Weird Al & Grass Court Tennis 2019 (Day 2 - 18th July 2019)

After transferring to Connecticut on the first day, the second day of my “Weird Al & Grass Court Tennis” trip had the first highlight of the trip – the first concert on my list. However, it was likely also the most ugly day in regards of travel, as it required a trip from Connecticut to New Hampshire during the day and return after the show. Therefore, Day 3 would have very limited driving and featured more of a “relaxing day”. Before that, there was Huckleberry Finn, NASCAR racing, Shakers and a 41 people orchestra in New Hampshire: my Day 2 part of the trip report.

Jetlag Breakfast

I arrived quite late at the Hilton Garden Inn in Preston the day before after terrible thunderstorms and rain. Having a relaxed sleep in the morning? No way – the jetlag got me off at about 5:30 (11:30 German time) after some three hours sleep. Time to do the Day 1 posting. I went for breakfast and then recognized that the hotel (which I just “explored” in the dark so far) is quite a nice beauty.

Mark Twain in Hartford

I headed West towards Hartford. The only major city en route was Norwich, which is quite a nice place.

After majorly following US-2 Westbound, I made it to the Mark Twain House & Museum in Hartford. A very interesting place, which can only be visited by tours (which are quite frequent, though). Unfortunately, photography is only allowed outside the building, so that there will be no detailed review of the place in Flyctory.com. I absolutely recommend it, though!

North, North, North – and then there was Vermont

The next tw hours I spend driving Northbound. I felt like not getting too close to Boston, so that I chose the I-91 Northbound towards Vermont. Weird Al Yankovic music was heating me up for the big show already.

I love the “Welcome Centers” behind the State borders as they typically give a nice overview what is worth visiting in the area. The one near Guilford in Vermont was particularly nice.

Lovely Time in New Hampshire

However, my time in Vermont was quite limited and I took a right turn North of Brattleboro to have a nice hill road drive on Route 9 Eastbound. The area was lovely. There were a lot of small lakes and funny places. I did not stop too often. Very nice amenity on that route were the “Historic Markers”, which gave a focus on small hidden places. I made a stop close to an old bridge.

Too late for the Shaker Village

After heading on the I-93 North near Concord, I left the Interstate system to have a look into the Gilford NH region. My first stop was the Canterbury Shaker Village. I feel this must be a lovely place. Unfortunately, I arrived there at 15:00, the place closes at 16:00 and the recommended visiting time is some three to four hours. If you are around, definitely go there and arrive earlier than me!

A Touch of NASCAR

There is always the need for some adventure on my road trips – this time, the adventure was called Asby Road. The road was a paved dirt road bringing be directly East to Rt-106. When I arrived the major street, I could already spot my next stop.

I knew the New Hampshire Motor Speedway from my NASCAR video game times. Unfortunately I missed that there was a race that weekend and they were just preparing for the NASCAR. I was allowed to step into the grounds and have a glimse at the oval speedway – thanks a lot to the lovely people there!

The Holy Grounds in Gilford

At about 16:30 hrs, I finally arrived in Gilford. It is a lovely area, especially the Lake Winnipesaukee area is really cool and frequented by tourists enjoying a swim. I just had a short drive around the area and then finally headed to the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion.

There will be a separate posting reviewing the concert. I really liked the idea of having an orchestra. The concert was quite cool and also had a lot of drive at the beginning. Met some people again as well and the venue was absolutely lovely – nice evening.

Back to CT in the Dark

The show lasted until 21:45 and it was a some three hour drive back to Preston CT. It was dark anyway and I just decided to take no more pictures, just getting to the hotel as quickly as possible. Apart from standing in the line for a coffee at a McDonalds Drive-Thru for 15 minutes, the trip was quite smooth, supported by some energy drinks. Finally arrived in the hotel around 1:15 on Friday morning.