Where did Nov. and most of Dec go?????????

I am so behind on here. I feel like a bad blogger. I have been keeping things up on facebook but have neglected this place. My artsy blog is a little bit more updated than this. Today I wanted to add a few pics of my grandson's Chirstmas program at school. The lighting was not very good but you can see him in green.

Trying to get photos in post

I am trying to figure out how to put a photo in the blog post. See if this works.

Snow in October???

Well we were blanketed in white yesterday. The trees have not even shed all their leaves yet. Did get some nice photos and will get them posted as soon as I get them off the disc.

Rain, cold and falling leaves

Why do I even think I can post on here weekly? Since the last post it has mostly rained and been cold. Not enough sunshine to take pics of the fall colors. I hope that changes soon and some nice weather visits in Oct. Since the word "snow" has now been mentioned in the forecast. That is a bit early for me but then nothing I can do about it now is there?

September is almost gone

I figured I better get one last post in before September is torn off the calendar. The autumn colors are almost at peak here in Northern WI. On the weekend we went to the Keweenaw of Michigan for a geocaching event and to enjoy the colors. We were surprised that the colors were not quite as far as here, but we did find some pockets of crimsons and ochres that were gorgeous. We had a great time at the event at Fort Wilkins State Park a civil war encampment filled with man historical things to visit. The mining history in that whole area is mind boggling. Enjoy the crimson tree.

Macro Monday Sunflowers

I am able to participate in the Macro Monday once again. My grandson and I planted these together. They were all suppose to be the deep amber color but most came out yellow.

Geocaching

Last night we took our 20 month old grandson on his first geocaching adventure. His 5 year old brother has found caches before so he enjoyed teaching his brother the ropes. Our handle is "Timberline Echoes", eldest grandson is "Lil' Echo" and he named the youngest "Tiny Echo".
We carried the youngest one in, but he insisted on walking the 1/4 mile out on his own two feet. They both fell asleep on the drive home.

Calendar pages

Okay who is flipping the calendar pages so quickly??? Another week has flown by and I missed out on blogging. My goal may be to leave a post just once a week for a while. Hoping for a bit of a routine to unfold in my life soon. Right now it is time to prepare for company and two weddings to attend. I will find a photo to post anyway. Enjoy life!

Playing with templates

I have been playing with colors and templates today... changing to fall colors for the autumn season. One of my favorites seasons.

Macro Monday

I like how Lisa is faithful to post a macro pic every Monday. Thought I would try to be better at it so I am going to load one up here.

Fall is in the air

MThe summer cycle of traveling far and wide is coming to an end. I have begun a few new art projects that I have posted on my site. http://catherinemariecalvetti.com I am also on facebook now so wondering if I really want two blogs going. I was thinking of keeping this one for sharing my life stuff, grandsons, geocaching and everything but my art and writing. Not sure if it will work but I will be trying a bit more now that I will be home a little more... I think.

I was a winner and my prize arrived

If you did not leave a post to win a pair of Lee jeans I would highly recommend doing so next time you see a blog give away. I am so thrilled with these $42.00 jeans I got for free. They fit well, look great and will quickly become my favorite pair.

Canadian Train Ride

Wow, today was an awesome day. We started the day getting up at 6 Eastern time.. that is 5 a.m. our time. We were out the door and heading to Canada before 6:45 EST. We crossed the border with no difficulties and found the train depot with no problem. Our tickets were there waiting for us but we had to wait for the train to get in. The gift shop and depot were open so we just checked that out. We were able to board the train by 7:45. There were 6 or 7 coach cars, two dining cars, and an engine on both ends.

The train pulled in with a south headed engine but we left the depot with the north headed engine. The first half hour we passed through the industrial area of Sault Ste. Marie. getting some great views of the bridge, old buildings, steel refinery and a pulp mill. It wasn't long after that and we were headed into the forests of Canada. The servers kept us notified via a speaker system of what rivers we were crossing, local history, trestle heights, lake names etc. The huge vistas, pristine lakes and jutting cliffs were gorgeous.

It took nearly 4 hours to travel the 114 miles into a huge canyon. I walked to the dining car several times for beverages. It was a bit challenging to stay standing straight but there was always something to grab on to, even when opening the doors to get into the next car.

Once in the canyon, Jim and I headed to one of the 4 waterfalls to fix a geocache. We replaced the container and log book for the owner. Next we went to the viewing platform where we climbed 300 steps to a fantastic view of the canyon. Before we knew it it was time to board the train for the trip back.

All of our seats were turned around while we were wondering the canyon.

The trip back was very relaxing, many passengers fell asleep with the swaying of the car and the clacking of the track. We ended up visiting with several others sitting near by.

Once back in the station we went to the waterfront and walked along the boardwalk, finding 3 more geocaches. We could see the bridge to the U.S. and the traffic was just crawling so we just stayed in Canada a while longer. Once we saw that the traffic was no longer backed up we headed across.

The bridge toll was $2.50 U.S. fund each way. Crossing the border did not take long once it was our turn but we had to wait nearly 15 minutes for our turn to arrive.

Back in the states, hot and tired we grabbed one more geocache before getting a nice dinner at Country Kitchen.

If you are interested in seeing more about the train here is the link
http://www.agawatrain.com/?gclid=CMqfh8-FopwCFSXyDAodfzmKlg

CC

Win some jeans

Check this out
http://intricateart.com/lee-slender-secret-jeans-giveaway-10-winners

Facebook

I am trying to learn facebook and would like to add a link to mine. I will try to do it here.http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=849&id=1775750009&saved#/profile.php?id=1775750009&ref=name

Not sure if it will work.

The Green Circle

Wasn't sure how it was going to go. We did a 30 mile bike ride geocaching event on the Green Circle in Stevens Point this weekend. It was terrific, 15 of us did it, including a 1 year old who rode in a tag-along. We stopped at least every 2 miles to find a geocache, fuel up and rest. It took 7 hours but we all made it and had a wonderful time. Now off for a camping adventure.

Rich and Full

I have been looking for a word to replace "busy" in my life. I do not like that word and see it often as an excuse word. Well my brother told me the other day that someone told him to use the words "rich and full" to describe his schedule. I really like that idea because my life truly is rich and full. I am trying to add those words to my vocabulary as much as possible. Our summer has been and is rich and full with traveling, family time and geocaching. I will post more about it when the fall comes and the days get shorter. For now I am out enjoying each day too much to sit at the computer for very long, so I will just ad tidbits when I can.

Publisher having a book sale

I just found out that my publisher is running a big sale on my book.
Go to http://publishamerica.com and type in either "Calvetti" or "Rejected to Accepted". The way I understand it it is going for $6.99 for the rest of July. I have been paying over twice that myself.

I am a guest speaker tonight

Tonight I am one of 5 authors who are giving a presentation in Minocqua at the library. "So You Want to Publish A Book".

We did a presentation a few months ago and there was such an overwhelming response we are returning.

If you are in the area drop on in, it is a free program.

Another week slips by

How do the weeks slip by so quickly? Has it really been a week since I put a post on here. I so admire my friend Lisa who is so faithful to put a post on her blog every day. I may try to commit to once a week but my life, especially in the summer is dedicated to my wonderful husband. We travel, Geocache and just enjoy life to the fullest. We are having a relaxing long weekend before some pretty heavy medical appointments later in the week.
Until next time...

Last day and home

We were on the road by 7:15 this morning. After a quick stop for some "Ivarest" a highly recommended poison ivy itch relief cream we headed through several port towns along Lake Michigan. Our first stop was the Charlevoix, first to see the Worlds' Largest Pie, now just a pan and fake pie and then into town. We learned that the draw bridge is lifted every 30 minutes as needed. The parade of huge yachts we saw go through proved it was needed often. All walking and driving traffic stops until the boats are safely through and the bride is back down.

Mackinaw City was our next stop, before crossing the bridge we stopped for a letterbox and geocache at a wayside. Then off to a light house before paying the $3.00 toll to get to the Upper Pennisula of Michigan. Once over the bridge we stopped at a wayside with a great view of the bridge, ate a picnic lunch and got back on the road again.

We stopped for a few more geocaches at waysides just to stretch out a bit. In Gladstone we filled up with gas at $2.76 per gallon.

Once we hit Escanaba we felt like we were home, but we still had some more miles to put on. Dinner was at our favorite Country Kitchen in Iron Mountain at 6:00 and by 7:15 we crossed the border into WI. We knew we were nearing home when several times we had to hit the breaks for white tail deer on the road.

At 8:30 we pulled into the driveway, unpacked, opened all the windows... and got at the e-mail. Now to start planning our next adventure.

Almost home

We are getting closer to home. We traveled 277 miles all along Lake Michigan today. When we started this morning at 7:45 the temperature was 81 degrees. As we headed West on the Blue Star Memorial Hwy we traveled through Holland and then to Hemlock Crossing. We hiked at the Pigeon River Greenway State Park for a little while but the temperature had climbed up to 95 so we did not stay out long. As we neared Ludington we were impressed with the large rolling hills and best of all the temperature dropped to 75. We had lunch at a park, the went to another park with a huge sand beach and a light house. While finding a cache near the lighthouse we met another cacher with the tell tale GPSr in hand and geocaching shirt on. We struck up a conversation with him and found the cache together. Next we took a ride through the Sand Dunes, stopping along the lake shore to snap some photos. Continuing on the Lake Michigan Circle Tour we past through Manistee a Historic Victorian Port City and many small towns that did not have Mc Ds of any of the usual fair. We had many great views of the lake, mixed with forest and little beach towns.

At 5:00 we arrived in Traverse City, MI a college town a bit bigger than we expected. The temperature went back up into the 90's so we are staying in the AC. For dinner we went to Cracker Barrel, I had been wanting Jim to try one since he had never been to one before.

Day 17

We could tell right away it was going to be a hot one today. The hazy skies and nearly 80 degree weather at 7:15 did not stop us from grabbing a few caches on the Bowling Green University Campus. At 10:20 we made it to Indiana. After a few caches we stopped to eat lunch in the shade at Bixler Lake Park at Kendalville it was already 94 degrees. When we neared South Bend the temps were registering 99, skirting around the city we veered off to Elkhart where we cached around the town near the flooded river. Our vechicle thermometer said it was 106 degrees. Our next move was to get to Michigan, we passed the border at 4:14 where we eventually found a Comfort Suites. Dropping our things in the room we went for dinner. It was the first time we ever ate at a Bob Evans, which is a chain out of Ohio, we hope it is not our last. It is very similar to a Perkins.

We filled up with gas at $2.65 per gallon. When we returned to our room it was obvious the AC was not working so we requested a new room. The desk person said no problem, so I went down to get the key and he gave us a jacuzzi suite at no extra charge for our troubles.

We went 248 miles today putting us over the 4000 mile mark on this trip. Looks like we could be home by Friday.

Day 17

We could tell right away it was going to be a hot one today. The hazy skies and nearly 80 degree weather at 7:15 did not stop us from grabbing a few caches on the Bowling Green University Campus. At 10:20 we made it to Indiana. After a few caches we stopped to eat lunch in the shade at Bixler Lake Park at Kendalville it was already 94 degrees. When we neared South Bend the temps were registering 99, skirting around the city we veered off to Elkhart where we cached around the town near the flooded river. Our vechicle thermometer said it was 106 degrees. Our next move was to get to Michigan, we passed the border at 4:14 where we eventually found a Comfort Suites. Dropping our things in the room we went for dinner. It was the first time we ever ate at a Bob Evans, which is a chain out of Ohio, we hope it is not our last. It is very similar to a Perkins.

We filled up with gas at $2.65 per gallon. When we returned to our room it was obvious the AC was not working so we requested a new room. The desk person said no problem, so I went down to get the key and he gave us a jacuzzi suite at no extra charge for our troubles.

We went 248 miles today putting us over the 4000 mile mark on this trip. Looks like we could be home by Friday.

Day 16

Our journey took us 259 miles today. Starting our morning in PA we went west and entered Conneaut, OH at 9:00 a.m. where we picked up the Coastal Ohio Trail, Hwy 6 right along Lake Erie. We got on to I-90 for a short time to get around Cleveland which gave us some very scenic views of the lake. After getting away from the city we got back onto the Erie Lake Circle tour passing through towns that were the classical picture of hometown USA. Each one having McD's, Walmart, Perkins, Lowes, etc.

We did pass through an interesting town with a channel coming off of Lake Erie in which many very large boats were parked, like a marina but each was docked near a home.

As we ventured away from the circle tour the flat land was dotted with farms growing corn, soybeans, pumpkins and wheat.

We found 9 geocaches, a couple in some very interesting cemeteries.

Needing to get our laundry done we stopped in Bowling Green for the night. We are at the Best Western, laundry is done and are bellies were filled at Tim Hortons. We did not think we would find another one on this trip. There are hundreds of bicycles in town so we are trying to figure out where the tour is going.

Day 15

Before leaving Mansfield this morning we did a quick stop at Walmart for a few things and stopped a few geocaches. We journeyed on through the Allegheny Mountains down the Grand Army of the Republic Highway stopping at the National Guard for a geocache. The cache is a notebook inside the building where the guards greeted us and gave us a bag filled with goodies, t-shirts, lanyards, water bottles, pins and pens. First time we ever had one like that.

The little villages and towns nestled in the mountains popped up every few miles. We passed fewer Mc D's and Dunkin' Donuts than usual though. The one we spent the most time in today was Wellsboro, PA. There were many red brick historical buildings, mixed in with the colonial buildings, churches, and newer homes and businesses. The street lights in this town are the original ones that needed a lamp lighter to light them up each night. They have replaced the wicks with modern ones like in Coleman lanterns and hooked them up with gas so they just stay lit all the time. The park had a few historical markers, several statues and a water fountain. In the middle of the fountain was a sculpture of Wynken, Blyken and Nod in the wooden shoe.

The area we passed through is called "The Grand Canyon of PA". The elevations continued to rise and drop from 2400 feet to 1700 feet. We had to chew gum to help our ears pop from all the air pressure changes.

We were surprised to see quite a few small oil rigs near the roads on most of our travels today. At one point we crossed "The North Country Trail" before coming to the Allegheny Resevoir. We stopped near the dam for photos.

We have not had any phone service while in PA, not sure if there aren't many towers where we are or if AT & & just does not service this area.

At 2:30 we crossed back into a little corner of NY. The mountains started tapering off a little as we neared Lake Erie. Crossing back into PA by 3:15, we found a place to stop and go in the Great Lake for photo along the Seaway Trail at Orchard Beach. This area is obviously good for growing grapes as there are vineyards everywhere.

Before checking into the LaQuinta in Erie, PA we filled up the gas tank at $2.69 per gallon. We grabbed a quick sandwich at Arbys and are settling in for the night.

I found three small spots where poison ivy must have got me on my leg, good thing I have the Benadryl with me. I knew I saw quite a bit in NY and NJ but I thought I stayed out of it... obviously not.

Day 14 of our Adventure

On the road again. After a nice breakfast at the little diner near Ron's, we said a quick good-bye (we all dislike good-byes), and we were off. Ron led the way out of town with his Subaru Baja, we followed until he pointed out the window for us to head north on HWY 17.

We grabbed a couple quick caches before leaving NJ, and then headed back into NY on the Scenic Byway Delaware River Heritage trail. We entered a mountain range that nothing so far can compare too. We are not sure where the Catskills ended and the Allegheny Mountains began but they sure are breath taking. The spectacular panoramic views that we experienced for the next eight hours and have stopped in, are amazing. The elevations climbed to 1940 feet above sea level and then back down to under 500 feet, the grade so steep that the semis are not allowed on many of the roads we traveled. The few that allowed trucks had a 20 mph speed limits for large vehicles. The historic towns continued to appear before us, most of these had been settled in the 1700's.

At 11:15 we crossed into Pennsylvania getting some gas at $2.67 per gallon. We found a picnic table at the head of a hiking trail in Carbondale, PA where we had our lunch as we marvled at the views. Numerous times we stopped just to take photos of "The Endless Mountains". One of the scenic viewing areas had a sign sharing the history of the site, a French refugee colony had settled in 1793, they had built "The Great House" for Marie Antoinette and her son. There were historical markers along the highway, about railroads, John Sulivan, etc. there was no way we could read them all.

The weather was nice today, a mix of huge billowing gray and white clouds with the blue peeking through all over. The clouds just added to the immense mountains that dwarfed the barns, houses and vehicles we could see scattered for miles all around. The mountains make everything look like minature toys, no matter if it is a colapsing barn or school bus you can see so far that everything seems to shrink in the scheme of things.

We did stop at a town called Borough of Mansfield which has the Towanda River running through it. The river is flooded and raging, covering some of the trails with the fast running water. We walked through the historic district picking up a few geocaches before finishing our 256 mile trek to the city of Mansfield where we checked into the Comfort Inn.

Most restaurants in the area are closed on Sunday but we found Mark's Place to be open. It is a Victorian home made into a really nice lounge. The food matched the uniqueness of the decor. The town's claim to fame is that they had the first night time football game in the world, in 1892. It is reenacted every year by the towns people at the college campus.

We filled the gas tank at $2.69 a gallon

Two more days of our adventure

Wow, how to condense the last two days into one e-mail is going to be tough but I am going to try and capture these memories with words. Thursday morning was 67 degrees and humid but at least the rain had stopped before we got on the road. We once again meandered through more of the roads peppered with colonial houses. Heading on Hwy 44 we traveled through Harford, CT the capitol city which had some very busy and run down parts. The other part of town had the newer homes, stores and restaurants. As we continued passing through the little towns we noticed that each one listed the year that they were established, settled or incorporated, not their population. Some as early as 1654 others in the early 1700's.

At 2:00 we were back in New York, where we picked up gas at $2.89 per gallon. Before we knew it we found ourselves in the Palisades Parkway traveling around Bear Mountain and once again crossing paths with the Appalachian Trail. It took us 2 hours to get through the mountains and into New Jersey. We learned that 30 miles around here takes almost as long as it does to get 75 back home. The traffic is amazingly dense and fast but we did make it to Ron's house in Fair Lawn, NJ by 5:15. After a quick tour of his apartment we went to his brothers house. After spending a little time there we ran next door to see Frank. He had taken Cathy and friends on the cruise ship around NYC nearly 7 years ago. It was great visiting. The 6 of us went to Anthony Franco's Itailian restuarant for dinner.

Before retiring to Ron's apartment we took him on two geocaches in parks near his house.

This morning we went out for breakfast at "Brunch Lunch" a small Jewish diner just down the street. After filling up we were on the road with Ron driving and being our tour guide. The first stop Frank Sinatra Park in Hoboken, NJ. We found a parking spot and took a little hike out on Pier A to view the NYC skyline across the Hudson River.

Back in the car and over to Liberty State Park in Jersey City. After grabbing a quick geocache we drove around to the water where we could see Ellis Island and Lady Liberty. It was a rearview of her, but was actually closer than the NY side. Good thing Ron had umbrellas because it was raining by this time. It was a nice warm rain that kept things from getting hot and muggy.

Next we went back into Hoboken to hop on the "Path", the train from Jersey to NYC. Our first stop was in Greenwich Village, we picked up a third umbrella from a street vendor for $4 and walked around Washington Park, under the arch and over to a virtual cache.

We spotted a "Subway" restaurant and grabbed a bite to eat and then hopped on the real Subway or Metro to go to 42nd and Broadway. We walked right into Times Square, saw the New Year's Eve Ball and the abundant flashing billboards on all the gigantic buildings.
Parts of the streets were shut down with a bunch of vendors lined up under tents selling everything you can imagine, food, clothes, jewelry, t-shirts. For my birthday Ron bought me two cashmere scarves and matching t-shirts for the 3 of us. We checked out the outside of "Times Square Church" and walked down to the Rockerfeller Center where some grass sod was being set up as a promotion for the Wimbelton. With our feet aching we decided we better find the subway. Ron says we are now official "strap hangers". We got off the subway a block before the train so we had to walk a couple blocks down Christopher Street. The Path was so full we had to stand all the way to Hoboken. the tunnel was pretty dark but it was neat to know we were traveling right under the Hudson River.

Once in the car we decided "Boston Market" would be a great place for dinner. We passed "Trader Joes" a place I had always wanted to check out since the last I heard there is only one in WI. So Ron took us there after we ate. I was amazed at the great organic foods for really great prices. Filled a large grocery bag for our trip home and only spent $11.

Day 10

This morning after breakfast we found the way back to the Minute Men March Road without taking the freeway. Traveling the Battle Road Trail we made our first stop at the Minute Man Visitor Center National Park office. We checked out all the wonderful displays, took some photos and bought a few things at the gift shop. Yesterday we had stopped at the site of the Hartwell Tavern and Meriam's Corner. Today we stopped at the Paul Revere Capture Site and Captain William Smith House before heading to the Battle Green at Lexington. History really came to life, not only because there were reenactors available to answer questions but all the historical signs and statues to look at. Standing on the spot where Captain Parker said "Stand your ground, don't fire unless fired upon, but if they mean to have a war let it begin here." was amazing. Looking at the surrounding houses and churches that had signs explaining who lived there when the Revolutionary war broke out. To think those house were there when it all began was mind boggling. All appeared to be private residence yet and the churches were still active.

On we went to the North Bridge, passing Louisa May Alcotts, childhood home and Thoreaus's birth home. The ranger informed us that the new bridge is at the exact same spot as it was during the war. This is called the site of "the shot heard 'round the world." Ralph Waldo Emeson coined the phrase to dexcribe the significance of the brief battle that took place at this bridge. We were near Walden Pond, but did not stop there.

The roads that we traveled today were very narrow and windy and had many signs that said, "Thickly Settled". Guess that is a good way to describe them. The mix of old and new is amazing and you can almost feel the tension as some struggle to keep the buildings that are well over 200 years old in good shape, while the new shops and moden society creeps in.

The geocaches were few today but one was quite memorable. A neighborhood just out of North Grafton, MA has an artist who wanted to see a trail around the lake decorated with beatiful art. He has paved a large part of the trail with tumbled glass and everywhere you look there are statues created of glass, cement and metal springing out of the ground, hanging from the trees or hiding around a corner. Some even make noises when the sensor knows you are near. I hope the photos do this place justice.

We passed into Rhode Island around 1:00 and with that came the rain. We quickly found three caches in that state and went on to Connecticut crossing the border at 3:00. After grabbing some gas at $2.77 a gallon we headed for the Super 8 at Manchester.

We gabbed a bite to eat at a nearby restaurant called Sheas American Bar and Grill. I had a nice salad and a cup of New England clam chowder. Jim had a wrap and some cream of mushroom soup. We did get 169 miles in which is a few more than the 125 we covered yesterday.

Tomorrow we are meeting up with our friend Ron for dinner and will be spending 2 nights with him. So if I don't send any updates you know we are having too much fun with him. Saturday is up in the air but NYC has been mentioned. I was there 7 years ago but Jim has never been there. Just seeing it from New Jersey may be plenty for him too.

Day 9

Tuesday we only traveled 114 miles because we made it to Camp Berea in Hebron, NH to visit our friends Bill and Ruth. They brought us right to the dining hall, making sure we were fed before giving us the grand tour of the wonderful camp. The beauty of this camp can not be put into words but must be experienced, as it is nestled on a lake in the White Mountains.

We started catching up on all the happenings in our lives and before we knew it it was time to eat dinner. The campers are not there yet, but all the counselors are there preparing. Meeting so many wonderful young men and women who are dedicating their summer to helping others find Jesus was refreshing. We were asked to give a 5 minute presentation on Geocaching, so we did that at the end of the meal, then everyone got up and chipped in to get the dishes done.

The next thing on our agenda was to help Bill and Ruth become Geocachers. They were anxious to learn and enjoyed finding 4 caches with us. It was amazing how many wonderful trails and views of the lake there were so near the camp. Wait til they find out the others near by that we found today on our way out of the area. We topped our evening off with a visit to a local ice cream shop.

After going through the necessary channels to get permission for us to stay in camp, we quickly fell asleep.

We ate breakfast with the crew, said our good-byes and were on the road before 8 this morning.

Meandering through the mountians we stopped at some caches on a scenic bike trail along a raging river. It often feels like we are in Wisconsin and then we see a building built in 1770 something, or get a glimpse of a tree covered mountain top and realize we are no where near home.

Gas is running around $2.65 a gallon.

We passed through Concord, NH staying on HWY 3 and entered MA just after noon today. The traffic continued to get more congested as we headed toward Lexington. We found ourself on the Battle Road, passing many buildings from the 1600's, the house of "The Little Women", Waldon Pond, Minute Men National Historic Park, the town of Lincoln establishedin 1754, Hartwell Tavern and Lexintong Green... we are heading back over there tomorrow.

Bill had warned us to stay off the expressway at rush hour, but we trusted our NUVI and ended up on it anyway. Thankfully for only 2 miles and we were in the lane we needed to be in to get off. Traffic was moving extremly slow, but drivers were actually polite. No one was even honking their horns.

Day 8 of our Great Lakes Adventure

We were on the road by 7 this morning, CST. First thing on our list was to get some gas it was $2.63 a gallon. Next we stopped at Tim Hortons for breakfast. We are learning more and more about this neat restaurant chain. Like McD's this chain supports children's groups and donates quite a bit of money to a special organization that helps kids. Unlike a fast food restaurant, when you eat there the coffee is served in real glass cups and the food on real plates. They ask that you keep your trays and dishes on the table when done so the staff can clean them up. We had a breakfast sandwich and muffin with our coffee.

The highlight of today was for Jim to do a cache that was in honor of Joshua Chamberlain, in Brewer, Maine. Jim has read several of Joshua's books and has always admired this civil war hero. The memorial was a real treat, with a larger than life statue of Chamberlain, many quotes from throughout his life, and a mini version of the battle strategies used at Little Round Top, part of Gettysburg. When the park was being built a tunnel that was part of the underground railroad was discovered, that was in 1994 and it became an intregal part of the display. The bust of slave, cast in bronze sits atop the opening, looking like he was immerging from the tunnel. Also an actual piece of railroad is set up to represent the underground railroad. The geocache was very difficult to find and had not been found by the last few teams that had attempted it. I gave up, but Jim determined to persevere like Chamberlain did, came up with the geocache.

We continued traveling to Bar Harbor, Maine where we walked along the ocean before going to a park to have lunch. We also stopped on the college campus to see a huge whale skull. We spent a few hours there and opted to not go out on a ship whale and puffin watching as the weather was looking threatening and we wanted to continue on. Both of us were surprised that the ocean view included many islands with mountains, and bays, not just water like we had envisioned. The tide was low, so things looked dirty and did not smell all that great.

Taking Hwy 1, the Scenic Atlantic Hwy, we traveled through many quaint little towns that had been settled in the 1700's, some more touristy than others. It reminded us a bit of Door County in Wisconsin. We tried to find buildings that were most likely there when Chamberlain went through the area. Some of the bridges were massive and one that went across the Penobscot River was the strangest bridge we had ever seen. It had two poles with wires right down the middle between the lanes looking almost like ship masts.

We are settled in at a Comfort Inn in South Portland, Maine for the night. Of course we had to have seafood for dinner, so we went to "Weathervane" a small New England chain restaurant that is very similar to a "Red Lobster", there are only 14 of them. I had two fresh lobsters for $15.95, I chose to shuck them myself so had to wear a bib, although Jim may have needed it more than I, since he sat across from me. It had been over 27 years since I had fresh lobster.

We traveled only 236 miles and found 10 geocaches, but the memories made are too numerous to count.

Day 7

We woke very early today and were on the road by 5 a.m. First stop McDonalds for coffee and a biscuit. Finally found a new room saver coupon book for the areas were are in. We picked up some gas in Champlain at $2.83 a gallon. We could see the Adirondaks in the distance.

We were just minutes from Canada and decided to go into Quebec for two geocaches. The border guard was very hard for Jim to understand and she asked him twice if he was sure he spoke English. After I helped answer a few of the questions, she stamped our Passports and let us in. Everything is in French and not translated into English, very different than Ontario. We only stayed there an hour, just grabbing two caches. One was in a park and the other by an old church. We quickly crossed back into the states where we met the friendliest border guard so far. He thought it was great that we had traveled so far, and seemed to enjoy hearing about geocaching.

We immediately got on U.S. HWY 2, the same one that goes near us at home. We went right through the middle of Lake Champlain crossing bridges from island to island. We were in Vermont, the sky was blue and the temps in the 60's. We could see the Green Mountains in the distance but we eventually meandered into them. We stayed right on HWY 2 the rest of the day, zig zagging under, over and along Interstate HWY 89. The clouds started rolling in and I snapped many photos.

Stopping in Concord Vermont for gas at $2.59 a gallon, we were able to pick up a jar of homemade pickled fiddle head ferns and some post cards. We are saving the fiddle heads for when we get home so they can go in the fridge.

We saw numerous signs warning us of the dangers of moose in the area, but we did not see any.

We stopped at a mountain wayside for lunch and by 1:00 we were crossing the border into New Hampshire. Hwy 2 is called Jefferson Highway there and the mountains are called the White Mountains even though they look the same as the Green Mountains.

It pretty much rained after that so we did not get out and walk on the Appalachian Trail. We watched the elevation changes on the GPSr unit and were amazed to see us drop down to 300 feet and then quickly climb to 1700 feet, then back to 300, numerous times. Every valley had a town, most were established in the 1700's and had some wonderful achitecture.

We laughed when we entered another town called Mexico, this time in the state of Maine. When we neared Bangor, Maine we had to stop at 4 motels before finding one that had a washer and dryer for our use. We are at the Holiday Inn, which has a restaurant too, so we ate right here.

Today we traveled 361 miles and found 14 geocaches.

June 13 Day 6 of our trip

Today we traveled 314 miles on the back roads of New York. We knew that NY was the melting pot but did not realize we would travel through, Mexico, Philadelphia and Bangor without leaving the state. The temps were in the high 60's and the sky was sometimes overcast and other times blue, but it did not rain.

We crossed over the Erie Canal first thing in the morning. Our first stop was 25 miles west of Oswego at a bird and wildlife sanctuary for a geocache. Later we stopped for a coffee at Mc D's and before Jim had a few swallows a turkey ran out in front of us, causing Jim to slam on the brakes. It's feathers still grazed the hood and headlights, while Jim's coffee went to his feet, splashing all over. No one was harmed in the process.

We made a quick stop in Mexico for a loaf bread at the local grocery store.

Our next stop was at Southwick Beach State Park, in the Thousand Islands Region so we could get a photo of me in Lake Ontario. The ranger let us in for free, as long as we signed the board and stayed less than 15 minutes.

We grabbed gas in Watertown, it was a prepay pump so we just got 10 gallons at $2.79 per gallon.

We stoppped in Richville for a few caches, one at a Welsh Society Church, then a wayside with a historic sign about the St. Lawrence Plain as we continued our travels on the "Seaway Trail".

We saw some wildlife today, a few white tail deer, a fox, a couple baby raccoons, and a baby porcupine, I did not photograph any of them.

There were many Amish families along the route. Many were set up at corners with an awning hanging off their carriage shading the baked goods or baskets they had for sale.

Dinner was at one of those tiny take out places called Gino's. There were only 7 tables and a local told us that everything on the menu was wickedly wonderful!! We can vouch for the wraps and salads, they were terrific. I was curious what "Poutine" was so I had to ask... french fries with cheese and gravy. Not my cup of tea, glad I asked with out ordering.

Tonight we are at a little mom and pop fisherman's motel in Rouses Point, NY right on Lake Champlain. It is called the Anchorage Motel and if we travel a few miles north we are in Canada and if we go across the bridge to the east we will be in Vermont. We will head north in the morning to spend a few hours in Quebec.

Days 4 and 5

Day 4
We traveled 400 miles today starting in Saut Ste. Marie and ending up in Collingwood, ON. Today may not have been as spectacular as yesterday but we still had a great time. The weather was gorgeous, blue sky and mild temperatures in the 60's. The terrain was mostly rolling hills and farmlands, with many rivers and lakes between. There were some very scenic gorges and some neat cliffs and rock outcroppings too. We had many glimpses of Lake Huron, before eventually pulling over at Wasaga Beach to put my feet in for a quick photo. We checked into the Holiday Inn Express for the night. We decided earlier in the day that it would be fun to check out the different food chains in Canada. We had seen so many "Tim Hortons" that we just had to stop. It is similar to Wendy's, and are often found sharing a building with Wendys. They had sandwiches, coffees, teas, tea biscuts, etc. I had a "hot smoothie" which was essentially a whipped hot milk steamer with a shot of caramel. Very good but on the sweet side for me. We went to Montana's Cookhouse for supper. It is also a chain but more like a Perkins with a Joe's Crab Shack feel. Everything was decorated in northwoods theme. Timbers, old canoes, moose, bear, caribou and snow shoes were everywhere. There was even an old pickup truck mounted up high with Montana license plates. Gas is running around $.95 per liter. We found 11 geocaches along the way.

Day 5
We woke up a little early this morning in Collingwood, ON so we decided to get a few caches in the area. The first one took us to an Aboretum and boardwalk along the shores of Lake Huron. We saw a pair of nesting swans and the usual plants and birds that are in our area. If you didn't look at the ski hills on one side of the town, you would have thought we were in Wisconsin. As we traveled south we encountered rolling hills, and small farms growing soybeans or corn, one field even had a few wild turkeys. As we got closer to the Niagra Escarpment the hills began to gain greater elevations. The farms turned to orchards and vineyards and the cities became larger. Burlington and then Hamilton with a population 505,000. Good thing we had the Nuvi to help us find the Queen's Express Way, QEW. It ran along Lake Ontario, through industrial areas with locks and gigantic ore ships that were dwarfed in the scheme of things. The QEW eventually brought us to Niagra Falls. After a few turns past huge buildings, casinos and shopping malls we found a place to park near the mid point of the falls on the Canadian side. The sound of the falls, the mist in the air and the screams of sea gulls was almost surreal.First we walked to the edge to over look the falls and try to grasp it's immensity. Snapping a few photos we decided to head down to one end and find the virtual cache first. Stopping to take photos for strangers and they reciprocating with our camera.Next we back tracked along the top and eventually made it to the store. As most tourist traps it had numerous things with "Niagra Falls" stamped on it. We bought a few things, looked at both sets of falls one more time and headed back to the car. By this time it was nearly 2:00 and we realized we had not had lunch. The temperature had gone up to 77 so first I changed into shorts, then I made our sandwiches.It took one more spin around the block to get the right exit to the "Rainbow Bridge" taking us back to the USA. Even though there were over a dozen entry ways open the lines were long. We waited as each vehicle drove to the border, on a platform that tipped the vehicle to the right. You had to stay a good 50 feet behind the car going in and wait to be waved in. Then the officer needed to see the passports, asked questions on how long we had been there, what we had purchased and why we were coming into the USA. He made me remove my sunglasses and he had Jim roll the backseat window down to see what we had back there. Then he let us pass.Our first stop was for a New York Cache. A little ice cream stand a few blocks from the border. After a few more caches we filled up with petro at $2.77 a gallon and started heading east. We did get to see the escarpment from the state side too, we just did not get up real close.We are now at a LaQuinta just out of Rochester, NY, 257 miles from where we were last night. We ate at a nice family restaurant called "Stonies" where we had baked halabit for dinner.

Days one and two

Okay I thought this got posted yesterday but it seems to have gone into cyber space so here it a copy and paste of the first two days.
Today, we did a few caches as we meandered west going to Ashland and Superior, WI so we can eventually make a full circle around Lake Superior. The weather was in the high 40's and overcast but no rain.

We picked up a few caches in Ashland, Cornucopia and Port Wing getting many great photos of the Gitche Gumie. We found 7 Wisconsin caches.

After getting gas in Superior ($2.75 per gallon) and passing some familiar places we stopped for a picnic lunch at Brighton Beach just north of Duluth. The lake shore was gorgeous. Taking the north shore scenic drive up to Grand Portage we watched the fog slowly creep in and out, as we grabbed a few caches along the way. I had been to Gooseberry Falls back in 1986, so it was neat seeing that place again. We located 4 Minnesota caches.

Stopping to get gas in Grand Portage ($2.71 per gallon) and making sure our passports were ready, we crossed the border at 4:35, CST. The young lady with the bullet proof jacket had to ask us many questions about where we were from, where we were heading and what we had with us. After answering satisfactorily, she let us know we needed to sign our passports to make them valid and granted us permission to enter.

We laughed at the billboards that inform where things are located by the number of stop lights, not the street names. We adjusted our knowledge that 90 KM per hour is the same as 55 MPH. The hills were magnificant and reminded us of the Copper Harbor area. After passing 3 signs warning us that at night there are dangerous moose crossings, we stopped for our first Geocache out of the USA. At the edge of Thunder Bay, a city with a population of 110,000, we stopped at Norway's monument which commerates Norwegian Canadians who pioneered ski jumping. There was a ski jump on the side of the hill not far from that spot.

We grabbed one more quick cache before getting a room at the Comfort Inn. We ate our dinner at "Joe's on Arthur", then headed back to our room to get settled in.

The third day of our trip

Yesterday's miles were 348 before I get started on today.WOW! The word that we used so many times today that we may have worn it out! We were on the road by 7:20, it was raining lightly but that did not stop us from enjoying all the new blossoms. The cherry blossoms, lilacs, and marsh marigolds are not quite full, most of the trees have their leaves about half out.Our first stop was at an information center with a 9 foot bronze statue of Terry Fox. He was the young man who ran across Canada, all 3339 miles with one leg. He had lost his leg to cancer and his life ended in 1981 from that disease. We cruised many miles down the Courage Highway named after Mr. Fox. The cliffs, vistas, bluffs, mesas and glimpses of Lake Superior are spectacular! We were happy to stop at a few caches in the pull- overs and take some photos.Around noon we saw a car pulled over and Jim jokingly said "what are they looking at a moose?" I screamed, "YES!" He whipped the car around and I snapped 3 photos of a bull moose. A life long dream of mine come true! We watched him for a short time and then a semi came barreling by and he went running deeper into the forest. The moose warning signs are up every 1 -3 kilometers.We stopped atop a huge hill at a picnic spot with spectacular views in every direction. We had to stop for gas, which we need to convert to American yet for our books. We just know it is $1.10 a liter. The lady at the gas station told us that she saw a cub and mama bear on her way into work today. We talked about the moose, which are about as common as white tail deer by us. She said the wolf population is terrible and that a few years ago a sick wolf, grabbed her 3 year old grand daughter right out of her hands. She fought the wolf and it eventually let go, her G-D had to be taken to the hospital to get the bite wounds taken care of. She also needed counseling for a month. The wolf was killed by the authorities that night.Heading toward Sault Ste Marie, admiring the views we came upon a young bear on the side of the road eating what looked like grass. Jim was able to stop and I snapped a few photos. We drove nearly 25 more miles and there was another bear on the side of the road, this one was eating plants too. Not sure if they ate too many marsh marigolds and they were trying to take care of a tummy ache, or they are so hungry they are eating anything. From one of the geocaching logs we read, it sounds like they had quite a few snow squalls in the area less than 2 weeks ago so this may be the first chance the critters are having to get the tender grass near the highways.We made two more stops before getting a room at the Super 8. A gorgeous beach near Pancake Beach called Sawpit Bay. I collected a few rocks for souveniers. The next stop was a very nice waterfall at a wayside. The name of the falls was not posted but the cache was called Chippewa Surprize so that may be its name.We grabbed a sandwich at Arbys and are getting our e-mails taken care of before turning in.We traveled 442 miles and found 11 geocaches. It rained most of the morning but the blue sky and sunshine came out in the afternoon.

We are home

Although we are home after a 3 week trip I am going to start posting my journal entries a few days at a time.

On Vacation

We are having a wonderful journey but do not have the time to post all about it here. I will do that when we get back home.

Oodles of doodles

It is June so I figure I should get a post on here. I have been creating oodles of doodles and have posted them all at my site http://catherinemariecalvetti.com

I may just keep the notes from out vacation on here. Time will tell.

Memorial Day

In honor of our veterans and all those who have fought and are fighting for our freedom I have posted this photo and thank you.

This photo I took on the Fourth of July 2007. The fighter jets flew above the parade and will be flying over head today.

Doodles

I decided to start adding some of my artsy stuff here too. These doodles have different names, Zentangles or Z-Tiles. I like to call them tangles or Z-Doodles. I have created nearly 200 in the last few weeks. They are fun and totally addicting.
Enjoy!

I may be moving over here

I decided to check out this place and see. At the moment I am at http://catherinemariecalvetti.com but really like what I see at blogspot.