Well this our second day in the White Mountains stopping at the Gale River motel with the fantastic, fun and lively host Kevin.

Today the Mrs took me to Franconia Notch state park (after uber super pancakes at Polly’s in Sugar Hill). We walked up to see the Flume waterfall which is fantastic. The picture is me, the tour guide trying to creep up on me and over in the background is a covered bridge on the flume trail.

This afternoon we ventured to Meredith (dull and lifeless) and now we are in Woodstock, the home of free love in the 60’s (ok I know that was in California not New Hampshire, but I liked it and it was a very dull title without it).

And now grub at the Woodstock Inn Brewery with it’s own micro-brewery onsite. Oh me oh my a 22oz T-bone on the bone steak, fantastic.

Me might get a little tipsy and stuffed tonight.

Tomorrow crossing the border to Canada for a few days.

Bye bye Maine, hello New Hampshire! Last night we stayed at the wonderful Noble House Inn in Bridgton, ME. This was a fab experience. Our hosts Julie and Rick (plus Daisy the dog) were warm and friendly. Our b&b experiences just keep getting better. The whole property was sooo comfortable, tall bed to sink into and unbelievably a two course breakfast with all the courses homemade. We didn’t walk out of the Noble House, we rolled. It’s another fan place to add to the list of recommendations.

So, on through the Kancamagus Highway climbing to 3000 feet (complete with snow, brrr) before dropping a little into Franconia and the heart of the White Mountains. This evenings accomodation is a gem of a place with someone as mad as Mr Fogg!!

Full review when we leave on Wednesday!

Note to self, next time pack more jumpers, gloves and hat, it’s bloomin freezing up here with temperatures plunging to around 20 Fahrenheit overnight. Better still, steal Mr Foggs nice fluffy fleece!

Yup the Mrs and me have ticked another off our “To Do before you snuff it list”, the American institution that is/ was the Drive in movie theatre.

Sit in your car, watch a movie on a 60 foot screen and tune your radio to a set frequency to hear the sound, fantastic. Bridgton is home to a dual screen movie theatre showin not one but 4 movies back to back. You choose the two films you want to see (in this case Iron Man 2 and Shutter Island), for the extremely reasonable price (Britain take note) of $3.25 per film per person (that is actually £2.19 in today’s monopoly money). So we really pushed the boat out, a gallon of popcorn, litre of tea and coffee for, are you ready for this $7 (£4.71). Can anyone tell me why we get royally shafted in the UK?

The screen was perfect, the sound excellent, Iron Man 2 was brilliant, the company as ever was fantastic and the best bit, no annoying people to disturb you with loud conversation or mobile phones.

What a top night, again all part of the meticulous planning by my Tour Guide.

Bridgton Drive in Movie theatre you rock!

Here’s the new beast of a car that we collected yesterday. Huge is an understatement.

Tonight we are off to a drive in movie, with seven seats in Bertha we can either rent them out or each pick a row!

So last night we stayed with Bob and Marcel at the Morning Glory Bed and Breakfast in Salem. What can I say but fab fab fab!

It’s such a shame we were only staying one night but this b&b is a must do in New England (Mum, you gotta stay here!). Not only was the decor and attention to detail fantastic but our hosts were welcoming and charming with so much personalised touches that so many places lack. From the moment we arrived our first names were remembered, time was spent sharing details about Salem and attention was on providing a true service (which felt very genuine) we met another couple at breakfast (practicing pagans no less, complete with capes!). Bob shared his icebreaker trick for those quiet breakfasts by telling us how he gets peole talking about their pets and clearly loves to see his guests relax, chill out and enjoy their stay. Everything just felt right staying here.

On then to a review of Salem itself, ok, it’s gone witch mad, has a quirky feel but is charming in itself. There is limited real historical parts left, but a wander around reveals wonderful old buildings and some funky Wicca shops that you just wouldn’t see anywhere else.

Overall, fun location to visit, I’d have stayed longer just for the accomodation.

So onwards north towards Portland on the US-1 (in torrential rain and thunderstorms). It’s a long trek through normal American townships interspersed with large retail outlets and walmarts. We just had to try the states biggest success- Dunkin Donuts, so stopped for a bite on the way. Hmmm, sugar rush anyone?? Not a habit we will be repeating again soon.

So this Blog is after the Morning Glory, only Mrs Fogg types faster than I do.

Another exciting day on the Foggy Road Trip of New England. We left Salem, see Mrs Foggs details about the wonderful Morning Glory B&B.

So off we set in our Jeep Wrangler super cool monster, with a lovelly “Engine Oil Service required” warning flashing at us. Being good little citizens we called Alamo to ask what they wanted to do about their car “well it will be fine for about 300 miles so don’t worry about it” claimed the assistant, “well we are actually driving 1200” said Mrs Fogg, “ah well you had better change it then” added the assistant, “and how do you suggest we do that 90 miles from Boston, since we are not turning around” pointed out the Mrs. So off we head to Portland International Airport, a minor detour from our journey to be met by happy Brad McTeeth behind the counter (he was actually a really nice guy but couldn’t work the computer, which is a worry since he somehow managed to add $1200 for a change of car, I don’t think so).

So off we set in a sparkling white Chevvy Traverse, 4.2litre SUV about the length of an 18 wheeler, with the turning circle of an oil tanker, but oh so comfy and capable of housing a family of Bangladesh refugees for a year hidden in the thousand of recesses. One slight problem, no remote keyfob, so back to the 1970’s for us having to try and lock all the doors from the inside before we leave the car (good luck to the person who needs to lock the boot from inside, set off at sunrise over the seats all the way to the back and you might make it by sunset).

But we made it to Portland by the Bay, after travelling through York and Scarborough. Now let’s not be unfair, but after just a few hours in Portland it is strangely reminiscent of Scarborough in England, just a little less lively. The place is deserted, maybe it’s the time of year, but a few gift shops, a few restaurants, lots of seagulls, all that is missing is kiss me quick hats, the Crown hotel and a few more OAPs.

Tomorrow I am assured by my uber geek tour guide Mrs Fogg, that the place will be much nicer (Bridgeton).

One saving grace, we managed another Surf and Turf, whoo rahh!

So here we are for a spell in Salem (didn’t see that pun coming did you).

We arrived at the Morning Glory B&B to a very warm welcome and an absolutely fantastic property. Arriving mid afternoon gave us chance to amble the Red tourist trail around Salem. It’s ok if you like witchy stuff and very tacky gift shops selling all Wicca accessories, oh, and a Harry Potter wand and broomstick if you want one.

Cool place, not much here but very friendly and some cool old properties mixed in with modern buildings.

All checked out of the Encore and off to collect the beast a 3.7litre Jeep Wrangler, ooo I feel so tough and hunky now.

The trip out of Boston was reasonable, one missed turn but our Garmin sorted us out.

A little hungry we stopped at an all you can eat Chinese buffet at $8 a head, oh yum.

Next stop Salem and the Morning Glory B&B, anyone need a broomstick bringing back because theirs is damaged?

It’s been a fun few days in Boston but now it’s time to go pick the hire car up and start the road trip. Would we revisit Boston? A definite yes, pleasant city, easy to navigate, safe walking and nice green tree lined avenues. We thought we’d summarise what we found hot, and what wasn’t:

Loved:
Segway tour – expensive but THE best fun and great way to cover the city in 2 hours. Tour guide history was limited but really gives a feel for the city
Lobster at the Barking Crab – great atmosphere and decent prices
Cheers Bar on Beacon Hill – great atmosphere and chilled beer

The ok:
Skywalks view at Prudential Tower – good way to get 360 of the city but a rip off at $12 each to look out of windows on the 50th floor
Shopping areas – Faneuil Hall rates as the prettiest, but typical touristy shops, the rest are the usual high street chains
Baseball at Fenway Park – fabulous to visit Fenway, but the actual game was dull ( Mr Fogg loved it) and it seems that Americans go to games to chat non stop rather than watch the game, disappointing atmosphere which was unexpected.

The bad:
It’s an expensive city, food and drink costs are high. Expect to pay a minimum of $6 for a bottle of beer.
Science Museum – boring and out dated.

Accomodation: Encore B&B

Overall a good location to stay, but I disagree with the raving reviews on Tripadvisor. The rooms are very nice, clean and comfortable, but you choose B&Bs for the personal touches.

The owners are missing some tricks here. Only one owner does the B&B stuff, doesn’t chat much and you don’t get any warm feelings about the place. We met the other owner, David when the aircon broke (ok bad timing) not even a hello, just a rude, grumpy, chubby man in my view, who flounced around and left his mate to sort a water flood out.

At $220 a night it’s a lot to pay for a room. Stingy allocation of complimentary shower gel stuff, limited breakfast ( we chose granola, yoghurt and fruit) which is placed on the plate for you (they do offer a good choice of cakes and other stuff if you want it). Overall, it’s more of a small hotel feel with no personality. It seems that money has been lavished on things like B&O music systems, when all was needed was some personal charisma. Next time I would just choose one of the bland hotel chains for the same price.

Next stop Salem. Bye bye Boston.