The long and winding road

Canaan, ME – We drove for nine hours today. Didn’t even stop for lunch, but ate the sandwiches I made before leaving as we drove. We knew we had a long day’s drive today, but it ended up being even longer than it might otherwise have been.

The biggest reason for that was because we needed fuel. We couldn’t find diesel fuel on our way to Wilmington yesterday, so we figured we could fill up soon after setting out this morning. We still had about a third of a tank, so it didn’t seem that urgent when we got out to the main road.

So off we went, aiming for the ferry crossing at Essex, which would take us over Lake Champlain and into Vermont. That destination became secondary, however, given the need for diesel fuel. We headed in what we thought was the general direction, looking at every small burg or village for a) a gas station and b) one that carried diesel.

The GPS was no help at all in our quest. Instead, it took us along an endless mountain road that went over hill and dale with curves this way and that until we were completely disoriented, expending dwindling fuel to no good purpose! Finally, we asked at a gas station WHERE could we find diesel, and they directed us to Ticonderoga, well south of Essex. No matter, they promised we’d find diesel there and that was Job #1.

Sure enough, there was the Mobil station with the diesel price posted!  We were within five gallons of running dry, so our sense of relief was considerable! Then we learned that there was actually a ferry at Ticonderoga, so that looked equally attractive. But, the gas station attendant told Val, if we just backtracked a short way, we could cross the lake over a brand new bridge. Even better, we decided, since we hadn’t researched the capacity of the “Ti” ferry to know whether it could take our rig and towed car. (We knew the Essex ferry could.)

So, back up the highway we went, and eventually located the turnoff for the bridge. Feeling like we’d escaped from some unsolvable labyrinth, we crossed over Lake Champlain with no wait, no dicey maneuvering onto a floating vessel and off again, and best yet, NO FEE. So although we’d added a good 30 miles and at least an hour to our journey, we’d saved over $50!

The squiggly line traced across our maps of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, mostly along US Highway 2, demonstrates clearly how alien to Americans is the concept of east-west travel in New England. There are wide swaths of north-south Interstates, but no such speedy route is offered in the direction we were headed. Still, we enjoyed the varied scenery and small towns, with their white-steepled churches, antique shops, and bright posters promising barbeques and fireworks for the upcoming Fourth of July. Our final destination and its promise of supper and rest was a welcome sight.