Maine

  Sorry for not posting for awhile!  We've been in Raleigh, NC, relaxing with Peter's parents and being at the NC State Fair!  But we haven't posted about Maine yet, and that place deserves its own entry.

  I think Maine has been the most beautiful place we've visited so far-this might be because we hit the fall color perfectly, or just the overwhelming natural beauty. At any rate, we drove across the state and spent three days in Acadia National Park.  (I know, know-only three days?  We would've stayed longer, but it was just going to rain.  As it was we had great weather!  Besides, Megan had a moment at Acadia where she 'hit the wall' and declared she was ready to be home!)  

   The first day we did a short, hour long hike, called the Beehive Trail.  It was cool-the trail ascends 500 feet along a beautiful cliff of pink granite and firs.  On top, we hiked along the ridgeline, saw the first color of sunset warm the sky, and viewed the Bowl, a natural granite basin the size of a small lake on top an adjacent mountain.  On the hike down we were struck by the pairing of red and orange maples with dark fir evergreens, with gorgeous pink granite in every direction.   

The Bowl

  

   That first night we had our first lobster pound eating experience.  We shared one lobster, a pile of steamed mussels, some corn on the cob, potatoes, and out of this world wild Maine blueberry pie.  

We saw Sand Beach, the only non-rocky section of shoreline on Mt. Desert Isle.  We also spent some time walking along the rockier part of shore, too.

Our other Maine adventures included kayaking Long Lake.  We didn't make out on the ocean (this time) but Long Lake was very pretty and we love kayaking: it's such great exercise for the body and soul.

We had some good local brews at a pub, some fried shrimp and chatted with locals.  Acadia has a scene drive, as well, with great views of the island.  One morning, we got up really early to watch the sunrise on Cadillac Island.  This is the first place sun rays hit the United States for a large part of the year.  BUT...it was cold!!

Gorgeous Maine coast line

Pictures from low tide pools

Harbor in Bar Harbor, Maine

That was about it for Maine.  We left and drove a really, really long ways down to Hampton Virgina to see Megan's Uncle Bill afterwards.  Got some great Chesapeake Bay crab cakes and more fried seafood! Yummy.  

We also visited Megan's cousin Jenny and her great family outside of D.C.  We went into town one afternoon and saw the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.  Cool, but by that time we were kinda worn out.  It's been nice to relax these last few days in NC.  And, fair food is fabulous.  Yesterday we tried our first Krispy Kreme Burger: a patty with bacon and cheese between two Krispy Kreme donuts.  Delicious.  

We'll be in Missouri in a couple of days, and probably put up some more pictures, and maybe a trip slideshow that goes over the best pictures.  But we'll still blog about cool stuff after that, so keep checking back!

~Peter and Megan

Northbound: Vermont

 Oh, and we also learned New York has the largest state park in the whole country: the Adirondack Mountains!  Weird, huh?

When we first crossed over the border into Vermont, the first thing we did was visit Shelburne Farms.  What a gorgeous place—once, it was owned and operated by a doctor who married into the Vanderbilt Family and wanted to create a working dairy farm Vanderbilt style.  The dairy barn was as nice as a mansion, and there were acres of beautiful woodlands and meadows we walked around.  It is now a non-profit used for agro-tourism, teaching kids and adults about farms, agriculture, cheese making, and animals. Megan got to milk a cow for the first time and got to pet many farm animals she’d never gotten a chance to!

The trails all over the farm were beautiful. We even found a lone apple tree with a few good apples on the ground that ended up as a good snack!

 We had our first taste of Vermont white cheddar at Shelburne, and it was yummy. 

 While color was really pretty in Vermont, we really hit the peak about a half week late, and many leaves were already fallen off the trees.  It made for great hikes though, crunching through leaves is pretty great. That was mostly because it was so darn cold already.  About 35 degrees at night!

     The first night I (Peter) got the car stuck in mud trying to get close to our lean-to shelter we stayed at.  Here’s how it went:

Megan: Don’t drive on that grass, it’s raining and there’s a hill!

Me: Nah, it’s fine.  I’ll just whip around to get it closer.

Megan: We’re close enough.

Me: It’ll be fine.

VRRRRRR.  (Tires squealing) !*#&@&@.

Husbands, listen to your wives. J  The next morning, I was able to get out after working at it for a while.

But the rest of Vermont made up for that unfortunate incident.  We visited Cabot Creamery (cheese, more cheese, and cheese heaven!), Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream (sooo good—we saw many flavors we haven’t tried yet) and beautiful vistas of the Green Mountains and Vermont farmland.  Enjoy the pictures!

We also had a blast at the Great Vermont Corn Maze which we were able to navigate in just under an hour! A nice way to be lost for a while!

A NY Minute

Here are a few thoughts and things we learned about NY State the short while we were there:

1. I always heard Niagara Falls was so romantic but never figured why, but man it really is! :) It felt like a second honeymoon us just walking around hand in hand enjoying the beauty.

2. The taxes, toll charges and gas are way too high! Yikes!

3. NY drivers really drive crazy even when not near a city. We were on a back country road and were being passed like I was going 2 mph (which I was not).

4. Several places offered discounts for paying cash which is nice if you have cash on hand and not travelling so much.

5. The state of New York is so massive, much bigger than I ever thought and we didn't even go to NYC.

   Well that's all, we'd love to come back and do The Big Apple sometime when we can do it right!

Thoughts

Wow. I can't believe how long we have been at this. We are on our 5th week! It seems like forever but then it also seems like we could just keep going on. Nothing like a road trip to bring out some of the best and worst things in people and places, but I knew this would be such a great learning experience from God. Peter and I feel so close, just really best friends experiencing life together. We had such a great experience last night. While winding down from another busy day in Vermont we took a look up in the sky while at our campsite and were blown away by the beauty and brightness of the stars. Being so far out away from towns really makes a huge difference.

We took out our sleeping bags and just sat quietly in reflection and companionable silence for a while . . . and then of course I starting asking questions about stars, planets and thoughts of our trip and Peter being the dear he is obliged me with answers. Camping really is the best way to be: wake up with the light, take things slow, enjoy the simple things like camp fires and good beer, and going to bed when it's dark. Although I enjoy TV, movies, my nice kitchen and cute house and normal conveniences, I'd like to find a way to incorporate the camping type of lifestyle in our lives when we get back home more often. We all should.

When was the last time you enjoyed the stars, a sunrise or sunset, or just drove on a road with no where in mind to go?

I'll add pictures and our great activities we did in Vermont at a later time as I'm tired from all our driving and travels and we're off to Acadia tomorrow for lots of hiking, kayaking, and eating :)

Blessings!

Beautiful stars, obviously not a picture taken by me :)

Picture post

While relaxing in a hotel near Niagara Falls I thought I'd add some picture from the last few weeks.

The amount and cheap price of pumpkins and gourds was so fantastic!

One of the many beautiful rural farms along our American road trip journey.

There was a barn of cattle ready to be auctioned as
well as the horses.

The pleasant clip clop of hooves was such a nice change from the normal hustle and bustle of
city traffic.

Maumee State Park Lake Erie in Ohio.

The gorgeous winery we visited in Pennsylvania.

Stain glass from a really old church on the side of the road in PA.

 We have reached the beautiful Niagara Falls! 

Say Cheese!

This view is across the way into Canada. Oh yeah eh!

A gorgeous rainbow bid us farewell

to this awe inspiring sight.

Some cool seed pod on the beach.

I love taking beautiful pictures and am so very thankful to have this opportunity! I want to take a photography
class really bad because I know there's much for me to learn. Hope you enjoy!

Northern Indiana: A Visit to the Amish

     Coming down from Chicago we came to Elkhart, Indiana, and some surrounding towns where there is a large Amish and Mennonite population.  Interestingly enough, this is also the RV capital of the world.  Approximately half of all RVs are made in northern Indiana, and it looks like too!  Lot after lot of RVs of all sorts...but then the countryside was very pretty as well.

     We ate well, to put it simply.  We camped and hung around Shipshewana mostly, the smallest Amish town but with the most authentic experience and amazing food! Some brew cheese, homemade cherry strudel, Amish sausage stuffed with cheese, kielbasa.  Hard for me not to buy more stuff when we went into Yoder's meat and cheese shop, and it was a heaven of delicacies, rows upon rows of cheese, fudge, smoked meats, cold cuts, bacon by the pound, fresh breads, and cuts of beef, pork, chicken, bison, as well as smoked salmon and a thousand other yummies.  A must see if you are passing through that area!

     A big horse auction was going on while we were there.  We sat and watched for awhile, just to see what it was like.  Megan laughed because she couldn't understand anything the auctioneer was saying. He was almost singing!  I was amazed at how cheap the horses were.  Mostly farm and work horses were being sold, but many were well broken in riding horses that would be great for trails. We didn't see a single one of them go for any more than $300; most were around $150-250. Crazy! Then my dad reminded my how much maintenance horses took, but still, if I ever want some trail horses, I'm going back to Indiana.   : )

     As we drive through Indiana to Pennslyvania, it seems we're seeing the heart of America.  We've been taking less interstates lately and more back roads mostly to avoid toll roads.  As a result, it's been beautiful vista after vista of rolling farm land and forests.  All the Amish we met were wonderfully nice people, and we feel blessed that we've met so many friendly people in all the places we've gone.

     Today, we're leaving Pennslyvania. We've been with friends, Wally and Theresea.  We visited the winery they work part-time at, and walked around Penn State some.  We found a farmers market with more Amish goods, and bought some yummy pastries.  Can't get enough!  Mostly, we've had a great time building new relationships with our hosts, and we hope we can see them again in the coming years. Plus Megan was happy to win Catan again!

    Now to Niagara Falls.  Then, off the beaten path through the Adirondack Mountains, pulling out the down jackets, and east to Burlington, VT. We hope to hit Vermont at its peak of leaves.

     Thanks to everyone who reads this blog and shares this journey with us.  Friends are the most important possession we have.  We'll post some pictures soon of Indiana, just haven't gotten around to loading them.

Ciao!

Arlington Heights

Peter and I had such a great time with Linda and Tom in Arlington Heights! They treated us so well and showed us great hospitality and delicious Chicago food.

We had such a unique experience. Tom owns a horse at Arlington Race Track, Freefighter, and what a beauty he is!

Here's a couple pictures from the race track.

Tom, my cousin Linda in the middle and Peter enjoying the sunny but windy day at Arlington!

We even got to have our picture taken at the winner's circle because Tom's owner's horse won the second race of the day. What a treat!

Staying with family is the best way to travel! Thanks to Tom and Linda!

Local Foods

So I'd thought I'd make a quick list of local foods we've eaten at various locations along the way.  I'll add to this as time goes by, but it's a good beginning.

Juicy Lucys - Twin Cities, Minnesota
Local cheese- Wisconsin
Dirty Bastard Scotch Ale-Munising Michigan (U.P)
Whitefish, fried- Munising Michigan (U.P)
Fudge (?)- Mackinaw Island
Cherry Stout, Cherry Mead, Cherry Wine- Leelenau Peninsula, Michigan (Cherry Capital of the World, apparently)
Chicago-style hot dogs and pizza- Chicago! (Outside of Chicago there is a state called Illinois)
Italian beef-dunked in juices!- Chicago
Garrett's Chicago Mix Popcorn

Delicious Lou Malnati's traditional Chicago deep dish pizza! So good!

Matt's Bar Jucy Lucy. Look at all that yummy melted cheese!

Looking forward to some more Chicago food, and then hitting up some great seafood in the N.E.

Mackinac Island and more Michigan Adventures!

Michigan is seriously one of the coolest states! So much to see, eat and do. We had such a great day at Mackinac Island. The island was once the center for fur trading in the 1800s and has now become the Martha's Vineyard of the Northern Midwest. You can only get to the island by ferry or plane, and in the winter the lake freezes over so thick that the 500 some full time residents can snowmobile back to the mainland.

Here's a video about the unique aspects of Mackinac Island.

Cars are not allowed on the island and the only transportation is horse and bicycle. Here are some pictures from our great day.

The Grand Hotel, Mackinac Isl. premiere and oldest hotel

Horse drawn carriages were everywhere, as was their s**t :)

Giving a quick smooch to my best honey

The best thing we did the whole time was rent this awesome tandem bike and bike
around the whole island. 8 miles in under an hour!

People built little rock cairns all over the island coast. You can see
the bridge in the background.

We then headed down to Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore which is on the Leelanau Peninsula. It was a nice place to chill for three nights. It's right near Traverse City which is a great college town where we had great food (Mackinac Brewing Co. and Cousin Jenny's pasties), a free movie at The State Theater, and did some wine tasting at a couple great wineries. Michigan specializes in growing cherries so we tried some great cherry stout, cherry wine, and cherry mead.

Just to give you some scale as to how big these dunes are. 

Close up of some vegetation on the dunes.

We are in Chicago right now and just stayed with my second cousin Linda and her husband Tom. They were such great hosts and showed us a real great time with amazing Chicago food and a unique look into the Arlington Race Track. More photos to come as we spend some time with my cousin Kelly, her husband Chris and their two boys Will and Owen.

~Cheers!