The three day trip was blessed with great weather throughout, just as New England's foliage season was starting to come into peak color. As the group left Mt. Wachusett, we headed west along rural Route 2 until we made our way north onto Route 91 into Vermont. From there the trip continued along the Connecticut River National Scenic Byway, until we crossed over into New Hampshire where some members of the group, enjoyed some spirited driving along the beautiful Kangamanus Highway. After getting off the Kangamanus Highway we made it to our first night's stop in the picturesque New England town of North Conway, New Hampshire.
The following morning, after the frost had melted from a typical fall night in New England, everyone gave their cars a quick wipedown, and hit the road for our second day. As the trip headed up Route 16, almost immediately we came upon Mount Washington (the highest peak in NH), which had recieved it's first snowfall of the year on Friday night. From there the drive continued heading northeast into the great state of Maine.
Through some beautiful winding roads that overlooked many scenic vistas, the run made it's way up to Bar Harbor, Maine. We arrived just before dusk at our hotel, that was situated overlooking the harbor and was located only a short distance from all the shops and restaurants downtown. After everyone checked in to their rooms, the entire group headed out together for a nice dinner together, and then spent the rest of the evening hanging outside the hotel having some drinks and talking about the weekend's trip under clear starlit skies.
The next morning, with another cool New England night behind us, we had a crisp and clear day ahead. As we sat down for breakfast, we had a perfect view of the serene harbor as there was a large cruise ship, dwarfing all the small islands that dotted the bay, getting ready to venture off on a trip of it's own, a trip that I'm sure was a lot bigger than the one we were on right now.
Before we took off for our ride home, we had one final cruise together through the postcard perfect setting of downtown Bar Harbor. As we cruised along some great roads and drove "The Loop", we followed the coast of the Atlantic Ocean through Acadia National Park and around Cadillac Mountain (the highest point on the North Atlantic seaboard). Once there, we made one final stop and got a group picture of the remaining people on the trip.
When it was all said and done, out of the original group, we had seventeen people, in thirteen cars that were able to make the entire '2008 Northeast Rod Run'. After a sucessful weekend, all that was left to do, was for everyone to start their drives back home, and ponder what new memories the Northeast Rod Run would bring in 2009.