How much is too much?

Again, you are all asking great questions and this one is common. Read my response after the question.

We had decided to limit our trip to Vermont and New Hampshire. I would like to include Maine since we will be already so nearby. My husband wonders if we should save it for another trip in which we explore just the coastal areas of New England and perhaps in the summer season.  The photos of Bar Harbor and Camden in the fall, though, are captivating.  We are not ones that like to just stay in the car and do like to explore and photograph and enjoy what is uniquely and authentically New England. We do appreciate historical sites but are not particularly interested in spending our time in museums.  I like your idea of seeing the coast by boat and exploring on bicycles.  Oh, how I wish New England were closer to Tennessee!

Answer:

This is one of the more common questions that I receive.  It comes under the heading of (maybe) trying to do too much during your vacation. By its definition, a vacation is a time to relax and enjoy your surroundings no matter where they are, not getting worn out by trying to do everything around you.  (Tough to do nowadays, isn’t it?)

First thing, traveling across three New England states in 7 days,  is very easy.   But as you say above, “We’re not ones that like to just stay in the car“, so this is why I recommend not trying to do so much and cutting back on driving a bit.

It sounds like you want to get out of the car and explore the areas that you are seeing.  So you have to factor in all the things that will go on during the day.  First, you have meal times, and while you can grab a sandwich jump back in the car and hit the road.  Why not take the time to grab that sandwich and get a drink, then go sit on the bank of a river or at a picnic table and just enjoy your surroundings?

So since this is a vacation, you have to decide if you are going to get up very early to catch the early morning Sunrise (one of the best times of the day to shoot). This will get your day started nice and early about 530 to 6 AM.  I’m assuming that you’ll be done photographing about 9 AM and this leaves the next 4 to 5 hours for exploration before you look to shoot during the late afternoon sun (the 2nd best time of the day to shoot).

If you like to explore general stores or antique shops or whatever, then you will need to take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour at these locations.  (depends on what you like)

How about lunches? In the car, or will you want to try the eclectic luncheonettes (old-fashioned diners) that you will find in most towns? That’s at least 30 minutes or an hour…

(Hell what about morning coffee and bagels or hot sandwiches or cider donuts? To me eating is a part of the overall vacation experience, Polly’s???)

Now, do you just get out of your car and look at the fall colors, or do you like to photograph and compose your shots? If it is later, you need to plan for taking your time at a location to compose shots that are more than just snapshots (what I did on my vacation snaps).

A year or two back, I drove from St Albans Vermont down Route 7 to the Sturbridge Village area of Massachusetts. This is only 267 miles.  If you travel on routes I-89 and I-91, it can be done in four hours and 23 min. all on the highway.   Now before you say, “Well, that means we can cover similar distances in a day!”  I didn’t say you can’t do the distances like that, I just said you want to think about it first and decide if that’s the best use of your time.

I’m saying that to do them thoroughly, and really enjoy them, you will take much longer than seven days. Besides, if you drive straight through you’ll miss many opportunities to explore along Route 7.

Is driving all day your goal?

Let me put this into perspective we left at 7:30 in the morning in Saint Albans and made maybe three short stops for photo ops. One of which was this view of Saint Albans from the hills above town. This gives you a view of the town and Lake Champlain. On a clear morning like in this shot you will see the Adirondack Mountains of New York as well.

Then I stopped at a farm near Danby VT. I had talked to a local businessman and arranged to photograph his farm. I was most interested in his barn and the surrounding area (here is a link to a shot of the barn).

After this final stop, we drove like the wind and picked up a fast food diner in Bennington Vermont. Then we drove into the night arriving at our B&B where we spent the next two days. This whole day comprised of three very short photo ops and one long photo op of one hour.  It ended up being around a 14-hour day for our travel time. It’s up to you how long you spend on the road each day vs. outside the car, exploring and enjoying the scenery.

So Route 7 took us one day and we didn’t even cover the more scenic stops along Route 7.  We could have stopped in Manchester, Vermont, and seen Hildene, the home of Todd Lincoln. There is also the Fort at #4 and probably 1000 other stops that we could have made had there been time.  To do Route 7 with an eye to being thorough, and enjoying our time in and out of the car, we would’ve needed at least 2 to 3 days.

So to close out this question for today, it all depends on you and how far you’re willing to drive in a given day.  Balancing travel with exploration (and stretching your legs) will determine what you decide to do.

If you get home from your vacation and then realize that you need another vacation to recover from your vacation, then you probably did too much.  Try to get out of the car more and enjoy what you find instead of maximizing your miles to ensure coverage of every single iconic New England scene.

That’s it for today.

Jeff and Lisa “Foliage” Folger  You can purchase Jeff’s images by visiting
Fine Art America for prints, home decor, and more

Or try his New Online Gallery that has **free shipping** in the US and Canada

You can follow Lisa’s artwork on her blog Pewter and Periwinkles.

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