tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26836003083366720132024-02-22T07:52:02.921-08:00Gap Year 2013 Apr-Jun: East and northeast USAHans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-40179278429403677682013-06-30T17:53:00.000-07:002013-06-30T17:54:42.536-07:00Mon 1 Jul - Mon 30 Sep<p>As Blogger only allows a maximum of 100 posts per blog, our posts from 1 July to 30 September will be found under:</p>
<p><a href="http://awaycarlen-gapyear2013q3.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank" title="">http://awaycarlen-gapyear2013q3.blogspot.com.au/</a></p>
<p>Our posts from 1 April to 30 June will continue to be found under (here):</p>
<p><a href="http://awaycarlen-gapyear2013q2.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank" title="">http://awaycarlen-gapyear2013q2.blogspot.com.au/</a></p>
<p> And our posts up to 31 March can be found under:</p>
<p><a href="http://awaycarlen-gapyear2013q1.blogspot.com.au/" target="_blank" title="">http://awaycarlen-gapyear2013q1.blogspot.com.au/</a></p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-7245736737808440132013-06-30T17:35:00.000-07:002013-06-30T17:51:47.389-07:00Sun 30 Jun - Salem, MA<p>Our trip today from Concord, NH to Salem, MA was likely to take only 80 minutes of driving so we did a small detour along the way - via Burlington MA - to visit another L.L. Bean store. This one was supposed to have just 1 ladies Weather Challenger 3 in 1 jacket in Di's size (like Hans bought in Freeport, ME). </p>
<p>We found the store, but struggled to find the jacket. Whilst Di was rummaging, Hans got distracted by all the cool stuff in the store (again) and was smiling at this particular item - a CFD - "Canine Floating Device". </p>
<p>Yep, this is a life jacket for a dog. A dogs life in New England...</p>
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<p>We headed into Mens Outerwear in the hope of finding Di a small man's jacket. Some staff in this section were very helpful but initially they had no luck in their search. Then one lady persisted "out the back" and ta-dah, a jacket identical to Hans' but in Di's (large female) size was found. Possibly the last one in New England! Woo hoo. Made Di's day. The jacket was bought and Di smiled. Of course today's weather was nearly 30 degrees so the joy of wearing the jacket will need to wait a while. Here is a later shot...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">After our successful shopping trip we were still very early arriving at our motel about 10 miles from Salem, MA in an area called Danvers. Unfortunately, they would not allow check in before 3pm and yes, from what we could see they were very busy with checking out the punters from Saturday night and getting the rooms ready again. Fair enough.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">So we got back in the car and headed to historic Salem to explore before joining a 3pm "witch walking tour" there, which we had already booked.</div>
<p>The historic waterfront area is where we started our exploration. Long before Salem was known for witch trials it was the biggest north eastern seaport. Bigger than Boston. </p>
<p>A tall shop replica sits alongside the historic Derby Wharf with Di (a bit hot and sweaty) in the foreground. </p>
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<p>We wandered to the end and read the various plaques. It was obvious that the Derby Wharf was very old and had been well used. Lots of rusted old iron bolts in stones and old timbers.</p>
<p>At the end of the wharf, Di pretended she was the "queen of the world"...</p>
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<p> Looking back towards Salem from the end of Derby Wharf. </p>
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<p>Lunchtime was approaching and after exploring various overpriced options for 20 minutes or so, we settled for Rockefeller's, which had a menu selection that was wide enough for both of us. "Rustic Pasta" for Hans (penne in tomato sauce with artichoke and grilled chicken) and a "day after" sandwich for Di (meaning leftover thanksgiving stuff on a sandwich - quite good). </p>
<p>We wanted a photo of the restaurant as we left and as Di posed she was joined by 3 charming young period actors who participated in good spirits and also promoted their theatre play called "live witch trial performance". Sounded quirky enough - maybe for tomorrow.</p>
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<p>Salem has been a tourist town since 1970, when some episodes of Bewitched were filmed here, but not much before that. Since the 70s, the town has attracted witches, psychics and performers as it thrives on the unfortunate witch trials of 1692. The witch with the broomstick "logo" is everywhere including on police cars we were told although we haven't seen that yet ourselves. There are even directions on telegraph poles for how to get to the various witch attractions.</p>
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<p>No, Disney did not create the facade to the Salem Witch Museum, it is a revamped old church. We feel that we need to visit one of the many witch and witchcraft museum that can be found in Salem, and this will probably be the contender tomorrow as it is the oldest, looked the most popular from what we could see and our witch craft walking guide recommended it later.</p>
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<p>The person depicted on the statue next to the museum is not a witch. First of all, the staute is of a male who was the original European settler of Salem named Roger Conant who arrived here in 1626. </p>
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<p> Another photo of the outside of the museum, and it seemed to have some strange attraction for Di...</p>
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<p>Across the road from Salem Witch Museum is a leafy and green park known as Salem Common. It looked very inviting on a hot day so we strolled the outer paths and sat and watched the world go by until just before our walking tour started, which was just around the block on Essex Street.</p>
<p>Hans was prepared to brave the hot sun so we could provide a good location shot of the Salem Common. </p>
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<p> We sat on a bench in the shade for a while enjoying a light breeze, watching locals enjoying their Sunday afternoon. All very relaxing and nice.</p>
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<p>The "Salem Witch Walk - Salem's only magical tour" started outside this old building, which is a Witch Shop called Crowhaven. The lady in the hat may or may not be a witch...</p>
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<p> ...she was promoting the store and based on this "help wanted" flyer she could be brand new to all of this. </p>
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<p>Our "witch walk" is just that - a 90 minute walking tour led by a witch. A male witch. Tom was our guide and resident witch (not warlock). Hans thought that he looked more like a rock artist...</p>
<p>We started with a witch ritual in the courtyard/alley near the store. Tom chatted the whole time about witch rituals to call on energy from north, east, south and west and from earth, wind, fire and water and various icons used, like a sword and candles. The whole time, a strong incense was burning...</p>
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<p>We participated. An interesting and quite light introduction to witchcraft and kept light with some funny discussions of key misconceptions of witchcraft etc. </p>
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<p>Tom was an enthusiastic tour guide. We got a wide selection of information, about witches, Salem, some history and of course the witch trials. Tom walked and talked fast and was full of energy and passion.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We learned that all the original buildings in Salem with any link to the witchtrials of 1692 are gone (age and fire etc), except for one building, the home of one of the judges, but we did hear from Tom about various locations that are thought to have been key in the history and trials.</div>
<p>One fascinating story that Tom told us was about Giles Corey, a wealthy old man who was accused so that a trial could be held, leading to (of course) a guilty proclamation his land could be snatched by the government. </p>
<p>Giles refused a trial and this meant he was tortured first to force him to a trial. The torture took place in a field near the Old Witch Gaol. According to the law at the time, a person who refused to be tried was to be tortured - basically "pressed to death" - by being laid naked in a pit covered by a wooden board with heavy rocks added one at a time. Corey Giles took more than 2 days to die and never gave in, demanding "more weight". With his dying breath he cursed the sheriff and Salem. He won in the end, without a trial they could not snatch his land and it was bequeathed to his son. </p>
<p>The site of the old witch gaol, which was a dungeon and not a jail according to Tom. History somewhat rewritten. An office building occupies that location today.</p>
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<p>We learn about various rituals and altars, including Halloween and honoring the dead, emphasised with dear Peter's skull below.</p>
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<p> Our last stop on the tour was The Burying Point cemetery and its adjacent witch trial memorial ground. </p>
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<p> We will spend more time here tomorrow - looks very interesting. </p>
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<p>As a follow on to discussions of rituals, sacrifices and offerings, Tom did a small ritual in the graveyard to a goddess, sacrificing his favourite snack - a honey bun!</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">This is a memorial to the 20 innocent men and women who were executed during the witch trials of 1692, one stone bench for each of the victims. In addition, another 150 men, women and children were imprisoned.</div>
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<p>Bridget Bishop was the first person to be tried as a witch and was then promptly hanged. </p>
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<p>We finish our tour around 4.45pm back where we started. A small funny side note - the red trolleys roam the streets showing tourists the sights. Each time a trolley passed where we stood, Tom asked that we all enthusiastically wave on cue. Some funny reactions from those on board. </p>
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<p>Back to our motel around 5.15pm to formally check in, get our key, and relax a bit after a hot afternoon of walking. Di had a swim in the pool while Hans was lazy in the room.</p>
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<p>Dinner in our room, finishing up some our tinned provisions. Good night.</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-22376168804836710922013-06-29T19:56:00.000-07:002013-06-30T03:25:56.746-07:00Sat 29 Jun - Concord, NH<p>Driving in the Lake District of New Hampshire... Sort of...</p>
<p>We awoke to a grey and muggy day and decided that a drive around Lake Winnipesaukee to the north of Concord may be the best option to sightsee as the weather was unpredictable.</p>
<p>We left Concord just after 9am heading north east and going for an anticlockwise loop around the lake. Di was driving today and she was very deer conscious on the smaller country roads.</p>
<p>First stop was Wolfeboro, a cute town with water on 2 sides, Lake Winnipesaukee and Back Bay on the other side (there were more lakes further east). </p>
<p>They were offering scenic lake tours in Wolfeboro, but we gave that a miss as we were uncertain as to what you would see from the lake that you wouldn't see from a car. OK, we were tight fisted...<br>
</p>
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<p> Another shot of the tour boat...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">This waterway was the only one that connected the two sides of water in Wolfeboro from what we could see. Yes, we did see a small boat going through there and the 2 people on board sat on the floor or ducked. </div>
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<p>Coffee and cookies were offered by Yum Yum Bakery and Cafe and we took them up on the offer. We noticed this plaque next to their door as we left... It rings true with us...</p>
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<p>Self portrait at a bench provided by a Russian town (name forgotten) that was perhaps a sister city with Wolfeboro. The bench was next to the lake and we enjoyed our morning cuppas here.</p>
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<p>Wolfeboro is yet another town or city which had transformed old railway tracks into joint pedestrian and cycle paths (which we are strongly in favor of). They had even made a point of showing off their railway past with a restored train station, now a visitors centre and this end stop (or whatever these things are called).</p>
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<p>Di enjoying a small part of the walkway. Work apparently is still in progress and the path will link several towns and run for 12.5 miles (20 km) when it is completed.</p>
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<p> More railway memorabilia along the path, this on a bridge with a dam underneath.</p>
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<p>We then continued driving north along the eastern shoreline of Lake Winnipesaukee up to Moultonborough where we turned to drive south along the western shoreline and to Meredith (which looked really touristy so we didn't stop) to our next stop which was Weirs Beach.</p>
<p>Weirs Beach looked like a place that would be favored by bikers and families. A bit touristy, but also with cheap and old looking motels, several penny arcades, pizza and fried food joints and water crafts for hire or touring. Of course, a pier with arcade games and cheap eats is almost mandatory in a place like that (see behind Hans)</p>
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<p> You could take a tour on the "Mount Washington". What a mountain has to do with boating, we don't know.</p>
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<p> Weirs Beach has a sand beach which would explain some of its attraction. There are not that many sand beaches in New England as rocks dominate.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">And there is a scenic train in Weirs Beach too... It arrived just a little bit later after this photo was taken.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">OK, Hans used to be a pinball tragic when he was young. In one of the arcades, they were offering a 3-ball pinball game on "Pirates of the Caribbean" for 50 cents. Deal. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The display was in Spanish and the pinball machine even yelled to us in Spanish. Very cool. We got excited and were yelling too. </div>
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<p> Hans managed to get a free play on the very first ball, which meant we played one game each. Di's turn...she also loved it. More yelling at the Kraken (where we got 3 balls at once - panic...)</p>
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<p>There was more fun to be had inside the Arcade that made Hans think of his childhood long long time ago. USA vs Russia in ice hockey...</p>
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<p> Didn't these signs look great? Something from Happy Days or similar... The old style cottages looked quite inviting too. We are not sure about the King Size Pool though.</p>
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<p>On the way back towards Concord and outside Laconia, we were overtaken by these bikers. We thought that their vests looked very shiny, almost too clean... No, helmets do not appear to be mandatory anywhere in the US from what we have seen.</p>
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<p> We were coming up to lunch time and despite yesterday's less than satisfactory experience with lunch at a diner, we decided to try another one. </p>
<p>Tilt'n Diner just looked too cool from the outside, and with a full parking lot and a queue of punters waiting for seating to become available, it ticked all the right boxes. The silver section you see at the front is the original diner, built in 1953, and where we eventually were seated in a booth. Cool. </p>
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<p>Tilt'n Diner had some rules signage that we have not seen before. "No crybabies" (there must be a story behind that...), "No beepers" (is anyone really using them anymore?).</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">And how can you not like a place that has a lit up guitar in the ceiling, the first thing that you see when you get in?</div>
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<p> We got our booth and just enjoyed the ambience as our orders were prepared and cooked for us. </p>
<p>Hans ordered roast beef with mash and veggies which was a Saturday lunch special. Di had a serving of fried chicken with a side salad.</p>
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<p>The menu and its holder also looked very "Happy Days" to us. We were not sure about the airport link, but there was a sign next to the front door that read that this diner started off in New Jersey some decades ago but has since moved twice. Moved as in physically moved that is... Moving buildings seems to be a widespread business in the US.</p>
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<p>The bill arrived clipped onto an old 45' single vinyl. And the bill was very reasonable. $25 covered it all for two of us with tip.</p>
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<p>The time was approaching 3pm when we got back to Concord, via a gas stop at Hess around the corner. At $3.33 per gallon, that was the cheapest gasoline price that we have seen for quite a while. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, as we arrive to our room at Holiday Inn, the cleaner is just about to go in... At 3.15pm or so. Oh well, we return to the lobby and loiter there for the next half hour or so before we go up again. Cleaner's mission was accomplished, but clearly without an extraordinary amount of attention to detail.</p>
<p>Time for a break in our motel room before our stand up comedy night called "How Men Think..." with a bunch of New England comedians. We found out by accident that there were performing downstairs tonight in our hotel.</p>
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<p>Dinner was a bowl of soup in our room - still not hungry after a good filling lunch.</p>
<p>This was the easiest gig we ever attended. We caught the lift down to the ballroom, we bought tickets at the door about 20 minutes before the start, bought a drink and chose a table. </p>
<p>We sat with a lovely couple from Panama, who were here to drop off their son for a 6 week summer camp at Wolfboro. The lady's grandfather had helped build the Panama Canal and they both had dual Panamanian and American citizenships. We chatted for a while and then the show kicked off at 8.40pm</p>
<p>Our host and the first comedian was Dave - quite funny and likeable. A 54 year old man relating stories about his life and interacting with the audience quite well. We missed some of the jokes because we don't know the inside story on "people from Lawrence, NH" and other local traits - but still funny. </p>
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<p>Dave ran a few sections where he got women from the audience on stage and asked multiple choice or True/False questions that they had to answer as a man would. One, Ruth, gave as good as she got. </p>
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<p>The second comedian, a young single dude, was not our style and fell a bit flat with the older crowd. </p>
<p>Then we got a charming Indian man, engineer and recently to USA. He was quite good and his performance had a focus on cultural differences, poking fun at both Indians in the US as well as Americans dealing with Indian people.</p>
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<p>The best comedian was at the end of the show. His name was Tim MacIntire and he has been on Comedy Central TV and other shows. He shared some very funny stories about his life and family, even about his sister "coming out as a lesbian" and his mum coming out as an alcoholic when she found out about it. Some of his jokes were clearly "adult only". He was on for the longest of all the comedians and we laughed pretty hard. </p>
<p>The show finished around 10.30pm and we were back in our room 5 minutes later. The Panamanian couple stayed in the room just opposite ours.</p>
<p>Some winding down before sleep. Good night. </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-5285747762708299902013-06-28T18:11:00.000-07:002013-06-29T12:29:43.440-07:00Fri 28 Jun - Concord, NH<p>Rain, rain and more rain. The whole of New England seems to be under siege from the skies at present. Time for us to check out again, but given the state out there and the fact that our next stop, Concord across the border from Maine in New Hampshire is only 2 hours away from Portland, we had a long and lazy morning.</p>
<p>We stopped at a diner in a small town called Northwood for an early lunch, having passed up on a mid morning cuppa. We really like the diners and will surely miss those when we leave the US.</p>
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<p>Here are a number of "royalties" in popular culture; Elvis, Marlon Brando, Marilyn Monroe, Steve McQueen and Di... Di?</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, this particular diner failed to live up to the high standards that we found in most other diners. It was pretty average food (in fact Di was left feeling quite unwell). Oh well, you win some, you lose some.</p>
<p>We drive into Concord in New Hampshire not long after 1pm, and yes, they did allow us to check in early at the Holiday Inn. All good. </p>
<p>The rain had now stopped and since we are on North Main Street, I.e. smack in the middle of town where we can see the New Hampshire State Capitol building from our motel window, we decide to take a wander to see what's doing.</p>
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<p>First stop is obviously the State Capitol building. Here is Hans outside its grounds...</p>
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<p>Again, we are amazed with the lack of security in these northern states. We just wander in through the front door of the State Capitol building (where a couple of trades people are changing door handles and locks). We are both carrying backpacks and nobody raises an eyelid. We didn't see a single police officer or security guard during our visit. A whole new standard of laid back security. </p>
<p>The New Hampshire State Capitol building has 3 stories and along each corridor there are portraits, portraits and more portraits. You may even see Di in the distance in this photo, in front of a portrait of Alan Shepherd, first US man in space. Alan Shepherd was born and also died in NH. </p>
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<p>Now, the State Capitol building looks all flash from the front, but as you can walk through it, you can see that it has been extended towards the back and the extensions were nowhere near as good looking as the original building. The building has an open courtyard in its centre and from the back you see the quality of the extension.</p>
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<p>We wander into the spectator area for the House of Representatives. It appeared that some school group or similar was visiting as there were a whole bunch of young people down on the floor. A tad rowdy let's say. Perhaps not that different from a normal political session...</p>
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<p>These old buildings look good, but there must be cumbersome to work in these cramped conditions and stale air, built in a different era. Interesting to visit, of course, including these doors that we found inside of the second floor. Reminded us of an old bank. Westpac on 341 George Street / Martin Place anyone...?</p>
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<p>We wandered out of the State Capitol next door to the New Hampshire State Library. Outside the library is this sign about the presidential primary, always a big deal leading up to every presidential election because New Hampshire voters go first and the result here is traditionally a strong indicator of who will win overall. </p>
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<p>Inside the library, it is a different world again. In fact, we thought that it looked better inside there than inside the State Capitol. </p>
<p>We found this summary of the American Bill of Rights. We always find it amazing that many pro gun lobbyists refer to the 2nd amendment as a right to wear arms. Now, the 2nd amendment of course states "A well regulated militia..." which is a world away from any individual having a right to carry weapon just because he or she wants to.</p>
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<p>We went upstairs to see a little photo exhibition and then continued down North Main Street to see whether we can find somewhere to give us both a decent haircut, long overdue.</p>
<p>We see a hairdresser's salon down the street that looks casual (not posh) and offers $14.95 haircuts, called Hair Biz Salon. That will do.</p>
<p>The hairdresser was a man of our age so we felt confident with his skills and he had no other customers so was not rushed. He introduced himself as David and gave Hans a clipper cut first, a 3, 2, 1, meaning number 3 on top, number 2 in the middle and number 1 above the ears and at the very back. Hans has found it too bloody hard to try to explain the way he wants it, the way that Amir in Manly does his haircut. That will probably do for each subsequent haircut too during our trip.</p>
<p>We start asking David about all the charity cheques to The Autism Society we saw on the wall of the salon. David told us his story of the $400 haircut challenge. Back in October 2007 a democrat politician, John Edwards, was subject to a media storm as he admitted that he paid $400 for his hair cut. </p>
<p>Our entrepreneurial hairdresser David offered a challenge to other politicians to pay him $400 for a haircut, of which he donated 100% to the Autism research charity. Mike Huckabee took up the offer, great media coverage and the footage is on YouTube. The idea seemed to have gained some following because there were lots of copies of cheques for $400 to the charity on his wall. Great story. We saw the YouTube clip afterwards. And yes, John Edwards had been here too.</p>
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<p>Hairdresser to the policitians, David, working on Di. </p>
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<p>Hans looks sharp with his military style clip outside the salon. Or is it just the outcome from an economy haircut? You will be the judge... However, another haircut should not be required for a while...</p>
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<p>Back to our Holiday Inn where we sample the indoor pool and spa. The pool was way too warm and the spa was too hot. We didn't stay long.</p>
<p>After having a break in our room, we did the local Friday night thing pretty much anywhere in the Western world, that is, going to the pub. Barley House is less than a block away from our motel and it is rated highly in TripAdviser so why not? </p>
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<p>Barley House had great karma. Busy, diverse range of punters, a long list of draft beer, good menu. Hans tried All Day IPA beer from Grand Rapids, MI (twice was nice) and a burger of 3 kinds of meat - hamburger, smoked brisket and bacon. </p>
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<p> Di had a Guinness beef stew and washed it down with a few ciders. All yummy. </p>
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<p>When we left the pub, the skies were grey, grey, grey, but the rain was still holding back.</p>
<p>We wander back to the motel to watch the movie "Red" on TV - action with Bruce Willis and a whole heap of other "senior actors". Good action, but hardly memorable.</p>
<p>A pretty quiet day, good night.</p>
<p>P.S. We took a closeup photo of Hans' economy haircut. Looks good!</p>
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<p> </p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-50600312480471029822013-06-27T17:23:00.000-07:002013-06-27T18:11:02.459-07:00Thu 27 Jun - Portland, ME<p>Retail therapy (hiking and traveling style). Today we are off to L.L. Bean's flagship store in Freeport, ME. This means not a big photo day, well, how many photos can you really take of a shop and stuff you bought.</p>
<p>For those who don't know L.L. Bean is a long established outdoor gear retailer, set up in 1912 as a mail order catalogue business by Leon Leonwood Bean. Mr Bean patented a waterproof hunting shoe known as the Bean Boot. The bottom half was rubber (ie: the foot part of a gumboot) then stitched to leather uppers. He always had a 100% guarantee policy, which must have kept his early customers happy because a design flaw on the original boot meant 90% were returned! He fixed the design and replaced the boots and kept the customers. </p>
<p>Today, L.L. Bean's founding store in Freeport (about 20 minutes from Portland) gets 3 million visitors a year and was a veritable playground for us! We spent more than 3 hours there. The store was fabulous. </p>
<p>Part of this shopping trip was getting some belated birthday presents for Hans and he did well - we both could have spent thousands of dollars in this store but we restrained ourselves (a little). </p>
<p>Here is the obligatory self portrait outside the main entrance that was furnished with a statue of the Bean Boot. </p>
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<p>L.L. Bean's main store is spread over multiple levels and mezzanine floors and is a delight. We entered through the hunting, fishing and archery section. They had an archery range and this replica of a trout stream - with lots of real trout. </p>
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<p>Now the fun part of this was intended for kids but we wedged ourselves under the "aquarium hood" to get a close up look at the fish. Hans took a turn - and yes, it took a bit of bending to get him back out.</p>
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<p>An underwater photo of the large brown trout. Now what we need is a net and Di's uncle Holger to smoke it for us... Yummy. </p>
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<p>Di didn't want to miss out on the experience so here she went under the hood too. There were a few kids who saw us and were therefore waiting to also get in and so she had some spectators to her unladylike exit - she wriggled out sitting on her bum.</p>
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<p>Now for the serious stuff - we had seen online that L.L. Bean specialized in "Outerwear", meaning a jacket for every outdoor condition. They advertise that The Weather Channel staff use their jackets. Good enough credentials for us. </p>
<p>Hans and Di both needed better jackets for the weather we expect in Europe. We had read about their 3 in 1 Weather Challenger jacket that was fully waterproof and separated out into 2 jackets. Combine them for snow/winter conditions. Sounded great for us. </p>
<p>Hans had no trouble. They had jackets to fit regular as well as tall - so he got a perfect fit in the color of his choice. All good and perhaps 1/3rd of the cost of what we would have paid in Oz. </p>
<p>Di is rolling her eyes because as usual the same is not true for women! She wanted the same 3 in 1 jacket, but there was a very limited selection of this jacket for women, not one single jacket in her size. We therefore went back to men's section but even then only found 1 in bright red for a small man. Several staff members tried to assist with searches but no luck. We will try another store in Massachusetts for Di's jacket or buy online and ship to friends in London. Waiting...</p>
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<p>Hans got some nice birthday presents. Not just a jacket but also 2 great long sleeved lightweight hiking shirts and a new daypack. This is the central stairway from floors 1 to 2 and has another trout pond and is surrounded by canoes suspended from the ceiling. Yes, L.L. Bean sells canoes too (or course).</p>
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<p>Di got a nice long sleeved hiking shirt too - after some searching. Again the women's stuff tends to be less practical and more pink.</p>
<p>We did take a break for coffee and explore the store. Every corner seems to have some interesting display. Like these taxidermed animals. A range of New England mammals with our mate the moose. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">At the edge of the camping store section they had these huge moose - actual beasts as they were found on a woman's property - their horns locked in battle to the death. </div>
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<p>Here is the story behind them being found and preserved here. We did not make it to New Sweden as it is way north towards the Canadian border but considering how much of Maine looks like Old Sweden to Hans we bet it looks similar. </p>
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<p>We left L.L. Bean at 1.30pm after a fun few hours and headed back to Portland for a late lunch. We spotted Denny's near our hotel and stopped. It was pretty quiet - not many customers this late - just us and a few seniors. We tried for the 55+ seniors 20% discount for Hans but it turns out it starts at 3pm (to 5pm) but can't complain - we had a substantial meal for a total cost of $17. Pretty cheap. </p>
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<p>Hans showed off his new goodies in the room, a backpack, the 3 in 1 jacket and 2 long sleeved lightweight hiking shirts. Not bad for birthday "presents".</p>
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<p>The weather is a bit dull so we decide on a quiet afternoon. A bit of coffee and reading fills our time. </p>
<p>We found this sign on the wall of our room next to a fire sprinkler - amusing - it speaks volumes to the clientele they must encounter. </p>
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<p>We have to admit that many of our fellow guests don't look so bright at breakfast time but we had been assuming that was lack of coffee... (Several of them needed help with how to operate the waffle maker... Answer; you turn it and it starts cooking until the 2 mins and 30 seconds are gone on the display, then you turn it back, open it and take out your waffle...and instructions are printed on the machine). </p>
<p>We did a bit of washing in the afternoon, but were generally "lazy". Nice.</p>
<p> It is Jeremy's 19th birthday today 28 June Oz time so by 7pm, 9am Sydney time, we Skype with him.</p>
<p>Hip, hip...hooray</p>
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<p>Dinner in the room followed and then some TV. Good night.</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-16399392190161606462013-06-26T19:12:00.000-07:002013-06-27T06:09:24.591-07:00Wed 26 Jun - Portland, ME<p>Today we returned to the water to catch the Casco Island Mail Boat run. It is also Hans birthday today...</p>
<p>The Mailboat is a true working boat carrying passengers, mail and freight to the islands of Casco Bay - Little Diamond, Great Diamond, Long, Cliff and Chebeague islands - twice a day, and claims to be the longest-operating service of its kind (it started in 1878). </p>
<p>We left the motel at 8.45 am to walk through Portland to catch the 10am Mailboat. </p>
<p>The birthday boy (no, not Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who was born here on 27 February 1807). Hans is much much younger than that! Really!</p>
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<p>We walked a different route from yesterday and it was definitely better than the commercial waterfront. We got footpaths, nice trees and some pleasant buildings. </p>
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<p>Down at the ferry terminal we bought tickets for our Mailboat run - cost $15.50 each for what is basically a 3 hour cruise. Bargain. </p>
<p>Hans was again drawn to the more "real" elements of the wharf area. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Here is the Mailboat. Freight is important and the reason for being and we had to wait for all cargo to be loaded, or unloaded (including large pallets by crane) before we could get on board. Seating is basic benches and apart from a toilet not much else is provided. Of course the enterprising people from Pepsi put a drinks machine on board, but that's it. BYO snacks and drinks. We loved it. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The larger islands of Casco Bay have year round residents, but not many. For example the furthest island we visited called Cliff Island has about 50 permanent residents. Numbers tend to quadruple in the summer peak months. These families rely on the Mailboat for all deliveries. The route we took is the longest dotted line on this map. Cliff Island is the long slim island (north east/south west oriented) on the right hand side. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Hans is enjoying the cruising through the inner island areas. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Di is watching the islands go by - we had to keep referring to a map to identify where we were. They tend to blur a bit after a while. </div>
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<p>Great Diamond Island was very nice as we approached the dock - our first passenger drop off (where the captain yelled "welcome home" to 3 summer residents). </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We motored further up the east side and a crewman spotted what we thought was a young bald eagle (but could have been an Osprey) in the trees. We did get some commentary along the way which was great. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Diamond Cove is at the north end of Great Diamond Island and is an exclusive private community. General Public are not welcome. </div>
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<p> Here our crew unloaded vital supplies - like beer including Corona... Good move.</p>
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<p>And a new golf cart (appeared to be a preferred method of transportation on many of the islands). </p>
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<p>It was fun to watch the action. </p>
<p>At Great Chebeague (pronounced She Big) island the loading and unloading took more time and we were also a little ahead of schedule so they offered us the chance to get off for 25 minutes and wander. We jumped at it. </p>
<p>Looking back down the wharf to the busy activities as pick up trucks back up for their pallet loads etc. Here some lumbar and construction stuff seemed to be a key provision. Great Chebeague Island gets multiple ferry services each day so can spread their grocery and other loads. <br>
</p>
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<p>A short walk on a gravel road gave us some sense of the Great Chebeague Island. The housing and the facilities seemed basic as you would need to be reasonably comfortable with self sufficiency and lack of people. It's a lifestyle for some but cleared not for everybody. It must be tough for school kids who have to travel to the mainland as early morning ferries would leave not long after 6am and they said that they tried to get the kids back by 4.30pm.<br>
</p>
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<p>Most of the islands are rocky and today had this sea mist on the edge. The mist is due to hotter up rocks from the last few days of sun, and still chilly Atlantic water. </p>
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<p> One interesting fact we learned. Of Maine's 3,000+ miles of coastline (including islands) only 29 miles (<1%) is considered to be sandy. Not the place to come for your beach holiday! No wonder the Maniacs (people of Maine we were told call themselves this) say they understand "rocky" as a descriptive term. </p>
<p>At one stage heading out to Cliff Island (6 miles from the mainland) we noticed a temperature drop as the effect of the cold Atlantic took off some heat of the land. Di doesn't mind - typical scout - well prepared. </p>
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<p>We did love the effect the hot rocks and cold sea made around the islands. </p>
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<p>We did see some seals and dolphins as we were cruising but it was not a deliberate search - the Mailboat gets on its job. Coming back through Hussey Sound after completing all our stops. </p>
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<p> As we approached Portland we came closer to Fort Gorges, which almost appears to be sinking. The fort made us think about Fort Denison in Sydney.</p>
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<p> A couple of pics of Portland from the water. As you can see, it is very much a working seaport.</p>
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<p> A seaport needs at least one fishing pier.</p>
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<p>As the mail run ended, we went back to our motel for a late light lunch and then had a lazy few hours in preparation for a night on town to celebrate Hans birthday.</p>
<p>Community warning - strong image to follow... Unsuitable for small children... And possibly others.</p>
<p>Di had a bath, so Hans decided to have one too. Here he is enjoying it with a beer...and what you can't see is that he had his iPhone playing 1970's rock music - Blue Ă–yster Cult and "Veterans of the psychic wars" among others - loud... Nice prep for his birthday dinner. </p>
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<p>The predicted rain had set in by now, and it was still raining when we left for the bus. There is a bus stop a few minutes away from our hotel, where bus number 1 could take us downtown. Here is Di dressed for that occasion...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">This was funny. Di could not help but stand at the bus stop in the rain to look for the bus (very keen). Hans and two other blokes were standing under the shelter from a fast food restaurant as to not get wet. When the bus finally arrived, and Di waved to Hans to come to the bus stop, all 3 of us deserted our shelters. Chivalry is dead!</div>
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<p>The bus stop was next to this, what we called the "dude corner". The corner seemed to attract taxi drivers and others standing there smoking and chatting. We saw lots and lots of cigarette butts when we passed the corner the other day.</p>
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<p>The bus passengers all looked like people on benefits (except us, we don't get anything for free). One dude, with tats everywhere had a dice hanging down from each ear. That was a new one. One character was very doped or drunk and just threw a handful of coins in the general direction of the coin collection slot. Of course many of the coins ended up on the floor and it took half the trip for him to scrabble around and collect them and pay his fare. We reckoned the bus driver has "seen it all". </p>
<p>After exiting the bus one stop too early, and some navigation around downtown in the rain, we stopped at a pub called Gritty's for a drink. Hans had a Maine's best IPA beer (think not) and Di had a gin and tonic, both served in pint glasses... Nice spot that seemed popular.</p>
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<p>We headed for dinner just after 6pm to Street & Company, a Mediterranean seafood restaurant that Di had identified through TripAdvisor. Good karma as soon as we saw it. Very busy kitchen full of chefs, steam and fabulous grill flavours drifting out of the open window and packed with people. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">They managed to find us a great table overlooking the chaos of the open kitchen. Di had to sit with her back to it otherwise Hans would have lost her attention for the night. He found it quite fascinating too. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Now what to order? The bigger menu in Di's right hand was the wine list Red wine from the Rhone Valley sounded just right. <br>
</div>
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<p>The food menu was fantastic. We started with 2 taste plates ($4 each) which was a mouthful each of smoked salmon with dill, and a small pepper stuffed with crabmeat and Aoili. </p>
<p>Hans was always going to have the whole fish - Branzzini - delivered in the pan with a fabulous sauce of chorizo, Swiss chard and lots of other yummy stuff. No "after photo" as the fish got picked clean. You bet!</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Di also ordered a fish special which was in her view "one of the top 5 fish dishes of all time". Soo good. Grilled Swordfish cooked perfectly served on a bed of lentils and peas strongly flavored with garlic and bacon. Fantastic. These chefs are great. </div>
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<p>After a lovely leisurely dinner and wine at Street & Company, we wandered across to Glorious Gelato, Portland's best gelato according to TripAdvisor, for dessert. Yep, the gelato was very good (we shared hazelnut, dark chocolate and coffee). The place even had some food for thought on the wall...</p>
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<p>As the dark settles, we wandered to a bus stop on Congress Street for the return on Bus 1 to our hotel. We ended up having the same bus driver as on the way in. Now, a one way fare is $1.50, I.e. $3 for both of us. You pay by sliding notes into a machine. As Di had earliet organized a handful of $1 notes, so she paid for both of us, both ways. The bus driver then asked Di, so "are you still paying for him...". Yep - always! Laughs all around.</p>
<p>Home for some "Big Bang Theory" on TV and letting our lovely meal settle. Good night. </p>
<p>A most pleasant birthday for Hans.</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-379924493691590782013-06-25T17:06:00.000-07:002013-06-25T17:16:13.379-07:00Tue 25 Jun - Portland, ME<p> Summer has arrived in New England. It was a hot day in Portland, ME (30 degrees but little wind and in the sun it felt much hotter). So we sun screened up, dressed in shorts and light shirts and went exploring the town. Time to sweat a bit... This is how we walked...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Distance is a bit inflated as we ducked in and out of some shops down by the waterside, but the route is right. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We fried a little but were not at much risk of burning - not like these guys off West Commercial Street. Phew, they can keep that job - we would not touch it.</div>
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<p>We chose a route that looked OK on the map but the initial couple of kilometers along West Commercial Street turned out to be a bit dull. We lightened the mood with this embarrassing moment for Di (Hans' idea).</p>
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<p>After 3.5km of walking, we find our way to the Old Port area. Much better! </p>
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<p>We identified a Iikely contender restaurant for Hans' birthday dinner tomorrow night but were also feeling good about the number of pubs and other restaurants nearby in case the karma did not stack up. </p>
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<p>Portland is very much a working fishing port. If you walk out on some of the piers, you could very well be somewhere in Asia given the smell and the mess. Very real grit and grime which suits Hans well :-)</p>
<p>We liked it all, although Di is not yet a huge Portland fan, she misses Bar Harbor. </p>
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<p> The birds were keeping a watch on the comings and goings. They looked very well fed. Wonder why...?</p>
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<p>A serious seafood market on a pier made Di smile and improve her view of Portland. Now she just needs a kitchen...</p>
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<p> Warning signs here proclaimed the self evident we thought, but there is obviously a reason why they felt the need to put them up...</p>
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<p>You could pretty easily imagine getting nips or scratches by unhappy lobsters if you stuck your hand in the tank. These guys were not happy about being picked out for a dinner party (about 6 taken home by a customer). </p>
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<p> Further along Commercial Street were quite a lot of pubs and places to eat. This Irish pub caught our eye with its free chalk and space to write something witty about "Before I die...". An employee was busy removing any offensive comments - like "get a child slave" or "fuck" - but left many others including a wish to "go to Australia and get in a kangaroo's pouch". Hmmm... </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Hans gave the thumbs down to the very first one on the board. Why, oh mighty? Erase, please.</div>
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<p>We took a short break with a banana and water near the ferry terminal and used their facilities. We also picked up details for a probable trip around the Casco Bay islands tomorrow. </p>
<p>Then on to East Promenade walking and bike trail. It appears that this trail has claimed most of the old railway line space and they have made the area available for pedestrians and bikes along the single narrow gauge where you can now take a scenic train ride. On a hot day you realize it will be much better when the trees are fully grown but it is good to be away from the traffic and it seems popular - the paths were quite heavily used for a Tuesday.</p>
<p>We came to East End Beach. A small rocky beach where several people were sunbaking (on chairs as they do when the beach is rocky) and 2 brave souls were attempting the water but while we were there they only got in to their knees. </p>
<p>On the far right of the picture you might notice a "truck ferry". </p>
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<p> The ferry seemed to only be carrying working vehicles - no pedestrians nor cars. We assume this is how they provide services to the outer islands. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Further around, the trail was separated from the old railway area and climbed a little hill. You can see in this photo the old bridge has been left open for boats and parts of the timbers seem to be deteriorating. The railway bridge does not appear to be in use any more.</div>
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<p>We got to the top and you see... Portland Waste Water Treatment Plant. No joke, this was only a mile or so from downtown. Interestingly though the provided helpful sign boards to explain what part of the process we were seeing. This is Aeration - where the soiled waste water (brown) is aerated to allow the bacteria maximum oxygen to breakdown the "organic matter". </p>
<p>Left us feeling like getting a cup of coffee!</p>
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<p>On the way back into town we passed a small section of park, and on the grass up ahead some critter was moving. We got excited - it was a Groundhog! No, not Punxsutawney Phil. </p>
<p>Groundhogs are supposed to be common here but we've not seen one before on this trip. Maybe they were in hiding due to the shame brought on them by Phil "fraudulently predicting an early spring" (quote from an Ohio Prosecutor) when instead it was a long harsh winter.</p>
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<p> Very cute - these are just 2 of about 8 photos taken of Portland Phil. </p>
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<p>We found our coffee place - Coffee By Design or CBD - on Washington Street. The smell inside was right as soon as we opened the door and the espresso turned out to be very good. Nice break from the heat in their aircon with comfy chairs and free wifi. We loitered for a while, as did several other punters from what we could see.</p>
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<p>We then continued west on Congress Street, the main east/west drag through central Portland. Location shot with Portland City Hall on the left. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The corner of Congress and Free Streets has been made to a little square where there are eateries and where people congregate. That included this Motley CrĂĽe of "musicians". The music sounded like anybody had been invited to come along to play independent of their musical ability, just bring an instrument or something. We didn't linger...</div>
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<p>We walked nearly the full length of Congress Street and passed this place on the way. "Father of Prohibition"? We immediately took a dislike to the place! Turns out that Neal Dow got this title because he sponsored the "Maine law of 1851", which prohibited the manufacture and sale of liquor. It should be no surprise that there was a Portland Rum Riot soon afterwards (1855). Mate, it doesn't work...</p>
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<p>Back into West End, we picked up a few hot dog buns for our left over wurst from yesterday that we intended to have in our motel room. By now, 1pm or so, the heat was punishing and we had been out getting fried for quite a while. <br>
</p>
<p>Right of a sudden at the corner of Congress and St John Streets, we hear very loud distorted guitar music. Ha, another duff duff car perhaps... No, the "music" came from a long haired bloke on a bicycle, electric guitar in hand, small amplifier on his back, a cup for "donations", waiting to cross the red light. Of course, nobody paid him any attention so he muttered something about it being pointless to "play" as no one was listening to him... (clearly too much of something be shouldn't have taken this morning...) and cycled away. </p>
<p>Yet another misunderstood "artist", we laughed... Sorry, no picture, but the guy was a riot.</p>
<p>After lunch, we had some downtime in our room, waiting for the heat to hopefully subside in the afternoon.</p>
<p>Early dinner at 5.45pm or so, at a local Thai, Saeng, nearby on Congress Street. There was a thunderstorm warning for much of New England by 7pm so we tried to beat that. Weather was still fine when we arrived and when we left.</p>
<p>Di ordered Pad Thai and chicken satay sticks. Both good but sweeter than we normally eat (which we find with most food served to Americans). Here is Hans with his green curry chicken. Nice. <a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sNP-bOoj3Wo/Ucogrwy9dLI/AAAAAAAALww/LIajcWRVM10/s2048/2013%2525205%25253A55%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sNP-bOoj3Wo/Ucogrwy9dLI/AAAAAAAALww/LIajcWRVM10/s500/2013%2525205%25253A55%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1372204149675.8403" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></p>
<p>We noticed on the way to the Thai that there is a minor league baseball game on tonight, so we decided to walk by the Hadlock Field after dinner, just to have a look.</p>
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<p> Slugger is the mascot for the Sea Dogs and clearly a popular local identity. </p>
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<p> Hmmm... Ticket prices were somewhat different to what we paid for the major league Yankees game in NYC. General admission of $8 (about 10% of Yankee prices) is almost as much as what they charge for parking using any available local parking lot that they can find ($5).</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">For the people of Portland... Well, not the guy to the left...</div>
<p> </p>
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<p>We did like the grass roots feel of it all but did not "take ourselves out to the ball game" as we really are not that interested in baseball and the thunderstorms are coming. </p>
<p>We wandered back to our motel, watched a couple of episodes of "The Big Bang Theory" while the thunder and lightning played a bit of havoc with the broadcasting signals, which disappeared for minutes at a time. Oh well at least we are warm and dry. </p>
<p>Observations of Maine and Portland in particular after our morning exploring... It looked and felt poorer than we thought before coming here. From what we saw Portland has a lot of homeless looking people, infrastructure looks run down and many properties and apartments were up for lease. Tourism appears to be a relatively new fad, and limited to the Old Port area. Shipping and fishing seem to be the main areas from where people derive income and that generally only makes the top 1% rich. As Di observed in TripAdvisor, the vast majority of the various Portland reviews were from Maine residents, I.e. limited interstate travel to Maine. This has not been the case in most other parts of the US that we have visited. It might seem all different in the morning...Good night.</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-36774769579435850582013-06-24T17:43:00.000-07:002013-06-24T17:43:25.190-07:00Mon 24 Jun - Portland, ME<p>Our last day in Bar Harbor and we are trying to prolong the experience with an early morning Shore Path walk.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We grab a coffee from a friendly guy at his hole in the wall shop called "Coffee Hound" on Main Street. He knew about coffee beans and Di was happy with her filtered coffee. Hans felt that his Latte was OK, but he still votes the best US espresso being from Lancaster, Pennsylvania closed followed by Brooklyn Coffee Roasters in DUMBO, New York City. "Coffee Hound" however had been given a good write up from Boston Globe which was prominently displayed on a wall.</div>
<p>Our coffee went down well sitting in the park overlooking the water as we watched a couple of girls do their morning exercises. The girls certainly had far better balance and flexibility than us - yes, we were jealous!</p>
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<p>There are a lot of local lobster fishermen and a few were getting ready to go out for the day at the wharf. </p>
<p>This guy was lowering lobster traps to his partner on the boat below. We noted the tide is quite low and its a long way down to the boat. </p>
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<p>The fisherman owner of this vehicle is (we guess) a republican and we feel that his bumper sticker on capitalism was "right on". If you can't read the detail, the sticker says "Capitalism is personal choice, effort and responsibility, Socialism was founded upon principles of envy". Guess no one ever gave him a handout?</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Other locals out doing their own thing this morning. A lone paddle boarder looked fantastic. </div>
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<p>Our choice for a stroll after coffee was to return to the Shore Path, which we think is so lovely. We met a few joggers otherwise it was quiet. </p>
<p>First you walk past the historic Bar Harbor Inn. This original section called The Reading Room with the rounded end, is about 140 years old and has always been a hotel for tourists. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Then you round the corner and look more north eastwards, to the porcupines. </div>
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<p> It is low tide and you can just see the top of a sea wall which was built a while ago and then started to "settle" (ie: sink). How ironic!</p>
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<p>A 9.30am we are packed up on the road again heading south on US 1 coastal road (as opposed to yesterday when we took the same way but north). Today's trip passed through or near a multitude of towns named after England and Ireland. Belfast, Newcastle, Camden, Brunswick, Bristol, Bath etc.</p>
<p>This bridge caught our eye at a town called Bucksport - a mini Anzac Bridge but with the span in the centre of the bridge.</p>
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<p>Our first stop was in Belfast for a fruit break and a stretch of legs after an hour in the car. We stopped near the wharf and sat in a nice park and spent a few minutes looking around. Belfast is a good looking inlet/river town and close to the sea. Boat building is still going on here and we saw some big yachts with shrink wrap. They also had 2 rescue tugs. </p>
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<p>After our break we drove to a nearby foot and cycle bridge we had noticed on the way in. It looks like it replaced an old road bridge - you can see Bridge St leads down to it. This new bridge was built in 2006. </p>
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<p> Very nice for a short stroll, we walked across and back and liked what we saw. Even this guy!</p>
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<p> This old boat shed made us laugh - it leans to the left and looks like it has a "broken back". </p>
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<p>Looking back towards Belfast - remind anyone of Ireland? Nope, and definitely not an Irish Colleen in the foreground. </p>
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<p>Back in the car and continuing driving south. It was lunchtime (near 1pm) and we had no clue where we were but out of nowhere appeared a diner that seriously had something like 100 cars in the car park! Very good karma so we joined them for lunch at Moody's Diner.</p>
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<p>Moody's Diner seems to be an institution here. We got the story on our placemats. The business is still family run, set up in 1927 by "dad" aka "P.B" to service people driving with Model T fords and staying in his tourist cabins. The main road (route 1) moved in 1934 so he just built a connecting road to his cabins and moved his "lunch wagon" (as it was then) down to the new main road. </p>
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<p> What you see when you enter. The decor is not lavish and definitely traditional. The staff had shirts with "I'm a Moody person" at the back. You could buy the t-shirts from Moody's and various people seem to have done this and then taken photos with their Moody shirts in various world wide locations. The photos go on a wall near the entry and include Mali, Moscow, Sydney (with the obligatory view of the Opera House from the Rocks) and Uluru to name a few. </p>
<p>After a short wait, we had a table.</p>
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<p>Here is a photo of our booth and some of the other customers at Moody's Diner behind us. There were a lot of Zimmer frames and walking supports in the place, which normally means good value traditional food.</p>
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<p> Everything is claimed to be made on the premises at Moody's Diner and the menu is described as "good home cooking". They also claim they make about 20 types of desserts (about 10 types of pies) so we may have to try some later. </p>
<p>For $21 we got, for Hans, haddock strips, mash and coleslaw and, for Di, chicken croquettes, beetroot and potato salad. After our meal we also ordered an apple crumble "to go" for our afternoon tea. Yep - good value. </p>
<p>The food might not look fancy but it definitely was good and we scraped the plates clean. No need for dinner out tonight. </p>
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<p>We arrived at La Quinta Inn, our motel in Portland, ME, around 3.30pm, and we checked in.</p>
<p>Unfortunately they are resurfacing parts of their car park so when we walked into our room we noticed a very strong new tar smell - housekeeping had left the window open! Closed that pretty quickly. </p>
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<p>A quiet afternoon as Hans was feeling a bit rundown, and unfortunately the new asphalt smell didn't help his headache. A snooze followed...</p>
<p>Just before 7pm, we wandered out to see whether we could get some dinner in the local "hood". On our map a Thai restaurant just around the corner has been rated reasonably well online, but when we arrive it is closed (as it is every Monday). Should have guessed...</p>
<p>"Hood" turned out to be the right label - as we are paying considerably less than other hotels in Downtown Portland, we soon realize that the West End of Congress Avenue is not the glamorous part of town. </p>
<p>Location shot follows...</p>
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<p>We checked out a few other food joints, but there was very bad karma everywhere, hardly anyone dining and in the case of the Chinese restaurant, it was totally empty. We also went in and checked out a Japanese buffet and walked out knowing our chances of food poisoning were far less if we cooked back at home.</p>
<p>So off to Save a Lot, a supermarket just next to the buffet place. It reminded us strongly of Aldi, which we really like, and we found smoked Polish Wurst and cheap Dijon mustard. </p>
<p>Di came up with a menu quickly - serve with canned potatoes and collard greens (both we already had back in the room). This could be a German Feast - for a cost of $5.26!</p>
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<p>Ta dah...And it was ... At Di's KĂĽche (Di's kitchen in German). </p>
<p>Surprisingly delicious and quite authentic. For those who don't know Collard Greens is a southern/soul food dish made from leaves of a cabbage closely related to Kale, and stewed with onion, ham hocks and spices. It is quite similar to German GrĂĽn Kohl. <br>
</p>
<p>Dinner in an exquisite setting... Sort of...</p>
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<p> Alles Gute. Good night. </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-67581522656357141292013-06-23T18:40:00.000-07:002013-06-24T03:21:49.277-07:00Sun 23 Jun - Bar Harbor, ME<p>A Gun Show, Wild Blueberry Land and an international marathon across the Canadian border. That's what we experienced today through our little Sunday drive. Let us bring you up to speed...</p>
<p>We tried to use Runkeeper again to get a map overview of where we went. Now, it appears that Runkeeper has a 99km limitation (perhaps they don't expect anybody to move more than that during one single session, but what about cycling...?). Anyway, apologies for the messy map, but our drive today was from Bar Harbor, lower left, to the Canadian border at the end of road 189, almost at the upper right, and of course back the same way again.</p>
<p>The trip mostly follows US coastal road number 1 north east from Bar Harbor which we had heard is a very beautiful route to drive. It was.</p>
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<p>Di started off in the hot seat... Or should that be rainy seat? Watching out for any deer and moose. Paranoia, paranoia... Well, she seemed happy enough driving in the rain...</p>
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<p>We had expected this weather and hence why the driving tour was planned for our last day in Bar Harbor, not hiking. We are really fair weather hikers. We can put up with some showers but when thunderstorms and rain is predicted it is not fun anymore. So, driving it was...</p>
<p>Here we are crossing the bridge from the island back to the mainland towards Trenton.</p>
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<p>Google maps made us laugh. The App tries to find either the fastest or most direct route. This time our road went through a quarry. Yep, this is the road we drove on and yes, it was definitely both the fastest and the most direct.</p>
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<p>The weather made us feel like a coffee break around 10.30am and we stopped at the next town that looked like it had more than 100 people. It was called Milbridge and was situated on a tidal inlet (as many of these towns are for lumber shipping and fishing).</p>
<p>The Milbridge House had a good number of cars parked outside and was open so in we went. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The menu had already switched to lunch so we ordered coffee and a "snack". </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Di ordered an appetizer - of potato skis...and this is what she got! Serving sizes are made for hungry fisherman (the waitress told us so)! Seriously - they eat a main meal after this??? And perhaps desert too?</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Delicious though and with some shared with Hans who loves potatoes. </div>
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<p>Hans ordered a "famous Maine hotdog", which came with fries and coleslaw for $3.99. OK for the money, but not brilliant.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Our coffee break became defacto lunch due to the volume of food we were served. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">A funny moment inside the diner; right of a sudden we hear 3 loud burps in succession... From an older lady sitting by herself at the table behind Di. We giggled a bit. Maybe a local custom here... </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We then got back onto US coastal road 1 and continued driving north east towards the Canadian border.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We suddenly spotted this fake giant blueberry advertising "Wild Blueberry Land". We had to see whether it was in our favourite category of "so bad it must be good". It was.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eFZPaPGQql4/UcdwyT12pmI/AAAAAAAALkQ/aFKNAo2HFSc/s2048/2013%25252012%25253A10%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-eFZPaPGQql4/UcdwyT12pmI/AAAAAAAALkQ/aFKNAo2HFSc/s500/2013%25252012%25253A10%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1372069247078.5276" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Even the parking bollards are designed as large blueberries. This place could easily take pride of place with the big sheep, big pineapple and big banana that we have in Australia. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">They even offered putt putt golf next door (not sure how that could be blueberry themed?)</div>
<p> </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PcbWUUTe6g8/Ucdw6V-I5SI/AAAAAAAALkY/-yYhVi-C6pI/s2048/2013%25252012%25253A09%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PcbWUUTe6g8/Ucdw6V-I5SI/AAAAAAAALkY/-yYhVi-C6pI/s500/2013%25252012%25253A09%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1372069247053.2444" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p> Sir, wake up, the horse may bolt...</p>
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<p>Di had money burning a hole in her pockets yet again so she had to go inside the giant blueberry gift store. Of course they made their own pies and jams (blueberry of course, and Di bought some jam) but this can of stew caught our eye... Maybe somebody had collected the remains from our too close encounter with the deer the other week and put the remains into the can...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">About 15 minutes further north and we again make a sudden stop. A Gun Show is on today, here in Whitneyville. We had been looking for a gun show throughout our US visit but have not come across any until now. Let's go... No, not shopping, but we just had to have a look.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-iF5OsIHewNk/Ucdx14OFBWI/AAAAAAAALkw/d41D8MZ4iCw/s2048/2013%2525201%25253A13%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-iF5OsIHewNk/Ucdx14OFBWI/AAAAAAAALkw/d41D8MZ4iCw/s500/2013%2525201%25253A13%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1372069247085.0315" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p>It was not immediately obvious, but the Plesant River Fish and Game Club gun show was held in the back of this warehouse. Whitney Wreaths? We found out their whole business operates 3 months a year making Christmas wreaths for decorations, like your front door. A local man said it was very busy in November each year.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMdM43HCL1ravXuZ4sP2IuDP-SPk54GdnULPzMUxyP2XqEzrpUsU8Y6Blp49dtHn1QVu0sOwkJB1xJa2_tY7EMTQHp0qKDaGdqz4mKchtx3_HJAfxT1nXrRq4HXuZIv7uz_WrHoUwTiZg/s2048/2013%2525201%25253A13%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMdM43HCL1ravXuZ4sP2IuDP-SPk54GdnULPzMUxyP2XqEzrpUsU8Y6Blp49dtHn1QVu0sOwkJB1xJa2_tY7EMTQHp0qKDaGdqz4mKchtx3_HJAfxT1nXrRq4HXuZIv7uz_WrHoUwTiZg/s500/2013%2525201%25253A13%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1372069247088.888" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p>We paid a reduced admission to get in (2 for 1) as the doorman recognized that we were not there to buy guns or knives (although he did suggest that we might be able to get a samurai sword back to Oz - we think not). No ID required but there was a requirement to have any weapon you have on you checked before you enter. </p>
<p>There were not that many vendors inside but it still fascinated us (and terrified us). </p>
<p>Handguns, hunting rifles, an AK47 and heaps more were for sale. Sorry, no up close photos of these guns as we figured that some vendors or shoppers may be upset and you don't want to cheese off people in an environment such as this.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-pAX80kL86_E/UcdyFdGPPJI/AAAAAAAALlA/305dgwKSwx0/s2048/2013%2525201%25253A06%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-pAX80kL86_E/UcdyFdGPPJI/AAAAAAAALlA/305dgwKSwx0/s500/2013%2525201%25253A06%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1372069247036.8171" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p>We saw a Bushmaster semi automatic rifle for sale, which we believe was the weapon used in the recent Sandy Hook school shooting. We saw one customer taking a particular interest in that Bushmaster. A bit creepy...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">An observation that may or may not be correct... it seemed to us that these guys were genuine hunters and/or collectors and took gun safety seriously, and strangely also conservation. Hunting posters largely featured deers or turkeys. We felt also convinced that they teach their children gun skills and safety and that these are unlikely to be the people that buy guns to kill people. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We talked to several of the vendors about the guns they displayed, and admired the workmanship where it was "artistic" (like ornate engraving and woodwork). In fact, some of the weapons were really beautiful. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We also asked questions where the guns looked old. The gun below was not for sale but had a good story. It is a Colt .45 from the mid 1800's and was made and shipped in the same batch of 50 guns (verified) from which the Earp brothers (of Tombstone fame) selected their guns. So it is possible that this particular gun was handled by Wyatt Earp!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSpKZLCJgR15Jcad9FH3QWGnkrSysuFz7NFd8WdMbmFSBQ4p1zx5_ruGLfonnE6AOGO3cW0MqbXZPh9GfiSJYzNcMy9slbi6KeeUcvbqj0potftd0ggMhmeYT2fvkNePP_tW3HRBQqKc/s2048/2013%25252012%25253A58%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoSpKZLCJgR15Jcad9FH3QWGnkrSysuFz7NFd8WdMbmFSBQ4p1zx5_ruGLfonnE6AOGO3cW0MqbXZPh9GfiSJYzNcMy9slbi6KeeUcvbqj0potftd0ggMhmeYT2fvkNePP_tW3HRBQqKc/s500/2013%25252012%25253A58%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1372069247040.8337" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">There were also bows and arrows, amazing knives and gun accessories for sale. A nice lady gave us a rundown on the Ammo her company makes and sells, and a price list for later online ordering. She wished us a "nice day" and thanked us for our interest. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Note that for sale is ammo for the 44 Magnum, the most powerful handgun in the world. And it could blow your head clean off... with apologies to a certain Mr Eastwood.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-H7kiCu2tOds/Ucd8ClvkvUI/AAAAAAAALpg/Ov5hVGb7Sgc/s2048/2013%2525206%25253A49%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-H7kiCu2tOds/Ucd8ClvkvUI/AAAAAAAALpg/Ov5hVGb7Sgc/s500/2013%2525206%25253A49%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1372069247060.066" class="alignnone" width="500" height="669" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">This was not a kiddie jumping castle - but practice kiddie gun range! </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-n9aSy7jACw8/UcdygY3UEQI/AAAAAAAALlY/U8vu-mRm1as/s2048/2013%2525201%25253A06%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-n9aSy7jACw8/UcdygY3UEQI/AAAAAAAALlY/U8vu-mRm1as/s500/2013%2525201%25253A06%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1372069247045.5676" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Amazing experience for $6 and we were glad that we saw it. Obviously a gun show in a larger town like Las Vegas or in Texas would probably be quite different than small town Maine.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We liked the look of the little town, Machias, further up the road, and damn, we just missed their 250th birthday celebrations. Oh well. </div>
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<p>Mathias is yet another cute town on a tidal inlet and we noticed on our way back through that this "river" was about 2/3rds lower at low tide. </p>
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<p>We reached our destination, Lubec, at 1.30pm. Lubec is the most easterly town in USA and also a border crossing to Canada. </p>
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<p>On the way into town we saw signs warning of marathon runners. We didn't see any as we drove, but that was not surprising considering a serious sea mist was rolling into town (we thought it was called the Quoddy Mist based on some signs in town). </p>
<p>We got to the Lubec waterfromt area and a few streets are closed for the "International Marathon". International? It turned out that the runners were going into Canada before finishing back at the Lubec waterfront. Seems like a good drawcard...</p>
<p>The rain had stopped but you still could not see much. Canada is there somewhere, over the bridge... Or so it says...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Of interest may be that the Canadian territory on the other side of the border is an island and the one and only land connection to that island is via this bridge to... the US.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><p>Cars waiting to exit US and enter Canada. It appeared that there was some hold up with runners crossing the bridge. The guys in the fluro yellow vests are volunteers of the marathon. </p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">This law enforcement vehicle had Brunswick, Canada plates (as did the other car in the background). It seemed like a very collaborative arrangement in law enforcement between the two countries given that this, of course, is US territory.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bKdhKRUXVio/Ucd2UP7n80I/AAAAAAAALmY/LbAp4JYUFC0/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A23%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-bKdhKRUXVio/Ucd2UP7n80I/AAAAAAAALmY/LbAp4JYUFC0/s500/2013%2525202%25253A23%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1372069247074.0432" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p>The fog created a level of spookiness, like the picture below where you were looking down a foggy barrel...</p>
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<p> The bridge to... Nowhere? No, again, to Canada.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TcUfvePhYD0/Ucd2kBDk76I/AAAAAAAALmo/hLsc0o3KhiM/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A18%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-TcUfvePhYD0/Ucd2kBDk76I/AAAAAAAALmo/hLsc0o3KhiM/s500/2013%2525202%25253A18%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1372069247057.6084" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p> Grey on grey. The predominant color of housing up here seems to be grey. Suppose to blend in...</p>
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<p> The view of the bridge and where it goes to wasn't any clearer from the other northern side.</p>
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<p>Looking down North Water Street towards the finishing line of the marathon. We did not see runners here as the marathon had been going for 6+ hours already. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0EQ8hreTrD8/Ucd26Znr9PI/AAAAAAAALnA/vHDvmS-WnLE/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A25%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-0EQ8hreTrD8/Ucd26Znr9PI/AAAAAAAALnA/vHDvmS-WnLE/s500/2013%2525202%25253A25%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1372069247095.9268" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p> The marathon seems to have created a bit of a party atmosphere.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The two people to the right were runners (not sure marathon or just fun run). They were given a space blanket to keep themselves warm after finishing the race and yes, it was nippy alright.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wrYSw4V8reY/Ucd3LiGVprI/AAAAAAAALnQ/cE84_IkImMA/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A43%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-wrYSw4V8reY/Ucd3LiGVprI/AAAAAAAALnQ/cE84_IkImMA/s500/2013%2525202%25253A43%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1372069247113.1934" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Ha, this picture had to be taken as "tuffa" means "the tough" in Swedish. Yes we know, Hans is not fooling anybody...</div>
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<p> A couple of pictures of the fantastic buildings along the North Water Street.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">These buildings were part of an old herring pickling/smoking business.</div>
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<p> The building behind the others above is the old herring smokehouse. History below.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The smokehouse no longer seems to be attached to the complex. Or maybe it never was?</div>
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<p>The smokehouse story leads us onto the next smoking fish story. This wagon sold, as you can see, smoked salmon sticks which just had to be tried.</p>
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<p>Hans tucking in on the smoked salmon stick.</p>
<p>Verdict...perhaps the most delicious food we have eaten on a stick. It beat most satay sticks that we have tried. The stick was served cool, with firm salmon flesh very well smoked/cooked and flavored brilliantly with spices etc. Di was asking for a bite, then another, then another... You get the picture.</p>
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<p>We went back to purchase 2 more smoked salmon sticks, to be tonight's dinner and serve with potatoes. </p>
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<p>We kept trying to catch glimpses of Canada but the sea mist defied us. The dock area looked great though.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Trust us, Canada was somewhere behind the anchored boats. </div>
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<p>We like the US customs sign but really, does this honor system work? There were no coast guards or customs guys nearby as this sign was some distance from that border crossing bridge.</p>
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<p>Northeast Maine seemed to have suffered economically. We saw lots of empty old houses, looking ready to fall down. In addition, we had to assume that the climate here is harsh on timber buildings. </p>
<p>However, the deserted buildings made for good photography though...</p>
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<p>We got home around 5.30pm and later spoke tour motel host, Jerry, about our day. He was from Milbridge and said the population was about 70% of its peak because kids grow up, go to college and don't return. Any new people, he also said, are "sea changers" and bring money and housing prices become unaffordable for locals. Not sure how to take that given the number of deserted homes that we saw...</p>
<p>Di preps for dinner - and yes, smoked salmon sticks work deliciously with boiled potatoes. </p>
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<p>We relax with a few drinks on the porch as this is our final night in Bar Harbor and reflected a little on our very enjoyable week:</p>
<ul>
<li>Acadia National Park lived up to all the hype that we have heard. It is lovely and there is something for everyone. </li>
<li>The food here has been some of the best we've had since New Mexico and the seafood is genuinely fresh and delicious. </li>
<li>We could have stayed here for another week and possibly more. There were still large sections of the park that we hadn't been to.</li>
<li><p>We could see how people want to return here again and again. We could too. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>A good day and a great week. Good night. </p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-993045537022875012013-06-22T16:19:00.000-07:002013-06-22T16:35:16.185-07:00Sat 22 Jun - Bar Harbor, ME<p>On today's agenda are a 10am nature cruise and after that we thought we might explore the island a bit more by car. In other words, today was a more leisurely day. But first...breakfast.</p>
<p>Di tries to convince Hans about eating breakfast "out" at least once a week and it sometimes works. It helped here that the place Di chose, Cafe This Way, had some great seafood options on Eggs Benedict (one of Hans favourite dishes) and was strongly recommended by our motel host.</p>
<p>At 7.30am Di is hungry and the cafe helpfully provided footsteps to follow to the front door. Not that she needed that...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">As you might be able to see Cafe This Way has an outdoor deck for dining but it opens with French doors into this lovely space. We chose a table in the doorway looking out - you can't see it but our table was located where the man in blue is looking. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"> We love this about eating out in America - bottomless cups of coffee.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The menu at Cafe This Way (sorry, we never asked them whether there was a Cafe That Way somewhere else) was excellent and wide-ranging. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Di ordered poached eggs with corned beef hash. Hans had smoked trout Eggs Benedict with home fries - both dishes were delicious.</div>
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<p>We did a bit of a wander around town after breakfast before we headed to our cruise at 9.30am for a 10am start. Of course, we were the first ones there (Di.....)</p>
<p>Our cruise group is called Acadian Nature Cruises and have been in business since 1934. Among their crew they have at least one trained naturalist who commentates the cruise and points out various sights. Being early we got to choose great seats on the top deck behind where the captain (with the white shirt) is leaning. </p>
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<p>Our naturalist, Bill, studied and taught various sciences and for 21 years was a summer park ranger in Acadia National Park. Bill knew a lot about a lot.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We noticed a lobster trap and some fake lobsters near Bill and while he was away talking to the captain, Di gave her impression of what a lobster had done to her after dinner the other night...sprung by Bill!</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Bill talked about some of the grand houses on the island and particularly some which are within the National Park boundaries. Acadia is an unusual national park in the US that gets land by donations. No public funds were used to buy land and the government could not give it to them as there was none on the island.</div>
<p>So John D. Rockefeller II set a trend with his gift and surprisingly a lot of wealthy people donated land towards the park over time and it therefore has expanded regularly. </p>
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<p> The coast is rugged and interesting. Lots of shear cliffs and caves. </p>
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<p>The people heading down to the water on the path with the handrail are looking at Thunder Hole. It is supposed to "thunder" when large waves hit it but Bill revealed that you have to be here in January or February to hear it - brrrr - we don't think so. </p>
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<p>It was a good decision to hire binoculars for $3. Di now turned into Bald Eagle spotter...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Di pointed out two of the eagles to Bill before he saw them. Fantastic to see the mature Bald Eagles and we were fortunate to see a total of 5 mature and a young eagle during the cruise. Awesome birds. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Here are a couple of eagles pics...</div>
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<p> </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Our fellow passengers consist of a mixed group of punters including about 20 Chinese people from New York on a bus trip. The top deck was not crowded at all and of course we were all excited about seeing the eagles.</div>
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<p>We had been forewarned to dress warmly and sure enough out at sea it was cool (about 50F with windchill factor, or felt about 10 degrees C). Some people arrived in shorts and t-shirts and quickly grabbed blankets provided by the crew and huddled downstairs.</p>
<p>Of course we were prepared with at least 2 layers plus a Gortex jacket each. No sissy blankets for us...<br>
</p>
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<p> Heading away from the coast and towards some islands we passed these buoys. </p>
<p>Bill, our narrator, pointed out that if you line these 2 buoys up and follow that direction constantly the next place you hit is... the south west coast of Australia!!??</p>
<p>What? We had to believe him but he said check it out on a globe of the world if we we not convinced. We will - when we find a globe. </p>
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<p>Egg Rock lighthouse is famous for being voted the ugliest lighthouse in Maine. We thought it looked great. It sits on a little island, with all the lighthouse functions now automated and has nesting gulls and lots of seals for company. </p>
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<p>It may be hard to see but the rocks here had about 100 seals or so lying about, with about 20 more pups playing in the water. Very cute and they don't look underfed - all plump looking - like over fed corgis.</p>
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<p>Bill gave us a bit of a run down on lobster fishing and legal sizes and weights etc. Basically, lobsters are legal between about 1 pound and 5 pounds - outside these limits, or it they are carrying eggs they need to go back into the sea. Most restaurants serve lobsters around 1.25 pounds. </p>
<p>He also related a gross story about when he was a lad on a scientific trip that he and a mate were eating seagull eggs for breakfast. He described it as a giant runny chook egg, with a blood red/orange yolk. They scrambled them and closed their eyes to eat the bloody looking mess. However, he said that they tasted just like normal hen eggs. Still, it was not that appetizing for us after having had such a nice breakfast, nor for anyone else from what we could see and hear...</p>
<p>We moved back into the bay and passed close to the Porcupine Islands. There are about 8 of them and some are privately owned. This is perhaps the smallest island.</p>
<p>According to Bill, this island had some checkered history from during the probation era when alcohol was smuggled here from Canada and hid in lobster cages for somebody else to pick up...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Porcupine Islands are rugged and its hard to see how you could land a boat here - but this one is privately owned by one single family who built about 6 cottages on it. Apparently the extended family still comes here every summer.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We were very pleased with the 2+ hours cruise and we drove back to our motel afterwards to relax for a while before we headed out for some more sightseeing around the island with the car.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The following Runkeeper map doesn't tell the whole story as we also did the loop on roads 102 and 102A down at south western end, but it gives an overview of the surroundings and where we were.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">BTW, all green patches on the map form part of Acadia National Park while the white patches are privately owned land.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We stopped at Northwest Harbor for a belated picnic light lunch (three bean salad and fruit) sitting on a bench overlooking the marina. This is what we saw.</div>
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<p>A potential gatecrasher arrived and kept our eating under view. The seagulls are a lot bigger here and they all look very well fed. No food from us, sorry.</p>
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<p>We stopped at Somes Harbor in Somesville as we had already passed through the area 4 times without stopping despite it looking very nice and interesting (2 x to and from the kayak hire place at the Long Pond).</p>
<p>This foot bridge was funded by Somes grand daughter and then given to the national park. It really is there for beauty rather than any practical reason as the road passes only a few meters away. Why this guy is loitering on the foot bridge, we don't know...</p>
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<p> Across the road from the foot bridge is this lovely dam. The flower boxes are on the road bridge.</p>
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<p> The water spilled from the dam into Somes harbor.</p>
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<p> And next to it all is Somesville library in what looked like an old converted cottage. Too cute for words.</p>
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<p>Di is inspecting the somewhat restricted business hours of the library, 10 hours per week. Perhaps reading paper books is not a big thing in Somesville and its surrounding area (or maybe they are kindle advocates?)</p>
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<p>We continue driving to almost the southern tip where the road is constructed over rocks and divides the ocean from an inland water collection (wasn't sure what to call it). The town logically is called Sea Wall although there is no town just here.</p>
<p>We stopped the car and got out to have a further look. Here we were looking even further south along the eastern shore.</p>
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<p>As we completed the loop road, we headed back north and stopped at Southwest Harbor (which is southwest of Northeast Harbor where we had our lunch...). We were thinking of coffee and cake and found it at Quiet Side Cafe.</p>
<p>Quiet Side Cafe was quite (ha!) a find and a very interesting experience. First the people owning it and working there. </p>
<p>Our orders were taken by a Romanian girl who, like the girl at the Chinese restaurant the other day, was in the US on a "Work and Travel" program. She was from a small town in Romania that we had never heard of and wanted to go to Miami as she found Maine to be a bit cold (is Romania really that much warmer?)</p>
<p>The bloke with the Swag shirt in the picture below is the owner. He came up to us asking how we found our apple pie. We chatted to him and he told us very proudly that the apple pie was made by his wife.</p>
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<p>The wall below is what started our discussion with the owner. You may be able to find him, and his wife, in the middle picture in the third vertical row. All pictures were family portraits of one kind or another.</p>
<p>What the pictures told us was that the owner was married to a black lady and that he had 3 daughters, 2 of whom are serving in the US Military (he mentioned Air Force for one). The washed out 2nd picture in the first vertical row shows one of his daughters in military uniform from San Antonio, TX. That is obviously some distance away from Maine, but according to the owner, she is now serving in Virginia. She had not seen any action yet. Where the other daughter is serving, he didn't tell us. </p>
<p>Oh, the owner himself had served 25 years in the US Army.</p>
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<p>We almost forgot the goodies. The apple pie, that we shared, was to die for. It was very very nice indeed, topped with walnut crust and served with good quality french vanilla icecream. His wife knew her baking very well.</p>
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<p>We then drove back to our motel and at 5.30pm or so, headed outside to the porch for a well deserved beer or three (or so we claim) and some blogging. </p>
<p>Dinner was frozen meals nuked to perfection... Well sort of. Total cost $4. Great value. Enjoyed on the porch as well. Showers and thunderstorms had been predicted throughout the afternoon, but it had just been overcast and cloudy all day. Same for tomorrow. We'll see. Good night.</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-85310431990240427792013-06-21T18:04:00.000-07:002013-06-21T18:12:47.011-07:00Fri 21 Jun - Bar Harbor, ME<p>One of THE things to do here is see the sunrise on Cadillac Mountain - the first place in the USA to see sunrise every day (today at 4.46am).</p>
<p>So the alarm went off at 3.30am and by 4.15am we joined the other hundred tourists with the same idea. Punter numbers had increased to a few hundred by the time we left. </p>
<p>The sun was still below the horizon and so we had a lovey "blue light" for a while. </p>
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<p> We ate our breakfast while enjoying the spectacle, tea which we brought with us from our motel and a sandwich each. </p>
<p>This is just before the sun popped over the horizon. We were enjoying the views and a couple nearby got in their car and left. What??? Coming all this way and leave just before sunrise...?</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Well, there were still a lot of sunrise seekers around... Almost a bit of a party atmosphere that early in the morning.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Here comes the sun do de dah dah (think the Beatles song, which we were humming). It's all right...</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><p>The sun was fully risen just after 5am. And more people arrived then...after the event... Again, why?</p></div>
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<p>Of course, by now we were wide awake so let's start hiking - on our first trail by 5.25am. </p>
<p>We parked the car at the Bubble Parking (more on Bubbles later). Today's hike is again a combination of various trails. Here is Hans on the Jordan Pond Path that circles Jordan Pond.</p>
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<p> Now, which way is the trail...? Can't be to the left...</p>
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<p>Interesting plaque, Joseph Allen was a "Lover of rocks and high places". There is probably a good story behind that plaque...</p>
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<p> We found this lovely wooden bridge on the Jordan Pond Path.</p>
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<p> Oh no, there is always one...</p>
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<p>Our main destination today was the top of South Bubble, but to get up there you have to rock scramble if you follow the advice of our motel host, Jerry. He likes to set a challenge - otherwise the not so fit can take a gentle path. Guess which way we were told to go? Fortunately not scrambling for very long, but there were lots and lots of rocks. </p>
<p>Di looks a bit overwhelmed here. As she says "you know I'm not good with rocks..." but she managed because the rocks were maneuvered in a way to sort of create steps. Not a long climb and we are at the top. </p>
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<p> Bubble mania. The song "Tiny bubbles..." from Underbelly comes to mind.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">What Di is trying to push over the edge is called Bubble Rock. No, she didn't succeed, the rock was still there.</div>
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<p> Hans was giving a pushing good too, but... Bubble Rock was unmoved.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Self portrait up at South Bubble. Eagle Lake in the background.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Top of the hill.. er, rubble pile at South Bubble.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">On the way down from South Bubble, we saw this cute little frog on the path. Clearly a frog that liked the dryer environment as he was some distance from any water.</div>
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<p>Di had hurt her left foot clumsily twisting it again on rocks (she did suggest that she's not good on rocks) so she decided for a loop around Jordan Pond (3.3 miles or 5.5km) rather than more scrambling and rocky surfaces. </p>
<p>We split at the junction between South and North Bubble and agreed to meet at the Jordan Pond House at 10am. Bye Di. Bye Hans.</p>
<p>Here are the Runkeeper stats for Hans hiking, except that he inadvertently stopped the GPS tracking at 9km. As noted above, we met again at Jordon Pond House which is at the southern tip of Jordan Pond. Hence, Hans probably walked another 2-3 km to a total of about 12 km. Not a long, nor strenuous hike but nevertheless most pleasant.</p>
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<p>As there is a South Bubble, elevation 768 feet or 250 meters, there is also a North Bubble, elevation 872 feet or 290 meters. North Bubble is located... North of South Bubble. Funny that.</p>
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<p> View of southern tip of Eagle Lake which we wandered around late yesterday on the carriage way.</p>
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<p> Hans and Eagle Lake yet again.</p>
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<p>The hike continues north of North Bubble and is gently downwards along the ridge. Excellent views despite not being very high.</p>
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<p>Then it was a bit of scrambling up on the other side of the carriage way to get to the 3rd and last hilltop for today called Conners Nubble. Clearly not one of the more popular hikes as Hans saw nobody and the trail was not very well maintained or used.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Some of the paths are like this, a boardwalk to preserve the fragile lakeshore. Di came across a mile of it on the western edge of Jordan Pond. Hans on the way back south from Conners Nubble. Fun to walk on.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The Jordan Pond Path on the eastern shore is a very smooth walkway. Easy and pleasant being right on the edge of the pond. We got constant views and there were places you could stop and just enjoy for a while, including a large rock out in the water.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">On Di's walk she felt like "Snow White" as it was about 7.30am, no other people, and she was surrounded by the animals of the forest. She had a close encounter with a large doe (female deer) both of them on the path about 10 meters apart. Then she met 2 more deers later in the walk. Also 1 bunny and about 100 squirrels (did she count?)</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The path includes this nice stone causeway crossing between a swamp area and the lake. </div>
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<p> Hans and Di met at the southern end of the Jordan Pond at 10am. This was the view not far from there, looking back towards the Bubbles. </p>
<p>Di had made herself comfortable in a lounger supplied by Jordan Pond House (not open until 11am). </p>
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<p> Back to the car park to head home and we got chatting to an older couple who were traveling in a VW Van very similar to the one we borrowed from Di's mum back in October/November last year. They were very talkative about the 6 months they lived in Wellington, New Zealand, what they had seen and wanted to know all about what we had seen. Twenty minutes later we later got in the car and left. Phew - the woman loved to chat and made Di look "quiet" or as Hans suggested "she gave Di a run for her money". (Correction: No, Di was definitely not "quiet"...)</p>
<p>Back to the ranch for showers and coffee then housekeeping arrived so we headed out to Bar Harbor town centre again. </p>
<p>Lunch was a supermarket rotisserie chook with bread, ripped apart and munched at the Village Green park. Very nice and great value at $9 in total.</p>
<p>Here is Di washing off the hands in the fountain at the Village Green after lunch...no thanks from Di for this camera angle! Looked good in Hans' view...</p>
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<p>A pleasant hour passed watching the world go by and blogging. As noted yesterday, there is free wifi within the confines of the Village Green.</p>
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<p>At around 1.30pm, we wander back to our motel for some downtime. Heck, we've been up for 10 hours already. And we both snoozed. 2 hours or more. Yep, fantastic.</p>
<p>Just after 5pm, beer o'clock kicked in and we each enjoyed an alcoholic drink of choice then got a dinner place recommendation from a local - Poor Boys Gourmet - for good food, reasonable value and stunning desserts. </p>
<p><span style="text-align: left; ">At 6.30pm we went to sample the offerings of Poor Boys Gourmet.</span></p>
<p>Good karma from the moment we arrived. Busy, nice location and a perfect table for us upstairs at the open windows. As you may note in the picture below, there was also a queue outside.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Poor Boys Gourmet had a fantastic menu and of course in Maine you have to eat...</div>
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<p> Or if you are a bit allergic like Di they do a great alternative with shrimp and scallops. Yummy also. Say cheers...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We had been missing pasta so seafood pasta was ordered - shrimp and scallop for Di and Lobster Poor Boy pasta for Hans. The peas came in a separate bowl (that's a new one) but the waitress said she always stirs them in, so we did too. Worked well. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Di and her meal...</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Generous servings of seafood and attentive staff - another top meal here. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Hans being slightly faced by the sun and his Lobster Poor Boy Pasta.</div>
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<p> The dessert menu was huge and we had been told they were "the best". For Di, she left a tiny space enough to try the smallest, lightest dessert on the menu - Kahlua Chocolate Moose. Very good.</p>
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<p>During our meal Hans could see this place across the street which was the complete opposite of our experience. They had 2 customers in the 90 minutes we were at our table. We found it quite depressing. This place needed a restaurant rescue as we could not understand how they could run a business like that with next to no customers. </p>
<p>And who wants to sit eating on a boring wooden table plonked onto a grey boring concrete slab in a national park area...? It may work for an Australian beer garden next to a beach with low beer prices, but definitely not here...</p>
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<p>Home around 8.30pm and its a lovely evening to sit outside and finish our blog with some wine. Good night. </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-59858464758769338722013-06-20T17:54:00.000-07:002013-06-20T18:02:44.238-07:00Thu 20 Jun - Bar Harbor, ME<p>Beautiful weather again so - Kayak day and then walking day. </p>
<p>We did 4 hours kayaking from 8.30am which is when our selected kayaking business opened for the day. And by the way, it was a fabulous day for it as well. </p>
<p>We chatted to the guy, Steve, who ran the place, about how we were there the other day and he said that the young lads (his grandsons) then said that they wanted to "adopt us". The owner also knew the owner of our motel, Jimmy. We were photographed for their Facebook page and were made to put a pin onto a world map to show where we came from. All fun and jokes early in the morning.</p>
<p>Here is the ramp from where we set off. Hans had the blue and Di had the red orange kayak.</p>
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<p> And Di is in the water with her kayak...</p>
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<p> Action Jackson.</p>
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<p> The lake at 9am was almost completely still, and as a result it was fantastic to be out on the water.</p>
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<p> The world of the Long Pond, as the lake is known, as seen from Hans kayak. And Hans skinny knees...</p>
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<p>The Long Pond is 4 miles (about 6.4km) long (hence the name) so we had plenty of space to explore. We did just that, going around a peninsular and trying to find an island known for Loons nesting. </p>
<p>Loons are a lovely water bird local to here. They swim like ducks, fish for food like Cormorants and call.... well like a loon! The calls can sound like dry hacking coughs or almost an Aussie cooee and anything in between. We saw a few fishing loons nearby as we paddled. Lovely birds. </p>
<p>On the way we saw this (see photo below). We were not quite sure what this was, but we think that it may be an artificial bird's nest. It was built like a tiny island out on the water some distance from land. No signs of birds or feathers or eggs in there, but it looked "flattened" as if it had been used.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">And Di is off again... Wait Di...</div>
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<p> A self portrait in our kayaks on the lake.</p>
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<p>We eventually found the small island in the lake, known for loons that are nesting there, i.e. keep your distance and don't disturb them. We did find one loon nesting. The photo below was a long distance shot and not very clear, but the loon can be seen in there - she has a long black head, narrow black beak and white collar then a mix of black and white body markings. </p>
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<p>Close to where we started our kayaking adventure, there was a little bay where the kayak owner, Steve, told us that an eagle could be found. We could see or hear nothing of that, but this is where the lake was dammed up as you could hear that spillway. Better stay away and not get too close. </p>
<p>Here is looking back out from that little bay.</p>
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<p>We finished off our kayaking around noon, after paddling about 5 miles (8km) and went back to our motel for a shower and a change of clothes. </p>
<p>We were now up to lunch time and we wandered into town to get a bite. Our first lunch choice, Cafe This Way, was closed as it does only breakfast and dinner, but not lunch. We then found a small deli selling lunch to go, sandwiches and salads, which is where we did our purchases. Lunch at the town park was a perfect location. </p>
<p>Hans tried one of the region's "famous" lobster rolls, which are sold everywhere. Not much food, and not cheap ($12.95) but very tasty. The lobster roll didn't really fill you up though.</p>
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<p>Di had a tuna mayo roll which was slightly bigger and equally tasty, but still not much of a meal.</p>
<p>Once again, the vendor threw into a small bag of Frito Lays crisps each with our orders. We don't know where this custom came from, but we speculated that Lays may have had a campaign of free crisps with every sandwich at some stage and the punters just got used to getting them. We've seen this all over America. </p>
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<p>After lunch, we wandered the Shore Trail again and then back onto Main Street. We passed an ice cream shop with the most amazing names for their ice cream flavours. Appalachian Trail? Maine Survivor?</p>
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<p>Di purchased a soft plain yogurt after which we crossed Main Street and walked into the Village Green for her to consume it there. Very English... BTW, the village green is wired and provides free wifi. Like that!</p>
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<p> We found a map of Bar Harbor with points of interest marked that are publicly accessible to view.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We then wandered back to our motel for an afternoon break.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Around 4pm, we are on the road again to drive the short distance to where we could walk the Eagle Lake Loop. We had visited this trail briefly on Tuesday and thought that we would like to do the full loop, which is just under 6 miles (10km) long.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We assumed that a later afternoon start would mean less people, cooler air and better light for photography. And we think that we were right on all counts. It was a lovely walk, mostly flat but with a few gradual hills along the way. Here we are looking across Eagle Lake from north to south.</div>
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<p>The path is part of the 45 miles carriage way network established by John D Rockefeller II. So a smooth wide path suitable for horse and carriage. The paths are well sign posted so there was no chance of getting lost - Di knew the map by heart anyway. She is very clever that way...</p>
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<p>The Lake Loop is a really pleasant walk, we can't call it a hike as we are not skipping over boulders or tree roots etc. The carriage way is in great condition, no potholes etc which is why any people we did see were joggers or bike riders. </p>
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<p> Even the run off for water has been engineered and is supported by rocks.</p>
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<p> The gravel road that makes up the Carriage Way is in excellent condition. Very well maintained.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Dianna on the rock(s) </div>
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<p> A self portrait back on the south side of Eagle Lake to complete our walking of the Lake Loop.</p>
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<p>We found this note and a pink ribbon on a tree next to the parking lot that we used. The pink ribbons were frequently seen around the park and we didn't think anything about it. But there you go...</p>
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<p>We finish our walk around 6pm and drive back home.</p>
<p>Dinner is in the room, well outside on the porch, and consist of prawn soup from a can and a couple of TV dinners. It may not sound like much, but it is surprisingly good. </p>
<p>Early night tonight, we plan to raise by 3.30am tomorrow morning. Good night.</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-15814847197317666322013-06-19T16:49:00.000-07:002013-06-20T04:05:00.882-07:00Wed 19 Jun - Bar Harbor, ME<p>Di's lobster dinner last night took its revenge on her digestive system (enough said!). She has always been a bit sensitive to hard shell crustaceans, like crab and lobster, but tries to eat it in small doses for special occasions...hmmm.</p>
<p>So Di awoke today tender and tired - no hiking for Di and she was upset about that. </p>
<p>Hans sets out at 7am on the selected loop trail, after momentary sympathy, followed by a dash for the door. Bye!</p>
<p>Today's hike was recommended by our motel owner. The hike takes in 3 mountains and some excellent views. </p>
<p>This is the Runkeeper representation. 13.7 km over 5 hours and 13 minutes. Again, not a fast hike as there was quite a bit of rock-scrambling involved and stunning views that needed to appreciated.</p>
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<p>The drive from Aurora Motel to the trailhead at Jordan Pond House took perhaps 20 minutes and Hans was the 3rd car parked there at around 7.20am. Of course, when Hans returned after his hike, the parking lot was in chaos as there is a restaurant at Jordan Pond House and a lot of people come there without any intention of exercise other than walking from the parking lot to the restaurant, eating and then back again.</p>
<p>The Jordan Pond Path for the first 3km or so is relatively flat and great as a warm up.</p>
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<p> It looked like somebody had taken a bite out of the lowest sign...?</p>
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<p>Intersection where the Sargent South Ridge Trail starts going north towards Mount Sargent, the highest of today's mountains.</p>
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<p> The trail was gradually climbing and views were getting better and better. Hans had an apple break at the spot below.</p>
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<p> Green, green as far as the eye can see.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Looking south east towards the Atlantic Ocean.</div>
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<p>Then Hans reached today's first peak called Cedar Swamp Mountain. Not really that tall at 942 feet or 300 meters but it had some great views towards the west.</p>
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<p> And views to the south as well.</p>
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<p>Here Hans took a wrong turn. You may note that the top 2 signs point in a slightly different direction to the 3rd sign? </p>
<p>Well, Hans didn't pick it at the time and indadvertedly chose the Amphitheater Trail. He picked the error after 5 minutes or so when the trail was suddenly all down and down and the map and common sense said that it should be up and up. Backtracking...</p>
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<p>This is how it looked away from the sign above. Hans took the right trail when he saw the blue marker there when he should have taken the left trail. Oh well, less than 15 minutes lost and Hans is on his way.</p>
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<p>More views to the east... And also the marker for the top of Penabscot Mountain (middle of picture, slightly to the left) that will eventually be the third and last peak to visit. It felt a bit like a tease... So close... And still so far away.</p>
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<p>OK, Hans was perhaps getting a bit carried away with views. It looked so good on this beautiful day in Maine.</p>
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<p> Just one more... For now.</p>
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<p> We are getting closer. We can see the marker at the top of Sargent Mountain.</p>
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<p> And even closer...</p>
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<p> There. Hans at the top of the pile, Sargent Mountain at 1373 feet or 420 or so meters.</p>
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<p>Up until now, Hans had seen only one single person on the trails, a runner in shorts and shoes only who looked very fit as he ran past Hans up the hills. No one was at the top when Hans arrived, but he was soon joined by 4 other hikers.</p>
<p>Looking west from the top of Sargent Mountain.</p>
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<p>Looking northwest, into something called... Southwest Valley. It all depends on where you start from we guess...</p>
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<p>Hans took the East Cliffs Trail from Sargent Mountain and this is where it started to get tricky. The trail was very steep going down as one of the hikers Hans spoke to at the top there had advised him. She was not wrong.</p>
<p>In one spot though, you could clearly see the two main collections of water in the area. </p>
<p>First Eagle Lake to the north where we went to have a look yesterday (at its northern side and furthest away on the photo)</p>
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<p>To the southeast is Jordan Pond. Hans started this hike near the southern tip of this lake.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">After completing the East Cliff Trail, Deer Brook Trail is next. </div>
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<p>As Hans was hiking upstream on the Deer Brook Trail, he got a bit peeved off about the markings. Or lack thereof. Most of the trails so far had been superbly marked either with blue markers or cairns or up on the ridges with both. No cairns here and the blue markers were far and few between. </p>
<p>Case in point, at one stage Hans was met with the below scenery. No blue markers were to be found. Which way to go? The map says that that the trail sort of follows the creek, but...</p>
<p>Hans chose the right path which turned out to be the right path. This by the way was only one scenario of several where the path was very much unclear.</p>
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<p>Then this. Others must have complained and the National Park guys put in a couple of token metal sheets into a couple of trees. Fine, but 10 or 20 times as many would have been better. </p>
<p>Hans was happy to see the end of Deer Brook Trail.</p>
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<p>Soon thereafter we are up on Penobscot Mountain at 1194 feet or less than 400 meters, the peak we saw from a distance a bit earlier on.</p>
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<p>Looking back from Penabscot Mountain towards Sargent Mountain. You can see the valley where the going down was so steep in the between where all the trees are.</p>
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<p> More great views from Penobscot Mountain.</p>
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<p> Looking south... And we are on our way again... South.</p>
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<p>Hans almost stepped on a green little snake on the path behind a rock. It looked a bit like an Australian tree snake with its very fluorescent green color, but it disappeared very quickly and Hans had no chance to take a photo of it. Post hike reference to Wikipedia suggests that it could have been a Smooth Green Snake.</p>
<p>Then suddenly, looking up... </p>
<p>We had been told that the Jordan Cliff Trail which runs parallel to Penobscot Mountain Trail, the one that Hans is on, is closed at the moment as Peregrine Falcons breed there and now have young chicks (fledglings). The rangers obviously want to protect the small colony of falcons and their chicks that they have. Apparently, there were only 4 pairs breeding there last year.</p>
<p>First one Peregrine Falcon...</p>
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<p> Then two...</p>
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<p>Then five...</p>
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<p>In fact, Hans could see 7 peregrine falcons in the sky at one stage.</p>
<p>It felt a bit like the movie The Birds for a while. One of the falcons was flying a bit lower and just above Hans for a little while, likely checking him out to see whether he would be a threat to the little ones.</p>
<p>This was a truly amazing sight. Hans considered himself very lucky indeed.</p>
<p>Hans was then slowly hiking down the ridge south on the Penobscot Mountain Trail. This is how it looked at one stage. </p>
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<p> Here you can see the Jordan Pond House in the distance, the start and the finish of Hans hike for today.</p>
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<p>Some information about cairns... Hans suspected that some unwitting people may have created their own cairns which then had confused hikers...</p>
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<p> For the second time on this hike, going down was a bit of a rock scramble. Hans was a bit surprised and he hadn't quite expected that. This was one of the easier sections.</p>
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<p>Hans finished the hike just before 1pm and as he hadn't yet eaten his lunch sandwiches, so he bought himself a coffee at the Jordan Pond House and found a shady spot to sit and enjoy his lunch.</p>
<p>As Hans ate, he observed the comings and goings and again he found it amazing the sheer amount of oversized people even in a place like Acadia National Park (which is clearly encouraging people to get out and get moving) and has the most amazing environment, trails and carriage ways. </p>
<p>Lots of people seem to have driven to Jordan Pond House to... Have lunch in the restaurant. And then presumably go home again.</p>
<p>It was a bit of a giggle when a middle aged woman passed by with her husband. She was carrying one bottle of liquid, thrown across her body held up by a strap over her shoulder as she said "Let's go hiking...". Right...</p>
<p>Hans was home around 1.30pm and had another bath, third in three days, as it felt good for worked muscles. </p>
<p>When Hans came home he indadvertedly woke up Di who was trying to catch up on missed sleep from last night. Earlier in the day Di had hoped for a sleep-in but housekeeping arrive here quite early - they were at the door at 8.45am. So Di got up, dressed and headed to a local cafe for "plain" breakfast. Hot tea and plain pancakes were ordered - and both were excellent. In fact the pancakes were nearly the best Di had ever had. The name of the cafe was "Cafe This Way" as it as tucked down a lane behind a few buildings. We may return to try a more gourmet breakfast as it is clearly THE place for the start of a day. </p>
<p>Di then wandered to check out local bike rental places and unfortunately was not convinced about riding a bike around Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. The carriage ways look fantastic but to get to them you have to ride nearly 2 miles on quite a narrow tod with heavy traffic. They all recommended taking your bike on the free shuttle bus to avoid this - but as we found out earlier this bus doesn't start running until 23 June. We seem to be just that little bit too early for a lot of things.</p>
<p>Back home and into bed for Di. </p>
<p>Di, however, got a bit of energy in the afternoon and went to the local laundromat with our dirty washing, two thirds of which was probably Hans with a lot being hiking gear that needed to be refreshed.</p>
<p>Other than that quite a lazy afternoon for us both.</p>
<p>We wander into to town for an easy Chinese dinner. The cashew chicken and the salt and pepper prawns were OK, but nothing to write home about. </p>
<p>However, we started chatting to our young waitress. She was from Velingrad, Bulgaria and is in the US on a work / travel arrangement of some sort. It was her 3rd day working in that restaurant and her English was surprisingly good. She wanted to go to New York as part of her travel. Very pleasant young lady who appeared very switched on.</p>
<p>One of our fortune cookies also made us laugh. Di got it, but it should have been given to Hans. It said "You need time to recharge. Spend time alone in nature". </p>
<p>Home again just before 7.30pm for a quiet night.</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-69627044697367133682013-06-18T14:24:00.000-07:002013-06-20T04:02:38.919-07:00Tue 18 Jun - Bar Harbor, ME<p>We had been planning a hike for today, but Di's legs were still not fully recovered from our stint in the White Mountains so we postponed the hike until tomorrow. </p>
<p>Instead we started off by familiarizing ourselves of Bar Harbor by strolling through the town centre. We then made up the rest of the day up as we went along. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">A nice early start (as we were awake by 5.20am - the sun comes up very early here) so we were on the streets around 7am. Nice and quiet. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Here is Di outside Aurora Motel where we will be staying this week.</div>
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<p>Our town map showed that a "Shore Trail", a trail for walking only, led from the end of a road about 5 blocks from us back into town following the shore line. We found the road easily and liked the houses along the waterfront, including a favourite for Hans - a house with a tasteful horseshoe driveway. </p>
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<p> Sure - the Shore Trail (ha ha) starts here and runs for a mile or so back into town. </p>
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<p>The Shore Trail had a great footpath about 1 metre wide and running right on the edge of private land which had been agreed by a landowners association. Very good idea and quite generous. </p>
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<p>No fences, barriers or bikes, just a nice path for walkers and joggers, and at this time not many of either. This photo is looking south east behind Hans. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">There is a large rock along the foreshore that shouldn't be there according to the blurb in the board. Still it is, thanks to a very old big glacier, and it is a photographic favourite.</div>
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<p> Di shows us why it is so photogenic. Pushing good...</p>
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<p>The Shore Trail continues to Bar Harbor's harbor. This schooner runs various cruises including a sunset cruise that may be a contender for us one night this week. </p>
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<p>Swinging pontoon. Di was a tad worried here as Hans instructed her to stand on the very far end of the pontoon whilst he rocked it and took a photo. No animal was hurt in taking this picture. Di though... Some British tourists commented she was "very brave". </p>
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<p> If you haven't got it yet, lobster is HUGE here. Maine supplies 90% of all USA lobster. </p>
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<p>A fisherman came into shore as we were there and dropped off this container filled with... You guessed it, lobster. 100 pounds of them heading to a "pound" - we assume not for being rescued and finding new homes! Wikipedia to the rescue. A lobster pound is a local term for a shack along the waters edge where lobsters are cooked live to order for punters and In the meantime the lobsters are in a holding pen in the sea or tidal water. </p>
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<p> Location shot of Bar Harbor town from the wharf.</p>
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<p> We stopped in the town park for a fruit break before wandering further. The main street of Bar Harbor is very cute and is filled with t-shirt and souvenir stores, or restaurants. All with quirky names or signage. We liked that it was all so colourful. </p>
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<p>Yet more lobster paraphernalia... And it's close cousin, the moose. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">This car aerial took the award for "tacky" - so bad it's good!</div>
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<p>We had heard about crossing the sandbar at low tide to Bar Island and figured it had to be done. When we first arrived the water was still across the bar - about 2 hours before low tide. </p>
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<p>A quick visit back to our motel for a coffee and a change of clothes (swimmers) and footware (flip flops in American English - not thongs...)</p>
<p>Whilst back at the motel our neighbor started chatting with us. A chatty retired Columbian American man who is traveling with his wife as far as Labrador in about a 2 week trip. He mentioned going to Cadillac Mountain and when Hans said he should get up at 3.30am to see the sunrise the reaction he got was very funny - "aahhhcchhh" and a wave away with the arm. </p>
<p>When we returned about 30 minutes later the bar was out of the water the whole way. We noted that despite the big yellow sign (and some scary photos showing cars submerged) some groups still take their vehicles onto the sandbar. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Looking back from Bar Island to the town, with Cadillac Mountain behind. Cadillac mountain is in Acadia National Park and is the first point in the USA to get the sunrise. </div>
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<p>Yes - time for some sun on our white torsos... </p>
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<p> We looked in the tidal areas for crabs and anything alive - no luck. Any clam shells or mussels were already opened and cleaned out by the gulls. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><p>We have great "farmer tans" (aka hiker tans). </p></div>
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<p> The Atlantic here never really gets warms. We were told it was still somewhere below 60F (< 15 degrees) and we tested it without feet. No hypothermia but definitely not warm. </p>
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<p> Seeing as the Atlantic was too cold for swimming we decided, on this warm day, to try out the pool and spa associated with our motel. </p>
<p>It was not in the same location as our motel - it was located at the Quality Inn about 100 meters up the road. We thought that they had made good use of what looked like the old water tank - now for a pool. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXyakX7Z8gsfnySGPUuQSM6bqs39uDgKtLF9QUstje79ZiAvywCaWnwWtS3q_lB4pfPnZwvp1vbpytxZEe9JSIP5gXoNsMplkOxsO5DOHRnEyDBw-fEGI3Jk2uGow-pWIYMmBPTf43kc/s2048/2013%25252012%25253A26%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOXyakX7Z8gsfnySGPUuQSM6bqs39uDgKtLF9QUstje79ZiAvywCaWnwWtS3q_lB4pfPnZwvp1vbpytxZEe9JSIP5gXoNsMplkOxsO5DOHRnEyDBw-fEGI3Jk2uGow-pWIYMmBPTf43kc/s500/2013%25252012%25253A26%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371726063037.648" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p> Very nice! The pool was the cleanest we think we have ever been in and a good size. The spa was also excellent, as were the pool towels and lounge chairs. We will definitely be back here - shame we can't bring a beer...</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PyeR3y5rNZE/UcDM_lt6JII/AAAAAAAALNc/4ktowGycmaE/s2048/2013%25252012%25253A12%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-PyeR3y5rNZE/UcDM_lt6JII/AAAAAAAALNc/4ktowGycmaE/s500/2013%25252012%25253A12%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371726063084.1008" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p>The pool was 25 degrees, which we both liked. Hans also found the 37 degrees in the hot tub with bubbles very relaxing. </p>
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<p> Di found the lounge chairs in the sun relaxing too. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-i__D2tVj6do/UcDNRCplwEI/AAAAAAAALNs/8QMqgdjTvNE/s2048/2013%25252012%25253A15%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-i__D2tVj6do/UcDNRCplwEI/AAAAAAAALNs/8QMqgdjTvNE/s500/2013%25252012%25253A15%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371726063045.3406" class="alignnone" width="500" height="667" alt=""></a></div>
<p>There is probably a good story behind this sign... If you can't read it, it says "No bike roof racks". We could almost hear the bang...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><p>After a sandwich lunch back at our motel we wanted to see more of Acadia National Park so we drove the 27 mile loop road that circles the park. The loop takes about an hour to drive, at a nice slow pace so you can see the views. It's quite a popular drive but we did not take photos because we figure we will revisit many of the sights whilst hiking.</p><p>We also wanted to see Eagle Lake, which we heard had a great carriage way trail for walking or biking. After a few miles of heading in the wrong direction (the map was a challenge) we found Eagle Lake and vowed to return. It's about a 4-5 mile loop and connects to other carriage ways - and looked great for exploring by bike.</p><p>The carrage way together with the spectacular bridges were all designed and funded by John D Rockefeller Jr when he owned most of current day Acadia National Park. </p><p>Here is Hans under one of the 17 bridges in the park.</p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-OKzS26X9MTU/UcDOPghfxkI/AAAAAAAALOA/Be6Hs0AZ_rE/s2048/2013%2525203%25253A25%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-OKzS26X9MTU/UcDOPghfxkI/AAAAAAAALOA/Be6Hs0AZ_rE/s500/2013%2525203%25253A25%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371726063091.0505" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The carriage road network is quite extensive. Over 50 miles or 80 km of gravel road is still used for cycling and walking within the park today.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-C7YMCH_NfV0/UcDObyVJBuI/AAAAAAAALOM/9o2jyF5Eqgc/s2048/2013%2525203%25253A25%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-C7YMCH_NfV0/UcDObyVJBuI/AAAAAAAALOM/9o2jyF5Eqgc/s500/2013%2525203%25253A25%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371726063043.7146" class="alignnone" width="500" height="667" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The carriage way is also very wide - even Di on a bicycle should manage not to run into anything. </div>
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<p>Eagle Lake is beautiful and it looks like much of the carriage way runs along the edge. We'll be back. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3oS6b9ylDV4/UcDO7jxtWCI/AAAAAAAALOc/83kaZNszaDI/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A49%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-3oS6b9ylDV4/UcDO7jxtWCI/AAAAAAAALOc/83kaZNszaDI/s500/2013%2525202%25253A49%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371726063054.1836" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">One more thing to check out... Canoe Rentals on the Great Long Pond, which is halfway into Acadia National Park. A good deal we think - $30 for 4 hours and the canoes looked good. So does the size of the "pond" to explore - it is 4 miles long.</div>
<p> </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Home for a few drinks, a clean up and then we went out for dinner at the West Street Cafe. Lobster was a contender for tonight. We just had to try it and this restaurant had been recommended as good value by our neighbor at the motel.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yqjd9OzpJqw/UcEDSdPATFI/AAAAAAAALPE/ORHKlrmtfxc/s2048/2013%2525207%25253A41%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-yqjd9OzpJqw/UcEDSdPATFI/AAAAAAAALPE/ORHKlrmtfxc/s500/2013%2525207%25253A41%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371726063101.9646" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p>Hans found the perfect dish on the menu. Something called "Lazy Man's Lobster Sauté". All the taste without the mess. Done.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">High expectations for a good seafood meal.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The food arrived, and here is Hans "lazy lobster" meal. In one word, delicious.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RPk9kXTitkc/UcEDuIXlC6I/AAAAAAAALPc/9wgR7Tpc81I/s2048/2013%2525207%25253A02%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RPk9kXTitkc/UcEDuIXlC6I/AAAAAAAALPc/9wgR7Tpc81I/s500/2013%2525207%25253A02%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371726063066.9153" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Di had a lobster, shrimp and scallop combo in a butter and garlic sauce. In one and the same word, delicious.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-pgu9xzjTheg/UcED3MMyAzI/AAAAAAAALPk/1czFI8SoegM/s2048/2013%2525207%25253A03%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-pgu9xzjTheg/UcED3MMyAzI/AAAAAAAALPk/1czFI8SoegM/s500/2013%2525207%25253A03%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371726063085.4783" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">After a most pleasant meal with excellent service (a good recommendation from our chatty neighbour), we took a wander through the centre of Bar Harbor as the dark settles. Great light for a few more pics.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Q2qtT5MZ1pc/UcED_ZTSLlI/AAAAAAAALPs/ivP2azTLH_0/s2048/2013%2525207%25253A47%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Q2qtT5MZ1pc/UcED_ZTSLlI/AAAAAAAALPs/ivP2azTLH_0/s500/2013%2525207%25253A47%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371726063083.0999" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FIutMgx38b4/UcEEHgvzASI/AAAAAAAALP0/v5_zc36Gx1E/s2048/2013%2525207%25253A49%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-FIutMgx38b4/UcEEHgvzASI/AAAAAAAALP0/v5_zc36Gx1E/s500/2013%2525207%25253A49%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371726063073.8894" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We noticed the abundance of ice creams in people's hands so we decided to join them at the local 61 flavour store. We were not brave enough to try this flavour though...</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We enjoyed our ice cream outside the shop, and next to another Lenny the Lobster.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">A few more pics from where we enjoyed our dessert looking up and down the man street of Bar Harbor. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Lovely sunset. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">On our way back we were distracted t-shirt shops with fun slogans and prints, a big selection at good prices. Here is Di's choice. Daggy but had to be done - sticking with the local theme. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-IHuem6n_kJA/UcEEy4fv8dI/AAAAAAAALQc/C1DLOpZsP-w/s2048/2013%2525208%25253A46%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-IHuem6n_kJA/UcEEy4fv8dI/AAAAAAAALQc/C1DLOpZsP-w/s500/2013%2525208%25253A46%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371726063107.8867" class="alignnone" width="500" height="667" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Hans t-shirt combined two things that he likes very much "wine is life" with a profile of a mountain and hiking boots. Very tasteful. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YETbdiTd3c4/UcEE8d8E0xI/AAAAAAAALQk/vlmVtOqlBmg/s2048/2013%2525208%25253A47%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-YETbdiTd3c4/UcEE8d8E0xI/AAAAAAAALQk/vlmVtOqlBmg/s500/2013%2525208%25253A47%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371726063140.8428" class="alignnone" width="500" height="667" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">A bit of chilling before bed time after a lovely day. Good night.</div>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-52260804826221325542013-06-17T17:23:00.000-07:002013-06-17T17:57:45.776-07:00Mon 17 Jun - Bar Harbor, ME<p>Driving day, to yet another state. From New Hampshire we drove 250 miles to the east to Bar Harbor which is the town supporting Acadia National Park in Maine by the Atlantic Coast. According to Google Maps, it is a 5 hour trip, but it took longer for us of course as we stopped for breaks.</p>
<p>Acadia National Park has been recommended to us by several people that we have met during our time in the US, hence we booked a room there for a full week.</p>
<p>A funny coincidence when we checked out from Profile Motel this morning. Our immediate neighbors from last night who also checked out at the same time were Dutch and were doing parts of our trip in reverse. </p>
<p>The Dutch couple started off their 2 1/2 weeks holiday in Boston which is where we will finish up in 2 weeks time. They then stayed in Portland ME, Bar Harbor NE, Lincoln NH our crossover point and today they were going to Manchester, VT our previous port of call, and after that Cape Cod which is where we were before Manchester. Hmmm... There must be a level of predictability here.</p>
<p>Back to our road trip...</p>
<p>The first part half of our journey was east along the northern border of the White Mountains along smaller highways and through lovely scenery and some interesting small towns. Apart from a constant watch out for moose, all went well. </p>
<p>We reached the Maine border in no time and quickly realized that timber milling is big business here. Maine is scarcely populated and 90% of the land is forest. This truck was a bit of a giveaway. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-NeB6oWv-CtE/Ub9-lrcU-vI/AAAAAAAALI0/FmT7H-M-STE/s2048/2013%25252010%25253A05%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-NeB6oWv-CtE/Ub9-lrcU-vI/AAAAAAAALI0/FmT7H-M-STE/s500/2013%25252010%25253A05%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371511146433.334" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<p>Maine is a land of rivers and lakes. Hans said some parts reminded him of Sweden and we noticed some reference to Finland and thought Finnish people would feel right at home given the abundance of both woods and lakes.</p>
<p>We crossed over a rapidly flowing large river - we didn't know what it was called - but we liked the rapids. A couple of canoeists were getting ready to put there vessels into the water. We stopped to take a couple of photos (and to stretch our legs). </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-iiuObT99CFM/Ub-AUg6sWMI/AAAAAAAALJM/q6Ve7Y65ql8/s2048/2013%25252010%25253A36%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-iiuObT99CFM/Ub-AUg6sWMI/AAAAAAAALJM/q6Ve7Y65ql8/s500/2013%25252010%25253A36%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371511146502.0247" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<p>We continued on and started looking for a coffee shop or store for a coffee break. We found it in Wayne, Maine (yes, we are serious). A general store sold coffee and there were benches by the town's dam behind the store so we sat there in the sun and enjoyed the coffees and the view. </p>
<p>Then, of course, we had to test the swimming pontoon for "swingability". </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zLovHaed3z4/Ub-Ah-1UpYI/AAAAAAAALJU/Dstnz70xRmA/s2048/2013%25252011%25253A08%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-zLovHaed3z4/Ub-Ah-1UpYI/AAAAAAAALJU/Dstnz70xRmA/s500/2013%25252011%25253A08%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371511146500.0793" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<p> Nope, the footbridge didn't swing but was still nice. Hans wanted to test the warnings of why no swimming near the dam sluice - no....</p>
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<p>Maybe this explains it...</p>
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<p>We had quietly been enjoying ourselves until we realized we weren't wanted! The park area was for Wayne Residents only. Hmm... </p>
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<p>So we took our bat and ball, left Wayne and continued our drive to Bangor, where we stopped for lunch. </p>
<p>The only thing we knew about Bangor is that it is home to Stephen King, the author of the creepy paranormal fiction books (which Di likes).</p>
<p>It turns out that to get something to eat (other than Maccas and Pizza Hut) you end up at one street intersection downtown, with a Mexican on one corner, a outdoor store next door, a Thai across the street and a sandwich place called Giacomo's on the other. </p>
<p>We went for the crowded sandwich joint. Here is the intersection looking up Main Street.</p>
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<p>The most notable decor item of the sandwich place was this graphic depiction of a "famous" gun battle in 1937 between the FBI and the Brady gang. We were not familiar with that shootout, but a subsequent search on Wikipedia depicts an FBI ambush on Al Brady, one of the FBI's "public enemies" in the 30s, and his accomplices when they sought to purchase weapons at a downtown sports store. </p>
<p>The Al Brady gang had killed numerous people including several policemen and robbed numerous banks, mostly in Indiana before they relocated to Connecticut and then to Maine. </p>
<p>Apparently, photographs of the bullet ridden 2 gang members who got killed that day hung behind the counter at the sports store for a very long time. Perhaps this painting is an artist's modern spin on that event.</p>
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<p>The sandwiches (toasted chicken panini and some bruschetta) were quite good but the thing that struck us most were the passing pedestrians as well as the customers.</p>
<p>As Hans summed up - too many looked odd, weird. When we walked back to our car and when we were driving Di had to agree and we were not sure why? Hans' theory was that this was such a remote town with long and harsh winters that inbreeding showed in the population. Di theorised that maybe Stephen King's presence attracted "unusual" people here. Either way we did not linger.</p>
<p>It took us an hour to drive to Bar Harbor and once on the island we quickly understood the attraction. It is beautiful. The sun was shining and the surrounding bays looked ideal for canoeing. Trees everywhere.</p>
<p>We made a quick stop at the Acadia National Park visitors centre - where hiking maps need to be bought (ours cost $8.99 + tax). The money raised goes to the now familiar AMC (Appalachian Mountain Club) to help maintain trails etc. Good cause.</p>
<p>Aurora Motel, our home for the next 7 nights was easy to find and we checked in. </p>
<p>Our host at Aurora Motel is a hiker - he did 17 miles earlier today before starting work! He starts in the dark around 4.30am, but he mentioned that the sun rises here by 5ish. He claims that he knows pretty much every hike in the area.</p>
<p>Di later went back with our maps to ask him for a suggested hike for our first full day here tomorrow - his favourite - Sargent Mountain South Ridge trail with some additional loops. We will soon know if his tastes match ours. </p>
<p>Then the predicted thunderstorm came...buckets of rain just as we were heading out for groceries - but within 2 hours the thunder and rain was gone and the sun started to shine through again. A bit like Sydney we think...</p>
<p>Dinner is warm rotisserie chook that we bought in the grocery store with microwaved boiled potatoes and three bean mix salad, consumed outside our motel room using the provided outdoor chairs. Most relaxing.</p>
<p>After dinner, our host turned up again and starts chatting hiking again. He seems to have taken a liking towards us and apart from hiking stories, tells us about some of the punters who have come to stay at his motel. Apparently, 3 very common questions he hears are:</p>
<ul>
<li>What is is there to do here? (so they have made a conscious decision to come all this way and yet have no clue of what the area can offer?)</li>
<li>Where is the nearest WalMart?</li>
<li>Where is the nearest McDonalds?</li>
</ul>
We were shaking our heads. He also told us about a Texan who claimed to have seen everything the area had to offer in 1/2 day. He checked in at 3pm and checked out the following morning after having "seen it all". We laughed. Our host predicted that "our type" will have a wonderful week here and still feel like we have not seen it all. Spot on - a common occurrence for us.
<p>Lazy evening in the room and after dinner we each had a nice hot bath to soak away the last of the muscle soreness. Very nice! Good night.</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-12679889844913468392013-06-16T13:19:00.000-07:002013-06-16T16:39:44.323-07:00Sun 16 Jun - Lincoln, NH<p>Hiking... continued... </p>
<p>We were aiming to complete another hike today before the predicted rain arrives in the early afternoon.</p>
<p>Hence, we were ready to start hiking shortly after 7am. There were quite a few people by the parking at the trailhead so others may have the same idea. </p>
<p>Here is an early morning self portrait at the Lafayette Campground of the other side of I93 which is where today's trails would commence.</p>
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<p>We were both feeling our leg muscles from yesterday's hikes and with 4-5 hours of hiking planned Di opted for an easier trail with much less climbing. Hans chose a tougher loop trail as it was a beautiful morning and he didn't want to leave the White mountains and only completion of 1 significant hike. Furthermore, Hans' hike was the second hike that the Forest Rangers recommended.</p>
<p>This is Hans' completed loop which consisted of parts of 3 different hikes, Hi Cannon Trail up towards Cannon Mountains, then a small stretch west on Kinsman Trail and finally Lonesome Lake Trail around the Lonsome Lake and Lonesome Lake Hut. Not long, 9.3 km, not fast 4hrs 44 mins, but few hikes can be completed quickly in this high mountainous environment.</p>
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<p> The Lonesome Lake Trail is proudly brought to you by... Again.</p>
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<p> And off we go. Or Hans goes...</p>
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<p>The start of the Hi-Cannon trail had more traditional hiking surface of dirt and random rocks. It looked nice above where the sun was trying to break through the trees.</p>
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<p>The AMC had gone budget with their signs at the first junction. Here is one side...</p>
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<p> And here is the other. Hans continued towards the Kinsman Trail.</p>
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<p>The environment appears to be very harsh to trees. There were many trees there in the forest which had fallen victim to wind, wet, landslides whatever it was. This tree just looked fantastic and was still very much alive.</p>
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<p>Right of a sudden, the forest opened up and you could see all the way down to I93 and the trailhead where we parked our car. The entry to Lafayette Campground is obviously on this side of the highway and there is a tunnel for pedestrians or hikers to connect the two.</p>
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<p>Hans rounded a corner and there it was. A ladder. After a stress test (shaking the ladder to ensure that it didn't move too much), it was an easy climb up.</p>
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<p> Looking down the ladder. </p>
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<p>Suddenly there was a big rock overlooking east and south east. Time for a break as the views were spectacular.</p>
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<p> Looking south / southeast.</p>
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<p>Now hold on. There was an approximately 30 degrees angle of this rock and the angle was pointing down, with nothing to prevent a slide. Better hold on tight and not go too close to the edge.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Today's hike was again predominantly rock hopping and occasional smooth rocks that you had to negotiate as per below. That's OK when it's dry, but Hans wouldn't like to do it when it is raining.</div>
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<p> An opening in the vegetation revealed Lonesome Lake and you can see a glimpse of the hut there as well.</p>
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<p> At the junction of Hi-Cannon and Kinsman trails, the sign definitely had seen more prosperous times. What did the sign say again? Luckily, Hans is carrying a map so no problem to figure out where to go...</p>
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<p>There was serious serious rock hopping down from that junction to the northern start of the Lonesome Lake Trail. No pictures as Hans was too preoccupied with keeping his balance and not falling on his backside, although occasional the latter assisted him in "hiking" down the rocks.</p>
<p>Lonesome Lake Trail still had some rocks coming down, but this was very easy compared to the earlier section.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">A small creek with a makeshift bridge. Surprisingly stable.</div>
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<p>Suddenly, the nature of the path changed again and consisted now of two parallel planks. Here is a plank junction with 3 entry / exit points.</p>
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<p>The plank path circled most of the Lonesome Lake. Hans assumed that it could be very wet in the grounds here at times and that planks were probably the best solution.</p>
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<p> Lake and planks...</p>
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<p>The Lonesome Lake Hut. Not quite a neat as the Greenleaf Hut that Hans visited yesterday, but nevertheless a welcome site on a trail. The Appalachian Trail also passes this hut, coming here from the west, and hikers can find overnight accommodation here if they so wish.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Now, this is impressive. Coffee and cake and other goods were on offer here too, but also offer chairs like the below to sit and eat and drink and take in the view of the lake. </div>
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<p>Of course, Hans bought himself a coffee. Here he is taking in the view while enjoying his hot drink of choice.</p>
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<p>Here are a couple of Lonesome Lake photos. As you can see, the lake is dammed. Cannon Mountain in the background.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">This boardwalk is actually part of the Appalachian Trail as it is just down the slope from the hut. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><p>The Appalachian Trail only followed the Lonesome Lake for 100 meters or so before taking off south on the Cascade Brook Trail. That trail was not on Hans plans and he continued on the Lonesome Lake Trail.</p><p>Note the warning about a washed out bridge on the AT. It is a tough environment here. Don't know about Fishin Jimmy and why he got a trail named after himself.</p></div>
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<p> Meanwhile when we last left Di back at Lafeyette Campground, she decided to hike an easier trail. Di found one - the Pemi Trail to Echo Lake, largely following the valley floor, Pemigawassett River and I93. </p>
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<p>After about 500 meters on the hike trail Di turned around and chose instead to hike the bike path to the same locations - but slightly longer. Why? At 7am it was obvious that no one else had yet used the trail and it was not much fun walking through about 100 cobwebs.</p>
<p>The bike path was excellent - 1 car width wide and again all alone. The first people sighted were fisherman at Profile Lake. </p>
<p>Profile Lake was a nice little spot that collects in the "notch" below a massive granite cliff. The cliff Is known as Old Man due to the very obvious face profile in the natural rock formation - that was until Old Man collapsed in May 2011. The cliff is still there but the face has gone. </p>
<p>The lake is nice as the borrowed photo below shows.</p>
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<p>Given the smooth asphalt surface and easier climbs Di was soon at the Cannon Mountain Aerial Tramway. It did not open until 9am so Di continued a bit further to Echo Lake. Lovely day and some fisherman were making the most of it - landing some nice trout. If only we could have one!</p>
<p>Back to the aerial tramway for the first ride up at 9.15am. It lifts to just over 4,000 feet (about 1,300 meters). What you see as the top in this picture is about half way, the summit is beyond the rise and not visible. It was a great ride and the views were good. On a clear day apparently you can glimpse Canada - but not today.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">At the top on Cannon Mountain you can do a little walk to the summit and observation tower, about 100 feet higher than the tramway top station. Di walked to the summit and the tower to get 360 degree views. Fabulous - but it was of note about how many tourists did not do this. Too far to walk?</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">A cup of coffee was nice at the top station, whilst waiting for the "tram". Here it comes... Another photo "borrowed" ...</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Back down at the base station at 10.15am and Di started a leisurely return hike via the bike path, as we planned to meet between 11.30 and noon. Hmmm...just as Di started out she read a sign that said the bike path was closed from 10am to 2pm for a Triathalon (the run section for about 170 competitors). </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Damn - ignoring the sign Di continued to hike the bike path but had to hustle to stay ahead of the runners. Phew - made it - 45 minutes for 2.3miles (just under 4km). At the end of the bike path you can see a runner leaving after a quick Gatorade boost. </div>
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<p>All up just over 10km hike for Di but not nearly as strenuous as Hans' hike. Still when we meet up at 11.45pm we are both tired and again feeling our sore leg muscles. No issue for tomorrow - a long trip in the car to Bar Harbor, which is in Maine and that doesn't require any hiking! Hopefully!</p>
<p>Back to the ranch and our housekeeper was again artistic with towels. This time a bunny. Very cute. </p>
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<p>At noon it was not yet raining so Di cooled off with another swim in the nice pool whilst Hans showered and reviewed photos. A quiet afternoon followed.</p>
<p>Around 3pm, the rain arrived as per forecast. Definitely a night to stay in!</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Dinner... Well, we had bought a couple of steaks plus accompaniments yesterday not knowing what the weather forecast for today would be. Jim, the owner of Profile Motel had told us several times that his BBQ is for anyone to use and seemed to really encourage it, so we had decided to take him up on his offer. And, of course, Di was very keen to do some cooking again even if it only meant grilling up a couple of steaks on a BBQ.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">So around 5.30pm Di wandered into Jim's office and asked him to help out kicking off the BBQ, which of course was no problem what so ever. Apparently, there were some tricks to it, so he had asked us to liaison with him before getting onto it.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">In the mean time, Hans duties were to cook corn and mashed potatoes... by using the microwave oven in our room. Accompanied by a bottle of beer of course.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Here is Di, returning with a couple of freshly cooked steaks.</div>
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<p>Verdict; really good. We were sitting outside in our porch with the rain all around us enjoying a damn fine steak dinner. Not only were the steaks top notch, the mash for being of the microwave variety was surprisingly good. The corn worked well to compliment as perhaps a token vegetable. </p>
<p>Well, Di looks pleased here on the photo. Hans meal in front.</p>
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<p> A couple of drinks later, we were ready to call it quits. Good night.</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-1111289575446700632013-06-15T16:30:00.000-07:002013-06-15T16:55:31.156-07:00Sat 15 Jun - Lincoln, NH<p>Finally hiking day in this hiking Mecca...</p>
<p>The intended hike is a loop that takes in numerous waterfalls including 5 water crossings, 3 mountains, 1 mountain hut, parts of the Appalachian Trail and lots of great views. Oh, and lots of rock hopping. We haven't found a name for this particular loop hike, but in addition to the Appalachian Trail, it consists of Falling Waters Trail, Greenleaf Trail and Old Bridle Path. Let's call it the Franconia Ridge Loop. It is a tough one. Some stats:</p>
<ul>
<li>Falling Waters Trail climbs 2840 feet in 2 miles, I.e. almost 1 km climb over 3.2 km from the trailhead to Little Haystack Mountain. </li>
<li>Little Haystack Mountain to Mount Lincoln is another 240 feet up, 80 meters.</li>
<li>Mount Lincoln to Mount Lafayette is yet another 200 feet up, 65 meters. However, between the mountains, it is down before it is up as they cross on ridges.</li>
<li>Greenleaf Hut sits at 4,200 feet (2,200 feet still above the car park) </li>
<li>The total loop is about 9 miles.</li>
</ul>
<p>Here a what it looked like on Runkeeper after the hike.</p>
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<p>The Forest Rangers advised doing this hike anti clockwise as coming down the rockiest part, which is the Falling Waters Trail, is not advised when you are tired and anyway, you want the steepest part over and done with when you are still fresh in the morning.</p>
<p>We were at the trailhead at 7.40am and there were already a dozen or so cars already there. We start with hiking the Falling Waters Trail.</p>
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<p>Oh oh - 1/2 a mile into the trail and we hit our first water crossing. Hans made it across OK but Di was nervous about this, and expected others (she was right, there were 4 others). We went our separate ways agreeing to meet back at the car at 2pm. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Picture included as the waterfall just looked good :-)</div>
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<p> Hans is having a break next to another waterfall (self portrait).</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Note this section of the Falling Waters Trail. There are essentially two water streams here... And you walk on the left side.</div>
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<p> The final fifth water crossing.</p>
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<p> A lot of the path of the Falling Waters Trail looked like this. Rock, rock, rock everybody.</p>
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<p> This scenery was rare. A sort of more traditional forest hike.</p>
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<p>Finally, Hans crosses the tree line, close to the top of Mount Little Haystack. Looking back from where we came from. Yep, you could tell from the views that you had climbed nearly 1,000 meters. </p>
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<p>This picture is taken from the same spot as the previous pic. You can see the ridge line and the next mountain you will be hiking to, which is Mount Lincoln.</p>
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<p> Top of the world. Mount Little Haystack, first of three mountains to be "conquered".</p>
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<p> Moving right along. Next step...</p>
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<p> Down there from Mount Little Haystack, Hans could see the trailhead where we parked our car. It was a long way to the top...</p>
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<p> The "narrow" ridge line which you walk along (looking back). </p>
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<p> Mount Lincoln is getting closer...</p>
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<p> Then suddenly from Mount Lincoln, the Greenleaf Hut is visible down there.</p>
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<p> Nearly there is today's tallest peak, Mount Lafayette. All that is needed now is just to need to hike to the top.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The distances shown are in miles but you could still tell that it's short distances but lots of elevation. </div>
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<p> Top of the world at Mount Lafeyette. To put this in perspective we were 1,000 feet higher again yesterday at Mount Washington. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Mount Lafayette at 5260 feet is definitely self portrait worthy...</div>
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<p>Then suddenly a glider approached the top of Mount Lafayette. It did fly a lot closer than on the picture, but Hans didn't get a chance to take a picture on its first lap. Here it is coming back...</p>
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<p> Starting the path down to Greenleaf Hut - still very steep and rocky. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Now Hans was hiking down towards Greenleaf Hut, looking back towards Mount Lafayette.</div>
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<p>He arrived. Lunchtime!</p>
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<p>Greenleaf Hut had a really nice setup. Coffee in a mug could be purchased for $1, which is such an indulgence when hiking so Hans got himself one to go with his sandwiches (it is now lunchtime at 12 noon).</p>
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<p>This is a view from Greenleaf Hut. You can sit at the other end of the building as per above and look out over this lake with Mount Lafayette in the background. Very pleasant.</p>
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<p>After lunch, Hans headed down the Old Bridle Path from Greenleaf Hut to the trailhead and car park. Home stretch. Just under 3 miles to go. </p>
<p>A few trail notes...</p>
<ul>
<li>Quite a few French speaking people on the trail. Rough guess would be that they are from Quebec, not France or anywhere else</li>
<li>Also quite a few kids on the trail including several very young looking hiking with their parents or dad at the very top on the Appalachian Trail between the mountain tops</li>
<li>Dogs were everywhere. As Hans was having his lunch at Greenleaf Hut, a fight broke out between 2 dogs a bit up the mountain. Sound transfers long distances in this environment </li>
</ul>
<p>In the meantime in a galaxy far far away...</p>
<p>When we last left Di she was walking away from the creek crossing obstacle with an agreement to meet Hans back at the car around 2pm.</p>
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<p>Di returned the 1/2 mile to the junction of the Falling Waters and Old Bridle Path trail and started to climb towards Greenleaf Hut. The Old Bridle Path is a little "easier" ascent than Falling Waters but that's not a fair way to describe it. It's still tough and certainly you can't envisage anyone getting a horse to go up it. Steep and rocky in many places and in 3 miles you still climb 2,200 feet (or 700 meters in 5kms).</p>
<p>But at least no creek crossings. </p>
<p>Yet, the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) volunteers who staff the Greenleaf Hut still cart their supplies this way. They must be fit. Hans and Di saw a few of them on the path.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The lower part of the trail goes through lovely forest which appears older than it is (apparently forests here are only about 100 years old due to extensive logging before then). You can still get some interesting tree formations in 100 years. </div>
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<p>After about 1.5 miles (2.5km) of climbing you start to get glimpses of views between trees, generally as the forest is thinning out and also there is more very large rock slabs are along the trail. </p>
<p>Below is the road that we arrived on, I93 aka Styles Bridges Highway (zoomed in). </p>
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<p> At the 2 mile mark Di came to a large rock ledge with great views of the whole range. Lovely, and the weather is perfect. A popular break spot for hikers because we are now about 450 meters high. </p>
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<p>Di decides to take a longer break here and enjoy the views. After some thought she ruled out going all the way to the Greenleaf Hut, and heads back down towards the car park. </p>
<p>The Greenleaf Hut is still nearly a mile further of climbing and with new hiking boots Di knew the steep, rocky descent would be slow (which it was). </p>
<p>A nice hike for Di - 5 miles of tough hiking (8kms) and lots of nice chats along the way with fellow hikers (Hans got to meet a few of them along his loop!) Di got back to the car at noon and walked across the way to Lafeyette Campground Store for a nice orange ice block (35 cents) and a rest on the grass.</p>
<p>Verdict on the new boots - great but will need a bit more wearing in time (for the feet!)</p>
<p>Hans turned up at 1.55pm just as Di expected. She is good at this, better than Hans to estimate Hans hike ETA (that is Estimated Time of Arrival for the uninitiated).</p>
<p>Hans voted this one of the top 10 hikes of all time - a huge compliment considering the long list of hikes he has completed (final assessment by Di)</p>
<p><span style="text-align: right; ">Back to the ranch for R&R. Di opted to have a swim in the pool of Profile Motel (26 degrees in the water - nice!).</span></p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Hans was just lazy, had a shower and then rested.</div>
<p>The house keeping was very late today due to the good old staff shortages and we only received fresh towels as Di was in the shower when they finally arrived. Later, we took today's used wet towels back to the reception and at the same time we booked ourselves here for one more night, Sunday. After lots of jokes about us paying extra as we had disturbed Jim, the owner (he was having a beer with one of the bikers when we interrupted him) but hold on...we brought the used towels back and that must be worth something. The result was that we got $10 off for Sunday night. Nice bloke, Jim.</p>
<p>We had booked ourselves in for a Moose Tour tonight, so we decided to go for a quick pizza beforehand. However, we were both knackered after today's hike so after getting even more tired, slumping over our pizza, we decided to give the tour a "no show" and instead returned to our motel for the night. </p>
<p>Weak, yes we know but we are happy. Better than falling asleep on a tour bus! Tomorrow though is yet another day. Good night.</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-15583984518348577652013-06-14T18:23:00.000-07:002013-06-14T18:45:09.271-07:00Fri 14 Jun - Lincoln, NH <p>Quiet morning, with laundry duties before our main event for the day, Mount Washington Cog Railway (lots and lots of photos, sorry but it was really cool). So, after breakfast we packed up a couple of bags of clothes that needed washing and drove to town.</p>
<p>Here was Di checking out the spin perhaps...</p>
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<p>Hans took a wander along Main Street just to kill some time and take some photos. This Lincoln logo was painted across one of the side streets to Main Street.</p>
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<p> Main Street and bikers in a seemingly never ending succession. We found out the Laconia Bike Week is a huge event - runs for 9 days and it first started as a bike tour back in 1923. Laconia is about an hour south of where we are staying in Lincoln, NH and one of our biker neighbors said it can be a mad-house during bike week. That might explain why many of the bikers stay in the surrounding areas.</p>
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<p>We returned back at the cabin around 10.30am with 1.5 hrs to "kill" before we need to drive to the base station where we would catch the Mount Washington Cog Railway. </p>
<p>Coffee and cookies by the brook seemed like a good idea, very relaxing.</p>
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<p>We drove about 50 minutes north east to a place called Coos where the Marshfield Base Station is located for the Cog Railway. We got our tickets and as we had some spare time, we checked out their museum.</p>
<p>This old metallic sign was on display and it seemed like an appropriate photo to start this section of the blog.</p>
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<p>Marshfield Base Station is located 2700 feet above sea level and the summit at Mount Washington State Park is located 6288 feet above sea level. In the museum, they showed this "Devil's Shingle" that was used by workers in the olden days to descend from summit to base on average within 10 minutes, and some in 3 minutes. Hmm...3 miles in 3 minutes equals 60mph or 100km/hr sitting on a wooden board sliding down the track. </p>
<p>The record is 2 minutes 45 seconds. Yep, the "Devil's Shingle" was eventually banned after a fatal accident.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We ate our sandwich lunch in the warm sunshine outside the base station and looked around while we wait for our train ride. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The very first locomotive was called Peppersass and is there on display at the base station. This locomotive powered uphill with President Ulysses S Grant less than 2 months after the railway first opened. Keen.</div>
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<p> Look out, a train is coming down the hill...</p>
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<p>Yep, it is the train from the earlier 10.30am tour that is returning with ours to leave at 1.30pm, so there was Di queueing for us to get good seats.</p>
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<p>While we were waiting we thought it was a good time to take the obligatory self portrait...</p>
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<p> All aboard! And we were on our way. This is the "flat" section at the start of the track. </p>
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<p> Everyone looking relaxed as we head off. </p>
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<p>Our Brakeman, Jim, doesn't have much to do on the way up but provide some commentary on the history and facts of the railway. The track still averages 25 degrees in steepness...</p>
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<p>The track gets steeper as it runs up the eastern side of Mount Washington in pretty much a straight line. Where the track disappears in this photo is where we make a gradual right hand turn and up the final ridge to the top. </p>
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<p> It's hard to show how we are all sitting on an angle but the way Jim, our Brakeman described it is that in the length of this carriage the front is 14 feet (4 metres) higher than the end of the carriage. Something to think about...</p>
<p>Di was experimenting by taking photos of the crowd... Say no more...</p>
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<p>The steepest section of the track is more than 37 degrees and is called Jacob's Ladder - it can be seen near the top of this photo just below the "no tree line" where the track is on a raised trestle and takes a bend to the right and straightens out again. </p>
<p>You can also see the water tower below which is still in use to provide water for the steam train that is occasionally also used.</p>
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<p> Not the steepest section but this really showed us the angle - the building is of course leveled.</p>
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<p> This is not a tilted camera - just looking out of our carriage. </p>
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<p> We were invited to try standing up and not holding onto anything with our hands whilst going over Jacob's Ladder. Look no hands but not easy. </p>
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<p> Hans tried the same when we were heading back downhill. Weird sensation.</p>
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<p>The Appalachian Trail (the good ol' AT) crosses the railway track near the top ridge of Mount Washington. The AT white markers can't be blazed on trees here as there are none to be found, so the trail maintainers built rock cairns and put white blazes on these. </p>
<p>Not sure that it would do any good looking for them in heavy cloud or rain or even snow.</p>
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<p> Near the top of Mount Washington and we start to see evidence of the visitors centre and weather station equipment. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Our train reached the top in 45 minutes. The track is about 3 miles or 4.8 km long so not a speedy ascent.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The views from the top of Mount Washington are truly amazing, particularly on a reasonably clear day like today albeit with some haze.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Mount Washington is staffed 365 days a year and winter must be ferocious. They had several feet of snow on Memorial Day (the day when we were at Coney Island enjoying the sunshine!). They have recorded weather here since about 1870. The weather is alpine and erratic. Since mid 1800's about 150 people have died on this mountain - most from hypothermia, and all their name and reasons for death where listed at the visitor's centre.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">And it's windy - although today was described as very mild at less than 30mph. Wikipedia says that 110 days a year they get winds here of hurricane strength or above (that's 70 mph or about 110km/hr). </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Mount Washington was the world record holder for strongest wind recorded ever for many years. 231 mph? That's 371 km/hr!</div>
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<p> The highest peak in north eastern America.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">And everyone wanted to be part of it. Became a bit ridiculous really.</div>
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<p> The first hiking trails up on Mount Washington started in 1820, and by 1850 they started building lodges and guest houses. This is a replica of one of the earliest - the Tip Top House. It is acknowledged as a lodge that has saved many a hiker from hypothermia.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The Tip Top House seemed to have provided pretty basic food and lodgings but must have seemed like heaven if you were lost on the AT in a storm. </div>
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<p>The bunk beds were not inviting. And for short-ars.s only...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We were incredibly lucky with the clear weather at the top. You can see for miles and miles. We noticed that quite a few bikers had taken the auto road and were also enjoying the views. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">In this photo you can see a typical New Hampshire ski field to the left - about 4,000 feet at their highest point. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-q8yvu5pM4gY/UbukTKSF7eI/AAAAAAAAK8U/An-OjzJfmws/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A24%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-q8yvu5pM4gY/UbukTKSF7eI/AAAAAAAAK8U/An-OjzJfmws/s500/2013%2525202%25253A24%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293665.7424" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The bikers seemed to have a good sense of humour, unaware that we took this photo from the train. Or were they?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-gCxIDW74cKg/Ubu5jdEhSPI/AAAAAAAAK-M/Z0NqLc_vi74/s2048/2013%2525203%25253A07%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-gCxIDW74cKg/Ubu5jdEhSPI/AAAAAAAAK-M/Z0NqLc_vi74/s500/2013%2525203%25253A07%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293721.0806" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We wandered around the top and started putting on warmer clothes as we felt the wind chill. We were well prepared so had no problems with colder or changing weather. We did however see people in shorts and t-shirts. Bred tough? Or just dumb?</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Hans is the king of the world! </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Behind Hans the AT stretches south / southwest and passes close to where we are staying in Lincoln.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-QMJqhD43cR8/UbukXk_QyRI/AAAAAAAAK8c/Uv0b7CK94Y8/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A29%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-QMJqhD43cR8/UbukXk_QyRI/AAAAAAAAK8c/Uv0b7CK94Y8/s500/2013%2525202%25253A29%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293678.42" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Further around Mount Washington, the AT continues - white blazes mark the trail. It is rugged - in fact nearly all rocks in this section. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-bcAUouwKZZY/Ubukda1X53I/AAAAAAAAK8k/0c9uvYe6H7E/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A31%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-bcAUouwKZZY/Ubukda1X53I/AAAAAAAAK8k/0c9uvYe6H7E/s500/2013%2525202%25253A31%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293683.577" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"> The very end of the cog railway up at Mount Washington.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxe81cSMpo6IiwEjoGkRVQnfuwS1yaMqWsp7JlTCInQ0p-wstIIWoz5ymR0hHx3r6ApooHKZmMqDTDY4lQzWVVIfluz7KvMrhUf0n8a6IYfWW1LlZglNdo9qZ833y3vomicVt537hF5wk/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A25%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxe81cSMpo6IiwEjoGkRVQnfuwS1yaMqWsp7JlTCInQ0p-wstIIWoz5ymR0hHx3r6ApooHKZmMqDTDY4lQzWVVIfluz7KvMrhUf0n8a6IYfWW1LlZglNdo9qZ833y3vomicVt537hF5wk/s500/2013%2525202%25253A25%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293646.6328" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The AT continues over these ranges too. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sleDTviV6Tc/UbukoNkfXEI/AAAAAAAAK80/pMhQwT-lgeo/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A36%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-sleDTviV6Tc/UbukoNkfXEI/AAAAAAAAK80/pMhQwT-lgeo/s500/2013%2525202%25253A36%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293723.04" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We loved how the train just pulls up near the edge at the top. We were assured their brakes were excellent and that was no risk whatsoever that the train would descend into... Say chaos.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8DGLC-JgWxw/UbuksGX3S7I/AAAAAAAAK88/l_11PHbW8jg/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A38%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-8DGLC-JgWxw/UbuksGX3S7I/AAAAAAAAK88/l_11PHbW8jg/s500/2013%2525202%25253A38%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293693.53" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Mount Washington is quite an old tourist destination so of course they have the usual restaurant and gift shop. The hikers use it too and we could see the attraction of hiking all the way up here and then sitting in the warmth with a hot drink afterwards. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Lh-GyENnn7s/UbukxDhuB0I/AAAAAAAAK9E/px5y50LX8Ec/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A57%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Lh-GyENnn7s/UbukxDhuB0I/AAAAAAAAK9E/px5y50LX8Ec/s500/2013%2525202%25253A57%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293723.3071" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We took a short break ourselves and had to laugh when we realized that climbing 3,500 feet had pressurized our Kit Kat packets. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-y0ZGhsFpD0A/Ubuk09XuK6I/AAAAAAAAK9M/nL03toZxAgM/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A51%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-y0ZGhsFpD0A/Ubuk09XuK6I/AAAAAAAAK9M/nL03toZxAgM/s500/2013%2525202%25253A51%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293644.1943" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Unfortunately you don't get enough time at the top - just under an hour - but as our Brakeman Jim explained they come up here until the wind hits 70mph - so in colder, windier conditions most people hesitate to even be outside for 20 minutes!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><p>On the way down we sit bumper to bumper against the engine which does all the braking. Our Brakeman watches closely and has emergency back up and manual brakes just in case. Of course, he also has his trainee there to the right.</p></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5xZXjaMmtRQ/Ubuk5TJ3bSI/AAAAAAAAK9U/w-sIpy7h6R0/s2048/2013%2525203%25253A16%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-5xZXjaMmtRQ/Ubuk5TJ3bSI/AAAAAAAAK9U/w-sIpy7h6R0/s500/2013%2525203%25253A16%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293677.8325" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Heading back down - a few scenic photos. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Rgtt0GU9RII/Ubu5ylia9WI/AAAAAAAAK-c/IIzrlTejxDA/s2048/2013%2525203%25253A27%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Rgtt0GU9RII/Ubu5ylia9WI/AAAAAAAAK-c/IIzrlTejxDA/s500/2013%2525203%25253A27%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293657.6672" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The AT continues across a very thin saddle. The drop off to the right is more than 1km deep to the valley floor - you don't want to slip.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-dsT8IriMGks/UbulIPbVuCI/AAAAAAAAK9s/g6PBZXOIo9o/s2048/2013%2525203%25253A23%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-dsT8IriMGks/UbulIPbVuCI/AAAAAAAAK9s/g6PBZXOIo9o/s500/2013%2525203%25253A23%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293664.0876" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The view out the front window heading down. Again, it's hard to describe how cool this was!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--Ja6yYrX0oA/UbulLRdjqXI/AAAAAAAAK90/32tCayaBNk8/s2048/2013%2525203%25253A30%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--Ja6yYrX0oA/UbulLRdjqXI/AAAAAAAAK90/32tCayaBNk8/s500/2013%2525203%25253A30%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293710.8794" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="667"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Approaching Jacob's Ladder again. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oHuZfEUl3ZM/UbulPJFAPrI/AAAAAAAAK98/qhcwYfI6EZU/s2048/2013%2525203%25253A33%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-oHuZfEUl3ZM/UbulPJFAPrI/AAAAAAAAK98/qhcwYfI6EZU/s500/2013%2525203%25253A33%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293650.7522" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="667"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We make it safely back (of course) and believe that this was money well spent. Mount Washington Cog Railway was a truly unique experience.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">As it was about 5pm when we got back to Lincoln, we opted for an early pub dinner before returning to our cabin. The pub called Truants Tavern was quite a popular hang out of the bikers - Di is looking at them and also the TV which showed a small clip about the bike event at Laconia. Did we hear right? 200,000 people visit the event? Yep, checked it later on Wikipedia.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN3iCF-OB1dR2eiLlEd2NNObFhAf1yT_xJV1HUtHMRm1RFraQ8z28W5QdMFe0ZyYsJS3MUZ7WVBeK17tLdylxpxxSe8bIpe6t25UxRPWvHu4n1Byx8vuZwTwhJOoQPW9sor-EaeQrMDsM/s2048/2013%2525205%25253A02%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN3iCF-OB1dR2eiLlEd2NNObFhAf1yT_xJV1HUtHMRm1RFraQ8z28W5QdMFe0ZyYsJS3MUZ7WVBeK17tLdylxpxxSe8bIpe6t25UxRPWvHu4n1Byx8vuZwTwhJOoQPW9sor-EaeQrMDsM/s500/2013%2525205%25253A02%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293739.862" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<p> Hans orders a burger and fries and Di orders an appetizer Nachos (maybe followed by dessert...)</p>
<p>They must be joking... Thankfully no main meal ordered and forget the dessert! </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XuLwJ-DEhNg/Ubuitq1Vz9I/AAAAAAAAK8E/NbSqo__RkYo/s2048/2013%2525205%25253A13%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-XuLwJ-DEhNg/Ubuitq1Vz9I/AAAAAAAAK8E/NbSqo__RkYo/s500/2013%2525205%25253A13%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371257293693.5232" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="667"></a></div>
<p> We are back at our cabin around 6pm to do some prep for tomorrow's big hike and also relax. Good night.</p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-44914529959039965082013-06-13T18:10:00.000-07:002013-06-14T04:01:41.349-07:00Thu 13 Jun - Lincoln, NH<p>We decided on a quieter, lazy and local day as we have been "running around" a bit lately. Let the wildlife go about their daily business today so to say.</p>
<p>So, let's start with a few pics from our motel site and our cabin.</p>
<p>The place is called Profile Motel and the picture below may give you an idea as to why.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-z6E6COlkwSk/UboowqmVA4I/AAAAAAAAK1A/PirEPUUe0Kc/s2048/2013%25252011%25253A24%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-z6E6COlkwSk/UboowqmVA4I/AAAAAAAAK1A/PirEPUUe0Kc/s500/2013%25252011%25253A24%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371207610079.1267" class="alignnone" width="500" height="667" alt=""></a></div>
<p> Mid morning (in Hans timetable, which is 8ish) and Di is still in bed with the iPad. Is she blogging? or just lazing?</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qr6wcHNulqk/Uboo1AmdogI/AAAAAAAAK1I/qLqB-SLkQUM/s2048/2013%2525208%25253A28%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-qr6wcHNulqk/Uboo1AmdogI/AAAAAAAAK1I/qLqB-SLkQUM/s500/2013%2525208%25253A28%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371207610033.547" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Our cabin is the first to the right, with the black Chevy Impala parked in front of it.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VygLXCJH8z0/UboxTZwYliI/AAAAAAAAK24/iJU9YBmv3WA/s2048/2013%25252011%25253A46%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VygLXCJH8z0/UboxTZwYliI/AAAAAAAAK24/iJU9YBmv3WA/s500/2013%25252011%25253A46%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371207610059.379" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">There is a brook just behind our cabin (to the left in the picture). You can't hear the water from the inside of the cabin with the door closed, but sitting outside in the enclosed area you can. And it's very relaxing to hear.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvrc6ZbJbtiX85Yhiok4t5fW5ZdgLNZCAhXoZFeirMAuV1KyDAZ2c6ZnBtOthjtewLyByshNOvhWT6d5MNThISp3Q9XhiP23R9EBWLzYWDUc4Hqb0GOT40CKXFsHOdERfJICIWWa4p3E/s2048/2013%25252011%25253A47%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinvrc6ZbJbtiX85Yhiok4t5fW5ZdgLNZCAhXoZFeirMAuV1KyDAZ2c6ZnBtOthjtewLyByshNOvhWT6d5MNThISp3Q9XhiP23R9EBWLzYWDUc4Hqb0GOT40CKXFsHOdERfJICIWWa4p3E/s500/2013%25252011%25253A47%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371207610066.5327" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p> This note is inside our porch. Hmmm.... </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1-t9XDCMoI8/Uboo91o-9hI/AAAAAAAAK1Y/ms0n60lIrjE/s2048/2013%25252011%25253A52%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-1-t9XDCMoI8/Uboo91o-9hI/AAAAAAAAK1Y/ms0n60lIrjE/s500/2013%25252011%25253A52%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371207610095.0278" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p> The housekeeper does this party trick of making an elephant out of a towel and centred it onto the bed. There is a guest book inside the cabin and we understand from the comments that this has been going on for years and that it is very much appreciated by the guests. Needless to say, we liked it too. We wanted to keep that towel instead of using it.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PfiohlrvsqM/UbopBxkJq0I/AAAAAAAAK1g/LNyR8cAaBbM/s2048/2013%25252011%25253A48%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-PfiohlrvsqM/UbopBxkJq0I/AAAAAAAAK1g/LNyR8cAaBbM/s500/2013%25252011%25253A48%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371207610087.3015" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Inside the reception of Profile Motel, they had one of these fantastic coffee machines, that we have only seen once before in St Michaels, Maryland. The machine does only one cup at the time, but quite fast, and it is the closest to a "real" cup that we have encountered by a do-it-yourself machine. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xc14ylLckNo/UboyGU7fhLI/AAAAAAAAK3M/PI-OgTU4MRw/s2048/2013%25252010%25253A53%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Xc14ylLckNo/UboyGU7fhLI/AAAAAAAAK3M/PI-OgTU4MRw/s500/2013%25252010%25253A53%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371207610088.4363" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The reception also has this "Bill of Rights" set up on the wall. It does makes you feel more valued as a customer.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vuD7Yxdsrio/UboyMBcjwQI/AAAAAAAAK3U/AxqOVj45XrM/s2048/2013%25252010%25253A54%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-vuD7Yxdsrio/UboyMBcjwQI/AAAAAAAAK3U/AxqOVj45XrM/s500/2013%25252010%25253A54%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371207610065.317" class="alignnone" width="500" height="667" alt=""></a></div>
<p> Some time after noon, we reckon that it is time for lunch, in the cheap and chirpy Chinese restaurant that we saw yesterday next to the pizza joint. They did advertise lunch deals for $6.25 including a soup and a chicken wing on top of your chosen meal out of a selection of 26 or so dishes.</p>
<p>And this is what the lunch deal food looks like for 2 people... Ohh, minus the soup as that came first and has already been eaten..</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-C9G2Vpf0Ws4/UbopGNtdU7I/AAAAAAAAK1o/O3QsdNkoq5A/s2048/2013%2525201%25253A26%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-C9G2Vpf0Ws4/UbopGNtdU7I/AAAAAAAAK1o/O3QsdNkoq5A/s500/2013%2525201%25253A26%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371207610012.384" class="alignnone" width="500" height="667" alt=""></a></div>
<p>And the result... Well, we were both full and saved our chicken wings for later. Cost in total including tea, fortune cookies and tax is $13.65. We kept questioning how they could make any money at this price?</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-dj6JNAaEejM/UbopKVper7I/AAAAAAAAK1w/PmgZOwO6JCc/s2048/2013%2525201%25253A48%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-dj6JNAaEejM/UbopKVper7I/AAAAAAAAK1w/PmgZOwO6JCc/s500/2013%2525201%25253A48%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371207610067.014" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p> We thought that this was funny. Apparently by law, all restrooms in restaurants have to have a sign advising the employees to wash their hands after completed business. Some comedian had slightly modified the sign inside the men's restroom at the Chinese restaurant. </p>
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<p>As we leave the Chinese restaurant, a number of bikers were packing away some shopping on their bikes, parked just next to our car. We couldn't help giggle as we heard one of female bikers suggest to the other that they would go and get some soda water. We had previously joked among ourselves that bikers today drink mineral water rather than alcohol, at least when they are riding.</p>
<p>We then drove to the Lincoln's Visitor's Centre to get more info about hiking in the area. The Forestry Service guys, who also had their representation inside, were most helpful. You could tell by their initial questions to us that they had enough of ill-prepared punters coming from elsewhere to hike "their" mountains. Hypothermia in summer is a big risk here. Negative comments were made about t-shirst and sneakers. We assured them we had all the gear necessary and left with maps and information and 2 suggested hikes, likely for Saturday and Sunday given the current weather forecast.</p>
<p>Hey, you scratch my back and I scratch yours...</p>
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<p> I am looking at you...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We then drove north a bit on I93 to the trailhead for both our intended hikes, just to check it out. Yep, high mountains on both sides and clear evidence of a glacier passing through this way a long time ago. Hans is getting excited :-). Di perhaps got a bit overwhelmed. Fantastic scenery even from the interstate.</div>
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<p>The trailhead had lots of maps and information including a timetable for a AMC shuttle bus that would take you here / return you from here (far right on the photo). It is all very well set up. The AMC is the Appalachian Mountain Club, established in 1876, to look after the trails and shelters in the White Mountains. They have since expanded to cover between Maine and Washington, DC. They even have volunteers at shelters and huts out on the trails during the summer hiking season. </p>
<p>We spoke to 2 hikers at the trailhead who just had completed one of the 2 hikes that we intended to do. They had done it in 6 hours (about 9 miles, 14.5 km) and according to them, the views were fantastic, but it is up, up and up for a stretch. And strenuous. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Here is Di with our non deer damaged (so far?) new Chevy Impala. See, no scratches...</div>
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<p>We swing by a grocery store called Price Choppers to get some more supplies including water and hiking food... and post hiking drinks, see below. A great deal where you can pick and choose any 6 beers or shandies for $9.99 out of perhaps 50 mostly local brews (great for road testing) but also some imported brands.</p>
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<p>True to the spirit of Lincoln this week, there were quite a few bikers inside the store too. Of course, most of them could be found in the beer and wine section.</p>
<p>We drive back to our cabin for a hot chocolate and later to sample the local delicacies (read alcohol). At 5.30pm, the rain started again and is predicted to continue throughout the night, but we will not be going anywhere so we are high and dry (on our outside screened porch) and not so dry (inside ourselves)...</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VJQwgOjFO2A/UbpCJ8fWVsI/AAAAAAAAK30/BsvJLDyuTNI/s2048/2013%2525206%25253A03%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-VJQwgOjFO2A/UbpCJ8fWVsI/AAAAAAAAK30/BsvJLDyuTNI/s500/2013%2525206%25253A03%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371207610092.2493" class="alignnone" width="500" height="669" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Dinner was crispbread, cheese and wurst in our cabin. Lazy evening as the showers came and went and arrvived again. Good night.</div><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-12238817695966022942013-06-12T17:14:00.000-07:002013-06-13T05:51:48.958-07:00Wed 12 Jun - Lincoln, NH<p> On the road to the next state, but first we need to replace our deer damaged car. </p>
<p>We think <u>not</u> with these guys nor this car...</p>
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<p>While talking to Alamo yesterday, we agree that we would swap cars through Alamo's at Burlington International Airport. International? We thought it might just mean they fly take flights to and from Canada which is not very far from here.</p>
<p>Our first ever international airport with quaint rocking chairs for waiting guests.</p>
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<p> Hmmm, not much activity. One plane only on the Tarmac. It is not quite Frankfurt is it? </p>
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<p>The car changeover went very well. The staff at Alamo/National were great to deal with and we soon had a black Chevy impala to replace our Malibu. We know and like the Impala from our travels earlier this year in New Mexico so it was easy to adjust. The Malibu was newer and more "deluxe", but deer bouncers can't be picky. </p>
<p>So we transferred all our gear from the dented silver to the undented black car.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We were out of Burlington by noon and we wanted to see Vermont's state capital, Montpelier, which was about 40 mimutes drive south east. A smooth trip in the new car through the very green and hilly/mountainous Vermont landscape.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Montpelier is the smallest state capital in USA with just over 7,000 residents. It is a very cute town in the middle of Vermont. Mountains all around the town. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Why did they choose this place for a Capital? It's hard to understand because it's not exactly in a convenient or obvious place. Wikipedia did not explain although did mention that this is an old town and was once a thriving manufacturing hub with a railroad running through here. A brochure we read later suggested it was here because the land and money for a State Capitol building had to be donated. A prominent citizen of Montpelier was quick to offer both and was accepted. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Before we explored further we went looking for lunch and found a very authentic little Thai cafe. They only had 3 menu items, two of which featured fresh made Green papaya Salad, with marinated grilled chicken or pork (shown as numbers 1 and 2 in the photo below). </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We had number 1 and number 2. Wow - an amazing fresh taste and chilli kick. Delicious.</div>
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<p> Nice and cosy and we could see the Thai lady chef pounding ingredients in a big mortar. She's hiding behind the fridge in this photo. </p>
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<p> Funny artwork for sale on the walls. Any place with painted Eli Wallach or Lee Van Cleef on the wall will immediately win Hans heart.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">More art, including Di.</div>
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<p> Hans was very pleased with his marinated grilled chook, sticky rice and salad. Di's pork was also excellent. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">After lunch we spent an hour or so exploring Montpelier before moving on. It reminded us of Andorra - with a snow flow river running through the middle of town. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><p>At State Street the Winooski River flows under a building and then continues on.</p></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">These buildings looked like old saloons to us. Very cool. </div>
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<p> We were not convinced of the safety of the cafe balcony, but people came and went there so must be OK.</p>
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<p>Numerous bridges crossing Winooski River in Montpelier, VT.</p>
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<p> We set off to see the State Capitol - however we got distracted on the way by a mangled version of Swedish and German for this little snack hut. Why call it Grunhaus (a German word) then sell Nordic food? We thought geography was perhaps not their strongest subject. Hans is puzzled.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We also got slightly diverted by this old car. Would that be a Messerschmitt perhaps? We couldn't tell but it had a large stylized M in front.</div>
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<p>The State Capitol building is also on State Street (surprise) and wow is it impressive. To put this in perspective Vermont is a state with 626,000 people (2012 census) and this is much grander than any of the NSW state government buildings (and we have a much larger population in NSW).</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">No security, no checking bags, no police cars nearby - entering Vermont's State Capitol is very laid back. We figured it was because few people would find Montpelier on a map! We have to admit that we didn't know anything about Montpelier, nor would we have known where it was on a map only a few days ago.</div>
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<p>You just walk in and the first room to the right had a sign to say it was the Lt. Governors office and it was open unless the Lt.Gov was there and in meetings. This was even more relaxed than the capitol building in Santa Fe, New Mexico.</p>
<p>We spoke to the one and only security guard we saw inside the building and when we commented on so little security he said "yeh, nice isn't it". He was excited that we were visiting from Australia and he could have been an Aussie with such a "no worries" attitude.</p>
<p>Beautiful building and decoration. Looking down the ground floor corridor.</p>
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<p>We can really identify with the statement about a Vermont. Of course we like most things Teddy Roosevelt said and did. You may say that we are fans of him.</p>
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<p> As usual they show portraits of ex Governors on the walls of State Capitol buildings. The informality of this one, of Dr Howard Dean, was unique. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">This was unusual as we have never seen a Governor's portrait that to us looked quite unflattering. It was the 1970s after all...</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We wandered into the main meeting room, the Cedar Creek Room, which displays fantastic paintings by Julian Scott. The large painting on the left depicts a battle scene from the Revolutionary War (1812).</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-pXa_GKa48sY/UbkK0RJLVRI/AAAAAAAAKzw/RIhCI7_91r8/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A34%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-pXa_GKa48sY/UbkK0RJLVRI/AAAAAAAAKzw/RIhCI7_91r8/s500/2013%2525202%25253A34%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371088846532.482" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Of course you can stick your nose into the Governor's office. Very clean and empty desk. In fact, we could not see one single piece of paper there (secret perhaps) and it looked more like a museum.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-IkCJLXsyoEk/UbkK9Pyb8iI/AAAAAAAAK0A/VJopM2AnRuQ/s2048/2013%2525202%25253A35%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-IkCJLXsyoEk/UbkK9Pyb8iI/AAAAAAAAK0A/VJopM2AnRuQ/s500/2013%2525202%25253A35%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371088846544.0852" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<p>And the House of Reps...</p>
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<p> And the Senate - without anyone around at all. </p>
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<p>We still had an hour and a half to drive for our final stop for the day, Lincoln NH, our base for the next few days for exploring the White Mountain National Forest so we left Montpelier just after 3pm. </p>
<p>It was starting to become a bit gloomy as we continued to drive eastwards and we (well, Di mostly) were nervous about sudden moose apperances. There were regular moose warning signs along the small state road that joins Montpelier to Lincoln. It was a slow trip and we reach our accommodation around 5pm. Thankfully no harm came to any moose or other wildlife during the trip. </p>
<p>We are staying in a small cabin and it is far more basic than our previous "luxury" of Casablanca Motel in Manchester, VT but the location feels more like in rugged mountains. </p>
<p>Apparently, it is Motorcycle Week this week in Lincoln, NH and we could see (and hear) motorcycles "everywhere". Our next 2 neighbors in the next 2 cabins are all bikers. Of course, the bikers of today seem to be mostly middle aged or older grey or white haired (or bald) men and not the rowdy riders of yesteryear.</p>
<p>Something easy for dinner - pizza. We stumbled onto family night at the pizza joint with Mo the clown entertaining children with ballon animals. Wednesday night is family night here.</p>
<p>Here's a quick snapshot of Mo. He was pretty good at all sorts of shapes and patient with the kids. </p>
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<p>Mo the Clown suddenly came up to us and gave Di this little flower ring, in colours matching her clothing. Hans thought that Mo the Clown was flirting but Di thought he was networking as he also left his business card. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-mjz21Y45N0A/UbkLNromsiI/AAAAAAAAK0g/K8IV5VdRkvA/s2048/2013%2525206%25253A52%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-mjz21Y45N0A/UbkLNromsiI/AAAAAAAAK0g/K8IV5VdRkvA/s500/2013%2525206%25253A52%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371088846578.5857" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="667"></a></div>
<p>The pizza was pretty good with leftovers for later.</p>
<p>Some hike planning done before we turn in. A big day but at all worked out well in the end. Good night. </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-52970434670794875882013-06-11T17:22:00.000-07:002013-06-12T03:59:33.972-07:00Tue 11 Jun - Manchester, VT<p>We had a "true" Vermont experience today... And it was not good at all.</p>
<p>Di hit a deer whilst driving our car - apparently a common experience we found out after the event.</p>
<p>Well, let us start from the beginning of the day... </p>
<p>All started well - with a plan to see some local towns as rain and thunderstorms were predicted all day throughout New England. First off we went to Bennington VT, about 50 minutes south of Manchester. This is quite a nice town and was famous for a revolutionary war battle (The Battle of Bennington) in 1777. Bennington even have their own version of the Stars and Stripes flag, named after the town. </p>
<p>The most obvious feature of this town is the monument of the Battle. It stands on top of a hill called Monument Square and is 306 feet (about 100 meters) tall. You can see it for miles. </p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0HNXaKYGU3A/UbegSwaoVbI/AAAAAAAAKtc/gaQba8fAWKk/s2048/2013%2525209%25253A24%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-0HNXaKYGU3A/UbegSwaoVbI/AAAAAAAAKtc/gaQba8fAWKk/s500/2013%2525209%25253A24%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371034712332.47" class="alignnone" width="500" height="667" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Here are some of the stats about the monument - impressively it's more than 120 years old. </div>
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<p>You pay $3 per person to catch a lift to the observation windows about 200 feet up and of course we had to see it. In the earlier photo you can see the observation deck windows. </p>
<p>Fantastic views in each direction - looking west you can always see New York State as it is only 15 miles away. Looking south on a clear day you can see Mt Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts, but not today due to rain and clouds. </p>
<p>There was a guide, a funny guy called Mike Chapman who gave us a lot of the story. Di was reading up further. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Some of the windows were open so you can lean out a bit and get a real sense of height (or vertigo, whichever takes your fancy!) </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4GICzPgALSg/UbegwI9sKoI/AAAAAAAAKt0/dqnWyleOWmE/s2048/2013%2525209%25253A39%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4GICzPgALSg/UbegwI9sKoI/AAAAAAAAKt0/dqnWyleOWmE/s500/2013%2525209%25253A39%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371034712342.2422" class="alignnone" width="500" height="667" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Looking down and west - The distant hills are in New York State.</div>
<p> </p>
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<p> Looking south, no sight of Mt Greylock today, but would have been visible to the far right on a clear day.</p>
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<p> Looking north further into Vermont. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Mike provided a bit of information about why this Battle was so important in the fight against the British. Two smart colonels, Colonel Stark and Colonel Seth Warner (leading his Green Mountain Boys), withheld the British forces and pushed them back from this area, which meant the British could not get access to the supplies they needed. In hindsight, this action was considered the turning point of the Revolutionary War and a key step towards the ultimate surrender of the British at Saratoga, NY.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The cauldron hanging here was captured from the British and was used for cooking to feed the troops.</div>
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<p>Hans got into the spirit...</p>
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<p>Ahh, yes, we thought this moose was charming... then... until we hit his cousin later with our car!</p>
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<p> Very horny...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">A statue of Colonel Stark.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qZO82bcgLR0/UbeiBYglOAI/AAAAAAAAKus/A2xtVVi6FC4/s2048/2013%25252010%25253A10%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-qZO82bcgLR0/UbeiBYglOAI/AAAAAAAAKus/A2xtVVi6FC4/s500/2013%25252010%25253A10%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371034712302.3872" class="alignnone" width="500" height="667" alt=""></a></div>
<p>After our monumental fun, we drove back into downtown Bennington and found a nice coffee shop for a mid morning break on South Street called... South Street Cafe.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Gq2aKCRsqTU/UbeiNZnTEjI/AAAAAAAAKu0/cL4_RO8wvKY/s2048/2013%25252010%25253A28%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-Gq2aKCRsqTU/UbeiNZnTEjI/AAAAAAAAKu0/cL4_RO8wvKY/s500/2013%25252010%25253A28%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371034712347.6016" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p>This was a new one. If you buy a mug of coffee for consumption inside, you get 2 free refills. Hans didn't mind this at all as the coffee was really good.</p>
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<p>While we sat there, checking the weather forecast and finding out that the predicted thunderstorms with possible hail had been pushed back to later in the day, we decided to go to Saratoga Springs across the border from Vermont in New York State. </p>
<p>The upstate New York landscape was beautiful and given the overcast conditions, it certainly looked a lot like the pictures from the Woodstock festival in 1969 minus the rain which had not yet arrived (Woodstock took place in White Lake outside Bethel which is a couple of hours further south).</p>
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<p>We arrive at Saratoga Springs looking for the therapeutic baths and the mineral springs (think of it like Lourdes). We didn't have a map with us and therefore relied on memory from our research as we drove around town. </p>
<p>We found the historic Lincoln Baths. That is, we found the building, but the baths were closed and most of the building was used by the Saratoga Springs police force and courts.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hG1q25j6PrE/UbejWyVYIjI/AAAAAAAAKvQ/GtYEfNp5kQw/s2048/2013%25252012%25253A47%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-hG1q25j6PrE/UbejWyVYIjI/AAAAAAAAKvQ/GtYEfNp5kQw/s500/2013%25252012%25253A47%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371034712305.3684" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<p> Still, it was possible to walk into the Lincoln Baths building, so we did that. Looked glamorous.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-b2lze780O70/UbejfltngwI/AAAAAAAAKvY/ILhWQPRpnuM/s2048/2013%25252012%25253A38%252520PM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-b2lze780O70/UbejfltngwI/AAAAAAAAKvY/ILhWQPRpnuM/s500/2013%25252012%25253A38%252520PM.jpg" id="blogsy-1371034712323.5015" class="alignnone" width="500" height="375" alt=""></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">But no baths at this time. We spoke to a Corrective Services guy at the back of the building who supervised a bunch of minimum security prisoners for gardening and odd jobs. He thought that the baths may be open end June or early July, but apart from text above entrances, we could see no sign of that.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We drove around a bit more before stopping at Lillian's on Broadway for lunch. It just started to rain when we walked in and then it rained a bit more... And...</div>
<p> View from inside of restaurant...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We had our lunch in a nice setting, but as time was around 2pm, the local lunch crowd started to thin out and we almost had the place to ourselves. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Hans had a "Gourmet burger with chips". The burger was big and chunky (1/2 pound or about 225gms) and one of the tastiest burgers he has had in the US. Served with portabello mushrooms and mozzarella (delish!) However, warning here, chips are... Chips as in crisps. Hmmm...</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Di had half a Reuben sandwich and a bowl of French onion soup. For those who don't know, a Reuben is warm thinly sliced corned beef, warm sauerkraut, melted swiss cheese and russian dressing, all served on rye bread. Yummy. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We were both full when we dashed through the rain back to our car after lunch to drive back to Manchester, VT. Di wanted to drive because the bendy mountain roads make her feel a bit queasy as a passenger. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The rain was really coming down and all is uneventful until we get onto road 313 after Cambridge, getting closer to Arlington VT, when suddenly... a deer sprints, seemingly from nowhere, (but actually must have been from the forest on the left of the road) and in one leap landed just in front of our car! Despite urgent braking we hit it with the hood, bumper, front grille and the front right hand side of the car. We pulled over quickly to calm down. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">We are shaken but fine. No injuries. Not so the deer - it ran away but we can see bits of fur (and sorry to say) some flesh stuck in parts of our now bent rental car. For a while Di sat quietly crying over the "poor deer" while Hans went to see the damage and also walked back to see if he could find the wounded animal. A fair bit of cosmetic damage, but no sign of the deer.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The car drives ok but is no longer pretty. Hans drove it gently home and wisely made no wise cracks (yet) about Di's killer instincts (Hans!!!)</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Here are a few "location shots"...</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><p>Our host, Diane, at the Casablanca Motel was an angel and very sympathetic. She said the stretch of road we were on was notorious for car accidents with deer and congratulated us on having a "true Vermont experience". </p><p>With Diane's support we make phone calls (using her phone) - she calls the Game Warden about a wounded deer and also the state troopers to report the incident. Di calls Alamo to seek instructions, Diane calls Alamo at Burlington to find out about availability for a car swap, and Hans emails our travel insurance company with the details. </p><p>About 20 minutes later a Vermont state trooper comes to our cabin to capture the details of the incident for a report. What an experience for us! And what service!</p></div>
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<p>State Trooper David Ferencik was a lovely young man who explained that we were his first "deer accident call out" but he did make us feel a bit a little less unlucky by pointing out that at least we did not hit a bear. Somebody in the area apparently did just that last week on state road 7. Sounded really nasty.</p>
<p>Hans just had to ask our friendly trooper whether he could take a photo of him with his State Trooper car and he was all good with that. However, he said that needed to have his hat on, otherwise he may end up in trouble. Good sport, State Trooper :-)</p>
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<p>Di continues to be a bit shaken (not stirred) but she soon finds the cure - a glass of wine and a long hot bath. Much better now. </p>
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<p>Dinner in the room, as it is raining and we really don't feel like driving our "substandard" car more than necessary until we get it replaced. Knäckebröd for Hans, crackers for Di. Salami and cheese and red wine for both of us.</p>
<p>Footnote... Warning: Insensitive "jokes"...</p>
<p>Di, the Deer Hunter. Deer me... HANS, my deer... Stop now...</p>
<p>More wine helped Di but not the tacky jokes (really Hans...he had no eye-deer!)</p>
<p>Good night. Oh deer...</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-56494824467271179382013-06-10T17:17:00.000-07:002013-06-10T17:17:27.459-07:00Mon 10 Jun - Manchester, VT<p>A walk in the woods - the sequel (with more apologies to Bill Bryson who apparently lives not far from here in Hanover, NH).</p>
<p>Today's hike is a short 8.2km return trail to Lye Brook Falls. As rain was predicted to arrive in the afternoon, a morning hike was the solution. We started the trail at 8am just to be certain that we would beat the rain. </p>
<p>Lye Brook Falls is in a wilderness area, which differs from national forests in that human activities in wilderness areas are restricted to scientific study and non-mechanized recreation; such as motorised vehicles and we assume mountain bikes. From a maintenance perspective they also "let it be" in that if trees fall and landslides occur they leave the fallen trees or land as is. </p>
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<p>The Forest Service asks all hikers to register on their way in. Di was writing quickly so we could be on our way. However, we forgot to "sign out" on our way back, but please don't tell anyone.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The Lye Brook Falls trail climbs gently but continuously uphill as most of it is along an old logging track. <br>
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<p>An exception to the wilderness approach of "let it be" seemed to have been made for these fallen trees. We guessed because hikers were going around them and creating multiple new paths into the forest.</p>
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<p>However, there is no bridge across a creek, where in our experience there normally would be one, as the Forest Service won't build one. The water level was high for this creek crossing and all the stepping stones that we could see were either submerged or insufficient, so... </p>
<p>Hans opts for a barefoot wade across. The smile may appear a bit forced as the water was very cold!</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"> Di chose the "boots'n all" option so her soft dainty feet (what?) were not hurt by the nasty rocks! Also because her hiking boots were at the end of their earthly life and what better way to say farewell than with a (wet) bang. What again?</div>
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<p>Perhaps not a brilliant plan because Di then had to walk about 6km in wet socks and boots but she wisely did not complain. On our return journey the same process was repeated in reverse.</p>
<p>We continued our hike uphill and eventually reached the spur trail to the Lye Brook Falls (to the right). Di took the opportunity for a "refreshment break on the deserted trail" ahead and Hans was helpfully trying to show this in photos! Good luck spotting Di in this photo. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Next obstacle - a landslide. This landslide was caused by hurricane Irene about 2 years ago, but we could easily follow a path that other hikers have taken across. Again, no action by the Forest Service was evident to repair or replace the path.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RxDnvyN1Wps/UbYwdqxWoGI/AAAAAAAAKrQ/lGw2odbUA8c/s2048/2013%2525209%25253A31%252520AM.jpg" target="_blank" style=""><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-RxDnvyN1Wps/UbYwdqxWoGI/AAAAAAAAKrQ/lGw2odbUA8c/s500/2013%2525209%25253A31%252520AM.jpg" id="blogsy-1370909845893.1018" class="alignnone" alt="" width="500" height="375"></a></div>
<p> Hans going a bit cross country. Watch out... Behind you...</p>
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<p> We reached the Lye Brook Falls in just under 2 hours, and they are lovely (as mentioned in reviews). Several photos follow of our nice break by the falls.<br>
</p>
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<p> A sandwich for Hans. </p>
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<p> Di is staying a little further back from the edge after her snack...</p>
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<p>We loved having the whole walk and falls to ourselves but after about 20 minutes or so we were ready to head back. </p>
<p>It takes only an hour to do the return hike, including the creek crossing, and near the end we meet a few people with dogs. We thought this was a wilderness area? Clearly the rules are different here as we saw no signs about dogs not being allowed here.</p>
<p>The Runkeeper map for today's hike is dull and we wouldn't normally include it in the blog, BUT check out the street name just left of the start and finish (Carlen St if it is too small on your screen) Cool, hey? We are everywhere, man...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Rain was predicted for later today so we decided to return to the cabin, have showers and lunch and then drive up Mount Equinox before the rain is due to arrive.</div>
<p>Nope! The rain came about 4 hours earlier than predicted and it also costs quite a lot ($20) to drive the short tollroad up to Mount Equinox, so we turned around as we thought that was too much to spend to see rain and clouds. We know, cheapskates...</p>
<p>Instead we went hiking boot shopping for Di.</p>
<p>First stop was Orvis, a major fishing/outdoors store headquartered in Manchester. The inside of Orvis was lovely and built like a giant ski-lodge, but they don't sell hiking boots. They did sell great and beautiful gear although it was quite expensive. Location shot including a bear for sale, a small plane suspended from the ceiling and a "different" but very beautiful caravan.</p>
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<p> A cuddle for the big guy before we leave. You could buy him, for just under $5,000... No, the girl to the left is not for sale.</p>
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<p>We move on to the next store down the road to look for Di's boots - Manchester Footware. They only had one make of boot, Merrell, and we had previously been advised that these were at the lower end of quality for hiking boots. Di tried on a few, not brilliant and for $120 perhaps not good value. We also did not like the bored grumpy sales lady. She clearly knew nothing about hiking and we doubted her statements about waterproofing etc.</p>
<p>In the centre of Manchester we have previously seen a shop called The Mountain Goat that displays various hiking boots in its window. Good karma as soon as we walked in and the sales lady certainly knew everything about hiking boots and looked very fit. After asking Di a few questions about her hiking patterns and intentions, the sales lady quickly brought out 3 different types of boots to may suit Di's day hiking needs. </p>
<p>At the same time, the very social sales lady chatted about her time in Oz (6 months mostly in the ski mountains and a 2 day whirlwind sightseeing of Sydney), her hiking in the south island of NZ (which she absolutely loved) and various American hiking destinations that she had been to and liked (Grand Canyon anyone?). </p>
<p>Result. Well, of 3 pairs of suggested hiking boots, Di found that 2 pairs were good and 1 pair was fantastic! We got a deal. So, after 2 months of searching for the perfect pair of boots, Di had finally found them. Can't wipe the grin from her face. </p>
<p>Di's new Oboz boots are modeled in the photo below, with accompanying box. True to the trail all right...</p>
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<p>Well, as the rain sets in and is forecast to continue for the next 36 hours or so, we spend the rest of the day in our cabin. Of course, the outdoor area at the front is under cover and with an extra jumper it is quite pleasant to sit there say, with a glass of wine. Which is exactly what Hans was doing at beer o'clock. Di opted for inside relaxation with her Kindle.</p>
<p>Today was not a big photo day, so we finish off with a few shots from inside our cabin, with the appropriate level of travelers' untidiness... The outside has been shown earlier. We love this place.</p>
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<p>Dinner is gourmet. Di is making Madras Chicken Curry a la Microwave. Key ingredients apart from the obvious are sugar from Dunkin Donut and Madras powder brought from Lancaster in Pennsylvania Dutch country... As you do.</p>
<p> "Camping" dinner on the porch... From the Master Chef herself...</p>
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<p>Verdict, well, tonight's microwave dinner at home sure did beat last night's microwave dinner at Christo's. Very yummy. That's all for tonight. Good night.</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-73877422724802671232013-06-09T16:16:00.000-07:002013-06-10T12:32:44.794-07:00Sun 9 Jun - Manchester, VT<p>A walk in the woods...</p>
<p>We were heading back to our old favourite, the Appalachian Trail. We thought we would hike a loop up and around Mount Stratton, so we drove to East Arlington and followed Kansas Road to our trail head road. After 2 miles...road closed! The forest service made no mention of this obstacle and it left us 7 miles from the start of the trail. </p>
<p>We could quickly see the problem...</p>
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<p>The river chose the road as a new route. You can see some parked cars behind the rocks in the picture below. That's where the end of the road is at present.</p>
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<p>A local(?) artist was making the best use of no through traffic and a lovely day, standing down by the river painting.</p>
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<p>On the way there we had spotted a suspension bridge that needed to be tried on the way back. </p>
<p>Hans tested out the "swingability" factor of the bridge. Result: high. Very good.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Di was not so keen on sampling the bridge. This is as far out on the bridge that she wandered.</div>
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<p> From the middle of the bridge looking down...</p>
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<p> Return of the Vortex... Why? Can't people just appreciate the view and the ambience of a place?</p>
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<p>Anyway, we needed another trail. No problem. We went back to the Forest Service to look for alternative hikes and agreed that the Bromley Mountain trail may be a reasonable alternative. It is also part of the Appalachian Trail (AT) so all good. </p>
<p>This is the noticeboard at the trailhead and we started out at 9am. </p>
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<p>You may notice 2 acronyms on the board below. AT of course is the popular shortened version of the Appalachian Trail, but LT may not be familiar. LT stands for Long Trail, which runs through the length of Vermont and is the oldest long distance trail in the US. I.e. it predates the Appalachian Trail which used part of the Long Trail to connect the dots so to say.</p>
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<p> Hans the hiker was happy back on the AT. White marker = AT.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Di much rather preferred these kind of bridges to the suspension bridge earlier on.</div>
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<p>Green Mountains of course are green for a very good reason. It rains a lot. Another sign of the dampness are these giant mushrooms we saw next to the trail.</p>
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<p> Di is having a break... an apple for morning tea was just perfect. </p>
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<p>After around 2.3 miles or just under 4 km, we came across Bromley Shelter, one of those overnight shelters for long distance hikers. It was very neat with 2 layers of timber flooring for the hikers to sleep on, although it is fully open to the elements to the right of the picture. </p>
<p>They had a hikers logbook and we made our presence known to the wider hiking community through some scribbles.</p>
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<p> This is the dunny to the left - very civilized. A shovel for sawdust for the dunny as well as for shoveling snow perhaps...</p>
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<p>From the shelter it is a further mile to the summit. </p>
<p>The last 0.3 miles or 500 meters of the trail to the top of Bromley Mountain was actually on a ski slope. This was a first for us and this again forms part of the Appalachian Trail. Interesting... Looking up...</p>
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<p> ...and looking down the ski slope. </p>
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<p> Us together at the top of the mountain.</p>
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<p> Well, it's the top of a mountain so the ski lifts congregate here together with an array of buildings and shacks.</p>
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<p>The Ski Patrol is based here during winter, but the building was open and was being used by long distance hikers at this time. We have to say the hikers were a neat bunch because it was all very tidy inside (albeit old and simple).</p>
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<p>How nice - the ski guys had stopped their chairlift in a way that provided a perfect, comfortable seat for our lunch break, with great views thrown in. The padded seat was a unique experience for us at the top of a hike.</p>
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<p> </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">This is the AT/LT marker at the top of Bromley Mountain. Not the most professional signage that we've seen.</div>
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<p>We returned the same way to the end of the trail, completing just over 10km but it took nearly 5 hours. Very slow for us but we were picking our way carefully over small streams and through mud. This our collective boot and hiking pants damage for the day. OK, so the trail was a tad damp today...we liked it anyway. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The final stats...not that far to hike, but runkeeper gave a good picture of the ski runs too. There were a few...</div>
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<p>After completing our hike around 2pm, we drove by the grocery store for a resupply of goods and treats including some local brew. Then back to the cabin for a shower (a nice long bath for Di) and some R&R. </p>
<p>At beer o'clock Hans sampled a new craft beer - Long Trail IPA, brewed by the Long Trail Brewing Co in Bridgewater, Vermont. Quite refreshing. Another one soon followed the first. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><p>The sun was shining, we had the place to ourselves, so we sat on our chairs outside and enjoyed it all.</p></div>
<p>We went back to town for an early dinner, having zoomed in on Christos, a pizza pasta joint across the road from Thai Basil where we went for lunch yesterday.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Christos. Not good. Shrimp, which is what we both ordered to go with our pasta, had run out. They still took our orders and came back a while later letting us know that it was gonski. We went for plan B and ordered "second best" although there was really no second best. It all felt cheap and microwave cooked and Di in particular left a lot of the food on the plate. Oh well, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.</div>
<p>Back to the cabin where we are sitting outside enjoying the last hour or so of sunshine. Casablanca Motel in Manchester, VT is a very pleasant place. Good night.</p>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-41909283843848510052013-06-08T17:36:00.000-07:002013-06-08T17:58:35.609-07:00Sat 8 Jun - Manchester, VT<p>It's show time! </p>
<p><u>THE</u> Manchester, VT event of the year, the 27th annual Manchester Antique and Classic Car Show is on today at Dorr"s Farm, and we will be there. No need to rush, it's on both Saturday and Sunday and it is only a 5 minutes drive from Casablanca Motel where we are staying, so we don't leave our cabin until after 10am. Rain is hanging in the air, but it is holding off so far. Dorr is Donald D Dorr, a local identity who owns a variety of businesses such as Dorr's Oil and a number of residential rental properties in the area.</p>
<p>First, we made a quick visit to the Manchester Forest Ranger station to get some local hiking information. Unfortunately, they are closed on weekends (when we thought that people need their services the most?) but they had the foresight to have outside cabinets with lots of hiking pamphlets. We collected a handful to choose a hike for tomorrow. </p>
<p>Then off to see cars, tractors, trucks and whatever else they can come up with at the Manchester Car Show. The entrance is easy to find, just look for the barn.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The similarity to Woodstock made us dub this "Carstock". Plenty of mud, but we were prepared wearing our hiking boots.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Quite a lot of vehicles were on display, and according to the car show blurb they sometimes get 1,000 cars here, but probably not today. The weather and occasional rain spits had these owners doing Karate Kid "wax on/wax off" to wipe off little spots. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">An overview photo of Manchester Car Show - in the background are low clouds covering the Green Mountains. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">American Graffiti - sorry no Harrison Ford, just this guy...</div>
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<p>Di's favourite vehicle of the show. It was still in use up to 1995. "I wanted to be a firewoman when I was little...".</p>
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<p>This may be the reason she liked it best...the owner liked her enthusiasm and gave her a helmet and the driver's seat (or maybe he just knew she likes to be in charge). She better behave this time as the Chief is in the backseat of the fire engine...</p>
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<p> Hans' favourite. Yes, it really does drive that low to the ground, it had not sunk into the grass. </p>
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<p> An amazing amount of work and detail has gone into this Packard. Fantastic vehicle and color.</p>
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<p>We both liked the "Willy" in the photo below - like a jeep but as the manufacturer was Willy. The owner said it had been in active service but he was not sure which war. He personally had been on a tour of duty in Vietnam and mentioned being stationed near Aussies whilst there. He gave us each a badge and talked about the VFW's (Veterans of Foreign Wars) work in ensuring "No Veteran Left Behind". </p>
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<p>The owner had also tried to make the vehicle look how it might have when in service. Very realistic...</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">How rude! But we laughed hard. </div>
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<p>Di could not help singing "holiday road - o-o-o" from National Lampoons Vacation. We are perhaps traveling a little bit differently than the Griswolds. O-o-o...</p>
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<p>A moment of nostalgia for Hans. When we was growing up this Saab model was common on the streets of Stockholm. </p>
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<p> Same for Di - the Datsun 280z - remembered fondly...</p>
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<p>The Volvo 343 was nostalgic for Hans in other ways. "Pieces of sh*t" was his summary of the Volvo / DAF models.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">On display was this beautiful Rolls Royce from the 1920's - made in Springfield MA. What? Aren't they British? Apparently during this era RR did not do much apart from engines. They shipped it to you, got it mounted on the appropriate chassis, and then your "carriage builder" custom made the body. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">The winged lady mascot is turned sideways - why? So when you open the bonnet she does not scratch the paint. Very thoughtful. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Aargh, what happened here... Perhaps a typical gangster car from the past.</div>
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<p>Old tractors were also lined up on one side of the field but a closer inspection made us realize it was actually a tractor graveyard as many clearly had not been driven for a very long time.</p>
<p>They were offering tractor rides on more modern versions. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">And we just had to try it out. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Our tractor.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">On the way, past the tractor graveyard. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">A flea market was also part of the show and we had to investigate. On the way, wade through the mud - yep Carstock was the right name for this. </div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Lots of old car stuff including antique number plates dating back at least 50 years. OK, not everything over 50 years of age is antique...</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">And if you still have your horse you may want to buy these great hitching posts and mount next to your house.</div>
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<p>Time passed quickly and by 1.30pm we were looking for lunch. Di had seen good TripAdvisor reviews for lunch at the local Thai restaurant called Thai Basil so we went to find it. </p>
<p>Good news - Thai Basil lived up to the hype. Hans ordered Green Chicken Curry (not among the lunch specials but available) and loved it. Good heat and flavour. Di kept stealing bits - her lunch of soup and dumplings was also nice but the curry was better. </p>
<p>Perhaps the most tasteful decor we have ever seen in a Thai restaurant for a long time.</p>
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<p>On the other side of the street from Thai Basil, these teenagers were busking - unsuccessfully we thought - as we did not see many passing pedestrians and when we stepped out of the restaurant and could hear them we realized they were pretty awful. Sorry guys, nothing from us either. </p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;"><p>Unfortunately, Hans' ended up with what looked like leftover curry on this brand new hiking pants. The brown curry smudge was on his chair before he sat down and he didn't see it then. So, after lunch it was back to the ranch for a wash out to ensure no staining. </p><p>The rain then settled in so further exploration was shelved. What a shame for the Manchester Car Show, as they were finishing off today's activities by having a parade from 4pm. We didn't particularly fancy standing in the drizzle to watch cars so we decided to give that a miss. After all, we've seen most of the cars already.</p><p>We are then relaxing with drinks and popcorn just before beer o'clock and we feel very comfortable in our little cabin.</p><p>Dinner, home made sludge, is consumed under cover just outside our cabin. It is indeed very nice to sit there with a glass of wine and relax. We were also doing a bit of planning for the Central European leg of our trip October through to December / January and again realize that it doesn't matter how much time you have up your sleeve, it never seems to be enough for what you would like to do. Oh well, one should not complain.</p><p>Good night from us as dark settles over Vermont.</p></div><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2683600308336672013.post-14688417906479902592013-06-07T17:19:00.000-07:002013-06-08T05:48:52.799-07:00Fri 7 Jun - Manchester, VT<p>The Carlén Juggernaut is moving on. A new state beckons, briefly through another state. We are heading to Vermont via a short crossover of New Hampshire.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the weather forecast for the next 5-7 days is grim. The remains of tropical storm Andrea is predicted to hit the eastern seaboard possibly all the way to Portland, Maine. Sure enough, constant rain was the order of the day. Again, we reckoned that they called it New England for a good reason.</p>
<p>We pack up and leave Falmouth, MA around 8am. The drive is mostly along I495 and we had planned to stop at a place called Wrentham, MA. Wrentham has an outlet mall, including a Nike store. Sand shoes (sneakers) that we both bought in Santa Fe in February are now more or less dead, perhaps not unexpectedly as we used them pretty much every day to pound the asphalt. You could say that he shoes have carried us 500 miles (sounds like a song...)</p>
<p>Despite the rain, we had a good run to Wrentham and arrived there at 9am. Small problem, the outlet mall does not open until 10am. Solution, there is a Cracker Barrel just outside the mall.</p>
<p>We like Cracker Barrel. It is a country style food chain that also sells country "goods" and their restaurants look almost identical. But, the food is good and cheap and the waiting staff a bit older, chatty and interesting. Here is a location shot from the restaurant section in Wrentham but it could have been anywhere.</p>
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<p>The Nike store opened and we both found a suitable pair of sand shoes (with the old pairs tossed into a recycle bin they had in the store). Black and Grey, with Orange, are the predominant colors this time. We figured the dirt won't show as much!</p>
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<p>There was also an Eddie Bauer outlet store there and we indulged in one hiking vest each and a pair of new long hiking pants for Hans. Hans has been looking for a new pair since the old pair developed a ventilation hole in the rear, but haven't been able to find the "perfect pants" with lots of lockable pockets yet. The new pair is not perfect, but will do for now. So, now we have more hiking gear waiting for a hike... rain, rain, go away. Still no boots for Di. The search continues...</p>
<p>Here are some location shots from the road. We did take a number of rain pictures from all the 3 states, MA, NH and VT and we could say that the first one picture is from MA (as it was flat) but we were not quite sure which photo goes with with state as we took a few along the way.</p>
<p>Here are the rain shots from the car anyway on this very wet Friday.</p>
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<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
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<p> The "happy" driver...</p>
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<p>In New Hampshire, just before the border to Vermont, we stopped to fill up on gas. It was a big gas station and looked cheaper in price than any we had seen for a while. Next to that service station was this pizza joint and we were into lunch time so we decided to try out "A-1 Pizza" for convenience reasons more that anything else. </p>
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<p>Very retro, that's all we can say. That included the punters in the area too. We saw quite a few mullets and beards a la mountain men during our short stay, this guy does not fall into that category.</p>
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<p>The pizza was OK and cheap, but the pizza base was clearly out of a prepackaged box. The place was run by Greeks and there were a number of those very common Greek island images on the walls. You know, white washed building with very deep blue water and sky. Well, the pizza filled up Di too.</p>
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<p>We continue into Vermont and everything seems to be green; Vermont, of course, means Green Mountain which is exactly were we are going, the town of Manchester in the Green Mountains.</p>
<p>Vermont car registration plates are green, road route numbers are within a green border and of course, nature is very very green and lush.</p>
<p>We arrive at our cabin in Manchester, a cute small but well set up and big enough for us, one of only a handful. The place is for some reason called Casablanca Motel, but cabins are all they offer.</p>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Here is our cabin at the far end of the row with the mighty Chevrolet Malibu parked next to it.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Lazy afternoon after all that driving, and it is still raining, so we relax with a glass of red wine reading and typing this. We had the heater on as it was only 10 degrees outside (and this is summer!). </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: none;">Dinner in the cabin was a simple soup with crackers with cheese, followed by watching TV for a change. The men's semifinals of the French Open in tennis was on and we saw the playing of the 4th and 5th sets. Nadal wins out over Djokovic but it was an incredible match and we honestly thought Djokovic would win (even though Di had her fingers crossed for Nadal). Good night.</div>
<p> </p><div style="text-align: right; font-size: small; clear: both;" id="blogsy_footer"><a href="http://blogsyapp.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://blogsyapp.com/images/blogsy_footer_icon.png" alt="Posted with Blogsy" style="vertical-align: middle; margin-right: 5px;" width="20" height="20" />Posted with Blogsy</a></div>Hans and Dihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15480425591164274782noreply@blogger.com0