An early coffee at Black Cap Coffee and we set off on US-2 which cuts across the top of the state. The scenery was beautiful on another warm and sunny day.
Around lunchtime we arrived at the base of Mount Washington, the highest peak in North East USA. Well us and several hundred middle-aged (or late-aged) men on their Harleys. I'd checked the website before we left and had seen that next day no cars were allowed on the road to the top due to a motorcycle rally. Well, loads of them were here a day early to try it out.
Think Mount Wellington in Hobart but three times bigger. We were given instructions at the bottom on how to drive up and down, in low gear stopping now and then to cool the brakes and engine.
Off we went. Apparently the road is wide enough all the way up for two cars but there were several spots that didn't look that wide. We took it very carefully and had to drive really close to the edge several times. Carole was clutching onto the seat for most of the climb.
At the top, over 6000 ft up, it has the reputation for having the world's worst weather. At the bottom they'd advertised that it was 46 degrees at the top (7 deg C) but when we got there it was glorious. Hardly a cloud in the sky and not a breath of wind - extremely rare apparently.
We spent about an hour at the top before the equally hair-raising descent. On the way we listened to the supplied CD which finished as we arrived back at the bottom. We popped it out and Alive by Pearl Jam was playing. Most apt!
After that it was a drive across Maine to Bangor. There looked to be several interesting paces to stop but we had no time to spare but pressed on. We arrived at the lakeside Lucerne Inn in time for a beer before dinner.
Lots of trees in Maine but not a moose in sight.
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