Friday August 1, 2008
We answered some e-mails this morning (it has been at least a week without internet) and then headed for Niagara Falls. The park is the first state park in the US! It is beautiful. Luckily we see people biking and decide to unpack the bikes. Best decision of the day. We bought Niagara passes so we biked to the aquarium, discovery center and then made our way over the river to eat lunch at the “Top of the Falls” restaurant. It overlooks Horseshoe Falls…very beautiful. After lunch we did the Cave of the Wind walking tour underneath Bridal Veil Falls…we were very wet, but donated our Niagara falls sandals to the poor (they are included in the price of the tour). We then went to the Maid of the Mist boat tour. Blue ponchos instead of yellow, but no wait and we went to the base of the falls. The falls are pretty amazing…there is no way to describe the power of the water going over that cliff. After doing all that Niagara Falls State Park had to offer we went to Sean Manning’s winery, “Freedom Run” We did a tasting and bought a couple of bottles. It really is a beautiful place. Sean did the winery up right…we talked to the people there, Sean’s pottery is for sale there. Then, we went to the Jet Boats! Jet Boats…what can I say. They are fast and crazy. Of course, we had the boat that had a new employee on it (sitting right in front of us) so at the end of the ride our guide came up and sat in front of us and the fun began. Greg and I could not even breathe because of the amount of water coming over the sides. I am SURE that the pilot was trying to make an effect on the newbie and of course….it made and effect on the rest of us in the form of water up our noses! We ended our night on the deck overlooking the Niagara river with the sun going down and when we got back to the park we unfortunately had to do some laundry.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
Thursday July 31, 2008
Today was a real travel day. We had decided to go as far as we could and then finish the trip to Niagara Falls on Friday. As it turned out, we were traveling great and we made it to Niagara Falls without a problem by 5. We are very happy and check into the AA campgrounds. Thought it was supposed to have 300 campsites…it has 33. Whatever, we are here, they have internet and the sites are level. It is a far cry from our beloved State Parks, but this is how we will be heading home. We decided to head into “town” to get some dinner. The actual town of Niagara is a little depressed so when we saw the Seneca Casino we decided to take a chance. We were going to go to the buffet, but about 200 Japanese tourists decended on the buffet at the same time. We ended up at the Seneca Casino’s premier restaurant and boy was it good. Prime rib and a filet…wine, creamed spinach, asparagus, good stuff. We then went into the casino and did what we do best in casinos…lose money. This night ended differently than we thought. We usually find a local diner to eat at!
Today was a real travel day. We had decided to go as far as we could and then finish the trip to Niagara Falls on Friday. As it turned out, we were traveling great and we made it to Niagara Falls without a problem by 5. We are very happy and check into the AA campgrounds. Thought it was supposed to have 300 campsites…it has 33. Whatever, we are here, they have internet and the sites are level. It is a far cry from our beloved State Parks, but this is how we will be heading home. We decided to head into “town” to get some dinner. The actual town of Niagara is a little depressed so when we saw the Seneca Casino we decided to take a chance. We were going to go to the buffet, but about 200 Japanese tourists decended on the buffet at the same time. We ended up at the Seneca Casino’s premier restaurant and boy was it good. Prime rib and a filet…wine, creamed spinach, asparagus, good stuff. We then went into the casino and did what we do best in casinos…lose money. This night ended differently than we thought. We usually find a local diner to eat at!
Wednesday July 30, 2008
We got up and going pretty good this morning heading for Canada. We made it through customs although we are always nervous answering questions…”where are you coming from?” “St. Petersburg, Florida” “You drove all the way from Florida today?” “Well, no, we are staying at…what is the name of that state park?” You get the gist…we are naturally nervous, especially Greg and they even asked who was sitting by him. I swear I didn’t think he was going to remember my name! We stopped at the visitor’s center and got great information on where to park and go in the old section. We parked and got on our bikes and took off. Montreal is very bike friendly. There are bike paths everywhere and we used them. We rode around the town and then finally found a “free” place to lock our bikes…most places were like parking meters and we had no Canadian coins. We ate at a little outdoor café and had pizza. It was a caper, artichoke, ham, olive pizza but each ingredient had its own section of the pizza…interesting. We ended up splitting up each piece…it was great. We also had a beer and for some reason (could have been the long day yesterday) it wiped us out! We went to the huge park that runs down the waterfront on the St. Lawrence River, got out our crazy creek chairs to “read” and promptly fell asleep! Two vagrant naps in one month…I don’t know what is next. We needed to move so we followed the bike trail for a good ways (saw people going through the locks on their boats) then loaded up and headed home. On the way home we decided to go to the movies (we had seen them from the interstate on our way in last night) so we got to the Plattsburgh Mall, ate at the Flaming Wok and watched the Dark Knight. After so much nature and city stuff it was great to do something mindless. We got back to our site after 10, so we still don’t know much about it.
We got up and going pretty good this morning heading for Canada. We made it through customs although we are always nervous answering questions…”where are you coming from?” “St. Petersburg, Florida” “You drove all the way from Florida today?” “Well, no, we are staying at…what is the name of that state park?” You get the gist…we are naturally nervous, especially Greg and they even asked who was sitting by him. I swear I didn’t think he was going to remember my name! We stopped at the visitor’s center and got great information on where to park and go in the old section. We parked and got on our bikes and took off. Montreal is very bike friendly. There are bike paths everywhere and we used them. We rode around the town and then finally found a “free” place to lock our bikes…most places were like parking meters and we had no Canadian coins. We ate at a little outdoor café and had pizza. It was a caper, artichoke, ham, olive pizza but each ingredient had its own section of the pizza…interesting. We ended up splitting up each piece…it was great. We also had a beer and for some reason (could have been the long day yesterday) it wiped us out! We went to the huge park that runs down the waterfront on the St. Lawrence River, got out our crazy creek chairs to “read” and promptly fell asleep! Two vagrant naps in one month…I don’t know what is next. We needed to move so we followed the bike trail for a good ways (saw people going through the locks on their boats) then loaded up and headed home. On the way home we decided to go to the movies (we had seen them from the interstate on our way in last night) so we got to the Plattsburgh Mall, ate at the Flaming Wok and watched the Dark Knight. After so much nature and city stuff it was great to do something mindless. We got back to our site after 10, so we still don’t know much about it.
Tuesday July 29, 2008
Well, today we went to Rangeley again and also to Farmington for a little detour where we ate lunch, drove back to Rangeley and took off for New York….we are behind schedule by 5 hours. It was a long trip, but we hated to lose our day. Greg drove most of the way and I took over when the roads got better. We ate in a little town in Vermont and got in at 9:30. Backed in and got the coach level (without any jacks!) and had a celebratory cocktail. We have no idea what this place looks like, but we are happy to be here. It is in Schuler Falls, New York and is a state park. I updated the blog (at least the text part since we have electricity tonight…but no internet), Greg read. Tomorrow…Montreal.
Well, today we went to Rangeley again and also to Farmington for a little detour where we ate lunch, drove back to Rangeley and took off for New York….we are behind schedule by 5 hours. It was a long trip, but we hated to lose our day. Greg drove most of the way and I took over when the roads got better. We ate in a little town in Vermont and got in at 9:30. Backed in and got the coach level (without any jacks!) and had a celebratory cocktail. We have no idea what this place looks like, but we are happy to be here. It is in Schuler Falls, New York and is a state park. I updated the blog (at least the text part since we have electricity tonight…but no internet), Greg read. Tomorrow…Montreal.
Monday July 28, 2008
Today we decided to go canoeing and headed to Oquossoc on the north west corner of Rangeley Lake. It looked like rain when we got there so we ate some lunch at the world renown 4 Seasons Café and then had the canoe rental company drop us off. We went down the Kennebec River and we did it because the guide book said it was a great place to see wildlife including MOOSE…we still haven’t seen one. And at the end of our trip we still hadn’t seen on or even much wildlife. We decided to drive to a place called Coos Canyon and low and behold, on our way when we least expected it (that’s what the chamber of commerce lady told us…you will see a moose when you least expect it!) out pops this big ass moose out of the bushes on the left hand side of the road and starts hoofing it down the road. There are all sorts of signs in Maine that say, “Break for Moose”, but I don’t even know why they need them. If you are stupid enough to speed up and hit a 600 pound GIANT moose, then you deserve whatever happens. Anyway, we did “break for moose” and while I frantically tried to get the camera out of its protective bag, it went into the woods on the right hand side of the road. No picture, but at least a sighting! We are now determined to get a picture of a moose and planned a trip to the DOT on the way to Stratton at dusk. After dinner we headed to Stratton and saw a moose on the way! At the DOT sight we saw another one (if you are keeping count, that’s 3). On the way out, we saw the same one we saw on the way in…at least I think it was and then another one! 4 moose sightings AND pictures. We went home happy.
Today we decided to go canoeing and headed to Oquossoc on the north west corner of Rangeley Lake. It looked like rain when we got there so we ate some lunch at the world renown 4 Seasons Café and then had the canoe rental company drop us off. We went down the Kennebec River and we did it because the guide book said it was a great place to see wildlife including MOOSE…we still haven’t seen one. And at the end of our trip we still hadn’t seen on or even much wildlife. We decided to drive to a place called Coos Canyon and low and behold, on our way when we least expected it (that’s what the chamber of commerce lady told us…you will see a moose when you least expect it!) out pops this big ass moose out of the bushes on the left hand side of the road and starts hoofing it down the road. There are all sorts of signs in Maine that say, “Break for Moose”, but I don’t even know why they need them. If you are stupid enough to speed up and hit a 600 pound GIANT moose, then you deserve whatever happens. Anyway, we did “break for moose” and while I frantically tried to get the camera out of its protective bag, it went into the woods on the right hand side of the road. No picture, but at least a sighting! We are now determined to get a picture of a moose and planned a trip to the DOT on the way to Stratton at dusk. After dinner we headed to Stratton and saw a moose on the way! At the DOT sight we saw another one (if you are keeping count, that’s 3). On the way out, we saw the same one we saw on the way in…at least I think it was and then another one! 4 moose sightings AND pictures. We went home happy.
On the AT
Piazza Rock (Moose and Squirrel)
2 seater with a cribbage board in between...boredom on the trail!Sunday July 27, 2008
Today was our hiking day. There are so many hikes to choose from in this area, but we chose to go to Piazza Rock which is about 1.8 miles (3.6 round trip) on the Appalacian Trail. This satisfied our lust for the trail (something we always wanted to do). We parked in the trail head parking lot and watched lots of hikers coming out and meeting the mail truck…these are serious hikers. Our hike was strenuous in some parts, mucky in others and ended in an area with a rock that was precariously perched high over our heads. We also met a caretaker who lives in the wilderness and keeps track of the people who come by…what a life. Our stop also coincided with an AT lean to and tent platforms. I could just imagine how welcome these places would be at the end of a day of hiking. There is an out house and in the lean to is a journal where hikers write notes about their journeys along with a deck of cards and a few other comforts. The out house was a 2 seater with a cribbage board screwed into the wood between the seats (better than a tv). We ate lunch on one of the tent platforms and then met a guy (trail name: Whiplash, as in Snidley Whiplash). He was hiking the entire trail and had started in Georgia on February 7th…he was getting close to the end. When I asked his trail name and he told me “Whiplash” I told him that Greg and I were “Moose and Squirrel”. To which he replied, “Really!?” and then of course I had to say, “No, just kidding”, but the Moose and Squirrel thing has stuck and we are now traveling under those names. I could have easily said, “Boris and Natasha”, “Dudley and Nell” or “Peabody and Sherman…wait, that doesn’t work” but Moose and Squirrel it is. After our 5 hour hike (I swear, I do NOT know where that time went) we went to a place called Smalls Falls. Lots of people go there (especially on Sunday afternoon) to swim in the pools down from the falls and jump off the cliffs…pretty scary. We found a rock in the stream and got out our “crazy creek chairs” (stadium seats to you non-Mainers) and read with our feet in the stream. What a nice afternoon. We ended the day with steaks on the grill and another fire and more reading (we have chosen some really good books!)
Saturday July 26, 2008
We started our day with a trip and a hike to the site of a crash of a B52 that happened in the 60s. It was pretty amazing to see the devastation that happens when a plane crashes into a mountain and how it tore the plane up. After that we took off for Rangeley Lakes State Park. We called the ranger ladies on the way and they had a site ready for us…so nice. We went into Rangeley and hit up the Chamber of Commerce for information before we ate a nice dinner at the Rangeley Inn and made a beautiful fire to contemplate!
We started our day with a trip and a hike to the site of a crash of a B52 that happened in the 60s. It was pretty amazing to see the devastation that happens when a plane crashes into a mountain and how it tore the plane up. After that we took off for Rangeley Lakes State Park. We called the ranger ladies on the way and they had a site ready for us…so nice. We went into Rangeley and hit up the Chamber of Commerce for information before we ate a nice dinner at the Rangeley Inn and made a beautiful fire to contemplate!
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