New England

Ahhh, New England.  Our friends showed us the beauty of the small, quaint villages.  But no visit to Vermont would be complete without CHEESE!  This lady is the matron of a cheese aging and smoking enterprise and is handing out free samples here, alluring us into purchasing a nice collection of edibles.

Same family farm had a maple sugaring operation, which we toured while enjoying some maple sap soda.

Other excitement for Dixie was that Vermont is the home of King Arthur Flour company, well known to here.  A trip there allowed us to purchase some amazing dark cocoa and some Pampanoosuc Porridge.  You would think that the best part of the porridge was saying its name, but it was also delicious.

I believe Dirk enjoyed the Ben and Jerry's tour more than the flour and cereal shop.  Here is his favorite flavor.  Not really my favorite!

So you probably knew that Vermont was famous for cheese and maple syrup, but did you know that it is also a major producer of granite?  We visited Rock of Ages granite processing factory, where they carve granite into all sorts of memorials.  I still want to be cremated.  There are way too many graveyards in New England.

Along with graveyards, there are a lot of cool churches, usually one with big white spires in every small town.  This was the Unitarian Universalist church in Montpelier, Vermont, and we stumbled upon a spagetti dinner feed there of which we partook.

Turns out New Hampshire's main attraction is its mountains and waterfalls.  Saw more waterfalls in two days than have ever done before.

Being totally unknowldgeable about New Hampshire and being there at the very beginning edge of tourist season in sketchy weather, we were lucky to end up in Franconia Notch State Park, where we hiked up this granite lined river of waterfalls.

Next we visited The Flume, still blockaded by a chunk of ice in the interior, but lovely as far as we could get up the gorge.

At a waterfall stop along the Kancamagus Scenic Highway we also visited a pond where spring was stirring the wildlife.  My underwater cam caught these two salamanders in action!

Then, it was off to Maine, land of lobstering.....

and scenic lighthouses.

and LL Bean.....

And Acadia National Park, our most important destination!  Here is Dixie riding on one of the famous carriage roads created by the rich and famous of a century ago for their pleasure riding along the cliffs and "ponds" (read, lakes) of the then privately owned property.  We were lucky enough to have one good riding day.  Sorry, this picture disappeared.

The Carriage roads are famous for their stonework bridges, each one unique.  Dirk inspects a work of art culvert under our bike path.

Dirk's 60th birthday started off too rainy and windy for our scheduled boat trip, so we lifted our spirits with some spectacular Maine coastal scenery...

and some endorphin pumping scrambling and hiking in the rain over the "Great Head" trail. 

And finally it was time for Dirk's birthday lobster dinner!  Oh boy!

And some birthday cake in the RV!  Not much of a crowd for this party.  Had to eat all the cake ourselves:(

Next day the weather broke enough for our trip on the Lulu Lobster Boat, round about Bar Harbor.

Lobsterman was very informative as he showed us both old and new traps and how they functioned.

We got a lesson in lobster anatomy, ecology, and fisheries.

Pulled up a trap and this one measured out as "a keeper!"

There are minimum and maximum limits on the size of keeper lobsters.  This one was too big and had to be thrown back!

Departing Acadia in yet more rain, we stopped to enjoy the amazing rocky shelves along Schoodic Point.

And headed to the easternmost point in the US, which apparently is inhabited mostly by porcupines.

Camped nearby at Cobscott State Park where we got up for a low tide and went clamming out behind our campsite.  The only clamming equipment we had were our kitchen spoons, but they worked well enough for these clams

After celebrating our 30th anniversary (7 years ago) hiking the West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island, we knew we had to hike this trail, The Bold Coast Trail, as soon as we read about it.  The quality of the trails are about equal. This one was shorter and without backpacks and ladders, however.

Here Dirk puzzles exactly how these pieces of boardwalk are supposed to connect!  Despite these challenges, the views, varied terrain, and weather were all just right!

Although we have felt like we have been chasing winter as we continually have moved northward, the spring is finally arriving even in Maine, and the contrast between the dark evergreens and the fresh light green deciduous leaves and white birch trunks is stunning.

I took a picture of these unfolding tree leaves only to discover later that a small bug is also enjoying them!

These bees are hard at work pollinating the big patches of blueberries we passed by.  In taking this picture I got a bee stuck in my curly hair and in shaking my head to get it out I got so dizzy that I was sick all day!  I also got stung:(

This is a nearly endless patch of blueberries in early bloom.  They are "lowbush" blueberries and do they mean LOW!  Very much like our alpine blueberries, but these are commercialized and harvested with lawnmower type devices like we use to harvest cranberries in Washington.  By the way, they taste really delicious!  .....small and sweet and flavorful!

Our last task before leaving Maine.....to see one of these animals we have been warned about all along the highways!

Our last night we went out in the pouring rain on a moose hunting drive at dusk on the Old Canadian Road, and we were not disappointed!  This mom had a yearling with her who appeared to be eating mud....perhaps for the minerals, or perhaps because it was a naughty one year old.

Well, time to leave the black flies before they get any thicker.

Time to leave the rain and very poor views (vista from famous Cadillac Mtn not seen here).

Time to leave the far eastern reaches of the US and head back inland, toward Quebec!

Family and Friends

Rendezvoused with Dixie's twin brother, Dick, in Shenendoah National Park to give him a taste of our outdoor adventures.  Instead, gave him a taste of Pacific Northwest alpine environment, with drizzle and whiteout.  Did one misty waterfall hike.

Followed by a nice dinner with Nephew Steven at his college town of Harrisonberg, Virginia.

After a day of rain, we decided to flee to a pretty cool cavern, Louray Caverns.  Lots of cave bling!

Blew out candles together in Jessica's apartment.

Arrived in DC just in time to for the twins, Dick and Dixie, to celebrate their 60th birthday on May 1st with some of their kids, at a hotspot in Jessica's neighborhood in DC.

The wild party happened on the weekend, with Dick's gang of friends and a good karaoke machine!

Dick's wife, Nancy, and their daughter, Kim, demonstrate their singing expertise.

Andy's bold voice helped keep us on the melody.  Here he and Jess do a duet!

Nephew mike shows off his blinking light drink glass, hard to capture on film.  He heads off for adventure in Alaska today!

Dirk joins in the musical fray!  Thanks to Arbie and family for offering their home for the festivities!

Nancy created a delicious carrot cake for Dixie........

and a delicious vanilla cake for Dick.

Next day we headed out with Arbie's family to see Jessica's boyfriend's play, Jungle Book. Ally was brave enough to stick out the entire play, and Nick grooved on it.

Ally checks out Baloo's belly.

Andy,  boyfriend of Jess and actor extraordinaire, shows off his SheerKhan costume to Nick after the show.  He was a very mean tiger and he got pancaked at the end by a herd of water buffalo.  Very tragic.

Spring has definitely arrived in DC and so has softball season for Jessica. We watch her perform brilliantly while playing on "The Mall,"  with the Washington Monument in the background.  How cool is that?

Here is Jess at her new condominium in DC!  She just closed on her first home and will be moving in the end of the month.  We helped to restructure her closed, paint the bathroom, and mess up the bedroom walls.

Then off to New York.....not the city!

Destination:  Baseball Hall of Fame!

Here Dirk bats while statues pitch and catch.

Then off to West Point to finally get to see where our nephew, Rocky Jr., went to college and now teaches.  Here he is in his office for military history teachers.

We really enjoyed our insiders' tour of the campus, including the mess hall that feeds over 4000 cadets in 20 minutes and the amazing mural of military greats at one end.

Rock and Dixie study the guide to the mural.

Our tour included examining some historical arms.  A bit scary!

Then off to Hoosick Falls to visit our long lost Olympia friends, Gill and Martha Hall, who relocated to here.  They took us on an adventure to canoe in the famous Adirondacks.  It was windy but beautiful and invigorating.

This was the shortest portage ever.....over a trestle dividing two lakes.  Trains would have made it more challenging!

We really enjoyed catching up with our buddies.  We will all have a lot of adjustments and challenges in the upcoming year with jobs, mothers, homes, and all being 60 or older!  And now, off to the ultimate destination......Maine!!!!!