Merci Charlie Brown

The main objective of our 2 day journey to Colchester, VT was to claim our first Merci Car at Camp Johnson. We have been here before for another Grand Tour a couple of years ago, but the guards wouldn't let us on base. I looked up the hours for the Vermont National Guard Museum and saw it was not open on Mondays. I called and spoke with the museum curator, Charlie Brown. He had meet some of the other riders for the Merci and Love Tour, telling me he would be at the museum and I could grab a picture. I was to come around 10:30am. When we arrived we still had to check in at the gate, and for a moment one of the guards said the museum was closed. I felt my anxiety level go up a bit, but the other officer stepped forward and asked if I was Bill Collins. Yes sir and he said we have been expecting you. The museum is not on the actual base, but over to the right. We got to the front door and it was open, we wandered in. Couple minutes Mr. Brown came walking down the aisle. I thanked him for letting us in and he took us to the car.

Yeah I had to be in it since it is inside and the Spyder wouldn't fit through the doors.

Merci Monsieur Brown pour nous avoir accueilli aujourd'hui




Rest of the day is a leisurely ride home, picking up a few bonii along the way. We paralleled I89 on RT 2 for quite a bit of the way. Just outside Montpelier I pulled over Dairy Crème for something and decided it was worthy of a snap.



In Barre we picked up Route 110. As we turned onto the road I did see a sign that said "ROAD CLOSED 13 MILES AHEAD", of which I have been known to ignore these signs before as if they didn't apply to me. Route 110 was a delightful back road, lots of scenery and another sign "ROAD CLOSED 5 MILES AHEAD". Hmmm maybe, naw. Then there was another "ROAD CLOSED 3 MILES AHEAD". Well third time is a charm and I said to Crystal, I saw a Detour sign back there, maybe we should take it. Turned the Spyder around and headed for the Detour. We found ourselves turning this way and that way following the detour signs, praying they were accurate with the GPS squawking "RECALCULATING RECALCULATING"

While the roads we were on were dirt, most of them were in great shape and offered some great scenic rural sights.



When we reconnected with RT110 in Chelsea, we hung a right onto RT133 another great road. We picked up an unexpected "V" town Vershire for Teamstrange.



Right off RT 113 in Port Mills Airport is Vermontasaurus. Brian Boland created this dinosaur out of scrap wood into a sculpture in 2010. At the time of the writing on Roadside America, Vermontasaurus had not give birth to the little one yet. I think the pile next to Mom and Baby is another creature incubating. I hear the guy has a interesting museum of stuff here. We will have to get back here one day and take a tour.







Crossed over the Connecticut River, leaving Vermont in White River Junction and hitting West Lebanon, New Hampshire. Just after the bridge is the 4 Aces Diner. I had forgotten that I picked up the Mt Pisgah yesterday and I had the waypointed so we stopped here for the Americana Extreme Tour. This is a 1952 Worcester Lunch Car Company #837. Crystal and I stopped back here in 2008 when we first started going out.




In Concord we picked up the Mercury Redstone Rocket which is a specific bonii for the Americana Extreme Tour. This sits right outside of the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center.

A little south and to the east in Bear Brook State Park. This knocked of the second state park for NH and also has the specific bonii of the Snowmobile Museum inside the park. This was also a Civilian Conservation Corps camp under the Roosevelt New Deal work relief program to put people back to work during the Great Depression.

The Snowmobile Museum, at least I hope this is the place.



At the entrance to where the Snowmobile Museum I pulled over to make a call to the Children's Museum of New Hampshire to see if they had a dinosaur on display outside the building since we would never make it there by closing. It's 4:20 and it closes at 5pm. 3 phone calls to the front desk, office and shop all went to voice mail. It's 40 minutes to closing and know one is picking up the phone. Frustrating, however in retrospect I am glad they didn't answer. I would have traveled the extra 30 miles east toward the coast, setting us up for a late night arrival home.

We jumped onto RT 3 to move along getting off briefly to pick a up Fire Station, Motorcycle Shop and a School, which is shown here.



Still out 65 miles or so, we hit RT 3 to I-495 to fast track it home. Right around 280 miles for the day and 540 miles for the 2 days.