Our great drive across the north....

In my last post I mentioned we were on our way off trail to rent a car. 2 weeks later we returned said car. Find a comfy chair and a map and follow along with our great trip across the north that took us 2500 miles and 5 states. Had I thought of it, I would have used the Spot to check in at all of our locations, drawing a nice little map, criss-crossing our lovely path, but I didn't:/.


 Our trip began in White River Junction, VT, from there we travelled to Newport, RI to visit with our friend Jeff, Natalie and their spunky daughter, Jocelyn. We left RI and headed to the wedding of our friends Chris and Ally in Big Indian, NY. With some time to spare we drove to Camden,ME where surprised my daughter once again. ( I LOVE dropping in and surprising my family!) While in Camden, Nick decides he really wants to visit his parents ( who live in the Keys ) who are vacationing in Thousand Islands Park,NY. We add another week to the rental and head west :) Since we are already in the vicinity ( not really, but at least the same state...?), we decide to drive down to Niagara Falls, NY. From the falls we head east to White River Junction and returned the car. Whew...


Okay, with the overview of the trip taken care of, now I can talk about the FUN we had catching up with our loved ones.

First up...Jeff, Natalie & Jocelyn... First off, what an amazing family! We always have such a great time with them and their hospitality is quite gracious.  Nick went to high school with the two of them and I never tire of the stories the three share.  We met them at the water where Jeff was racing their International 14, which is a frightening vessel, with an enormous amount of sail that flies across the water in no wind and that two men can lift. We spent the next couple of days exploring Newport with them, sailing aboard the Schooner Aquidneck and lots of time consuming homebrews and grilling in the backyard.  Our visit came to an end and we headed west for the wedding.

Back to the story....After our ridiculous corn consumption, I told Nick I wanted to surprise Simone again. This began our drive to Camden, ME. Yippeee!!! We arrived just before dark and I tried to sneak along the dock to surprise her, I believe Bailey gave us away. We spent the next few days with her sailing aboard her home and place of employment the Schooner Appledore. I never grow tired of Camden and of course never grow tired of catching up with my girlie, trying to limit our time apart. During this visit I finally got to see her aloft, I am so proud of her. She is growing up and our relationship evolves and with each conversation....;).We always cook a meal for the crew when we stay to show our appreciation for their hospitality while aboard, it was a chilly night and a huge pot of chili it was. Our many thanks to the crew, once again. We bid farewell to my girlie and to Camden, it would be our last visit with her this season before they head south the Key West for the winter.  :(




With my family time in, it was time for Nick's. His folks live in the Keys, but were vacationing in Thousand Islands Park, NY at the family "cottage". We arrived in the afternoon, the sun was shining and the wind was blowing and it was perfect weather for  a stroll with his parents and to become acquainted with the island.  We returned and met with the rest of the family and Bailey tried to behave herself with the other dogs. Nick had not been to the island since he was 12 and I had never been.  What a beautiful place!  We sat and had dinner and shared stories, the sun began to fall into the water, and it was time to sleep. The next day Nick and I and Bailey packed a lunch and took out the St.Lawrence Skiff.  It was my first experience in a skiff and took some getting used to, I am not very coordinated and you are backwards the entire time.  Fortunately, there is not much to hit out there and Nick is an amazing rower. I finally got the hang of it, I think.  We headed for a shore line, ate lunch, swam ( brrrrr). Nick and Bailey rowed around for a bit, I watched and took pictures. We headed back for the "cottage" and I spent the afternoon lazily on the dock while Nick worked on mending some line and nautical things of the sort :).  That night Nick's parents treated the family to dinner, and I reunited with one of my true loves, prime rib...rare. mmmmmm. Homemade fresh blueberry pancakes in the morning were a welcome surprise, too and prepared us for our trip to Niagara Falls.  Our deepest thanks to the McNaughton family for allowing us share the time with them in their beautiful home. We snapped a few pictures of the family and said our goodbyes and headed south.

It was my first time at the falls.  I felt bad because Nick wanted to do the "whole tour", you know the boat and all, but we had Bailey with us and although she is allowed in the park, she is not allowed on any of the tours. At times she does limit our activities, which in a way is not always bad, she did save us some $. :)  We had packed a lunch and sat in the grass above the falls, people watched ( which is always fun) and took in the scenery. 

We returned to the trail and a change of terrain and weather in Vermont.  The leaves have a tinge of color on them and some are already beginning to cover the trail. The cooler weather is much welcome and makes hiking quite a bit more pleasant.
My time is up at the library...so much more to add ...:/  Including xome more AMAZING people we have met :)!