New Hampshire and Maine

We left Montreal on Wednesday and headed East to the "Eastern Townships" of Quebec. They were billed by the locals as being really beautiful and authentically European in their style but to me it just seemed like a drive through rural poverty stricken PA with a few nice hotels thrown in.

We headed over to see Vicky, Mike (whose second name is "Streich" pronounced "Strike"...how cool is that?), their son Sasha and Vicky's mum Nancy. Vicky is a professional singer, Mike a literary specialist and general cultural encyclopedia and Nancy a painter and classics scholar. They are also all fantastic hosts and we spent possibly three of our most memorable days in the USA at their home in Franconia New Hampshire which is nestled at the base of Mt Lafayette in the White Mountains. Their house is situated behind a huge meadow down a dirt road and sits within a 145 acre wooded estate. It has a view of the mountains and when I get my camera fixed I will upload some piccies. Needless to say the scenery was breathtaking and the company fantastic. Lots of songs, piano playing, wine drinking, interesting chit chat, great views and fantastic food.

We managed to squeeze in some canoing on "Echo Lake" and a couple of short hikes but mostly wallowed in the swimming hole in the river than runs along the boundary of their Mike and Vicky's property.

Yesterday we finally drove over to Maine. Shaz has done her usual and managed to conjure up an unexpected surprise and we are renting a beautiful little 2 bedroom cottage on the Atlantic shore for a week. The cottage sits on the beach in "Bayside"about 2 miles South of Belfast Maine. We are here until Saturday and I will try and keep blogging as we go whenever I can gate-crash an open wi fi network.

Vive Montreal!

I have seen the future and it is on two wheels!

Montreal is absolutely brilliant! We arrived Sunday night with the intention of having a quick look around and are still here (leaving Wednesday after the footy).

My head is spinning with all sorts of things about Montreal. For example, there are bike routes everywhere in which the bikes have their own separate screened off lanes. Not surprisingly there are millions of bikers. We took advantage of this civilized urban opportunity today and peddled across town with the kids on the tag along bikes to the "Biodome" which started life as the velodrome for the 1976 Olympic Games.

Another cool thing about Montreal is that I can't figure out why I didn't need to catch a plane to get here. It is so INCREDIBLY different from anywhere else I have ever been. It feels a lot like France but is undoubtedly North American and yet it seems like nowhere else I have been in North America.

Today is "Quebec Day" (which is fab timing) and there was a parade and a huge festival down at the old Olympic park. They allow the public consumption of alcohol here (at least it is tolerated) and yet everybody was cool, no trouble, no scallies, no overly-aggressive cops. Very impressive.

During the day it absolutely poured with rain. We had run out of cash and the corner cafe we dived into for shelter didn't take visa. Amazingly they sat us down and made us some food anyway. How cool is that? I made it to the cash-point in the end so was able to pay but I was so impressed by their warmth. While we were in there I got talking to Enrique....a Quebec Nationalist. I have never given this much thought before but he described how the Francophone-based culture is being eroded by immigrants to Quebec who learn English instead of French and adopt an English-Canadian approach to naturalization. He welcomes the immigrants but wants to use political means to preserve the French culture. Without knowing any of the details, it seems to me that any dilution of the unique character and culture of this wonderful place would be bad news.

I have, however, struggled to banish thoughts of Blackadder III. I am thinking of the French aristocracy episode with "Le Pimpernel Scarlett" and the enormous trousers etc.

"Vive indeed"!!!

PS: Sorry for the lack of pics. Dead camera. Will try and solve before New Hampshire which is our next stop.

Splish Splash

We almost wimped out completely and booked into the Crowne Plaza for a second night but our pioneer spirit got the better of us (or was it our sense of fiscal responsibility?) and on Friday we headed up the road to the ADK Wilderness Campground at the foot of Mt Marcy.

Unfortunately the campground is hugely popular and our site was booked for Saturday night so we lifted the tent further down the trail into the forest (no camping out of the car here) to a so-called "lean too" which is the sort of structure that Rambo might use a base camp. Adam was delighted by the prospect of a new adventure while Soph kept asking "when can we go to a hotel?" Shaz and I were delighted by the prospect of a dry night.

After a paddle on Heart Lake and a swim, we had a quick lunch in Lake Placid and motored North into Quebec, stopping en route to watch the second half of the Spain vs Italy game.

We arrived in Montreal on Sunday night and have checked into the Meridien Hotel so Soph is content.

Montreal seems very different from anywhere else we have been. We are a bit confused by the juxtaposition of US-Canadian culture with French-European vibe. It's fun!!

Off for coffee and pastries and a bit of culture.

Posh

We are poshing it up at the Crowne Plaza in Lake Placid. This has provided a much needed break from the endless driving wind and rain but is a bit heavy on the pocket book. The idea is to luxuriate for a day or two before pushing on into Qubec. The scenery is beautiful here but, given that this is a major destination for New yorkers, they could learn a thing or two from Ambleside.

Lake Placid was the venue for the 1980 Winter Olympic Games, during a particularly chilly part of the cold war, in which the USA came from behind to win the ice hockey final against the USSR. The locals are still harping on about it too!!

As you can see, the portion sizes at the brew pub are not for the faint hearted.

Time for a paddle on the lake!

Nefyn

We may as well be camping in Morfa Nefyn! We have had howling winds and plenty of rain since we left Pittsburgh with highs in the 50s.

Last night we camped at Long Point State Park which is on the north eastern shore of Lake Ontario. The site was deserted which probably reflects the weather but this means we got the best pick of the sites and pitched the tent right on the lake-shore.

We spent day two of our trip meandering North via Syracuse. Syracuse is a complete dump by the way so I won't be job hunting there.

The new hammock has been a blast.

"I Knew It!"

Our little quartet is currently obsessed with another little quartet. The kids are mad about the Beatles and so the constant sound track to our road-trip has been Please Please Me, The White Album, Hard Days Night etc etc (with a little bit of Queen and Beach Boys thrown in for good measure). We have been having frequent family debates about which Beatle wrote the best songs and who had the best voice, John, Paul, or George (sorry Ringo). Adam is definitely a McCartney fan whereas Shaz and I prefer the rough edges of Lennon. Whenever a new track comes on and Soph finds out who is singing the lead she says..."I knew it!"...which has had us in stitches.

We left Pittsburgh on Monday after a leisurely breakfast and drove North into New York State where we camped in Allegany State Park at Red House campground. We had planned for some serious bike rides and a canoe trip but Ironically the weather has been very Welsh, with temperatures in the 50s (unheard of for June) and bucketing rain. In fact we could have flown home for a decent pint and some good scouse company and gone camping in Nefyn.

Yesterday we pootled slowly towards the Finger Lakes region of New York. It was a quiet day but it is nice just to be able to hang out together as a family. Shaz and I cooked some fillet steak and sipped some splendid Italian red on the shores of Lake Keuka while the kids had a riotous time messing about on the swings and playing footy. Best restaurant in town!

I Rock Dude!

Now that Adam has "graduated" from kindergarten, he seems compelled to use a mysterious mid-Atlantic dialect consisting of good old scouse-isms and failry middle of the road Pittsburgh-eze. For example...."I rock dude" is used frequently, as is "what the heck"....along with old favorites from back home such as "bloody hell" (don't tell Mrs Barlow) and "Steve Gerard Gerard....he can pass if for 40 yards.....he's big and he's 'REALLY' hard....Steve Gerard Gerard" etc etc.



I was just about to type..."anyway...enough of my rambling"...but of course, if you are still reading....here is MORE of it!

Last weekend, my barbershop quartet (too new for a name) sang its first gig. Nothing flash...just a graduation party....but it was nice to get out in front of an audience. Shaz and the kids came and I had high hopes that Adam and Soph would be rooted to the spot and captivated by our melodious warblings. Instead....Adam got stuck into a water fight with some local kids and Soph played on the swings (it was in a picnic shelter at park). Oh well!



BTW...I am the lanky one on the left singing baritone.

Soph has been developing quite a talent for the old gymnastics. I realize I am biased but she seems to take after her mum and has proper talent. At least...whenever something needs demonstrating to the class the coach always asks our Soph to show the others. Proud dad!



We are frantically packing the van in anticipation of a road trip to New England. We are heading to the Catskill Mountains in New York tomorrow and then on to the Adirondacks (or the "Daddy-Wrong-Tracks" given my shoddy navigation skills). After that we will head North East into New Hampshire to the White Mountains where will are staying with Mike, Vicky and Sascha from the Pittsburgh old days. The final destination is the coast of Maine. Pittsburgh is land-locked and we have been missing the ocean so a week or two on the Maine Coast seems like a good remedy. Anyway....I'll try and blog en route. Watch this space.

Love to all.

Hot Shot Hamish

Our lives are being consumed by footy! Here are a couple from Sunday at the Schenley Oval in the local park.