Tales of the Flowers: Fall Foliage Vermont - Visiting Canada and heading home

Time to wrap up this Fall Foliage visit to Vermont with all our family.

We left the Vermont Apple Orchards, and headed back towards the Couture Maple Farm. There were a couple different roads we could have picked on our drive back. One that we had been down before, and another that we haven't seen yet. We're always up for something new so off we went!

And it couldn't have been a better decision! These were some of the best colors we've seen on the entire trip!

I remember getting lots of pictures like these in the beginning of our RV travels. Now that we're going on 4+ years on the road, we don't do them quite as much.

The trees beside the roadsides were pretty...

But it was the big sweeping hillsides that really made it amazing. Just a wide palate of colors all over.

It was so pretty, Ty and Rita had to find a place to pull off and get photos that weren't from a moving car.

Definitely an enjoyable drive back to the Couture farm.

Wasn't sure where else to put this photo, but these little buggers were all over. Normally you'd think "oh, cute! A ladybug! That's good luck!" But these suckers here BITE!

Knowing we'd be coming to Vermont since back in April, and not knowing if the leaves would be looking good in this area that far in advance, we encouraged everyone to get or renew their passports. The thinking being that if we couldn't find good leaves in Vermont, we'd head up into Canada in search of them.

We found plenty of beautiful leaves in Vermont, but figured we'd go ahead and make a quick trip into Canada just because we could.

The border crossing was quick and easy (but no photos because I think that's discouraged).

What are we here for? Well there's a bakery and a coffee shop that we're going to try.

The Bakery is just 15 minutes or so from the border, called Boulangerie Owl's Bread.

It smells wonderful inside like all good bakeries should. It's a little later in the day, but we still found some tasty looking baguettes and a sourdough loaf. The owner was friendly and welcoming.

Those are some beautiful owl feathers on the wall too.

We've got our bread! Now how about our coffee?

Well it turns out that we're just a little late. The coffee shop closed about 20 minutes before we arrived. D'oh! At least we have some bread!

At the border crossing, the officer asked how long we were in Canada. Well, I'd guess just about 45 minutes... Not that long at all, was it.

Back in the US, T ran into the local general store to get some butter to go along with our fresh breads.

Then we all sat down and enjoyed dinner in the maple sugar shop. The bread was especially delicious, reminding Theresa and I of the many loaves we've had in French Polynesia.

We've had an amazing visit to Vermont, seeing lots of amazing fall foliage, visiting many fun stops, and getting to hang out with our family and friends. Thank you Pauline and Jake for being such wonderful hosts.

Before we go to bed, we pulled out the card games to play together one more time. Even though Jake is up early, he's joined us in our games each night. It's been a lot of fun.

We're also trying to figure out the mystery of the "lucky chair". The night before, Pop Pop won 2 different games of Flip 7. When he stood up for the next round, Ian sneakily moved his chair and swapped it with his own. And who won the next game? Ian!

Richard and Jake had a friendly rivalry during the game. When Jake got a freeze card and could freeze any player, he chose Richard!

Joe - But he's already in last place!

Jake - Good! Let's keep him there!

The next morning everyone was awake early. The Michigan family were awake before sunrise, just getting coffee and muffins before heading out the door to drive a few hours and arrive at the airport in time for their flight.

The rest of us were up not too long after that to get packed up and loaded into the car.

But not before enjoying a breakfast of homemade french toast and all the other good stuff from Mrs. Pauline's kitchen.

On the road, we've got about 3 hours drive ahead of us. Crossing into New Hampshire.

Seeing the dry conditions here again as the reservoir is really low.

I remember driving through this area a few years ago, and Theresa remarked that it would look beautiful in the Fall.

I think we just missed the beautiful colors here. Many of the trees have dropped their leaves.

Before we get to the airport, we need to grab some lunch for the plane.

Taco Bell burritos hold up pretty well, so we stopped by there. One of the items that Ian really laments Taco Bell getting rid of is the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco. And it's back again for a limited time! Despite costing $3 (seriously?), we grabbed him one so he could relive the magic. And it was as good as he remembered.