Day 15 – September 19

Day 15 — September 19 

The day before yesterday, we spent most of the day in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We returned to our room early and spent our second night in Ellsworth, Maine.

Yesterday morning, we woke up to a chilly 44 degrees. We checked out of our motel around eight and headed toward our next destination—Zeb’s General Store in North Conway, New Hampshire. The drive promised to be an easy one, with some interesting places to visit along the way.

Our first interesting sight of the day was the Penobscot Narrows Bridge near Prospect, Maine. It is quite a sight seemingly in the middle of nowhere. I took two pictures. Unfortunately, the sun was in a bad spot for the second one. I didn’t have much choice, but it actually made for a pretty neat picture.

Our next unique photo opportunity came in a place named Woodstock. No, not the one famous for the Woodstock Music Festival—that’s in New York. This Woodstock is in Maine, and they claim to be home to the World’s Largest Telephone.

The plaque beneath the phone reads:

“This sculpture by Gil Whitman is dedicated to the memory of Barbara & Elden Hathaway—owners of the Bryant Pond Telephone Company, the very last hand crank magneto telephone system in the U.S.A.

“They purchased the company in 1951 and operated it from their home as a family business until selling it to the Oxford Networks Company in 1981, when it was integrated into the national dial system.”

For our next photo shoot, we had to drive six miles off our planned route to see one of the iconic structures of the Northeast—a covered bridge. The drive was worth it!

The Sunday River Bridge was built in 1872. Located in Newry, Maine, it is one of only nine surviving covered bridges in the state and is reputed to be one of the most photographed and painted bridges in Maine. I had the privilege and pleasure of walking across it.

After a nice, relaxing drive through the countryside and the White Mountains, we arrived in North Conway, New Hampshire—home of Zeb’s General Store.

Zeb’s offers products made throughout New England in an old-“thyme” general store atmosphere. With more than 5,000 items, the store also claims to have the largest selection of New England specialty foods in the world.

Gayle wasn’t quite as elated as I was. It was a neat store, and I enjoyed it very much. Gayle, however, had been hoping to find more handcrafted items and products made specifically in the local area.

Finally, we checked out of our practice of checking in to franchise motels. We found a rustic motel with cottage lodging—something we had been wanting to try for quite some time.

We loved it!

With the exception of the flat-screen television, our cottage looked like it came straight out of the 1950s. It was a fun experience and one we will no doubt try again.

Until next time…we’re traveling on.

Other photos from yesterday: