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Bridges, Beach day, Beehive and Bacon

Bridges, Beach day, Beehive and Bacon

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Day 10:

I woke up a little after 4:00 and couldn’t go back to sleep.  We heard there were pay showers across the street from our campsite (just off property from the National Park) so I thought it would be nice to get a shower in and watch the sun rise. We tend to get wiped out on these trips and fall asleep early so, when Jeff heard me stirring, he decided to get up too. He and I headed out, having let the boys know we’d probably do this the night before. We anticipated the shower house being busy.  We had been warned by our camp neighbors in Vermont that when they visited, there was a long line waiting. We discovered when we arrived the place was empty, however, the showers were $3 for 4 mins (not quite for 4 mins seemingly, I had time to do more in the 4 mins I had Vermont, none the less those prices seemed crazy, but we got our showers in and we tried to shrug off the $3 that we easily could have spent on something less satisfying). We watched the sunrise from the roadside. When we got back the boys kept sleeping, in fact we had to wake them even after we cooked piles of bacon, some for breakfast, some for BLTs for dinner, and some to save for our last campsite when we knew we likely would need to get on the road early. I think our Massachusetts neighbors thought the crazy Iowans were going wild with pork. They were meanwhile making me drool over the grits they were cooking over their fire. If I get anywhere near the south, I order grits. On our trip to The Great Smokey Mountains a few years ago, I fell in love with grits. On this day, we made eggs and toast (and some extra for the BLTs – using an older campfire toast stand my parents had from the 70s) and packed up for a full day out in Acadia.

Our first hike was the carriage roads by Jordan Pond. The roads are easy to hike – or bike if you choose, the historic bridges are big and beautiful, and the water wasn’t running so we were able to crawl under and through them. There are some pretty awesome views from some high spots overlooking the mountains and forests. On the way back we hiked a path through the woods, over streams and rocks, in the cool shade. We attempted to order popovers from the Jordan Pond restaurant, but they were going to require a 30 min wait, we really didn’t want to hang around for, but found out there is another popover option. So we had ice cream popovers from an upstairs snack shop. We walked around and made inappropriate comments about all the body parts The Bubbles (mountains views from Jordan Pond) could be. We made a couple of purchases in the gift shop – arguably the best shop in the park, the other good one is by Thunder Hole, but has odd hours.

We then headed to the Visitors’ Center where Sam was sworn in as Jr Ranger. Next was Sand Beach. We put our feet in the water and took a moment to enjoy the fact that we had dipped our toes in both oceans in a year. The water temperature that day was 55 degrees but it was hot outside and the ocean looked so tempting. So, the boys decided to swim. They ran out and rode the waves over and over. Jeff and I stood on the edge letting the waves crash our legs and dug ourselves out of the sand.  We took a break in the afternoon to make the scallops near the beach. We had packed along the camp stove, butter, lemon, salt, and pepper and wheat crisps. It was one of our favorite meals. The boys went right back to the water. Jeff and I took turns snoozing in the sand before returning to the ocean.

Our car was parked near Beehive Trail which is a hike over a bunch of rocks and boulders, up the side of the mountain, and then on some ladder rungs drilled into a rock face. Ben did not want to do this hike. He has a hard time with heights, but he also was having a particularly hard time with this Park. While tide pooling, the rocks were slimy and wet and he slipped and sliced his hand. He later slid off a step and scraped up his knee. So we said we would go as far as he felt comfortable. We made it part way up the ladder rungs and went back down. I’m not going to lie, I was a little shaky up there with my kids unsure on the ledge. I was proud of them for being brave enough to push further than they thought they could but knowing their limits and saying when they were done. We got to a spot with an incredible view where we could stand safely and then headed back down.

Cadillac Mountain is the highest point in Acadia National Park. It is famously known for being the first place in the US the sun touches during certain times of the year. It’s a great place to catch both sunrise and sunset, but can be very busy. Currently, driving up Cadillac Mountain requires a reservation. We reserved a time just before sunset so we had some time, hiked back to our car, and drove the Park Loop for a bit, making stops along the way at places we had read about or that looked interesting on the maps.  All the time, we made our way toward Cadillac Mountain’s entrance gate. At our allotted time, we drove the winding road to the top. We spent some time walking the trails and taking in the views from every direction, it was breathtaking. We put together our BLTs and had dinner sitting on the rocks. Then, we walked down to Blue Hill Overlook. We were glad we got there early to get a spot. There were already quite a few people and lots more showed up. Clouds began rolling in as the sun was setting which made for a stunning and colorful setting sun. We drove back down as it was getting dark and watched the colors change over the park. Thinking back to other sunsets we had seen like those in Utah and how careful we had to be driving in the dark, we noted there wasn’t a lot of wildlife in Acadia, though we did see lots of snails and crabs at the beach. We enjoyed the peaceful drive back and a restful night.

 

 

 

Acadia At Last

Acadia At Last

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Day 9:

We rose early in Bar Harbor, cleaned up, had some breakfast and packed camp to get into Acadia. Jeff and I talked on the way about how the night we met we were sitting in Momo’s, a piano bar in Sioux City, discussing places we would like to go someday while leafing through his National Geographic Traveler. He wanted to go to Zion. I really wanted to see the canyons in Bryce, and we both thought Acadia would be great.  A few years later, when planning our honeymoon, Acadia was on the short list of destinations.  Within the last year we saw Zion and Bryce and we were finally arriving at Acadia. We may have taken a 20 year detour (filled with a lot of living) but we made it.

Our first stop was the Visitor’s Center for maps, a junior ranger packet, passport stamps, and to speak to the ranger. We like to check with the experts on the best spots and she provided us with tide and ranger talk schedules. The park rangers are a wealth of great information. We headed to the west side of the island since the tide was low, to go tide pooling. It was foggy and cool. I love that weather. It was a beautiful forest hike to the beach. The tide pools were packed with snails, sea weed, and lots of funny little crabs. The vibrant colors were unreal. We searched and searched for starfish but never spotted one – I really wanted Jeff to see one in the wild.  We will have to keep looking.

We talked about all the things we could do over the next few days and how we had to pick only a few because of the time we had. We decided while on the southwest side and per our park ranger’s suggestion, to see the lighthouse. It was a fun climb on the rocks and peaceful by the water. The contrasting rock colors, the moss, and evergreens were brightly saturated and stark against the soft white mist of the fog with the little white lighthouse on a hill, red roof shining brightly.  We drove back to the east side of the island then and set up camp. We had a nice campsite (Blackwoods) in the trees with plenty of spots to choose from for my hammock and right across from the bathrooms. Our neighbors were from Massachusetts and have come to Acadia every year for the last 20 years.

After setting up, we took off again for Thunder Hole. This is a spot by the ocean where the rocks are naturally carved out shaping an inlet with a cavern at the base. When the tide is high (and depending on weather conditions) water will rush and crash in and cause a thunderous roaring in the cave. The weather was calm that day so there wasn’t much to see or hear. We did, however, enjoy just hanging out by the water, climbing the rocks, and exploring the area as the tide came in. We, then drove the Park Loop Road which runs a circle around the east side of the island. For dinner we cooked chicken, sauteed peppers and onions, salad and roasted smores.

Then we headed to the amphitheater in our campground (Jeff had to run back to the campsite for something and the boys and I took a wrong turn and had to find our way back in the dark – an interesting adventure). We listened to a Ranger talk about ambient light and bird migration. I love ranger talks and this was another good one that surprised me. They really shouldn’t surprise me anymore. They are so often excellent (except the one about the bear spray that went on for 45 mins and was just a guy showing us his photography…) but I think I was expecting another bat talk or something and when she started teaching us something new, I got excited. The boys were intrigued too. Sam wanted to go for another talk the next night but we had other plans. I love when someone can ignite their fire for learning like that.  It was also fun while we were sitting, quietly listening in the dark, to watch the fog roll back in over the trees, though that meant our star viewing was going to be off for the night. We had a perfect spot on the beach nearby picked out. I guess we will just have to come back when it’s not cloudy.

  

Strange visits that will require returns brought to a magnificent close

Strange visits that will require returns brought to a magnificent close

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Day 8:

Our last morning in Vermont we cleaned up, packed, and played catch in the clearing right outside our campsite – it was mowed and trees cleared perfectly, like it was there just for a game of catch. We had Ben research a place to eat and he found us the cutest little bagel shop called KC’s so we all got sandwiches. Before we left home, I had seen a review that highly recommended donuts from Cold Hollow Cider Mill and the man with the famous dog in town (welcoming committee? friendly local celebrity? random stranger we just happened to be lucky enough to run into?) Also recommended the same place. I kind of felt like with this many random rave reviews, we had to stop. So we did. And ladened with donuts we took off for New Hampshire. Vermont and New Hampshire were originally planned as drive through states on this trip. These may have been our favorite places we visited and will be the places we come back for. We trekked through the White Mountains on this day while listening to LOTR and watching the fog nestle in the trees. We stopped by a trailhead near Mt Washington and it was so tempting to stay and hike but we had to keep moving to get to our next campsite. We will be back New Hampshire!

A friend suggested we stop at Thayers Inn because it was an old hotel a lot of presidents have stayed in.  It was weird. There were some historic photos/articles under glass alluding to its place in history and a couple of doors with Senators’ names on them but otherwise it was just an old building still being used as a hotel and literally no one was there. We looked around for a while and did not run into a single soul. The town outside was packed, but inside, eerily quiet.

So, we kept moving, making it to Bar Harbor, Maine and our KOA campsite for the night just outside Acadia. It was a busy place.  KOAs are curious places to camp. The first one I recall camping in was in West Yellowstone where we had a quiet site in the woods.  The check in people were very accommodating, bringing us our firewood. The restroom/shower facilities were big and immaculately clean. Since, we have experienced a few KOAs (we typically book in the state and national parks when possible) some with group campers we’ve had to share space with like in Jackson Hole, others have been a lot like the place in Yellowstone. The Bar Harbor KOA is elaborate. There is a food truck, train, crafts, movie nights, stands at each campsite with hooks and shelves and electricity to plug everything in. There are several bath houses each with a laundry facility with so many washers and dryers they couldn’t possibly fill up and games provided while you wait. I heard one of our neighbors complaining about the sketchy wifi and the teenagers having a party by the bathrooms. Apparently it was a different kind of wild here. We had clam chowder and lobster from the food truck for dinner. It was one of the non-cooking meals we had built in so we could try some local fare. While we waited Sammy rode a little train with bubbles and we took turns playing basketball at the court nearby. After dinner Jeff and I sat in Adirondack chairs by the ocean, while the kids explored the beach. We all climbed on the rocks, exploring the sea life, and watching a magnificent Maine sunset.

 

Relaxing in the Green Mountains

Relaxing in the Green Mountains

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Day 7:

This might have been one of my favorite days on the whole trip and one of the days I have the least details to give. We awoke to the smell of trees and grass in Little River State Park.  Everything there is a bright shade of green. The only place we had in memory to compare it to was The Smokies, this may have been due to the fog that hung in the dense treetops in the morning making the colors more vibrant. It’s not like the heavy fog and rain of the Pacific Northwest, making trees into wizards with their long mossy tendrils in beardy evergreens, this is more like a spring mist that moves off throughout the day and lightly slips back in as the night turns cool.

I am a person who still requires a daily shower and find that most places we camp have accommodations for that. National Parks don’t typically have showers and I find ways to get by. State Parks almost always do. In the desert (like on our Utah road trip for instance) there were token showers that gave an allotted amount of time and each camper was only allowed a certain number of tokens. In some parks this is for pumping and heating the water, in the desert it is typically due to water conservation. This State Park had pay showers on a timer but they were reasonably priced so I showered ($.50 for 4 mins – I can work with that).  After cleaning up, we had breakfast played around at the campsite for a bit, and hiked down to the campground’s private lake access beach. It was incredibly clear water, made from a reservoir in the river. There were forested mountains surrounding us and boats, kayaks, and paddle boarders out further on the water. We swam, skipped rocks and played for a few hours. There was a group of three couples lounging in and out of the water and reading on the beach, and a group of ladies chatting and playing with a little boy by the water’s edge. Otherwise, we had the place to ourselves. It was so peaceful.

After our swim, we decided to go into the nearby capital city of Vermont, Montpelier.  It was a cute town – the smallest US capital we were told by a local who introduced us to his famous dreadlocked dog – we saw the gold domed capitol building, shopped in the local toy and book stores – buying a few used books for the drive, and hung out at a coffee shop reading and snacking. I checked out the local zines – there was a whole rack in the middle of the coffee shop – reading about opinions on society and the punk rock lifestyle. There is a fine arts school in Montpelier and it shows. There is a very creatively open vibe about the place.  It was really relaxing. We made a stop to pickup maple syrup before we left and headed back to camp for our dinner of pancakes and eggs.

NY to Vermont

NY to Vermont

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Deer Run Campground was an interesting place. Upstate New York in general is pretty interesting. There are these areas we drove through that are clearly the places to go, beautiful and well kept. The people are a little more well spoken and sophisticated, edging on snobbish. And then, there is the wild, rural back country where you find a different breed of people living and shouting about their Trump energy and making snide comments about monkeypox conspiracies. At the campground we found a strange mixing of these worlds. The bathrooms here were large and clean, but it was still kind of strange place – the lights kept shutting off (it was on a motion sensor) while I was showering and I could hear voices upstairs, sometimes shouting, sometimes singing.

The second day I showered in the other bathroom and had no lighting or yelling issues. The boys heard the shouting this time and it turned their morning a little. But since we got groceries, we were able to eat bacon and eggs for breakfast so that helped.  Our friendly neighbor stopped by to proudly show us her morning fishing catches of trout and walleye.  She was very excited and shared that she and her grandson had been fishing on the lake every summer for many years. They liked to stay in a cabin and were on the water everyday doing things like wake boarding all summer. We repaid her the gallon of water, thanking her for her kindness and all the neighborly advice. As we were leaving, we discovered charging our devices had killed the battery on our car so she did us one more favor, she and her grandson gave us a jump. Then, we hit the road for Vermont.

We stopped at Saratoga National Historical Park on the way. This was the site in 1777 where the British Army, for the first time in world history, ever surrendered, implications from this moment were many. This meant America’s independence was set, foreign support was beginning come in, and wars began breaking out in other parts of the world as well. It is a significant place in world and American history, there were pretty views, lots of cannons, and informational demonstrations. We drove the Saratoga National Battlefield Road and took a couple of short hikes along the trails. Sam earned another Jr Ranger badge. After leaving Saratoga, we made a quick stop at a gas station along the way following a discussion about how the family trip felt less cohesive. We decided to take advantage of the nearby wifi to download Lord of the Rings (read by Andy Serkis – highly recommend, his voice acting might possibly surpass his movements, that says a lot!) so we could listen to a book as a family.  We did this on a previous trip with Tom Sawyer (read by Nick Offerman – also a seriously good version). If you know me, you know LOTR and The Hobbit are my favorite books (I loved this, Sammy was hooked). We drove through some beautiful areas though Jeff wasn’t sure we weren’t driving off the map at times. We saw a maple syrup farm and were on a few dirt roads, but made our way to the Ben and Jerry’s factory.  We missed the tour, but made it for ice cream cones so big no one could finish, a gift shop, and a flavor graveyard that had real tombstones for all the retired flavors. We settled into our campground for the night in the verdant Green Mountains (my favorite spot on the trip). We met our neighbors from NJ who had lots of advice on what to do in the area. We had decided to not drive all the way to St Johnsbury to the Fairbanks Museum and Planetarium as originally planned as it was going to be too much time in the car (a return trip must be had! Also when we do, we can see Quechee Gorge, Stowe, Lake Champlain, and Bloomington, – more on NH sites in posts to come as well).  We played Mancala and ate pulled pork and campsite coleslaw. As we fell asleep we could hear the howling of wolves in the distant mountains.

Cooperstown and the National Baseball Hall of Fame

Cooperstown and the National Baseball Hall of Fame

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Sometimes there are things in this world you think are unattainable.  Things you think you’ll never have the chance to do and then all of the sudden…Boom…there it is.  The first time it ever happened was when I was a fresh college graduate and I saw the Coliseum for the first time.  After that there was a long gap until Marnae and I saw the Eiffel Tower on a trip we took to Paris after planning for way to long.  As I’ve mentioned in previous posts that trip spurred a decision to make sure our boys understood travel was not only possible, but also essential to understanding ourselves and what we as people are capable of. Since we have made our commitment that feeling has become a regular part of our trips.  Maybe someday it will go away.  Maybe someday I’ll start to believe the feeling we want to give our boys, that anything you want to see or do is attainable, is possible for me too.  But, until then I’m going to enjoy the Boom, and I’m definitely going to enjoy seeing it with those I care about the most.

So I guess what I’m saying is, our trip has reached Cooperstown and the National Baseball Hall of Fame.  We left our campsite in the morning with plenty of time to make our scheduled entry time of 10:00 a.m.  When we got there I was ready to walk into a whole other world.  However, it isn’t really set up quite like you expect.  When we arrived we walked through the ticketing line and then into another hallway, and then we all just kind of looked at each other like ummm…where do we go next.  There was a statue of Buck O’Neil (who us Royals fans know well), but other than that there wasn’t much there.  Finally, after asking someone where everything was we realized we just needed to turn the corner and walk down the next hall.  Eventually, we found the Plaque Room and our visit to the Hall of Fame was officially under way.  The faces on the wall and the names below them brought memories of my childhood rushing back to my mind.  I had seen those same faces on the hundreds of baseball cards I had collected through the years and had even been lucky enough to watch some of them play in person.  It was a surreal feeling which cannot really be described.

After the Plaque Room we walked toward the library wing where there were sections on broadcasters and baseball movies.  Voices I was familiar with and calls of famous plays right at your fingertips.  I’m pretty sure my family thought I was nuts because I was able to finish most of the lines before they were played on the recordings, but I didn’t care and neither did they.  We then walked upstairs to the real exhibits you expect to see at the Hall of Fame.  Babe Ruth’s bat, Mickey Mantle’s locker, Ricky Henderson’s cleats and even George Brett’s famous Pine Tar Bat.  In fact, the Pine Tar Bat and Wonderboy actually live in the same room separated by a few mere feet.  There were even videos on demand of famous plays from all different eras of baseball.  Sam loved watching Ozzie Smith do backflips on his way to short stop and kept wanting to see more and more.  He and I were relishing the experience and Marnae and Ben were clearly enjoying themselves as well.  We spent about 3 ½ hours walking around soaking it all in.  When we finally left, we made a quick pit stop at the gift shop and then went to go find some much needed food.

When we travel on these road trips we always try to plan meals.  Which means a cooler of food is not far away.   We find it is a much more affordable way to travel and much healthier option as well.  So, we went to the car grabbed the stuff to make a picnic lunch and watched some old timer’s baseball on Doubleday Field nearby.  When we were done, we did some shopping and of course grabbed some coffee and a sweet treat.  Then we played catch by some statues outside the Hall of Fame and then headed back to the campsite.

As we were pulling back into our campsite Marnae asked if I enjoyed my trip to the Hall of Fame.  I looked at her and said it was amazing and I would have spent the entire rest of the day there if I thought they could have tolerated it.  She looked at me and said, “Then go back.”  I was surprised and said no, we were on this trip as a family, and we should settle in at the campsite for a bit.  She looked at me and said “Seriously, Ben and I are fine.  Drop us off and we can have some quiet time and you and Sam can go back.”  (She’s pretty great.)

Sam and I dropped them off at the campsite and headed back along the shore of Otsego Lake to Cooperstown and stayed until the place closed.  We watched every video, read every caption, and soaked in everything baseball for a few more precious hours.  We even got to be alone in the Plaque Room.  It was an amazing experience.

Finally, we headed back and had a delicious camp stove dinner, played a little catch, and headed to bed so we could travel to Vermont in the morning.

A couple of observations about Cooperstown.  First, it really is a small town.  There are things there because of all of the tourism, but at its heart, it is a village in upstate New York.  Second, it is the hometown of the author James Fennimore Cooper.  There is a significant amount of history and references to his books throughout the area.  If you are not into baseball you might want to spend time learning about this history.  It really was well worth the time to get there and a part of the trip I am glad we were able to add.

Hiking 19 Waterfalls (how are we not calling this trip Chasing Waterfalls?)

Hiking 19 Waterfalls (how are we not calling this trip Chasing Waterfalls?)

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Day 4:

Morning dawned on one of our favorite campsites and we knew it was time to leave. We spent the morning slowly getting ready and hanging out a little more with our Minnesota camping friends. It was hard to go watching the kids all have so much fun together. It’s been good to keep in touch, watching each other’s adventures. From Niagara we drove through the remote back roads of upstate New York to Watkins Glen State Park. It was a quiet forest, with something new to see around every corner. It was like being in a fairytale or Tolkien novel (Rivendell, perhaps). We all said it deserved a return visit. I think we’d like to explore the area more. I spoke to someone a few days ago from nearby Pennsylvania and she said, definitely go back – and check out the incredible area wineries while you’re there, so I guess that seals that. We hiked the recommended Gorge Trail with 19 waterfalls which we feared may not be running this year due to drought. Jeff said he counted at least 19 along the way, and they were magical, sparkling in shafts of sunlight among dark tunnels of still water. Watkins Glen is on the south end of Seneca Lake of the Finger Lakes, not an easy drive but a scenic one and helped along by more of The Fellowship of the Ring on Audible. After our hike, we drove the rest of the way to Springfield’s Deer Run Campground. We set up camp as the only tent in the RV area that seemed to have a lot of semi permanent residents. This can be an uncomfortable situation as sometimes “residents” either get really settled into a routine and particular about noise, or can be the opposite and bring in a lot of families to their spot and it can get loud and crowded very quickly. We lucked out here, it was a pretty quiet place for the most part so we kept our noise level within reason and didn’t plan to spend a ton of time at the campsite in this spot. We met a really nice neighbor who gave us tips on water (and a gallon of it) and food, etc. That night we ate what quite possibly was the boys’ favorite meal of the trip, New York Pizzeria in Cooperstown. We got in late and were all a little too beat to work in a meal around the fire. I think Jeff was pretty excited just to see Cooperstown even though the Hall of Fame was closed, so we drove in. Our neighbor had recommended the pizza place and we had a great dinner out on the patio, drawing and talking, and eating the boys’ favorite kind of pizza, New York style. 

Benny’s Birthday!

Benny’s Birthday!

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Day 3:

Benny’s birthday! Started with a pillow fight with his brother outside the tent while mom and dad took turns showering and making breakfast. I read Ben his traditional birthday book while Jeff told all our new camping friends it was Ben’s big day – he got “Happy birthdays!” all throughout the day 🙂 Ben turned to me after breakfast and asked if he could drive a little since it was his 14th and in Iowa, 14 is the age you get your driver’s permit. So, he drove with each of us around the campgrounds loop. Then we headed off to check out the US side of Niagara Falls. We walked around American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls. The guys were a little more impressed, perhaps it was the restful night or maybe it was the up close view. It may have been the beauty of the grounds, as the American side is set apart as a state park none-the-less, Niagara Falls did seem much more magnificent from where we were standing the second day.  We had checked out a lot of resources before we left and found a way to book ahead for Maid of the Mist.  We still had to stand in line for our pre-booked tickets but it moved quickly.  If you do this, be sure to book through the Maid of the Mist website and not an outside company or even Niagara Falls. We saw some outrageous prices for tickets. And yes, the poncho is included, though if you want a kid size one, you have to purchase it ahead from the gift shop. We went with the freebies and all stayed fairly dry or dried quickly enough after. Sam got a tip from his new camping friend to stand on the bottom deck in the front, so we did and it was a great tip! We had an awesome view. We were right in the spray and we felt like we were in the waves. When I visited as a kid I saw this boat going in front of the falls and thought it was an unattainable dream, later I saw Niagara with Marilyn Monroe and couldn’t imagine getting to do it.  The ride exceeded my expectations. I was hoping for it to be fun and iconic, but there was an added element of adventure. After we disembarked, we climbed a misty overlook close to the falls, viewed them from the top of the observation deck and then walked to get ice cream – per the birthday boy’s request.  They even had frozen yogurt and sorbet for those of us who can’t have ice cream, nice touch. We later heard the Cave of the Winds tour was also worth it to get behind the falls and learn more about Tesla. Back at the campsite, the boys played with our neighbor friends. We skipped rocks on the beach, waded in the water, they played baseball, and on the playground. Then we made campfire burgers, ate strawberries, and had homemade birthday brownies we had made ahead and frozen for the trip – Ben held his candles like torches in his hands and his friend brought over a cosmic brownie for his birthday. Later, we went back to Niagara Falls for Illumination.  This is where LED lights shine on the falls in changing colors; and at 10:00 there were fireworks.  Having our state park pass for our campsite made it easy to park at any state park including the lots at Niagara. We discovered later that there are many benefits to the NY state parks, including using our passes to surrounding parks for their facilities like swimming, etc. We will have to remember this when we return. We all went to bed full and happy that night. It was a good day filled with lots of singing and “Happy birthdays”, time spent laughing, looking at natural wonders, relaxing, and getting to know new friends. I hope Benny had a very happy day spent celebrating the good things in life.  IMG_5802

Canadian Niagara

Canadian Niagara

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Day 2:

We woke early got ready, had a nice breakfast all together with the Pierces and said our goodbyes.

We drove to the border and crossed into Canada. The boys laughed a little at their own surprise at how much it looked the same. Sam asked our border agent his name – it was Mark Casagrande – Jeff was pretty worried about getting through (like for weeks) it was a simple process – I almost wished they’d looked into the car for all we made sure we didn’t take in due to the Avian Flu, but we were all relieved at the ease of the process. The Arrive Canada app we downloaded made it a breeze. We just needed to follow the steps to upload our vaccination cards and passports.  In Canada we stopped at Tim Horton’s – we had to try the famous donuts, they were worth it. Mine was a sour cream cruller. Ben had a Reece’s, Sam had a cinnamon roll and Jeff’s was a pretty little sprinkles glazed donut. On the road we had a view of Toronto from far away several times, which is on my list to visit at some point, but not on this trip. After several hours of driving, we arrived at the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.  It was pretty commercialized. We were greeted by a giant Hershey’s store. We drove around for a long time looking for parking before we finally overpaid for an exposed spot on a hill that made us very nervous. The streets were lined with touristy gift shops. The views were nice once we arrived at the park by the falls, however. We walked and played catch.  The falls weren’t quite what the boys imagined, which was interesting to hear.  They were wider.  They had expected bigger, as in taller. We crossed the border back into the US over the Rainbow Bridge and found our campsite at Four Mile Creek State Park. It was a great spot on Lake Ontario with really nice neighbors and lots of space. We soon discovered some friends had been there the night before, what a small world. Our camping neighbors on one side had lots of tips about the campgrounds and the area and were happy to share. They were also baseball fans so Jeff gleefully chatted away with them. The people behind us from Minnesota were a family of five who are spending the year traveling the country and we all became fast friends.  The kids rode bikes together, played on the playground, and had several games of baseball/german bat ball.  Our neighbor our other side brought us kindling and newspaper, helping me build the fire when I was having some trouble keeping it lit while Jeff and Sam were off making more friends with some people from Germany and NY.  We talked to some people with a bloodhound named, Tandy, and later met some people swimming in the lake with their pug. We ended the night watching a brilliant sunset over Lake Ontario with the skyline of Toronto in the distance.

Dipping our toes back in

Dipping our toes back in

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July 2019.  That was the last time I posted to our blog. It’s been a weird couple of years and I’m sure I will talk about that a lot more in posts ahead. I took a long hiatus from social -well, everything. As covid seeped in, I started to move away from all forms of media. I took in what we needed for our own safety and to help make decisions for the Return to Learn and Policy Committees I was on for the school district. For the most part, we took rest and mental health breaks. We watched Mo Willems and Some Good News. We gathered lesson plans, did online classes, and looked at puppies and zoo animals, but distanced ourselves from the hypermedia mania of apocalyptic proportions that seemed to want to throw people into either panic or anger stricken tirades at each transition and into the maw of an ever deepening divide as we all scrambled for survival, feeling like we were being chewed up and on the precipice of being swallowed. So I inched away. It was restful, freeing, and isolating. I am sticking my toe in the waters of coming back, unsure if I will ever dive back in the way I was before. I saw this quotation the other day from Arundhati Roy, “What is this thing that has happened to us? It’s a virus, yes. In and of itself it holds no moral brief. But it is definitely more than a virus… It has made the mighty kneel and brought the world to a halt like nothing else could. Our minds are still racing back and forth, longing for a return to ‘normality’, trying to stitch our future to our past and refusing to acknowledge the rupture. But the rupture exists. And in the midst of this terrible despair, it offers us a chance to rethink the doomsday machine we have built for ourselves. Nothing could be worse than a return to normality. Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We can choose to walk through it, dragging the carcasses of our prejudice and hatred, our avarice, our data banks and dead ideas, our dead rivers and smoky skies behind us. Or we can walk through lightly, with little luggage, ready to imagine another world. And ready to fight for it.” I wrote stories during this time about skies clearing and hope for the future, with a heart aching – at times not being able to see the good, but hoping against darkness it is still there. I wanted to address the gap and the space we are moving through as we move forward. 

Our most recent trip started (and ended) a couple weeks ago. I am posting after we we got back and schedules settled down so we could fully enjoy our time together and be present. Now I can organize my thoughts and photos as I write.

We set off at 8 am on a Friday morning and left our puppies with the neighbor girls who so kindly stayed with them. We had a fairly uneventful drive for the 6 hours to Indiana Dunes National Park. Jeff spent some time on the phone working. We started our license plate game with the boys. Sam was the recorder and we got quite a few plates for the first stretch. Indiana Dunes is one of the United States’ newest National Parks, established in 2019. It has 1,100 plant species and 350 bird species with in 15,000 acres. Yellowstone has a similar number of plant and bird species spread over 2.2 million acres by comparison. The park has 15 miles of beautiful beach on Lake Michigan – where we let the waves wash against our feet and though it was chilly, wished we could have more beach time – Lake Michigan is a gorgeous spot (the boys really wanted to return for the lake), biodiverse wetlands, and as the name indicates, sand dunes that move and shift, some have covered tall trees for which only the tops can now be seen. There are 50 miles of hiking trails along meadows and through wooded areas.  We took a couple hikes to a historic homestead (Bailly’s) and to Chellberg farm, where there are gardens and funny little chickens. It was an interesting National Park, somewhat integrated into the city with steel mills and railroad tracks in places. The beachfront had a concession stand.  We didn’t get much time to explore, but got a feel for the place and Sammy had enough time to earn his Junior Ranger badge.

We packed a lot into our first day and wanted to make it to my sister’s in Grand Rapids, MI before it got too late to spend some time together. We had Jet’s Pizza, played outside with the kids and their new puppy, talking late into the night. It was great to get our families together. The conversation and time together was nourishing.

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