Saturday, July 30, 2011

The day started out, cold, dreary and wet. We had jackets, long pants and an umbrella it wasn't even 70 by 10 am this morning. BUT--we had reservations to take a bus tour of the park and several sites in Bar Harbor.

The driver was a hoot and thought he was a comedian. But his insight, humor and knowledge of the area really gave us a sense of what the area was like and how they make their living. He was a 6th generation BAAA HAAAbOOR resident and taught us all how to take like we are "down easter's" There is a LAATA WAATA in and around BAAAA Haaaabor, Maine. :)

The area is beautiful. Rocky coast, pine trees, wild blueberries and wild cranberries. Lots of boats and lots of buoys marking lobster pots.

I have decided I want to go live on Swan Island off the coast. Only reached by ferry but looks so beautiful and so secluded. Hmmmmm don't think Denny can bring the farm ground so I guess that idea is out of the question.

It was good to smell the salt air and see the tides go in and out. Got to eat really great seafood and watch the sea birds try to find their dinner.

Bar Harbor it's self is very touristy and like most resort towns closes down for the winter. I think our guide said they go from about 25 restaurants in the summer to 3 in the winter and one of those was closing this year.

Bar Harbor, Acadia is what they call a Fjord. Learned this today on our bus trip. One requirement is it has to have a lake in the middle. Which it does....has to have high mountains which is does and has to be surronded by water. It was formed by a glacier way back when and boy did God do a great job of creating the rocky coast and inlets of Maine. Beautiful country and lovely views.

After the bus tour we did a little tour of our own and got to see the Southwest Harbor , Seawall and several other stops in the park. I can see why Acadia is the 3rd most visited park in the United States. We walked up and down Main Stree in Bar Harbor and stopped and had some ice cream....Lobster flavored anyone? For real I saw it in the case. Don't know if I would want to try it but it was there.

We are heading off to Groton, CT tomorrow night. Need you ask why? Mohigan Sun is there....and it will break up the drive to NJ.

Friday, July 29, 2011 - Bar Harbor, ME

Nothing a whole bunch to say. We had a lovely drive through New Hampshire and into Maine. There are no Interstates so it was all back road, scenic drives. Beautiful little hamlets and many mountains and lakes.

We arrived in Bar Harbor early this afternoon and checked into our little hotel. We are staying about 20 miles outside of Bar Harbor. After taking a trip into Bar Harbor I'm very glad that we made that decision. It is way too crowded for me.

It's a beautiful fishing village, with way too many tourists and tiny streets with lots of construction. I can't wait to get into the little shops and do some shopping and get out into the National Park and get some good pictures. But those tiny streets with cars parked on both sides and two way traffic didn't impress me too much.

We are all signed up for a 2 hour tour of the park and Bar Harbor. Then hopefully we will get to walk around the village or maybe do a whale watching cruise or something like that.

We did stop for dinner on a small island about 10 miles outside of Bar Harbor. It was a shack but the parking lot was full of cars and the fire was full blast under the pots they were cooking their specialty in....LOBSTER.

Denny was very apprehensive but the lady convinced him there was no way their lobster was going to taste like Red Lobster. So we walked over to the holding area picked out our lobster, had him weighted ($10.95 a lb) and they put him in a rope bag took him outside and plunged him in the cooker.

Extras included corn, potatoe salad (FYI it did NOT have pickle relish in it) and butter. Our lobster showed up on a roasting pan all ready for us to enjoy. The ladies gave Denny an instruction sheet on how to eat a lobster. We devoured it!!!!! So good, so fresh it was probably in Penobscot Bay this morning! Tomorrow we are going to try a place that was recommended by the hotel staff. I'll let you know how that is tomorrow.

Like I said today was a transition day and we are sitting here relaxing and enjoying the very cool weather. Hope it cools off for you guys in Illinois.

The only crop we inspected through Maine was potatoes!! Denny was disappointed. But rest assured we are both having a good time and enjoying every minute of it.

Talk with you tomorrow.

Vermont Pictures

Thursday, July 28, 2011--Vermont/New Hampshire

I learned alot today about Vermont....want to guess what? No it wasn't that it has a great place in history-one of the 13 original colonies, the "Green Mountain" boys hailed from Vermont and played a huge part in our country winning it's freedom from England. No it wasn't that....covered bridges? No I don't think so....mountains and ski areas....no of course not I already knew that...hmmmm was it the slogan "Live Free or Die!" No, wait a minute that was New Hampshire. Cheese, cows, milk, maple syrup....? No none of those....I remember now, don't ever get lost in Vermont cause they don't have signs for attractions, restaurants, ski areas, parks or highways!!! I shared on FB how I asked the lady in a store we were in where this Gorge was we both wanted to see. She told me it was just 1/4 of a mile down the road and I thanked her. Then I asked her why Vermont doesn't have signs for attractions, I thought maybe it was an environmental thing, you know nothing to mar the beautiful scenery like unsightful "signs". Her response, "We live here and know where it is!" Okay, that shut my mouth. Again I just thanked her and moved on to something else.

We have found out that our new car turns around in some very small areas!! Streets in Vermont only go north and south, there are no thru streets that go east and west. Ask Denny he pulled into more driveways thinking he was going around the block BUT there were NO blocks!!! Only streets going one way off the main street. It really got comical after awhile. :)

Parking lots in Vermont are approximately 10% smaller than any normal size parking area and it is usually uphill or downhill!! And like most other places they try to fit way too many cars into a very small space.

The other thing we learned today was that there aren't a whole lot of places to eat breakfast. The restaurants that do serve breakfast are hidden somewhere, we never did find any. We stumbled upon a Bed and Breakfast that was offering breakfast and had a very enjoyable meal there, but tomorrow the search will continue. I asked the waitress at the "mom and pop" place we ate at tonight and they don't serve breakfast and it's the only restaurant in town!!! So we search for another place to eat breakfast tomorrow. It is beginning to look like the "quest" that we are on is not to see New England but to find a place to eat Breakfast. :))

Frustrating as it was we did get to see most of what we wanted to see today. Starting off at 9:40 this morning at the Ben and Jerry factory tour. As our day was going the only thing we got to see them do on the production floor was clean up the mess from their Tira Misu ice cream overflowing and spilling onto the floor as it was being packaged!!! It again was too funny. And it was quite a mess. They use the spilled ice cream mixture to feed cows...they mix it with their other food!!

The best part of the tour was the taste lab where we got to try some ice cream at 9:40 in the morning. Not complaining ice cream is good any time of day and Ben and Jerry's is always so much better.

All and all we had a great day crossed the border between Vermont and NH several times on the scenic route we took north. Loved the little towns we have gone through. The white churches and village greens. So many beautiful old homes and Bed and Breakfasts. Lots of barn art on beautiful old red barns. We have ended up in Franconia near the base of Mt. Washington. It truly is a beautiful country but many of the small towns are crowded with people. Shopping, art festivals, etc. I know why they call the mountains here the "Green Mountains" they really are beautiful and so very green. It must be breathtaking here in the fall when all those leaves turn colors.

We are heading to Maine tomorrow. We figure about a 4 hour drive and we will be in or around Bar Harbor and I will have my first of many lobster dinners!!!

The weather has been great 70-80 during the day and much cooler at night. Nice compared to the 90-100 weather back home.

One other stop....we found Littleton Coin Company! Denny does business with them and we ended up in their showroom and made some purchases. He REALLY liked that stop and left with a huge smile on his face!!! :)

Hope everyone is fine and trying to stay cool!!! I'll try and post more tomorrow.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Up early and out the door by 7 am. Timing was perfect, we hit no commuter traffic to Buffalo and although at times it was a little congested we moved along at a very good pace. Interstate driving to Utica, NY then we took two "scenic" routes through the Adirondack Mts. Lots of Lakes we saw signs for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Got to actually SEE Lake 7 and 8. NY scenic routes leave much to be desired. Lots of trees and lots of cars on the side of the road for the hikers and bikers. But only two pictures were taken and if any of you have seen our previous vacation pictures you know two pictures just doesn't cut it :)

Because we had such a long trip we were hoping to see some stuff from the car in NY. That didn't happen. We did end up in Ticonderoga and got to see the Fort. We spent about an hour and a half walking around the fort, learning it's history and learning how to shoot a musket. We were able to take some really nice pictures of Lake Champlain, Fort Defiance and some other stronghold whose name escapes me at the moment. BUT our camera died....we were both supposed to remind each other to plug it in last night and we both forgot!!! So we have ONE picture of Lake Champlain taken from Fort Ticonderoga. BUMMER!!! I did take one on my phone of the militia taking down the flags and playing the fife and drum but that is it......

FYI--the battery is charging as I write this!!!!

We crossed Lake Champlain by ferry and headed north towards Burlington, VT. Beautiful country. Lots to see....the Green Mountains are beautiful and the little Norman Rockwell towns that we have seen so far are all that they are cracked up to be!!!

We both had some altercations with our GPS's. (We brought the old "b*&%$" with us cause the car one doesn't work while you are driving). Well better said, I don't speak the same language the car gps does, we have a classic "failure to communicate"

We wanted to go one way and the gps wanted us to go another and we WON....fighting with and inanimate object is not satisfying :(

Did some more crop inspecting but it was mostly stuff to feed the millions of dairy cows around the area. Lots of cows to give lots of milk to make all that Vermont Cheddar Cheese.

After almost 8 hours of driving we finally arrived in Burlington, VT (the way we wanted to go) and are all checked into the hotel and having pizza delivered to our room! That's right DELIVERED!!!! Love it!

Hopefully I'll have pictures tomorrow. We are planning on heading out to Waterbury to visit Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory and some other "Vermont" classic sites. I'll keep you informed. We are having a great time and miss you all.

Tuesday, (I think) in Niagra Falls

What a day, what a day!!! We weren't going to go back to the Canadian side but decided it would be worth it and we were correct. I think Canada has more money to spend on making their side look pretty and clean. Not that the American side wasn't nice the Canadian side was "better" :)

The views from this side were totally different than the ones from the American side. My hubby thought it would be neat if we did the "Behind the Falls Adventure" don't want him to know it but it really was a very neat adventure. The noise from the falls going over were enough to give you the sense of the power that water has as it falls over the edge. Then to see it from behind and look at it so close to the bottom drives to point home even more.

Of course the one drawback is YOU WILL GET WET!!! So will everything else you have on or in around you. They give you these very fashionable Yellow slickers (remember we had blue for Maid of the Mist") They are hot and so not very good at keeping the water out :) Totally enjoyed the day and the views.

Trudged back over to the border control. Got asked all the same questions we did that morning by the Canadian Guard. Where are you from, why were you in Canada, how long are you planning to stay, are you carrying any firearms! I think they all have a script and really don't pay too much attention to you or your car. Althought the American guy today did ask us if the car was ours....hmmmmm wonder what he was thinking!

Traveled to Goat Island and got to see another whole different view of the falls, up close and personal. The "brink" was less than 10 feet from where we were standing.

Wonderful time was had by all in Niagra FAlls, now we are off to dinner and an early night tonight we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.

I don't know how I did that but I can't get back to my post. Sooooo I'll continue with this one. It's Tuesday morning and we are about to go out and explore the area around Niagra. The hotel we are in is within walking distance of the falls and when you go outside you can hear the rushing water and see the plume of mist that goes up from the falls. It is a very nice but touristy area so we are off to do some exploring.

We walked enough yesterday to balance out any food we are consuming. :) FYI The casino here in Niagra wasn't very nice to either of us last night. I think Denny came out ahead but not me. There are four more on the Canadian side but then that means crossing that Rainbow Bridge again and neither of us want to spend that much time sitting and waiting. We may venture a walk across before we leave tomorrow and head for upstate NY and Vermont.

Day One Niagra!!

July 25,2011

Leaving Detroit by way of the Ambassador Bridge we headed into Canada. Windsor to be exact. We were surprised (I don't know why) to find out that Illinois isn't the only place they grow corn and soybeans. Ontario or at least the area we drove through was filled with crops. Denny inspected them all. So with the crops to inspect and the trucks with their 11 axels he was in farmer/trucker heaven. The trip was beautiful and we enjoyed it very much.

We arrived in Niagra and had to sit in line on the Rainbow Bridge waiting to go back through the border. Needless to say we aren't going to sit in those lines again to go back over to the Canadian side. Although a good look a Horseshoe falls may be in order......

The falls are beautiful and the Maid of the Mist offers front row seating to observe them and the power they have..... the boat takes you right up to the bottom of both sets of falls. It was really quite breathtaking and boy do you get WET!!!!

Vacation 2011

We left beautiful downtown Edred at 6 am this morning. No problems getting up and out that early unless you take into consideration the fact that 4 kitties were not happy about the suitcases being moved out of the house. They did NOT make getting up and out easy, like having a set of triplets all bent on doing something different or going into a different direction.

We hit one bad storm just north of Urbana/Champaigne it was pretty awful. Lots of wind, rain and funny HUGE clouds. That followed us as we skirted Chicago and then Gary IN. Finally out ran it in Michigan.

Our new GPS is a real test in patience and endurance. But we won and despite her trying to take us by way of jibip we arrived in Allen Park, MI (Detroit suburb) at about 4 this afternoon.

No pictures sorry, hopefully tomorrow. I did take one of the "Welcome to Indiana" sign and completely missed the "Welcome to Michigan" sign. What do you want...I was taking them as sped by them on the interstate in the rain.

We were sidetracked because of construction and it turned out to be a good thing!!! We kept seeing these little hand painted signs for "air show" but no traffic, no people, so we kinda ignored them. Driving down this peaceful state highway when all of a sudden (sounds like the night before Christmas:) this loud boom and 6 jets fly right over the car. It was the "Blue Angels" and there really was an air show. About a mile down the road all the people that obviously didn't want to pay the price to get into the show were parked and double parked along this highway. We got to see several flybys and several aerial tricks. I was impressed. The unplanned things are usually the best.

Got to talk to the NJ grandkids this evening and they are waiting patiently for us to arrive and it sounds like they have our days planned.

We ventured to downtown Detroit and of course, visited a casino. MGM Grand, nice but crowded. Took me 20 minutes to find Denny when it was time to leave and we were talking to each other on the phone. "Where are you?" "I'm by Wolfgang Puck." "Where is that?" "I don't know" "Are you by the Boubon Street Steak House?" "No, I'm by Wolfgang Puck" "How bout we meet at the cashier" "Where is that" "I don't know" and so on and so on! It was really quite commical~! I felt like we were doing our own versiono of "Whose on First!" It was a good night and both of us left with more than we started with.

Now it is time to relax and enjoy the evening and wait out the rush hour traffic tomorrow. They told us at the desk to wait until after 9. So we are being lazy tomorrow and enjoying breakfast before heading out to cross the bridge into Canada. According to our wonderful and accurate GPS....we are scheduled to arrive in Niagra at about 3 pm tomorrow afternoon.

Hope everyone is fine...I hope to have pictures tomorrow of Niagra Falls. Miss you all.

PS CORN UPDATE: Denny says no ones corn (In Indiana and some in Michigan) looks as good and as healthy as our Illinois corn. Some corn in Michigan didn't even have tassles yet. Most corn we saw was a funny yellow green color not even close to the nice deep green back home!

It's been a LONG Time!!!!

Hello Family and Friends,

It's vacation time and I'm going to try this blogging again. We leave a week from today. Hopefully I will be able to use this site to keep everyone informed of our whereabouts and how the vacation is going. Also I look forward to posting lots of new pictures of Niagra Falls and New Enland. Stay tuned for more postings beginning next week.