Niagara Falls

Horseshoe Falls looking toward Canada- notice the rainbow in rt corner

So I finally saw Niagara Falls. Felt good to see such an American beauty on the 4th of July. It looked like others were feeling the same way. A lot of Canadians were there also. The town of Niagara needs to work on their aesthetics. It looks like 1970's hotels and tourist traps. I was informed from my Wall Street Journal reading father-in-law that a NY businessman bought all the property and is just sitting on it to turn a profit later. In the mean time Niagara Falls downtown will look empty and dated.




Our camping was on Lake Ontario once more. Four Mile Creek State Park was great. Toronto was visible across the Lake. We got to watch fireworks from our camper. We met a family from Frankfurt Germany.3 boys with different levels of English. All were great fun for Barclay. They tried to teach him soccer.





We have noticed in all the NY State Parks that we are one of only a few out of state visitors. A lot of the campers were even local and had only driven a short way to the campground. They all looked at us like we were crazy. I have seen some crazy campers but we are not them!

We were lucky to get back over the Canadian border with one expired passport. My stepson grabbed the wrong passport when leaving Chicago. Travelling by land is a little more forgiving. The border guard said at least we could prove his citizenship with the old passport. Crystal Beach is where our friend Debbie lives in the summers with her husband and 3 children. She grew up sailing on Cowan Lake (Ohio) with my husband. She is still very active and even sails in St Pete in the Lighting Midwinters every year. This is the first time we had been to her sailing arena. Her club, the Buffalo Canoe Club, is in Canada.Go figure? And.... I didn't see canoes just sailboats.

Debbie's house on Crystal Beach, Ontario



Touring the Empire State

Upper Falls at Letchworth State Park




 
Not to give New Yorkers an ego boost, but I now understand why their state is called the Empire State.  Many people tend to think of New York City and discount the rest of the state.  From what I've gathered, that really ticks off people from the Upstate, which is basically everywhere else besides NYC and Long Island.  What does the rest of the state offer?  Pretty much everything!  There is a rolling countryside with large productive farms, strategic rivers and ports, expansive waterfront along Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, quaint towns, and an abundance of natural beauty.  There is so much to see and do in the Empire State, we had to skip both the Adirondack Mountains and the Finger Lake Region.

We've had good luck booking at state campgrounds just a day or two ahead of time.  This has given us the flexibility to explore when and where we choose.


Outside Magazine's top pick for a New York state campground was Fair Haven State Park overlooking Lake Ontario, which we stayed at for 2 nights.  The sites were small and packed with some sketchy people which made for awesome people watching.  We enjoyed the well-utilized public beach, hikes along the water, and talking to the owner at the Hardware Cafe in the tiny town of Fair Haven.

Campsite at Fair Haven beside Crazy grandfather and hatchet boy

Our strategy booking campsites at the last-minute almost backfired.  Calling the reservation system for parks, Reserve America, we found that every campground in New York was booked the first weekend of July.  Luckily, well called back at the right time and found a cancellation at Letchworth State Park located on the Genesee River about an 1 hour south of Rochester.  The expansive park was named after William Pryor Letchworth, an enterprising businessman and philanthropist who manufactured leather saddles and carriage equipment during the mid 1800's.  The 14,000 acre park is referred to as the "Grand Canyon of the East", because of it deep 17 mile gorge and array of waterfalls. 

Back in the Good Ol' USA - Upstate New York

After 3 fun, but wet days in Montreal, we drove south along the St Lawrence Seaway toward the New York border.  The fertile soil of this valley is perfect for growing crops, as there were non-stop farms with heavy equipment dotting the countryside. 

No problems with border this time.



Canadian span of the Thousand Islands bridge.



Our next stop was the 1000 Islands Region, which is on the St Lawrence Seaway just east of Lake Ontario.  This area has a long history as a playground for the rich and famous.  A 3-hour boat tour gave us more incite into the area.  Large private island estates and castles were often owned by the heirs of inventors and entreprenuirs, such as McNally (maps), Singer (sewing), Emery (Lucky Strikes cigarettes), and Boldt (hotels).   Barclay's favorite castle was built by the inventor of Lifesavor Candy.  For a mere $14 million, country singer Alan Jackson recently purchased a gigantic estate along the river.

Boat Cruise around the 1000 Islands to Boldt castle.

Frontenac Post Office

Smallest "official" Island in the Chain

Smallest International island

We toured the largest and most extravegent island estate, Boldt Castle.  George Boldt immigrated as child from Germany in the mid 1800's, with only his shirt on his back.  A gregarious and driven man, he married a wealthy bride and continued to build the family fortune in the hotel industry in New York City.  His most well known jewel is the Walforf Astoria.  After buying many islands in the 1000 Island chain, he hired a staff of 300 to build a castle, remenisent of his favorite childhood castle in Germany, for his wife.  Three years into a 4 year construction timeline, George's wife unexpectedly died.  He ordered all work stopped and did not return.  The castle was completed years later and is owned by the Bridge Authority Organization.

Leaving Boldt Castle on Heart Island

Boldt Castle

While camping in the Wellesley Island State Park, we enjoyed many hikes and bike rides along rocky bluffs overlooking the river.   

Fishing off Wellesley Island

Last night, the sunset and perfect temperature beckoned us to a rocky point where Barclay tried his hand at fishing for the first time.  Although no fish were caught, he was excited to take control of the pole.

Jeff  Irvine

Montreal great city but what's up with all the rain

Old Montreal

Made it into Canada by sweet talking the border woman. We forgot the registration for the camper and Barclay's birth certificate wasn't a certified copy. I read in the AAA book it only had to be a copy. Hope we can get back into The US!

Old Montreal is so European with it's cobblestone streets and sidewalk cafes. Everyone speaks French. It was fun translating signs for my husband. I should have had some real fun with that. The rain was on and off all weekend. It rained out what could have been a big day since it was a holiday. St Jean Baptiste celebration and then a Jazz fest that looked a little soggy. We found a Biodome to get away from the rain. Awesome display of ecosystems. Of course the penguins are always the favorites.





Chinatown was only a few blocks from Old Montreal and only a few blocks wide itself. It had gates like the Chinatown in San Francisco. I did not see Nigerians selling fake Coach and Gucci purses and Rolex watches.

Burlington, VT: I miss Wavy Gravy

Lake Champlain looking toward NY



Church Street, Burlington, VT

 We are enjoying Burlington, Vermont. Our camper is parked just North of downtown so we can ride our bikes to the parks, restaurants, bars(I wish) and shops. Church Street is a nice area to walk around since it is blocked off from driving. Many choices to eat and shop. Probably more of a tourist trap but I was able to get a little retail therapy in and some chinese dumplings form a street vendor. Took a long bike ride around the town and passed thru Ethan Allen's homestead and the Univ. of Vermont's campus. Monster hills to bike but all worth it.






Today it was off to see my old friends Ben and Jerry in Waterbury, VT. Took the tour which was perfect since it lasts less than 30 mintues and you end of with a free sample at the end. The sample was Late Night Snack. It has some caramel and chocolate covered potato chips in it. Fabulous! I did ask why Wavy Gravy was put to rest and was told it was too expensive to make with the Brazil nuts, cashews and caramel. Glad to know it wasn't because it didn't taste good because it was my favorite. It even had a tye-dye colored container. Went to the flavor graveyard to pay my respects and Wavy Gravy was not even there. I wonder how the actual man feels about his flavor going to the graveyard?   The Nerve! Read about him http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavy_Gravy



Flavor Graveyard at Ben and Jerry's Factory




New Flavors coming your way

   

Beautiful Vermont



Woodstock, VT



Sabra Field artist extraordinaire

.



Now back in Vermont and the weather has greatly improved. Blue skies and perfect temperatures. We ventured over toward Woodstock, VT. There is no argument from me why it is called one of the small beautiful towns in America. We were lucky enough to visit one of VT’s well known artists at her studio and home. She lives outside of Woodstock in a small village that is the ideal setting for an artist or writer. Barclay had a great time feeding her fish in the back pond and checking out the creek that ran along the property. VT is definitely the Green State!

Our campsite was at Quechee Gorge SP. The state parks have been so nice here. Bathrooms cleaner than at home! There are no electric sites at VT state parks. But who needs A/C here? We moved on to a private campsite where everyone seemed to know each other. They were all seasonal people that stay there on weekends or for the whole summer. One couple just sold their house in St. Pete and are now fulltime on the road.  One night was all we could handle here. A wonderful stop in Middlebury for lunch and wifi at a coffee shop. After a few melt downs we were out of there. The coffee shop was full of students and professors, only our small child that was getting antsy!



Barclay on a date with Maggie. Who wouldn't want a girl with a purple monster truck?

Lake Champlain south of Burlington, VT. Gorgeous. Views of the Adirondacks over the lake. The Button Bay SP was packed with families for Father’s Day weekend and a fishing tournament. Great pool but too cold for our FL blood. Barclay was excited to see so many kids. They all had bikes and scooters. Wish we had brought his scooter. 



Button Bay Lake Champlain



Looking across Lake Champlain to the Adirondacks



Campsite at Button Bay SP.



Farm Barn at Shelburne



On our way into Burlington we stopped at Shelburne Farms. What a great place for kids. It could have been a full day of petting animals and watching some get fed, sheared, milked, etc. Several animals had babies since May. The farm was built in the 1880’s as a model architectural farm. The wife of the owners was part of the Vanderbilt family so you can see it is not like most farms you think of.



These goats were born less than 24 hrs ago.




This looks like a fun game. Guess what is in the containers? Gross.


 


First milking for the new baby goats.



                                      

Shiver Me Timbers in New Hampshire

Arrived just before sunset at our first campground in the White Mountain National Forest, New Hampshires famed mountain range.   We had thoughts of excitement and anticipation thinking of the next four days roaming the biggest, baddest mountains in New England.   With the sun quickly setting, we jogged with Barclay down the road to enjoy the Blackberry Crossing Covered Bridge.  

Covered Bridge Crossing, White Mountains



The Plan was to hike several trails in New Hamphire's famed White Mountain National Forest, so we purchased the book entitled 'The 50 Best Hiking Trails in the White Mountains'.  As luck would have it, we encountered three days of chilly rain and temps falling into the 40's.  We moved on to plan B, trying to relax in a moist, cramped camper while Barclay bounced off the tin walls.  Deep in the woods of national forest campgrounds, including Blackberry Crossing and Sugar Loaf, we had no amenities or modern-day distractions for the little man.  The best we could offer him was an outhouse potty down the path.  Wow, what an adventure!  



Mt Washington, 2nd highest peak in the East, hiding behind the clouds



Susan suspiciously came down with a nasty cold, so Barclay and I had to fend for ourselves.   On day 4, the skies finally cleared, allowing Barclay and I to happily venture out on a 6 mile hike up the Zealand Trail.  My energetic hiking partner did extremely well; although we didn't stumble upon turtles or deer he wished for, we did see captivating mountain views and water falls.  Meanwhile, back in the trailer, Susan wrapped up her third novel.      

- Jeff



Mountain Waterfalls were everywhere

Excited to see a Moose!

Hiking partners on Zealand Trail in the White Mountains