Sept. 29 -30 Glen, NH

We drove down to Glen, NH yesterday. The White Mountians were simply gorgeous. Today we went on the Cog Railroad to the top of Mount Washington. It's the highest peak in the Northeast at 6,288 ft.. It is the worlds' first mountain climbing Cog Railroad. It was a long trip, over an hour and very bumpy. The views were obscured by cloud cover so I didn't take too many pictures. The campground here is super nice. Tomorrow we go on a long car ride around the Kancamagus Highway. Should be beautiful.View from train

Sept. 28 On to New Hampshire

We had t0 bid farewell to Quebec this morning and drive to New Hampshire. The leaves are at full peak here and they are amazing. We stopped at a restaurant in Canada for brunch. The place was hoppin. There was even a singer performing while we ate. It was a bit loud and crowded but what an experience. I got her to sing to Joe, in French. What a hoot!He was pretty surprised!

We then headed on past customs. The guy asked us a lot of questions and then did a quick search of the RV. That was a little tense, but we passed the inspection. We're staying tonight at The Tall Timber Lodge campground and having dinner in the lodge. This is a beautiful place with a large lake and tons of hardwoods surrounding the lake.

They are all yellow, orange and red. It looks like a patchwork quilt.

Inside the lodge. This is a typical woodsman lodge.

Sept. 27 More Quebec

Inside the Notre Dame Basilica, magnificent!

The solid copper doors of Saint Anne's Basilica, made locally by the Albert Gilles family.

Le Chateau Frontenac

The architecture of Old Quebec has been well perserved. It is truly a beautiful city.

This is the 400 anniversary of Quebec City and many entertainers, in period costume, wander the streets.

The Funicular, which takes you from lower Old Town Quebec to the upper level of the city.

On our first trip to Canada, we got off Via Rail train in Levi and rode this ferry over to Quebec.

Sept. 25 Oh, Canada

Sept. 25

We took off for Canada this morning! A large part of the road was under construction which made for a rather tense situation, especially in the towns. The first part of the trip was glorious with color. The road through upper Maine was so scenic. There was a beautiful winding river along the road, the leaves are turning now and many are in full color. They’ve told us that by the time we get to Vermont, the color should be at peak.
We had no problems at customs. I’ve heard that sometimes it can be pretty harrowing; cars may be searched, people questioned at length and even detained if they are suspicious. I told Joe not to frown and squint his eyes like he does sometimes when he’s trying to see something, for fear they may interpret him as hostile.

Last night there was an optional dinner at a restaurant in Old Town Quebec. Since we had spent our 30th anniversary at Quebec, we decided to split from the group and go to the same restaurant where we ate 13 years ago. It was a sweet outdoor café and we had a wonderful meal. There was a saxophone player performing on the sidewalk right next to the café. It felt just like what I think Paris would feel like. We then walked down several levels of streets to the hotel we stayed in those many years ago. We took some pictures of the outside, but did not go in to see if our “old” room was vacant (for pictures of course). Door to Auberge Saint Antoinne where we stayed on our 30th anniversary.

Sept. 26 Today we had a bus tour of Old Town Quebec and the countryside. Our tour guide was a local French C+anadian and he was wonderful. He gave us so much history and insights into the establishment and development of Quebec. In the countryside, we saw the Montmorency Falls, had lunch overlooking the Saint Lawrence River and then went to a family owned cooper shop.



Saint Anne's Basilica


The man who started the business designed and made the solid copper doors of Saint Anne’s basilica. We visited Saint Annes and it was a sight to behold. The tour lasted all day but it was the highlight of our trip – so far.
The guide told us about the many advantages of living in Quebec, like socialized education, medicine and insurance. A nice house close to the river can be had for about $200,00. and their environment is one of the best in the world. Sounded pretty good to me, then he mentioned the average winter snowfall here is 10-20 feet. “Good feeling gone.”



We have one more day and night here before we head back to the states to New Hampshire.

Sept. 23-24 Bar Harbor

Sept. 22-23 Bar Harbor My Oh My – We have seen some of the most beautiful places on this earth. I’ve not been able to post lately because we’ve been going so much and at times have had no internet connection. Right this min. we’re in Quebec, Canada but I’ll back up and mention a few of the other things we’ve done.
While in Bar Harbor (pronounced Ba Haba) , we rode out to see the highlights of Acadia National Park and the sites around the Bar Harbor area. We went to Scoodic Point look out to see the ocean view and experience the lava rocks along the point. Although it’s been a little foggy these days, it was so beautiful to watch the boats, the waves and the sea gulls.
On the 23rd, we all went to breakfast at a restaurant right on the water. Had blueberry pancakes, (blueberries are abundant here), sausage and bacon.

We drove to Cadillac Mountain, which is a little over 1,500 ft, the highest mountain on the east coast line. It was an extremely curvy road but well worth the drive. There was a big cruise ship in the water with a small sail boat next to it. They looked like little toys from where we were. Beginning to see some spotty color on the trees – a sign of good things to come.

We went to a restaurant in the park and had seafood chowder (pronounced chowda) and “real” popovers with jam. Again, had a fantastic view overlooking a large lake.

Rode through the quaint town of Bar Harbor.

Sept. 24, Caravaned to Palmyra, ME. I must say the experience of caravaning has been a challenge for me. Depending on the traffic, it can sometimes be very tense keeping up with the group. Thanks to our wonderful GPS, Wanda Woman, we’ve not gotten lost – yet. The night before a travel day the wagomaster has a meeting with us and reviews the route for the next day. This tour has been a great investment. We’ve already gotten more than our money’s worth and the two couples heading up this trip have worked hard to provide us with a good travel experience. They are likeable people and ever so patient with us. We never would have known how to find the interesting places they’ve taken us and we haven’t been rushed.
. About 10 of the ladies wanted to learn to hula, so we had our first lesson tonight. We had a great time and they laughed and giggled the whole time. They are anxious to continue but so far we just haven’t had the time.
Tonight the wagonmaster had a hot dog supper for us with all the trimmings and prepared us for our venture through Canadian customs

Sept. 21 Camden, ME

Sept. 21 Today we loaded up in cars and went to Camden, ME. It's another quaint, beautiful coastal town. On the way to Camden, we drove through Thomaston and went in the Maine State Prison Showroom. (No, it wasn't to visit any of our wayward relatives.) The actual prison was closed and relocated, but the program of training prisoners in the areas of agriculture and woodworking still remains active. The showroom had handcrafted products including furniture, bookcases, model ships, and various other items. The quality and craftsmanship of these items was amazing. This building is part of the prison where the movie "The Shawshank Redemption" was filmed.

Drove up into Camden State Park where we had an amazing view from the top of the mountain overlooking the Camden harbor. The weather has been just perfect for these outings. It's overcast but no rain.

On our way to another scenic route we stopped at a little village that had a Narrow Gauge Railroad. We rode the train around this area and visited the restored historical buildings of this 1847 town.

We then rode over to East Boothbay for a 12-mile scenic drive. It was even more beautiful than what we've already seen. It's looked like something from a picture book. The houses are various styles from cottage to Victorian to Alpine. It was the most perfect little coastal town I've ever seen. Pictures just can't do this place justice.

Sept. 20 Harbor Cruise, etc.

Me, Paula, Shirley and David ready for that lobster.

David and ShirleyBoothbay Harbor from our boat.



Church across from the bay
Capt'n Joe headng out to sea.


Sept. 20 We all went to a lobster supper last night and it was super fun and very good food. Today we went on the "Captain Fish" cruise boat for a two hour tour of the Harbor. Had lunch and shopped the quaint little town of Boothbay.