New England Road Trip

Paul Morrone |
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By Thomas Morrone, CFP®, CPA

Recently, Cathy and I embarked on a good old fashioned New England Road trip. We started in Connecticut and drove through Massachusetts to Manchester, Vermont where we spent two nights. We then drove due east through the rest of Vermont, through New Hampshire and up the east coast to Belgrade, Maine. We spent two nights in Maine before heading back home to CT. During our five days and four nights on the road, we drove close to 1,000 miles. Also, we saw many people that we have not seen in some time, had our share of cocktails and had plenty of tasty food capped off with a lobster fest in Maine. Our road trip was two parts. The first part was a destination wedding in Vermont and the second leg of our journey was a family get together in Maine.

The destination wedding was for Liz, the daughter of our friends John & Dianne. The venue for the festivities was the Equinox Resort in the mountains in the quaint town of Manchester Vermont. It was a storybook location that was classic New England with panoramic views. There was a welcome reception on Friday night to set the stage. Cocktails were flowing and laughter was abundant. The Equinox is a golf resort so the next morning, the golfing portion of the group headed to the course for a round of golf. It was my first-time playing golf at this location, and it was a fabulous experience playing up and down the terrain with views of the mountains no matter where you looked. 

That evening, the weather was perfect for the outdoors wedding ceremony. It was so picturesque with the sun setting over the mountains as the couple exchanged their self-written vows. The newly married couple, surrounded by their families and friends, danced the night away. We knew many people that were in attendance, so it made for a wonderful time on the dance floor for us as well. It was a memorable experience, and we were so glad that we attended.

The next morning, we were off to Maine to see my nephew Michael and his wife Candace for a family get together. They recently moved from Colorado to Maine and because of COVID, it has been several years since we have seen each other. Our get together included his mom Larochelle, my cousin Peggy and her husband Rob and our mutual friends Rock & Anita. Armed with plenty of food, drink, and the willingness to laugh, our two-day extravaganza kept us busy. The weather was unseasonably warm in the mid 80’s so we spent the entire time outside on the deck or in the yard playing bocci. Michael and Candace have six dogs, yes six. Peggy and Rob brought their dog along as well, so we had seven furry friends running amongst us. As mentioned, we had plenty of food. As one would expect, our dinner menu one night was a traditional lobster bake. I hate to admit that I ate two complete lobsters. Somebody had to do it and I gladly volunteered.

The old saying, “time flies when you are having fun” was so accurate for the entire road trip. Even the long drives in the car seemed to pass quickly because for most of the time the scenery was so beautiful. At the end of our last night, we packed up all our belongings and said our goodbyes with hugs and kisses and drove to our hotel a mile down the road. There were so many parts to the trip that individually were great and collectively made for a fabulous trip. 
Thanks to John & Dianne for the wedding. A special thanks to Michael & Candice for their hospitality and for sharing their beautiful sliver of paradise in Maine. On the road again…

Until the Next Tom’s Take…………………………

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