We awoke to the view of the lake on our camper doorstep (as we had the pitch closest to the lake), it was glorious; we had arrived at dusk so had not really appreciated it last night. But no time to dally.. I had an Internet connection last night so wrote a few emails, checked bank accounts etc and id a bit of research on the local area (Napanee, Indiana). It turns out that there is a large Amish population around here. In fact they were here before other settlers as they always bought up really cheap land before it had been settled in any way and did all the work to clear and drain the land. So we decided to go and visit an Amish homestead that is now open to the public. The last Amish occupier died in 1968 and now a few other Amish buildings have been moved on to the land and you can walk around in small groups with a guide who explains all the Amish traditions and beliefs.
The Amish are a Christian sect that got fed up with the Catholic church and all its riches in the middle ages. They wanted to return to a life like Christ, where the first are last and the last first, a simple life with no possessions (like Jesus) and a love and tolerance for others. They were persecuted for ages in Germany, Switzerland and Holland so when the chance came to emigrate some did. The homestead we visited was the first Amish homestead in Indiana in 1870 something. A few years later when a railroad was built within a mile of the homestead the town of Napanee grew up and even more Amish moved here.
The homestead is about 80 acres, the original house still stands (but was extended in the early 1800's to add a new kitchen, prayer room and bedroom. There is a second small (grandparents) house that was built when the original owner got old and his son took over the farm, a smoke house where all the meat was cured, an outside oven made of brick that once heated in the morning retained its heat so that baking could be done all day, a barn, a coach house, an outhouse (privy) and a cool room dug into the ground. Added from around the district to preserve buildings that would otherwise have been destroyed are a bakery, a meat and cheese store, a general store with original marble soda fountain (like a big drinks cabinet but for ice cream and fizzy drinks (made fizzy with phosphates apparently), an Amish school house with the original Amish school bus cart (painted in yellow like the regular US school buses) and a smithy's workshop with all the original tools, the fire with the bellows etc.
The house had lots of original furniture, beds and tables, sideboards and chairs all beautifully hand carved, old irons, pots and pans and, of course, the beautiful quilts that can take up to 800 hours to complete. There were some of the old clothes, the adults will not wear visible buttons because they were a symbol of the military and they were conscientious objectors, the women pin themselves into their dresses each morning using normal sewing pins (I'm sure they must get dislodged in the day whilst they are working and it must be very painful), we have seen them walking around and I had assumed that they were big tacking stitches. Men are clean shaven until they are married and then they grow a beard (and depending on their sect they may never shave it again), but they never have a moustache. The young men have pudding bowl haircuts and all wear blue shirts and braces, they can wear a Tom Sawyer style straw hat. The older men wear black hats with white shirts and braces. The women all cover their hair with a white prayer cap that is apparently the first thing they put on in the morning and the last thing taken off at night. Children can have buttons and are not baptised, they have not yet 'taken' the faith so are not blamed for their actions, however, when at 18 or older, they decide to get baptised then they must follow the rules of their sect, if they don't then they can be shunned for a time that is determined by the priest. (The priest is a man elected by the sect, he has no training but his word is the law.) From the age of 16 to 18 children are encouraged to go and live like the 'English' (that is what they call anyone who is not Amish), they can go to movies, wear any clothes they like, travel etc. Then they can decide to leave the sect but once they are baptised then the rules must be followed. After 21 then they can marry, it used to be that the man chose a wife and then the priest decided if that was ok, the woman had no say in the matter, but now it is by mutual consent and with the priests consent too.
It is a patriarchal society, children only go to school until they are 14/15 (they successfully challenged the state that tried to get the kids into the state school system on the grounds of religious freedom), they speak a mixture of Dutch and English (but this is not a written language) but all their bibles and religious meetings are held in High German (a mixture of German and Dutch). They now have running water and indoor toilets but still no phones, electricity or motorised vehicles. They are very business wise though. If the weather has been too bad to get in a normal harvest then they will pay a neighbour to use his motorised vehicles to get it in. They will hire 'English' and rent a building for them to work in with phones and electricity to run websites and telephone orders for their goods.
It was a fascinating day, and then we drove West until we saw a campsite sign on the edge of the road near Gary outside Chicago. It wasn't the nicest campsite but we cooked and ate and watched a DVD and slept. On the way in it said 'No enter' and Tristan commented that the owner must be Chinese, well there was no one in the office just a note to say they were out and to pay in the morning.. and guess what they were Chinese... we had to giggle.
14th Sept we whizzed past Chicago on the Interstate, we've decided that there isn't really anything that we want to do in Chicago so we're not!! The road was really busy, full of huge trucks and with loads of roadworks making the lanes really small, so it was a hairy scary time.
We are now happily ensconced by the Illinois River (at least 100m from bank to bank) in Illini State Park Campground just outside Marseilles, Illinois (our 5th state), Celso caught a big catfish on his first cast with a spinner (so he's happy). Tristan has learnt all about perimeters and areas of quadrilaterals, and areas of triangles, using algebra and numbers! And now the fire is set, the corn is ready to be cooked and the sun is shining. Happy times.
On the 15th we woke and had showers and then went for a long walk in the park and found some weird mushrooms (toadstools?) and a tree that had huge spines (we suppose as protection against animals eating its fruit). We wondered why there was no one around but then realised that we had crossed into a different time zone and that we should have put our clocks back an hour! On our way back to the van we spotted a huge groundhog out eating acorns but he was too fast for us so we couldn't get a photo. He was brownish grey (not like Punxsatawney Phil who was grey), and about two foot long, big and fat ready for hibernation I suppose.
We headed further west, today is day 10 of our drive and we had to do some laundry and boring cleaning so we headed for a campsite that boasted excellent facilities and found exactly what was claimed! So now we are clean, the beds are clean, the van is clean, Tristan has learnt all about energy, we have been for a long walk along the Hennepin canal in the blazing sun at 5.30pm - I got sunburnt on my shoulders and also bitten by mosquitoes! (How can it be so hot at 5.30pm at this latitude?) The canal is quite interesting because it was the first one ever to be made with concrete and had lots of experiments done on it, then all the technology was used to build the Panama canal. Unfortunately the canal is no longer in use, it only has one working lock but it is a haven for wildlife, we saw herons, frogs, beautiful dragonflies that look like they have pinned some butterfly wings to their backs (see photo) and lots of fish. Apparently there are loads of terrapins too but we didn't see any. They call them turtles here, but Celso and Tristan informed me that turtles are only found in the sea and have flippers.. terrapins have claws and live in fresh water --- so now you know too!
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Saturday, 12 September 2009
Go West! 11th and 12th Sept
Two days of basically trying to get a bit further west.
We had had the van for 5 days and had hardly gone anywhere. We get distracted by the smallest river, pond, lake or wood! So bit between our teeth; and trying desperately not to look too carefully at the map at what we were missing; we got onto an Interstate and covered 150 miles or so before we started to look for a campsite. We filled up the van with gas (petrol in UK) for the first time and stopped when we got to $80 because we couldn't quite believe it, but it was only 3/4 full! Our campsite near Tiffin in Ohio (our 3rd state) was on a really muddy and slow moving river that smelt of silage, but we soon got used to it and then couldn't smell a thing! The tap water was very sulphurous due to a local hot spring and we had to resort to using our stored water for everything (lucky we'd filled up a bit at the last campsite). There was a great little pond; in which Tris caught a young Rock Bass; with lots of Bull Frogs. Celso managed to grab one after dark and he kindly agreed to allow us to take photos in his ballet pose! It was 9/11 but we only saw one person with a memorial tshirt on, perhaps Ohio didn't feel the effects so much. We wore our blue memorial badges that we got from the Trade Centre site in NY but didn't see any more people wearing them.
A couple of people have commented in emails that we hadn't posted since 1st Sept... but I kept adding to the same post in NY for all 4 days so that post is from 1st to 4th Sept.
12th Sept we again decided to make a bit of ground and at least make it to Indiana (our 4th state), however we got a bit side tracked:- first we had to visit Walmart again to get another blanket as it was sooo cold last night. Secondly, as we returned to the van in the Walmart car park, we were dive bombed by a small green rocket that turned out to be a Praying Mantis.... well, we couldn't leave him to be squashed by a passing car so we rescued him, named him Walmart, and drove off to try to find him a new home. We soon came upon Hancock Park and, after first being foiled in our attempts to go walking due to hunting season having started, found one trail that was open to walkers. This is were Walmart now lives and we hope he has a happy few weeks before it gets too cold or he gets eaten by a mate!
On we trundled until we got to a little hick town called Ottawa that was having what they called a Pioneer Fair (an annual event the first weekend after Labour day), so this was our third side track as we stopped to have a look. Basically it was a huge craft fair but it was all very 'kitch' and then there were cars that people had restored lovingly or completely ruined with new parts! It was a fun hour to walk round and watch the people at their play, and we did see some great old vehicles (veee-hickels!).
We reached a campsite on a beautiful lake just before sundown at a place called Warsaw in Indiana (the first state that has had a 'Welcome' sign that we have seen). We have just eaten wood barbecued, medium rare steak and baked potatoes cooked in the ashes of the fire, with cabbage and gravy... YUM ... and Celso tried some fishing but it was really too late ... so I think he is planning an early start tomorrow!
It is about 4:30am in UK now - Goodnight all!
We had had the van for 5 days and had hardly gone anywhere. We get distracted by the smallest river, pond, lake or wood! So bit between our teeth; and trying desperately not to look too carefully at the map at what we were missing; we got onto an Interstate and covered 150 miles or so before we started to look for a campsite. We filled up the van with gas (petrol in UK) for the first time and stopped when we got to $80 because we couldn't quite believe it, but it was only 3/4 full! Our campsite near Tiffin in Ohio (our 3rd state) was on a really muddy and slow moving river that smelt of silage, but we soon got used to it and then couldn't smell a thing! The tap water was very sulphurous due to a local hot spring and we had to resort to using our stored water for everything (lucky we'd filled up a bit at the last campsite). There was a great little pond; in which Tris caught a young Rock Bass; with lots of Bull Frogs. Celso managed to grab one after dark and he kindly agreed to allow us to take photos in his ballet pose! It was 9/11 but we only saw one person with a memorial tshirt on, perhaps Ohio didn't feel the effects so much. We wore our blue memorial badges that we got from the Trade Centre site in NY but didn't see any more people wearing them.
A couple of people have commented in emails that we hadn't posted since 1st Sept... but I kept adding to the same post in NY for all 4 days so that post is from 1st to 4th Sept.
12th Sept we again decided to make a bit of ground and at least make it to Indiana (our 4th state), however we got a bit side tracked:- first we had to visit Walmart again to get another blanket as it was sooo cold last night. Secondly, as we returned to the van in the Walmart car park, we were dive bombed by a small green rocket that turned out to be a Praying Mantis.... well, we couldn't leave him to be squashed by a passing car so we rescued him, named him Walmart, and drove off to try to find him a new home. We soon came upon Hancock Park and, after first being foiled in our attempts to go walking due to hunting season having started, found one trail that was open to walkers. This is were Walmart now lives and we hope he has a happy few weeks before it gets too cold or he gets eaten by a mate!
On we trundled until we got to a little hick town called Ottawa that was having what they called a Pioneer Fair (an annual event the first weekend after Labour day), so this was our third side track as we stopped to have a look. Basically it was a huge craft fair but it was all very 'kitch' and then there were cars that people had restored lovingly or completely ruined with new parts! It was a fun hour to walk round and watch the people at their play, and we did see some great old vehicles (veee-hickels!).
We reached a campsite on a beautiful lake just before sundown at a place called Warsaw in Indiana (the first state that has had a 'Welcome' sign that we have seen). We have just eaten wood barbecued, medium rare steak and baked potatoes cooked in the ashes of the fire, with cabbage and gravy... YUM ... and Celso tried some fishing but it was really too late ... so I think he is planning an early start tomorrow!
It is about 4:30am in UK now - Goodnight all!
Thursday, 10 September 2009
Leaving NY state and into Pennsylvania
We left Letchworth having checked out a dam that was used to prevent damage down river after each (approximately) 7 year flood. It is only closed at these times and can then back up about 25m of water. Diggers were mad at work removing up to 15m of sediment deposited on the upstream side after the last flood. We had breakfast in a truck stop as a bit of a treat and then made our way southwestwards to Allegheny State Park that we were told was beautiful.
We decided to travel part way along one of the bigger roads to make some good time, it had 2 lanes in each direction which were amazingly far apart and very empty (see photos). Allegheny was full of deciduous trees that were turning red and orange and yellow and all the shades inbetween. We stopped at another State Park Campsite and got a plot next to a lovely bubbling stream; perfect for looking for more crayfish. Tris had bought himself a sling shot so we spent some time trying to hit a beer can. Celso was most annoyed not to have hit it before he went off fishing, yet Tris and I were getting quite good at it. Whilst Celso was fishing Tristan and I had a maths and a science lesson! Celso returned insisting that he caught a Crappie and a Wide Mouthed Bass but I reckon that it's just fisherman's tales as he had the camera but chose not to use it!
As I was watching more corn on the cob in its leaves cooking on our fire two racoons started having an arguement only about 6 foot from me; right at the door to the camper; but they ran off as Tris came to look. Their eyes shone brightly in the lights of our torches (and that is the only picture we managed to get... yet... I'm sure we will be visited by others during our journey).
In the morning Celso set his alarm for 5:30am and got up to go fishing; again he says he caught fish.. 6 this time.. yeah yeah, again no photo evidence!
We drove on through the park and stopped at a lake for a bit of fishing but only managed to catch crayfish. We passed a beaver lodge but didn't manage to see the inhabitants, then we made our way to route 66 and headed south.
We decided to stop in another State Park campsite as they are about 1/3 to 1/2 the price, this time it is Cook State Park in Pennsylvania (the 2nd state we have visited so far). This park has more conifers and has an amazing variety of fungi - see photos, we have been visited by another Raccoon and were hoping to get pictures but again failed.
Tris had another maths lesson (algebra!) and we managed to get some washing done - a bit of a relief! In the morning we looked at the map and saw that we were not far from Punxsutawney and so we just had to go and visit the seer of seers, the wise weatherman groundhog whose predictions are even noted in congress (apparently). Phil himself was just a bundle of snoozing grey fur so we are still not entirely sure what a groundhog looks like, but the town is very fond of him. Apparently he has been alive since the late 1800's, fed a secret elixir (that doesn't work on humans). We took photos of the info signs at Gobbler's knob which are great fun to read if you can.
We then whizzed along highway 80 for about 30 miles and then chose an exit with a camping sign and are holed up in a pleasant spot with a pool, but not much to look at. Tomorrow further westwards!
We decided to travel part way along one of the bigger roads to make some good time, it had 2 lanes in each direction which were amazingly far apart and very empty (see photos). Allegheny was full of deciduous trees that were turning red and orange and yellow and all the shades inbetween. We stopped at another State Park Campsite and got a plot next to a lovely bubbling stream; perfect for looking for more crayfish. Tris had bought himself a sling shot so we spent some time trying to hit a beer can. Celso was most annoyed not to have hit it before he went off fishing, yet Tris and I were getting quite good at it. Whilst Celso was fishing Tristan and I had a maths and a science lesson! Celso returned insisting that he caught a Crappie and a Wide Mouthed Bass but I reckon that it's just fisherman's tales as he had the camera but chose not to use it!
As I was watching more corn on the cob in its leaves cooking on our fire two racoons started having an arguement only about 6 foot from me; right at the door to the camper; but they ran off as Tris came to look. Their eyes shone brightly in the lights of our torches (and that is the only picture we managed to get... yet... I'm sure we will be visited by others during our journey).
In the morning Celso set his alarm for 5:30am and got up to go fishing; again he says he caught fish.. 6 this time.. yeah yeah, again no photo evidence!
We drove on through the park and stopped at a lake for a bit of fishing but only managed to catch crayfish. We passed a beaver lodge but didn't manage to see the inhabitants, then we made our way to route 66 and headed south.
We decided to stop in another State Park campsite as they are about 1/3 to 1/2 the price, this time it is Cook State Park in Pennsylvania (the 2nd state we have visited so far). This park has more conifers and has an amazing variety of fungi - see photos, we have been visited by another Raccoon and were hoping to get pictures but again failed.
Tris had another maths lesson (algebra!) and we managed to get some washing done - a bit of a relief! In the morning we looked at the map and saw that we were not far from Punxsutawney and so we just had to go and visit the seer of seers, the wise weatherman groundhog whose predictions are even noted in congress (apparently). Phil himself was just a bundle of snoozing grey fur so we are still not entirely sure what a groundhog looks like, but the town is very fond of him. Apparently he has been alive since the late 1800's, fed a secret elixir (that doesn't work on humans). We took photos of the info signs at Gobbler's knob which are great fun to read if you can.
We then whizzed along highway 80 for about 30 miles and then chose an exit with a camping sign and are holed up in a pleasant spot with a pool, but not much to look at. Tomorrow further westwards!
Tuesday, 8 September 2009
to the van 5-7th Sept
We said goodbye to Marios and his small but very well appointed flat and made our way via the subway system to Penn Station. We got there much quicker than anticipated ... where is the NY rush hour?.. and had over an hour to wait for our train. The train was fully booked and unfortunately by the time we got on the train their were no foursome seats left. We tried to get an Indian couple to move out of a foursome to a twosome seat but they refused even though the guard was telling them that families had priority for the seats.. they insisted that they were a family too! The journey was long, nearly 8 hours, but it was fascinating to watch the scenery go by. NY state must be as long North South as England (I suppose), since that is about the same time as a train from London up to Scotland, or maybe a bit more. We followed the Hudson River North for over 2 hours; it is very nearly straight and on its West bank has a towering cliff but on the East side (where we were) it was really flat. After Albany there was so much countryside; but not like UKs country side with fields etc; just wild woods and swamps. At Rochester we left the train and got a taxi to a motel, ate and slept.
Saturday morning we went to pick up our camper van. Our booking form said we could pick up at 9am so we got their nice and early, only to be told that they normally gave out pick ups in the afternoon; however, since we were the only customers that day, they put a rush on and within the hour our van was ready. It was a great size, about 5 years old, and had all that we required; the forms were signed all the ts crossed and the is dotted when we saw that there was a 15cm crack in the windscreen. So the guy found another equivalent van for us, but this time it had a plasma screen TV, a DVD, microwave and was only 11/2 years old with 20 hours on the generator and 30k on the clock - also we were given a rebate for our trouble plus a free picnic table and chairs - bargain.
We decided to head south (don't know why) and we stopped at a supermarket to fill up the fridge and then at a 'dollar mart' to buy some nice pillows. Celso did his first driving of a left hand drive and his first drive of anything larger than a car; a bit hairy at times especially when he tried to drive on the left when we were turning onto a new road, but it will be great if he can do some of the driving and I can ponder on the scenery (I did all the driving in Canada because it was ridiculously expensive to put an extra driver on our rental). After exactly 100miles we were in our first campsite and trying to learn how to set up everything. I went and played the pathetic English tourist with our neighbours; it worked perfectly; who came and showed us how to do everything; connect to the electricity and water; empty waste (even though we didn't need to), tune the TV in to watch our 'HOW TO' DVD of the van.
So here we are in Bath, our backpacks are unpacked for the first time and the bags are stored away under the sofa seats. We had a home cooked chicken soup and are feeling quite pleased with ourselves.
It was a bit cold last night; we didn't expect that; but we still slept well and for a very long time. We didn't watch the 'How To' DVD in the end as we chatted to the neighbours who helped us out for a while and then Tristan and Celso went for a night walk to see what they could find in the big pond. Tristan grabbed a huge Bullfrog and made swipes at many other frogs but they slipped (literally) away.
A breakfast of boiled eggs and toast was followed by another chat to our neighbours and a tour around their enormous camper (Third Wheel - one that fits onto the back of a pick up truck). We exchanged email addresses and then we were on our way by 1pm. Tristan chose that we turn left out of the campsite and then right and we ended up on a fantastic road over the hills with amazing views away across wooded valleys. When we finally reached a town we decided that we had to do some shopping to get some more blankets and Celso wanted to get more fishing gear ... so into Walmart (kind of like a large, glorified Woolworths) we went and stocked up on everything!
We found a campsite on the map and headed towards it, on the way we found the entrance to a State Park and stopped to have a look at the info board with amazing pictures of a huge gorge; we vowed to visit tomorrow.
At the campsite we bought some firewood and started a fire. We had bought a big circular grill that fitted above the fire pits (I think they are made out of lorry tyres) and we cooked Corn on the Cob in its leaves on the top to accompany our sausage, mash and cabbage (a little reminder of home!).
We now feel quite proficient at hooking up the camper. The electricity plugs in; the water is connected via a hose; the sewage is emptied followed by the grey water (the water that goes down the sinks) to clean out the hose; the chocks go under the wheels to level out the van; the water heater can be put on; the ipod plugged in; the electric toothbrush and the battery for the camera charged..... all mod cons... not really camping at all!
We were camping down in a valley by a small river in which we skimmed stones and looked for wildlife but didn't see much; but again after dusk the boys went out with torches and were treated to bats flying by; several 2 or 3 inch crayfish; long thin fish and loads of 2cm salamander.
Since we were hooked up to the sewage we had hot showers in the van before bed.
Monday 7th (Labour day.. like a bank holiday) we returned to Letchworth State Park and spent a fabulous 4 hours following the river along the gorge; both up on the cliff and down by the river. We had close encounters with Garter snakes and could see buzzards circling on the air currants way overhead, but oddly enough very little other wildlife. You will have to look at the photos to see what fabulous views we were treated to. Some of the trees are starting to turn red showing that autumn (fall) is close upon us in this part of the world and we even had a little light rain - poor us (I wonder what the UK weather is like!)
Mr Letchworth was a man before his time.. in the late 1800s he bought up over 1400 acres of land along the river because he was sick of seeing all the logging, he replanted and restored the land, and on his death in 1909 he bequethed all the to the State.
We are now in a campsite in the State Park (about half the price of the 2 private ones we have stayed in) and have eaten more fire cooked corn on the cob and played poker until it was too dark to see even by the light of the fire.
Saturday morning we went to pick up our camper van. Our booking form said we could pick up at 9am so we got their nice and early, only to be told that they normally gave out pick ups in the afternoon; however, since we were the only customers that day, they put a rush on and within the hour our van was ready. It was a great size, about 5 years old, and had all that we required; the forms were signed all the ts crossed and the is dotted when we saw that there was a 15cm crack in the windscreen. So the guy found another equivalent van for us, but this time it had a plasma screen TV, a DVD, microwave and was only 11/2 years old with 20 hours on the generator and 30k on the clock - also we were given a rebate for our trouble plus a free picnic table and chairs - bargain.
We decided to head south (don't know why) and we stopped at a supermarket to fill up the fridge and then at a 'dollar mart' to buy some nice pillows. Celso did his first driving of a left hand drive and his first drive of anything larger than a car; a bit hairy at times especially when he tried to drive on the left when we were turning onto a new road, but it will be great if he can do some of the driving and I can ponder on the scenery (I did all the driving in Canada because it was ridiculously expensive to put an extra driver on our rental). After exactly 100miles we were in our first campsite and trying to learn how to set up everything. I went and played the pathetic English tourist with our neighbours; it worked perfectly; who came and showed us how to do everything; connect to the electricity and water; empty waste (even though we didn't need to), tune the TV in to watch our 'HOW TO' DVD of the van.
So here we are in Bath, our backpacks are unpacked for the first time and the bags are stored away under the sofa seats. We had a home cooked chicken soup and are feeling quite pleased with ourselves.
It was a bit cold last night; we didn't expect that; but we still slept well and for a very long time. We didn't watch the 'How To' DVD in the end as we chatted to the neighbours who helped us out for a while and then Tristan and Celso went for a night walk to see what they could find in the big pond. Tristan grabbed a huge Bullfrog and made swipes at many other frogs but they slipped (literally) away.
A breakfast of boiled eggs and toast was followed by another chat to our neighbours and a tour around their enormous camper (Third Wheel - one that fits onto the back of a pick up truck). We exchanged email addresses and then we were on our way by 1pm. Tristan chose that we turn left out of the campsite and then right and we ended up on a fantastic road over the hills with amazing views away across wooded valleys. When we finally reached a town we decided that we had to do some shopping to get some more blankets and Celso wanted to get more fishing gear ... so into Walmart (kind of like a large, glorified Woolworths) we went and stocked up on everything!
We found a campsite on the map and headed towards it, on the way we found the entrance to a State Park and stopped to have a look at the info board with amazing pictures of a huge gorge; we vowed to visit tomorrow.
At the campsite we bought some firewood and started a fire. We had bought a big circular grill that fitted above the fire pits (I think they are made out of lorry tyres) and we cooked Corn on the Cob in its leaves on the top to accompany our sausage, mash and cabbage (a little reminder of home!).
We now feel quite proficient at hooking up the camper. The electricity plugs in; the water is connected via a hose; the sewage is emptied followed by the grey water (the water that goes down the sinks) to clean out the hose; the chocks go under the wheels to level out the van; the water heater can be put on; the ipod plugged in; the electric toothbrush and the battery for the camera charged..... all mod cons... not really camping at all!
We were camping down in a valley by a small river in which we skimmed stones and looked for wildlife but didn't see much; but again after dusk the boys went out with torches and were treated to bats flying by; several 2 or 3 inch crayfish; long thin fish and loads of 2cm salamander.
Since we were hooked up to the sewage we had hot showers in the van before bed.
Monday 7th (Labour day.. like a bank holiday) we returned to Letchworth State Park and spent a fabulous 4 hours following the river along the gorge; both up on the cliff and down by the river. We had close encounters with Garter snakes and could see buzzards circling on the air currants way overhead, but oddly enough very little other wildlife. You will have to look at the photos to see what fabulous views we were treated to. Some of the trees are starting to turn red showing that autumn (fall) is close upon us in this part of the world and we even had a little light rain - poor us (I wonder what the UK weather is like!)
Mr Letchworth was a man before his time.. in the late 1800s he bought up over 1400 acres of land along the river because he was sick of seeing all the logging, he replanted and restored the land, and on his death in 1909 he bequethed all the to the State.
We are now in a campsite in the State Park (about half the price of the 2 private ones we have stayed in) and have eaten more fire cooked corn on the cob and played poker until it was too dark to see even by the light of the fire.
Tuesday, 1 September 2009
NY, NY
Awful start to our trip .... no wake up call at 6.30am, but luckily I was awake, problems with the automatic ticketing machine, the failure of our ticket agent to give us the correct forms so once we reached immigration; you went through US immigration whilst still in Toronto airport; we had to turn round and go back out again to get the right paperwork and my carelessness at leaving a camping gadget (pen knifey type thingummy jig) in our hand luggage that didn't make it through security... but then we got onto our little jet plane; only 3 seats wide and 15 rows long; like a private jet plane and relaxed.
The trip downtown was easy from Marios' instructions but we were unable to contact him due to his new US cell phone playing up, so we ended up leaving our bags with a dress hire company that looked after bags on the side and went for a wander up 6th Avenue and into Central Park. We had a great afternoon looking around, watching a softball game, from the bleachers, between 2 very serious middle aged teams with lots of whooping and calling from the other spectators, and much hand slapping and punching the air from the players.
We finally met up with Marios at about 6.30pm and we went to his flat to dump our bags. He was meant to be moving in to his flat on 1st Sept but there are delays (for one, the toilet is not connected and two the workmen will be in early in the morning to finish fitting the kitchen), so we couldn't stay there so after a Mexican dinner we went to Marios' hotel and snuck in. He has a little apartment really with kitchenette, sitting, bed and bathrooms. Tris, Celso and I slept in the double bed and Marios took the pull out couch in the bed... so pretty comfy really and for free!
For those of you who don't know Marios and I worked together at Courtmoor School until July and he is now out here to work in a school run by the United Nations. Any kids from the families of people working in the UN are guaranteed a place there, but on what basis Marios does not know.
Now I'm knackered because we spent another whole day sightseeing, starting at the Empire State Building from about 8.30am. (Marios had to go to work at 7, so we got up and out of his hotel room before the cleaners came round). So you will just have to look at the photos for now and I will fill in the gaps later. Rather a lot of photos (especially from the top of the Empire State Building... I need to put on them what can be seen..... later) which I need to sort through a bit.
What a great but exhausting day though, culminating in a beer out on 3rd Avenue.
Tuesday ... today we visited the Statue of Liberty (actually her real name is Liberty and Enlightenment) and Ellis Island (the immigration centre from 1892 to 195?). We took a ferry from Battery Park and again took far too many photos which I will have to sort out later when I have more time. We learnt some amazing things about the statue but I won't tell you about them all because you can go and look them up if you are 'that' interested... so here are the ones that we found the most fascinating.
1. The statue is hollow and its walls are only as thick as 2 pennies.
2. As you know it is a symbol of freedom and equality for all... yet no women were allowed to attend the opening ceremony so the suffragettes swarmed around the island in boats and tried to splash all the visitors.
3. Liberty's finger nails are as long as your forearm.
Then we went on to Ellis Island in another ferry, again masses of facts but I'll just tell you our favourites.
1. The island was considered too small so it was made larger and since that time (nearly 100 years) New Jersey and New York have been fighting over who it belongs to. Recently the Supreme Court made a judgement that the building and the original land of the island belong to New York but that the man-made bit of the island belongs to New Jersey. Now New York have put in an appeal because the man-made bit was made with soil excavated from the NY subway system, they are saying they want their soil back!
2. The largest number of people that were processed in one day was over 100,000.
3. As immigrants arrived they were made to walk up some stairs, doctors watched them as they climbed to spot anyone who was lame or suffered from respiratory diseases!
4. Anyone who appeared confused (who wouldn't be after 2 weeks in steerage class, foreign languages and customs etc) was marked with an X and had to go for IQ testing which consisted of doing a puzzle.
5. Woman were not allowed to immigrate unaccompanied, they either had to come with a male family member, be met by a male family member, or be a photo bride; they had their passage paid for by a man with whom they had exchanged a photo and he paid the fare and she agreed to marry him on arrival; the weddings took place in the chapel on Ellis Island!
On our return to Battery Park we were lucky to see a 7 man busking troop (1 drummer and 6 dancers) doing break dancing and rapping in the park; they were in Spandex Union Jack costume and were fab and funny.
Then we wandered along to the World Trade Centre Site and spent time in the Visitor Centre were there were all the tributes and lots of recordings of peoples memories of the day... a really gut wrenching and emotional experience. 2981.
As we walked back to Marios' new flat (which was now ready for us to stay in) we passed his local fire station and even there they had plaques for 7 of their team that had died. The photo of the fire engine shows their names on the front of the engine and a pair of boots with trousers round its ankles ready for a quick put on.
We spent the evening putting together some of Marios' new furniture and eating a packet meal of Chicken Teryaki with rice left over from out trip to Algonquin.. very nice!
Wednesday.. we had a bit of a lie in and then finished making Marios' sofa bed. We couldn't do it last night because it needed hammering and we didn't want to alienate Marios' new neighbours. Then we headed up to the posh bit of town; 5th and Madison Avenues; to see how the other half live. We started at the Rockefeller Centre and passed all sorts of posh shops Gucci, Tiffany's etc, all with intricate carvings or paintings around the entrances. We also went to sit in a beautiful church ... will have to write about it later though because again I'm too tired and I have to pack ready for our train ride up to Rochester tomorrow.
The trip downtown was easy from Marios' instructions but we were unable to contact him due to his new US cell phone playing up, so we ended up leaving our bags with a dress hire company that looked after bags on the side and went for a wander up 6th Avenue and into Central Park. We had a great afternoon looking around, watching a softball game, from the bleachers, between 2 very serious middle aged teams with lots of whooping and calling from the other spectators, and much hand slapping and punching the air from the players.
We finally met up with Marios at about 6.30pm and we went to his flat to dump our bags. He was meant to be moving in to his flat on 1st Sept but there are delays (for one, the toilet is not connected and two the workmen will be in early in the morning to finish fitting the kitchen), so we couldn't stay there so after a Mexican dinner we went to Marios' hotel and snuck in. He has a little apartment really with kitchenette, sitting, bed and bathrooms. Tris, Celso and I slept in the double bed and Marios took the pull out couch in the bed... so pretty comfy really and for free!
For those of you who don't know Marios and I worked together at Courtmoor School until July and he is now out here to work in a school run by the United Nations. Any kids from the families of people working in the UN are guaranteed a place there, but on what basis Marios does not know.
Now I'm knackered because we spent another whole day sightseeing, starting at the Empire State Building from about 8.30am. (Marios had to go to work at 7, so we got up and out of his hotel room before the cleaners came round). So you will just have to look at the photos for now and I will fill in the gaps later. Rather a lot of photos (especially from the top of the Empire State Building... I need to put on them what can be seen..... later) which I need to sort through a bit.
What a great but exhausting day though, culminating in a beer out on 3rd Avenue.
Tuesday ... today we visited the Statue of Liberty (actually her real name is Liberty and Enlightenment) and Ellis Island (the immigration centre from 1892 to 195?). We took a ferry from Battery Park and again took far too many photos which I will have to sort out later when I have more time. We learnt some amazing things about the statue but I won't tell you about them all because you can go and look them up if you are 'that' interested... so here are the ones that we found the most fascinating.
1. The statue is hollow and its walls are only as thick as 2 pennies.
2. As you know it is a symbol of freedom and equality for all... yet no women were allowed to attend the opening ceremony so the suffragettes swarmed around the island in boats and tried to splash all the visitors.
3. Liberty's finger nails are as long as your forearm.
Then we went on to Ellis Island in another ferry, again masses of facts but I'll just tell you our favourites.
1. The island was considered too small so it was made larger and since that time (nearly 100 years) New Jersey and New York have been fighting over who it belongs to. Recently the Supreme Court made a judgement that the building and the original land of the island belong to New York but that the man-made bit of the island belongs to New Jersey. Now New York have put in an appeal because the man-made bit was made with soil excavated from the NY subway system, they are saying they want their soil back!
2. The largest number of people that were processed in one day was over 100,000.
3. As immigrants arrived they were made to walk up some stairs, doctors watched them as they climbed to spot anyone who was lame or suffered from respiratory diseases!
4. Anyone who appeared confused (who wouldn't be after 2 weeks in steerage class, foreign languages and customs etc) was marked with an X and had to go for IQ testing which consisted of doing a puzzle.
5. Woman were not allowed to immigrate unaccompanied, they either had to come with a male family member, be met by a male family member, or be a photo bride; they had their passage paid for by a man with whom they had exchanged a photo and he paid the fare and she agreed to marry him on arrival; the weddings took place in the chapel on Ellis Island!
On our return to Battery Park we were lucky to see a 7 man busking troop (1 drummer and 6 dancers) doing break dancing and rapping in the park; they were in Spandex Union Jack costume and were fab and funny.
Then we wandered along to the World Trade Centre Site and spent time in the Visitor Centre were there were all the tributes and lots of recordings of peoples memories of the day... a really gut wrenching and emotional experience. 2981.
As we walked back to Marios' new flat (which was now ready for us to stay in) we passed his local fire station and even there they had plaques for 7 of their team that had died. The photo of the fire engine shows their names on the front of the engine and a pair of boots with trousers round its ankles ready for a quick put on.
We spent the evening putting together some of Marios' new furniture and eating a packet meal of Chicken Teryaki with rice left over from out trip to Algonquin.. very nice!
Wednesday.. we had a bit of a lie in and then finished making Marios' sofa bed. We couldn't do it last night because it needed hammering and we didn't want to alienate Marios' new neighbours. Then we headed up to the posh bit of town; 5th and Madison Avenues; to see how the other half live. We started at the Rockefeller Centre and passed all sorts of posh shops Gucci, Tiffany's etc, all with intricate carvings or paintings around the entrances. We also went to sit in a beautiful church ... will have to write about it later though because again I'm too tired and I have to pack ready for our train ride up to Rochester tomorrow.
Sunday, 30 August 2009
Royal York Toronto - 28-30th August
We got back to central Toronto around midday. We travelled along a 20 lane highway on the way; quite scary; and only got slightly lost! Having dropped of our hire car we crossed the road and entered the Fairmont Royal York Hotel, one of the poshest hotels in Toronto. When it was built in 1928 it was the first place in Toronto with elevators and flush toilets! It is absolutely huge and has an oppulence of its own with a lobby, mezzanine and then upper mezanine floor all lavishly decorated with chandeliers, thick carpets and amazingly ornate ceilings and walls. We felt a little out of place with our back packs and hiking shoes! However we had decided to see how the other half live and used our airmiles to book in for 2 nights. We were too early for check in so we left our bags in a checked bag room and went off to explore in Path (the underground shopping centre).
At around 3pm we went back to the hotel and went to our room; the bell boy brought up our bags from the checked bag room and showed us how to work the telly! Celso immediately found the snacks and scoffed down a Mars bar. When we looked at the price list it was $4.50 so we decided we would have to go out and buy one to replace it (they cost around 90c in the shops). We took a look at the laundry list as we had quite a pile; the cheapest item was underpants at $6... so we would have to look for a laundromat too.
We went out and explored the hotel (see the photos) and then went to look for a supermarket to buy some fruit and a Mars bar. We ended up in Buskerfest; a Toronto street busking festival with artists from all over the world; and had fun watching various acts such as Elvis (who only moved when money was placed in his bucket), a Japanese chap who played digeridoos and lots of jugglers and jokers.
I tried to write the blog in the eveneing only to find that the hotel charged for internet access; all the cheap places we have been have given us free access; so I had to log in to a system that was down the road a few blocks, but the connection wasn't very good and I gave up.
On the Saturday we visited Buskerfest again, went to the laundromat, wandered the streets and generally hung out. We had an amazing Mexican meal and then Tris and I spent a couple of hours in the hotel pool whilst Celso went to the gym.
Today (Sunday) we left our bags in the checked luggage room again and went on the ferry over to the Toronto Islands where there are beaches (one a nudist beach, where we were treated(?)to a full frontal of a rather podgy middle aged man!); a huge park; an 18 hole frisbee golf course and a small funfair. We rented a 4 man bicycle and explored the islands.. Tristan was determined to do the steering so we had a couple of hairy moments!
Then we collected our stuff and made our way by subway and bus out towards the airport where we are staying in a motel that gives us a free airport shuttle for our flight to NY tomorrow at 8.50am and free internet access!
At around 3pm we went back to the hotel and went to our room; the bell boy brought up our bags from the checked bag room and showed us how to work the telly! Celso immediately found the snacks and scoffed down a Mars bar. When we looked at the price list it was $4.50 so we decided we would have to go out and buy one to replace it (they cost around 90c in the shops). We took a look at the laundry list as we had quite a pile; the cheapest item was underpants at $6... so we would have to look for a laundromat too.
We went out and explored the hotel (see the photos) and then went to look for a supermarket to buy some fruit and a Mars bar. We ended up in Buskerfest; a Toronto street busking festival with artists from all over the world; and had fun watching various acts such as Elvis (who only moved when money was placed in his bucket), a Japanese chap who played digeridoos and lots of jugglers and jokers.
I tried to write the blog in the eveneing only to find that the hotel charged for internet access; all the cheap places we have been have given us free access; so I had to log in to a system that was down the road a few blocks, but the connection wasn't very good and I gave up.
On the Saturday we visited Buskerfest again, went to the laundromat, wandered the streets and generally hung out. We had an amazing Mexican meal and then Tris and I spent a couple of hours in the hotel pool whilst Celso went to the gym.
Today (Sunday) we left our bags in the checked luggage room again and went on the ferry over to the Toronto Islands where there are beaches (one a nudist beach, where we were treated(?)to a full frontal of a rather podgy middle aged man!); a huge park; an 18 hole frisbee golf course and a small funfair. We rented a 4 man bicycle and explored the islands.. Tristan was determined to do the steering so we had a couple of hairy moments!
Then we collected our stuff and made our way by subway and bus out towards the airport where we are staying in a motel that gives us a free airport shuttle for our flight to NY tomorrow at 8.50am and free internet access!
Thursday, 27 August 2009
exploring 26 & 27th August
From Collingwood we drove up into the Blue Mountains to go to the Scenic Caves (seems like we've been doing a lot of caves recently. This is a site that was used by the Deer Tribe of the Petun (Tobacco) Indians. They grew tobacco for both trade and for ritual purposes. The Petuns used the rock formations as a fortress for protection from their enemies. Their first contact with Westerners was with Jesuit missionaries in the first half of the 17th Century. Again the cave systems were formed at the end of the last ice age, but here there were also extensive crevices between rocks that made passageways along which you could walk. Fat Man's Misery was a narrow tunnel / crevice that joined two such areas, it was only 36 centimetres wide and quite a struggle to get through as it also rose up as you squeezed through it sideways. The fortress was a crevice that had 4 entry points, the Petun used to lure enemies there and then trap them. The Indian Council chamber was a piece of cliff separated from the rest of the cliff by a deep crevasse. Apparently the council of chiefs used to meet there, crossing over on a tree trunk, then pulling the tree trunk over so that no one could disturb them in their deliberations. Fortunately for us there is now a bridge with handrails!
The site is also a native Indian passageway to the Village of the Souls. At the point of the Balancing Rock, Oscotarach (the Head Piercer) would remove the brains of the dead. Afterlife would then be happier because the souls could no longer remember their earthly existence and those left behind!
Just down from this site a large suspension bridge has been built which allows amazing views out over Lake Huron and Georgian Bay; but it doesn't really go anywhere so it is a little bit odd!
After a round of crazy golf... we drove about 2 hours south the Orangeville. Ate the leftovers of the large steak dinner that we had the other day and wandered around a shopping mall.
Thursday we went to find the Bruce Trail. It is a 800km trail along the Niagara Escarpment from Niagara in the South to Tobermory in the the North West; it also has 300km of side trails (declared a World Biosphere Reserve in 1990 by the UN. Amazingly not many people seemed to know where it was and we had some difficulty finding a place where we could join it; but once found we were treated to 4 hours of fantastic woods; grasslands and river trails. We only saw about 5 other people the whole way and didn't cross one road. You just have to look at the photos. We found asparagus plants growing wild and picked a couple of shoots which we will try later, there were also blackberries, raspberries and apples. We had taken along a stock of fruit too so we were pretty well stuffed! We didn't see any large wildlife but there were plenty of fascinating insects; huge dragonflies, caterpillars, spiders, spider eating wasps; and several frogs, toads and birds.
We return to Toronto tomorrow and have to give back our car; we have booked into one of the poshest hotels in town using our airmiles. A little bit of upmarket snobbery before we leave Canada. I'm now off to study our exam results that Laura has kindly sent me!
The site is also a native Indian passageway to the Village of the Souls. At the point of the Balancing Rock, Oscotarach (the Head Piercer) would remove the brains of the dead. Afterlife would then be happier because the souls could no longer remember their earthly existence and those left behind!
Just down from this site a large suspension bridge has been built which allows amazing views out over Lake Huron and Georgian Bay; but it doesn't really go anywhere so it is a little bit odd!
After a round of crazy golf... we drove about 2 hours south the Orangeville. Ate the leftovers of the large steak dinner that we had the other day and wandered around a shopping mall.
Thursday we went to find the Bruce Trail. It is a 800km trail along the Niagara Escarpment from Niagara in the South to Tobermory in the the North West; it also has 300km of side trails (declared a World Biosphere Reserve in 1990 by the UN. Amazingly not many people seemed to know where it was and we had some difficulty finding a place where we could join it; but once found we were treated to 4 hours of fantastic woods; grasslands and river trails. We only saw about 5 other people the whole way and didn't cross one road. You just have to look at the photos. We found asparagus plants growing wild and picked a couple of shoots which we will try later, there were also blackberries, raspberries and apples. We had taken along a stock of fruit too so we were pretty well stuffed! We didn't see any large wildlife but there were plenty of fascinating insects; huge dragonflies, caterpillars, spiders, spider eating wasps; and several frogs, toads and birds.
We return to Toronto tomorrow and have to give back our car; we have booked into one of the poshest hotels in town using our airmiles. A little bit of upmarket snobbery before we leave Canada. I'm now off to study our exam results that Laura has kindly sent me!
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