Although temperatures during the day are generally still quite nice, temperatures at night are turning beastly cold.   I estimate I have another week, two max, before I'm driven south, as many of the campgrounds in the northeast are closing for the season.  It's time to to finish grazing on Fall colors and steer this cattle drive south.

There is a high concentration of superchargers between Rhode Island and Delaware, and I plan on rounding up at least 10 of em to count towards my goal of 55.

I stop off at Newport Island along the way, taking in the sights from the 10 mile ocean drive.  Some of the houses mansions are massive and I keep thinking; I wouldn't want to do the maintenance,  okay, I wouldn't want to hire someone to do the maintenance, okay, okay, I wouldn't want to hire someone to hire someone to do the maintenance! 



On my list of things to do was a boat tour in Connectiticut, recommended by my Mom.  Each night, hundred of thousands of swallows are drawn to a small island on the lower Conneciticut River near Haddam for a nightly ritual of fanciful flight before their eventual migration south.  Unfortunately, the tour was cancelled, due to lousy weather.  No additional "swallow cruises" were planned, so... I pick up an additional 3 supercharger pics and stop by Mystic instead. 

Talk about scenic!  This is one of the most beautiful, iconic seaport villages I have ever seen.  Mesmerizing, captivating, transfixing all come close to describing this gem... right down to their fire alarms, old and new.

Mystic has seared it's imprint on me, guaranteeing I'll be back for another rodeo.

Ah...the light (and heat) of a new day.  With over 200 miles of charge saved up in Kitt's dowry, we're now ready to roll down the aisle towards Maine.  It's a glorious day with some of the best Fall colors I've seen yet.

 As Maine is still a bridesmaid waiting for its first supercharger,  I plan on hitching Kitt up with the next "best man", a Tesla HPWC (High Power Wall Connector) at the Beachmere Inn in Ogunquit, Maine.  



Back in July/August 2014, Tesla hosted a Northeast Touring event (http://www.teslamotors.com/event/fully-charged-northeast-tour) and installed two 80 Amp circuits to charge their Model S test drive vehicles.  These circuits, are now available free of charge to all Tesla MS owners (registered guests or not).  

I check into the hotel, plug Kitt in and ready myself for the reception. 

Fall decorations at a nearby hotel
"Anchorage by the Sea"

Cheers!

When I'm off the Supercharger grid (like now), I'm always looking for  a double caffeinated shot of NEMA 14-50, but last night all I could find was a half caff TT-30.  No matter... I have time.  I pull into the KOA  around 3pm with 100 miles left in the vault.  Driving to Maine will take me 140 miles, plus change.  Although I'll pick up only 6 miles of charge per hour, I have plenty of time to accumulate the extra 40 that I will need, plus extra for a buffer.  No problem. (Uh huh, how many times have you said this?? then...)


I use the time to get on the WiFi at the clubhouse as my phone's data plan from which I usually tether, is stretched further than Octo-Mom.  E-mails, phone calls, and downloads later I head for Kitt.   As soon as I step outside, the big chill slaps me, but a smile comes across my face as I have an extra 110V circuit and my  space heater waiting for me. The forecast predicts a low of 28 degrees tonight.  No problem... uh huh.

I give the heater a good head start while I shiver in the ladies room brushing my teeth.  Back to Kitt, snug and warm and within minutes I'm purring... until 2:30 in the morning when the heater starts to "flicker" and eventually turns belly up and says "I'm done".  Brian H's trick now comes to mind, so I bleary eyed jump into the driver's seat and try to put Kitt into Neutral and set the emergency brake to power up the "systems".  No go, presumably because I'm charging.  Ah, life's proverbial metaphorical moments; have cake or eat cake... charge, or heat?  I choose charge. I retain what heat I do have, don my human burrito attire and wait for Sol Invistus with a promise to myself to do more testing during the daylight hours. 


Oh, and remember that lil tyke playing in the leaves...well on my hike earlier in the day, I found an anonymous pile of leaves to call my own and...

some leaf critter from that wahoo moment found the back of my neck, bit me and left 2 big ole welts.  Pretty dang funny!  I don't care, I'd do it again. 

Yeah, I guess I have to admit it, I've always been this way. As a kid, I made my bed daily w/o being asked, decorated my bulletin board monthly by season and holiday, organized the few dust collectors I had, made lists, cataloged and filed.   Not surprising, Kitt is the same way!

After the few dry runs, and now several weeks on the road, I have a system that's fine tuned for how I roll.

Most of what I carry is confined to 3 areas: behind the front seats, in the front trunk (they're calling it a "frunk"), and on the floor of the front passenger seat.  

My "bed in a basket" is behind the driver's seat and has everything I need to assemble my sleeping abode without stepping outside.   When it's pouring and nasty, I crawl from the drivers seat on top of the center console to the back.  I fold the back seats down and inflated the air mattress.  Ten minutes later I'm horizontal.

In the middle, I have my non-refrigerated food bag containing snacks which I can easily access from the driver's seat, by reaching back with my right hand.  

On the far end is my clothes and toiletries bag.  I often change in the car when I'm "dry camping" and have my cardboard cocoon up.

The front trunk, houses a low profile, Coleman 33 Quart Party Stacker Cooler.  I picked it up at Amazon.com for $27.99 and it fits perfect.  It has quite a large carrying capacity and the flat top acts as a table which I use when I'm juicing (more on that later).  There is plenty of clearance when the hood is lowered, no worries.


In the "microwave" compartment behind the cooler, I have a plastic basket that stores all my "non-seasonal" clothing which I switch out as the temperature changes. 

The last area of storage is on the floor by the passengers seat.  Contained within this box is: the kitchen, the laundry room and the garage.  Plates, silverware, kitchen towel, cutting board, swiss army knife, paper towels, toliet paper, lighter, laundry soap, quarters, duct tape, scissors, plastic bags, disinfecting wipes and an umbrella.  Water and tea bags up front and within reach for my regular tea fixes.

I'm sure someone has found a better place for the garbage bag, but as my center console is filled with tea paraphernalia this is the only place left that's convenient.  Ugh, that's not so pretty is it?... I'll have to make a nicer looking garbage bag holder when I return home.

Going down the road, phone is charging, pot of tea is brewing, and computer waits patiently for its turn at juice.  

Ah, everything in its place.

A hike is on today's agenda as I'm drawn to dirt, just like a Dyson.  I plan to do the Boulder Ledge hike, a 3.5 mile loop with an elevation gain of 900'.  
I hear a special permit is required, so I stop by the White Mountains Visitor's center to check it out.   I find out my National Parks Pass covers it, so off I go.

I start the hike 4 layers deep and am cruising comfortably for the first half mile or so, until I hit the "stairs", then I'm:
 “Shedding off one more layer(s) of skin
Keeping one step ahead of the persecutor within”

-Bob Dylan

Up top at 1,750', the most spectacular explosion of color unveils itself.  The White Mountains are at peak color now, although my lil camera which lives rent free at the side by my hip, is too stunned to capture the full magnificence. 

White Birch, Northern Red Oak, Sugar Maple, and Striped Maples all adorn the area, and a sample of each has made it into my collection of 55.

Back at the parking lot and just a stone's throw away from the trail head is the Albany covered bridge, a quintessential New England icon originally built in 1859.

"These early bridges, were built by judgement rather than by exact design.  The bridge was sized "a load of hay high and a load of hay wide" to allow the passage of farm wagons.  They were built (covered) or with roofs to protect the flooring from rain and snow, almost doubling the life of the wooden planks".

With the soul cleansed, I leave with a sense of awe and wonderment at all I have seen.  Tomorrow I head for Maine.

Pie and donuts, oh, and ice-cream!







Would you start your day off with these? Well this morning I did.  I went to the Apple Pie Festival in Dummerston, Vermont where 1,477 pies were made for the event.  I stuck close to my "green" diet (more on that later) and consumed a cup of coffee, some apple slices and a good time.












I was seriously close to joining this lil tyke in that big ole pile of leaves, but... patience.  Another day, another pile.  Rest assured I will leave with no regrets.

I spent the rest of the day on the balance beam between Vermont and New Hampshire on Hwy 5.  Although my "point & shoot" camera does a respectable job, it doesn't come close to capturing the dizzying heights of colors that are on these trees.  Crimson, brick, tomato, maroon...every hue is there and each is drop dead gorgeous!  Pinch me, am I really here?

Working on my 55...
Thanks Judy!

One of my faves.

I wake up this morning craving a cup of Joe, instead of my usual tea, and decide to walk on over to the little convenience store close to where I'm camping; and there it is...that tie-dye shirt!  Now, I'm not a superstitious person, but I do believe in the power of positive thinking and choose to see this as a great sign.


I'm off the Supercharger grid once more, following the recommendations from http://www.yankeefoliage.com/peak-foliage-forecast-map/ which has lured me to the State of Vermont. 

Pic taken of area behind my campsite

Breathtaking!

I have nothing in particular planned for today, but after seeing the rows of maple syrup across from the Keurig, I'm curious about the "manufacturing" process of this amber colored liquid and call upon Kitt to find me a "sugar house".   She locates Hidden Springs Maple.

After watching a short informational video, I learn it takes ~43 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of maple syrup. 



I then get invited down to the storage and bottling room to see the 4 different grades of maple syrup: Fancy Grade, Grade A Medium, Grade A Dark, and Grade B.  Each of the grades refers to the intensity of color and flavor, not the quality.

After sampling all 4 grades, I make my purchases and head down the road.



I barely get Kitt planing before I see Green Mountain Orchards off to the right, a U-pick apple orchard.  I stop and pick every kind of apple they have












and wash it all down with a tie-dye of golds, oranges and reds.  An end to a perfect day.