Believe it or not, we are back in Canada (assuming Sherbrooke, Quebec, is still part of the country). Practicing French and going through culture and weather shock.
We left our historical overnight accommodation (more pictures to follow due to poor Internet connection). We rode an hour and then enjoyed breakfast in East Egremont, Massachusetts, at a place called "Mom's". I ordered buttermilk pancakes with "original Vermont maple syrup". When it came the syrup was in a small jar (like the Knott's jam jars) that had at least a tablespoon of syrup in it. There were no visible markings that referred to Vermont, only to "bottled in Oxnard California". There was no answer (or credit)to my query about the syrup origins! I then ordered the non-Vermont syrup, which came in a two cup measuring Pyrex cup. It tasted better than the Vermont stuff. Do I look that gullible? George's oatmeal looked better.
The rest of day was riding through small towns in Massachusetts (like Grand Barrington where they had multicoloured moose every block) and then Vermont...until the big rain started shortly after lunch at White River Junction on the New Hampshire/Vermont border. We stopped by the side of the road to put rain gear on and were told by a guy in a pick up stopped across from us going the other way who said he was a biker and that we better be ready for a storm. Instead of following the back roads (through the Green Mountains via Route 100 that we had enjoyed last year when returning from our cross-Canada) we headed for the nearest Interstate (91) and headed straight north through pelting rain that made driving a challenge. Notice the refuge moment when an overpass provided much needed respite from the deluge. We were wet and cold (15 degrees C or 60 F) despite the seat and hand grip heaters. We were quite the pair at Canada Customs holding our dripping passports and the woman border official smiling and saying sarcastically "Have fun".
After riding around Sherbrooke for 30 minutes looking for a familiar motel sign, George used his GPS to find us a Comfort Inn where we got the last room, had showers and went to a small bistro for supper (French Onion soup and a cheese plate extraordinaire for me, ordered in halting French).
Despite the rain we managed 539 kms (325 miles) for a grand total of 11,925 kms or 7410 miles). Perhaps a little more tired than usual.
By the way, Quebec needs to spend some money on road repair. Our freeways are worse than US third rate roads, with potholes bigger than IED craters. Makes riding here more like an obstacle course.