We hit the road and could travel over mostly 4 lane roads. The tar was patchy and bumpy like our winters give us. We paid 1.05 CN dollars a liter for gas, best deal we found here. That is about 3.60$ per gallon. We got into town and headed down to the wharf for the tall ships. The largest was a 284 ton three master carrying a crew of 33. There are some regulars on the crew, but there are quite a few for only two weeks. A gal from Chicago, 43 told us another lady 69 years old had been on since November, but she was only there for the two weeks. We toured the boat; alternate power was a diesel engine. But a neat vessel. Shirleen could not get over the many coils of rope that were used in the sails. We got to look over the upper deck and could see beneath decks was cramped. There were three other vessels. Two newer one with two sails and only two visible boat hands. Then there was an old maybe 60 foot two sail boat, looked like an old seafaring war ship. The men looked tough from the sea and life they live. We were able to watch them set to sea. As they were pushing off, the boats man, got his lines undone in the wrong order. This caused the captain to swear profusely at him but the worst was yet to come. This hand was on the pier and the boat was getting further away so he was pulling it in and the captain was worried about hitting the pier with the bow, then he realized the hand was too far from the boat to get on and he pulled it closer then the captain said get on. Well the deck hand jumped into the bat but grabbed for a rope net line and fell against the rail of the boat. He had a tough time getting to come to and a couple guys grabbed him and hauled him on board. He looked pretty peaked and walked around the deck trying to shake it off. Not sure what happened next as they went to the other side of the bay.
We decided to eat at the restaurant attached to the hotel. With a town of 3,400 people not much of a selection for restaurants. They had a special on wings, an 8 rating, good onion rings and four of them had fish and chips, heavily breaded haddock with French fires. I, Jerr, had a pan fried haddock fillet with fresh fried veggies and sweet potato fries. I made the best choice this time. Along with some Stella Artois beer a good meal everything considered. Our mission tomorrow is to see if the McDonalds across the street has A McLobster roll sandwich. We have it on creditable tales, Jim’s brother Mike, said they have them and we did see a sign stating that fact. But we will have to check it out further. Tomorrow we head to the north east part of Nova Scotia, Sydney and come back around the north side of the inner lake. jerr
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Wednesday July 18 off to Saint John’s New Brunswick Day 5
What was forgotten about our first day activity? As we were traveling through the slow part of Chicago we were going to cross to another highway. Dave’s GPS said to go right, even though we knew better we followed its guidance. Well it took us off road a eighth of a block but through a toll stop. The toll stop was unmanned and the right two slots were for the I-pass, a card reader for prepaid toll’s, we blew through the I-pass lanes, all three of us. Being second I noticed the mistake as they had a change booth to the left. Being the concerned citizens we are and having seen a sign that had a website indicating it can be used for paying toll offenses we logged on that evening. We three had to give a credit card number to pay the thirty cents that we didn’t deposit. We even got a think you from the state for our response, automated of course. We thought we will be coming back through there and they will probably photo catch our cars.
We hit the trail out of spendy Bar Harbor and to the north woods of Maine. The traffic was light and easy except for a couple of maneuvers. The border crossing went without a hitch. Where are you going, how long are you going to be gone, do you have any liquor or tobacco? I said a small bottle of wine and she said get going. We went up the street slowly and I passed a white Corvette, I said Hi, he said a real nice way to travel isn’t it? I said it sure was. We then proceeded to stop at the corner light, wrong lane for going straight ahead, but went anyhow. Picked up some New Brunswick material to read.
It is funny to travel at a 110 K/Hr, 70 MPH, but seems faster. We made good time to our Mariners Inn in Chance Bay, 10 miles outside St. John NB. It was about 7 miles in and off the road. Turns out to be on a bay with the high tides of the Bay of Fundy. Its highest tide is 53 feet, what a change of depth. The Inn was high off the bay with its ruggedness beneath us and the pines surrounding the small Inn. The accommodations were breath taking, rooms with lace this and that, bed facing the open window overlooking the bay. They had evening meals available and we decided to eat in.
But before that we decided to go to the reversing falls in St. John. During high tide the water rushes into the river at 2.2 million gallons per second. In a small narrows the water rushes around the large rocks and produces eddy currents and whirlpools. It is a neat sight. Shirleen saw Sam the seal in the bay. We then traveled to the city as we saw a city market. This market sells fresh meats, veggies, cheese, paintings, and much more. I struck up a conversation with a meat cutter, he said have you ever tried DULSE? I said what he said this and picked up a handful. I could see it was dried seaweed. I took some and began to chew it and chew it and chew it. Shirleen tried it but found a garbage container to discard it. It is salty and tough. The sign said: it is a vegetable grown at low tide, grown on rocks, harvested by hand and sun dried for 6 hours. They had it in bags and bulk. As the guy said you have to acquire a taste for it. They eat it like potato chips or toasted and used in soups and salads as a seasoning. It is harvested from June to November.
They have a nice city central park and its inhabitants were finding their spot for the night. A couple statues adorned the grounds along with a large metal cupola; the garden was decked out in many flower gardens. We then went past St John’s Church, an Anglican church made out of ships ballast. Four pretty balusters that supposedly had carved heads of many parishioners on its gables. Back to the Inn 25 minutes away, but a fun curvy road to follow.
We arrived in time for our 7 pm meal. We had placed the order before we all left for downtown. Shirleen had the haddock special, Pat the seafood bisque, Dave and Jim the haddock special and I a seafood – lobster, shrimp, scallops and haddock stuffed cannelloni with ricotta cheese. Wine to go around and Dave and Pat had a two layer chocolate cake with a filling of hazelnut and cheese filling. What a treat all had. The chef and a picture of the bay can be found at marinerstable.com. The night was cool and the patter of rain hit our sliding glass window sometime during the night. The breakfast was coffee and breads with delicious strawberry and orange marmalade jams. Off to Hawkesbury Nova Scotia. Jerr
We hit the trail out of spendy Bar Harbor and to the north woods of Maine. The traffic was light and easy except for a couple of maneuvers. The border crossing went without a hitch. Where are you going, how long are you going to be gone, do you have any liquor or tobacco? I said a small bottle of wine and she said get going. We went up the street slowly and I passed a white Corvette, I said Hi, he said a real nice way to travel isn’t it? I said it sure was. We then proceeded to stop at the corner light, wrong lane for going straight ahead, but went anyhow. Picked up some New Brunswick material to read.
It is funny to travel at a 110 K/Hr, 70 MPH, but seems faster. We made good time to our Mariners Inn in Chance Bay, 10 miles outside St. John NB. It was about 7 miles in and off the road. Turns out to be on a bay with the high tides of the Bay of Fundy. Its highest tide is 53 feet, what a change of depth. The Inn was high off the bay with its ruggedness beneath us and the pines surrounding the small Inn. The accommodations were breath taking, rooms with lace this and that, bed facing the open window overlooking the bay. They had evening meals available and we decided to eat in.
But before that we decided to go to the reversing falls in St. John. During high tide the water rushes into the river at 2.2 million gallons per second. In a small narrows the water rushes around the large rocks and produces eddy currents and whirlpools. It is a neat sight. Shirleen saw Sam the seal in the bay. We then traveled to the city as we saw a city market. This market sells fresh meats, veggies, cheese, paintings, and much more. I struck up a conversation with a meat cutter, he said have you ever tried DULSE? I said what he said this and picked up a handful. I could see it was dried seaweed. I took some and began to chew it and chew it and chew it. Shirleen tried it but found a garbage container to discard it. It is salty and tough. The sign said: it is a vegetable grown at low tide, grown on rocks, harvested by hand and sun dried for 6 hours. They had it in bags and bulk. As the guy said you have to acquire a taste for it. They eat it like potato chips or toasted and used in soups and salads as a seasoning. It is harvested from June to November.
They have a nice city central park and its inhabitants were finding their spot for the night. A couple statues adorned the grounds along with a large metal cupola; the garden was decked out in many flower gardens. We then went past St John’s Church, an Anglican church made out of ships ballast. Four pretty balusters that supposedly had carved heads of many parishioners on its gables. Back to the Inn 25 minutes away, but a fun curvy road to follow.
We arrived in time for our 7 pm meal. We had placed the order before we all left for downtown. Shirleen had the haddock special, Pat the seafood bisque, Dave and Jim the haddock special and I a seafood – lobster, shrimp, scallops and haddock stuffed cannelloni with ricotta cheese. Wine to go around and Dave and Pat had a two layer chocolate cake with a filling of hazelnut and cheese filling. What a treat all had. The chef and a picture of the bay can be found at marinerstable.com. The night was cool and the patter of rain hit our sliding glass window sometime during the night. The breakfast was coffee and breads with delicious strawberry and orange marmalade jams. Off to Hawkesbury Nova Scotia. Jerr
Tuesday July 17 off to Bar Harbor Maine Day 4
We pulled into this nice little seaside area and Dave hail down a cop. Ask where to park and he said to eat at The Landings Restaurant and Marina right alongside the parking area and next to the police station. I had a fried clam roll with homemade potato chips served in a paper bag which absorbed the fat from them but looked really gross and fatty, they were not hot and fresh like Chips in Ankeny Iowa. The others had the lobster roll with chips. The sandwich was much smaller than they were 20 years ago and cost much more. Walking back to the cars we noticed some novice painters painting the marina scene. Pat had a nice chat with them.
That evening we asked the desk clerk where to eat freshly prepared lobster? We are pointed back 4 miles to a roadside restaurant considered one of the best live preps in the Bar Harbor area. Dave ate a 4 lb lobster and I had a 3 lb lobster, the gals a lb lobster as was Jims. Of course we had a bag of mahogany clams to go with it. The table looked like a battle zone, we feel we won as body parts of those lobsters were strewn all over with butter running freely down every morsel that hit our mouth. Some ate sweet corn some had coleslaw. This was a great stop, looked like a dump and had wood picnic tables with old rubberized table cloths. We had to take a run to the grocery store to get some wine for the dinner. That was fine as we had to wait 25 minutes for the lobsters to cook. It is different to see the food alive before you eat it but that didn’t slow us down.
After that our journey went to downtown Bar Harbor. Has that changed over the last 20 years, walked around and had a beverage. The old large houses bring charm to that area. jerr
That evening we asked the desk clerk where to eat freshly prepared lobster? We are pointed back 4 miles to a roadside restaurant considered one of the best live preps in the Bar Harbor area. Dave ate a 4 lb lobster and I had a 3 lb lobster, the gals a lb lobster as was Jims. Of course we had a bag of mahogany clams to go with it. The table looked like a battle zone, we feel we won as body parts of those lobsters were strewn all over with butter running freely down every morsel that hit our mouth. Some ate sweet corn some had coleslaw. This was a great stop, looked like a dump and had wood picnic tables with old rubberized table cloths. We had to take a run to the grocery store to get some wine for the dinner. That was fine as we had to wait 25 minutes for the lobsters to cook. It is different to see the food alive before you eat it but that didn’t slow us down.
After that our journey went to downtown Bar Harbor. Has that changed over the last 20 years, walked around and had a beverage. The old large houses bring charm to that area. jerr
Monday July 16 off to Concord New Hampshire Day 3
Off earlish for the next point. We ate at another Burger King, about enough of them. The roads the last half of the trip were two lanes and the scenery much like northern Minnesota but more hills and valleys. We stopped at a small village, girls went shopping and the men split. Some went for ice cream and some for malt beverages. Being with the latter we found a brew pub. We were served a sampler, some good some not so good. They did not carry Schell’s, I asked. Off down the two lane roads again. Had a semi pull to much into my lane but just moved to my right and he jerked back to his side. No increase in my heart rate at all but different. That night we ate at the Common Man in Concord. It was a homey restaurant, Dave ordered escargot (snails) and I mussels. The men ate them and Jim said it was a first for him. Shirleen had a filet mignon, Pat salmon, Dave and Jim scallops, Jerry macaroni and 4 cheeses. Meals were decent, salmon was a little dry. Off to bed. - jerr
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Sunday July 15 off to Niagara Falls Day 2
We start off early for the Falls. We enter Ontario coming out through Port Huron. Easy check through. We did another Burger King thing at noon, I ordered the wrong thing a crispy chicken club with ukky bacon on a sandwich. It’s a pretty long drive but we made it mid day to the Falls. We are on the Canadian side where the picture taking horseshoe falls. It was a sun lite day as we meandered the heavy crowd. The wall to the falls passed many colorful flower gardens. The view of the American side falls is a ridge beneath it layered with many broken large rocks with beautiful splashing water. The wisps of water go up and many rainbows are generated. I talked the group into walking up to the head of the main falls. From there one sees the full power of the water going over the falls. The view up the river is just plain assume.
Dinner this evening was at another Italian restaurant, La Bruschetta, in an unassuming area of Niagara Falls, three businesses down from where we were staying. We ordered appetizers: parmesan and sausage stuffed yellow peppers, and bruschetta with tomatoes and blue cheese finished by a couple Heinekens and an order of veal with spinach and a red sauce with ziti pasta with a white sauce. Just great.
Dinner this evening was at another Italian restaurant, La Bruschetta, in an unassuming area of Niagara Falls, three businesses down from where we were staying. We ordered appetizers: parmesan and sausage stuffed yellow peppers, and bruschetta with tomatoes and blue cheese finished by a couple Heinekens and an order of veal with spinach and a red sauce with ziti pasta with a white sauce. Just great.
Saturday July 14 Saturday off to Kalamazoo Day 1
Saturday July 14 Saturday off to Kalamazoo Day 1
The trip started at 6:30 am for the east coast. Jim H. and Pat and Dave met at The Happy Chef”. We stopped first at the Wisc rest stop right over the boarder for a convenience stop. Off for the east. The next stop through the lower hills of Wisc and a stop for fuel, car and people. When we were filling the cars in Janesville Wisc a voice came over the CB “what are you people from Mankato up to”. Turned out to be the three cars from twin cities that we were to meet in Kalamazoo later that afternoon. Ate at Burger King, enough said. Now we are headed to Chicago. We stayed in groups of three. The traffic was horrific for a Saturday, we drove really slowly as we passed through town. Then off we were to Kalamazoo. We found a neat place to eat, of course, at a Italian restaurant called Bennuchi’s right across the street from the motel. We had a starter of crab cakes, on a scale of 0 – 10, a 3 too much breading. The freshly made potato chips were good. Shirleen, Dave S. and I had parmesan crusted whitefish, a great choice with more fish to come. jerr
The trip started at 6:30 am for the east coast. Jim H. and Pat and Dave met at The Happy Chef”. We stopped first at the Wisc rest stop right over the boarder for a convenience stop. Off for the east. The next stop through the lower hills of Wisc and a stop for fuel, car and people. When we were filling the cars in Janesville Wisc a voice came over the CB “what are you people from Mankato up to”. Turned out to be the three cars from twin cities that we were to meet in Kalamazoo later that afternoon. Ate at Burger King, enough said. Now we are headed to Chicago. We stayed in groups of three. The traffic was horrific for a Saturday, we drove really slowly as we passed through town. Then off we were to Kalamazoo. We found a neat place to eat, of course, at a Italian restaurant called Bennuchi’s right across the street from the motel. We had a starter of crab cakes, on a scale of 0 – 10, a 3 too much breading. The freshly made potato chips were good. Shirleen, Dave S. and I had parmesan crusted whitefish, a great choice with more fish to come. jerr
Monday, July 16, 2007
Why no Blog July 16, 2007
Well the first day we did 583 miles, ate and went to bed. Next day to Niagra Falls beautiful powerful falls long lines in check points at boarder. Got to motel and ate and it is 1030. Up at 6 breakfast at 7 wheels up at 730. No time to get in depth about some neat eatteries but later. Today to New Hampshire, Concord. Going through the hills and some spectacular scenery.
jerr
jerr
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
