Back in Vermont for a few days

It's fun to take a selfie in windows, and this is the window of the Courtyard Marriott in Keene, NH as we headed out for the day.

It's only about a 1 hour ride from Keene to Mike's parents' home in North Springfield Vermont, and it was fun to wind our way through the countryside on familiar roads.

We crossed the Connecticut River, the border between New Hampshire and Vermont, and then rode close by the river, catching quick views of the water and distant mountains through the trees.

We enjoyed three home-cooked meals with Mike's parents:  lunch, dinner and breakfast before we left this morning. I was excited to enjoy local tomatoes and peaches because it's so difficult to find fresh fruit and vegetables while we're traveling.

Today we rode about 1 hour from North Springfield to Manchester, VT where we lived for 9 years before we moved to Arizona 5 years ago. The BMW's odometer rolled over to 7000 miles this morning, and we've traveled about 4700 miles so far in the past 3 weeks. We rode past Bromley ski area where our sons learned to ski and snowboard and where both worked in the summers for a few years.

Manchester sits in a valley between the Taconic and Green Mountains and we were reminded how much this small town of about 4500 people relies on tourism by the traffic jams as we wound our way through town.

I was so excited to see our youngest son, Nate! We haven't seen him in a few months, and spent some time with him today on our way south to Bennington.

As we rode along Vermont Route 7A south from Manchester to Bennington, I thought about all the times I've been on this road. When we first moved to Vermont 27 years ago, we lived in Arlington which is about mid-way between Manchester and Bennington. This area was home to Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain boys, and played a major role in the Revolutionary War. Arlington was the first capital of Vermont for a few years, and the painter Norman Rockwell, famous for covers for the Saturday Evening Post, lived here for part of his adult life. It's easy to take the gorgeous wooded mountain scenery for granted when you live here, and I was reminded again of Vermont's special beauty.

We're staying in Bennington for three days to attend a friends' wedding and catch up with other friends. This is Bennington Battle Day weekend, commemorating the 1777 Battle of Bennington during the Revolutionary War. I'll run in the local 5k tomorrow, and we may catch part of the other festivities this weekend. We'll continue our motorcycle trip west in 5 days, looking forward to more states and adventures.  Here is the route for our Vermont travels

Back on the BMW in New England

After three nights in Avon, CT, we got back on the BMW and on the road heading north. A big thanks to our friends Ted and Liz and their children for having us over for dinner last night. It was our first home-cooked meal in over two weeks, and very much appreciated!

Mike had the oil changed and tires replaced on the BMW yesterday at Max BMW in South Windsor, VT. Even though they didn't have any electricity due to a fire earlier in the morning, they brought in a generator and kept working. They went the extra mile to make sure that we got back on the road as planned.

We started off on U.S. 10 north out of Avon, CT and in Simsbury were delighted to see numerous life-like statues along the road. At first we thought they were real people, and then realized we were actually seeing statues depicting people doing everyday activities. It's a part of the Simsbury Art Trail that features the sculptures of Seward Johnson. Here are a few of our favorites:

Our route took us north through Connecticut and Massachusetts, passing through small towns, busier sections of small cities, and twisting roads through the countryside.

Much of this area is familiar to us since we lived in southwestern Vermont for 20 years before we moved to Arizona 5 years ago.

We stopped in Brattleboro, VT for lunch at Whetstone Station restaurant and brewery, right on the banks of the Connecticut River that marks the boundary between Vermont and New Hampshire.

It was hot and humid by the time we stopped for lunch, yet it seemed cooler as we continued northeast into higher elevations in New Hampshire. We're stopping for the evening in Keene, NH where we plan to enjoy walking around the lively downtown. We can't think of a better way to celebrate our 37th wedding anniversary!  Here is today's route