Located only minutes from the bustle of downtown Boston, the Blue Hills Reservation provides a green oasis in an urban environment. We went on a hike with some Singaporeans we met that work and live in Boston and a visitor fm Memphis.

We reached the park's highest pt at 635 ft,which provided a panoramic view from the stone tower on the Great Blue. Patriots in the past used Great Blue as a lookout during the Revolutionary War, lighting beacons up here to warn of any British attack.

We had perfect weather, fantastic company and all-in a great afternoon...

photo courtesy of Kian Yung View of Boston city centre, the tallest being Prudential building...photo by Lu Lei

1st Stop....photo courtesy of Kian YungContinuing on....photo by Lu Lei

Portsmouth, New Hampshire is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire in the United States of America. It is the fourth-largest community in the county, with a population of 20,784 as of the 2000 census. Portsmouth is a civilized little seaside city of bridges, brick, and seagulls, and quite a little gem.

...and on our way back home...look wat we found in one of the carparks...A DOG DRIVER!!

Roaming around the back alleys where there were a few "lobster killing" huts. check out the display of the various tools used..

A true vacation spot...

Rockport is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, USA. Rockport is located approximately 35 miles northeast of Boston at the tip of the Cape Ann peninsula. It is directly east of Gloucester Massachusetts and surrounded on three sides by the Atlantic Ocean.

Rockport is famous for its granite quarries. By the beginning of the 19th century, the first granite quarries were developed, and by the 1830s, Rockport granite was being shipped to cities and towns throughout the East Coast of the United States.
Distance: 43miles / 1 hr 10 mins


We had lunch at this quaint little hot dog shop - TOP DOG. They claim that they sell the BEST hot dogs in this side of America. I enjoyed the environment more than the food...

..and then there was the authentic Austrian apple strudel...

and how can we resist Rockport's homemade ice cream....

and ELEPHANT'S EARS??...i guess when you are hungry..anything goes...

BEN & JERRY's - we could not leave Vermont without visiting the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory and having one of their cold fabu-licious treat - chocolate peanut butter flavour!! yum yum...

This part of the Smugglers' Notch drive is the most treacherous...notice the boulder sticking out in the middle of the road so much so that we are not able to see the other side of the rock until we turn. Note that this road is a 2 way lane. So all cars that come to this point drive at snail's pace to be cautious. I thought this was quite a risky area and would be especially so at night when there are no street lamps, just the cars' headlights. I wondered to Lu Lei why they do not fix one of those blind spot mirrors (that we see a lot of in Spore, in parking lots etc) to minimise the risk.

Next stop was SMUGGLERS' CAVE on SMUGGLERS' NOTCH DRIVE. It is named for the fact that goods have been smuggled through the Notch and stashed in caves here for 200 years. The first acts of smuggling occurred in 1800s after President Jefferson passed an embargo act forbidding trade with Canada. As Montreal was the closest market, the embargo put Vermonters in a tough situation. Many people continued illegal trade through the Notch. Later slaves used the Notch to escape to Canada and a better life. And during Prohibition in 1920s, liquor was smuggled down fm Canada through the Notch to Southern markets.

We tried to imagine was it was like for the slaves to be hiding in those caves or for the smugglers to stash their goods here before they smuggled theirs things over to do business. It was not easy at all to get into the caves, we only managed to climb in and roamed around the external area. Any deeper would be too treacherous to go in and out. We can imagine that it must have been absolutely freezing in the winter. Accomodation of this kind is not likely something we can even imagine...I guess it was truly "survival of the fittest".

Climbing Stowe Pinnacle - we decided to give our hearts a workout by taking on the Stowe Pinnacle trail. At 1.7 miles one way, it was some climb! The trail was steep and a long way up. We did not do much rock climbing like the last time but it was strenuous nonethless. When we reached our destination, the view was really something. We could see all the way to Canada (as it was a pretty clear day) and we were facing the tallest mountain in Vermont, Mount Mansfield. The peak was a perfect place for the little picnic that we planned.

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