Maine | I think Maine is my fav of all the New England States. We did have a hard time finding campgrounds, especially the more north you go. But it surely was worth the visit even though we got lost (most of the time - signage is non-existent), driving very skinny windy roads and fearing stormy weather. The woods are sooooo green, the coast dotted with, yeah, typical New England white washed fishing cottages, lots and lots of lobster, friendly people, signs we don't understand (as they are in French), and thousands of little islands. Lots of fishing boats, little sailboats and unspoiled miles and miles and miles of woods. This is the place I would not mind moving to if it just wasn't so cold, snowy, windy & icy 9 months out of the year. :-( Did you know that the Maine population eats the most ice cream! Lobster & ice cream - YUM! Beside fishing, lumber is still the predominant industry here. Luckily they do have a robust re-foresting program. It is interesting to find so many 'watch out for Moose' warnings everywhere you go. You know there's a lot of snow here when you see a 'snowmobile' warning sign on the open road!!! :-) |
Acadia National Park
0 Comments
The New England States are by far the greenest states on the entire USA continent. It is just absolutely beautiful. The dense forests, the windy roads, the covered bridges, the LOW bridges (that's a story in itself), the shoreline, the unbelievable quaint homes dotting the country side, and the best thing of all... an abundance of LOBSTER! No joke.. even McDonald's has lobster rolls.. Check out the marquee. We were so amazed... McDonald Lobsters! Allan had to try... hmm, not bad he says. I think I'll stick with the fresh kind. It may just be lobster pink slime :-) Aside from Lobster, in Vermont we became KOA models. That's another story. In Vermont we also had a close and personal encounter with a low Rail Road Bridge... Yes, Gertrude got a terrific headache. In New Hampshire we encountered a beached whale.. no, not me in a bathing suit. A real humpback whale. Washed ashore after an untimely death. And in Maine, we toured around the Acadia National Park, went to the tippy top of Maine, almost entered Canada by mistake and fell in love with the beautiful country side, the fishing villages and the French influence. On the return route, we drove through miles and miles of forest, camped in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, home of Lake Placid the place for the Winter Olympics and also the Green Mountains of Vermont. What beauty. Taste testing McDonald's lobster roll - the jury is still out
We made quite a bit of progress since we last posted our blog. Yes, we're actually heading back West.... Today, we've been on the road for exactly 18 months! Can you imagine that? Eighteen months ago, when we decided to take Gertrude for a spin and see the mainland, we thought we'd wrap it up in one year. Hah! Here we are, eighteen months later, and we're still not quiet done yet. But... we are getting close. Five more states to go... YAY! Where are we now, you ask? Actually, we just headed away from Cleveland, OH. Yes, the place where all the Trumpeteers are conventioning (is that even a word?). It's a scary thing, so after we visited the Cuyahoga Valley National Park which is south of Cleveland, we put Gertrude in gear, and headed westward on the Ohio Turnpike. Next stop, the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Why in such a hurry? Too many gun-toting people. Yes, Ohio has an open carry (firearms) policy and the world is not stable enough for us to hang around with all that fire power in our face. So, to the woods..., but first.... Niagara Falls - you will get wet!
First the uniforms.... this is tricky since it's VERY windy - Yellow for the Cave of the Winds; Blue for the Boat Ride; and Red for the Canadian side - oh, let's not forget... the sexy sandals :-) and now.. the spectacular sights! Guess Ellis Island records on the Pfuntner's didn't date back before the 1900's and, guess Allan maintains that he is NOT Hungarian. So, the nerd he is, he searched the genealogy available via the internet and he just found out that the first related Pfuntner, Joseph Pfuntner son of Josephus arrived in 1847 at the Port of New York from Hamburg, Germany. He was a carver of tombstones.... :-O No wonder Allan is so morbid! Do you know that his research was dating cadavers using blowflies? I know, you really didn't want to know this. Buy, hey... it's in the genes :-) Now you know! PROST! (yes only 1 'O' in German... PROOST in Dutch!) Sooo many people, such crazy drivers, rushing here, rushing there.. aaah... Good thing we decided to go on foot. After the Boston experience, no way were we gonna kill ourselves or each other and try to drive in NY City. Quick we gotta cross the street. Oh no, there's a mass of humanity heading our way and we're underfoot and lost. Better ask for directions.. Where is the Freedom Tower...? In front of you....... oh! DUH, that was obvious :-), well, what do you expect from a couple of oldies that have been in the woods for too long. I even wore a dress for the occasion. Argh, not a good idea to wear a dress when going via water taxi to the city... I'm not trying to mimic the Marilyn Monroe pose but, tell my dress that. The reason we came to the Big Apple was, of course, to pay tribute to those who had perished in the 9/11 attack. Words cannot do justice in describing the anguish, the fear, the confusion, the chaos, the heroism and the big gaping wounds that were left behind. May we take a moment and remember those who were victimized by raw terrorism. May you rest in peace. Can you imagine that.... Allan found reference to two Pfuntners who came to Ellis Island in the 1900's! It was such an amazing find. One Pfuntner, an 18 year single woman from Austria, came across the Atlantic Ocean in 1910 via Bremen on the ship Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. Her name was Alinalie Pfuntner. What a pretty name huh. As we always thought that Allan's roots came from Austria, we were certain that she must be his great great grandmother. But, she was only 18 and single when she came. Wouldn't she have changed her name when she got married? So we checked further. We found that a 29 year old young man named Stefan Pfuntner from Hungary, who came across from Antwerp on a Dutch Ship 'Vaderland' in 1909, may be a very likely candidate for Allan's great great grandfather. Hey, since he took a Dutch ship, and since we're partial to Holland, we'll own the fact that he was indeed Allan's forefather. So, Allan could very well be Hungarian instead of an Austrian German! How cool is that! :-) Interesting huh! These poor people that came across the Atlantic to try to find a better place to live, found that after a grueling voyage, had to jump through multiple hoops, including a mental acuity test, before being able to step foot in America. Well, Allan's forefather must have been able to jump through these hoops, as there are indeed a few Pfuntner's in this country.
Definitely a 'must do' when visiting Ms. Liberty.... people watching! |
Rhode Island and its history reminds me of the little red train going up the steep hill saying: 'I think I can... I think I can..' Providence, the hub of RI, is a place of the fiercely independent. Roger Williams vision for freedom of conscience became the foundation of our nation's commitment to Freedom of Religion! With a Rooster for a State Bird, you can't but understand the feistyness of this State's history. |
Roger Williams, a visionary thinker on religious freedom, equal treatment of Native Americans, and founder of Rhode Island, made this area a haven for persecuted religious groups. He laid the groundwork for the ideas of liberty, equality, and the separation of church and state in the US Constitution.
Today, we take this concept of freedom of religion for granted, but most people of his time condemned such ideas as naive and dangerous. Religious freedom and civil order could not coexist. But like that little train, Roger Williams persisted, founded Rhode Island and put his beliefs into practice, giving "shelter for persons distressed of conscience".
As we walked the city streets of Providence we witnessed the culture of this religious tolerance and respect first hand. This respect was evidenced by a marquee we spotted from a Baptist Church recognizing Ramadan! Impressive!
I personally have never seen (with the exception in my birth country of Indonesia) a Christian Church recognizing the holy month of Ramadan of the Muslim religion. If only more people in this world can follow this example and teachings of tolerance and respect.
Today, we take this concept of freedom of religion for granted, but most people of his time condemned such ideas as naive and dangerous. Religious freedom and civil order could not coexist. But like that little train, Roger Williams persisted, founded Rhode Island and put his beliefs into practice, giving "shelter for persons distressed of conscience".
As we walked the city streets of Providence we witnessed the culture of this religious tolerance and respect first hand. This respect was evidenced by a marquee we spotted from a Baptist Church recognizing Ramadan! Impressive!
I personally have never seen (with the exception in my birth country of Indonesia) a Christian Church recognizing the holy month of Ramadan of the Muslim religion. If only more people in this world can follow this example and teachings of tolerance and respect.
The mansions of Rhode Island - Misquamicut
Other amazing sites of Rhode Island were its seashore and its mansions - of which Allan & I were shoo'd away from....
Funny story: We found lodging right on the beach in an overpriced little vacation hotel on an amazing stretch of beach. Once settled in and grumbling about the amenities in contrast to the price we paid, we went to the beach and spotted a light house in the distance. So we decided to hike towards it. Spotting beautiful mansions along the way and four miles later, tired and needing a drink, we spotted a huge spectacular building which we thought must be a hotel. The beach in front of this amazing structure was dotted with chairs and a cozy looking restaurant/bar eating type area under a large canopy. Ahah.. we thought, what a great place to rest, have a drink and some pupu's. So we thought....
We walked towards it, and as we're approaching the entrance a nice young lady came to us who we thought was a receptionist.... ooops...eratta... she was a security person letting us 'gently' know that we're not welcome there as this is a 'private party'. So Allan asked: OK, is there a restaurant inside we can go to? Her now stern comment, 'no sir, the entire facility is for a private party, the public is not allowed here'.... Hmmm, so I asked, 'what is the occasion? A wedding?' Her snide comment, 'that is priviliged information'.... OK... guess we're the peanut gallery... so we lingered a little trying to decide what to do next... Guess, we didn't move away fast enough as the young lady told us that the area we're at is reserved and we must move away.... Hmmmm... my sand is not your sand.. guess we don't belong here... so away we went.....
The next day we drove to the same area to see what this special place was. It was a private club... FANCY......Check it out!
Funny story: We found lodging right on the beach in an overpriced little vacation hotel on an amazing stretch of beach. Once settled in and grumbling about the amenities in contrast to the price we paid, we went to the beach and spotted a light house in the distance. So we decided to hike towards it. Spotting beautiful mansions along the way and four miles later, tired and needing a drink, we spotted a huge spectacular building which we thought must be a hotel. The beach in front of this amazing structure was dotted with chairs and a cozy looking restaurant/bar eating type area under a large canopy. Ahah.. we thought, what a great place to rest, have a drink and some pupu's. So we thought....
We walked towards it, and as we're approaching the entrance a nice young lady came to us who we thought was a receptionist.... ooops...eratta... she was a security person letting us 'gently' know that we're not welcome there as this is a 'private party'. So Allan asked: OK, is there a restaurant inside we can go to? Her now stern comment, 'no sir, the entire facility is for a private party, the public is not allowed here'.... Hmmm, so I asked, 'what is the occasion? A wedding?' Her snide comment, 'that is priviliged information'.... OK... guess we're the peanut gallery... so we lingered a little trying to decide what to do next... Guess, we didn't move away fast enough as the young lady told us that the area we're at is reserved and we must move away.... Hmmmm... my sand is not your sand.. guess we don't belong here... so away we went.....
The next day we drove to the same area to see what this special place was. It was a private club... FANCY......Check it out!
Watch Hill
That day, we never reached the Light House, as it was on a hill surrounded by rocks and we didn't wear the right shoes - so we decided to find it the next day! We found Watch Hill - aptly named for this light house. We walked through an exclusive mansion-lined neighborhood (where cars were not allowed & no photography) to reach the light house.
It was an interesting hike indeed!
It was an interesting hike indeed!
OK, we all heard about Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard as the places to go to catch some rays and frolic on the sand and sea. But do you really know Cape Cod? I didn't. I've never been here and of course I had to visit the place as all the 'rich & famous' always vacation in Cape Cod and the outlying islands, Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard.
Mother Nature did her best work here. This is the tale of how Cape Cod became the place she is today.
Mother Nature did her best work here. This is the tale of how Cape Cod became the place she is today.
The Salt Spray Rose can be found everywhere on the Cape. It is such a beautiful sight. But just think, this area was a glacier once. We must preserve what we have and pay attention to the affects of Global Warming. This too shall change. Will we have this beautiful Seashore for our great great great grandchildren to frolic on? I hope so! |
Talk Story
Allan & Sri,
just a couple of old folks roaming around the country side enjoying life sharing their travel stories...
Proost!
Where we are now:
Anacortes, WA
If you want to follow our blog, click on the RSS Feed below
Archives
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
September 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015