East Coast Vacation - Day 3

St. Johnsbury, Vermont to Bangor, Maine.

Since we decided to go to Santa's Village yesterday, we had to revise our "plan". Our first stop was Chutters in Littleton, New Hampshire. Chutter General Store has the longest candy counter in the world - 111 feet and 11-3/4 inches long. There are three rows of jars filled with all kinds of candies. There is penny candy, regular candy and specialty candy. You put on plastic glove, open a jar and fill your bag with the candy. We bought $20 worth of candy. Tasty. Next, we toured Main Street and visited a few bookstores followed by a walk through a covered bridge to a small farmers/flea market. Adam was salivating at the fresh bread available, but due to the long drive ahead, did not give in to his temptations.

A few miles down on I-93 we stopped at the Aerial Tramway at Cannon Mountain. This was the first aerial tramway in North America. Contrary to popular belief, a tramway is NOT a gondola. A tramway consists of two cars, with each car acting as a counterweight. When one car goes up, the other is coming down. We did not have to wait too long to board a car - trams were departing every 12 to 15 minutes. The ride takes about 8 minutes and takes you to the summit of Cannon Mountain at 4,180 feet. At the summit we took a trail that offered a breathtaking view of the surrounding area - all the way to Canada! Corbin and Adam walked up to on observation tower that also doubles as a communication tower. It was a clear day so the view was amazing.


The next 3 or so hours consisted of traveling through the White Mountains area on twisty hilly roads. The highest we go was an elevation of 2,600 feet (not as high as the 4,000 or so feet in the Smokey Mountains). We stopped for supper in North Conway at Friendly's Restaurant. Yes, the staff were friendly. We arrived at the Days Inn in Bangor, Maine some time after 6:00 pm. It was a long day, we were tired, checked in and headed to the pool. The hotel is dated and in need of a major make over - and there are plans to renovate this year. But the hotel was clean and cheap (though the wireless internet signal was useless).