Gananoque (gan-a-knock-quay), Ontario, is where we stayed the night and spent the day. It’s located on the St. Lawrence and is a lovely town geared up for summer residents and tourists and a few geese (Canada geese of course.) On our morning stroll through one of the parks we snapped this photo of the mothers teaching the young ones how to poop where people walk. So thoughtful!
John & Patty on the Road
Sunday, June 11, 2023
Last Day
Saturday, June 10, 2023
Westward Ho!
We were sorry to leave the Eastern Provinces of Quebec where the people are so friendly, villages look like villages, and the storefronts are all full of thriving small businesses. Could this be because of franchise restrictions? Even a Tim Horton’s was nowhere in sight but there were plenty of busy small coffee shops. Before leaving this morning we stopped at one of the best bakeries I’ve ever been to (Boulangerie Pâtisserie Canaël in Bromont, Quebec in case you’re ever up that way) for coffee & a treat. It’s probably a good thing thing we drove away before I had a chance to get seconds and maybe even thirds.
Tonight we’re back in Ontario where there are lots of franchises which we almost never support. However, when we stopped for gas this afternoon we decided to treat ourselves to an A&W root beer float. It sounded so good and we are on vacation after all. Unbelievably, John was told they no longer make them. Really??!! A&W not making root beer floats?! We left empty handed but perhaps our waistlines were better off.
Today the one thing on our agenda, other than getting to tonight’s B&B, was to stop at John & John’s favorite store, Lee Valley Tools. What did they buy? Shackles and walrus oil. I leave you to wonder why.
Finally at our B&B a photo worth sharing. It’s the first time we’ve ever stayed at a B&B with a pool table outside our bedroom door. Judy is the judge. John is winning. John is loosing. Lucky for the pool table, no damage was done.Friday, June 9, 2023
A Great LP Day
Thursday, June 8, 2023
Hello Canada!
Wednesday, June 7, 2023
A Rainy Day in Vermont
First - a correction from yesterday… the covered bridge is the longest double span bridge in the world which means it has one stone support in the middle. Yikes! Just knowing it was wide enough for 2 vehicles was enough for me.
Second - everyone wants to know about the smoke pollution where we are which is Jeffersonville, Vermont. The AirNow app reports only “moderate” for here whereas at home at 6 p.m. it was reported as “hazardous” although it’s been upgraded to “unhealthy”. Guess we were lucky to have left when we did.
Now back to the blog news…
This first photo is near where we’re staying. Some talented artist has painted circular murals on the sides of two old barn silos. Although not in the photo, John is somewhere off in the field pointing at this one. He thinks the Zahns should take note and get some art on their old silos.
From there it was shopping - woolen mill, artist coop, cookware store and a bit of food and music in Burlington which was having a jazz fest.
Having already been to the Shelburne Museum, we opted to visit the 1,400 acre Shelburne Farms which was the agricultural estate of Lila Vanderbilt and William Seward Webb in the late 1800s. Olmsted was hired to landscape the farm and Robertson hired to design the buildings.
This magnificent building, believe it or not is the barn. At the time it was built it was the largest barn in the U.S. Although it still has a few animals living there, it now also houses a cheese making operation, a bakery/cafe, a woodworking shop, and educational space. The general public is not allowed to drive there so you can either walk the 3/4 mile or ride in a wagon pulled by a tractor. (We rode. It was raining after all!.)
This was the Webb’s home which has now been converted to an inn with 24 guest rooms. It overlooks beautiful formal gardens (one reason I wanted to visit) and both the Inn and gardens overlook Lake Champlain. The inside is just as beautiful and, although the guest rooms aren’t open for general viewing, we were encouraged to look at them online on a big screen rather than a phone. Eighty percent of the furnishings are original to the house. Hopefully this means the mattresses have indeed been replaced somewhere along the line!
Heading into Canada & Louise Penny sites tomorrow!
Tuesday, June 6, 2023
News of the Day
First destination, the American Precision Museum in Windsor, someplace Bruce has been promoting for years. To be honest we found the exhibits a bit scattered and some of us (do I dare say the female contingent?) found them a bit boring as well. However, the exhibits are soon being completely redesigned so improvements are on the way. I don’t envy anyone who has to move those heavy machines even an inch. My personal favorite, definitely not heavy, was this typewriter.
As for other touristy things we stopped at today…. the Vermont Country Store; the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory (where do they get the cream - in all of Vermont, we’ve only spotted 4 cows!); the King Arthur Flour store where we got, you guessed it, some flour. (We haven’t seen any wheat fields either!) The day by taking the road north past the Stowe ski area and through Smugglers Notch on this insane, twisty, steep, uphill, downhill, almost one lane road. No wonder the tavern in the Inn where we’re staying at the north end of that road is so popular. Making it up that road alive is definitely a cause for celebration!
Friday, September 23, 2022
Goodbye Maine, New Hampshire & Massachusetts! Hello New York!!!
What did we do the last day of our trip? Drive… in traffic. Newfoundland had spoiled us with few cars on the road. That’s us in the photo - John K at the wheel & Judy’s foot on the left and .John G & my foot on the right. At that moment we were in Maine about to go over the bridge into New Hampshire.
We did stop for lunch in Haverhill across the street from one of the old brick mills. The shoe my fellow travelers are standing behind is one of several created by artists to celebrate Haverhill’s shoe history. Ten percent of the nation’s shoes were produced here, We didn’t take time to look for others but it might be fun to do at another time. And, because we didn’t dally we’re now home surrounded by our purring felines. John & Judy will return to their home in New Jersey in the morning.
The last word of the day… maw-mouth = a loud, talkative fellow. “I was fit to be tied when this maw-mouth began bragging about all the places he had been.”
I’ve prepared a little summary using the new Newfoundland words for those of you who have followed our trip to the end…
Newfoundland - where you can bake ‘alibut in a hoven and ‘unt for moose. When we started our trip you folks might have thought we were nunny-fudgers rather than serious tourists. Judy & Patty were especially studious in gift shops to keep a sharp eye out for the odd loodle-laddle while the Johns kept a keen eye out for places to eat so we wouldn’t get gut-foundered. You’ll be happy to know nothing was asquish at any place we stayed. Things may not stay that way as the pecking rain is predicted to turn into a hurricane. No nippers bit us and our kirkhorns and wizens remained healthy. On the way home Judy & Patty turned into twacks which was a sad state of affairs. Finally arriving at home, we curwibbled from the car. Whizgigging while squatting through the door with our luggage, we were greeted by our cats who didn’t look at all sure they had actually missed us. Although we missed our fourer, Patty put on the hot ass for a nice cup of tea. Froozies or bangbellies might have been good but NY has yet to discover these treats. Meanwhile John & John contemplated a pinky but knew if they indulged they might be spending the night in puppy’s parlour. If you see any of us in the coming days, don’t let us maw-mouth about the trip.
We hope you too will someday be able to enjoy Newfoundland. We were recently told that probably the best time to visit is the last two weeks in August unless you’re going moose ‘untin’ of course.