July - August - September Adventures, 2015

As we write, we are in El Salvador and will soon post about life in the estuary and a recent "vacation" away from working on Abracadabra. But THIS post is about time we spent this summer/fall in California and Canada. We hope you enjoy traveling along and that we convince you to travel to a couple of places we have enjoyed!

Right Back Where We Started From

In mid-July we arrived back in Sacramento where we: 

• house-sat for friends, Ken & Claudia Carlson; 
• ate in favorite restaurants (including Hot Italian - Molly's current favorite pizza); 
• stopped in at our favorite coffee shops (a shout out to the morning crowd at Espresso Metro and our neighbors at The Coffee Garden);
• made a few repairs (all minor, fortunately) to our house;
• enjoyed a show at the B-Street Theater; 
• engaged in personal maintenance (updating contact lens prescriptions, getting teeth cleaned, etc.); 
• visited our storage lockers (sadly, to see the mess created by what we expect were some very disappointed young thieves) [Side note: our losses were fairly minimal because the first layer of stuff the thieves found was boxes of Christmas decorations. We can imagine them rooting through those boxes and saying "who the f*%# has this many nativity scenes? - where are their electronics?"]; and, best, we
• checked in with friends. 

Wine Maker's Lunch at Miraflores (Placerville, Ca, USA)
Thanks Perry & Anne!

Among our "housekeeping" items while in Sacramento was the sale of our trusty little SUV, "The Truck" which we had purchased in October, 2014.  

The Truck

Other nomadic types might be interested in the following: We did a rough calculation of our "ownership cost" [(purchase + licensing/registration + repairs) less sale receipt] to determine whether it was more cost effective to buy-and-sell or to rent. We figured we would have had to pay insurance and fuel for a rental vehicle. Roughly, our ownership cost for The Truck was about $400 a month, which is certainly less than the cost of renting an SUV (which, granted would have been a new SUV, but we didn't need a new car, only a safe one). 

Of course there were non-financial aspects to our decision. We wanted to drive The Truck to and from Mexico and would not have been able to take a U.S. rental car into Mexico. Our "ownership cost" calculation benefited from the lower labor rates for car repairs, but then we had some cosmetic or "non-safety" items taken care of in Mexico because of the lower labor costs (a small dent removed and a terrific cleaning job on some soiled upholstery). So - it's not a straight line calculation, but we are glad we did it this way. Next time, who knows?

Our house-sitting gig was, as always, restful and restorative. Not only did we get to stay in Ken and Claudia's lovely house in Sacramento and enjoy breakfasts in their back yard, but they were kind enough to invite us to visit them at their summer rental in Pacific Grove. The view from their Pacific Grove living room was spectacular - we didn't even need to move off the couch to see whales! But we were a little disappointed that our couch whale pictures were even better than those taken from Abracadabra!

Whale Out The Window!

We took a day trip to the Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo at Carmel-By-The Sea, famous as the burial place of Father Junipero Serra:

Yes, We Were There

And Yes, It's a Mission

We also walked from their apartment to the fabulous Monterrey Bay Aquarium, where we spent several hours - some of it entranced by the beautiful (but icky) Jelly exhibit: 

Beautiful . . . But Icky

And just FYI, if you can't visit Monterrey, you can watch the jellies on the aquarium's Jelly-Cam! 

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

In mid-August we visited Ontario, Canada to see friends and family. Our trip included a long-weekend in Toronto where we were joined by our friend Jean Ross, who came in from Brooklyn to engage in Acts of Photo Tourism with us. [Photography Tip: Jean's photography is in a class above - take a look at her work on: her website or her travel blog. We're happy to have a couple of her quick-snap shots here.]

We spent most of our time in TO following a free walking tour map around the central part of the city:

There Were Even Sign Posts

We were very impressed by the modern buildings that have been popping up all over the city:

Buildings Taking Pictures of Buildings
Taking Pictures of Buildings . . . 

And enjoyed the many "secret gardens" to be found around town:

Of course there were statues, some of them honoring Canadians' Sacrifices To Empire:

The Brave Fallen In The Boer War -
Now That Was Something To Die For

We photographed the "iconic" (a rare occasion that over-used term is actually the right one) CN Tower:

We Must Be In Toronto!

There were even places to rest while on tour.

Foreign Tourists (Bryce & Jean) Cooling Their Heels

Because it's Canada, there were visual jokes:

Blue Jay Fans

We also photographed some things not on the official tour, but quintessentially Toronto:

Toronto The Good

And of course we saw many buildings from Toronto's past - some put to excellent use:

The Center of Canadian Culture

We met friends David and Karin Milne for dinner one night to hear all about their new condo purchase on the waterfront. We're looking forward to visiting them there - the view promises to be spectacular.

One afternoon we traveled to the islands in Toronto Harbor. [Travel tip: Order tickets for the Toronto Ferry in advance via the internet - otherwise you will spend at least an hour in one of the lines for the ferry. We were saved by our friend Jim Thompson who, as a member of a yacht club on the island, was able to get us tickets on the yacht club's tender.]

Jim and Bryce had planned an afternoon sailing on Jim's O'Day 19. When Jean and Molly said they were just going to walk around the island, Jim kindly offered up his kayaks for the day. Jean hesitated for a moment, as she was dressed in jeans. (Molly's quick-dry skort was more kayak friendly.) But Jim gallantly offered up a pair of retro style shorts (aged on his boat for several years . . . ) complete with a piece of rope to hold them up! As a woman of substance over style, Jean thanked him, borrowed the shorts and went kayaking! Molly's only regret was that she failed to get a blackmail picture of Jean in those shorts.

Molly Kayaking With A View
Photographer: Jean Ross

Our cultural outing was to the newly opened Aga Khan Museum, a museum of Islamic art named for the hereditary Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims. It turned out to be a jewel box of a museum - an attractive building housing a relatively small, focused collection of beautiful things. Anyone who is interested in learning about and/or appreciating Islamic art will enjoy a visit.

The building and grounds are lovely:

The Entrance To The Museum

Jean Contemplating The Reflecting Pool

And the collection is laid out in historical context - particularly helpful for non-Muslim visitors.

Architectural Pieces -
Mother of Pearl Door Panels From India

Porcelain Basin - 16th Century China

That weekend the nearby Ismaili Center was holding an event, "Chai In The Park". We bought lunch from very enthusiastic Ismaili vendors in West African dress (fried casava - quite tasty) and watched members of the community enjoying the day. Many of the visitors were dressed in the style of one of the over 25 different countries in which Ismaili live. This community has a very well done and interesting website if you're interesting in learning about them.

We also visited the St. Lawrence Market which, in addition to being a major tourist destination is also a real food market! We bought a bottle of wine and some snacks to share at the hotel. [Travel Tip: Despite being a tourist destination this market is not open on Sunday! We made the mistake of trying to provision a Sunday picnic there . . . and were very disappointed.]

One tourist outing that turned out to be a bit "eh" for us was the much touted Brewery District. It's nice to see some older buildings renovated and put to use - but it's really just a shopping and restaurant mall (and wedding center - based on the number of bridal shots taking place that weekend). That said, we enjoyed a beer at one of the many brew-pubs and Molly found a very nice Toronto t-towel (tourist tchotchke for we who live on Abracadabra must be small and unbreakable). 

Our last tourist activity turned out to be the most disappointing - except that we are now armed with something to hold over Jean's head for future trips. Jean had read about Islington - purported to be a charming neighborhood (conveniently on the way to the airport) WITH shopping, dining and interesting public art wall murals. So - why not? 

Well, we found the shopping to be somewhat limited:

Main Drag, Islington

The murals were technically fine, but a bit on the "too cute" plan:

An Islington Mural

And the lunch we had at a store-front Italian deli would have been more appropriate as a quick work-day lunch. 

So, we can check Islington off our list . . . except as blackmail material.  

[Travel Tip: Internet travel comments are just that -- random comments.] 

Kawartha Lakes Area, Ontario

The rest of our three weeks was spent in Lakefield, Bryce's home town, visiting family and taking day trips to some of the resorts in the surrounding Kawartha Lakes area. We've written a couple of posts about this area -- enough to have a "label" for Ontario - so we will try not to repeat ourselves. But we will repeat that it's a very nice place to visit.

We have the luxury of staying in a lovely old house right on the main street of the village (Lakefield's Queen Street) with Bryce's sister, Brenda.

A Rose-of-Sharon, far right.
Brenda, middle. Friend Glenda, left. 

  
We enjoyed long walks along the river and canal system that runs behind Brenda's home almost every morning. During our rambles we passed:

Kayaks For Rent

The Local Beach,
Where Teen-aged Triathletes Were In Training

RV-ers With (Apparently) Long-Term Leases

Kayakers

Any calorie expenditure was often offset by a stop at the Nuttshell Next Door Cafe.  What's a reviving coffee without a reviving scone?

During each visit to Lakefield we try to build in a trip to one or more local tourist attractions. This time we took the Stoney Lake Cruise - a pleasant motor around the alleged 1,000 islands in Stoney Lake. While we listened to the tour guide's description of the history of the lake and the cottages around it, including which were owned by famous hockey stars or had been used as a soap opera set, much of our personal tour could perhaps be called "A Tour of Bryce's Youthful Boating Misadventures". Listening made Molly very happy that he'd gotten all of that out of his system before she met him!

Cottage Country

Enjoying Being A Passenger

We also visited with family - which was by times great fun (Kyle's steak dinner for the gang in Brenda's back yard; dinner out with Kacey's clan; lunch with cousin Ken Andrews) and friends (lunch with David and Lynn McCracken; dinner at Glenda's with George and Marie). 

But, because life is like that, our visit had some more somber moments. Bryce's Aunt Jessie, age 99, died within a few days of our arrival. Her departure was very sad for us not only because we will miss her presence, but also because she was the last remaining member of that generation of Bryce's family. 

We're thankful that we got to visit her when we first arrived. We had been told she was failing, so we were surprised to find that she was, for a short period of time, very lively. We had a nice visit - and came away with one particularly fun memory: Molly was holding Jessie's hand and talking about what had become Jessie's favorite topic - her childhood on the family farm. "Now, Jessie, I know there were cows and horses on the farm, but were there other animals? Did you have pigs?" Jessie's mischievous face lit up and she leaned in as if for a confidence. "Oh, yes, pigs. . . . . Nasty smelly things!" And then she laughed. Yes, we will miss Aunt Jessie.

In closing, in honor of Aunt Jessie's long life, we wish for you: A life with more cows and horses than pigs, and a chance to find your own little charming village. And for us, that you let us know about your visit when you do!

Next post: Finally one about El Salvador!

Ontario, Canada: August 23 - September 4, 2014

This installment is about our time in Ontario. Bryce was born and raised in the village of Lakefield and his sister and her family still live there, so we visit at least yearly. Because Lakefield (which is now in the Township of Selwyn if you're searching for it on the Internet) is one of the places we are "at home" we don't give it as much press as it deserves. We really should have included a Lakefield reference in the "England-lite" portion of our last blog post - it's that charming and Englandy. [We often comment that Ms. Marple and a dead body should be showing up in the vicar's study any time now . . . which is why we don't go to the Anglican Church when we visit.] 

This visit was like many others in that much of our time was spent enjoying and catching up with friends and family.  But we also included a couple of tourist excursions.

Friends and Family

We stopped in the Toronto area on the way to Lakefield to see friends.  

Bryce With University Era Friends 
David and Karin Milne in Oakville

We stayed in Toronto for a few days with friend and fellow sailor Jim Thompson (he's been featured as a guest star crew member several times in this blog). Sadly we didn't get any pictures during our visit with him. We blame him because all he did was make us eat! Shame on him.  

In Lakefield we stayed at Sister Brenda's new home on the main street of the village (Queen Street - how Englishy is that?). The new-to-her old house is within walking distance to groceries, great coffee, a wonderful new restaurant (Riverhouse Company), the Otonabee River and churches representing almost every mainline Protestant denomination. We felt very protected.  

We got to see the most recent family addition and cutest kid on the planet our (Great Great - no kidding) Nephew Myles Kidd.

Myles With Grandma (Our Niece Susan)

We also had the pleasure of spending a day at the Neill-Estabrooks cottage at Jack Lake.

Bryce's Favorite Nephew: The One Manning The Grill
(This Time It's Scott)

Brenda and Molly - Hangin Out

(Great) Nephew Thomas, Ski Boat Captain 

Tourist Endeavors 

          The Niagara River Parkway

The drive along the Canadian side of the Ontario/New York border is beautiful. This is where tourists can stop and learn about the brave demise of Major-General Brock at the hands of the invading United States Army (see prior post). Those not so historically interested can visit beautiful gardens, picnic grounds and tourist rides over the Niagara River. The best food along the drive is had at various "farm stands" that sell produce and sandwiches.

From Our Stop We Could See New York, Sarah! 

 

          Niagara-On-The-Lake

Our first two nights were spent in Niagara-On-The-Lake, which likes to tell everyone it is Canada's prettiest town.  And it may well be.  It's also expensive and crowded -- but we stop there most times we travel to Canada because:

• it is a quick-ish drive from Buffalo (not the U.S.'s prettiest town) our airport of choice (cheaper airfares and car rental prices than Toronto);
• the region's wineries are fun to visit and they make some very good white wines (for the best Canadian reds, go west);
• the Niagara River Parkway is spectacularly beautiful and even we can bicycle along it; and
• the Shaw Festival turns out consistently good theater productions (U.S. Left Coasters - think: Ashland, Oregon's Shakespeare Festival).  

This trip we saw Shaw's Arms and the Man which we enjoyed a lot, and found a very comfortable bed and breakfast. If you're as allergic to Victoriana as we are becoming, try the Historic Lyons House. The breakfasts are delicious.

Lyons House

We visited a new-to-us winery, Caroline Cellars. Check, done that.  We also re-visited Inniskillin which is famous for ice wines which we don't particularly like. We were pleasantly surprised to like several of their "regular" whites.  


          The Peterborough Lift Lock

Our Lakefield-based tourist experience was a boat ride through the Peterborough Lift Lock - the highest hydraulic boat lift in the world (it must be - both our tour guide and Wikipedia say so). This particular lock is one of the 45 on the Trent-Severn Waterway, a canal system that winds its way through Southern Ontario from Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay on Lake Huron. Hmmm - perhaps we should have had a Netherlands-lite reference in our prior "Europe Lite" post?

The lift lock is very cool to go over -- but Molly found it best not to dwell on the fact that the lift was built in 1904 while she was in a tour boat 65 feet above the river bank.

Heading Into the Lock

The Lock Operators

The Trent-Severn Maintenance Boat

A View From The River

Canadian Geese - Of Course!

And so passed our first two weeks in Canada. On the 4th of September we drove to Quebec - the subject of our next post!

Oh (Eastern) Canada -- August 22 - October 2, 2014

We're currently in Sacramento, California.  Bryce and his new right hip are bonding well and we're slowly making forays into the world outside of our little rental house - Bryce using his ever-so-dapper cane.  And that's really all we want to say or you want to hear about that. It's just not fun to read or write about physical therapy, medication schedules, or even the grumpy hospital roommate who watched The Jerry Springer Show (who knew that show was still on the air . . . ?).    

This post is about something much more fun: our most recent land-based travel adventure -- a five-plus week road trip through Eastern Canada. 

This trip was more organic than well planned.  It came about because we got itchy feet in August while sitting around waiting for Bryce's surgery date and decided to play our favorite game of chance: The Travel Points Game.  Tada!  We "won" a partially-paid trip to Canada and off we went.  

The Reader's Digest Version

For those who want to get right to the point, here's the summary version of our travels. 

We: 

• flew to Buffalo (low-points airfares and cheaper rental cars) on August 22;
• drove 3,263 miles (5251.3 kilometers) through five Canadian provinces (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia);
• took a car ferry from Nova Scotia to Portland, Maine (very cool, great beer);
• flew through everyone's least favorite airport in Atlanta, Georgia where, due to air traffic control SNAFUs along the East Coast of the U.S. (painful and boring) we spent a bonus evening at an airport hotel; and
• arrived in Sacramento only one day later than planned, on October 2.  

And we did our road trip it the Old School way -- using a Paper Map!

Along the way we:

• visited with friends and family;
• toured forts, fortresses and citadels - and learned the difference between them;
• learned a lot about the War of 1812;
• drank some mighty fine beers and some okay wines;
• ate a lot of seafood (fabulous, good, deliciously fried and overly fried);
• learned to appreciate real french fries (Molly experienced a whole new potato world);
• attended ceilidhs ("kitchen parties");
• visited many, many museums; 
• learned about different kinds of whales and lobsters;
• did as much hiking as an immediately pre-hip-replacement-surgery guy can do;
• saw the Bay of Fundy and its legendary tides;
• visited marinas on the Bras D'Or Lake and the Atlantic Ocean;
• learned that we really prefer modern hotels with big rooms to charming bed and breakfasts; and
• got too close for comfort to some courting moose.  

If that's enough for you, feel free to skip the rest of this post and the next few posts. 

However, for those who want to stick with us, we'll start with the three themes that kept coming up for us:

Canada -- it's "Europe Lite"

Our Fellow Americans.  Do you think about visiting Europe but are too shy to try out your high-school French (or Spanish) - or maybe you took Latin and all those folks are dead?  Or maybe you would like to visit the British Isles but don't feel confident about driving on the "wrong" side of the road?  Or perhaps you're afraid that the French really are as rude as rumor would have it?  

We have a suggestion for you: Visit Eastern Canada.    

Large parts of Eastern Canada are very "Europe-y".  But it's easy Europe.  English is one of the two official languages of Canada and even in Quebec most people speak English. Canadians are famously polite. And they drive on the right side of the road - politely.      

You can have French-lite experiences in Quebec:

White Wine and Salad at an Auberge in Rural Quebec

Chateau Frontenac (a Fairmont Hotel) in Quebec City 

The Walls of the Quebec City Citadel

Watching American Tourists Pass An Outdoor Cafe in Quebec City

It is so French-lite we even had one very un-Canadian rude waiter.  We left him a dollar tip.    

Or if it's Scotland you would like to visit -- you can have Scotland-lite experiences in Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia:

Charming Catholic Church in PEI

Rough Terrain in Nova Scotia - Just Like In The Olde Country

 

A Ceilidh (Celtic Music "Kitchen Party")
in Baddeck, Nova Scotia

Youthful Celtic Music Buskers in Halifax

And Even Men In Kilts!

And there are England-lite experiences to be had everywhere in Eastern Canada.  QEII is on the money, things called "Royal" this and that are everywhere, and every little town has at least one monument to the brave who fell defending The Empire.  

Anglican Churches Abound - in Lunenberg

and in Halifax

Halifax Church

Royal References

Pubs

And Remembrances of Men 100-Years Gone

Go visit our Neighbors to the North.  It's a delightful mix of Europe and North America. 


Geography Matters

At some point during every trip one of us asks (rhetorically) why Geography was such a boring subject in school. Perhaps you had a different experience, but what we remember are lists: of capital cities, longest rivers, highest mountains, and our favorites: the five major imports and exports. Lists without context.

It is only through travel that we have figured out why those things matter.  And when we travel, we wonder why something so interesting -- wasn't.   

Take trees, for example. On this trip we learned that a major reason England fought to retain its control over Canada was that The Empire needed trees to build ships. Britain couldn't rule the waves without Canadian lumber. And as one drives across New Brunswick one sees thousands of acres of trees that in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries would have become English wooden ships rather than French wooden ships.  

Or, take cod. The Catholic church prohibited consumption of the flesh of warm-blooded animals on various days (Friday, during Lent, etc.) and pre-refrigeration Europe needed dried cod. Canada had a lot of cod. And now it doesn't (there's been a moratorium on cod since 1992). Areas once rich aren't because the cod are gone. They fish for other fish and seafood - but the big business of cod fishing is over. Many young people travel west to Alberta for work, leaving behind crumbling mansions that once housed shipping barons and fishing fleet captains. And over many of the houses and churches metal cod still point the way.

A Cod Wind Vane in Lunenberg

In Prince Edward Island they are proudly touting the 150th anniversary of the first gathering of the Fathers of Confederation in 1864. But the story takes a bit of a tortured path when they try to explain why when several British colonies joined together to form the Dominion of Canada in 1867, Prince Edward Island was a no show. Blame the cod. In 1867 Prince Edward Island was a "have" colony because of cod fishing and ship building, and the leaders of the colony didn't think it was advantageous to join the Confederation. 
   
  

Big 150th Anniversary Sign in Charlottetown

So really, those five major imports and exports are important.  They make history.  

Geography also impacts other aspects of a culture. For example, Summer isn't just a time for recreation in Canada.  It's Road Repair Season.  

Drive Patiently - Roadwork Ahead . . . and Behind . . . and Around

Road Warning Pylons Everywhere

 And when Road Repair Season ends . . . Falling Ice Season is not far behind.

So - What Do You Do, Duck?

History May Be Written By The Winners -- But the Other Guys Sometimes Have An Audience . . .  

For example - the War of 1812.  

Molly's recollection from a history class at Woodrow Wilson Junior High in Tulsa, Oklahoma is that (a) the mighty British Navy press-ganged U.S. sailors; (b) the tiny, weak, fledgling U.S. defended its citizens against the might of the British empire; (c) the evil British burned Washington, D.C.; (d) Dolly Madison rode out of town with the portrait of George Washington in a wagon with flames rising behind her (though this seems to be somewhat mixed in Molly's memory with Scarlett O'Hara leaving Atlanta); (e) the U.S. won the war (though it was not made clear how we get from (c) to (e) . . . ); and (f) the U.S. defended New Orleans after the peace accord because communication was really slow in the early 1800's but that was later fixed by the telegraph. 

Well, apparently this is only partially true.  

Shocking.

Yes the British Navy press-ganged U.S. sailors - their bad.  But one might point out (if one was a Canadian, for example) that: the U.S. declared war in an attempt to expand its control over British territory in North America; the British were allied with various Native American tribes and the U.S. was busily attempting to expand into Native American territories; the U.S. tried to invade Canada three different times; Washington D.C. was burned in retaliation for the U.S. having burned Fort York (now Toronto); and the real losers in this conflict were various Native American tribes.  

And if you want to know more, visit various sites in central and southern Ontario and in particular the Queenston Heights historic site. Queenston Heights is where Major-General Sir Isaac Brock died in defense of Upper Canada (now Ontario) against the army of the evil expansionist invading United States.  

In short - the Americans invaded, the British fought back, oops the American reinforcements didn't show, Brock died in the battle, and eventually the British won.  

Brock's Monument

A Monument to Laura Secord - Canada's Molly Pitcher
Laura Was A Spy Who Got A Chocolate Company Named After Her

Enemy Territory (New York As Seen From Ontario)

Thus ends our Thematic Consideration of Our Adventure In Eastern Canada.  Our next posts will be more about what we experienced in each province.  Just in case you decide to take us up on our suggestion to visit Canada.