We have returned to P&L Adventures...As Pat has said our adventures have never ended since retirement as I give no time for rest...:)  We are now in Vancouver and have had a great 3 day visit here.  We took a City Bike tour our first day which was a wonderful way to see the city except for it was 5 hours and we were the oldest on the tour.  Guess who was in the rear the most of the time.  Great fun though and Vancouver is one of the prettiest cities we have visited.

 Stanley Park was a favorite with the totem poles, Beaver Lake, and so much green space.

 The Vancouver harbor is so pretty with mountains and lighthouse views.

 We posed at the cruise ship harbor the day before we leave on our cruise to Alaska.

 Canada place lights up at night to give the city even more appeal

The Olympic torch from 2010 has become a landmark fountain.

 We met up with our good friends Pam and John Lee....we enjoyed a trip to the Vandusen Botanical gardens.  We travelled by city bus and did not have any Canadian money but the bus driver let us ride for free.  We then found an ATM for the trip back.

 Chinatown was interesting but disappointing....it really looks run down and sad....hopefully Vancouver will work on this area.

 Our meal in Chinatown was delicious and made up for the disappointing area of town.  We ate at Bao Bei Chinese Brasserie.  It was a tappas style eating of Chinese cuisine and so good.

We were going to mooch a ride back to our hotels, but decided to take a taxi this time.  We had to end the day with the best gourmet gelato in the city at Bellas....the line can be up to an hour long, but we only waited about 30 minutes....It was worth the wait...only wished I had picked 3 scoops instead of 2.  Next Trip......love and miss you all.....be safe and blessings.....P&L

Our last fun stop before going home

Off to Marion, IN to visit with our newly married couple there.  Tyler and Linda are doing really well in Marion and married life seems to make them both shine.  We enjoyed a day at a reenactment of the War of 1812 on the Missisinewa River.  The huge turkey legs were a delicious way to begin our fun.

 We also went on an 8 mile bike ride following the marathon trainer.  Linda has faithfully been biking behind Tyler for over 6 months of training.  What a devoted wife and devoted runner.

 Who says you have to go to Vermont to see beautiful colors.  This tree is on Indiana Wesleyan's campus right where Tyler works.

 Pat was so excited to get to mow Tyler's yard and not have to go site see or find a hotel today.

 Our son the bread baker made us a loaf to take home.....what a delicious treat.  Looking forward to many more fun times with these 2.

We are now home in Dunlap, IL.  still married after a 5 week trip together and still excited about planning our next pandladventure.  Thanks for being a part of our trip.  It was an amazing one that God's Glorious Gifts were shown in so many ways. 

Pennsylvania to Ohio - Heading towards Home

After driving more in the past few days than we have been used to, we travelled to Reading, PA where I was reunited with one of my best heart friends I have had the privilege to know since we were in Kindergarten together in Lexington, IL   Maggie (Kahle) Montgomery,  you are so loved and I am so thankful for our special friendship.                                                                              

Maggie & Ken were wonderful hosts in their lovely home in Reading along with their new puppy, Teddy.

Teddy actually thought we came to visit him.  :)

 Teddy is only 10 months old....he has definitely taken over their empty nested home.  No Pat we are not getting another dog.








After saying our goodbyes in Reading, we had to stop in Hershey, PA.  You could smell the chocolate as you entered the parking lot.  What a fun place to tour and visit.  We took the trolley that explained all the good that Milton Hershey has done for his school for the underprivileged.  I will never feel guilty eating chocolate again.  Thank you Milton...

We then drove 5 hours to get closer to home as Pat has been itching to get that direction.  Ok, 5 weeks is a long time to be away.  But I did have to convince him to slow down and enjoy the last few days that we have planned out.  Look what we enjoyed by slowing down on our bike ride this morning in Zanesville, Ohio.

Ok maybe Pat is just tired of loading and unloading the bikes and stuff in our horribly messy car.  Being vagabonds does get old.  But it still is soooo much fun.  

Pat also saw a groupie bunch of BMW's  and even became more homesick for his little Z3 waiting for him in Dunlap. 

I again reminded him to slow down and not to miss the beauty around him.  The oaks in Ohio are gorgeous right now.  

This is the corporate offices of Longaberger Basket Co.  We were impressed in the quality of this product but not with the people or marketing while there.  The basket fad has sadly decreased and we felt like they are just surviving.  It was fun to see where a lot of my "crap and clutter" (as Pat calls it) came from. though.  

We are now headed to Marion IN to see Tyler and Linda.....more adventures to come from there.  Love to all.....

Experiencing Vermont with our good friends - Jerry & Cindy

OK... I've been really cooperative... and have been taking my turn writing the Blog entry.  But, to be honest... I'm growing less interested in telling everybody what we're doing.  Nothing personal... just getting lazy.

My first inclination was to write one word... "Wow!"   And then post dozens of pictures of the incredible beauty we've seen during our visit to Vermont.  But Lana gave me that look again... so I decided to compromise...  I'll post more pictures... with significantly less commentary.

The Highlight of our Stowe, Vermont visit.... Jerry & Cindy's visit!

So nice of them to make the 10 hour drive to spend a couple of days with us.

A visit to Ben & Jerry's Vermont Headquarters was a necessary part of our time together!












Lots of biking on the Stowe trails!













Finished our last evening around the fire pit roasting marshmallows for s'mores.








Vermont is Beautiful!  Wow!!!!

Still NO Sign of Moose!

 But we did see a camel!  In Vermont????  and added a friend to our dashboard. :)

With love,  P&L

New Hampshire

We sadly left Maine only to be continually blessed with God's Glorious Gifts - GGG's.  We drove down the coast of Maine to Freeport for one last shopping fling in Maine.....LLBean Corporate Offices are located there.  I had to open an LLBean credit card so I could save 15% on all we bought  Pat - again- ended up being the largest buyer.  He found pants that he liked for $6.50 at the LLBean outlet store.  We ended up spending way too long at that town...going from the main store over to the outlet store and back.  VISA is going to be a scary word for us next month.

We then began our drive to New Hampshire driving through the Kancamagus Highway on Rte 112.  It is a National Forest Preserve so we were a bit worried it may be closed down due to our wonderful government not getting along.  Luckily the road was open, but there were no workers to be found.  Only sad signs saying there were no staff there.







What a gorgeous drive.  The trees are at or near their peak, and the colors again are God painted.  We had to stop a lot just to take pics that will never show by camera like we can see it with our own 2 eyes.  Beautiful.....We stopped and took a hike to a lovely waterfall to get a bit of exercise and then continued on to our inn in Holderness.











We are still looking for a Moose...We even went to a dump because someone told us they'd be there.   Not a place you want to go to on vacation let me tell you.  We've decided that there really aren't any....just signs everywhere telling us to look for them and a candid camera somewhere laughing at us as we are searching for one.  We have given up and now are taking pics of fake  Moose instead.  :)

We have enjoyed our Inn here in Holderness a lot.  It is located near Squam Lake, where the movie Golden Pond was filmed.  I loved that movie and always wanted to go visit this area and hear a loon on a lake.  Well....there are no loons here either....just like the Moose.....Fortunately we had seen a Loon in Maine before getting here or I'd really be sad.









We went on an 8 mile bike ride to a lovely covered bridge, and there were quite a few hills to climb.  I am doing better on them but still had to get off and walk the bike up one tough one. I think I slow Patrick down but he has been a great encourager.   We also went on a 2 mile hike to see more waterfalls and gorgeous scenery.  We felt we earned our pub food and ale today for sure plus a homemade cookie or 2 from the Inn.

On to the next stop... BoothBay Harbor, Maine

So the Government has shut down... it seems to me they shut down several years ago.  One of the victims of the most current shut down is Acadia National Park.  On our way out of Bar Harbor on October 1... we saw the barricades at the entrance to the park.  So sad.

Thankful we were able to experience and enjoy it and see it's beauty.  Has to be my favorite National Park.

Quiet, Tranquil, Peaceful, Beautiful.... those are the words that come to mind as we experience BoothBay Harbor, Maine.  We really enjoyed Bar Harbor... but BoothBay Harbor is smaller and more intimate.  No big cruise ships... far fewer tour buses!  This is the time to visit this part of the world.  September... and early October.

Lana and I asked the front desk clerk at the Spruce Pointe Inn for advice on bike riding.  She told us to take the main road into town for just under 2 miles till we get to the footbridge.  When we get to the footbridge... "go into town for a Lobster Roll...just lean your bikes up to the fence.  They'll be fine until you return.  No need for locks?  No need for locks!"  (despite the counsel... we locked them anyway)  :( Sad we're so reluctant to trust people we don't know.)

There are more than 60 Lighthouses in Main.  While she has not said this... I think Lana is secretly finding ways for us to see ALL of them before leaving Maine.  Guys... you know how it goes.  Just as you're about to go asleep, you hear a sweet whisper from the other side of the bed... "Honey, would you mind if we take a little drive to the east to see some new sights tomorrow?  But, if you don't want to... that's OK."  When you are that tired... the last thing you want is an argument... so you say "That would be fine Honey."

One of our "side trips" was to find the "Oreo" cows at Aldermere farms.  While we were parked along the side the road to see the cows... several wild turkeys crossed the road in front of us.  But...NO MOOSE!!!

When making the reservation at the Spruce Pointe Inn, Lana chose a room in the main lodge with a balcony overlooking the bay.  Nothing like sitting in an Adirondack chair, sipping a glass of wine and watching the sun go down!  God is Good!

The Spruce Point Inn offers free boat rides of the surrounding area 4 times a week.  The time Lana and I chose... we were the only ones on the boat!  Our own private island!  :)

After our boat ride, we decided to take a quick bike ride down to the Lobster Wharf to see if any Lobster Boats were unloading.  We were in luck!  Lobster and Crabs!

When we got home... we decided to get in the hot tub... and relax on the loungers overlooking the bay!  Almost 80 degrees on October 2nd!  A rare find in Maine this time of year!

For dinner, we decided to seek out a local pub at the Thistle Inn.  No tables, so we sat at the Bar... and ate with the locals.  We had a great time!  Heard alot of lobster stories.  The guy sitting next to us works on a Lobster boat.  He was born in Chicago, spent most of his life in Arizona and now lives in Maine... caring for his mother.  He loves it here!

On Thursday... we got to seek out an Acrylic Nail Salon!  Exciting! (It's been over 3 weeks... not too bad!)   While we were downtown for the nail appointment... Lana thought we should shop.  "Lots of Sales!!!"  Most of the businesses in this part of Maine (including the Spruce Pointe Inn) shut down for the winter in about 2 weeks.  A quick added note from me (Lana)  Ask Pat how many pairs of shoes he bought on sale today?  He better quit blaming me for all the shopping. :)

Giving Thanks for Good Health, Great Friends and Family, Great Weather... and God's Glorious Creation!