Tennessee - May 2006

Dollywood Amusement Park      Pictures

Pigeon Forge, TN - May 5, 2006

We drove into the campground in Pigeon Forge and were escorted to our site by a family of ducks; actually two adults and 19 babies.  Really cute.  Pigeon Forge is like Branson, MO and Orlando in one.  There are all kinds of amusements, restaurants, shows, outlet malls, gift shops and hotels along US-441 we could have stayed a week and probably still not have seen everything.  AND, I understand Gatlinburg only seven miles away, has just as much to do.  We’ll definitely come back again.  We went to the Dollywood Amusement Park.  After driving along a one-lane road to the gates and paying for parking ($6) we passed parking lots A thru F before we found a spot in G.  Boy is this place packed!  We boarded a tram to the park and were told to remember Tram Stop G when we came back and they suggested waiting for the tram because we were 1-1/2 miles from the park and the tram will not stop to pick anyone up if they were walking.  Once at the park we got a one-day ticket (no AAA discount at the gate and Senior is 60).  The park takes up acres and acres of Tennessee land.  It is constructed among the trees with lots of wood watermills, streams and garden settings that you don’t see more than small sections at one time.  Even from the roads you can only see three of the main buildings at the entrance.  They were celebrating the Festival of Nations this week with shows and stands that sell items from Russia, China, Australia, Ukraine, Ecuador and Italy. 

 

Most of the rides are within buildings and you wouldn’t know they were rides without reading the signs.  There are lots of places to eat and we walked around all kinds of shops, restaurants and watching others ride the nasty rides.  There was The Thunderhead, a very large wooden roller coaster with a 100-foot drop, a steam train, a large pole with a disk around it that goes up, spins and then bends down toward the ground where it gets squirted by water.  Another ride is a chair you sit in and pull yourself up a pole to the top where you then come sliding down.  They also have the Tennessee Tornado, the world’s only mountain top, tunnel drop, 70-mph triple loop coaster.  We had a ball watching everyone and walking around.  It is a well done park. 

 

Pennsylvania - May 2006

Ronks, PA       Pictures

May 17, 2006      

We spent some time with my sister and brother-in-law in Ronks, PA.

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New York - June 2006

Niagara Falls, NY      Pictures

June 4, 2006

It was raining but we decided to take a ride to the Whirlpool State Park and walk around to see the Whirlpool.  This is where the Niagara River flows into a small lake and swirls around the lake creating a whirlpool before turning right to continue onto Lake Ontario. The water is a beautiful emerald green and we watched as debris floated down the river and around the whirlpool to continue its’ journey down the river.  We also watched an aerial tram went from the Wolf Lodge in Canada across the whirlpool to the other side of the lake and back.  We started to follow the pathway to the ”Gorge” but turned around after ½ mile.  We don’t know just how far down this path we had to go and just didn’t feel like walking anymore in this rain. 

 

June 5, 2006

We caught the trolley and off at Prospect Point in the Niagara Falls State Park.  We walked through the visitor center to the Festival Theater but we had an hour before the next show so we walked outside and walked along the Niagara River Rapids leading to the American Falls.  The path is right next to the rapids and falls, if you lend over the guardrail far enough you could touch the water.  The American Falls stand 176 feet high and 20 times that wide which is its distinctive feature.  There are many higher falls but none are this wide.  The Falls plummet 75,000 gallons of water over the falls per SECOND! And the river didn’t look all that deep.  We purchased tickets to go on the world-famous Maid of the Mist Boat Tour.  As we walked up the steps to the elevator we continued out onto the Observation Tower which extends out over the Niagara River for a better view of both the American Falls and the Horseshoe Falls.  The sights were great!  We spent a few minutes there before getting on the elevator that takes you 200 feet down.  Once at the bottom we were given the blue rain slickers to put on and directed down a pathway to the boarding point.  The Maid of the Mist takes you on a 15 minutes ride passed the American Falls and into the turbulent waters at the bottom of the Horseshoe Falls.  We didn’t get very wet going passed the American Falls but sure did sitting there at the base of the Horseshoe Falls.  The boat sits there facing the falls just to make sure everyone gets two things; plenty of pictures and really wet.  The falling water makes so much water vapor that we couldn’t even see the middle of the falls but we sure got soaked.  I hope my pictures come out because the lens was spotted with water.  The Horseshoe Falls are really awesome!  They are 170 feet high and has twice as many gallons of water going over it than the American Falls.  The sheer power of the water and the noise was thunderous.  After what seemed to be ten minutes, the boat backed up and turned to return to the dock. 

 

We walked up a pathway, back on the elevator and up to Prospect Park.  We sat outside at the small café there and ate lunch before walked into the visitor center and watching a 22-minute film on the discovery of the Falls.  It was kind of interesting and they said the American Falls has receded 1/3 mile since they were discovered in 1697.  After the movie we got on a Trolley that only goes along the river and over to Goat Island.  You can also get on and off anywhere along the way.  We got off at the Luna Island stop and walked down a few steps to Luna Island.  Luna Island is between the American Falls and the Bridal Veil Falls.  Once again if you could reach out far enough you could touch the water.  We couldn’t believe the speed of the water going over the falls and the noise here is even more thunderous than at Prospect Point.  The Cave of the Winds is also located here and standing on Luna Island you can look down to the bottom and see the wood walkways winding around the bottom of the falls with one loop that goes behind the Bridal Veil Falls. 

 

We continued our walk back up the steps and over to Terrapin Point.  Terrapin Point if the furthest point out to view the Horseshoe Falls on the American Side.  The park here is very nice and even had a guy playing the bagpipes and the views are just great.  We continued along the pathways to the Three Sisters Islands.  These are three islands in the Niagara River linked by bridges out in the upper rapids of the Niagara River.  I walked along each bridge, over each island looking at the sights.  Each island is very small but has a few paths you can explore if you like but there are no guardrails anywhere and only signs on the last island warning you about the dangers of climbing on the rocks.  I didn’t explore any paths except the main one I was on.  The water flows passed these islands just as fast as it does going over the falls and I wasn’t about to temp fate. 

 

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Canada - June 2006

Ontario Canada

Jordan Station - Visit with Friends         Pictures

June 6, 2006   

We drove to Jordan Station to visit with Erland and Barbara Troup at their fruit farm.  The house is a one floor brick house with really nice wood paneling throughout and sits above 16-mile creek.  Barbara said that a lone woman paddled her canoe from Lake Ontario down each of four or five creeks to Lake Erie and gave each the name for the number of miles it took from one to the other; hence, 16-mile creek flows 16 miles from Lake Ontario to Lake Erie.  Barbara gave us the nickel tour and Erland's wood working.  Erland took us on a ride around the orchards on his flatbed truck.  The three of us sat on cushions supplied by Barbara and we sat straight-legged as Erland drove.  We drove around their orchards of peaches, pears and cherries.  Unfortunately, nothing was in season but he drove us through the trees and around the 100 + acres.  We walked through the barn where the processing is done as Erland explained how the fruit is brought in, the equipment used for washing, sorting, packing and their cold storage area.  Barbara said they will have about 24 workers when the season starts.  We stopped at their son’s house so Erland could show us his real workshop; I think he must have every machine ever made for wood-working. 

 

Ontario Canada - June 2006

Niagara Falls     All Pictures   (Niagara Falls Ontario Canada,  Journey under the falls)

June 6, 2006

As the sun went down enough to see the colors in the falls, we walked back down to have a look.  This side of the falls has a brick walkway that runs along the Niagara River for what must be 4 miles.  The walkway is wide with overlooks and even seating areas all lined with trees and flowers.  We walked a little ways stopping a few times to take pictures.  The colors we saw weren’t all that bright, maybe as it gets darker the light get brighter.  We stayed a while and the colors did increase but not a lot.  The falls were still awesome. 

Journey under the falls 

We drove back into town and Jack dropped me off at the Journey Behind The Falls.  He either parked somewhere or drove around while I did the tour.  They gave us rain slickers to wear and piled us into an elevator to go down 150 feet into a tunnel.  Once out of the elevator they let you walk through two tunnels; one runs along under the Canadian Falls to two ”portals” that you can look out at gallons of water thundering over the rocks.  The other ”portal” leads to an observation deck right next to the falls.  The top deck is under a canopy while the bottom deck is open.  You get wetter on the bottom deck.  The views of the Falls are great from here and we were blessed with a beautiful rainbow reaching from one end of the Falls to the other.  It was Great!  The tunnels are wide and the noise of the water is thunderous.  They don’t rush you and you could stay for as long as you liked; I stayed about 15 minutes before heading back onto the elevator.  After all Jack was driving around somewhere waiting for me so I cut it short.  I did take a look at the falls from the top and saw another rainbow.

 

Floral Clock      All Pictures   (Floral Clock,  Butterfly Conservatory,  Whirlpool Aero Ride)

On the way back we stopped at the Floral Clock.  I remember this from years ago.  Most of the flowers are not in bloom yet so it was mostly green but still telling the time. 

Butterfly Conservatory 

Next we stopped at the Niagara Parks Butterfly Conservatory.  A large glass enclosed building of 11,000 square feet housing over 50 different species of butterflies.  We watched a short film as we walked in all about the lifecycle of butterflies.  We walked on a path that winds its way around the Conservatory that is filled with greenery and flowers and waterfalls; it’s like walking through a tropical rain forest, which is what it is supposed to be.  Everywhere butterflies fly free among the trees, flowers and you.  Jack had one land on his hat and I had one on my sleeve.  Such beautiful butterflies and what a time I had trying to catch them sitting still long enough to get a picture.     What a place. 

Whirlpool Rapids Aero Ride

We stopped at the Whirlpool Rapids Aero Ride.  From here you get on a gondola that goes over the whirlpool to the other side and back.  While we were there a tour guide said the whirlpool is 300 to 800 feet deep and if you were to get catch up in it, it would be a month before your body would get out of the vortex of the water and surface; that’s how fast and turbulent the water is.  The other day we stood on the other side in the US as we watched the gondola go across, this time we are on the Canadian side watching it come back.  The views are much better on this side. 

 

Toronto, Canada - June 2006

Toronto Zoo      All Pictures

June 9, 2006  

The Toronto Zoo is only a few miles from the campground.  The zoo has over 5,000 animals and is huge!  It is arranged in different regions with animals from that region.  There is a Discovery Center, Waterslide and Splash area for kids plus a small petting zoo.  You follow wide black topped trails to each of the regions in the zoo.  We first walked into the Eurasia region with animals from Europe and Asia.  This trail takes 2-1/2 hours to walk through and houses with a Panda, Siberian Tiger, Reindeer, Przewalski’s horses and a snow leopard.  Next is the Americas, with a Polar Bear Exhibit, a Jaguar, spider monkeys and flamingos.  There is also an Americas Pavilion known as the ”Underground Pavilion” housing otters and other water animals and plants.  There is also a butterfly garden but there weren’t any butterflies.  Next was the Canadian Domain with bison, elk, cougars and a lynx and next the African Savanna with gorillas and a two-acre African rainforest.  This domain is twice as big as where we had walked.  It was getting colder and our feet were getting sore after walking what must have been 4 or 5 miles already and that was only half the zoo.  There is a Zoomobile that runs throughout the zoo but we didn’t get a ticket because we didn’t realize just how large this place was.  So we took a short cut passed the Canadian and African Domains and went through the Indo-Malaya domain that has orangutans, an aquarium and a python.   That’s it for us, our legs are aching and our feet are sore.  We didn’t see a whole lot of animals but the areas are so large where the animals roam that you just can’t see everywhere. 

 

Kingston Canada       All Pictures   (Kingston,  Quebec,  Dinosaurs at restaurant)

June 12, 2006  

We drove downtown and walked along the waterfront of Kingston.  The waterfront here is only a few blocks long with gardens, no shops.  We took the Kingston Confederation Tour Trolley for a one-hour tour of the city.  The young collage girl who was our guide was very good and told us about what seemed to be every building in town.  Kingston is a large collage town now but was once the capitol of Ontario.  The town has varied styles of architecture mostly built of limestone of which Kingston is built on  There are also ten penitentiaries.  The biggest, housing 465 prisoners, has the best waterfront view in town.  Kingston also has a 23% crime rate, apparently once a prisoner is here and get out, you never want to go back.  She pointed out one long area of reclaimed land next to the river that she said was the most important piece of land in Kingston, not for its value but for its fleet of boats to defend Canada, without which Canada would have been part of the US.  After the US and Canada became allies, they no longer needed all the wooden ships and as they were rotting anyway, were sunk under that reclaimed land.  Kingston is also known as the capitol of sailing.  Lake Ontario here has winds that are perfect for sailing. 

Funny Goof of the day

June 13, 2006  

Today was our clean-up day.  Jack cleaned around the motor home while I cleaned the inside and did 5 loads of wash.  Jack put the clothes in my basket in the car for me plus a white trash bag filled with his washing towels.  Before I left for the laundromat, I put a white bag of trash in the back seat to take to the dumpster.  Wait a minute, it's coming....I went to the store to get change for the washing machines and pulled up to the dumpsters, grabbed the white trash bag in the back seat and threw it in the trash bin.  When I got to the laundry, I grabbed the clothes and the other white trash bag and proceeded into the laundromat.  As I reached into the white bag for his towels, it was trash!  Oh Oh, what had I done.  Yep, I threw Jacks towels in the trash!  I immediately went back to the dumpster but the one I threw it in was totally empty and well beyond my reach, even if I hoisted myself over the top, there was no way I could reach it.  Believe me, I tried.  I even got a long stick and went "dumpster diving" but still couldn't bring it up and out.  Sooooo, I had to go to the front gate and get the maintenance guy.  He climbed inside and got the bag.  Boy was I embarrassed but it didn’t seem to faze him at all.  Guess I’m not the first to do this.  

 

Quebec Canada     

June 14, 2006

It was a long drive today and now crossing over into Quebec everything is in French and very little English.  The roads are the pits, especially when we got off exit 12 on Hwy 13; the roads are really bumpy. When I registered at the campground, I said ”Bonjour” but then said that’s all the French I know, do you speak English?  She laughed and said yes.   

 

June 15, 2006 

We got in our car and headed downtown trying to find Old Montreal and got so mixed up.  All the street signs are in French and there are roads, overpasses, underpasses and tunnels everywhere.  After riding around getting thoroughly confused, we saw a sign for the Casino and thought let’s just go there.  Well, we couldn’t figure out how to get there either.  We had to go over a bridge because it is on an island but couldn’t figure out how to get to the bridge.  At a stop light, we asked a taxi driver first if he spoke English then where the casino was.  He did speak English and told us how to go but then said to just follow him.  He took us right to the front door.  Wow, what a nice guy.  Of course we tipped him for his help.  The funny part is that we were just one block from Old Montreal but we couldn’t stop to sightsee, we had to keep an eye on the taxi cab.  From what I could see, Old Montreal is basically the financial district of Montreal because it seemed that every other building was a bank or some other large financial institution.  The buildings were marvelous!  Everyone was old world style, gothic with beautiful designs.  I wish we could walk around a little but after all this I know Jack won’t be up to doing this again.   

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June 17, 2006

We didn’t want to go back into Montreal so we drove to the Mall.  This is supposed to be Quebec’s biggest Mall and believe me it is.  We must have walked 2 or 3 miles inside the Mall.  They have lots of clothing stores, shoe stores I think two food courts.  We kept turning corners and finding two more corridors to go down with shops.  I’m not sure we did the whole thing or not! 

Val-Alain, Quebec Canada - Dinosaurs at Restaurant 

June 20, 2006

We stopped for gas at a station and restaurant; gas is $1.08 per liter which comes to $4.10 per gallon.  This place also had large dinosaurs all around the outside and four big-foot trucks.  We walked around taking pictures that I’ll send to my nephew.  Side Note:  I can't wait to get out of Quebec; people in Quebec sure are rude.  We have seen several incidents where they don’t wave, smile or say excuse me when they walk in front of you.  One day we were eating lunch at Quiznos when two women sat down in back of Jack, she bumped his chair when she got in and pushed her chair back so hard that it pushed Jack a full three-inches into the table and didn’t say a word!  

 

New Brunswick, Canada - June 2006

Hartland Covered Bridge      All Pictures   (Hartland Covered Bridge,  Grand Falls,  Fredericton,  Canada Day)

Hartland, NB - June 27, 2006   

Driving into Fredericton was very scenic with rolling hills of beautiful lush green grasses and farmland.  The roads weren’t all that back either.  We passed a really long covered bridge spanning the St. John River about a half mile away.  I later looked it up and found out it was the Hartland Covered Bridge and reportedly the world’s longest covered bridge spanning 1,282 feet.  I only wish I could have gotten a better picture but my camera kept focusing on the rain on the windows.

Grand Falls, NB

It was raining this morning and overcast all day.  We took a ride to the Irving Big Store and had lunch.  Afterwards we drove downtown to see the Grand Falls.  The Saint John River flows into town where it flows through a dam and falls over a wide span of rocks to continue through a 230 foot deep gorge that cuts right through the center of town for more than a mile.  It’s no Niagara but scenic. 

Fredericton, NB - Kings Landing Historical Settlement 

June 29, 2006

Fredericton is a small city as cities go but about the same.  We walked around the Garrison District.  This area was established as a British Military Garrison in 1784.  The original Guard House, Soldiers’ Barracks and Officers’ Quarters buildings are still standing and open for tours.  Twice a day on Saturday and Sunday they have the changing of the guard and people dressed in custom, unfortunately this is Thursday and nothing was going on.   It was raining this morning and for much of the early afternoon but we headed out after lunch to Kings Landing Historical Settlement about 20 minutes from here on TCH-2.  This village sits on the banks of the St. John River and re-creates rural life in 19th century New Brunswick.  In 1960 the Mactaquac Dam was constructed and many historic homes were threatened by the rising water.  In order to preserve the building, they were moved to this location and restored.  Each home or trade area has been restored to a different time period with different styles of clothing, cooking utensils and architectural styles of the home.  People are dressed in period costumes and actually work and cook with utensils of the times.  Some were cooking cookies and I tasted one molasses cookie that one just finished making; really sweet and good.  They all talk about what they are doing in that time period.  The Village is quite extensive with 31 buildings of meeting halls, carpenter shop, printing office, wood shop, barns, school, ice cream parlor, churches, cooper shop, wheelwright shop, lint house, gristmill, sawmill, general store, theater and several homes.  They also have King’s Head Inn that has light lunches.  We walked around for about two hours.  The rains stopped while we were there and started again driving back to the motor home.  What perfect timing.

Canada Day 

July 1, 2006

Today is Canada Day and everyone is putting out Canadian Flags.  It was drizzling this morning but cleared up by noon so we went downtown to Canada Day.  Fredericton had a 12-gun salute by the Royal Canadian Artillery School to start the Civic Pride Block Party.  All along the downtown waterfront were games and rides for the kids, games of chance, food vendors, pony rides and the theater put on a play.  All kinds of people were sitting around the square listening to the musical entertainment of the day.  We walked around the games and all along the waterfront, through the square and sat on a bench watching people.  There were people everywhere including guys playing guitars on the street corners and people in customs walking around.  We even saw a guy dresses in robes and sandals looking like Jesus.  At 4 PM there was a Civic Pride Parade.  There were no floats or cars but just people walking in customs of their native countries of China, Japan, Peru, India and even had a dozen or so marching for gay and lesbian rights.  They also had a drum and bugle corp. and bagpipe group.

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