Leaving the bustling metropolis of Linwood, Nova Scotia marked the final stretch of our 2024 road trip. After a delicious pancake breakfast (with Vermont maple syrup of course) we headed west and let Annabel know that there would be a surprise in the evening. She asked a ton of questions about it, but we didn’t tell her what it might be.
Our first stop was in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia (because Old Glasgow was wicked dumb?) where we attended the Museum of Industry. Despite the name sounding like a snooze-fest, it was a very engaging museum and had some perfect elements for Annabel including a giant train that she could play in and a crane that she could maneuver. We particularly enjoyed an interpreter that gave us a demonstration of a steam engine from 1838 and another that operated on a dry dock in Sydney, NS from 1866-1995 when the boiler finally broke. Also - it appears that coal mining in the region was a terribly dangerous undertaking, and therefore required many undertakers.
After a picnic lunch at the museum, we continued west to Fundy National Park where we unveiled the surprise for Annabel. We had reserved an otentik for the evening (a cabin like perma-tent) so we would be glamping for the night. She loved playing on the beds and in the loft. We had dinner overlooking the bay and spent the rest of the night playing UNO in the otentik. It turned out to be a good night to have a solid cover over our heads because we awoke to rain and no appearance of it letting up. It meant that we wouldn’t get to explore much of the park on this trip, but we’ve had fabulous weather for most of this trip, so who am I to complain?
Since the weather was iffy, it was a driving day for us. We arrived back in the USA and continued through Bangor, Maine where we followed the interstate to Freeport. It was our longest driving day of the trip by far and Annabel was great! We had lunch at Tim Horton’s in St. John, New Brunswick and we let Annabel choose her dinner that evening. She had a hankering for spaghetti and meatballs so we ate at the Olive Garden in Augusta, Maine. We camped that evening at Winslow Park (the same campground as our first night on this trip).
The next day - we continued to follow the interstate (which seemed to be the safest route due to all the recent flooding in the northeast) and made a quick stop in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for some licks at Annabelle’s Ice Cream. We were the first patrons of the day and Annabel was excited to see her name on the sign.
Our last stop was at the Montshire Museum in Norwich, Vermont where we all got a stretch break from the car and Annabel happily played with bubbles for seventy five percent of our visit. The museum’s exhibits were a perfect match for Annabel’s age and she even got to pet a turtle!
The rest of the trip was a familiar venture on interstate 89 as we settled back into Vermont’s mountainous topography - a landscape that seems to hug you on return. We had our first extended road trip since the COVID pandemic and we had gained an awesome new road trip buddy - GO ANNABEL!
**Also a shout out to the 2010 Prius with 198,000 miles that is STILL hauling us around on adventures after all these years**
