New England Fall Foliage Trip Day Four: From the Bay State to the Green Mountain State

We said farewell to our wonderful hotel and boarded the bus for our final ride through Boston to the Budget car rental office where we would be picking up our car for the rest of the journey.

Word to the wise: when I first booked the car rental about three months ago, it was $638 for nine days with a pickup in Boston and a drop-off in Portland. When I checked again a month ago to see if prices had dropped, it was about the same, but something prompted me to try plugging in a different location. Instead of the airport I searched for a different downtown Boston location and was able to book a new reservation with a pickup at the Seaport location for only $356 for all of the same details. Since we were riding public transit to the location, it didn’t really matter where we picked up as long as it was in downtown Boston. So, if you have flexibility, try plugging in different locations in the genera vicinity and you could save hundreds of dollars!

We commenced our journey northwest into a gradient of fall color. The towns along the way were every bit as quaint as we imagined: rolling hills, white houses, red barns. We actually wondered whether there are local ordinances that only allow the exterior paint to be certain colors…?

The bustling Vermont Country Deli was our lunch stop. Counters piled with lunch meats, pastries, skillets of macaroni and cheese, and more offered plenty of options for hungry travelers.

Even though the place is primarily a grab-and-go, a few tables dotted the area around the buildings, and a friendly couple from Connecticut graciously allowed us to join them while we ate.

A little over an hour later we pulled up the driveway to our lodging for the next couple of nights: The Aerie Inn of Vermont. One of the proprietors started to walk past me, and when I asked about checking in, he rudely informed me that check-in was not until 4 and that the 2:00 time listed on my reservation was a lie from a third-party booking site and there was nothing they could do about it. So we had to resort to finding a local coffee shop to while away our next hour.

Our search took us to the nearby town of Manchester where a couple of coffee shops awaited. Charlie’s Cafe and Coffee had some of my favorite tea from Harney and Sons, so I grabbed a drink there.

Next door, Bonnet & Main Cafe provided hydration for the coffee-drinkers amongst us.

And next door to them sat a cozy bookshop that was much larger than it appeared from the outside. I could have spent hours perusing all the shelves, but I was merciful to my traveling companions and cut myself off at 30 minutes!

Noelle and Claire found a fun spot to sit while I caught up on blogging.

Having stayed out well beyond the 4:00 check-in time, we tenuously made our way back to the inn. Even if guest services lacks some diplomacy, we are excited to be staying in such a picturesque location. The colors truly are stunning and we keep hearing that they will be even more so as we headed further north. Can hardly wait!