145 Lebanon to Plattsburgh

Sunday 21st April 2013  Miles Today 127  Total 631

The temperature when we started this morning

We awoke to a very cold day. The weather was very clear and sunny without a cloud in the sky but it was very windy, from the NE which was just the direction we were going in. Bliss.

We set off and it was not long before we started using our heated clothing for the first time. We spent about 5 hours on the bike today and the heated kit was a God send. I started to moan about having frozen fingers and Karen chipped in with: "Turn your heated grip on then". Doh ! You would think I would know better. The day the settled down to a high of 6 deg C.
Our route again avoided the interstate and we saw far more and that included some wild life.

Wild Turkeys fattening up for Christmas

One of many lovely views from the journey, the rivers are very heavy with snow melt.

We went in search of New England's covered bridges and found one at Tunbridge,  This one was dated from 1879. 
Prior to that I have started to master the art of taking pictures whilst we are traveling along.  A lot have been rubbish, and I am becoming an expert on capturing trees in front of the views I am trying to get, but it is still the first week.

Covered bridge from the side.

Covered bridge from 1879 complete with Wallace and Ray.

One of the many sweeping bends from a back seat point of view.  The roads were a bikers dream. I could feel Ray really enjoying them, much better than the interstate.

The landscape was very varied and it still looks like winter.

 We passed through Chelsea and Berlin and arrived in Montpelier.  We were informed that it is the capital of Vermont and is one of the last haunts of hippies.  We stopped for a look around and had lunch.  I think we were both a bit surprised how small it was, but it didn't have, for us anyway, the feel good factor that we have experienced elsewhere in the States.

Montpelier, the capital of Vermont

Do they know something we don't ?

 As you've probably gathered, it is very cold here and all around is evidence that the snow is not far away. Having spoken with many of the locals, they can't believe what is happening to their weather at all.  They do say that they don't have a spring up here in Vermont though, summer just appears.  At the moment though it still has a very wintery look and feel.

There is still snow about.

 We had intended to stop at a place called Burlington today, but when we got there we decided to keep moving on, and headed for Lake Champlain to get a ferry across.  We passed through what appears to be wetlands and marshy area and I spotted these huge birds sitting in nests and trees.  I made Ray stop the bike and we were rewarded with this fabulous picture of a pair of Ospreys in their nest.  It was wonderful, because over the last few years in Britain we have gone to several sanctuary's to try and see them, with no luck, and here they are.    

Nesting Ospreys, we could hardly believe it.

All aboard the ferry to Plattsburgh over lake Champlain. The Northern end of the lake is in Canada.

Motel Rip Van Winkle in Plattsburgh, a quarter of the price of a place in New York, and adequate.

 We were not long off of the ferry when we came across this motel.  We wondered what we were letting ourselves in for at first, but it is a reasonable price and clean, just what we needed.  After settling in we found a little bar/diner for a bite to eat and warm our weary bones by the fire.  A very enjoyable day all round.

Warming the old bones at 8 Ball Billiards Cafe.