June 27th Niagara Falls and then home

I am tired of blogging.  Among other things, I will be glad to be home so I can stop writing this blog.

Today we made out last stop of the trip in Niagara Falls. We stopped on the American side and walked around.  The best way to sum up the American Falls is Coney Island.  The area actually looks like the Coney Island boardwalk without the wood.  Niagara Falls State Park is being renovated, but it is still busted up. When I was here with the kids about 15 years ago, the sidewalks were all broken with potholes and dented railings.  It doesn’t look as bad now, but there are large sections that are roped off while they are under construction. When the renovation is done, the area still won’t look as good as the Canadian side.

While on the American side we attempted to go out on the observation tower, but we couldn't because a movie was being filmed there today.  “Tammy” with Susan Sarandon and Dan Aykroyd apparently has a scene at Niagara Falls. I hope it is good since I missed going out on the 20 story observation tower.

We took the elevator to the bottom and took the Maid of the Mist tour. The boat loaded up and headed out to the American Falls and then the Horseshoe or Canadian Falls. Even with the blue rain ponchos, we got drenched. It was great fun. Afterward, Rob and climbed up the stairs halfway up the falls.

We went over to the Canadian side to stay at the Hilton (I found a Groupon). Rob and I had decided that we were not going back to Canada because the people were just too weird. But here we were again. (Although I have to admit, I asked a young female bar tender in Geneva what time zone we were in and she didn't know either. Dang, are people that dumb?).  There are casinos now at the Falls on both sides. We spent a little time in the casino dodging the rain, and then we walked around.  We finished the evening at the Hilton’s Brazilian steak house (remember that Groupon?) and had our one fancy dinner of the trip.

We saw a lot on this trip - good and bad.  I will be glad to get back home and check on my garden.

June 25th and 26th The Finger Lakes

On our way out of town, we decided to skip the plant tour at Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. It sounded like a good place to visit, but it would take too much time. Our drive to Geneva was long through a lot of smaller roads. And, of course, we found another turtle. I think we should rename our trip “The Seybold Turtle Rescue”. This time we found Little Snappy’s big bother in the middle of the road.  Apparently, snapping turtles migrate.  So I had another stinky snapping turtle in a box on my lap. This one was bigger and kept thumping around; so I was glad to get that one out of the car.

When we got to Geneva, NY, the town looked pretty run down.  Geneva is at the northern end of Seneca Lake, the largest of the Finger Lakes. We walked along Seneca Lake and walked around downtown.  There were a lot for sale and out of business signs.  The place looked really depressed.  There was a ‘winery’ near the hotel so we went in for a wine tasting. 

The finger lakes are is noted for its wineries. There are winery tours where you go from winery to winery to sample their wines. Some of the wineries are just store fronts. You pay $4 or $5 to taste about 7 wines and then you can buy what you like. Some of the places are actually wineries where the grape vines are, but you and only visit the tasting room and store front. This first winery was just a store front.

The next day we drove down to Watkins Glen to Watkins Glen State Park. There is an unexpected canyon in the middle of the town. The canyon is 1.5 miles long and we hiked along the path, under waterfalls, through tunnels, and up stairs to the top of the canyon.

Afterward, we stopped at Wagner Winery which has wine tasting and a tour of the winery. We learned about the wine making process, different varieties of grapes, and barreling. The tour would have been so much better if the tour guide had not been such a jerk. He was one of those wine snobs who knows everything. You know the type.

Our second night we stayed on Keuka Lake in a town called Penn Yan. (The name sounds really exotic, but came from a combination of Pennsylvania and Yankee. I know, such a disappointment).

June 24th – Vermont

The drive today was absolutely gorgeous.  We started out from Bangor on the highway and then got onto the back roads. As soon as we got off the highway we saw another snapping turtle to be rescued.  (I would have just left the turtle in the middle of the road).  Rob picked the turtle and put it in our trash basket until we could reach water and release it. We turned around to check the turtle and it had climbed out the basket and onto the middle seat. Did I say that snapping turtles stink?  Well, yeah, they do. 

After releasing Little Snappy we drove up into hills and to New Hampshire and the White Mountains.  All during our drives in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine and today in NH and Vermont, we saw Moose warning signs. I had always thought that Moose were out West in Wyoming and Montana. Well, they are all over New England and Canada, too. People up here see Moose like we see deer in Columbus.  It seems to be a serious problem.

The scenery up here is gorgeous. Okay, I already said that. We drove through small towns in the hills; everything had a fresh pine smell. We could see mountains in the distance. We even passed a large stand of white birch trees.  Everything was just so pretty. Of course, there are very few people here. I think I might go stir-crazy since I am not really one with nature. There was a definite lack of urban areas...and let's face it, 4 buildings does not make up a town.

Instead of going directly to the hotel, we drove straight to the Rock of Ages quarry. Yes, that’s right…the Rock of Ages quarry. Rock of Ages supplies the granite for all of the cemetery headstones and mausoleums. They supply granite for buildings (mostly in Asia) and all the statues and monuments that you see around cities.  The place is huge and the visit was very worthwhile.  At Rock of Ages, we saw the quarry, how the granite is cut and moved, and how the designs are sand blasted onto the granite.  The granite is cut out in 10 foot benches (with diamond). It takes about 4-6 weeks to bring out a bench.  The bench is then cut to thinner slabs depending on the purpose. There are sculptors who design and create the statues. There is enough granite in his location to last 4,000 years. That is because the granite in the picture below goes down 10 miles.  Each one of the lines in the picture is 10 feet high. 

When we got to the Comfort Suites, we talked to the owner during check-in.  Rob realized that the hotel owner is the friend of one of his very good friends in Milwaukee.  It is a very small world. Here we are up in Vermont and we run into a mutual acquaintance. Afterward, we drove into Montpelier for dinner. We saw the State Capitol of Vermont (more interesting than Columbus) and had dinner at a very nice pub.

(Tonight we had to get more Kahlua. I hope this bottle makes it to Columbus).

Sunday June 23rd

Today was uneventful.  We stopped for lunch in New Brunswick at McDonald’s so I could try a McLobster. It was pretty good.  Too bad we can’t get that in Columbus.  This was the first fast food that we have had on the trip since breakfast on June 1^st.  How 'bout that?

I am glad to be back in the US on Eastern Time and heading toward home.  It is getting so that Rob and I can’t remember what our room number is since we have had so many. Tonight we are staying in Bangor, Maine at the Hollywood Casino. This is the same casino as in Columbus, only smaller. 

Saturday June 22nd Halifax, Nova Scotia

A few thoughts about Halifax:

First, I have been waiting a long time to get to Halifax, Nova Scotia.  The name sounds really cool, cruise ships go there, people say it is really beautiful, so it must be a place to see. Well, let me tell you, aside from the water, Nova Scotia and Halifax look just like Ohio. I was imagining the beautiful pines of New England and got Ohio.

Second, these are some of the fattest people I have ever seen. Really.  The people are huge here. They might be a little bigger in Saint John, but not by much.  The people that we have been seeing are larger than the biggies in Ohio. It doesn't seem possible, but it is true. We saw four weddings today and two of the couples (bride and groom) were huge.

Third, there are some different things that you can get here.  Rob and I were walking along and we came to a McDonald’s in the downtown area.

Yes, That’s right. You are reading it correctly. They have a McLobster sandwich. (No, I did not get one).

Fourth, I was wrong about Halifax being dry.

 Tomorrow we start heading back west toward home. I will be happy to leave the alternate universe. I really think there is a disconnect between the way Americans and Canadians think and approach things.

Friday June 21st – first day of summer, maybe

Our drive to Saint John, New Brunswick took us on smaller roads to Calais, Maine.  Along the way Rob spotted two snapping turtles trying to cross the road.  Of course, we had to stop, go back, pick them up, and move them to safety. We saw the larger one first and just had to move him to the bushes. Later we found the baby snapper. We had to locate water to release the baby snapper, so we had him in the car for a while. They bite, so there was no way I was touching that thing.

When we crossed the Canadian border we crossed into the Atlantic Time Zone.  We noticed a temperature drop and it was downright cold when we got to Saint John.  The temperature is 64 degrees and that is the expected high for the day.This is good weather here. “Welcome to the Maritimes”. Apparently, the Canadian Maritime Provinces – New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island - are always cold. 

There is not much to see in Saint John. Our hotel is located in the middle of nowhere on Fashion Avenue next to Costo. Yep, Fashion and Costco. We went downtown to walk around and see the City Market. We walked around the Boardwalk and took some pictures.  While Rob was off to the side taking pictures, I was standing by myself looking into the harbor. This man came over and stood kind of close to me. I thought that was odd since I was the only person standing there and the railing was long – meaning there was plenty of space and this guy didn't have to stand so close. I moved away and walked over to where Rob was taking pictures and told him.  We then walked back toward the guy so that we could leave the Boardwalk.  The guy looked like he wanted to ask something.  Rob and I both concluded separately that the guy must have thought I was a hooker. Really. I had on jeans and my Kung Fu shoes. But all the guy saw was me standing on the boardwalk alone and then walking over and engaging a white guy in conversation...and then walking away with him.

Next we went inside a mall area and took a walkway though several buildings to the City Market.  When we got there, the shops were closing, but it looked and felt just like the North Market.  We walked around and then headed back to a Sports bar/restaurant for dinner. When we sat at the bar I noticed about 12 TV’s in the bar.  But 11 of the TV’s were tuned to the same station – a talk show about the Toronto Blue Jays. OK. Then Rob said “I bet the bartender doesn't know what time zone we are in”.  I told him of course she knows (young, blonde). And sure enough, when Rob asked, the woman had no clue what time zone we were in.  Somebody else sitting at the bar had to tell her. I felt like I was watching the Jaywalk All-stars (you know, when Jay Leno goes out on the street and asks regular people basic questions and they are so stupid that they can’t answer them correctly). Yeah, like that.

So far, I feel like I am in an alternate universe. We saw an older building downtown with "Canada Permanent Building" engraved at the top (are other buildings temporary?). Saint John is so boring that we were back in the hotel room watching TV at 7:30 pm.  And then we saw the strangest commercial for hot dogs. This body-builder was in a skimpy cow print Tarzan outfit with a cow cap on his head. He was flexing his pecs and talking to a woman about natural beef. It was weird. And now “La Country Show “ is on. Country music in French.

I have no idea what Halifax will be like. But we already know Halifax is dry, so that is not a good sign.

June 20th Acadia National Park

Our first stop of the day was LL Bean. The drive from Portland to Freeport was less than 20 minutes.  We got there before 8am and sure enough LL Bean is open 24 hours and there were already a few people in the store shopping. I bought a dress RFC.  Afterward, instead of taking the highway we decided to stick to the local roads on our drive to Bar Harbor. We passed through Bath, Belfast, Searsport, Bucksport, Wiscasset, and Penobscot.  

We arrived at the hotel to find the place crawling with people from Edward Jones and their families. It looks like a rewards conference for the sales reps. We got changed and got right out and went to Acadia National Park. The park is absolutely gorgeous.  We had a picnic lunch and then drove over to Sand Beach.  We walked a 2 mile hiking trail along the ridge to Otter point and back.

Then we drove around the park and up to Cadillac Point. (No, it is not named for the car. Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor are on an island. French King Charles XIV gave the island to Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the French explorer who founded Fort Detroit). Cadillac Point is the highest point on the Atlantic coast and, supposedly, if you stand on Cadillac point at sunrise you will be the first person in the country to see the sunrise. Ok, fine. If I ever want to be up and out before 4:30 am, I'll let you know. This far east, the sky starts to get light that early.

A couple of Notes:

We saw this sign in the park. What were they thinking???

Only four 12-packs left.