New England, known for its scenery, seafood, beer and education is a part of the country I have always wanted to visit. From November 11th - November 16th I did just that, taking a train through Pennsylvania farmland to Princeton, NJ, up US. 1 to New Brunswick NJ, across the Cross-Bronx Expressway into Connecticut to later pass through part of Boston's ill famed "Big Dig" to stay there for the night. A night of wading through Boston's hipsters and slightly pretentious food and drink scene led to a morning of driving up I-95 to the best stop of the trip, Portland Maine. Home to some of the best breweries in the country and a food and nightlife scene that was completely unexpected of a smaller city on the coast, Portland has alot to offer. Over 200 restaurants and bars fill the area known as Oldport, a great place to go after visiting Maine Beer Company in Freeport and Allagash Brewing Company, now easily two of my favorite breweries. While the lobster roll that we ate next to the L.L Bean headquarters put a slight dent in the trip, its troubles were washed away by one of the best shrimp dishes I have ever had, two flights of beer, and a hungover drive to Vermont the next morning, which might I add was started with consuming one the best hamburgers I have ever had at a french bistro.
Coastline began to fade into snowcapped mountains as small snow squalls greeted us on our drive into Montpelier Vermont. Now entering French territory the sign for Montpelier read Bienvenue after passing through White Mountains National Forest. Vermont was easily the best state on the trip for two reasons, the scenery and the beer. We decided to pass up Montpelier and its sense of "stufiness and stuckupedness" and headed for the Ski resort town of Stowe about 30 Minutes north, just up the road from Ben and Jerry's and Green Montain Coffee's headquarters. Filling up on 12 inch apple and raisin dutch pancakes at the Dutch Pancake Cafe gave us the sustenance we needed for the journey to what is now my favorite brewery, Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro Bend, Vermont. Only accessible by dirt road about and hour away from Stowe, we waited in line for just over an hour to get our ten growlers of beer (mine only being two). While sampling four of the five beers on tap while in line, I knew I was in for two of the best bottles of beer I have ever had regardless of what I chose. Charlie, the owners Golden Retriever was even kind enough to walk me to and from the car, probably in hopes that I would give him some beer or food. The drive back became the most unique part of the trip as we ditched Google Maps and relied on the old Garmin GPS.....BAD CHOICE! We ended up traversing a "road" that a Jeep would have taken slowly and we did so in epic fashion....in a Honda Civic! A few scraping boulders, ruts and roadblocks later we made it through the snow covered path luckily with no problems. With the adrenaline behind us, one of the best personal pizzas and some amazing jerky were consumed.
With the majority of the trip now behind us, the journey south began with a drive through Green Mountain National Forest and into upstate New York. Greeted by Albany, we were quickly reminded that we were back in the rust belt and I was met with the second bad sandwich of the trip. Another quick stop in Scranton PA allowed me to see the city famed by The Office, one of my favorite TV shows. The trip was capped off with a late night drive through Pennsylvania's mountains, passing Rockview Penitentiary by State College and back to Pittsburgh.
Along the trip six of the eight Ivy Leauge Schools were passed, University of Pennsylvania in Philadephia, Princeton in Princeton New Jersey, Columbia in New York City, Yale in New Haven Connecticut, Harvard in Cambridge Massachusetts, and Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The 1,500 mile journey passed through some of the country's oldest history, finest food scenes and greatest breweries. My three favorite breweries (Alchemist, Alagash and Hill farmstead) and another now in my top 10 (Maine Beer Company) all exist on the route. As a geologist I was also lucky enough to see some of the greatest roadside geology in the Northeast, with massive Granite Batholiths, almost 90 degree uplifted beds of Schist and folds throughout the Appalachian Mountains.
Please excuse the quality of some of the following pictures as the vast majority were taken out of a moving vehicle or through glass windows.
Please note that the following photographs are split into several sections with a short description, so please take the time to read and view each section separately.
Please note that the following photographs are split into several sections with a short description, so please take the time to read and view each section separately.
PITTSBURGH > PHILADELPHIA
A nine hour Amtrak ride around the famous Altoona Horseshoe Curve that cut train travel times through Pennsylvania mountains from weeks to under a day and Pennsylvania Dutch Country farmland ended at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. The yinzer in me wanted to hate Philadelphia, but the combination of history, urban growth and the arts makes it a wonderful city. My time in Philly was short lived but I had a chance to visit City Hall, Center City, Logan Square and JFK Plaza with its famous "LOVE" sign making Philly the city of brotherly love.
PICTURES: (1&2 - Altoona Horseshoe Curve - 4 through 7 around the Harrisburg area and the Harrisburg train station 8 &9 Pennsylvania Dutch Country)
A nine hour Amtrak ride around the famous Altoona Horseshoe Curve that cut train travel times through Pennsylvania mountains from weeks to under a day and Pennsylvania Dutch Country farmland ended at Philadelphia's 30th Street Station. The yinzer in me wanted to hate Philadelphia, but the combination of history, urban growth and the arts makes it a wonderful city. My time in Philly was short lived but I had a chance to visit City Hall, Center City, Logan Square and JFK Plaza with its famous "LOVE" sign making Philly the city of brotherly love.
PICTURES: (1&2 - Altoona Horseshoe Curve - 4 through 7 around the Harrisburg area and the Harrisburg train station 8 &9 Pennsylvania Dutch Country)
PHILADELPHIA > BOSTON
After getting off at the Princeton train station, a quick drive up U.S 1 took us to New Brunswick, NJ home of a former Ivy League school, Rutgers University. Excellent beer drinking and photography discussion ensued at World of Beer. Crossing the George Washington Bride and the Cross Bronx Expressway lead us into Connecticut where a PinkBerry smoothie helped cure the wrath of the previous nights beer. Boston offered a fantastic food and drink scene, which in our case was filled with chicken pot pie at the historic Quincy Market, calamari and bourbon at Grille 23, great sour beers at Row 34 and artisinal drinks at the slightly pretentious bar Drink . While barhopping we passed the Quincy Market, Faneuiel Hall, the site of the Boston Tea Party and the Old State House where the Declaration of Independence was proclaimed.
Pictures: (1&2 Unibroue Grande Reserve 17 and Cuveedesjacobins at World of Beer - 3 G.W Bridge - 13 through 16 Fanueil Hall, Old State House, Qunicy Market and Boston Tea Party)
BOSTON > PORTLAND
With an eye on a lobster roll and amazing beer the drive to Portland was filled with he most anticipation. Cutting through New Hampshire with its motto of "Live Free or Die" then put us in Maine with its motto of "The Way Life Should Be". The smell of fresh piney air blended with frying shellfish and hops. A stop for a lobster roll next to the L.L Bean headquarters slowed us down a bit (internally) before our visit to Maine Brewing Company and Allagash Brewing Company. Several hours filled with hoppy IPA's and fantasic saisons was capped off with an amazing dinner at Street and Company in Oldport, a part of the city filled to the brim with top notch eateries and exploring Portland's surprising nightlife. The next morning we were met with snow and a phenomenal burger at Petite Jacqueline.
Pictures: (8 through 11 Maine Brewing Company - 13 through 16 Alagash Brewing Company - 17 Street and Company - 18 Petite Jacqueline)
PORTLAND > VERMONT
The drive from Portland to Stowe provided the best scenery, with rolling mountains, snow squalls and late fall leaves. Snow Squalls quickly dissipated shorlty after leaving Maine and relatively clear skies exposed the snowcapped White Mountains. A drive along snow covered dirt roads to Greensboro Bend after some phenomenal pancakes lead us to Hill Farmstead Brewery, where I found a recycled Pittsburgh Brewing Company keg and waited in line for just over an hour (accompanied by Charlie the golden retriever) for beer that was well worth the wait. The drive back to Stowe ended up being an adrenaline filled offroading escapade in a Honda Civic thanks to Garmin's misleading directions. The epic adventure was capped off with an amazing pizza in the middle of nowhere Vermont and later that night with exotic jerky and the #1 beer in America - Alchemist Heady Topper.
Pictures: (1 through 5 snow squalls in Maine - 10 through 15 White Mountains - 17 through 26 way to Hill Farmstead Brewery - 27 through 36 Hill Farmstead Brewery - 37 through 47 Way back from Hill Farmstead (offroading not shown) - 48 & 49 maple pork and black pepper buffalo jerky, apple and raisin dutch pancakes
- 50 & 51 Alchemist Heady Topper
VERMONT > PITTSBURGH
The drive back, originally meant to go through Philly and then Pittsburgh the next day turned into an 11 hour drive through Green Mountain National Park, Upstate New York, Albany and Scranton before passing through State College on the way home. The Evergreens faded into leafless trees and the urban areas became a bit gloomier but the drive actually passed much faster than expected.
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