Day 63
October 18, 2010
Today began clear, but later turned to scattered clouds. We traveled from Washington, PA, to Gallipolis, OH. We passed through a sliver of West Virginia before crossing the Ohio River into Ohio. We then turned south and the remainder of our trip was along the Ohio River. We are camped at the Gallia County Fairgrounds. There are only three other rigs in camp. We are towards the south end of the campground with a great view. We rested the remainder of the day.
Day 64
October 19, 2010
Gallipolis, OH
Today has been partly cloudy, but it got warm enough that a jacket wasn’t needed. Gallipolis is the town where Corinne’s Maternal Great Grandfather was born. We thought that as long as we were sort of in the area, it would be an opportunity to try to find out some information on him and the family. We drove into town looking for the County Court House. While driving down Main St, Corinne spotted their Historical & Genealogical Society. We stopped and found a goldmine. They told us that several people had been doing research on the George Family, and they gave us phone numbers for three of them. We also found some information in a couple of books that may be leads to other family members. They also have copies of all the Birth, Marriage, & Death records from the County Probate office. Our primary interest was birth records, however, Ohio didn’t keep those records prior to 1864. We needed the 1850’s. The lady at the society gave us some tips of places to sight see while in town. After leaving the Society, we drove around the town looking at the old buildings and some sights along the Ohio River. The town of Gallipolis was founded as a French Settlement in 1790.
Day 65
October 20, 2010
We left Gallipolis this morning, heading over to Kentucky. The first part of our trip along the Ohio River was very foggy, so we didn’t see much of the river. We went through another small piece of West Virginia before entering Kentucky. At about 12;30 pm, we arrived at the RV Park at the Kentucky Horse Farm in Lexington. We met old friends from Orange County, Al & Tine Grajalba. They now live in Richmond, KY. This is the last outing for them, as they are selling their motorhome. It was nice to see them, as it has been over a year since we last saw them. After setting up, we just sat around camp catching up and relaxing. We went into town for dinner.
Day 66
October 21, 2010
This morning, we all slept in, then spent most of the day visiting. I also did a little work on the motorhome. We have developed a list of things that need work when we get home. After almost 3 years with only some minor work to be done, I guess we’re due for some bigger issues. Al & Tine made a batch of chili and we added corn bread and fruit for dinner in our rig tonight
Day 67
October 22, 2010
We said our good byes to Al & Tine this morning and started our trip home in earnest. We have no planned stops from here to home, so unless we find something exciting that we haven’t run across in our earlier travels, this will be our last blog entry until we arrive home. We’ve had a great trip despite all the rain. We also made some new rving friends that we hope to meet again out on the road.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Days 60 - 62
Day 60
October 15, 2010
Niagara Falls, ON
We awoke to a partly cloudy but cool morning. We boarded our tour bus at 8:30 am, for a guided tour of the Niagara Falls area. Our first stop was to get a permit for the bus to drive on the Niagara Parkway. Then we headed for the Mount Carmel Monestary and Spiritual Centre. One of the Friars gave us an explanation for the wood carvings, stained glass windows, and flooring in the chapel. This order of Friars was established in the 1500’s. Our next stop was an overlook of the falls. We were able to get within about 15’ of where the water went over the edge. When then went to the town of Niagara on the lake. We were on our own here. Most everyone found places to eat lunch, then there was time to wonder around town to sightsee or shop. Corinne found a Christmas store. Need I say more. After leaving Niagara on the Lake, we stopped at Pickard’s Peanuts. They had just about any flavor of peanuts you could think of, and a lot more. Our last stop was St. Catherines, ON, and Lock #3 on the Welland Canal. This canal was built in the 1800’s to allow shipping between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario to bypass Niagara Falls. Prior to the canal, ships were unloaded on one side of the falls, goods transported by carts , wagons, or horseback around the falls, then loaded on other ships. The first canal had 28 locks. The current and 4th build of the canal has 7 locks. Due to high winds making it difficult for ships to navigated the canal, there were no ships locking until this evening, so we missed that. One interesting fact told to us was that when the winds on Lake Erie are out of the west, the water level at the east end of the lake rises 4’ and drops on the west end by 4’. After returning to camp. We could not use the rec hall at the RV park, and it was too cold and windy, so we passed on our usual social time.
Day 61
October 16, 2010
This morning was clear and cool. We gathered for our last day of the tour at the Wagon Masters rig for a Continental Breakfast. We all said our Good Byes to each other, broke camp and began our journey home. We had a short driving day. After crossing the border at Buffalo, NY, we got on to a highway that followed the shore of Lake Erie over to Erie, PA, where we spent the night.
Day 62
October 17, 2010
Today we took another short drive from Erie, PA to Washington, PA. Great weather! It got in to the 70’s. We’re just trying to wind down from a hectic 33 days.
October 15, 2010
Niagara Falls, ON
We awoke to a partly cloudy but cool morning. We boarded our tour bus at 8:30 am, for a guided tour of the Niagara Falls area. Our first stop was to get a permit for the bus to drive on the Niagara Parkway. Then we headed for the Mount Carmel Monestary and Spiritual Centre. One of the Friars gave us an explanation for the wood carvings, stained glass windows, and flooring in the chapel. This order of Friars was established in the 1500’s. Our next stop was an overlook of the falls. We were able to get within about 15’ of where the water went over the edge. When then went to the town of Niagara on the lake. We were on our own here. Most everyone found places to eat lunch, then there was time to wonder around town to sightsee or shop. Corinne found a Christmas store. Need I say more. After leaving Niagara on the Lake, we stopped at Pickard’s Peanuts. They had just about any flavor of peanuts you could think of, and a lot more. Our last stop was St. Catherines, ON, and Lock #3 on the Welland Canal. This canal was built in the 1800’s to allow shipping between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario to bypass Niagara Falls. Prior to the canal, ships were unloaded on one side of the falls, goods transported by carts , wagons, or horseback around the falls, then loaded on other ships. The first canal had 28 locks. The current and 4th build of the canal has 7 locks. Due to high winds making it difficult for ships to navigated the canal, there were no ships locking until this evening, so we missed that. One interesting fact told to us was that when the winds on Lake Erie are out of the west, the water level at the east end of the lake rises 4’ and drops on the west end by 4’. After returning to camp. We could not use the rec hall at the RV park, and it was too cold and windy, so we passed on our usual social time.
Day 61
October 16, 2010
This morning was clear and cool. We gathered for our last day of the tour at the Wagon Masters rig for a Continental Breakfast. We all said our Good Byes to each other, broke camp and began our journey home. We had a short driving day. After crossing the border at Buffalo, NY, we got on to a highway that followed the shore of Lake Erie over to Erie, PA, where we spent the night.
Day 62
October 17, 2010
Today we took another short drive from Erie, PA to Washington, PA. Great weather! It got in to the 70’s. We’re just trying to wind down from a hectic 33 days.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Days 58 - 59
Day 58
October 13, 2010
Today was a travel day from Cooperstown, NY to Niagara Falls, ON. We had good weather for the trip, and the drive was very nice. We reached our destination by a little after noon. The border crossing was the easiest of the 5 crossings we have made so far on this trip. At 4:30 pm, we all carpooled into the falls area to the Skylon Tower. This tower has a rotating tower at 760’ above the ground. It is a couple of blocks back from the Niagara River and has a fantastic view of the cities on both side of the river and the Falls. After dinner, we went up another floor from the restaurant to the observation deck where we waited until 7 pm when they turned on the colored lights on the falls.
Day 59
October 14, 2010
Niagara Falls, ON
We had rain overnight, and it continued all day. It made our day interesting. We started out by carpooling up to the Butterfly Conservatory where we went into a huge dome where butterfly’s were flying freely. It was comfortable in there because they keep it warm for the butterfly’s. After we finished at the Butterfly Conservatory, we were all given passes for the shuttle bus and several venues to do on our own. We left our cars in the parking lot and boarded a shuttle bus that took us to different venues along the Niagara Parkway. Not everyone went to the same venue at the same time. Our first stop was the White Water Walk. We rode an elevator down 236’ to the rivers edge, then walked on a boardwalk along the river. This is an area of huge rapids. The water is traveling at 30 MPH through the canyon. We took the elevator back up and re-boarded the shuttle bus to our next stop, which was the Maid of the Mist boat ride to the falls. We were all given blue ponchos to wear, which were supposed to keep us dry. Between the mist from the falls, the rain, and the wind, they didn’t help much. Back aboard the bus, we went to our next stop, which was a trip behind the falls, but we decided to eat lunch before doing that. After lunch, we went to the behind the falls venue. We were given yellow ponchos to wear. They were more trouble that they were worth. After descending in an elevator, there were three tunnels that we walked through. Two tunnels came out directly behind the falls. All we could see was water coming down and a loud roar. The third tunnel went out side to a platform next to the falls. After this, we rode the shuttle back to the Butterfly Conservatory to get our cars and head back to camp and dry out and get warm. We then had a potluck dinner, which was our last meal as a group.
October 13, 2010
Today was a travel day from Cooperstown, NY to Niagara Falls, ON. We had good weather for the trip, and the drive was very nice. We reached our destination by a little after noon. The border crossing was the easiest of the 5 crossings we have made so far on this trip. At 4:30 pm, we all carpooled into the falls area to the Skylon Tower. This tower has a rotating tower at 760’ above the ground. It is a couple of blocks back from the Niagara River and has a fantastic view of the cities on both side of the river and the Falls. After dinner, we went up another floor from the restaurant to the observation deck where we waited until 7 pm when they turned on the colored lights on the falls.
Day 59
October 14, 2010
Niagara Falls, ON
We had rain overnight, and it continued all day. It made our day interesting. We started out by carpooling up to the Butterfly Conservatory where we went into a huge dome where butterfly’s were flying freely. It was comfortable in there because they keep it warm for the butterfly’s. After we finished at the Butterfly Conservatory, we were all given passes for the shuttle bus and several venues to do on our own. We left our cars in the parking lot and boarded a shuttle bus that took us to different venues along the Niagara Parkway. Not everyone went to the same venue at the same time. Our first stop was the White Water Walk. We rode an elevator down 236’ to the rivers edge, then walked on a boardwalk along the river. This is an area of huge rapids. The water is traveling at 30 MPH through the canyon. We took the elevator back up and re-boarded the shuttle bus to our next stop, which was the Maid of the Mist boat ride to the falls. We were all given blue ponchos to wear, which were supposed to keep us dry. Between the mist from the falls, the rain, and the wind, they didn’t help much. Back aboard the bus, we went to our next stop, which was a trip behind the falls, but we decided to eat lunch before doing that. After lunch, we went to the behind the falls venue. We were given yellow ponchos to wear. They were more trouble that they were worth. After descending in an elevator, there were three tunnels that we walked through. Two tunnels came out directly behind the falls. All we could see was water coming down and a loud roar. The third tunnel went out side to a platform next to the falls. After this, we rode the shuttle back to the Butterfly Conservatory to get our cars and head back to camp and dry out and get warm. We then had a potluck dinner, which was our last meal as a group.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Day 57
October 12, 2010
Bath, NY
After on and off rain last night, we woke to cloudy skies. Our first activity today was a visit to the Glenn Curtiss Museum. This was particularly interesting to us, as Corinne's Grandfather worked for Curtiss building airplane wings, prior to moving to California and Douglas Aircraft. Curtiss was quite the inventor, not only of airplanes, but engines and motorcycles.
Our next stop was a lunch cruise aboard the Esperanza Rose, on Keuka Lake, one of New York's Finger Lakes. The sun was trying to come out, but it was still cool.
After the cruise we visited the Pleasant Vally Winery. This winery was started in 1860, and makes wine & Champagne. They are in their slow time of year for production, but just seeing the old buildings was very interesting. Tomorrow, we head for Niagara Falls, Ontario, the last stop on our tour.
Bath, NY
After on and off rain last night, we woke to cloudy skies. Our first activity today was a visit to the Glenn Curtiss Museum. This was particularly interesting to us, as Corinne's Grandfather worked for Curtiss building airplane wings, prior to moving to California and Douglas Aircraft. Curtiss was quite the inventor, not only of airplanes, but engines and motorcycles.
Our next stop was a lunch cruise aboard the Esperanza Rose, on Keuka Lake, one of New York's Finger Lakes. The sun was trying to come out, but it was still cool.
After the cruise we visited the Pleasant Vally Winery. This winery was started in 1860, and makes wine & Champagne. They are in their slow time of year for production, but just seeing the old buildings was very interesting. Tomorrow, we head for Niagara Falls, Ontario, the last stop on our tour.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Day 56
October 11, 2010
Travel day, Cooperstown, NY to Bath, NY
This morning we woke to cloudy skies. As we traveled to Bath, NY, the sun began to appear. Enroute, we stopped in Corning, NY to tour the Corning Glass Museum. The weather was nice when we went in, but when we came out, it had been raining. We got back to the motor home and got to the RV Park and just as we were finishing setting up it started to rain. We have had thunderstorms rolling through all evening.
Travel day, Cooperstown, NY to Bath, NY
This morning we woke to cloudy skies. As we traveled to Bath, NY, the sun began to appear. Enroute, we stopped in Corning, NY to tour the Corning Glass Museum. The weather was nice when we went in, but when we came out, it had been raining. We got back to the motor home and got to the RV Park and just as we were finishing setting up it started to rain. We have had thunderstorms rolling through all evening.
Days 53 - 55
Day 53
October 8, 2010
Travel Day – Ashland, NH to Cooperstown, NY
Today was a travel day. We left the campground in Ashland at 6:45 AM, as we have a long distance to go, and we wanted to stop enroute in the Albany, NY area to do some family research. We also traveled on our own today. It was still dark when we left, but after stopping for fuel, the sun came out and not a cloud to be seen. As we crossed the mountains in Vermont, there were some very ominus clouds gathering, but after a few miles they disappeared. When we got to Troy, NY, we pulled into the back of the Wal-Mart parking lot and disconnected our car. We left the motor home there while we did our family research. We drove north to the small town of Greenwich, NY to find the Bottskill Baptist Church Cemetery. We had a bad address, but saw a bunch of Churches, so we went by them all, and the last one was what we were looking for. Unfortunately, no one was at the Church, so we just started looking at headstones. Most of them were very overgrown with grass, so we had to do some weeding to read most of them. After cleaning about 60 headstones, we found the 3 we wanted. We took pictures and identified their locations with GPS for future reference. We then headed for Albany, NY. Our drive took us along the Hudson River. We stopped for lunch in Mechanicsville, NY. The Albany Rural Cemetery is a very old and huge cemetery. We found the office, and a very helpful gentleman checked their files and was able to provide precise directions to the graves we were looking for. We actually found eight graves of ancestors. Of course, we had to do more weeding so we could read them. We still had one more cemetery to find, but it was almost 3 PM, and we still had to drive back to Troy to pick up the motor home and drive another 70 miles to get to our campground. We wanted to get there before dark. It’s a good thing we did leave, as the traffic back through Albany was terrible and a traffic accident on the freeway didn’t help. We arrived at the campground about 6:15 PM, and the light was fading fast. Hopefully, we will have some free time to drive back to Nassau, NY before we leave this area on Monday.
Day 54
October 9, 2010
Cooperstown, NY
Today we woke to clear sunny skies, but it was cold, 36 deg. We were given tickets foe three different venues that we could visit at our leisure over the two days we will be in Cooperstown. Corinne was getting one of her Migrain headaches, so we decided to wait a while to see if it would go away. We had planned to visit another cemetery in Canajoharie, NY to look for graves of more ancestors, so I figured this was a good time for me to do that and Corinne stayed in camp. The drive to Canajoharie was about 50 miles round trip. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any luck finding the graves I was looking for. Quite a lot of the old head stones were made of sandstone and were badly eroded and unreadable. Also, there was no one there that I could ask for help, and no contact information was available. After I returned to camp, Corinne was feeling better, but we decided to for go any of the activities today. Later in the afternoon, we went to the social hour where we made grilled cheese sandwiches, and some desserts over a campfire. When it got dark, we all retired to our rigs.
Day 55
October 10, 2010
Cooperstown, NY
Today we woke to another clear but cold morning. That makes three days in a row without rain. First thing this morning, we had our travel meeting for tomorrows travel to Corning And Bath, NY. Mid morning we headed into town to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame. We did not spend much time there as we are not baseball fans. Our next stop was the Farmer’s Museum. They had a lot of old 1800’s farm buildings and equipment to go through. We got to see a demonstration of an old threshing machine. There were docents in period costume in each building to explain what they were doing or showing. We ate lunch at the museum. After the museum, we drove around town a little then headed back to camp. We had our usual social time at 4:30.
October 8, 2010
Travel Day – Ashland, NH to Cooperstown, NY
Today was a travel day. We left the campground in Ashland at 6:45 AM, as we have a long distance to go, and we wanted to stop enroute in the Albany, NY area to do some family research. We also traveled on our own today. It was still dark when we left, but after stopping for fuel, the sun came out and not a cloud to be seen. As we crossed the mountains in Vermont, there were some very ominus clouds gathering, but after a few miles they disappeared. When we got to Troy, NY, we pulled into the back of the Wal-Mart parking lot and disconnected our car. We left the motor home there while we did our family research. We drove north to the small town of Greenwich, NY to find the Bottskill Baptist Church Cemetery. We had a bad address, but saw a bunch of Churches, so we went by them all, and the last one was what we were looking for. Unfortunately, no one was at the Church, so we just started looking at headstones. Most of them were very overgrown with grass, so we had to do some weeding to read most of them. After cleaning about 60 headstones, we found the 3 we wanted. We took pictures and identified their locations with GPS for future reference. We then headed for Albany, NY. Our drive took us along the Hudson River. We stopped for lunch in Mechanicsville, NY. The Albany Rural Cemetery is a very old and huge cemetery. We found the office, and a very helpful gentleman checked their files and was able to provide precise directions to the graves we were looking for. We actually found eight graves of ancestors. Of course, we had to do more weeding so we could read them. We still had one more cemetery to find, but it was almost 3 PM, and we still had to drive back to Troy to pick up the motor home and drive another 70 miles to get to our campground. We wanted to get there before dark. It’s a good thing we did leave, as the traffic back through Albany was terrible and a traffic accident on the freeway didn’t help. We arrived at the campground about 6:15 PM, and the light was fading fast. Hopefully, we will have some free time to drive back to Nassau, NY before we leave this area on Monday.
Day 54
October 9, 2010
Cooperstown, NY
Today we woke to clear sunny skies, but it was cold, 36 deg. We were given tickets foe three different venues that we could visit at our leisure over the two days we will be in Cooperstown. Corinne was getting one of her Migrain headaches, so we decided to wait a while to see if it would go away. We had planned to visit another cemetery in Canajoharie, NY to look for graves of more ancestors, so I figured this was a good time for me to do that and Corinne stayed in camp. The drive to Canajoharie was about 50 miles round trip. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any luck finding the graves I was looking for. Quite a lot of the old head stones were made of sandstone and were badly eroded and unreadable. Also, there was no one there that I could ask for help, and no contact information was available. After I returned to camp, Corinne was feeling better, but we decided to for go any of the activities today. Later in the afternoon, we went to the social hour where we made grilled cheese sandwiches, and some desserts over a campfire. When it got dark, we all retired to our rigs.
Day 55
October 10, 2010
Cooperstown, NY
Today we woke to another clear but cold morning. That makes three days in a row without rain. First thing this morning, we had our travel meeting for tomorrows travel to Corning And Bath, NY. Mid morning we headed into town to visit the Baseball Hall of Fame. We did not spend much time there as we are not baseball fans. Our next stop was the Farmer’s Museum. They had a lot of old 1800’s farm buildings and equipment to go through. We got to see a demonstration of an old threshing machine. There were docents in period costume in each building to explain what they were doing or showing. We ate lunch at the museum. After the museum, we drove around town a little then headed back to camp. We had our usual social time at 4:30.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Days 49 - 52
Day 49
October 4, 2010
Twin Mountain, NH
Today we carpooled to Conway, NH, to ride the Scenic Railway. This was an approximately 50 mile round trip through some very pretty country in the Crawford Notch. If we hadn’t had the heavy wind and rain a few days ago, it would have been even prettier, but a lot of the leaves were off the trees. We made two stops along the way. We were served box lunches on the train. Our group was lucky to have the Observation car, mostly to ourselves. The trip took 5 ½ hours. On the way back to camp, most of the group stopped at the Scarecrow Restaurant for LEO (Let’s Eat Out). The weather also cooperated finally.
Day 50
October 5, 2010
Today was a travel day from Twin Mountain, NH to Ashland, NH. We traveled over the Kancamagus Highway. It was a very pretty drive and had some great views. In the late afternoon, we had a briefing meeting for our next travel day on Friday, followed by a Margarita Party.
Day 51
October 6, 2010
Ashland, NH
This morning, before leaving for today’s activity, I noticed that our patio awning was not all the way retracted. I had it extended a few days ago and it rained, so after our arrival in Ashland, I extended it to let it dry out some more. I retracted it before dark. I tried to bring it back in, but something broke. I didn’t have time to check it out so figured I would take care of it when we returned. We carpooled to Squam Lake, better known as Golden Pond, where we split into two groups and boarded tour boats. The problem was that just as we got situated on the boats, it began to rain. As we got out into the lake, the we were headed into the wind. It turned into a cold, wet, miserable ride. We did get to see the home & docks where “On Golden Pond” was filmed. We were also able to see several Loons on the lake. The lake was very pretty with several small islands with homes on them. I’m sure that it would be a lot prettier if the weather was better. After returning from the boat tour, we went to Walter’s Basin Restaurant for lunch. We were supposed to go to a Natural Science Center, but it was a walk completely outside, so that was scrubbed. When we returned to camp, it was raining to hard to work on the awning. We had our usual Social time followed by pizza provided by the wagon masters. After we ate, we watched the movie “On Golden Pond”. It was neat to watch with what we had seen & learned today fresh in our minds.
Day 52
October 7, 2010
Ashland, NH
The rain continued on and off overnight, but had stopped when we got up. Before we left for today’s activity, I had time to see what was wrong with the awning. Unfortunately, it turned out not to be what I was hoping for, so I had to figure out how to get the awning retracted and secured for the remainder of our trip. The Tail Gunner came by and we came up with a plan of attack for when we got back this afternoon. We then carpooled to Moultonborough, NH to tour the “Castle in the Clouds”. This home was built in 1914 by Thomas Plant, who made his fortune in Women’s shoes. The house sits on top of a hill overlooking several lakes, and sits on 6200 acres. There are several out buildings on the property. After the tour, most of the group did a LEO for lunch at the Corner House Inn in Center Sandwich, NH. After a very nice, leisurely lunch, we headed back to camp. When we got back, there were a couple of guys waiting to help with the awning. Fortunately, the plan of attack that we discussed this morning worked, so the awning is retracted and secure for the rest of the trip.
October 4, 2010
Twin Mountain, NH
Today we carpooled to Conway, NH, to ride the Scenic Railway. This was an approximately 50 mile round trip through some very pretty country in the Crawford Notch. If we hadn’t had the heavy wind and rain a few days ago, it would have been even prettier, but a lot of the leaves were off the trees. We made two stops along the way. We were served box lunches on the train. Our group was lucky to have the Observation car, mostly to ourselves. The trip took 5 ½ hours. On the way back to camp, most of the group stopped at the Scarecrow Restaurant for LEO (Let’s Eat Out). The weather also cooperated finally.
Day 50
October 5, 2010
Today was a travel day from Twin Mountain, NH to Ashland, NH. We traveled over the Kancamagus Highway. It was a very pretty drive and had some great views. In the late afternoon, we had a briefing meeting for our next travel day on Friday, followed by a Margarita Party.
Day 51
October 6, 2010
Ashland, NH
This morning, before leaving for today’s activity, I noticed that our patio awning was not all the way retracted. I had it extended a few days ago and it rained, so after our arrival in Ashland, I extended it to let it dry out some more. I retracted it before dark. I tried to bring it back in, but something broke. I didn’t have time to check it out so figured I would take care of it when we returned. We carpooled to Squam Lake, better known as Golden Pond, where we split into two groups and boarded tour boats. The problem was that just as we got situated on the boats, it began to rain. As we got out into the lake, the we were headed into the wind. It turned into a cold, wet, miserable ride. We did get to see the home & docks where “On Golden Pond” was filmed. We were also able to see several Loons on the lake. The lake was very pretty with several small islands with homes on them. I’m sure that it would be a lot prettier if the weather was better. After returning from the boat tour, we went to Walter’s Basin Restaurant for lunch. We were supposed to go to a Natural Science Center, but it was a walk completely outside, so that was scrubbed. When we returned to camp, it was raining to hard to work on the awning. We had our usual Social time followed by pizza provided by the wagon masters. After we ate, we watched the movie “On Golden Pond”. It was neat to watch with what we had seen & learned today fresh in our minds.
Day 52
October 7, 2010
Ashland, NH
The rain continued on and off overnight, but had stopped when we got up. Before we left for today’s activity, I had time to see what was wrong with the awning. Unfortunately, it turned out not to be what I was hoping for, so I had to figure out how to get the awning retracted and secured for the remainder of our trip. The Tail Gunner came by and we came up with a plan of attack for when we got back this afternoon. We then carpooled to Moultonborough, NH to tour the “Castle in the Clouds”. This home was built in 1914 by Thomas Plant, who made his fortune in Women’s shoes. The house sits on top of a hill overlooking several lakes, and sits on 6200 acres. There are several out buildings on the property. After the tour, most of the group did a LEO for lunch at the Corner House Inn in Center Sandwich, NH. After a very nice, leisurely lunch, we headed back to camp. When we got back, there were a couple of guys waiting to help with the awning. Fortunately, the plan of attack that we discussed this morning worked, so the awning is retracted and secure for the rest of the trip.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Days 47 - 48
Day 47
October 2, 2010
Twin Mountain, NH
Finally, no rain, but the day started out cloudy and cold. It was 36 deg. When we woke up. Today, we rode the Cog Railway to the top of Mt. Washington. The road up to the Train Station was closed due to one of the rivers flooding, so we had to detour up a one lane forest road. We were fortunate to get the old steam engine. The run up to the summit (6288 ft elevation) was 3 miles, and took a little more than an hour. The steepest grade on the ride to the top is 37.41 %. As we reached the summit, we broke through the clouds. It was clear blue sky and cold. Starting several hundred feet below the summit, plants, rocks, and anything else above ground level was coated in ice. The temperature at the summit while we were there was 24 deg, with a wind chill of 5 deg. The wind varied between 40 & 60 MPH. It was so clear, we could see the Atlantic Ocean. The highest velocity wind ever recorded in the US was 231 MPH at the summit of Mt. Washington in April 1934. The annual average snowfall is 177 inches, and the average wind speed is 37 MPH. The engine is not physically connected to the passenger car. There is a roller on the front of the engine that pushes on a plate mounted on the rear of the car. On the trip down, the brakeman operates two large wheels in the passenger car that are the brakes. At times, the engine & the car separate a few inches. After leaving the Cog Railway, the regular road was now open as the flooded river had subsided. We were on our own for the rest of the day. Several of us went to the Mt. Washington Hotel. This is one of several old Hotels that were built back in the early 1900’s for the wealthy to vacation. We had originally planned on eating lunch there, but the meal prices were very high, so we went to a local restaurant. After lunch we took it easy. Several of us played Mexican Train after dinner.
Day 48
October 3, 2010
Twin Mountain, NH
Today turned out to have great weather. It was cool, but clear and a lot of sunshine. Our first stop today was the Gondola ride up Mt. Cannon. The cars hold 80 people in standing room only. At the top were several short walking trails that several of our people took. We had a great view of the area from there. After we came down of the mountain, we were on our own for lunch. Most of us drove down to the little town of North Woodstock and ate in one of the local restaurants. After lunch, we all met at the Flume Gorge. This in an area that is hard to describe, but basically, the river has worn a high, narrow gorge in the granite. It is quite picturesque. We spent most of the afternoon at the gorge. Several of us went out to eat at a small Seafood Restaurant in Littleton, NH for dinner.
October 2, 2010
Twin Mountain, NH
Finally, no rain, but the day started out cloudy and cold. It was 36 deg. When we woke up. Today, we rode the Cog Railway to the top of Mt. Washington. The road up to the Train Station was closed due to one of the rivers flooding, so we had to detour up a one lane forest road. We were fortunate to get the old steam engine. The run up to the summit (6288 ft elevation) was 3 miles, and took a little more than an hour. The steepest grade on the ride to the top is 37.41 %. As we reached the summit, we broke through the clouds. It was clear blue sky and cold. Starting several hundred feet below the summit, plants, rocks, and anything else above ground level was coated in ice. The temperature at the summit while we were there was 24 deg, with a wind chill of 5 deg. The wind varied between 40 & 60 MPH. It was so clear, we could see the Atlantic Ocean. The highest velocity wind ever recorded in the US was 231 MPH at the summit of Mt. Washington in April 1934. The annual average snowfall is 177 inches, and the average wind speed is 37 MPH. The engine is not physically connected to the passenger car. There is a roller on the front of the engine that pushes on a plate mounted on the rear of the car. On the trip down, the brakeman operates two large wheels in the passenger car that are the brakes. At times, the engine & the car separate a few inches. After leaving the Cog Railway, the regular road was now open as the flooded river had subsided. We were on our own for the rest of the day. Several of us went to the Mt. Washington Hotel. This is one of several old Hotels that were built back in the early 1900’s for the wealthy to vacation. We had originally planned on eating lunch there, but the meal prices were very high, so we went to a local restaurant. After lunch we took it easy. Several of us played Mexican Train after dinner.
Day 48
October 3, 2010
Twin Mountain, NH
Today turned out to have great weather. It was cool, but clear and a lot of sunshine. Our first stop today was the Gondola ride up Mt. Cannon. The cars hold 80 people in standing room only. At the top were several short walking trails that several of our people took. We had a great view of the area from there. After we came down of the mountain, we were on our own for lunch. Most of us drove down to the little town of North Woodstock and ate in one of the local restaurants. After lunch, we all met at the Flume Gorge. This in an area that is hard to describe, but basically, the river has worn a high, narrow gorge in the granite. It is quite picturesque. We spent most of the afternoon at the gorge. Several of us went out to eat at a small Seafood Restaurant in Littleton, NH for dinner.
Days 37 - 46
Day 37
September 22, 2010
Montreal
We began today with a Pancake Breakfast put on by our tour staff. The pancakes were accompanied by a Friendship Salad. Each couple on the tour provided 2 or 3 cans, or pieces of fresh fruit. These are combined to make a large fruit salad. After Breakfast, we had a travel meeting for our travel day tomorrow from Montreal to Quebec City. This will be our longest travel day so far, at 178 miles. After the meeting, we had a free day. We went shopping for a few grocery items we needed, then after lunch, we joined with a Canadian couple from London, Ontario and went for a ride in the outskirts of Montreal. We drove to the Richelieu River and drove north through small communities that lined the river. The river was on one side of the road, and the homes were on the opposite side, with vast farm land behind the houses. We drove about 30 miles to the town of Tracy, where we crossed the river and returned down the road on the other side of the river. On this side of the river, all the homes lined the river bank on one side of the road, and the farm land was on the other side of the road. We returned to camp for dinner, then we had a game night. We had two tables where we played Mexican Train.
Day 38
September 23, 2010
Even though we had a long travel day today, the first rigs didn’t leave camp until 9 am. We had to drive through Montreal, and the morning traffic is terrible. To keep rigs spread apart on the road, we depart 3 rigs at a time, every 15 – 20 minutes.. Our drive today followed the western shore of the St. Lawrence River. We drove through several small towns with very narrow roads. At one point, we ran into a detour around a construction project. This detour was very challenging to say the least. It went through a residential area with very narrow roads, with homes built right to the edge of the road. We had to make a right turn. To make the turn, I had to hug the left side of the road, the make a hard right turn. Turning as tight as I could, I still almost hit the stop sign on the other side of the street we were turning on to. If that wasn’t enough, a short way down the road, we had to cross a long narrow bridge. It was probably as wide as 1 ½ lanes of a normal road. As we approached the bridge, we slowed to make sure that no one was coming the other direction. Seeing no one, we proceeded, followed by another motor home and a couple of cars. As we got about ¼ the way on the bridge, a car approached from the other direction. He hesitated, then came onto the bridge. We all pulled over as far as we could, and as this guy approached us, he stopped, and wouldn’t pass us, so we had to continue on. We probably had no more than 8 – 10 inches on either side of the motor home. After everyone arrived in camp and got set up, we had Social time followed by a potluck dinner.
Day 39
September 24, 2010
Quebec City
We had rain almost all night, and it ended up raining all day. Not good for our tour today. We started out at 8:30 this morning for our bus tour of Quebec City. The group was split up into two small busses to make it easier to navigate the small streets. We spent 3 ½ hours seeing the sights through the rain. At 11:00, the busses let us off at the Hotel Fronteac. We were on our own until 2:45 PM. The Hotel is right on the waterfront of the St. Lawrence River. It was 49 deg, raining & windy. We all decided that our best bet was to find a nice restaurant to get out of the weather and eat lunch. Our first choice, seeing that we were at the Hotel, was to go to their restaurant. Fortunately, all the restaurants post their menu outside the door. The cheapest meal on the menu was $24.95 each. We opted to go about a block away and found a very nice restaurant that was a lot more reasonable. After eating a slow lunch, and figuring that they were about ready to kick us out, we decided to leave our comfortable digs and hit the streets, We wondered through several shops. The rain had let up a little. A little before 2:00, we headed back to the hotel and wondered through their shops until it was time for our groups tour of the Hotel Fronteac. At 4:00, our bus picked us up and returned us to the RV Park. Everyone went to their rigs for dinner. At about 7:00, a few of us went up to the Activities room and played Mexican Train.
Day 40
September 25, 2010
Quebec City
Another night of rain, and on and off rain all day. It did get up to 51 deg today, and not much wind. We boarded our bus at 9:30 this morning for a tour of the Beauport area, which is on the west shore of the St. Lawrence River, and North of Quebec City. Our first stop was at the Falls at Mt. Morency. There are two falls. He larger is 272 ft. high, which is 95 ft. higher than Niagara Falls, but they are not as wide. There is a bridge across the falls at the top where we walked out and were able to look down on the falls below us. We had a great view of the St. Lawrence from there, even though it was raining. From the Falls, we went over to Orleans Island. This island sits in the middle of the St. Lawrence, and is 3 miles wide and 22 miles long. There are nine villages on the island. Some are strictly residential areas. Others areas are mainly farms. There is no large commercial activity on the island. There are small grocery stores in each village, along with bakeries, fruit & vegetable stands, etc. We stopped at a small shop that made chocolate candy, and sold sandwiches and Ice Cream. After this stop, we headed back to the mainland and stopped at Arthur Gillis Copper Museum & Boutique. This man was a famous Copper Artisian. He has designed and made items for Many large churches, homes of famous people, and corporations, all over the world. From there, we went to Chez Marie, a small bakery that makes all their own Bread, Rolls, Muffins, etc. We were given a chance the day we got here, to order bread from this bakery. The bread is baked in a wood fired oven outside. The bakery is in a building that was built in the 1650’s. The lady baked our bread this morning, and it was ready for us when we arrived. Our last stop was at the Sainte Anne de Beaupre Basilica. This was huge. The main Sanctuary seats 2200 people. It was very pretty. There are also two smaller chapels in this building, that are below the Main Sanctuary. One of them was also huge. Don’t know how many people it seats, but it looks like several hundred. From here, we returned to the RV Park.
Day 41
September 26, 2010
Quebec City
We started out today with an omelet breakfast put on by our tour staff. After breakfast, we had our travel meeting for tomorrows travel day to New Hampshire. The rest of the day was free time up to 5:15 pm. Although we didn’t have any rain today, it was cold, windy and cloudy. The high temperature was 51 deg. A lot of folks did laundry or just relaxed. We took a drive through some areas that we hadn’t been to yet. Along the way, we drove past a shopping center where a fire department ladder truck was pumping water out the nozzle on the ladder. As we got closer, we saw cars driving through the spray. Then as they drove further, other firefighters were using fire hoses and washing the cars in an assembly line fashion. They were dressed out in full turnouts. Turns out, these were actually Firefighters in Training, earning money for charity. We then went back to the rig and relaxed for a while, then at 5:15, we gathered and car pooled to the Concorde hotel by Old Quebec City for dinner in a rotating restaurant on the 26th floor. We had a great view of the Old City and the St. Lawrence River. During our time there, we made one full revolution. What was day light when we started was dark when we ended.
Day 42
September 27, 2010
Today, we traveled from Quebec City, Quebec to Colebrook, New Hampshire. When we started out, it was 48 deg., and cloudy. As the day warmed up, it got up to 66 deg., the warmest in a while. We actually had quite a bit of sunshine as the day went on. The further south we came, the more the fall colors were showing there stuff. Every where you looked, as far as the eye could see were many shades of green, gold, yellow, and red. We passed through customs and after the usual round of questions, the agent wanted to look inside the motorhome, in one of the basement cabinets, and in the back of the Saturn. This is a small and not very busy border crossing, with two agents, so they apparently do more in depth inspections than the busier crossings. After arriving at the RV Park in Colebrook, we got set up, and once everyone had arrived, we had social time with a campfire. Unfortunately, it began to rain after about an hour, so every one picked up and headed for their rigs. It looks like we are in for more rain every day this week.
Day 43
September 28, 2010
Colrbrook, NH
Today was a light activity day. As there was nothing planned this morning, a lot of the group took the opportunity to sleep in. A few took rides around the area. It was warmer this morning than it has been, which was nice, but we still had a cloud cover. At noon, we all carpooled over to the Balsams Hotel for lunch. This is a very exclusive hotel that sits on the shore of a small lake, and has a backdrop of the hills, where the colors are rapidly changing. We had a fantastic Buffet Lunch. This hotel is where the first voting occurs for Presidential Elections. We were able to visit the room where this voting takes place. After lunch, we took a ride along the Androscoggin River in eastern New Hampshire. It was a very pretty drive through the forest of Fall Colors. After the drive, we returned to camp. We had our usual social time while it was trying to rain. We also had our travel meeting for tomorrows drive down to Twin Mountains, NH.
Day 44
September 29, 2010
Twin Mountain, NH
Today was a travel day, but a short one. We traveled only 58 miles from Colebrook, NH to Twin Mountain, NH. We were all at our destination by 10:30, AM. After lunch, we all went into the town of Littleton, NH, where we visited Chutters, which has the longest Candy counter in the US. They also have other souviner type items for sale. We then walked through town to the Grist Mill on the Ammonoosuc River. The rest of the day was free time. We have paired up with a very nice Canadian couple. We both needed to do some shopping, so we went to Wal-Mart. Our Printer crashed, so we bought a new one. After shopping, we took a short drive along the Ammonoosuc River. When then decided to pass on this evenings social time and went out to dinner. After we returned to the RV park and played Candy Bar Bingo with the group. The prizes were candy bars.
Day 45
September 30, 2010
Twin Mountain, NH
Today, we traveled to several locations in the Littleton, NH area. The bad news was that about the time we left to RV Park, it began to rain. This is part of a storm that is expected to drop 4 – 5 inches of rain today and tomorrow. Our first stop was Polly’s Pancake House for breakfast. We had a choice of four different items. After a great breakfast, we went to Sugar Hill, NH where we visited a museum of local history. Then, we went to Hammond Cheese. From there, we went to Bath, NH, where they have a large covered bridge. There was also an Ice Cream shop where quite a few of us stopped. Our last stop of the day was to The Rocks Estate. This 1400 acre estate was built in the 1880’s. They hired a landscape architect to lay out the farm. This is the same Architect that designed Central Park in New York City, and also the Sherburne Farm in Vermont that we visited earlier. The farm is now owned by an Environmental Preservation Society. They conduct animal and plant studies. It is also an educational center. Fortunately, all our activities were inside, so we only had to deal with the rain when getting to and from the car. After returning to the RV Park we had dinner, then several of us went up to the club house to play Mexican Train.
Day 46
October 1, 2010
Twin Mountain, NH
Over night, the rain was not too bad, but we had a lot of wind. As we were getting ready for today’s activities, the Wagon Master called to say that everything was off for today, as is has started to pour, and is supposed to last all day. Most everyone just stayed in their rigs, but a few ventured out for lunch or shopping. We had our usual social time and discussed plans for the next few days. We were supposed to travel on Sunday, but every one voted to stay where we are until Tuesday, and skip the campground we were going to on Sunday. Both travel days were short drives, so the one drive will only be about 80 miles. This way, we will be able to do the activities that we missed today. After the meeting, we had a potluck, On this evenings news, they said that the town of Bath had flooding yesterday afternoon and they shut down the covered bridge that we drove through yesterday morning. The rain has pretty much stopped as we are getting ready for bed, and it’s supposed to be mostly clear tomorrow.
September 22, 2010
Montreal
We began today with a Pancake Breakfast put on by our tour staff. The pancakes were accompanied by a Friendship Salad. Each couple on the tour provided 2 or 3 cans, or pieces of fresh fruit. These are combined to make a large fruit salad. After Breakfast, we had a travel meeting for our travel day tomorrow from Montreal to Quebec City. This will be our longest travel day so far, at 178 miles. After the meeting, we had a free day. We went shopping for a few grocery items we needed, then after lunch, we joined with a Canadian couple from London, Ontario and went for a ride in the outskirts of Montreal. We drove to the Richelieu River and drove north through small communities that lined the river. The river was on one side of the road, and the homes were on the opposite side, with vast farm land behind the houses. We drove about 30 miles to the town of Tracy, where we crossed the river and returned down the road on the other side of the river. On this side of the river, all the homes lined the river bank on one side of the road, and the farm land was on the other side of the road. We returned to camp for dinner, then we had a game night. We had two tables where we played Mexican Train.
Day 38
September 23, 2010
Even though we had a long travel day today, the first rigs didn’t leave camp until 9 am. We had to drive through Montreal, and the morning traffic is terrible. To keep rigs spread apart on the road, we depart 3 rigs at a time, every 15 – 20 minutes.. Our drive today followed the western shore of the St. Lawrence River. We drove through several small towns with very narrow roads. At one point, we ran into a detour around a construction project. This detour was very challenging to say the least. It went through a residential area with very narrow roads, with homes built right to the edge of the road. We had to make a right turn. To make the turn, I had to hug the left side of the road, the make a hard right turn. Turning as tight as I could, I still almost hit the stop sign on the other side of the street we were turning on to. If that wasn’t enough, a short way down the road, we had to cross a long narrow bridge. It was probably as wide as 1 ½ lanes of a normal road. As we approached the bridge, we slowed to make sure that no one was coming the other direction. Seeing no one, we proceeded, followed by another motor home and a couple of cars. As we got about ¼ the way on the bridge, a car approached from the other direction. He hesitated, then came onto the bridge. We all pulled over as far as we could, and as this guy approached us, he stopped, and wouldn’t pass us, so we had to continue on. We probably had no more than 8 – 10 inches on either side of the motor home. After everyone arrived in camp and got set up, we had Social time followed by a potluck dinner.
Day 39
September 24, 2010
Quebec City
We had rain almost all night, and it ended up raining all day. Not good for our tour today. We started out at 8:30 this morning for our bus tour of Quebec City. The group was split up into two small busses to make it easier to navigate the small streets. We spent 3 ½ hours seeing the sights through the rain. At 11:00, the busses let us off at the Hotel Fronteac. We were on our own until 2:45 PM. The Hotel is right on the waterfront of the St. Lawrence River. It was 49 deg, raining & windy. We all decided that our best bet was to find a nice restaurant to get out of the weather and eat lunch. Our first choice, seeing that we were at the Hotel, was to go to their restaurant. Fortunately, all the restaurants post their menu outside the door. The cheapest meal on the menu was $24.95 each. We opted to go about a block away and found a very nice restaurant that was a lot more reasonable. After eating a slow lunch, and figuring that they were about ready to kick us out, we decided to leave our comfortable digs and hit the streets, We wondered through several shops. The rain had let up a little. A little before 2:00, we headed back to the hotel and wondered through their shops until it was time for our groups tour of the Hotel Fronteac. At 4:00, our bus picked us up and returned us to the RV Park. Everyone went to their rigs for dinner. At about 7:00, a few of us went up to the Activities room and played Mexican Train.
Day 40
September 25, 2010
Quebec City
Another night of rain, and on and off rain all day. It did get up to 51 deg today, and not much wind. We boarded our bus at 9:30 this morning for a tour of the Beauport area, which is on the west shore of the St. Lawrence River, and North of Quebec City. Our first stop was at the Falls at Mt. Morency. There are two falls. He larger is 272 ft. high, which is 95 ft. higher than Niagara Falls, but they are not as wide. There is a bridge across the falls at the top where we walked out and were able to look down on the falls below us. We had a great view of the St. Lawrence from there, even though it was raining. From the Falls, we went over to Orleans Island. This island sits in the middle of the St. Lawrence, and is 3 miles wide and 22 miles long. There are nine villages on the island. Some are strictly residential areas. Others areas are mainly farms. There is no large commercial activity on the island. There are small grocery stores in each village, along with bakeries, fruit & vegetable stands, etc. We stopped at a small shop that made chocolate candy, and sold sandwiches and Ice Cream. After this stop, we headed back to the mainland and stopped at Arthur Gillis Copper Museum & Boutique. This man was a famous Copper Artisian. He has designed and made items for Many large churches, homes of famous people, and corporations, all over the world. From there, we went to Chez Marie, a small bakery that makes all their own Bread, Rolls, Muffins, etc. We were given a chance the day we got here, to order bread from this bakery. The bread is baked in a wood fired oven outside. The bakery is in a building that was built in the 1650’s. The lady baked our bread this morning, and it was ready for us when we arrived. Our last stop was at the Sainte Anne de Beaupre Basilica. This was huge. The main Sanctuary seats 2200 people. It was very pretty. There are also two smaller chapels in this building, that are below the Main Sanctuary. One of them was also huge. Don’t know how many people it seats, but it looks like several hundred. From here, we returned to the RV Park.
Day 41
September 26, 2010
Quebec City
We started out today with an omelet breakfast put on by our tour staff. After breakfast, we had our travel meeting for tomorrows travel day to New Hampshire. The rest of the day was free time up to 5:15 pm. Although we didn’t have any rain today, it was cold, windy and cloudy. The high temperature was 51 deg. A lot of folks did laundry or just relaxed. We took a drive through some areas that we hadn’t been to yet. Along the way, we drove past a shopping center where a fire department ladder truck was pumping water out the nozzle on the ladder. As we got closer, we saw cars driving through the spray. Then as they drove further, other firefighters were using fire hoses and washing the cars in an assembly line fashion. They were dressed out in full turnouts. Turns out, these were actually Firefighters in Training, earning money for charity. We then went back to the rig and relaxed for a while, then at 5:15, we gathered and car pooled to the Concorde hotel by Old Quebec City for dinner in a rotating restaurant on the 26th floor. We had a great view of the Old City and the St. Lawrence River. During our time there, we made one full revolution. What was day light when we started was dark when we ended.
Day 42
September 27, 2010
Today, we traveled from Quebec City, Quebec to Colebrook, New Hampshire. When we started out, it was 48 deg., and cloudy. As the day warmed up, it got up to 66 deg., the warmest in a while. We actually had quite a bit of sunshine as the day went on. The further south we came, the more the fall colors were showing there stuff. Every where you looked, as far as the eye could see were many shades of green, gold, yellow, and red. We passed through customs and after the usual round of questions, the agent wanted to look inside the motorhome, in one of the basement cabinets, and in the back of the Saturn. This is a small and not very busy border crossing, with two agents, so they apparently do more in depth inspections than the busier crossings. After arriving at the RV Park in Colebrook, we got set up, and once everyone had arrived, we had social time with a campfire. Unfortunately, it began to rain after about an hour, so every one picked up and headed for their rigs. It looks like we are in for more rain every day this week.
Day 43
September 28, 2010
Colrbrook, NH
Today was a light activity day. As there was nothing planned this morning, a lot of the group took the opportunity to sleep in. A few took rides around the area. It was warmer this morning than it has been, which was nice, but we still had a cloud cover. At noon, we all carpooled over to the Balsams Hotel for lunch. This is a very exclusive hotel that sits on the shore of a small lake, and has a backdrop of the hills, where the colors are rapidly changing. We had a fantastic Buffet Lunch. This hotel is where the first voting occurs for Presidential Elections. We were able to visit the room where this voting takes place. After lunch, we took a ride along the Androscoggin River in eastern New Hampshire. It was a very pretty drive through the forest of Fall Colors. After the drive, we returned to camp. We had our usual social time while it was trying to rain. We also had our travel meeting for tomorrows drive down to Twin Mountains, NH.
Day 44
September 29, 2010
Twin Mountain, NH
Today was a travel day, but a short one. We traveled only 58 miles from Colebrook, NH to Twin Mountain, NH. We were all at our destination by 10:30, AM. After lunch, we all went into the town of Littleton, NH, where we visited Chutters, which has the longest Candy counter in the US. They also have other souviner type items for sale. We then walked through town to the Grist Mill on the Ammonoosuc River. The rest of the day was free time. We have paired up with a very nice Canadian couple. We both needed to do some shopping, so we went to Wal-Mart. Our Printer crashed, so we bought a new one. After shopping, we took a short drive along the Ammonoosuc River. When then decided to pass on this evenings social time and went out to dinner. After we returned to the RV park and played Candy Bar Bingo with the group. The prizes were candy bars.
Day 45
September 30, 2010
Twin Mountain, NH
Today, we traveled to several locations in the Littleton, NH area. The bad news was that about the time we left to RV Park, it began to rain. This is part of a storm that is expected to drop 4 – 5 inches of rain today and tomorrow. Our first stop was Polly’s Pancake House for breakfast. We had a choice of four different items. After a great breakfast, we went to Sugar Hill, NH where we visited a museum of local history. Then, we went to Hammond Cheese. From there, we went to Bath, NH, where they have a large covered bridge. There was also an Ice Cream shop where quite a few of us stopped. Our last stop of the day was to The Rocks Estate. This 1400 acre estate was built in the 1880’s. They hired a landscape architect to lay out the farm. This is the same Architect that designed Central Park in New York City, and also the Sherburne Farm in Vermont that we visited earlier. The farm is now owned by an Environmental Preservation Society. They conduct animal and plant studies. It is also an educational center. Fortunately, all our activities were inside, so we only had to deal with the rain when getting to and from the car. After returning to the RV Park we had dinner, then several of us went up to the club house to play Mexican Train.
Day 46
October 1, 2010
Twin Mountain, NH
Over night, the rain was not too bad, but we had a lot of wind. As we were getting ready for today’s activities, the Wagon Master called to say that everything was off for today, as is has started to pour, and is supposed to last all day. Most everyone just stayed in their rigs, but a few ventured out for lunch or shopping. We had our usual social time and discussed plans for the next few days. We were supposed to travel on Sunday, but every one voted to stay where we are until Tuesday, and skip the campground we were going to on Sunday. Both travel days were short drives, so the one drive will only be about 80 miles. This way, we will be able to do the activities that we missed today. After the meeting, we had a potluck, On this evenings news, they said that the town of Bath had flooding yesterday afternoon and they shut down the covered bridge that we drove through yesterday morning. The rain has pretty much stopped as we are getting ready for bed, and it’s supposed to be mostly clear tomorrow.
Day 36
September 21, 2010
Montreal, Quebec
We boarded our Tour Bus at the campground and departed for Montreal at 8:00 AM. The weather was overcast as we left the campground. After a short distance the freeway became a parking lot. Our Guide, Dennis, said that this was supposed to be “Leave your car at home day”, but, apparently, folks didn’t pay attention.
Our first stop was at the Olympic Stadium, site of the 1976 Olympics. We had some rain sprinklers as we arrived. There is a large leaning tower that is part of the building, that has a Funicular on it. The Funicular had glass windows all around. We rode this to the top of the tower, where we got out and went into the Observation Deck. We had a great 360 deg. View of the city of Montreal. We then descended back down in the Funicular, and boarded our bus.
We then took a short ride over to the Botanical Gardens. We only had 45 minutes there, so most of the group went to the Chinese Garden, and the rest went to the Greenhouses. This Botanical Garden is the 2nd largest in the world. The largest is the Queen’s Garden in London, England. A lot of the flowers are past their prime, but others are just blooming. The Chinese Gardens are having a special display with lanterns and large butterflies, dragons, flowers, and people. They are all lit up at a special showing each evening.
We again boarded our bus for a driving tour of the City of Montreal. Our Guide, Dennis, explained the different areas of the city. The Industrial areas also had housing, which was mostly apartments. Most workers could not afford single family homes. The apartments had exterior stairs and balconies that had cast iron railings. The Industries also brought workers in from the rural areas. Lots of the workers were from France. They have large families, and soon took over from the English and Scots. The city has a unique feature in that they have laws that old building exteriors can not be demolished unless there was a life safety issue if it remained standing. Many old building are rejuvenated into new uses with new interiors and the original exterior. Old industrial buildings have been reborn as Office Suites, or Apartments.
Montreal is an island surrounded by the St. Lawrence River on the South, and the Prairies River on the North. The island is 30 miles long by 6 miles wide, with a population of 150 million people. There are 29 bridges or tunnels that cross the rivers into & out of Montreal. We drove by Chinatown where 50,000 Chinese reside. The symbol of Montreal is the Crab Apple. Montreal is an International city due to the many cultures in the city. We also drove by their equivalent of Wall Street. There are lots of bicycles in the city. There are also several places in the city where you can rent bicycles. The bikes are locked in racks at the side of the street. You can rent in one location and return them to a different location.
We stopped for lunch at a mall that is built under an Anglican Church. The mall was built in the 1980’s. The area was excavated beneath the Church to connect two department stores. The Church still owns the property beneath the Church, and collects monthly rent from the mall. Most of the group went to the underground mall, but a few went to eating places at the street level.
After lunch, we toured more of the city enroute to Mt. Royal, the highest point in the city. There is a large cross atop Mt. Royal, and there is a law that height of no building in Montreal can be taller than the height of the cross. There Is also an observatory on Mt Royal. We had a great view of most of the city from there. We could see Olympic Park, Botanical Gardens, and other areas of the city that we had visited. As we left Mt. Royal, we passed by Jean Moss Park, named for the first nurse in Montreal. She saved the city from floods in the 1500’s by Prayer. The city has never flooded since. There is lots of park land in Montreal due to the foresight of one man. The top industries of Montreal are: 1) Food & Agriculture, 2) New Technology, 3) Textile & Garments, 4) Service – City & Province Governments. There are 17 Consulates, Banking, & Health. We had a photo op at St. Joseph’s Cathedral. Continued our tour of the City. Drove by McGill University. Tim Horton was a former Maple Leaf Hockey player who invested in coffee and donuts. After he died, his family became rich. We toured the Notre-Dame Basilica. At the time we toured the Basilica, there was a light show going on. Different areas of the Basilica had lights that changed colors. Celine Dion was married in the Basilica. Queen Victoria gave large amounts of money to Montreal.
We took a bridge to Saint Helens Island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River. There are actually 3 islands. Saint Helens was a natural island. The other two islands were constructed with 220 million tons of imported dirt. This was the sight of the 1967 Worlds Fair. (50 million people attended, the City was expecting 20 million) The island now has three main uses. One island is a Six Flags Amusement Park, One is a Grand Prix Race track, which is 3.4 Kilometers or 2.1 miles in length, which we rode around in the bus, and the third is a Casino, which was the French Pavilion for the Worlds Fair. Saint Helens Island was a military base at one time. It is named after Champlain’s wife. The island was also used as a place for quarantined patients, usually with TB. There were Doctor’s & Nurses on staff. During the 1967 World’s Fair, the Sphere shaped American Pavilion had a space theme. It is now used as a center for learning about water. Most of the pavilions are gone, as they were not designed to stand the severe winters. The waterway on one side of the island was the water course for the Olympic Games. They held shell, kayak, & canoe races here. There are locks for the St. Lawrence Seaway on the opposite side of the island.
Back into the Old City. Founded in 1642. Learned about early Montreal from 1350 to present. The Container ship port has 20,000 employees working there. The old grain elevators are now used as a movie studio. There are new buildings connected to the old buildings, to make them more usable. The City received the International Award for Design from UNESCO for there building preservation.
We went to Museum Pointe-A-Calliere for a display of Ile de Paques. This was an excavation of old foundations of buildings dating back to the earliest days of Montreal. There were 4 layers of buildings built on top of each other. Some were built on top of old graveyards, or out houses.
After the Museum, we walked about 2 short blocks to Restaurant le Bourlinguer for dinner. We had a choice of fish or pork, and Soup or salad. For dessert, we had a cheese and Brie salad and Carrot Cake. After dinner, we walked back to the museum where our bus was parked. It was nice to be in the fresh air after a large dinner. Rode the bus back to the campground at 8:00 PM.
Montreal, Quebec
We boarded our Tour Bus at the campground and departed for Montreal at 8:00 AM. The weather was overcast as we left the campground. After a short distance the freeway became a parking lot. Our Guide, Dennis, said that this was supposed to be “Leave your car at home day”, but, apparently, folks didn’t pay attention.
Our first stop was at the Olympic Stadium, site of the 1976 Olympics. We had some rain sprinklers as we arrived. There is a large leaning tower that is part of the building, that has a Funicular on it. The Funicular had glass windows all around. We rode this to the top of the tower, where we got out and went into the Observation Deck. We had a great 360 deg. View of the city of Montreal. We then descended back down in the Funicular, and boarded our bus.
We then took a short ride over to the Botanical Gardens. We only had 45 minutes there, so most of the group went to the Chinese Garden, and the rest went to the Greenhouses. This Botanical Garden is the 2nd largest in the world. The largest is the Queen’s Garden in London, England. A lot of the flowers are past their prime, but others are just blooming. The Chinese Gardens are having a special display with lanterns and large butterflies, dragons, flowers, and people. They are all lit up at a special showing each evening.
We again boarded our bus for a driving tour of the City of Montreal. Our Guide, Dennis, explained the different areas of the city. The Industrial areas also had housing, which was mostly apartments. Most workers could not afford single family homes. The apartments had exterior stairs and balconies that had cast iron railings. The Industries also brought workers in from the rural areas. Lots of the workers were from France. They have large families, and soon took over from the English and Scots. The city has a unique feature in that they have laws that old building exteriors can not be demolished unless there was a life safety issue if it remained standing. Many old building are rejuvenated into new uses with new interiors and the original exterior. Old industrial buildings have been reborn as Office Suites, or Apartments.
Montreal is an island surrounded by the St. Lawrence River on the South, and the Prairies River on the North. The island is 30 miles long by 6 miles wide, with a population of 150 million people. There are 29 bridges or tunnels that cross the rivers into & out of Montreal. We drove by Chinatown where 50,000 Chinese reside. The symbol of Montreal is the Crab Apple. Montreal is an International city due to the many cultures in the city. We also drove by their equivalent of Wall Street. There are lots of bicycles in the city. There are also several places in the city where you can rent bicycles. The bikes are locked in racks at the side of the street. You can rent in one location and return them to a different location.
We stopped for lunch at a mall that is built under an Anglican Church. The mall was built in the 1980’s. The area was excavated beneath the Church to connect two department stores. The Church still owns the property beneath the Church, and collects monthly rent from the mall. Most of the group went to the underground mall, but a few went to eating places at the street level.
After lunch, we toured more of the city enroute to Mt. Royal, the highest point in the city. There is a large cross atop Mt. Royal, and there is a law that height of no building in Montreal can be taller than the height of the cross. There Is also an observatory on Mt Royal. We had a great view of most of the city from there. We could see Olympic Park, Botanical Gardens, and other areas of the city that we had visited. As we left Mt. Royal, we passed by Jean Moss Park, named for the first nurse in Montreal. She saved the city from floods in the 1500’s by Prayer. The city has never flooded since. There is lots of park land in Montreal due to the foresight of one man. The top industries of Montreal are: 1) Food & Agriculture, 2) New Technology, 3) Textile & Garments, 4) Service – City & Province Governments. There are 17 Consulates, Banking, & Health. We had a photo op at St. Joseph’s Cathedral. Continued our tour of the City. Drove by McGill University. Tim Horton was a former Maple Leaf Hockey player who invested in coffee and donuts. After he died, his family became rich. We toured the Notre-Dame Basilica. At the time we toured the Basilica, there was a light show going on. Different areas of the Basilica had lights that changed colors. Celine Dion was married in the Basilica. Queen Victoria gave large amounts of money to Montreal.
We took a bridge to Saint Helens Island in the middle of the St. Lawrence River. There are actually 3 islands. Saint Helens was a natural island. The other two islands were constructed with 220 million tons of imported dirt. This was the sight of the 1967 Worlds Fair. (50 million people attended, the City was expecting 20 million) The island now has three main uses. One island is a Six Flags Amusement Park, One is a Grand Prix Race track, which is 3.4 Kilometers or 2.1 miles in length, which we rode around in the bus, and the third is a Casino, which was the French Pavilion for the Worlds Fair. Saint Helens Island was a military base at one time. It is named after Champlain’s wife. The island was also used as a place for quarantined patients, usually with TB. There were Doctor’s & Nurses on staff. During the 1967 World’s Fair, the Sphere shaped American Pavilion had a space theme. It is now used as a center for learning about water. Most of the pavilions are gone, as they were not designed to stand the severe winters. The waterway on one side of the island was the water course for the Olympic Games. They held shell, kayak, & canoe races here. There are locks for the St. Lawrence Seaway on the opposite side of the island.
Back into the Old City. Founded in 1642. Learned about early Montreal from 1350 to present. The Container ship port has 20,000 employees working there. The old grain elevators are now used as a movie studio. There are new buildings connected to the old buildings, to make them more usable. The City received the International Award for Design from UNESCO for there building preservation.
We went to Museum Pointe-A-Calliere for a display of Ile de Paques. This was an excavation of old foundations of buildings dating back to the earliest days of Montreal. There were 4 layers of buildings built on top of each other. Some were built on top of old graveyards, or out houses.
After the Museum, we walked about 2 short blocks to Restaurant le Bourlinguer for dinner. We had a choice of fish or pork, and Soup or salad. For dessert, we had a cheese and Brie salad and Carrot Cake. After dinner, we walked back to the museum where our bus was parked. It was nice to be in the fresh air after a large dinner. Rode the bus back to the campground at 8:00 PM.
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