Tuesday, Oct 6 2019
New record for us, we made it till day five on a road trip without stopping at Walmart for anything. Sweetling tried to argue this one with me to say that we did need to buy her a raincoat yesterday, to which my reply was, yes, but that wasn't at Wal-Mart. So.
Today was the day that we left Acadia. And really, the turning point of the trip. Yes, we still have a lot planned, but Acadia was the furthest point from home on the trip. We had more blueberry baked goods for breakfast.
We quickly picked up US 1 south. Driving down the coast along US 1 was something the Jedi wanted to do, and it was a happy coincidence that much of our driving today was along US 1. In the past couple of days alone, the autumn foliage has intensified in color and many bed and breakfasts and small inns had no vacancy signs up.
Our first stop of the day was the Lighthouse Museum in Rockland, Maine. Sweetling loves lighthouses and took many photos. I took photos too, because as I was reading about the lighthouses and looking at the models, I decided it would be neat to do a single session Outschool Minecraft class on lighthouses for the 6-9 age group.
We probably spent longer than we should have in the two room museum because we didn't hit our lunch stop until 2 pm. Lunch was at the Great Lost Bear in Portland Maine. Bruno the Bear had come with Sweetling from Cincinnati to get his picture taken in front of the sign. The photo op was cool and the fried haddock sandwiches the Jedi and I got were all right. (Though after the blackened grouper in Florida, other local seafood just falls short of that high bar). The fries were super bland, but Young Chef liked the philly cheese steak he got with mushrooms and onions. The server had set the table with two kids menus/coloring mats and boxes of crayons, and both kids did indeed color instead of getting out their phones. That made my heart happy.
The Portland Head Light was another wonderful, picturesque, quintessential New England vista. (Yes, it was all those adjectives. Don't scoff; I have the pictures to prove my points). Young Chef promptly disappeared to scale up a rocky cliff. I took a gamillion photos of the waves trying to catch the perfect shot. The lighthouse, still in operation, was just beautiful and the sound of its horn echoing across the bay ....well, I would say it hit just the right note, but that pun would be a little too sappy, even for me.
The second lighthouse for the day was....well bother, I don't remember the name of the light. We had to go to New Castle New Hampshire to view it. After Portland, it wasn't that impressive and the shore was a bit blah. Young Chef caught Pokémon and Sweetling ran a little bit.
We needed quarters for laundry, and there was a bank in the same shopping strip as a Walmart so....we got quarters and I went into Walmart for more Lactaide and Gas-X, because I have been so naughty I have nearly depleted my supply. I also picked up a new sketchbook for Sweetling.
Our hotel outside of Boston was a Roadhouse Inn, chosen for its proximity to a commuter train station. It was pretty dumpy, at least by the standards we have become accustomed too, and the room was small. Still, the beds were clean (I always check), I got laundry done, and got to bed around 1.
Thursday, October 10, 2019
NE Day 4.....A Changed Rabbit
It rained all through the night. We didn't bother to try to get up before the sun to make the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain. It just seemed like it was going to be a lot of effort for an event hidden by the rainclouds. Instead we slept in and then headed out to get wild Maine blueberry pancakes.
(A quick side note about our hotel...the rooms are individual, motel style doors, but the buildings are located on a landscaped hill. We park at the bottom of the hill and then walk up the path to our rooms).
We arrived at Jordon's for breakfast at just the right time. After we got there, a line started forming for a table. Everybody got blueberry pancakes and Sweetling and the Jedi got blueberry syrup for their pancakes. Young Chef has become quite the maple syrup connesseur, deciding that he prefers the Vermont maple syrup to the Maine maple syrup. I'm going to get him a bottle of Vermont maple syrup for Christmas. He can drink it from the bottle like a soda. The blueberry syrup was a hit with Sweetling and the Jedi, and a bottle of it came home with us. (Along with 6 large blueberry muffins, but who's counting?)
After breakfast, we went shopping for a raincoat for Sweetling, because somehow hers didn't get packed in the bin with the other rain gear and , tut tut, it looked like rain. Right next door to Jordan's was a local grocery store. I thought we should check in there first to try to avoid tourist prices I was certain we'd encounter in the stores in the center of the Bar Harbor shops. They didn't have one but I chatted with an employee about where we might find some affordable options. While we were chatting the whale watching tour came up. She said she'd be shocked if they ran that today because of the winds. The Jedi thought it'd be a good idea to call them and ask...and sure enough, it was cancelled for the day. There was a small craft advisory issued, so no whale watching tour.
We still needed a raincoat for Sweelting, so we set off to check out the shops. This turned into quite a shopping excursion. We hit a store that was having an end of season sale, with jackets for $15 and gloves and scarves and hats for $10 or $5. We walked out with a raincoat for Sweetling which she loves, a jacket for Young Chef that he found and *asked* for (this is the boy that I used to have to threaten and plead with about coats. The compromise we finally reached was that he didn't have to wear his coat in the dead of winter, he just had to carry it so that people knew I had provided him with one. )
We decided to drive up Cadillac Mountain. The Jedi previewed the route in advance using google street view to make sure the van could handle it. The drive up was beautiful. We hooked up the dash cam to record it and hit a couple of pull offs for photos, but quickly, because we were trying to beat the rain. While the scenery at the top was lovely, what made the experience truly memorable was the wind. It was a struggle to stand up right, it was nearly impossible to hold a phone still enough for a clear photo. The top was one large piece of weather sculpted rock with delicate alpine plants clinging on here and there and rain pools rippling in the wind. I tried Skyping mama, but the reception was so spotty. I still hiking up the trail, trying to make a video for her when Young Chef ran back down the trail to me and told me I better hurry, it was starting to rain. I told him I'd be fine and he said, "that's your choice; but the wind makes the raindrops feel like bullets and I don't think you're going to like it when they start hitting your face!"
Back at the visitor center by the parking lot, I took a photo of little alpine plants clinging to the tiled roof. Sweetling came out of the bathroom and told me, "I left that trail a changed rabbit...."
Since we had extra time, we decided to hit Sand Beach, which we had skipped yesterday, and revisit ThunderHole. Both turned out to be rewarding stops. The waves on the rocks were just beautiful, and thunder hole was indeed thundering. It also drenched a few people at the rail, and Sweetling and I were just outside of the splash range when it happened. By this time, people were hungry, so we headed back to Bar Harbor for lunch at China Joy.
Another round of shopping and exploring the stores after lunch. Another trip to a fudge and ice cream shop. No one in our group tried the lobster ice cream, but we did get a souvenir for one of Sweetling's friends. Young Chef found a stone to add to his collection at a rock shop, we got more popcorn than the Jedi thought was prudent, and then Sweetling and I got a stack of fat quarters and a piecing/applique kit from a local quilting store.
By this time, it had just started really raining, instead of the off and on sprinkles, and we were tired, so we headed back to the hotel room to rest before dinner.
Dinner was at a Rt 66 themed restaurant. The Jedi thought it was fitting that since Rt 66 played such a big role in our first cross country road trip to California, some element of it should be included in this trip, which will wrap up the lower 48 for us. It was a great restaurant. It was set back from the street and the sidewalk to the door was painted like a road. The rear half of a car was mounted above the door and inside the walls to the vaulted second story ceiling were just packed with vintage memorabilia, as was every other nook and cranny. Whoever put all that together did an amazing job, because it didn't look chaotic or cluttered. There was still enough groupings and ordering by themes that it wasn't visually overwhelming.
The food was great. We had all decided before we left the hotel room that we were not hungry and we would just get appetizers. That didn't happen. The Jedi was the only one who stuck with the plan. When we asked him how his appetizers were he replied, "Delicious, and responsible." The rest of us were irresponsible and ordered dinners, which we pretty much devoured. I ordered halibut tacos, which came with coleslaw and creamy bam sauce. Although I had taken my lactaide, as I was pouring the bam sauce on the first taco, Young Chef asked, "Are you eating _more_ dairy today?" and "oh look, she's putting poison on the other one too!"
At the end of the meal, Young Chef said to me, "You're in trouble now, eating all that dairy."
The Jedi stated, "We are _all_ in trouble now. We are _all_ going to be suffering from the consequences of this poor choice." I took a double dose of Gas-X on the way back to the hotel.
At the hotel, we watched Jumangi (the one with the Rock and Amy Pond.) It was a funny, easy to watch movie, good for laughing and relaxing after an eventful day. (And the Gas-X worked its magic, mostly.)
(A quick side note about our hotel...the rooms are individual, motel style doors, but the buildings are located on a landscaped hill. We park at the bottom of the hill and then walk up the path to our rooms).
We arrived at Jordon's for breakfast at just the right time. After we got there, a line started forming for a table. Everybody got blueberry pancakes and Sweetling and the Jedi got blueberry syrup for their pancakes. Young Chef has become quite the maple syrup connesseur, deciding that he prefers the Vermont maple syrup to the Maine maple syrup. I'm going to get him a bottle of Vermont maple syrup for Christmas. He can drink it from the bottle like a soda. The blueberry syrup was a hit with Sweetling and the Jedi, and a bottle of it came home with us. (Along with 6 large blueberry muffins, but who's counting?)
After breakfast, we went shopping for a raincoat for Sweetling, because somehow hers didn't get packed in the bin with the other rain gear and , tut tut, it looked like rain. Right next door to Jordan's was a local grocery store. I thought we should check in there first to try to avoid tourist prices I was certain we'd encounter in the stores in the center of the Bar Harbor shops. They didn't have one but I chatted with an employee about where we might find some affordable options. While we were chatting the whale watching tour came up. She said she'd be shocked if they ran that today because of the winds. The Jedi thought it'd be a good idea to call them and ask...and sure enough, it was cancelled for the day. There was a small craft advisory issued, so no whale watching tour.
We still needed a raincoat for Sweelting, so we set off to check out the shops. This turned into quite a shopping excursion. We hit a store that was having an end of season sale, with jackets for $15 and gloves and scarves and hats for $10 or $5. We walked out with a raincoat for Sweetling which she loves, a jacket for Young Chef that he found and *asked* for (this is the boy that I used to have to threaten and plead with about coats. The compromise we finally reached was that he didn't have to wear his coat in the dead of winter, he just had to carry it so that people knew I had provided him with one. )
We decided to drive up Cadillac Mountain. The Jedi previewed the route in advance using google street view to make sure the van could handle it. The drive up was beautiful. We hooked up the dash cam to record it and hit a couple of pull offs for photos, but quickly, because we were trying to beat the rain. While the scenery at the top was lovely, what made the experience truly memorable was the wind. It was a struggle to stand up right, it was nearly impossible to hold a phone still enough for a clear photo. The top was one large piece of weather sculpted rock with delicate alpine plants clinging on here and there and rain pools rippling in the wind. I tried Skyping mama, but the reception was so spotty. I still hiking up the trail, trying to make a video for her when Young Chef ran back down the trail to me and told me I better hurry, it was starting to rain. I told him I'd be fine and he said, "that's your choice; but the wind makes the raindrops feel like bullets and I don't think you're going to like it when they start hitting your face!"
Back at the visitor center by the parking lot, I took a photo of little alpine plants clinging to the tiled roof. Sweetling came out of the bathroom and told me, "I left that trail a changed rabbit...."
Since we had extra time, we decided to hit Sand Beach, which we had skipped yesterday, and revisit ThunderHole. Both turned out to be rewarding stops. The waves on the rocks were just beautiful, and thunder hole was indeed thundering. It also drenched a few people at the rail, and Sweetling and I were just outside of the splash range when it happened. By this time, people were hungry, so we headed back to Bar Harbor for lunch at China Joy.
Another round of shopping and exploring the stores after lunch. Another trip to a fudge and ice cream shop. No one in our group tried the lobster ice cream, but we did get a souvenir for one of Sweetling's friends. Young Chef found a stone to add to his collection at a rock shop, we got more popcorn than the Jedi thought was prudent, and then Sweetling and I got a stack of fat quarters and a piecing/applique kit from a local quilting store.
By this time, it had just started really raining, instead of the off and on sprinkles, and we were tired, so we headed back to the hotel room to rest before dinner.
Dinner was at a Rt 66 themed restaurant. The Jedi thought it was fitting that since Rt 66 played such a big role in our first cross country road trip to California, some element of it should be included in this trip, which will wrap up the lower 48 for us. It was a great restaurant. It was set back from the street and the sidewalk to the door was painted like a road. The rear half of a car was mounted above the door and inside the walls to the vaulted second story ceiling were just packed with vintage memorabilia, as was every other nook and cranny. Whoever put all that together did an amazing job, because it didn't look chaotic or cluttered. There was still enough groupings and ordering by themes that it wasn't visually overwhelming.
The food was great. We had all decided before we left the hotel room that we were not hungry and we would just get appetizers. That didn't happen. The Jedi was the only one who stuck with the plan. When we asked him how his appetizers were he replied, "Delicious, and responsible." The rest of us were irresponsible and ordered dinners, which we pretty much devoured. I ordered halibut tacos, which came with coleslaw and creamy bam sauce. Although I had taken my lactaide, as I was pouring the bam sauce on the first taco, Young Chef asked, "Are you eating _more_ dairy today?" and "oh look, she's putting poison on the other one too!"
At the end of the meal, Young Chef said to me, "You're in trouble now, eating all that dairy."
The Jedi stated, "We are _all_ in trouble now. We are _all_ going to be suffering from the consequences of this poor choice." I took a double dose of Gas-X on the way back to the hotel.
At the hotel, we watched Jumangi (the one with the Rock and Amy Pond.) It was a funny, easy to watch movie, good for laughing and relaxing after an eventful day. (And the Gas-X worked its magic, mostly.)
Wednesday, October 09, 2019
NE: Day 3....Water and Stone
I took a beautiful morning photo. The mist and the autumn colors and the empty country road are just begging to be made into a water color painting.
Breakfast was another amazing meal...overnight apple french toast, scrambled eggs, and locally made sausage sourced from pigs bred down the road. Sweetling and the Jedi very much want me to try to make the apple french toast (which by the way, was made with hemp milk and coconut oil so as not to trigger my lactose intolerance.)
After breakfast, we all packed up and bundled up, because it was a damp 35 degree morning, and headed to The Basin in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. This was a favorite hiking spot of our Vermont friends and it was easy to see why. Moving water had shaped the granite hills into beautiful curves and flowing shapes. In the fall, there wasn't much water in the stream or river beds, so a lot of sculpted rock was exposed. Young Chef asked if he could explore up ahead on his own, and I said yes. He had his cell phone on him and we had a strong signal....at least, we had a strong signal where we were standing at the time. I had no way of knowing a short way up the trail the signal would be gone. A tour bus disgorged its passengers, and our Vermont friends suggested we take the other fork in the path so as to be on our own, and not in the midst of a couple score of people. No problem. I'll just text Young Chef. No response. Fine, I'll call him. Goes to a voice mail box that isn't set up. I sent him a message on Discord, nothing. The Jedi and the Vermont dad both head up the trail on a search and recover mission. Meanwhile, I climbed on rocks with the Vermont boys and chatted with Vermont mom. Sweetling took pictures of mushrooms.
Young Chef got to an elevation where he had signal again, and his phone LIT up with messages and missed calls. He booked his butt back down the train where the Jedi found him. We called Vermont dad to tell him the target had been acquired, and once everyone was reunited, continued on. We quickly reached the exposed rock face of a nearly dry river bed. More climbing and exploring commenced. I took some great photos, the Young Chef explored, but not too far away. Vermont boys had a great time. Sweetling said the area reminded her a lot of the Grand Tetons.
All too soon we had to depart. Vermont friends tried to convince us to come back and stay a week next time. That is not a hard sell! (Also, I managed to limit myself to picking up just one fall leaf. Since I used to have phone books filled with leaves every fall, I think this showed great restraint.)
After the experience with the brakes yesterday, we had already decided to skip Mt Washington. I know the Jedi was disappointed; Mt Washington was an anticipated highlight of the trip for him. For time sake, we also cut out the scenic detour. That was my call. We had had two days of mishaps and wrecked schedules, and I did *not* want to risk missing the 4:30 deadline for purchasing a park pass at the Acadia Visitor Center. Plus, it was still overcast and foggy, and I didn't want to take the detour, risk Acadia, and not have decent visibility.
The drive was still pretty and pleasant. We made good time and at a little roadside BBQ shake with a drum smoker for lunch. The brisket looked like a a decent Texas style rub with a dark bark and sliver of fat, but it was a bit dry. The ribs were absolutely plain, with no rub on them at all. The beans and the chili and the cornbread were great, but the meat was a little lackluster.
We only had one other stop for gas and bathroom break, and the country road gas station sported a decent little gift shop. Sweetling and I picked out candy bars, but Eswin picked out a tiny $2 bottle of maple syrup, which he drank straight from the bottle. He did a happy syrup dance after his first sip.
We arrived at the Acadia Visitor Center at 4:10! We bought our park pass, a fridge magnet, and a sticker for the luggage carrier.
Acadia did not disappoint! We drove out on the Park Loop Road towards the eastern coastline. Our first stop was ThunderHole. The sea was calm and the tide was low, so no action at ThunderHole, but we did plenty of exploration along the rock coast. For years, Eswin's big complaint about national parks is that he hasn't been free to just go off and explore. But here, Eswin was aloud to climb and explore and chart his own path up and over and around the rock coast.
At Otter Point (I think) Eswin just looked at me. I simply said, "Be free" and off he went. He found a painted rock. I was super excited about that, and had him climb back down the small cliff to retrieve it. I thought it surely would belong to a rock paint-and-hide club. But it was just a selfpromotion for follow me on instagram. Not at all in the spirit of rock painting.
We stayed and played on the coast until sunset, and then drove to find dinner for the night. Dinner turned out to be carry-out from Rosalie's in Bar Harbor. We took our calzones and pizzas back to the rooms to get showers for the evening. (And do a tick check. Yay.)
Breakfast was another amazing meal...overnight apple french toast, scrambled eggs, and locally made sausage sourced from pigs bred down the road. Sweetling and the Jedi very much want me to try to make the apple french toast (which by the way, was made with hemp milk and coconut oil so as not to trigger my lactose intolerance.)
After breakfast, we all packed up and bundled up, because it was a damp 35 degree morning, and headed to The Basin in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. This was a favorite hiking spot of our Vermont friends and it was easy to see why. Moving water had shaped the granite hills into beautiful curves and flowing shapes. In the fall, there wasn't much water in the stream or river beds, so a lot of sculpted rock was exposed. Young Chef asked if he could explore up ahead on his own, and I said yes. He had his cell phone on him and we had a strong signal....at least, we had a strong signal where we were standing at the time. I had no way of knowing a short way up the trail the signal would be gone. A tour bus disgorged its passengers, and our Vermont friends suggested we take the other fork in the path so as to be on our own, and not in the midst of a couple score of people. No problem. I'll just text Young Chef. No response. Fine, I'll call him. Goes to a voice mail box that isn't set up. I sent him a message on Discord, nothing. The Jedi and the Vermont dad both head up the trail on a search and recover mission. Meanwhile, I climbed on rocks with the Vermont boys and chatted with Vermont mom. Sweetling took pictures of mushrooms.
Young Chef got to an elevation where he had signal again, and his phone LIT up with messages and missed calls. He booked his butt back down the train where the Jedi found him. We called Vermont dad to tell him the target had been acquired, and once everyone was reunited, continued on. We quickly reached the exposed rock face of a nearly dry river bed. More climbing and exploring commenced. I took some great photos, the Young Chef explored, but not too far away. Vermont boys had a great time. Sweetling said the area reminded her a lot of the Grand Tetons.
All too soon we had to depart. Vermont friends tried to convince us to come back and stay a week next time. That is not a hard sell! (Also, I managed to limit myself to picking up just one fall leaf. Since I used to have phone books filled with leaves every fall, I think this showed great restraint.)
After the experience with the brakes yesterday, we had already decided to skip Mt Washington. I know the Jedi was disappointed; Mt Washington was an anticipated highlight of the trip for him. For time sake, we also cut out the scenic detour. That was my call. We had had two days of mishaps and wrecked schedules, and I did *not* want to risk missing the 4:30 deadline for purchasing a park pass at the Acadia Visitor Center. Plus, it was still overcast and foggy, and I didn't want to take the detour, risk Acadia, and not have decent visibility.
The drive was still pretty and pleasant. We made good time and at a little roadside BBQ shake with a drum smoker for lunch. The brisket looked like a a decent Texas style rub with a dark bark and sliver of fat, but it was a bit dry. The ribs were absolutely plain, with no rub on them at all. The beans and the chili and the cornbread were great, but the meat was a little lackluster.
We only had one other stop for gas and bathroom break, and the country road gas station sported a decent little gift shop. Sweetling and I picked out candy bars, but Eswin picked out a tiny $2 bottle of maple syrup, which he drank straight from the bottle. He did a happy syrup dance after his first sip.
We arrived at the Acadia Visitor Center at 4:10! We bought our park pass, a fridge magnet, and a sticker for the luggage carrier.
Acadia did not disappoint! We drove out on the Park Loop Road towards the eastern coastline. Our first stop was ThunderHole. The sea was calm and the tide was low, so no action at ThunderHole, but we did plenty of exploration along the rock coast. For years, Eswin's big complaint about national parks is that he hasn't been free to just go off and explore. But here, Eswin was aloud to climb and explore and chart his own path up and over and around the rock coast.
At Otter Point (I think) Eswin just looked at me. I simply said, "Be free" and off he went. He found a painted rock. I was super excited about that, and had him climb back down the small cliff to retrieve it. I thought it surely would belong to a rock paint-and-hide club. But it was just a selfpromotion for follow me on instagram. Not at all in the spirit of rock painting.
We stayed and played on the coast until sunset, and then drove to find dinner for the night. Dinner turned out to be carry-out from Rosalie's in Bar Harbor. We took our calzones and pizzas back to the rooms to get showers for the evening. (And do a tick check. Yay.)
Tuesday, October 08, 2019
NE Day 2: Breaks for the Brakes
Saturday, Oct 5th
Left the hotel at 8:10, just 10 minutes behind schedule. There were two tour buses in the hotel who were all trying to get breakfast and check out at the same time as us. We got our breakfast and ate it in the room and got out close to on time.
Outside of the city, the horizon was rimmed with low clouds and we drove into the rolling hills driving in and out of banks of fog and mist as we drove through the low lying clouds.
The air was chilly, just 38 degrees. On the first cold day of the year, the van always reads a low tire pressure. We stopped so that the Jedi could check the tires and put air in as needed. A fifteen minute delay, but nothing that should derail the days plans.
We drove over the Erie canal at least three times. Each time there was mist swirling off the surface of the water and all three times I just missed getting a picture of it.
I've discovered the easiest way to communicate with Sweetling during road trips is to text her. She sits in the very back of the van with headphones on and her attention is on whatever she is working on. The Young Chef sits in the middle, often asleep. Trying to get Sweetling's attention either verbally or visually is not often successful, so I text her. The Jedi comments, "Do you remember when you laughed at me when I told you we email each other in the office?"
We drove over the Hudson River and found ourselves off the main highway on all these county roads and state routes. The Jedi said, "This is feeling less like a cross country road trip and more like a drive to a BBQ contest." I, of course, went back to my past time of trying to snap photographs out the window of a moving vehicle. Sweetling spotted Ribbon Candy Lane, which she said was pretty much the antithesis of the long standing winner of weird street names, Bucket of Blood Road, spotted on our drive through the American Southwest.
Our first big landmark of the trip was Mt Equinox in the Green Mountains of Vermont. It was a private toll road to access it. We paid the $35 dollar toll and drove up. The weather was beautiful, clear and sunny. The trees have begun to display their brilliant fall colors and the air was so clear we could see mountain ranges in the distance from both New York and New Hampshire. Young Chef took photos and explored. I delighted in all the grasshoppers. I started a Skype call to Mama, but then Sweetling asked if she could show Grandma around and took the phone and disappeared. I went and found the Jedi and just appreciated the view with him.
On the way back down, Eswin asked, "What's that smell?" at about the same time the Jedi made a worried comment. It turns out that the burning smell was our brakes. The road up and down the mountain was narrow and steep with numerous hairpin turns and traffic going both up and down the mountain. The Jedi was trying to use the transmission as much as possible to slow our decent, but the road was so steep the engine was reving too high and the turns were so tight he had to use the brakes a lot to bring our speed down to go around those blind corners without hitting on coming traffic on one side or trees on the other side.
There was no place to stop or pull over for the first half mile down the mountain. By the time we got to a parking area for a scenic lookout, the brakes were *smoking* and very "spongy" when in use. We sat there for a while to let them cool down completely. The Jedi tested them, and they seemed to have recovered at least enough to try the next bit down the mountain. We limped our way down the next three and a half miles of road, pulling off at every opportunity to rest and let the brakes cool. The Jedi teased the transmission between gears, trying to use the engine to keep us in check as much as he dared. I prayed silently, reciting what lines of Psalm 121 I knew. It was a scary, scary drive down
We had concerned friends waiting for us in Vermont and the Jedi talked to them about the brakes. He also called a friend from Tae Kwon Do, saying, "I know who I'm going to ask...Mr. I-Have-A-Hydrolic-Lift-In-My-Garage." It was determined that as long as the brakes were fully functional now, we should be ok....but we might want to take it easy on them and when we get back to Cincy, perhaps have the brake line flushed (or something to that effect).
We skipped the second mountain we had been considering for the day, and on the advice of concerned Vermont friends, went to the Vermont Country Store. That was a great place. We spent a small chunk of money, and I slightly regret not spending a bit more. There were a couple types of Vermont cheddar cheese that did not come home with us and a bottle of maple syrup that I wish we would have picked up. Still, we picked up several nice souvenirs and ate maple ice cream. yum.
We didn't get to our friends house till close to 6:30 instead of our hoped for 4:30. Both the extended journey down the mountain, the phone calls about the brakes, and the shopping excursion really added up. and yes, I know I just said "both" about three things, but I'm typing on my tablet, and its not nearly as user friendly as one would think. Going back and changing things is a pain.
At our friends house, we enjoyed a delicious salmon dinner. It was the only time I've ever had salmon where the skin was almost the best part of the meal! We visited, and chatted until past old people bedtimes. And then we snuggled down under wool batted blankets. Bliss.
Left the hotel at 8:10, just 10 minutes behind schedule. There were two tour buses in the hotel who were all trying to get breakfast and check out at the same time as us. We got our breakfast and ate it in the room and got out close to on time.
Outside of the city, the horizon was rimmed with low clouds and we drove into the rolling hills driving in and out of banks of fog and mist as we drove through the low lying clouds.
The air was chilly, just 38 degrees. On the first cold day of the year, the van always reads a low tire pressure. We stopped so that the Jedi could check the tires and put air in as needed. A fifteen minute delay, but nothing that should derail the days plans.
We drove over the Erie canal at least three times. Each time there was mist swirling off the surface of the water and all three times I just missed getting a picture of it.
I've discovered the easiest way to communicate with Sweetling during road trips is to text her. She sits in the very back of the van with headphones on and her attention is on whatever she is working on. The Young Chef sits in the middle, often asleep. Trying to get Sweetling's attention either verbally or visually is not often successful, so I text her. The Jedi comments, "Do you remember when you laughed at me when I told you we email each other in the office?"
We drove over the Hudson River and found ourselves off the main highway on all these county roads and state routes. The Jedi said, "This is feeling less like a cross country road trip and more like a drive to a BBQ contest." I, of course, went back to my past time of trying to snap photographs out the window of a moving vehicle. Sweetling spotted Ribbon Candy Lane, which she said was pretty much the antithesis of the long standing winner of weird street names, Bucket of Blood Road, spotted on our drive through the American Southwest.
Our first big landmark of the trip was Mt Equinox in the Green Mountains of Vermont. It was a private toll road to access it. We paid the $35 dollar toll and drove up. The weather was beautiful, clear and sunny. The trees have begun to display their brilliant fall colors and the air was so clear we could see mountain ranges in the distance from both New York and New Hampshire. Young Chef took photos and explored. I delighted in all the grasshoppers. I started a Skype call to Mama, but then Sweetling asked if she could show Grandma around and took the phone and disappeared. I went and found the Jedi and just appreciated the view with him.
On the way back down, Eswin asked, "What's that smell?" at about the same time the Jedi made a worried comment. It turns out that the burning smell was our brakes. The road up and down the mountain was narrow and steep with numerous hairpin turns and traffic going both up and down the mountain. The Jedi was trying to use the transmission as much as possible to slow our decent, but the road was so steep the engine was reving too high and the turns were so tight he had to use the brakes a lot to bring our speed down to go around those blind corners without hitting on coming traffic on one side or trees on the other side.
There was no place to stop or pull over for the first half mile down the mountain. By the time we got to a parking area for a scenic lookout, the brakes were *smoking* and very "spongy" when in use. We sat there for a while to let them cool down completely. The Jedi tested them, and they seemed to have recovered at least enough to try the next bit down the mountain. We limped our way down the next three and a half miles of road, pulling off at every opportunity to rest and let the brakes cool. The Jedi teased the transmission between gears, trying to use the engine to keep us in check as much as he dared. I prayed silently, reciting what lines of Psalm 121 I knew. It was a scary, scary drive down
We had concerned friends waiting for us in Vermont and the Jedi talked to them about the brakes. He also called a friend from Tae Kwon Do, saying, "I know who I'm going to ask...Mr. I-Have-A-Hydrolic-Lift-In-My-Garage." It was determined that as long as the brakes were fully functional now, we should be ok....but we might want to take it easy on them and when we get back to Cincy, perhaps have the brake line flushed (or something to that effect).
We skipped the second mountain we had been considering for the day, and on the advice of concerned Vermont friends, went to the Vermont Country Store. That was a great place. We spent a small chunk of money, and I slightly regret not spending a bit more. There were a couple types of Vermont cheddar cheese that did not come home with us and a bottle of maple syrup that I wish we would have picked up. Still, we picked up several nice souvenirs and ate maple ice cream. yum.
We didn't get to our friends house till close to 6:30 instead of our hoped for 4:30. Both the extended journey down the mountain, the phone calls about the brakes, and the shopping excursion really added up. and yes, I know I just said "both" about three things, but I'm typing on my tablet, and its not nearly as user friendly as one would think. Going back and changing things is a pain.
At our friends house, we enjoyed a delicious salmon dinner. It was the only time I've ever had salmon where the skin was almost the best part of the meal! We visited, and chatted until past old people bedtimes. And then we snuggled down under wool batted blankets. Bliss.
Monday, October 07, 2019
NE Day 1--Murpheys Law
Left the house and were sitting in the van at 8:33 this morning, half hour past our hoped for departure time. I started the new page of the log book and the Jedi turned the key in the ignition....and nothing. So, the Jedi got out and took the opportunity to teach the Young Chef how to hook up jumper cables. I did not photograph this process. I like my men folk, and I want them to continue to like me.
We were actually on the road by 8:53, and then had to turn around to get our phone chargers. (Sweetling's sunglasses and blanket and my scrapbooking pen had already been forgotten and retrieved during the van jumping process.)
The Young Chef was asleep before we even hit the highway. The Jedi and I played the license plate game by ourselves for a while and I read aloud the logs of all the past trips.
Young Chef woke up around 12:33 and dug into one of his bags of flaming hot Cheetos. The Jedi and I have a secret pool going on how long his 4 bags of Cheetos will last during this trip. I got him 6 small bags of Cheetos for the trip on Monday, and those were gone before Thursdays. Because, he said, "They were so small...."
We had plans for the evening in Syracuse, so we decided to get our lunch from Briquettes Smokehouse in Ashtubula to go. I know I just misspelled that, but I'm not arguing with my tablet to try to open a new tab to look it up. My tablet and I are not on the best of terms. It is not my favorite piece of electronics. Lunch was good. The kids each got a perch sandwich, which were good, but the Young Chef felt that the breading to fish ratio was too skewed towards the breading. The Jedi and I split some ribs and briskets. The ribs had a nice dry rub on them. The brisket was all right, but not super exciting. In the parking lot, right next to the river and the harbor, we saw this giant thing. I asked friends on facebook about it, who guessed that it was a conveyor belt to move gravel from one side of the river to the other (where it was mounded up in large hills.) Still unclear as to the *why* of said process.
We stopped by an ice cream/ diner in Erie PA to recreate a photo of the kids from our trip to Buffalo in 2009. We knew in advance the ice cream stand had closed for the season, we missed eating there by just a few days. But we discovered when we got there that they had either put away, or no longer had, all the large kitchy "Americana" style statues that we so fondly remembered. We took a photo of the kids on one of the outdoor patio table that hadn't yet been packed up. The railroad crossing sign was one of the few details that we could find to recreate an earlier photo.
We were still well behind schedule, so we skipped the planned ice cream stop. Even so it was after 8 before we got to Syracuse. (The Jedi pointed out the irony of how on the first trip Buffalo was this distant location that we spend two days driving to get to, and on this trip, we were just blowing by it on our first day of our trip.) The morning delay wasn't enough to account for the late arrival, and we hadn't hit any traffic, so there seemed to be no explanation to what happened. We had just driven all day long, and none of our stops had gone as planned :(
Dinner was at Eva's Polish Restaurant, and that was very good. The sauerkraut smell was a little off putting, but the decor was nice and the food was filling. We ordered desserts to go and went to the hotel, skipping the family fun night we had been planning. At the hotel, everyone was tired. Instead of desserts and movie, it turned out to be desserts and bed.
Things we saw on the drive:
--gravel conveyor bridge over river in Ashtubula (I swear every time I type that city's name the spelling gets worse.)
--6 or so deer grazing at the side of the highway, not all in one herd, but one or two here and there along the drive
--a white heron over a pond
--4 or 5 buffalo statues on exit ramp berm
--"text" stops on the turnpike
--didn't see it, but the prepaid ezpass let us use the express lanes when going through the turnpike toll booths
Hoping that tomorrow is a better day. Today was just not the awesome start to the trip we were hoping for.
We were actually on the road by 8:53, and then had to turn around to get our phone chargers. (Sweetling's sunglasses and blanket and my scrapbooking pen had already been forgotten and retrieved during the van jumping process.)
The Young Chef was asleep before we even hit the highway. The Jedi and I played the license plate game by ourselves for a while and I read aloud the logs of all the past trips.
Young Chef woke up around 12:33 and dug into one of his bags of flaming hot Cheetos. The Jedi and I have a secret pool going on how long his 4 bags of Cheetos will last during this trip. I got him 6 small bags of Cheetos for the trip on Monday, and those were gone before Thursdays. Because, he said, "They were so small...."
We had plans for the evening in Syracuse, so we decided to get our lunch from Briquettes Smokehouse in Ashtubula to go. I know I just misspelled that, but I'm not arguing with my tablet to try to open a new tab to look it up. My tablet and I are not on the best of terms. It is not my favorite piece of electronics. Lunch was good. The kids each got a perch sandwich, which were good, but the Young Chef felt that the breading to fish ratio was too skewed towards the breading. The Jedi and I split some ribs and briskets. The ribs had a nice dry rub on them. The brisket was all right, but not super exciting. In the parking lot, right next to the river and the harbor, we saw this giant thing. I asked friends on facebook about it, who guessed that it was a conveyor belt to move gravel from one side of the river to the other (where it was mounded up in large hills.) Still unclear as to the *why* of said process.
We stopped by an ice cream/ diner in Erie PA to recreate a photo of the kids from our trip to Buffalo in 2009. We knew in advance the ice cream stand had closed for the season, we missed eating there by just a few days. But we discovered when we got there that they had either put away, or no longer had, all the large kitchy "Americana" style statues that we so fondly remembered. We took a photo of the kids on one of the outdoor patio table that hadn't yet been packed up. The railroad crossing sign was one of the few details that we could find to recreate an earlier photo.
We were still well behind schedule, so we skipped the planned ice cream stop. Even so it was after 8 before we got to Syracuse. (The Jedi pointed out the irony of how on the first trip Buffalo was this distant location that we spend two days driving to get to, and on this trip, we were just blowing by it on our first day of our trip.) The morning delay wasn't enough to account for the late arrival, and we hadn't hit any traffic, so there seemed to be no explanation to what happened. We had just driven all day long, and none of our stops had gone as planned :(
Dinner was at Eva's Polish Restaurant, and that was very good. The sauerkraut smell was a little off putting, but the decor was nice and the food was filling. We ordered desserts to go and went to the hotel, skipping the family fun night we had been planning. At the hotel, everyone was tired. Instead of desserts and movie, it turned out to be desserts and bed.
Things we saw on the drive:
--gravel conveyor bridge over river in Ashtubula (I swear every time I type that city's name the spelling gets worse.)
--6 or so deer grazing at the side of the highway, not all in one herd, but one or two here and there along the drive
--a white heron over a pond
--4 or 5 buffalo statues on exit ramp berm
--"text" stops on the turnpike
--didn't see it, but the prepaid ezpass let us use the express lanes when going through the turnpike toll booths
Hoping that tomorrow is a better day. Today was just not the awesome start to the trip we were hoping for.
Saturday, November 03, 2018
Day Three: Seaside Trick or Treat
First of all, I can't drive anywhere without hanging out the van window snapping photos. The Chef says he is worried for the safety of my phone.
But we were finally IN FLORIDA! and there were palm trees EVERYWHERE and free orange juice!
'
Our next stop was Seaside, where The Truman Show was filmed. This is one of Sweetling's favorite movies, so she was super excited we were driving past it.
A little research revealed that Seaside hosts a Trick or Treating night on Halloween.
And that, friends, is how a "driving day" is DONE.
Also, all the snuggle friends that came for the trip got special Halloween ribbons to wear.
Day Two: BBQ, Bugs, and Ghosts, Oh My!
We crossed into Mississippi, our second new state of the trip, around 11 this morning. I really like how each of the welcome centers have reflected the character of the state. Mississippi's carausel horses weren't as awe inspiring as Alabama's full scale Saturn 1B rocket, but they were sweet and full of southern charm.
Lunch was at Leath's BBQ in Hattiesville MS.
Y'all notice how suddenly all my text is centered? Yeah, I'm noticing it too. Typing in a moving van, trying to get my little tablet to cooperate, can barely see the screen for the sun glare, so we're all just going to ignore the sudden shift in text formatting.
And finally (look, the text justification fixed itself), finally, the capstone of the Insectarium was the Japanese Butterfly Garden. Since it was the last room, we were able to slow down and fully enjoy it.
We were also irresponsible in The Fudgery. We bought 4 and a half pounds of fudge, plus extras.
We went to Cafe du Monde because, you know, its Cafe du Monde, but none of us were all that impressed with their beignets. Maybe its something that has to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee to be appreciated. I did find the streamlining of their kitchen line to be pretty interesting.
By far the highlight of the French Quarter was the Ghost Tour by Voodoo Bones Lady. Our tour guide was amazing. He was so animated and he told such good stories. He began the tour by saying that he had grown up in New Orleans, and he was going to share with us the stories that he grew up hearing told. His love for his city and his passion for its stories really came through.
It was great. It made all our lists of favorite things from the day. Two hour walking tour and we had an amazing time the WHOLE time!
Oh my goodness. Long family style dining tables, secret recipe slaw, sweet potato fries, sauce warmed in a crockery pitcher, big ol washcloths for napkins, and some good Q!
Moving on.
Sweetling's pic of things to do in New Orleans was the Audubon Insectarium.
We got there about an hour before they closed, but could have easily spent three hours in the place.
It was really well done and interesting. The main hall had many displays of living creatures along with the standard what is an insect, what is an arthropod, what is a bug, what is a spider sort of information presented in really bright, engaging formats.
The side rooms each had a theme. One was "Underground" (no pics because it was dark). It allowed you to walk under the leaf litter through the soil on a scale as if you were insect sized. Then a room on termites and the damage a new breed is causing in New Orleans. A room on insects and fishing, on insects of the swamp lands, on bees, etc. etc.
My favorite room was the Hall of Fame gallery. I have never seen insects displayed in such a stunningly beautiful manner. The photos I was able to eek out of my phone camera do not do these works of art justice.
Dinner was at Pierre Maspero's in the French Quarter. Ed and I split a blackened chicken jambalaya and Sweetling had blackened redfish. It was all very good.
Following dinner, we walked over to the Mississippi River and then walked around the French Quarter for a while.
It was great. It made all our lists of favorite things from the day. Two hour walking tour and we had an amazing time the WHOLE time!
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