After a couple of days in Maine, it was time to pack up and hit the road for our final destination: Stowe, Vermont. It’s a six-hour drive from Bar Harbor to Stowe, but we took the scenic route, including a detour for the Kancamagus Highway, which was well worth our time.
We left Maine early, and opted not to have breakfast at the B&B. (The previous day, we had breakfast at the B&B, but we weren’t the biggest fans. We thought there would be a spread of food to choose from like my mom had experienced at another B&B, but instead, we were given one option, and for picky eaters like us, it wasn’t a hit. To be fair to this B&B, it has nothing to do with their cooking and everything to do with our own pickiness. Everyone else who was there for breakfast raved about the meal, and one person even wanted the recipe!) We’re two little weirdos when it comes to food, so we decided we’d find a restaurant on the road.
We stopped for a bite at Dysart’s, which is a local chain that really hit the spot. I was craving French toast, and it was delicious (and came with real maple syrup!). My mom had pancakes.
Then, it was time to hit the road for real. Our first destination was White Mountain Cafe & Bookstore, which was about a two-hour drive. I listened to podcasts, and my mom took a nap!
It was a real treat to find this bookstore, and even better to score a prime parking spot right up front. Somehow I didn’t take a single photo while in the bookstore, probably because it was pretty busy and I felt weird about whipping out my camera. It was a small bookstore with a very curated collection, and I didn’t find anything worth buying. I did find some great postcards, though. (I have a whole collection from this trip, so watch your mailboxes!)
And we got some refreshments. I ordered a Nutella iced coffee, and my mom ordered tea. And then we shared a grilled blueberry muffin that was so, so good. We took a seat on a bench near the bookstore where we had this insane view, and it was really nice to sit for a while, listening to the babbling brook and feeling the breeze. This might be the happy place I return to in my head when I need a moment!
We couldn’t stay too long, though, so we were back in the car to find our way to the Kancamagus Highway, which I had heard so much about in my research! But we both realized quickly we needed a restroom, so I hunted for an easy place to stop and came across a gift shop with an incredible view! They even had this huge patio with rocking chairs so people could relax and enjoy the view. I think New Hampshire might be my kinda place, for real.
After using the restroom, poking around the gift shop, and taking some much-needed selfies, it was back on the road.
We finally started making our way down the Kancamagus Highway, and it was definitely busy! Our first stop was Sabbaday Falls, where we snagged a parking spot just as someone was leaving (it was super busy!), then trekked down to the falls and back. The hike is listed as easy, but there are quite a number of steep climbs (which always terrifies me because I broke my ankle on a downhill during my first-ever hike), and I couldn’t see where to actually see the waterfall (I should have done more research, sigh, but even all the travel vlogs I watched didn’t cover this!). Apparently, there were stairs you could climb to get to a platform, but we missed that turnoff, and instead, I thought you had to make your way through all of these treacherous rocks to get to the falls. Ah, well. This just means I need to go back to New Hampshire to see the real Sabbaday Falls, right?!
Anyway, we didn’t stay too long and continued driving along the highway. There were lots of places to stop and take pictures, but it was absolutely packed with cars, and I didn’t feel like fighting for a parking space after the disappointment at Sabbaday Falls. So instead, we just enjoyed the drive and the views. We ran into some traffic on our way out of the highway, and we also didn’t have any phone signal once we left Sabbaday and for a pretty long stretch of time, so we lost GPS access. I kept thinking of those teams on The Amazing Race who drive for hours in the wrong direction. At least we weren’t in a race for a million dollars if we were going the wrong way! But I could also see that we were traveling west, which is the direction we needed to go, so I figured all was okay!
And it was! Eventually, we made our way through the Kancamagus Highway and out of the crazy traffic. And then it was time to finish up this drive! Getting to Stowe took a few more hours, and I was soon driving through winding mountain roads in the pitch black, which was not my favorite thing and I was white-knuckling it a bit until we finally got to civilization.
And then we were in Stowe… but you’ll have to wait until next week to hear more about Vermont!
New Hampshire Quick Facts
- When we visited: Saturday, October 10th
- Miles traveled: 354 miles
- Pictures taken: 26
- Favorite little moment: Sitting outside the bookstore, listening to the sounds of nature while eating a shared blueberry muffin with my mom
- Souvenirs bought: one magnet
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