The Great White North - Day 7

Reporting from St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada (Latitude 45.09, Longitude -67.06)

We headed back to the mainland, after a very fun 3 days on PEI. We had a wonderful stay at The Lookout Inn, a great B&B:

We stayed in the “Turret Room”, which you can see on the right.

Unfortunately, our string of great weather ran out, so this was a typical view for much of the day.

We drove down to New Brunswick, and made our was to the Bay of Fundy. Why? Because it’s the biggest difference between high and low tide on the planet (about a 20 foot swing here, with as much as 50 feet elsewhere in the bay).

We stopped at the village of Alma and had our first poutine (a Canadian dish with french fries, cheese curds, and gravy). It’s kind of like mashed potatoes, but different—and very good.

We wound up at St. Andrews and the Tara Manor Inn. An old style motel, but comfortable. It’s just across from Minister’s Island, where an old industrialist has a mansion. It’s only accessible via a causeway which is above water at low tide only. Otherwise, you’re out of luck.

You can see part of the causeway in the background. It’s much larger at low tide.

Mindy is standing on the ocean floor. She would be underwater (and then some) at high tide.

We’re planning to hang out here until high tide in the early afternoon, and then return to the USA and Bar Harbor tomorrow. More tomorrow.

The Great White North - Day 6

Still reporting from New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada (Latitude 46,40, Longitude -63.35)

Another big day started with breakfast—today, it was tasty Eggs Benedict. Then we were off to Le Musée de la Pomme de Terre, aka The Potato Museum. PEI is a major source of tubers, especially “seed potatoes”, grown to grow other spuds.

They grow ‘em big up here.

This is the Oscar for potato growing.

We followed that up with the West Point Light House, where we were able to climb up to the top. Stairs became more like ladders as we ascended.

It’s still an active beacon, except it’s automated. The house is also an inn.

Don’t look at it, Marian!!!

More fun was found at the Glass Bottle House—actually three houses, using old glass bottles and cement for the walls, along with pretty gardens.

We ended the afternoon at the Island Honey Wine Company, where we tried out a few varieties of mead. I particularly enjoyed the Apple Cider, made with their own apples and honey.

We wound up the day at the Blue Mussel Cafe, to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary. It was a little more casual than expected, but the food was top notch.

We shared the Lobster dip

I had the Seafood Bubbly Bake

Mindy had the Stuffed Chicken (!?!?!)

Well, that’s plenty for one day. We leave PEI and our B&B HQ tomorrow—off to New Brunswick.

The Great White North - Day 5

Still reporting from New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada (Latitude 46,40, Longitude -63.35)

(A quick note—I’m posting my content in the evening for awhile, including Facebook and Instagram, since cell service on PEI is spotty at best).

Our first full day on PEI was fairly packed—a great breakfast at the B&B, and then off to the the home that L.M. Montgomery used as the basis for Anne of Green Gables. We went through the historically-correct house, and then walked the trails that “Anne walked”—Lovers Lane and The Haunted Woods.

We also visited two beaches—Cavendish in the late morning and Robinson’s Island in the late afternoon. Both were gorgeous, breezy, and cold.

We also found a possible investment opportunity—an abandoned Science Center right on the coast of a bay. Did I mention the full-size replica of the Space Shuttle? Or the massive Planetarium?

Before we went down into downtown Charlottetown, we stopped at a tea shoppe in the middle of nowhere for lunch. This included a tea leaf reading. I’m supposed to ride a horse, and Mindy is to learn to play the guitar. Life goals!

Well, we’re worn out. More fun tomorrow—and a big occasion.

The Great White North - Day 4

Reporting from New Glasgow, Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada (Latitude 46,40, Longitude -63.35)

We are now “north of the border”, after a day of mostly driving with few stops. We started off from the Howard Johnson’s in Bangor, ME (in a related story, Howard Johnson’s still exists) and went downtown to the hipster zone for bagel sandwiches. We declared them “not really bagels” (they looked like bagels without the chewiness) but good anyway.

We then headed to the border, not sure how long the process would take. Turned out to be about 60 seconds. I’m sure it will take longer the other way around.

We drove through Saint John’s, New Brunswick and saw a blurry cruise ship at the dock.

Once we figured out how to set the car to kilometers, it was more driving in very pretty (but monotonous after a while) forests and mountains. Then we crossed the bridge into PEI.

We are now ensconced at a lovely Bed and Breakfast somewhat near the north shore, which will be out HQ for the next few days. Tired out—more tomorrow.

The Great White North - Day 3

Reporting from Bangor, ME (Latitude 44.78, Longitude -68.81)

After an interesting night (the motel room’s floor undulated, and the bed creaked LOUDLY), we found a very fine coffee shop in town, and then moved on to the main event, just down the street.

I was tamping down my expectations, in case it was a bust—and the outside display wasn’t promising.

Once we got inside, it was another matter. WOW!!! A complete, meticulous re-creation of the Enterprise sets. Here’s just a few highlights.

Beam us down!

Risk? Risk—is—our—business!

AAAAUUUGGHHH!!!

Crayola-style doors.

I’m a doctor, not a…

A tall ship, and a star to sail her by…

Me wee bairns won’t take it!

Captain’s log…

I’ll post the whole set on Facebook (once I can find some decent WiFi).

Later, we stopped at the Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream factory. No pics are allowed on the tour (company secrets), but I did take a shot outside, at the “flavor graveyard”.

We got to the hotel later than we had planned, but it was definitely better than last night (not a hard hurdle to jump). More tomorrow, including our first day in Canada (assuming we make it across the border).

The Great White North - Day 2

Reporting from Ticonderoga, NY (Latitude 43.84, Longitude 73.43):

After an early start (traveler’s tip—unplug the hotel alarm clock so it doesn’t wake you up at 6a), we grabbed breakfast, used the pool, then headed off for adventure.

First stop—The Jell-O Museum in LeRoy, NY. This is where Jell-O was born, although it took a few owners (and a lot of advertising) until it became a hit. Some very interesting exhibits. Here, Mindy presents some Jell-O molds.

Our second stop is one of those “Roadside Attractions”. It’s a traffic light in Syracuse that is upside down, with the green light on top.

Check out the link for more info.

…and then we made our way to Ticonderoga. Not exactly a bustling metropolis. Here’s our lodging for the night.

Let’s just say an enterprising fellow would do well if they wanted to build a hotel here. We made a reservation a week ago, which is good, because every room in town is full. Why? I guess there’s a bunch of small events in the area every fall weekend.

There’s a “Hot Biscuit Diner” across the street that doesn’t have a lot of competition, so they just microwave pre-made biscuits. At least that was our guess.

Why Ticonderoga? Because there’s an attraction we’re going to in the morning here—a place I’ve wanted to go since I heard about it. One hint: “Risk? Risk—is—our—business!”

More tomorrow.

The Great White North - Day 1

After a long hiatus, I’m back with another blog entry.

We haven’t taken a real vacation in quite a while, and remembered that we really enjoyed the long “Southern Sweep” drive. With our 25th anniversary imminent, we decided to drive to Canada’s Prince Edward Island, site of “Anne of Green Gables”.

Day 1 - a drive from Columbus to Batavia NY (Latitude 43.01, Longitude -78.19).

Basically, drive to Lake Erie and turn right.

Like I said.

We stopped for lunch in Ashtabula (the bridge made our decision for us).

We had deviled eggs and a Cuban sandwich at Rennick’s Meat Market (quite the hipster locale).

Then a touristy stop at the Original Kazoo Company in Eden, NY. Mindy made her own kazoo!

We made it to Batavia and got dinner at Ken’s Charcoal Pits—I made the mistake of getting the special, and they treated it like I had ordered the “Gutbuster”.

Tomorrow—there’s always time for Jell-O.

Southern Sweep - Day 9 and Wrap Up

Like most vacations, it's great to visit, but it's nicer to get home. Unfortunately, we left the longest drive for the last day--Memphis to Columbus.  So no pics for today--it would be a lot of freeways and construction.

We stopped at a very pretty Starbucks in Jackson, TN that might be the least organized location in their chain. You would think if you were paying by phone and knew exactly what you wanted, it would be easy. However, we got a barrista who I assume was a trainee and didn't know how a register worked, that "rewards" could be redeemed, or how to complete an order.  I think we could have made the breakfast sandwiches and coffee at the side of the road more quickly. We knew there was a problem when two of the same order appeared.  They were nice--just untrained.

I drove, Mindy drove, the other dozed in the car, drive, drive, drive--repeat.

The temperature dropped as we went, forcing us to hit a rest stop and change from shorts to pants.

We stopped at a Skyline Chili in the Cincinnati area (if you haven't had their 3-way, stop reading and drive to Cincinnati), and we ordred, were served, ate, paid, and left in less time than the Starbucks order took.

As nightime arrived, we made it to the Schmidbauer homestead.

Overall, the trip was a lot of fun, we got to see our nieces, ate some great food, and saw giant animals. What's not to like?  We're discussing a Western Sweep next--but first some sleep in our own bed.

Southern Sweep - Day 8

Niece #3 - Betsy, who lives on the Texas side of Texarkana with her husband Kai and two kids.  We got a picture to document the event just outside the IHOP.

Back on the road--and a chance to stand astride two states. The county courthouse was built on the border to save money--go to the left for Texas cases, and to the right for Arkansas cases.

On the way to Memphis, we stopped at the biggest scam since the casino--the Crater of Diamonds State Park.

Site of an ancient volcano, they offer the chance to dig through a field for real diamonds--at only $8 plus the cost of shovels, buckets, etc.  It drew a decent crowd, including us.

We made it to Memphis in time for BBQ at the legendary Germantown Commissary.

The pile of meat in a bowl? That's a salad.

Logy and tired, we made it to the hotel. 

Tomorrow--driving, driving, driving, and wrapping it up.

Southern Sweep - Day 7

First off, more donuts--this time at Glazed. We joined Maggie and her friend Cade for the feast.

Before we left, we got a chance to tour the athletic facilities at McNeese.

Then off to Shreveport--and the mysterious Giant Dalmation. At night, you can change the color of the dog's spots.

Then, in the outskirts of Texarkana, in Fouke, AR, a celebrity sighting. MST3K's own Boogy Creek Monster!

We then followed the GPS to the hotel right on the state line with Texas. Unfortunately, there were two of the same hotel chain there, straddling the border. Once that was straightened out, we hit the hay.

Tomorrow--one more niece, diamonds, and meat.

Southern Sweep - Day 6

A late day to start--but Mindy got her donuts (Louisiana is crazy about them).

Then off to a McNeese tour

Then down to the shores of Lake Charles--very pretty and restful

Did I mention restful?

Off to the glitter of Lake Charles' casinos! I would put them at mid-Vegas level.  We hit a few slots and walked around.

And if the hotel rooms aren't big enough (actually docked at the casino)...

Finally, we moved onto a local Maxican joint for dinner.

Tomorrow--more donuts, giant dogs, and look out for the monster!

Southern Sweep - Day 5

We drove over to Avery Island, home to Tobasco.   This is the sole factory that makes 700,000 bottles/day for 150 countries.  Based on how complicated the process is, Tobasco should cost $500 a bottle.

I do enjoy Tabasco on my crumpets...

Then, a drive over to Lake Charles and McNeese State University, where our niece Maggie is a goalie on the soccer team.

She took us to Steamboat Bill's, a famed seafood place.  Be ready to order at the counter, then sit down and they bring a pile of fish over.

Tomorrow--donuts, a campus tour, and Viva Lake Charles!

Southern Sweep - Day 4

Started late--off to the deep South.

Mississippi--a lot of this out the window...

Then these--Palmettos?  Nope, it's "pinus palustris".

Can you tell that Mindy drove today?

Finally Louisiana--and Lake Ponchatrain.  This is a very long and impressive bridge.

Then N'awlins. The French Quarter seems very run down. Mindy referred to it as "creepy". We were tired and so we decided to move on to Lafayette, LA for the night.

Tomorrow - Hot Sauce, Lake Charles, and niece #2.

Southern Sweep - Day 3

We began our first full Tuscaloosa day at City Grille, and a huge breakfast.  Grits, eggs, sausages, biscuits...

 

Yes, those are grits. Anything that's half butter can't be bad.

The review said the breakfast was dynamite, and I have to agree.

Then a jaunt out to a place called "Pie Lab"--which was unfortunately closed.

On the way back, we stopped at the Moundville Archeological Park

 

Back at 'Bama, and the world's second largest Starbucks at the Student Union

  

Two more pics at the University...

 

We stopped at Steel City Pops--an artisinal popsicle store. I had Pumpkin, while Mindy had Cherry Sour Cream.

Later we had dinner with Abby and her friend Will at an Irish pub. We were worn out, so it's off to bed.

Tomorrow--sleeping in, lots of driving, and a loooonng bridge.

 

Southern Sweep - Day 2

We drove into Nashville and the GPS sent us straight into Titans tailgating--wasn't sure if we would get out, since we kept being directed back into the fray.

We finally made it over to Broadway (the touristy area).

They make boots big in Tennessee

An Elvis sighting

Various signage

Goo-Goo-Goodness

 

We then took a quick jaunt to Greece--no,no.  There's an exact copy of the Parthenon in Nashville.

 

Of course, no trip would be complete without a giant chicken with a chef hat (Elkton, TN)

 

Onto Tuscaloosa!

One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas.

How he got in my pajamas, I don't know.

Then we tried to remove the tusks. The tusks. That's not so easy to say. Tusks.

You try it some time. As I say, we tried to remove the tusks.

But they were embedded so firmly we couldn't budge them.

Of course, in Alabama the Tuscaloosa,

but that is entirely ir-elephant to what I was talking about.

Groucho in Animal Crackers (Movie)

Abby gave us a tour of the University of Alabama--Roll Tide! 

We also went down to the boat dock (Abby's on the rowing team)

Finally, we took Abby out to a BBQ place—decent food plus cheesy muffins! We’re still in “vinegary” sauce territory though.

 

Tomorrow - Southern food, lack of pies, and more 'Bama.

Southern Sweep - Day 1

We've been talking forever about taking a drive through the deep south. We have three nieces who are attending schools and/or living in Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas respectively. We decided to get off our duff and do it before they graduate.  

We left around 8:30 from Columbus, which got us to Louisville in time for lunch. We stopped at the "Frankfort Ave Beer Depot and Smokehouse", a hole in the wall place with decent online reviews.  Mindy wanted to try the "Hillbilly Wontons" appetizer, but they were out. We ended up with our third choice, the fried green beans. The brsket sandwich was unremarkable, if small.  The baked beans had a lot of smoke and bourbon flavor, and the sauce was vinegary as expected.  Probably wouldn't return--more atmosphere than taste.

We later stopped at Mammoth Cave, but didn't go in (tours were booked, plus there's a bat fungus issue we would rather avoid).

But we couldn't miss...

We later stopped to borrow some WiFi and book a room--Mindy's sister Amy had just come in to see her daughter Abby's game (she's on the rowing team), so we spent some time simultaneously searching websites and texting. Turned out almost everything was booked, but we found a place with two rooms fairly close--ended up being across the street.

Met up with Amy and her husband Don, hit up a Mexican place--again across the street--and hit the hay.

Tomorrow--Nashville, Goo-Goo, a monument on the wrong continent, a giant chicken, and 'Bama.

Alaska Day 12: The Journey Home

Mindy awoke around 9a, then woke me up--we were out for 12 hours, which is unheard of for us. I guess we needed the rest. Some hurried ablutions, then out to the car. Stopped at Pick 'n' Save to get tissues and Pibb Zero (my favorite diet soda, and not available where we live). The supermarket had gastronomic quotes on the walls--one of the few times I felt the need to take photos at a supermarket. Grabbed a breakfast sandwich at Panera's--like a high-end Mickey D's.

On the way, we stopped at the Iron Skillet Truck Stop at Racine for gas--and kringles, a Danish delicacy and a childhood memory of Mindy's.  Like most car trips, the rest of the day was uneventful.

I really enjoyed this trip, despite the (minor) disappointment with the aurora. I did a number of things I probably would never have done otherwise, got to spend some quality time away from work and with my wife, while also getting away from technology. 

Back to normal blog entries next time.

Beard Day 12. I'm thinking I'll keep it.

Alaska Day 11: Four Characters in Search of an Airline Gate

It was a long flight day, starting at 1:40AM in Fairbanks. Alaska Airlines decided they weren't getting enough of our money, so they charged us $25 per bag, despite the fact that they didn't charge us on the way into Alaska. Their "partner" American Airlines explained that the carrier for the first leg of a flight decides where to charge or not. I guess they are partners with benefits.

Our journey took us from Fairbanks to Seattle to Dallas to Milwaukee over a 12 hour period. Fairbanks is a TINY airport with a total of 6 gates, at least one of which is used by the oil companies to ferry their employees. Dallas is just way too big--had to take a monorail from one gate to another, and of course this was our shortest layover. The incoming flight spent about 20 minutes driving around the place after landing, which didn't help. I was too incoherent by the time we reached Milwaukee for me to remember much of anything. 

Mindy's sister Amy picked us up while I went to pick up our car from the hotel--there was a comedy of errors as we attempted to do this efficiently, as often happens. We went out for pizza after we found the Mexican place was closed on Sunday, then we crashed at the hotel.

Beard Day 11: Looking particularly hobo-like in the middle of our flights.

Alaska Day 10: Long Days Journey into Flight

Mindy woke up at 7:30, and we got a last opportunity to enjoy the hot springs. We're going to look for other hot springs for future vacations. I noticed the top of the shower door is below my sight line--at first, I thought maybe people were shorter when the lodge was built, but the architecture screams the 70's.

(Fun fact--Greg Brady? Five foot two. The sets were built like dollhouses to make it look normal.)

Last breakfast at Chena--omelette and a pancake. Mindy packed us up, and we took the shuttle back to Fairbanks without issue. Mindy found another dogsled race--this time, a sprint race at the Musher's Hall. We got there just in time to see the last sprints of the day, which included a moose on the track (not sports slang--an actual moose on the track). He got out of the way just in time for a musher to make it through. We had a meal at the local brew pub, then back to the hotel to hunker down for the shuttle to the airport--7 hours later...

Beard Day 10. Look for this same shirt tomorrow.

Alaska Day 9: Mush!

Awoke at the crack of 9:30. Quick shower, then breakfast at the dining room (bacon, eggs, toast, home fries--hey, it's a vacation). We managed to get in the 11a trip to the "ice museum", a permanent building made of ice. There's a shell around it with an evaporative cooling system to keep the ice solid in the summer. There are two world-class carvers on site, and they have several permanent installations there--themed bedrooms, an igloo with an ice-xylophone, a wedding chapel, and a ice bar with martinis--you can keep the ice glass. The museum is kept at 20°, so we went to the room to warm back up.

Later we bundled up for that day's big event--a ride on a dogsled. The Bettles dog sled tour (which we skipped) ran 1-2 hours, so when we heard the Chena tour was 15 minutes, we started to feel gypped. However, the actual event was just the right amount of time. We got a running commentary from the musher, who was right behind me--we were all on the same sled, smushed together. I got some great video of the tour...

Before dinner, we geeked out at the Geothermal Tour. Chena is off the electrical grid, so they use the heat from the hot springs to run turbines which power and heat the facility. They also power and heat greenhouses where they grow produce served at the restaurant. We also took a quick side trip to feed their pet goats (not used for their milk--yet).

 

I had salmon at dinner, then another trip to the hot springs--this time, Martha came along.  We were bushed by that time, so it was lights out early. Then, around 1a, we got a knock on the door--the lights are starting! (how would you like that job--running to each building like a cosmological Paul Revere?) We wrapped up and went over to take a look. While it was a little better than what we saw in Bettles, I still think it's mass hysteria. We hung out for an hour, then called it a night.

Beard Day 9: Bundled up for the day.