Bar Harbor/Acadia National Park Maine

GGG is all we keep saying here.....God's Great Gifts......His beauty is a gift given for all of us to soak up and to be spiritually uplifted while we live on this earth.....and it is only a taste of what He has in store for us when we get to go to His magnificent sites forever in heaven.

How do we even blog on what we have seen, done, and experienced in the past few days.  First I want to thank all of you who prayed for me as I was not feeling well at all for a couple of days....Usually my head colds at this time of the year go into full fledge bronchial infections.....Praise God....I am feeling great today...and it has not moved to my lungs.  :)
We are almost done with our time here in Bar Harbor Maine.  It is one of the most beautiful areas of the USA that we have ever been too....especially this time of year when God gives you perfect weather.  :)  I am not sure about November when they start getting their average snow fall of 55 inches per season, we may not like it as much.
Driving into Maine crossing the border from Canada we were worried we would get stopped at the border because of having so much stuff in our car not that we had spent too much (although we may have had one too many bottles of wine).  The crossing was a breeze and we were on our way into glory land.  Maine in the Fall is gorgeous and the leaves are near or at their peak right now.  We decided to go on our own moose hunt since we were told there are more moose here than people, and it is mating season.  We drove off into roads we probably should not have been on.....and did we ever find a moose?  NO.....what's up with that.  :)  Oh well.....the other beauty was a blessing to enjoy for sure.

  We did see the Northern most point of the Appalachian trail though.

We arrived at our Inn (no more Marriott for us from now on)  and it is a bit rustic, but clean and quiet.  At least until the tour busses started arriving.  We have now decided that we never want to go on one of those busses with 80 plus until we have to. :)  Breakfast in the mornings is a humorous event listening to them all complain and hack.
Biking has been amazing in Acadia National Park.  President Roosevelt had the foresite to save our lands fortunately...their are carriage roads for bikers/hikers that are wonderful.  The park is indescribable as we think it must be part of God's Garden of Eden.  As we were on our 3rd mile in the park my bike suffered a flat tire....we did not have a spare tube with us and probably wouldn't have known how to change one anyway, so walked back to the car.  God wanted us to walk because it slowed us down to enjoy the park more....we saw the little creations like his turtles and frogs.

We took the bike into town to get fixed and the owner of the bike shop sent us to the best cafe ever....at least I thought it was.  Pat had a lobster roll and hated it....the taste was too fishy even for him....I am so glad I ordered their award winning mac and cheese and a apple cider margarita with sugar and cinnamon on the rim.  Wow....it was so good.  Pat was happier after he ordered the homemade blueberry pie with icecream and whip cream;.  Maine really is known for their blueberry products.

We picked up the bike and went back to the park driving this time and did the 27 mile loop around the park...a must do....we stopped at Jordan Pond House for tea.  They had the best popovers and homemade jam ever.  We had a spot in the garden overlooking one of the 100's of lakes in the park.  We ended the day with a sunset over Cadillac Mountain that was better than this picture portrays.

Yesterday we went out on the water on a catamaran to see the bay, lighthouses, and wildlife.  We saw Martha Stewart's "summer cottage", private cottages that I would call mansions, quaint lighthouses, and the best harbor seals lazing on the rocks.  We about froze on the upper deck of the boat.

We had to eat at Stewmans downtown where they let you pick your lobster, steam them and serve them....Pat decided not to have lobster and had  fish andchips instead.   I, yes I, ordered fried scallops (me the nonfish lover).  They were huge and yummy.  Probably helped that they were fried.  :)  We thought we'd go to the inn for a nap, but when we got there the maid hadn't cleaned yet...so we went on a 12 mile bike ride back at Acadia National Park....It was wonderful and maybe we burned a few french fries off .
We did come back for a nap.  Then went to McKay's Public House where the ambiance is amazing.  We sat outside on the patio with a classical guitarist playing in the back ground.  Another wonderful ending to a wonderful day.

Play....Eat....Bike.....Sleep....repeat.....we love retired life.  (we may run out of money fast though) I hope our friends and family will take us in so we don't have to live under the bridge of Peoria.

Quebec City Stop 6

We liked Montreal a lot... but I think we liked Quebec City even better!  A bit smaller, more intimate, rolling terrain.  Upon arriving our room was not ready... so we checked our bags and bikes and took off for a walk through the old city.  The city is mostly surrounded by block walls with old towers.  Full of quaint shops and lots of eateries. At the center of old town is the Fairmont Hotel - a former castle (Chateau de Frontenac) built by the Canadian Railway.  It's currently under renovation - and is an impressive structure.

We decided to have an early dinner and take advantage of "early diner specials".  (Starting to worry about spending more than we thought we would.) :)  We ate at an old quaint house  "Aux Anciene Canadians"... both enjoying the local food.

 I had meat pie with fresh veggies.  Lana had meat balls with red beets.  We finished with Maple syrup pie with homemade whip cream!  Amazing!

Lana is now on a hunt for Starbuck's cups with the local city name on the cup.  We did this a number of years ago... but quit when we realized they were just collecting dust.  But Lana now tells me that these cups have a new design... they are stackable!  Thank you Cathy Stephens for getting us on another collection.  :)  Is it really a good reason to start collecting again!?!?  The walk continues... store one - out of cups; store two - out of cups.  Some young man in the 2nd store sensed Lana's disappointment... approached her and told her that he works at Starbucks and would be happy to call some of the other Quebec City stores to try to find one... store three - out of cups; store four - out of cups;  store five - CUPS!!!!  Too far to walk... so he asks if they would be willing to save one for the Murphy's.  We both tell him Thanks... and Lana tells him that his Mother would be proud of him.  He blushes and then joins his girlfriend.


Kyle and Alicia - I wore my Butler hoodie yesterday and was stopped by three people with comments/questions. One guy was from UConn and had to remind me they beat Butler for the 2011 National Title.  :(

On the way back to the hotel... Lana is starting to not feel well.  Sore throat, stuffy nose, congestion.  When we get to the hotel we break out the Chamomile tea, Airborne tablets, zinc oxide and Advil.  We also decide to break open the fresh cranberry juice from Mr Slater's Cranberry Bog!

Thursday morning Lana is feeling a bit better... but we decide to forgo the planned bike ride... and take a car ride around the "Ile D' Orleans... a small island very near Quebec City.  (Surrounded by the St. Lawrence River).  The fall colors are at their peak in this part of Canada.  Beautiful!  The cottage style homes mostly have red roofs, in order to be able to find them in a blizzard.  Lana is ready to purchase one tomorrow.

 Stopped for lunch at a great French Cafe on the water.

Also made stops at a Chocolate Shop, Cheese factory/store and apple cider store to buy a bottle of their local specialty... "iced apple cider", which has quite a large alcohol content to it.  It definitely is not your Tanners variety.   Why is it vacations so center around the food?  The sights have been amazing but the food....oh the food....  Hope we can get back to bike riding soon.

Poutine and Botanical Gardens Finish off the Montreal visit

All good things must come to an end.  Yesterday was our last day in Montreal.  That being said... we made the most of it!  The weather was great!  High in the low to mid 60's.   Started the day out with an 8 mile bike ride from our hotel in Old Montreal to the Botanical Gardens.  Montreal has given high priority to the development of bike trails across the city and along the water front. The Botanical Gardens are  located across the street from where the 1976 Olympic Stadium was built.

Tickets were pretty pricey... but I've never seen such beautiful grounds!  Incredible "live plant" manicured sculptures throughout the gardens.  Ponds, waterfalls, and sections devoted to the cultures of many countries/nations. Very creative.

After the visit to the Botanical Gardens... we headed to a local place to taste what Montreal is famous for... Poutine!  The restaurant had many styles of Poutine to choose from... but we stayed with the "classic"... French fries covered in cheese curds and gravy!  We decided to share a plate.  I had to have a local beer to "cut the grease"!

Back to the hotel for a short nap.  Then...  at 6:30pm to see a sound & light show at the Basilica of Notre Dame in Montreal... followed by late dinner at a French cafe.  God is good!

Montreal has to be one of the most beautiful cities we have visited.  Pat was so not looking forward to big cities on this trip but has agreed he is glad we have stopped in this one.  Weather was crisp and cool as we set off on a walk of the city this morning.

  A funny happened at breakfast at the Marriott ....a lady came up to me and asked me if there were going to be more scrambled eggs soon.....I guess I am too casual for Montreal as she thought I was one of the staff....Oh well...I go for comfort when I travel... not looks.  I was on a mission to see as much of Montreal as we could today, but poor Pat was on a mission to walk slowly and stop and smell the roses more.....We really are still doing quite well together with no major upsets yet.....so.....I slowed it down a pace and let him stop at a cafe for coffee.  So glad we stopped....we had the best almond crescent (croissant de almande) that we have had since Switzerland.  Kyle would have loved to have one of the chocolate ones.  

After the break Pat was ready to go....good thing we had energy because the next trek was a hike up into the "mountain" of Montreal as the locals call it.  Actually it is a steep hill that has been developed into a fabulous city park designed by Olmsted the same designer of Central Park in NYC.  We hiked a lot of miles in that park and the view of Montreal was truly worth it when we reached the chateau at the top.  I kind of convinced Pat to take an odd path down called the Escarpment.  Pat was sure we would never set foot at the bottom again as this path wound round and round the "mountain" with no ending it seemed.  Thankfully my Parks and Recreation background kept reassuring him because we did make it all in once piece but with very sore feet.  :) 

 

The trees are really getting red here...God is dipping his paint brush into the reds, oranges and yellows.....Canada is going to have a beautiful Fall season for sure.

After taking Pat on this long adventure it was way past lunch time, but good for getting a table at a Deli that is a must in Montreal.  Schwartz is an 80 year old Jewish deli with wonderful smoked beef sandwiches.  It is a typical old diner and we were seated with another couple due to space.  Pat was amazed at how I could get whole life stories out of this young couple ( our kid's age) in a matter of 45 minutes.  They were fun to talk with and a highlight of my day anyway.  

A chocolate shop called our name as we started walking back to the hotel....and I tell you we had the best brownies I have ever tasted.  They even give you a side of homemade caramel to dip them in.  Good thing we hiked over 7 miles today.

 Pat was ready for a Starbucks (notice it is called Cafe Starbucks here)

 I left him there and went shopping on a fun street nearby.  We hopped in the hot tub, decided to not eat anything for dinner (I think we ate enough today) and relax.    

Cranberry Bog; Beau's Brewery; Fall has arrived; Montreal

For a long time I've wanted to see a Cranberry Bog.  Today was the day!  And Oh what a visit it was!  The highlight of the day!  Only our GPS system could help us find this treasure buried deep in the country about 2 hours northeast of Kingston.  Lana and Google Chrome were instrumental in finding the Upper Canada Cranberries operation.  Their website suggested calling before visiting... so we called the day before to confirm they would be open on Sunday.  Mr. Slater answered the phone and said he had agreed to take his workers shopping at Walmart at 11am... so was hopeful we could come early.  Not wanting to miss the opportunity to see a Cranberry Bog... we set the alarm for 6:15am... and packed the Enclave for the trip to Montreal.

First stop... Mr. Slater's Cranberry Bog.  The bog was located down a long, bumpy gravel road.  Several times we considered turning around and skipping this stop... but finally saw signs of back country life...  a little house trailer, several old sheds, rusted machinery, and a porta-potty.

As we drove onto the property we saw someone in the trailer looking out the window... it was Mr. Slater.  He was quick to come out and welcome us... asking if we were the ones who called yesterday to confirm they were open.  We said we were.  Mr. Slater said he and his six Mexican workers hand picked some cranberries just for us.  He suggested Lana and I come into the "store" to make desired purchases and then head out to the bogs to see the berries.

 Mr. Slater and his crew not only had fresh berries for us, but also had Slate's Cranberry Sauce, Slate's Cranberry Chutney, Slate's Cranberry Jam and Slate's Cranberry Juice.  Needless to say we purchased multiple items.




Mr. Slater was so pleased to host our visit... and we enjoyed getting to know him.  Unfortunately, he had a Komatsu excavator and a Case backhoe loader on the property.  I asked him why he didn't have a Caterpillar.  In response, he said Cat's fuel economy was bad.  I dropped the subject.

Every day brings more vibrant colors.  Today was the best yet!  We both praised God for the beauty of his creation!

While eating at Chez Piggy in Kingston I ordered a beer from a small, family run local brewery.  It was very good... so we decided to make a stop on our way to Montreal.  Beau's Brewery is located in VanKleet Hill.  After tasting a few beer samples we headed out for lunch at Niko's cafe... the only restaurant open for lunch in little VanKleet Hill.  It became apparent very quickly that the locals don't get many visitors from out of town.  They were all very friendly, but kept looking at us while eating lunch and talking very quietly.

We arrived in Old Montreal mid afternoon.  Did laundry and watched American Football!  More in a couple days!

Kingston Ontario - Stop 4

Rain Rain go away.....come again another day.....today we hit our first rainy day in Kingston, Ont.  It did put a damper on Lana's plans to go on a boat trip on the St. Lawrence River, but it didn't stop us from putting on the raincoats and exploring the city.

  Pat ended up buying a new one since he didn't have one and the umbrellas kept turning inside out.  Crazy Americans.   Kingston is a quaint river town, once the capitol of Canada, but the Queen of England decided it was too close to the USA so changed the location to Ottawa.  Are we really that scary?  We explored the wet farmer's market, did some shopping, and ate at a wonderful cafe called Chez Piggy.  The food was delicious and the ambiance awesome in an old stone part of the city.

We kept walking for our exercise so we could eat more maple syrup products from Canada.  The maple cream cookies are really too good to even describe.  Lana fell coming out of a shop and missed the top step....good thing she didn't break anything and seems fine...Thank you Lord for protection.
The Canadians have all been really friendly and helpful so far....wonder what they will be like in the bigger cities to come.  Made a mistake on Prince Edward Island yesterday... it is NOT the Prince Edward Island (with Anne of Green Gables although it looked like it could be).  It was called Prince Edward County.   Oh well.....Canada is named after Princes, Kings, Queens, Princesses etc.....can't keep them all straight.
After a quick stop at a grocery, we have decided to relax and do nothing this afternoon...thank God for rainy days after all....we get to rest.  

From Niagara Falls to Kingston Ontario

We hate to leave Niagara Falls.  We had such a great time!

Since our last post, we enjoyed a great dinner overlooking the Falls at night... lit up by a full moon.  We each enjoyed a glass of wine from the local vineyards (Reisling & Shiraz).  The next morning.... we headed out to visit Jackson Triggs Winery.   Wines in this region are most famous for their white wines... but also have some very good years for red wines.  Good years for red wines are when the falls are warmer than usual.  The wines in this area are also famous for their Ice Wines.  Made from frozen grapes.  Very sweet!  We got a personal tour of the winery... some time at the tasting bar... and left with a bottle of Syrah & Gewurztraminer.

After the winery, we had lunch at the Red Rooster in Niagara on the Lakes... a small community near Niagara Falls.  (Lana has done an outstanding job finding all the best stops!  No better planner anywhere!  So glad I married her!)

After lunch we came back to the hotel, got on our bikes and headed out for a 12 mile bike ride.  It was a beautiful afternoon (high near 70 and sunny).  The trees are starting to turn yellow and red.  Drove out of town along the river and then to a Botanical Garden.  God's beauty is everywhere to see.

Got back in town in time to jump on board the "Maiden of the Mist" boat that provides you with a rain poncho... and then takes you up and into the Niagara Falls... to feel the power and energy of the Falls!  For a time it feels as though you are in the middle of a hurricane!

After the boat trip... it was time for a short rest before dinner.  We ate dinner at a local Farm to Market restaurant... The Syndicate.  We ate outside on their patio enjoying one of the last nights to enjoy eating outside.

Then back to the hotel to get some rest... following a very busy day!  (Only to be woken up at 11:30pm by hotel staff asking us if we needed a toilet plunger!  :)  They had the wrong room! )

On Friday morning we took off for Kingston, Ontario with stops in Port Hope and Bloomfield along the way.  (more sights identified by my professional trip planner).

If we don't make it home... please contact the local Canadian Authorities.  We ended up taking a toll road around Toronto designed only for Ontario residents.  We didn't realize it until we were already on the toll road.  We saw a sign that said if you are not a Ontario resident, the hidden cameras will take a picture of your rear license plate and send you the bill.  Since we have both bikes mounted on the back... it is very difficult to see the plate.  Might be Fugitives soon!

September is salmon spawning season in Canada.  During our stop in Port Hope, we got to see the salmon working their way upstream.  What an amazing thing to see!

We also had to make a stop at Slickers homemade ice cream shop in Bloomfield as we were driving through Prince Edward Island.  The island really does remind you of Anne of Green Gables ( this is Lana writing now)  We had to take a free car ferry to get off the island, which was amazing to do.  How many US ferris are free?  We are now settled in the college town of Kingston on the St. Lawrence River.  It is supposed to rain all day.....and we were hoping to go on a 2 hour boat ride.....we may just relax and go see a movie.  Time to be flexible.  love to all who are reading this....:)