The Cape

As mentioned earlier, we enjoyed the visit to Salem and the drive to West Glouster was okay, too even though we took the expressway most of the way. Somehow we managed to miss the Mayflower at Plimouth ( Plymouth), however, we will get it when we leave here. Today ( Friday ) we took a drive up the Cape to Highland Light at North Truro MA. This light was built in 1856. In 1996 they had to move the light a bit further inland because of the erosion. The sand is very fine here and the wind seems to blow non-stop. We also wanted to visit Provincetown, but the road was so very narrow and the parking space was so hard to find, we ended up driving VERY slowly through it ( with the truck mirrors folded in. It would be a great place for bicycles ( ours were at the trailer). Again, a very pretty part of North America.
Tomorrow should find us in Rhode Island.
Top pic...raspberries in late Oct.....last two, the beach at North Truro

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Not all witches

The visit to Salem was interesting. This is such an old part of North America, there seems to be something older at each turn. We had breakfast at "the place" to do that "Red's Sandwich Shop" In 1698, this was the London Coffee House and the meeting place of the Patriots, before the American Revolution.( www.redssandwichshop.com )
Following that delight, we boarded the city tour bus for a drive around the "famous" places in Salem. It's NOT all about witches. The only man convited (?) of being a witch was pressed to death by placing stones on his chest until he died....it took 3 days. It was really a catch 22...if you did not confess, you lost all your propery, if you did confess, you lost all your proprty and your life. He did not confess. The details given by the tour guide, gave a very good insite to the history of the town. We did a tour of the House of Seven Gables from which a book by the same name was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1851. Quite a place with narrow staircases behind chimneys etc. The afternoon had us take a drive around Cape Ann which is a coastal drive showing some of the coves in the area. The top photo is the Friendship a pirate ship re-creation. The middle is of the House of The Seven Gables and the last pic is one of the coves on Cape Ann. As I enter this part of the blog, Sue is out picking raspberries at the side of the trailer....in late October. Tomorrow it's off to Cape Cod

Tea and Witches

The drive to Boston was again very pleasant. It is still like early fall here as we are a little further south. Most of the leaves are still in full colour.
We did a walking tour of Boston today ( Tuesday) at least the historic parts. The ol' legs ain't what they used to be ( neither's rest of the body). The first item to see was the frigate Constitution ( 1797 ). This is the oldest ACTIVE commissioned ship in the world. There is a ship in England which is older but in permanent dry dock. They have a neat idea here, you follow a thing called the Freedom Trail, which is a red brick line in the pavement that takes to all the historical buildings and areas etc. It also led past an Irish Pub that had real good beer ( Goody Glover's) It's named after a woman that was the first Catholic Martyr in Massachusetts The church that Paul Revere sounded the alarm of the British coming was as interesting visit as well. We visited the old cemetary called Copps Hill. The markers here date from 1660
Sue was able to purchase a box of tea that is made by the company that had their teas thrown overboard, that started the War of Independance. This act was know as the Boston Tea Party
Tomorrow it's drive to a witch hunt, as we head to Salem from this campground .

Goodbye Maine

Our tour of Portland Maine started with a visit to the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's home. This was built in the late 1700's by the poets grandfather and was lived in by the family until 1902. It was then given to the Maine Historical Society. Unfortunately, the house does not allow photos. Too bad as 90% of the contents are original. It is the oldest house in Portland because it is made of brick from Pennsylvania. This fact saved it from the major fire that devastated Portland in 1800's. From this stop, we were off to the Portland Head Light at Port Elizabeth. Quite an imposing structure. It has been used as a fort up to 1940 as a potential defence against enemies that never arrived. Our last stop was the Marine Narrow Gauge Railway. This was a short ride along part of the Portland waterfront in coaches dating to the late 1800's. The locomotive was a 1949 model with a new engine....1961 Cummins. Tomorrow, Monday, we head off to Boston in the hope we can find a campground that is open.

Baa Habaa and area

Wednesday Oct 20 saw us take a drive up Cadillac Mountain, which is part of the Acadia National Park. This 1530 ft high mountain gives you a great view for 360* of the ocean. There was a cruise ship in from Germany and you could really appreciate how high up you were looking down on it. We also did a drive through of Bar Harbor. Because of the number of people off the ship, we decided a return visit Thursday would be better for getting around. Today ( Thursday) had us take both of the circle routes around the Bar Harbor area. This whole area including Bar Harbor are in the Acadia National Park. There is normally a $20.00 fee that covers 7 days of visit, but because it's off season, that did not apply. Most of these two drives keep very you close to the ocean, so it was quite pleasant even with the overcast sky. We made it back to Bar Harbor in time for lunch ( imagine that) at ate at Stewman's on The Warf, where Sue had Scallops and I just had a Lobster Roll.....both were great. Tomorrow it is expected Portland will be the destination for likely 3 nights.

Turning the corner.....South

Well, here we are...Tuesday already. We did in fact, spend two days in Bethel ME. Saturday was the arrival and "setup" day. Sunday, after Sue's return from church, we took a drive in the country, visiting a covered bridge from 1876 ( no longer in use for traffic ) and drove up the near by ski hills. Monday it was time to leave yet again, heading for Bangor ME. The Hwy 2 which stretches from Vermont to Bangor Maine is a fantastic road for scenery ( Model A kinda road). We will be sorry to see the end of this byway. Today, Tuesday took us on a day trip into Bangor where we took a tour of the Galen Cole Maine Transportation Museum. This place is a private endeavor featuring various modes of transportation that has been either manufactured or used in Maine. Over 200 pieces of equipment are in this 1 acre building covering everything from sleighs to diesel locomotives. Tomorrow we pack up and head to Bar Harbor ( Baa Habaa) for a two night stay.

Rain delay

Yup, yesterday was an unscheduled extra day in Stowe 'cause it POURED. As can be seen, Brandy had the right idea. There was talk of Smuggler's Notch not being open because of the threat of snow, but that didn't happen, however, Lake Placid received 2". We had a great breakfast at the Gables in Stowe yesterday ( we felt we needed that ). Today (Sat) had us on the road driving through New Hampshire and into Maine on some fantastic roads....lots of scenery and gentle hills. It is however, very windy and cool. It'll likely be a two nighter here in Bethel Maine.

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Stowe

The day today was spent in and around Stowe VT. It certainly is a great time of year to tour these roads!!! We went up to see the Trapp Family Lodge, which we'd seen in the past but it sure is nice to see. The top picture is of the road going through Smuggler's Notch. The one side of the mountain is so much more rugged than the other. Last time here, it was winter and the pass was closed. The middle pic is of the main lodge as is the bottom one. While we were early or late (lunch/breakfast) we did eat at the brewery/deli part way down the hill. The scenery was fantastic ( so was the beer). We started off on the patio, but near the end of the meal, moved inside because of the cool wind. It is supposed to rain this evening and wet SNOW is possible about 1800 ft. Tomorrow it's off to Maine via New Hampshire.

In a fine State

Our departure from Lake Placid this morning was in very cool ( 30F) weather accompanied by the heaviest frost yet. The roads are made for Model A Fords ( if you take away the hills). They tend to be curvy and narrow and not too busy.
We came across Lake Champlain, which separates New York State from Vermont. The bridge is being replaced and in the interim, they offer ferry service. The fall colours are a bit stronger here than in the Lake Placid area. On the way we stopped in and did a tour of Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Factory...also got to sample some. Neat place.
Upon arrival in Stowe, we decided to take the afternoon off and do our exploring tomorrow ( Thursday). We have been given the names of a few eating establishments and may investigate them or at least some of them. Two new albums have been added to the picture gallery.

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Lake Placid

Our drive to Lake Placid was very colourful although it would appear the leaves have pasted their best. We went to the Olympic ski hill and took the chair lift to the top of the hill THEN took the elevator another 120 metres to the top of the jump. These jumpers must be lacking common sense. During the off season, they jump off a smaller version and land in a large pool. The freestyle skiers were practicing today....see bottom pic. We had a great dinner at a little place overlooking Lake Placid called Jimmy's 21. Tomorrow it's off to Stowe VT for a couple of days. The weather has been cool but dry.

USA

Well, we are now back in the USA, after a wonderful visit with "the family" in Kingston at Thanksgiving. Marg, one of my sisters, was not able to join us due to hubby Dick having had a major operation the previous week. As we understand it, he is recovering well and will be home sooner than estimated.
Our departure from Canada was rather iffy, due to the fact we had already been in the US for 184 days. Your maximum stay is supposed to be 181 in any calendar year. However, I guess they needed our tourist $$ and here we are. Tonight, home is Malone NY. We hope to head over to the Lake Placid area, perhaps staying for a few days before going to Stowe VT. We will go down the Eastern seaboard for a while. The blog will be kept a little more up to date from now on, now we have a better idea where we are headed. The uncertainty of our getting back into the US had prevented us from making any firm plans for a while. The colours along hwy 37 on the south side of the St. Lawrence River are just as vivid as on the Canadian side........GREAT weather eh?

Still goin'

Yes, it has been a while, however there was a valid reason for our silence, read on. We came back into Canada September 14th and spent one night in Goderich before driving to Owen Sound, staying in Harrison Park while I paid a visit to the skin specialist to get a rash on my leg looked at. After check-out, it was a trip up the Bruce, to spend several days with friends ( Mr. & Mrs A) in Barrow Bay. Leaving their home on the 20th, we came "home" to Shelburne staying at Primrose Park for two weeks. That was a strange feeling to be in town, but not at our own house. A big "thank you "is in order for the friends that visited us and we invited us to visit and those that fed us. A visit to Brampton, to have a pleasant visit with daughter Kristine and her family was great. Now the reason for the silence......a Model A Tour was planned for a drive to Stratford. We committed to go on this with the President and Tour Directors some time ago and booked a room at the Swan Motel. We were trying to keep partition in this as a surprise, however, a club member is having an auction sale of his car collection and related parts and we decided to offer our assistance....secret exposed!!!!. The tour took place this weekend, leaving Mono Mills on Friday Oct 1 and returning to day the 3rd. The colours were just right on the trees and the roads co-operated as well. It should be explained that Sue and I drove our "modern iron" as our car is on blocks. The visits to various points of interest, including the Kilbride Castle in Baden coming home was very neat, as was the tour of the past presidents uncles' former gravel operation and the collection of Model "A's" there. Having been involved in some tour planning in the past, we certainly can appreciate the work Glenn and Mo put into this tour. I'm certain all attendees enjoyed themselves in spite of the rain on Saturday. We leave Shelburne tomorrow ( Monday) for Kingston and Thanksgiving with my family.