So I assume that today wil be a Retro Free Day, right? LOL..

These pics I shall call ''Back to the Womb'', where I was raised.

I-91 South

This highway is one of the more scenic ones I have had the pleasure of using. It begins at Derby Line, Vermont and follows the Connecticut River through Vermont and Massachusetts, and finally converges with the I-95 around New Haven, Connecticut.

Let me try and not offend anyone here, but the most scenic part is from Derby Line down to about Northampton, Massachusetts. From there on south, we might say from a sightseeing point of view………to be perfectly honest and categorical……a visually impaired person would not miss much of anything.

I saw the construction of this road, I was on and off of it in its beginnings, using the good old Route 5 (another favourite). You could say that our family baptized the I-91, as we’ve been part of it since way before it was completed. What a feeling to go through Vermont and not having to do thirty miles per hour in the numerous towns. On the other hand, we sure missed those towns, but when it is a three-day weekend, small towns are a mortgage on our quality time.

I-91 South meant, « Goin’ home, babe…..back to the womb ». the light at the end of the tunnel was home; family, chicken dinner and mock cherry pie on Sundays. It was barefoot on the beach, hanging out with neighbours and all the homey things we all do. It was an exit from hard times to good times and our daily hardships were left behind, at least for awhile.

Ryegate, Vt…..a funny thing happened here during the construction when they were building the bridge and we had to detour by the Rt. 5 and pass under the new bridge. At this point there were flagmen/flagwomen, and we had a college-aged girl on our side and as we passed her, very slowly, Huguette lit up a cigar! I don’t know where the cigar came from as neither of smoked, but there was one in the car. The girl’s face went from drudgery dull to wide-eyed white. Ha.

We came across the border and not far from there is the first rest area. It was ~ 1978, Huguette was driving and I was riding shotgun. She mistook the rest area entrance for the highway and flew into it at 60 mph. « Why are those trucks parked alongside the road? »

St. J’s was always a welcome spot for a coffee and a walk. Well’s River also. Neat little town. How many times did we stop in 25,000 Gifts in White River Jct. and not buy anything. Allen’s at Bellows Falls and Curtis had this neatest BBQ going in Putney. We always stopped in Brattleboro.

The 91 runs alongside the Rt.5, as does the I-88 and the 7, the I-81 an the 11. But the bestest one………I-91 and the Rt. 5, by far the bestest!

I go through eastern Vermont now, no rush anymore now. No more home, no more womb. We do most often take the old road, the highway has now been relegated to the family history. Even thought it is a great scenic road, it has lost a bit of its luster and is now just another Interstate.