Parliament Hill, West block
17:59: We were awakened by thunder at 6:30 this morning. So, instead of sleeping until 9, we were breaking down the tent so we wouldn't have to pack a wet tent. It would have been nice to sleep in since we didn't get to bed until 12:30. We had chatted around the campfire with our neighbor who was camping for the first time with their two boys. We had also lost an hour driving into the eastern time zone.
The rain fell. And it fell. And it fell. It let up for a moment to give us a nice view when we drove over the Mackinac Bridge. We stopped for breakfast at Bob's Big Boy and my thonged feet sloshed through a lake in the parking lot. At least feet dry faster than shoes. We drove through several rivers this day. It rained so hard that you had to slow down by one half.
We arrived in Sudbury, Ontario, and decided we had had enough. A local said she had lived here for 30 years and she had never seen it so bad, and they had a hurricane in the 70's! Elsewhere, tornados touched down. A man waiting for a bus stood in water up to his knees. So we booked a room in the Howard Johnson's Conference Center and unwound.
19:38: Ottawa, Ontario. Set up camp at Camp Hither Hille outside of Ottawa. On the drive, saw the first traces of mountains--more like hills--since we left the Rockies. But Ottawa is flat and woodsy again.
The weather has cleared up. It was hot (85) but not too humid.
Parliament Hill, West block
Parliament Hill, West block and downtown
Replacing the copper roof
View of Parliament from Hull
The Notre Dame
Hey, it's a Mountie!
18:29: Shared a campfire with some Quebecois last night. Proud of their culture and heritage,they had voted for separation.
Took the bus into Ottawa this morning and were jettisoned into Europe. Large, old, brown buildings dominated the Parliament Hill landscape.
We walked around the river, through Hull in Quebec, and stopped in a British Pub for fish and chips and to escape the relentless heat. It was over 32 C and humid.
We then visited the National Gallery and viewed the Canadian exhibit. Those Canadians are good artists!
The Notre Dame, next door, introduced us to the tin roofs of the cathedrals around here. This roof had been recently renovated in stainless for longevity, however. Indoors, intricate carved wood and columns painted to look like marble dominated.
Finally, we toured the center block of the parliament buildings. It was very similar to the parliament buildings I saw in Australia, and as I learned, to all of the Commonwealth countries.
We watched Austin Powers, Goldmember, at the theater at the bus stop near our campground in a continued effort to escape the heat.
By the way, the bus runs on dedicated roads. Wonder why they didn't lay rail and use electric cars? Cheaper? So the buses could run elsewhere?
Along the waterfront
10:02: We're taking the first short break in some time and putting aside the kitchen cleanup for a moment.
View from the clock tower
Excavated walls of the old city
Inside view of some cathedral
A street scene in the old town
Another street scene
And another (with church)
Inside view of same cathedral
On Thursday, we made the short drive from Ottawa into Montreal and stayed at Camp Aloette to the east of the city which the Quebecois had recommended. Nice campground. Immaculate bathroom which was constantly maintained by dedicated, friendly, and helpful staff. But...
On Thursday night, a group of Germans partied until 3 so we couldn't sleep. No sooner had they gone to bed when the thunder, lightning, and heavy rain struck. It became apparent that the seals on my tent had gotten tired and water began to drop on the mosquito netting. No appreciable water came into the tent though. Fortunately, we had located the tent on a high spot so we did not get flooded. The next morning, another storm hit and we saw that we had been a meter from a puddle. This reinforced the importance of picking a good spot for the tent.
Friday morning, then, we found a Canadian Tire store (which sells everything, including tires) and bought a new tent. We then headed into Montreal and took a walk around the old city. It really felt like Europe: narrow cobblestone streets, store signs which have symbols that indicate the type of shop. The clock tower on the port provided a good view and the archeological museum was extremely well done, presenting the history of the city via an actual excavation. Subsequent periods of the city had literally set their foundations on top of the remains of previous periods.
Yesterday, we packed up and took the metro into town for petite dejeurner in the underground city of Montreal. Once again, our sleep was stymied by a group of partiers. This time though, they never went to bed. We then hiked up Mont Royal (from which the city is named) for a nice overview of the entire city.
Artistic view of cathedral
Skyline view from Mont Royal
Had lunch at a street cafe and then bid adieu to Quebec, made for the car and a quiet border crossing into Vermont. There was some sort of jamboree going on near Colchester (near Lake Champlain), and the natives were certainly restless, so we opted to continue on to Stowe to avoid 3 sleepless nights in a row.
That's just about all there is in Montpelier
We spent a cool, quiet night last night at the Gold Brook Campground, Stowe, VT. No partiers. No clouds. No rain. Just the sound of the river 10 meters away and stars overhead (we didn't add the rain fly).
18:46: Had lunch in Montpelier, the diminutive capital of Vermont.
Barre, the Granite Center of the World
At 8000 inhabitants, it is the smallest capital in the country. The firehouse was the nicest looking of all the ones we have seen, so I dragged the firemen (and firewoman) out for a group shot in front of their firehouse. They recommended the Barre firehouse too which was built in the mid 1800s and sports a wood floor.
The Hope Cemetery outside of Barre is the showcase of the Granite Center of the World. Every tombstone is a work of art.
Pretty normal cross
As if it were split in two
Ditto
Tree of life, er, death
Now getting into the whimsical
Did this one crash and burn?
Ditto
And maybe this trucker got into a bar fight
And now the figures...
The thinker
A fine bust
My favorite: Angel waiting for a bus
Sleeping together through all eternity
Spent the night at the Kancamagus Motor Lodge in Lincoln, NH, since they have in-room steam baths.
18:46: Yesterday, we cruised around New Hampshire. We started by walking around the Flume, a magical primeval gorge.
The Flume Gorge itself
The waterfall at the end of the gorge
The Sentinel Pine Bridge
New Hampshire's Man in the Mountain
On top of Mt. Washington
All covered with...fog
Then a quick view of the Man in the Mountain which seems to be a pretty significant NH symbol-it serves the background of their highway markers..
We then drove up to the base of Mt. Washington, where the cog railroad started. We then crossed the pass via a dirt road and climbed Mt. Washington via the steep, narrow auto road. The road is pretty exciting (steep, narrow, with sharp cliffs off to the side), and the mountain provides spectacular views of the White Mountains. The highest spot in New England is subject to hurricane-force winds and other fantastic weather. In fact, it is only clear 100 days a year. Yesterday wasn't one of them. In fact, visibility was down to 5 meters, much like diving in Monterey.
Finally, we arrived at Camp Chewonki in Wiscasset, ME, and met up with Lynn's family (mom, Tammy and the boys, Betsy and Erin).
Today, we drove out to Bailey's Island and walked on the beaches and rocks, including the Giant Staircase, and tide-pooled. We also had a wonderful fresh lobster lunch at Cook's Lobster House. Lobster really isn't chewy!
Our Gang
Tidepooling
D'oh!
Kenny takes a break from tidepooling for a photo-op
Kenny hams it up
New Harbor
Showing off Puffin Paraphernalia
Yes, it is! It is...a puffin!
Then back to the camp for swimming and dinner.
Finally, the weather has broken. It's comfortably cool.
11:20: Spent a relaxing morning drinking coffee and am now sitting by the pool.
While most of the gang did laundry yesterday, Andrew, Erin, and I went for a hike. There was a boy's camp at the end of the hike which included a cable bridge. The kids dug that.
On the ferry from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth
14:52: We're now sitting at the ferry dock in Bar Harbor. We packed up our campsites this morning, said our goodbyes and hit the road. We had planned to go for a short kayak this morning, but the tide was way too low.
I read for hours by the pool yesterday and managed to swim 100 laps besides. When the gang returned from their shopping extravaganza, I taught Andrew how to ride a bike.