A very cool 36 hours in Woodbury CT. Not sure where I saw information about Hogpen Hill Farm, but it got my attention so we made a plan. The Farm is only open 2 months a year and only Fr-Sa-Su. Our plan, a Thursday night stay in the 1754 Inn and Restaurant, and tickets for Friday admission.
We drove up via the Sawmill Pkwy, always pretty and especially as the leaves are changing color. Lunch at New Market in Woodbury, some antiquing (unbeknownst to us we were on the the CT Antique Trail). Note here: if we are new to hiking and adventuring, we are definitely neophytes to antiquing! Hence we ended up with 2 crystal and very pretty beer glasses, a Thanksgiving turkey salt/pepper shaker set, a pork pie hat, and a rusted bath towel hook for the bathroom. Nothing gets by we two brilliant shoppers.
Dinner at the Inn, low light very innish, good dinner.
Woke up early, ate at West Egg, drove on to Hogpen and figured we’d wait for the gates to open. They let us in early which was super cool. We had the farm to ourselves for a bit. Both of us blown away by the structures, the engineering, the creativity, the artistry.
And per the artist, Edwards Tufte, “Old words deform new seeing, so go and see as only you can.”
Just a few of the amazing structures on this 235 acre farm.
Drive home included lunch at a GREAT British pub in Mt Cisco, NY. The Ambleside, highly recommend.
Apgar Village – very serene at 5:32AM, prime location for sunsets not the sunrise we planned for…oops, on we go
First hike, first friend!! West Glacier
From the Trail of the Cedars to Avalanche Lake – for hiking newbies, heck for most anyone this was pretty darn pretty!!
Worth noting and contemplating
One of them there oldie goldies… oh I mean the fallen tree trunks
A really wonderful first morning in Glacier National Park…
A little drive time up and over the old Continental Divide!
I scoffed at bear guidance and bear spray rental.. who are these rubes to buy into this scare tactic?? In just a day or so I would be proved very wrong..
More friends along Logan Pass Trail and yes that is snow still apparent in July. Also note, hike shortened due to increased bear presence. Okay okay maybe these park rangers know better than me!!
Up since 4:30Am, time to sample the many many huckleberry offerings, attempt to dry out the hiking boots, cool off the feet! And check into tonight’s “inn”: Swift Current Motor Inn and Cabins. A note here, staying in the park is not for weak of pocketbook, similarly eating in the park is kind of like Disney World, made for the masses. It’s a good thing there are not a lot of Sysco food trucks hauling things up and down the beautiful Going to The Sun Highway. That said, don’t have an expectation of eating duck l’orange. We probably should have grabbed a jar of pb and some bread, but we didn’t know. And if that is our worst problem for a few days… yeehaw. On the flip side, there are water stations everywhere and everyone is carrying some variation of a canteen. Plastic is not the go to.
I did not take any pictures of Swift Motor Inn but it was pretty classic long single floor, diner / shop / check in – cabins in the back. We had a perfectly functional cabin, shower worked, towel was clean, bed was fine. Time to call it a day. Enough said.
Ahhhh so this is where you find the sunrise… Up and out early, we drove over Many Glacier Hotel before starting our day It was pretty darn spectacular watching the sunlight cross the “many glaciers”.
Today’s hike (Monday 7/20/26) was an unplanned divide and conquer. And I’m still unclear which trails we took even after looking at the maps (don’t count on me if we get lost!). We started out on a trail right behind Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, climbed quickly, blue sky, beautiful wildflowers, walked past a waterfall and then it got a bit dicey. The mister does not do ledges, not so much fear of heights but any sort of ledges. I wanted to see Iceberg Lake… and that included trails that were on the “ledgey” side. Knowing we would not be alone and find fellow hikers along the way, we divided to conquer.
For me the hike towards Iceberg Lake was stunning and the lake itself, otherworldly. Not sure what I expected but was blown away upon arrival. One minute I was amidst wildflowers and marmot, and the next…
Needless to say it was pretty darn trippy.
And the way back equally story worthy though no camera confirmation. Along the trail, no more than 50 feet ahead of me a mother bear and a young playful cub. There were 6 of us stopped in our tracks. The wild card for me, hah, beyond seeing them, was the playful cub. He kept running back and forth across the trail, I wanted him to listen to his mother and get into the brush!! Anyway, not often I see icebergs and bears in one day! Thank you glorious Glacier National Park.
Great day, we finished with more huckleberry things and checked into Many Glacier Hotel. Are we in the Alps??? Hotel has a very cool history, worth a read up if you are so inclined. Dinner and drinks at the hotel and a real savor of the things we saw in this beautiful park.
One last walk around the easy trail at Many Glacier Hotel before leaving the park. We were sad to go.
On to Whitefish, Montana – cutie pie town. We showered shaved slapped on our aqua velva. Had a fun walk through town, great dinner, cannot remember the name (bad blogger, bad!). And the next morning one last hike before switching gears to wedding mode.
The mister showing his bravery and true love of heights!
And the Overlook loving him back!
Time to savor these amazing memories…and give our shoes a chance to dry!
In no particular order, a wrap up of France. Mostly pictures. Each day we would get an itinerary of the day, including a written summary of the history of the locations written by the Backroads staff. Good info. Below are copies of the overall route and the itinerary sheets.
If I had to pick a favorite day, it may have been Day 6. It was grey and drizzly, and also quiet along the miles we rode. Allowed me time to think and appreciate. That said, every day was a treat, some bit of magic and wonder. We were lucky to take the trip and savor the memory.
Routs Maps 1 and 2Route Map Part 3Sunday 9/18 – Day 1Day TwoDay ThreeDay FourDay FiveDay SixCutie pie guides Zoe and Isabel waving good bye (and probably good riddance hahahahaha)
If all goes well, today really is our last day in France. Its a Saturday morning, different energy outside the hotel. And its grey and drizzly, kind of perfect. What seemed sketchy last night seems just fine this morning. I went for a good brisk walk and was able to quickly find Sacre Coeur. Very stunning, and lots of steps up!
Good cafe Americano for both of us and on our way to Charles de Gaulle.
No drama, yeah, we picked the right metro and we’re here, checked in, and hopeful for an on-time departure.
The cycling was hard no doubt, but the “concierge” travel was divine. Nice to have someone schlep your bags, check you in to great hotels and navigate dinner reservations. Normandy and Brittany coasts were divine, and on the shoulder season even better with less tourists.
Promise a wrap up summary but for now, time to shut down the laptop.
We left the comforts of our Backroads shuttle at the Rennes train station and said our goodbyes to our fellow cyclists. Our next destination Paris for the night. We were early so we settled in at the station.
And the settling in went sideways quickly, I had booked the tickets for the wrong day.
With the train sign blinking “Complete”, meaning Full, Sold Out, and 12 minutes to departure, I sprinted back to the ticket station, summoned all of my Sacred Heart French, and all of my sales and marketing acumen to get us on the train. Not sure what convinced the agent, but we got a seat in the caboose (really) with train crew who were riding to work in Paris.
Sigh of relief was momentary, we arrived in Paris at the wrong station. Not exactly the wrong station, but I had not set Joe’s expectations that we would have to do a little juking and jivving to get to our hotel. And for some reason, he agreed to the subway and not a cab. Did I mention we arrived at Friday night rush hour? And that he is correctly hyper sensitive to pick pockets (they even announce it over the loud speakers). Away we go to find our metro, bobbling and weaving through the bowels of Montparnasse Station. Joe jumps on and I am nearly shut out, but he pries the doors apart to the wonder of the commuters. We are sardines for a good 25 minutes, until finally we get to our stop and hotel close by.
Phew, that was crazy, and at this point Joe can barely look at me. I am ground zero for every travel snafu on the day. But we get to the hotel, (yes of course its in a dodgy neighborhood, would you expect anything less of this story?) We check in quickly, the woman at the front desk can clearly read all is not well. To the small elevator we go, so small it will only fit one of us. I send Joe on his way upstairs so he can catch his breath away from the travel tornado known as his wife.
All good? Nope, not when Joe comes back down and looks through the elevator gates and says, “I’m stuck in the elevator”. I had to look away at this point, it was just too comical and I was so frazzled. “Oh how odd, this has never happened before”, nice calm unfazed French lady says. Joe at this point is grabbing the gates and shaking them and pushing all the buttons. The solution is to send him down to the basement to get off the elevator… and walk all the bags back up to reception… and then up the spiral (not kidding, no exaggeration) staircase to the 3rd floor.
Some apartment dweller in France is telling the story of the Friday night when he could hear yelling from the 3d floor of the Avalon Cosy Hotel, “never again Chris, never again”.
We gathered ourselves and went for a walk, and alas had a great dinner sitting at the bar of Brasserie Bellanger, kind of a farm to table place where we watched all the meals get prepped. It was perfect.
And yes we heard traffic noise and gendarme sirens all night from my quaint hotel pick.
Way behind in my updates, very little down time this trip. From here, Dinard, we train to Paris, spend the night and head home tomorrow. Maybe some catch up time?
Today’s ride was shorter, only 12M, to allow shower shave aqua velva time before we catch the train. Option to ride or relax. We opted to ride. The timeline and the grey drizzly weather thinned the ranks this morning. Quietly to myself I said those that stayed behind missed a good ride. It was the perfect compilation of city, coastal, farm, and very quiet, little traffic. We just kind of took our time and soaked it in.
Gotta jump, find a way to stuff all these dirty clothes back in a bag. Next update from Paris.
So I know I owe you Omaha Beach (yesterday) and Mont St Michel (today), and cycle details from Dinand (crazy delish quiche) to Dinard (port city that is gorgeous!)
But a quick aside. Tonight is our only OYO, On Your Own dinner. We arrived at the Grand Hotel Dinard after only 20M, but them, there 20… brutal. Super long hills and steep! In my head the OYO was the carrot, so we kept pushing even when we were yelling all kinds of obscenities in our head. OYO means not a group, and not on a schedule. And the group is great, but nice to just be the two of us doing our own thing.
Anyway we arrived at yet another lovely hotel and found ourselves at the bar to celebrate our miles.
We have always relied friendly banter/chatter/convo with the bartender or someone on the staff… where would you go to dinner tonight. The recommendation from “Monsieur” as Joe called our hotel bartender, was a local brasserie, L’Abri des Flots,(the shelter of the waves? maybe?) And it did not disappoint. Details to follow but the quick hit story is on the walk over to the restaurant.
Our toothpaste reserves ran dry, into the pharmacia we went. Again a kind of funny convo with the shopkeeper that included pantomime by both Joe and me. She said something akin to travel size, we nodded excitedly, and she went behind the counter and came out with small samples. I slapped down my euros, and she said “cadeau”. I kept pushing my euros, she kept saying cadeau. Oh I said, credit? No cadeau. And then I realized. Cadeau… gift, free. Joe and I were tickled pink and she was too when she realized that we understood.
Trying to catch up, it very hard to cycle, eat great food, see amazing, things, and blog!! Sacre bleu!
If I was a great blogger, I could post a map. The most I can do is write that we met in Trouville sur Mer, where, PS, my in-laws have also had mussels. And tonight we are back in Port-en-Bessin France, our second night in this hotel. It is super shabby, not, the Cheneviere.
Our first night was at the Grand Hotel Cabourg, a hotel right out of central casting. And our room was a small apartment in NYC.
Grand Hotel CabourgJoe savoring the day
First night we ate at the hotel for a meet and greet. The group of 10 from Ann Arbor are clearly the alpha team… but the week is young. We independents from PA, CA, OH, and Canada may have them on their heels later in the week.
Our first ride on Sunday after meeting in Trouville was a quick shuttle to Cambremer in Pays D’Auge and then a 25m “get to know your bike” ride ending in The Grand Hotel Cabourg.
Day 2, Monday AM, we left Cabourg and cycled and marveled seeing Pegasus Bridge, Courseuiles sur Mer, on to Arromanches where we saw the remains of the first Mulberry Harbor, a temporary port constructed immediately after D Day, (or as we learned D day is a term for Day 1 – the operation was Operation Overlord) and on to Hotel Cheneviere. 50 m yes, but broken up by a cappuccino, the greatest almond pastry ever eaten, a slice of French version pizza, hilarious communication about said pizza, and marvelous trails through farm fields and quiet roads.
Cappuccino JoeToday’s spirit animal.. the only thing missing is the baguette in the basketJoe in Motion
Today, Tuesday 9/20 was Omaha Beach and a private tour, super moving, but I am super tired. I’ll check in tomorrow and catch you up on Omaha Beach, and also St Michel which we travel to tomorrow.
Sunday morning, brisk. We have met our group (20 ppl) and group leaders. A group of 10 from Ann Arbor, 2 from Ohio, 2 from CA, 2 from Canada, 4 from PA (another couple from Pottsville, PA.) The cycle leaders are both Americans living in France. Zoe, from Palo Alto and went to college at Bryn Mawr, what are the chances! Isabel from Michigan (the Ann Arbor crew was thrilled), and James from South Africa. All 3 seem great.
We are a mix of riders using electric bikes, carbon bikes, and 4 of us (me and Joe included) riding good old touring bikes.
We’re in France. Successful trip on the Eurostar (chunnel) this morning, car service out to Trouville sur Mer. Checked into the Hotel Flaubert mid afternoon. Small hotel with charm. This is going to sound silly, but the keys are the big clunkers that you leave behind at the desk when you go out, and the room numbers are no more than 2 digits. Not sure what the word is, not homey, maybe it is charming? Anyway I like it!
View from our juliet balcony
Dropped our bags, went in search of mussels for Joe immediately.
Mussels and a quaff of beer
Very quickly we realized that Trouville is a fabulous country cousin of Paris or other large French cities, meaning no parler English. Madame Amiry would be proud of me, I am navigating us through everything from pickled peppers to music playlists. Entertaining to say the least.
Again today we wandered and watched. This is a coastal town, our hotel is right on the beach strand. We were in jackets, others had on jackets and hats, others had on bathing suits, others left their bathing tops at home. Like any beach town, there is that interesting juxtaposition of the locals and the tourists, but all seemed united in the quest for a glass of wine or beer with lunch. And to that end I observed my spirit animals; an older couple eating a late lunch that included a bottle of wine and an ice cream sundae each. Vive la France!
Tonight we wandered for a late dinner and settled on a small cafe, Tivoli something. We eschewed the snobby cafe that had no time for our language bumbling (and I cannot blame them, we were bumbling) and wandered into a small place that looked welcoming. Joe had an amazing Dover sole and I had my dream dinner, glass of wine, good bread, and a selection of 3 milder cheeses. Lovely.
3 cheeses and a glass of wine, mais ou!!
Tomorrow we switch gears and get going with the cycling tour. We are prepared to fake it, not make it, and have a grand time.
