and plants - and the little road that runs along them (inland view - they call it). But, the furnishings are very nice and the bathroom was luxurious and inviting. Great room - don't hesitate to stay in one of these for under $200 a night.

We freshened up and went to the playground (she had been in the car for more than 5 hrs and had never complained - dear heart!!!) and then to Mr. Brown's Pub for dinner. We noticed many people in suits and floor length gowns strolling outside. I was concerned about our jeans and sneakers - but we later learned that there was a large wedding taking place and the reception was that night. The Sagamore has mini-vans to move guests around the grounds. You just call and they pick you and take you wherever…and they come around every 10 minutes or so, so you could just stand outside. We saw many people doing this - in cocktail gowns and suits or tuxes.

The main hotel was a 10 min walk from our lodge. On arrival, we noted more gowns and tuxedos in the lobby. We wandered around - looking for the pool, the spa, the veranda, etc. We learned about the history and the motto of the Sagamore " A smart resort for nice people" It was true!! It was a smart resort and the people were lovely! Everyone we passed stopped to say hello…..not just a grumbly "hi"….but a full fledged "good evening" with a genuine smile and a look of interest. This must be where the nice people meet for a weekend. The guests were all so nice - down to earth.

Mister Brown's Pub was okay - except for the kids at one table - too much loud laughter from 3 yr olds. Moms were absent and dads were in charge. Dads were at a separate table and the kids were just too loud - laughing, snorting, yelling. I'm sure we cannot judge them by this. Lots of the literature spoke of children's behavior - so this, I assume, is not usually accepted. It was distracting and irritating.

The French onion soup was the best I've had in years. The rest was just ok. Prices were high. 18% gratuity was automatically added - I do 20-25% for good svc, but if you add 18, I do 18 since you don't think I have any manners! Wine was costly - small, expensive glasses. Sagamore Ale was good and I switched to a glass of that after one glass of wine. The French Onion soup highlighted that it was made with Sagamore ale.

After dinner, we meandered our way back to our room, found that we had been visited by the turndown service with room straightening and pillow-mints, and took a long shower. The shower facilities were excellent - adjustable heads, heat lamps and all - excellent!! Internet access was $9.95 per day - no thanks. Cable TV was fine. Beds were really comfy. Warm, hunter green, Sagamore embroidered robes were in the closet - great for keeping warm. We slept well.

More tomorrow - Lake Champlain and Vermont - and New Hampshire.

I am glad I'm not the only one who appreciates well behaved children. I am a Teacher. They all know how to behave. Once again, great stories Blu!

I know this is off-topic…so this is the last of this report. Thanks again to everyone for their advice for our little New England weekend. It was good to have someplace to go while I await the next Caribbean visit! I did not have my camera, so the pics here are from the websites of the referenced destination.
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We woke up at abound 7:30am on Sunday morning - at the Sagamore on Lake George, NY. We ordered room-service - children's French toast for small people (best she has ever tasted) and bagels and salmon with capers for epicurean adults.

Yum! Breakfast was fast (20 mins) and delish - daughter ordered seconds! Our breakfast delivery person gave us valuable info about crossing Lake Champlain- she used to live in VT. 1 hr to the ferry - she said. Sounded good! We ate our breakfasts and headed out. Farther North on 9N to Ticoonderoga, NY - thorough mountains and woods.

At the ferry landing, which was ust a small, wooded road ending at the water's edge, we had the option of lowering a flap on a pole (white flap with large, red dot on it) to signal for the ferry on the other side of the lake - but we assumed this was for passengers, not cars. We assumed that out car's headlamps could be seen from the dock on the other side, which they were. The ferry came over to us to pick up 3 cars. We boarded and waited to pay the $8 fare. The friendly ferry toll collector gave us lots of good info about the museums along our route. By the time, it was raining, so we crossed the lake in the car. It was really a quintessential New England scene - a female ferry operator with a distinctive New England accent, dressed in rain gear. Bags of fresh apples were available on board the ferry. I was surprised to learn that this ferry is attached to underwater cables, so it can't move off course.

On the other side, we started out on deserted roads in the VT countryside - rolling greenery reaching as far as we could see, only broken by red barns, livestock and cornfields. Northward through Vermont countryside we rolled, inching closer to Quebec, Canada. Our most northerly destination was to be Burlington, just above Shelburne.

My daughter began to complain about the bathroom - about 30 mins shy of the VT Teddbear Factory - in a town called Vergennes. We decided to stop and take a short break at a little café that was surprisingly chic and yummy - "Eat Good Food" - http://www.eatgoodfoodvt.com/index.html. Homemade pastry items were delicious!

We used their facilities and bought pastries, juice and coffee. Everything was very good, except the Baklava, which was too thick with dough and not flaky.

We soon reached the sign for the VT Teddy Bear Factory. I probably would have skipped this spot if the ferry operator hadn't mentioned it in front of my daughter. But, the sign was also pretty large and eye-catching, so it would have been hard to avoid. I was surprised find a large parking area filled with cars and tour buses. Once inside, the scene was chaotic. There was a sign for tours, but we couldn't tell where the tours began or how to sign up for one. There was an area for waiting and relaxing, a store, a "make your own bear" area (akin to Build a Bear), an embroidery area and a cashier area. Everywhere was packed with people - many of them appearing to have been Amish or some other Old Order, which we were used to seeing since we live in PA. After waiting in the "make your own" line for about 15 minutes and hearing the woman at the front tell everyone that she had to stop stuffing bears because she had to give the tour, we decided to just buy a professionally made VT Teddy Bear. Bears didn't have price tags on them. My daughter picked up a normal sized traditional bear and a cheerleading outfit for it. Total was something like $70. The outfit was less than $15, so that tells you how much this bear was. Sheesh.

I was anxious to get to Shelburne. It was now going on 1pm and the Shelburne was due to close at 5. We drive just a little bit up the road and found the Shelburne without a problem - another surprisingly large parking lot. You enter and pay in a large round, red barn.

Don't be fooled - the inside of this barn looked like a sophisticated art museum. The museum is comprised on many buildings that have been moved here - and they hold various collections of Electra Havemeyer Webb. Our favorite exhibit was going aboard the Ticonderoga, a steamboat built in 1906.

Guests are invited to enter the staterooms, view the dining room, walk through the pump rooms and engine area, have a seat on the saloon deck, etc. There was even a sound system playing the sounds of the ship in motion. The Shelburne is a "don’t miss" and can easily take up a full day. We didn't see everything because it continued to rain and we wanted to find a place to sleep before dark.

Rain picked up as we left, so we grabbed some apples from two of the many apple trees (red and yellow) on the grounds in the parking area, and we drove through VT to New Hampshire. It was pouring when we reached NH, so I decided to head to Manchester where I was sure to find a hotel. We found a Marriott and called it a night after dinner at a TGI Fridays - not exactly the traditional NH experience, but it was raining and dark, so I couldn't handle driving and looking for an Inn or whatever.

The next morning brought much more sunshine and mild temps. We headed back East via Rt 101 and decided to stop anywhere along the way that looked interesting. This is a GREAT stretch of road to explore. We stopped at a pumpkin farm, a pony farm, a dairy farm and wildlife preserve - and everyone was so friendly and invited us to "just walk around". These were not public farms, they were private places….but everyone responded well to a big smile and a friendly handshake- and they returned my enthusiasm. At one point, y daughter said "mom, it's good that you are so friendly - otherwise, we wouldn't have gotten so much information". Good! A lesson learned for her in how to travel - be friendly and speak with locals! Knowing that she "got that" was worth the entire trip!

One of the dairy farms was where we got a real view into the dairy business and slaughter business. It wasn't a place that would ever cater to school groups. We saw dead cows and learned the harsh realities of how the animals are treated and what their purpose is on these farms. My daughter vowed not to eat any beef after that - and she still hasn't broken that promise.

We then had lunch at the Peterboro diner in Peterborough NH (fish!). This was a tiny, old little diner in a beautiful little town. The food was pretty good and very reasonable, but a few flies kept buzzing around and landing on my head. The flies ruined the experience for me. Had there not been annoying flies around me and my food, this would have been a great spot for lunch. My Frommer's guidebook highly recommended it.

We also went to the top of one of the mountains in the wooded State Park and found the New Hampshire Audubon Society up there tracking the migration of hawks. They invited us to use their binoculars and taught us about their program and how they track migrations. We even saw a Red Tail fly over as we stood with them, which they tallied on their chart. As we were walking back to the parking area, which was through the woods on a trail, we heard a strange sound coming from our right - not like a bird - but more like a really loud purring sound - butt surely not from a cat.

Daughter(wide eyes): did you hear that?
Me(looking curiously into the area): Yeah, what was it?
Daughter(wider eyes): Who cares! Let's go!!!!

We then stopped at a working/teaching farm (Stonewall Farm) that was the perfect end to our day and is where we spent a few hours. It was a hands-on experience and we really enjoyed it. The people there were so welcoming and were eager to allow us to enter the pens and chicken coop. We even tried to help get some of the stray hens back into the coop. After fresh eggs were collected, my daughter was allowed to carry a fresh, warm egg up to the main building - and where we met a few dozen baby chicks being kept warm inside and under warming lights. We watched them milk the cows and we met goats and sheep. There are rows of vegetables, which you are invited to pick. There is also a nature trail and a wetlands area, complete with a boardwalk leading over the wetlands and into the forest. We also met the horses. It was so nice to be somewhere where you are welcomed to wander around and touch things - not a museum kind of farm - but a real "get your hands dirty" farm. We were so glad to have found this place and hope to return. Kudos to Stonewall Farm. We learned so much in just this short time.

This was our last stop. At about 5:30 pm we decided to hit the road and head to 91S for our re-entry to the cities. We stopped for a leisurely dinner in Holyoke, MA and a stroll through the Christmas Shop at Holyoke Mall - Then down through MA and CT and on into NY via 95S. We left Holyoke at 8:10pm and reached home in Philadelphia at about 11:40pm. My daughter slept the entire way home.

So, that was it. A totally unplanned 3 day weekend in New England. Great time.

Hey Bluwater,
Always enjoy your posts! We went to St. John in January "05 and can't wait to go back! We live in Northern NH (Franconia Notch/White Mtns area) , so next time you journey to NE give our region a try. Our daughter just started college in Philly. We would love some travel/restaurant tips on that region sometime. Thanks kcote

kcote, is your daughter in college IN Philly or on the outskirts?
My son is in college IN Philly - UPenn.

Really wanted to try the Northern NH area. Rain was a bummer on this trip. Will surely try your area next time and will ask for your advice! I didn't see any Moose on this one - so I guess I need to go more North for that (??).

Bue - I Loved reading about your visit to the NE. Every fall I say we are going to get into the car and drive a week up into the NE to see the colors. Maybe next year we will as this year is booked solid. Unplanned trips are the best and I am glad, short of the rain, that you and your daughter had some nice time together.