Bar Harbor to Nova Scotia

After packing up and checking out we drove over to Joyce and Avery's for breakfast. (They conveniently live just five minutes from our hotel.) We sat down to a scrumptious quiche and fresh fruit, just what we needed to get the day started right.

After saying good-bye we drove south to Bar Harbor where we would pick up the ferry to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. (This trip seems to be a long series of hello followed soon after by good-be.)

Traffic was surprisingly light this Memorial Day as we cruised through Ellsworth and on to Bar Harbor, bringing up many fond memories of when we lived in nearby Winter Harbor in the summer of 2007.

After about an hour or so we found the ferry terminal just outside the village center. After check in, with our boarding passes and car tag in hand we had some two hours to kill before boarding so we drove into town. We parked the car and strolled down to the waterfront.

kayakers off the waterfront

playing on the beach

waterfront dining and whale watch boat

tourists queuing up for the whale watch - we have a different agenda today

lunch at the Fish House Grille

wedge salad

fresh haddock sandwich

Agramont Park overlooking the waterfront

back to the car

park across from the police station

After lunch we strolled back to our car and returned to the ferry terminal. The gates were open and we queued up getting ready to board.

looking back to the terminal and loading ramp

Driving on board we were directed to drive to the end of the ship circle around so we would be facing the right way when disembarking. The operation went very smoothly and before long we locked the car and headed for the stairs and the upper deck.

Once on board we made our way forward to the main lounge where we settled in for the next 3-and-a-half hours. It was a gorgeous day and we had a wonderful expansive view from our seats. Directly behind us and conveniently located was the bar. 

these seats do recline

view off the stern

The trip went surprisingly fast and a little before 7pm (local time) we caught our first glimpse of Nova Scotia. 

Nova Scotia!

ferry terminal in Yarmouth

After docking we were directed back to our car and before long were off the ship and through customs heading for our hotel.

Being such a small town Yarmouth was easy to navigate and we found our light's lodging with ease. Once checked in we went in search of a place to eat. The one recommendation from both our hotel clerk and guidebook was a place called Rudder's. But when we arrived they informed us the kitchen was backed up and it would be a good hour or so before we could expect food. We asked the hostess for a recommendation and she suggested Boston Pizza which as it turned out was close to our hotel so off we went. 

Once settled into a booth we ordered two glasses of wine from a woman who, in our humble estimation, has to be one of the top servers in the world. She had a spirit about her that, for us, was the epitome of Canadianess (if there is such a word): kind, friendly, of course, but with a smile that just bowled us over.

Anyway, we each had a small pizza, both of which were well-prepared, flavorful with a nice crust.

 

After supper it was back to the hotel. Tomorrow we head north to Halifax to meet our friends Richard and Pauline!

Visiting family in the wilds of Maine

After coffee and breakfast we said good-bye to Dick and dorothy and headed off to Maine. Making our way to Rte 146 we switched to I-290, and then I-95 for the haul north. Traffic was surprisingly light and we made good time, arriving in Bangor about 2pm. 

We tried to check in to our hotel but their "system was down" so we drove to Joyce and Avery's house. (Joyce, as you may recall, is Susan's sister and Avery is her husband.) Leaving our car at their house the four of us packed up food and loaded ourselves into Joyce's car. 

Returning to the highway north Joyce drove us some 75 miles to Lee, ME, where we switched to a deeply rutted dirt road for the remaining five miles through backwoods Maine.

After hugs from the MacDonalds we all walked down to the nearby stream (they pump their water locally) and were awed by the sheer beauty of the spot Glen had picked out so many years before.

On our walk back we were greeted by Jonathan and Naomi Bergman with their four little ones were just unloading as we returned to the cabin.

Chairs were sat our around the fire -- although it was warm there was a bit of a breeze and it was hoped the fire wold disrupt the black flies, but those bugs had other ideas. Beers were opened and with sandwiches in hand before long everyone got into the spirit of just being somewhere you couldn't get a cellular signal. . . 

entrance off the dirt road

front of the house

Susie and Johanna

the flat rock stream

a short walk down to their stream

family get together

Avery 

Glen and Christina

view from the house toward the stream

pulled pork sandwiches, chips and salads

Glen MacDonald - a man and his fire

Johanna and dad

Glen with his wood fire and Naomi with her kids

Christine enjjoying the backwoods

Lots of good food, warm family conversation and catching up, outmatched only by the sheer volume of black flies that began descending on the group as the light began to fade. After hugs and goodbyes all around we pulled back out on the dirt road and made our way back to the greater Bangor area.

By the time we got back to the hotel everything was in working order and we checked in with no problem.

A Massachusetts Interlude

Friday was a very low-key day in Douglas. While I read and worked on the computer, the rest of the group worked outside, prepping various parts of D & D's garden for the summer. Susie spent quite a bit of time cleaning up the hydrangea bushes with Dick stacking his five cords of wood in their shed and Dorothy supervising all.

That evening we drove south to Warren, RI, for dinner with Andrea and Barbara at Metacom Kitchen. Susie and I had last eaten here in 2015 for my birthday (and what a wonderful experience that was); we were not disappointed this evening either.

The place looks small and nondescript but here as in much of life looks can be deceiving:

Everything was incredibly well-prepared and very tasty, from the opening cocktails to the apps of burrata, charred octopus, edamame and hummus to the various pastas and scrumptious desserts spoke to all of us. We have shared many meals together with the Feldmans when we lived in Providence and have rarely been disappointed. This evening remains one of the most culinary stellar experiences to be sure.

Saturday was leisurely for all of us, well for me at any rate. We're on vacation so there are no daily chores and it's nice to see Susie able to just enjoy a bit of peace and quiet. 

D & D had put together a lovely little picnic basket of coffee and banana bread for our meetup with Uncle Frank VH in Quincy. A little before 10am the four of us headed off into the greater Boston suburbs. Traffic was busy but not too bad for a Memorial Day weekend and we made good time driving to UF's place.

There were some open tables at the patio outside his building so we set up there while Dick tracked Frank down. It was good to see him again and that elfin smile was as bright as I remembered from past years and at times he seemed like his old self. He certainly enjoyed the house-brewed coffee and homemade treats and of course the company.

Our drive back home took us past Frank's house in Willow ave in Quincy before returning to the highway south. Although traffic was brisk, the drive went smoothly and we were back in Douglas, MA. After lunch and helping to set up the patio furniture Susie and I had our afternoon HB (thanks Sheldon!) followed by my taking a much-appreciated nap. . . For someone who has done very little these past couple of days my napping skills have grown immeasurably.

That evening we were joined for supper by former brother-in-law and stalwart human being Steele Shane. After sitting outside for an aperitif we moved indoors for a scrumptious dinner of grilled flank steak and lovely roasted baby potatoes. We all spent the remainder of the evening catching up with Steele and the journeys he has taken since last we saw him far too many years ago.

Warm conversation and good food have always been a hallmark at 51 Linden. Thanks to D & D for their hospitality and generosity!

Tomorrow it's off to Maine and then Nova Scotia on Monday morning.

To New York and Massachusetts

After a wonderful night's rest on the outskirts of Cazenovia we woke up to 36 degrees (F) Thursday morning -- but the sun was already high up in a lovely Robin's egg blue sky and it promised to be a gorgeous day for road tripping.

After coffee -- as you may recall we typically bring our own little Nespresso machine along on these lengthy jaunts cross country -- and just lounging in the room, we packed up and headed off to Prattsville, NY, for lunch with our friends Don and Gloria Archer. 

We headed east on US 20 to Richfield Springs where we turned south on to county road 80. After about 10 miles driving along the western shore of Otsego Lake we pulled into Cooperstown. We drove through the lovely downtown area but didn't stop to see the Baseball Hall of Fame. Nope, we turned back north on county 31, this time cruising back north up the eastern shore of the lake.

Meandering around one back road after another, climbing from valley to ridge and back, enjoying spectacular views of the countryside as we made our way some 140 miles to the home of Don and Gloria Archer outside of Prattsville.

Gloria had prepared a very nice spread of salads for lunch and the four of us spent a good hour and a half catching up on all the news. Their son David joined us -- he was up from NYC to help out with some chores -- and it had been probably at least five or six years since we had seen him. He's always got wonderful stories to share. . . 

We had still more miles to go before the end of today's journey and the time came to say goodbye. It's always a pleasure to stop in the Catskill mountains with such warm and generous folk. 

Back in the car we made our way to Rte 23 east and eventually the NY Thruway north before turning east on I-90 and the Mass Pike. 

With just a couple of short stops, to add oil to our car and switch drivers, we soon reached our exit for I-395 south and then off on to Rte 16 at Webster, MA. It wasn't long after before we pulled into D & D's driveway. A quick unload and unpack we soon had a glass of sparkling wine in hand ready for one of Dor's delicious meals.

It had been a full day to be sure but not a tiring one; some 328 miles of driving in fair weather. 

view looking northeast from Rte 23, in the direction of the Thruway

To New England and Nova Scotia

It was a chilly morning when we pulled out of our driveway at Eagle Ridge Court kicking off our two-week sojourn to New England and beyond. 

The plan is to visit friends in New York, family in Massachusetts and Maine and then cross over to Nova Scotia by ferry. After a night in Yarmouth we will drive to Halifax and pick up our friends Richard and Pauline at the airport. The four of us will spend a couple of nights in Halifax and then drive  north to Cape Breton where we have reserved a house for three nights. Returning to Halifax we will drop our friends off at the airport (they're heading way west to the wild west of Canada) and we will drive back home, taking a couple of days meandering as we we go.

We left home a little after 8am and some 9 hours and 560 miles later pulled into the Hampton Inn at Cazenovia, New York. Driving was fine, aside from lousy roads in Michigan, but the lack of billboards in Ontario and smooth road surfaces not to mention light traffic even around Hamilton, ONT and Buffalo, NY, made for a very smooth trip.

Susie spelled me twice which allowed me to stretch out and relax, collect my thoughts, such as they are. We took a break for for a lunch of homemade rollups at the Woodstock, ONT, service plaza. 

Traffic was light through Canada and we had to wait at the US border only about 10 minutes (no dedicated NEXUS lane) and soon zipping along I-190 to I-290 and then to I-90 east. One thing about the present state of the NY Thruway is the absence of several service plazas in  the midst of n ongoing project to complete build all of them. 

We left the Thruway at Syracuse and headed southeast via backroads to Cazenovia, our stop for the evening.

After check-in we dropped our bags and headed back into the lovely little village of Cazenovia to find the Lincklaen Inn, a recommended eatery. Located right on Main Street (but then so is everything else) we found a parking spot right across the street and headed inside in search of the pub.

Bottled wines ($100 or less) were all half price on Wednesdays so we came on the right night. Our food was OK: the opening act was a brace of popovers which were a bit doughy and not very flavorful, followed tasty Calamari; Susie had Salmon over rice and I had a rather unremarkable ramekin of Shepherd's Pie. But the service was fine and the space comfortable. 

Back to the hotel we turned in early, as we often do on these road trips.

Tomorrow it's cruising the back roads of upstate New York!

Salmon

Shepherd's Pie - doesn't look to good does it?