When we left you last we were just about to start up the Rideau Canal. This waterway was dug to give Canada a secure way to travel from Lake Champlain up to the Ottawa River. It's the oldest operating lock system in North America -- since 1832 boats have been traveling the 40 locks. We stopped at a number of the locks on our way from Kingston to Smiths Falls (about halfway), hoping to see a boat actually going through a lock. But luck was not in our favor today: no boats and continuous rainfall. And although Smiths Falls wasn't the quaint village we were hoping for, luck favored us enough to keep us from being murdered in our hotel that evening and we happened upon a wonderful little restaurant in town which featured weinersnitzel and other German and Hungarian sorts of dishes.
Next day we headed out from Smiths Falls on our way to Ottawa, via more locks of course. And today was definitely our day. We happened upon a pair of boats just starting through a lock and got to talk to the lockmen and the boatmasters while they traversed. The boaters were a very nice couple from Florida. They take out their boat for half the year every summer, and this year decided to try out the Rideau Canal. We talked about their revamped lobster craft and life on the water while they sank lower and lower, and finally the lockmen cranked open the lock doors and they sailed on. It was a fascinating spectacle.
Once we got to Ottawa, we hopped out of the car and got in line for a tour of Parliament. Since the House of Commons was in session, we only got to enter the Senate chamber. But we got to see the Queen's chair there and got to ogle the Library of Parliament and climbed up to the top of the Peace Tower where we could hear the carillonneur giving a lesson. We also saw the Prime Minister's motorcade. The hardest part of the day was trying to find the hotel. We called and made a reservation, but then drove to a hotel with the same name. Turns out it was a completely different establishment. Luckily there was someone who happened to be in the lobby who knew how to get to our actual hotel. And we didn't get murdered in this hotel either.
In the morning, we went to cross into Quebec. And got lost going across the bridge, three times. Everything is in French. All the maps and the street signs and the stop signs and everything else. Very confusing. And it really did feel like another country, like France. After a lovely lunch on a veranda, we started driving to Oka to visit a monastery and apiary and cheese. The two seventeen-year-olds at Tourist Info Centre were very helpful, but there was nowhere for dogs to sleep, not even camping at the national park down the road. So our choice was to drive the half hour to Montreal. We had dinner on the way at a side-of-the-road cafe where the waitresses were happy to practice their English on us; we taught them the word for "corndog" and they tried to teach us the word for the dessert which was a warmed poundcake smothered in a buttery sugar caramel kind of sauce. We don't remember it now. Maybe they don't remember corndog either.
In Montreal we stayed on the 8th floor of nice hotel near McGill University. We walked around campus before watching fireworks from our window. It turns out Montreal puts on a fireworks show every Saturday night during the summer. Just because who doesn't like fireworks? It went on for quite a while too. At breakfast our waitress told us to go up the street to a city park for a walk with the dog. Where we ended up was Montreal's version of Central Park. Except it was a mountain (basically) that overlooked the entire city from its summit. It was a very popular place on a Sunday morning and we knew why once we got to the top and saw the beautiful view. There was even a chalet for wedding receptions. Unfortunately, we didn't have the camera since we were just at breakfast. Oh well.
Even though we had only been in Quebec for one day, Vermont was so close and the French confusing enough to draw us over the border. We thought we'd sidetrip to Missisquoi Wildlife Refuge, another suggestion from our Off the Path book. And we ended up at a marsh, surprise surprise. It was pretty, but definitely marshy. And then five minutes from the car, deluge. No warning; just a curtain of rain and a wall of black clouds swept in out of nowhere and drenched us completely. Since we had a few extra days that we didn't spend in Quebec, we decided to continue down the islands in the middle of Lake Champlain. We stopped in at a few places off the road to ask about accomodations, dripping wet on their lovely New England carpets. One place suggested we try the motel down the street, Shore Acres, since they've seen dogs there before. We were game to look at the place, even though "motel" didn't sound promising. We ended up at a lakeside resort -- not pretentious though. They had a golf course and a croquet field and tennis courts and a floating dock and horseshoe pits. But because guests might want to play such games. Because it would be nice. Not because they were uppity. So we played a game of Scrabble in our room with the lake in view and then took the dog down to the rocky beach so we could all have a swim. She did too! Eliza actually technically swam. We reeled her out to us where we were standing in waist high water; she was scared, but we were very proud and told her so. And my bruises are now healing.
The restaurant at the motel was super nice as well. We shared steamed clams as an appetizer, Bill had a buffalo burger, and I had lemon parsley linguini with mushrooms and corn on the cob and homemade bread and a Shirley Temple. And we looked out over Lake Champlain where a complete rainbow appeared for our benefit. Breakfast was just as satisfying with homemade scones and croissants. One more walk on the beach and we were heading down the islands again.
We stopped at a u-pick-em farm for some fresh strawberries and to gawk at their greenhouses bursting with tomatoes. Then we got a tip to go to State Park not on the map that was voted "Vermont's Best State Park" this year. We weren't disappointed. They even had a trail that was designated as leashless. We stopped off at a rocky point to dip in our feet and watch the fishermen float along the lake. Then to Burlington for lunch at an Asian cafe and to exchange our funny Canadian money for cold hard cash again.
On our way to our camping spot, we stopped at Shelburne Farms, a huge working educational farm that goes way back. A Vanderbilt daughter and husband bought up lots of farms and turned it into a farm dedicated to conservation of the land. They hired Frederick Law Olmsted (the same guy who did Central Park) to landscape the 3800 acres. It looks like a totally natural area now, even though every tree on the property was planted and planned. The buildings are no less grand than the greenspace. The barn is 5 stories and looks like a mansion. The courtyard formed by the open square is 2 complete acres! The main house is likewise impressive, designed by architect Robert Robertson and now operated as an inn. We saw it all on a sort of hay wagon ride. At the end we got to taste the cheddar they make on the property (they sell it at Whole Foods now, if anyone wants to know what it tastes like).
On we drove to Mount Philo (the first state park in Vermont) to camp. There was only one other group in the campground: a couple of Quebecois bikers who were biking around Lake Champlain. I swear I heard wolves in the middle of the night, but otherwise it was an uneventful but pleasant stay. Our first experience with composting toilets. What a good idea, if they're maintained well and work as their supposed to. We walked up to the very tip top of the "mountain" and looked out at the Adirondacks on one side and the Green Mountains on the other.
After breakfast we drove to Middlebury where we walked around the campus. Toured the chemistry building. Fell in love. What a dream it would be to end up there. We had lunch next to the river at a restaurant called Storm. Stopped off at an alpaca farm and chatted with the girl about what it's like to raise alpacas. Seems a very reasonable animal to keep. We had also read about a goat farm in the area rated as the #2 goat cheese makers in Vermont. We got lost and just started driving in the direction our guts said might be right. Miraculously we made it and surprised the heck out of the owners by asking for a tour. We talked to them about what it's like to raise goats and watched them prepare the barn for milking and take chevre out of the cave and package it. We bought ash packed chevre (which tastes like blue cheese for some reason because of the ash) and a pepper rolled chevre. Mmm.
Were completely at odds with what to do next, so we turned around and went back to Middlebury where the lady at the Tourist Center was so helpful that we had a week's worth of activities to do by the time we left. We stayed at the Middlebury Inn and met another couple of Quebecois bikers on their way from Montreal to Boston. We talked with them awhile about their bike configurations and route, then motored out to the two-lane covered bridge (very rare -- most are one-lane) on our way to the UVM Morgan horse farm. We took a tour of the facility (they let Eliza come on the tour with us). It was the place where the Morgan breed was really propagated and is still the biggest producer of Morgans in the country. On our barn tour we happened upon a mare having her first ultrasound. She was 23 days pregnant and let us watch the vets stick the wand up her butt and see the black spot that will become a foal in 10 month's time. (Glad my ultrasounds are less invasive.) Next on our Middlebury tour was the Otter Creek brewery. It was too early for a tour, but Bill got to taste all their beers. It inspired him for sure.
At the farmer's market we picked up some bread and meats and headed up the Green Mountains for a picnic and a peek at Middlebury's mountain campus, Breadloaf. We also stopped off at Robert Frost's cabin. It made us both feel good somehow that there are no signs pointing the way. We peeked in the windows and oohed and aahed at the life that lived there. Just down the road, Breadloaf is absolutely beautiful. The Green Mountains are absolutely beautiful. All the little towns along the way are absolutely beautiful. At one little town we spotted a couple having lunch on the patio, recognized them as the Quebecois from our hotel the previous night, and congratulated them on making the climb up the mountain. They looked happy to have made it. When we stopped at another hamlet for ice cream we came away with the best marinated tomatoes I've ever tasted and lots and lots of advice on things to do in Boston.
We ended up at Woodstock, which had no dog-friendly hotels in our budget. So 5 miles south was the Kedron Valley Inn which had a swimming pond in the back. A real swimming pond with a couple floating docks and crayfish! Breakfast was astonishing. A full buffet with fresh and homemade quiches, pastries, maple butter, cheesecake, breads, lots of fruit and lox and brie. And then the chef came out and told us she was making pancakes, eggs, and Canadian bacon to order. Best pancakes I've had since moving out of Daddy's house.
Since we were so close, we hopped over to Hanover, New Hampshire, to Dartmouth College and walked around campus. We were much more impressed with Middlebury, but don't tell anyone. Then we started up into the White Mountains. Thought we'd try out Mt. Washington. When we got there, though, the top was entirely fogged in, and the forecast for tomorrow was no different. So we splashed around in the river by the side of the road until the black flies and our numb feet drove us back to the car. A couple of clicks past the lookout at the Mount Washington Hotel, a bunch of cars were pulled off on the shoulder so we did the same. A bull moose was getting ready to cross the highway so we pulled out of his way and watched him for as long as Eliza would stay calm. That means we've seen one of every kind of moose in one month!
Once we got out of the forest, we were shocked into civilization. The highway turned into one long commercial street, and we were informed that this was the last place we were going to find a place to sleep for a long ways. So we settled on a funky little strip motel and went down the street to the pub for take-away. While we waited for our food, we sat at the bar for Bill to have a beer and me to have a mudslide (virgin of course), and talked to the bartender who lived in the Boston area for years and had lots of advice for us (like don't drive anywhere on the evening of the fourth).
We knew we were really close to home (!) but had some more time to kill, so off we skipped to Maine. The drive to Portland was quite scenic and Portland was a fun place to walk along the beach. Eliza got her first mouthful of salt water and learned not to drink pretty quick. We had a spectacular lunch at a lobster shack right on the water. The picnic tables were just down from the lighthouse (and thus fog horn -- it was a very foggy day) and the lobster rolls were as good as promised. I even ate all of mine.
We headed out on our way down the coast, excited to be in Maine. What it turned into was hours and hours and miles of miles of stop-and-go traffic and commercial property after commercial property. Frustrating and disappointing and not very interesting. We got to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, to stop for the night and decided on our plan of attack for arriving in Boston. We got up in the morning and set out down the highway for our 1.5 hour drive to town. Everything is so close to each other here! It will take some getting used to. We got lost on our way to the house, but figured it out in the end. And Bill got his first look at our new home. We wouldn't get to go inside until the next day, but we got to walk around the neighborhood and feel the place out a bit. And happily, I still feel as good about the area as I did looking at the apartment, and Bill concurred with my original assessment.
For the next couple of days we set up camp at the Extended Stay just a few of miles from the house while we took care of errands and waited for the first of the month to roll around. And we'll pick up with our moving tales next time. Suffice to say we are home now safe and sound. Pictures etc. to follow. What an incredible month we've had, and a week and a half more of vacation to look forward to!
