Joining an 'Unbearable' Reunion, Nova Scotia OLA

we found this giant chess set on Cabot Trail

the Damned Unbearables with wives and friends!

DUs, Damned Unbearables. Sam's brother gave this name to the group. After all, who could bear the fact that they were champion debaters, student leaders, football jocks, amateur actors, and scholars, etc.? And who would ever think that, after over fifty years, they are still together, going stronger, and getting bigger with the participation of their spouses ? They just had their sixth (1, England river cruise, 2, Grand Tetons/Yellowstone, 3, Tuscany, 4, Sunriver, Oregon, and 5, Crested Butte) reunion in beautiful Nova Scotia, this summer of 2012.

at the Immigration Pier in Halifax

It was nice of Jim and Carol Thiesing to fly in to Bangor, Maine so we could join them on the 7-hour road trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Actually, they arrived the afternoon of July 4, so we had a  fun time dining at Sea Dog and watching the 4^th of July fireworks early.  At Halifax we met John and Roxanne who flew in from Oregon. Later Gretchen flew in sans husband Don who had to stay behind in Colorado for business.  United Air had misplaced her luggage but fortunately it arrived 36 hours later at her hotel room.

in honor of Queen Elizabeth's 60 year reign

We all met at the Immigration Pier, the Ellis Island of Canada. (John’s parents had migrated into Canada from Sweden). After lunch, Jim and Gretchen went to the Maritime Museum which chronicled the maritime industry of Nova Scotia and featured the plight of the Titanic victims.  An unidentified 150 of them are buried in Halifax, the biggest in any one country. The Museum also told of the tragic massive disaster when a ship exploded in the harbor, destroying the communities nearby, leaving 2,000 dead.

the two Carols with John at the Citadel

The splinter group of Bill and me, John and Roxanne, and Carol T went to the charming Halifax Public Gardens where the logo of Queen Elizabeth’s diamond jubilee was landscaped into a colorful corner. Next to the Gardens is the Citadel fort, sitting atop a hill with a panoramic view of the city. The fort was never attacked and the national historic site is well-preserved.  Costumed interpreters reenacted loud firing ceremonies and the exhibits told of Canada’s history.

what we witnessed at the Royal International Tattoo Festival

 But the highlight of our Halifax stay is the Royal International Tattoo Festival. Tattoo is the shortened nickname of the Scottish phrase meaning time for taps. Briefly it is the pageantry of powerful music from the tradition of marching bands. Several countries were represented, including the US, but the biggest participation came from Nova Scotia It is the largest Tattoo festival outside of Scotland in the world.

the view from the upper deck of the smaller house

The next day, we continued on to Antigonish where more of the DUs were gathering.  There were two cottages. The bigger one housed Doug and Audrey, Sam and Kathy, Don and Jeep, John and Roxanne, and Jim and Carol.  That was where we all cooked and had dinner together.  Fortunately the kitchen is huge and the dining table could fit the 15 of us. The smaller house is newer and is nearer the water (an inlet). That’s where we stayed together with Jack and Joy and Gretchen. Pretty good arrangements done by Jack but it would have been better if we could have all been in one house.

dining at the big house

our fine dining experience, with fine company@

We all had our chance to visit the town, buying our groceries, doing some business, or simply taking in the sights. Kudos to boss-cooks Roxanne (grilled salmon), Carol T (roast pork tenderloin), Jeep (chicken tandoori), and Audrey (transformation of left-overs) with the other ladies assisting: Gretchen, myself, Joy, and Kathy. One night we all went to the finest restaurant in town, Gaveos.  Bill and I split a seafood risotto and grand marnier chocolate soufflé. Everyone had a great time, enjoying the food, the wine, and, most of all, the company.

Doug said the phrase means '5 Beautiful Women'!

the more beautiful group!

One day we all trekked to Cape Breton, first visiting the site where Marconi successfully transmitted the first wireless message between Nova Scotia and England (the Outer Banks site was destroyed by a storm and Marconi had to shift his demonstration to this site in Nova Scotia.) Then we all had lunch then  divided into two groups, one continuing on to the east to visit the Louisburg fortress while the others, including Bill and I, diverted to central Cape Breton for a visit to the Alexander Graham Bell museum.

Don and Jeep with Bill and me at the Bell Museum grounds

The Bell Museum sat atop a beautiful hill surrounded by a pretty lake. Bell was the proponent of teaching the deaf to speak, not to sign, so they could be mainstreamed into society better. My mother who was Principal of the School for the Deaf and Blind in the Philippines pioneered this method there, after her scholarship studies at the Central Institute for the Deaf in the US.

a beautiful scene at the Cabot TrailAdd caption

the neat restaurant, Le Gabriel, at Cheticamp on the Cabot Trail

Another day, a group that included us decided to cover part of the famed Cabot Trail on the southwestern part of the Cape Breton National Park all the way up to Cheticamp.  Too bad we didn’t have enough time to take in the whole trail. The other group went, I believe, to the town of Sherbrook where they witnessed costumed interpreters of bygone eras.

Joy and Carol with the Champ!

The week that was chosen for the reunion coincided with Nova Scotia’s Highland Games. It was my first time to watch these prowess building traditional Scottish games. We were able to watch the last three of the Canadian juniors championship’s 6 events: the hammer throw, the caber toss, and the vertical stone throw. Incredibly, the lone female contestant consistently bested some of the other male contestants.  The winner of the last event equaled the Canadian record of 17.6 feet for the vertical stone throw, a weight of 42 pounds for juniors. Joy and I had our photo taken with him!

Jim and Carol takes on Kathy and Sam

animated (heated?) discussions

The reunion was, as usual, so much fun. When we were not sight-seeing, or eating, you would find a group huddled playing bridge, another one at a game of squabble, still another at Rummikub, or just plain discussing, or just sitting with an iPhone or iPad or laptop at hand. It is still the same, they say, only with less ferocity and more warmth. Au revoir…till the next one in Dubrovnik, Croatia or ???. And Bill volunteered, or was named, to organize! I say, ok…we will be in Europe in 2014 anyway! Anyway we see still see each other soon Pittsburg, Kansas for our 50th HS reunion!

the scene going home to the smaller house

OLA: Saving the Best for 'Last'

the von Trapps whose love story inspired  the Sound of Music
reestablished their family lodge among the hills of Stowe, Vermont

We came down from Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick in Canada back to Bangor, Maine to pick up our RV from Webb’s RV.  They had been changing our flooring from carpet to wood laminate. That gave us the chance, at last, to visit Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park on Mt. Desert Island, an hour and a half from Webb’s, which they say is the best of Maine!  

Mount Desert Island of Maine

Jackson Laboratory on Mount Desert Island

Bill was in the vicinity 51 years ago when he, together with 28 other high school students  from all over the country, were awarded a  6-week grant from the National Science Foundation to work at Jackson Laboratory on the island. Bill remembers that the pier was where they bought whole live lobsters for a quarter or a large bucket of steamed clams in the restaurant for $1.50 (hamburgers were about $3). Bar Harbor has now turned into a huge tourist area! 

beautiful Bar Harbor

But the main draws really are Acadia National Park in the eastern half of Mt. Desert Island and the beautiful harbor with many small islands.  It was too bad that the day we went there was low-level fog so many of the sights were not picture perfect. The Sand Beach is the only area in the Park that is sandy and the notice read…Swimming, only for the hardy! The water is usually in the low 50’s and with the air temperature in the low 70s, you would not see me even dip a toe! But there was the hardy, frolicking in the cold water.

Sand Beach

Thunder Hole is the hole that thunderously roars as the waves come rushing to its rocks, making the hole a little bigger each time. We were there on low tide and the waves were not as big as they can be. Still, it was a loud cry of the lonely seas. Then we had lots of fun posing atop different rocks, courting a fall from an unbalanced pose. But Bill was there; forever ready to be my knight in shining armor! 

Bill at Thunder Hole, braving it all for my photo!!!

 

Next, we hiked a mile to Otter Cliff, America’s highest coastal drop. Again, the photos taken were 

of a risky nature, but fun. But we were so disappointed that the low fog came even lower and masked the beautiful postcard scenery of Jordan Pond with the North and South Bubble (hills) at the background. But we were fortunate that it cleared some when we got to picturesque Bubble Pond.

Yes, that's me...at Otter Cliff

The coup de gras is Cadillac Mountain. Standing at almost 5000 feet, it gave us a view of Mt. Desert Island. However, winds of 25 knots or more prevented me from enjoying the scenery. As usual, the braver of us two had more of the fun.  Acadia National Park is truly a national treasure. Acadia comes from an extended meaning of the ancient Greek name "Arcadia", meaning "refuge" or "idyllic place".  

atop Cadillac Mountain, the highest point in Acadia

    

Montpelier and Nearby Communities of Vermont

From Maine, we drove our RV, M’a ‘turn, to Camping du Compton to start our tour of Quebec and Ontario. But first, we took a day trip to the last state we have not visited on the East Coast, Vermont. Its capital, Montpelier, is only 2 hours away. The officer at the border laughed when Bill said we were going for some scoops of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream at its Factory. But that was an incredible truth… 4 hours of driving for the best ice cream in America.

Green Mountain Cafe

At the Green Mountain Coffee Café (a restored railroad station) we had a light lunch of spinach pie and broccoli cheddar quiche along with a taste of coconut-infused coffee. Bill finally chose to bring home the raspberry truffle coffee from a huge selection of the famous brand.  The Stowe Magazine on the cashier’s counter chronicled the attractions of nearby villages. We found three intriguing places to visit.

Ben and Jerry had our dessert waiting for us! I had 2 scoops of Chocolate Therapy, the most wicked chocolate ice cream I have ever had, filled with chunks of chocolate pudding and crumbles of chocolate cookie. If there was death by chocolate, this was it! Bill had the famous Cherry Garcia, cherry ice cream with chunks of cherries and fudge flakes, quite refreshing compared to my sinful pick.

chocolate therapy: the best chocolate ice cream I have ever tasted!

Then we found Cabot Creamery, makers of “the best cheddar cheese in the world.”   Bill questions this advertising claim. His loyalty is to Tillamook from the west coast factory. They had a tasting table of about 20 different kinds of cheeses, from 75 % reduced-fat cheddar to vintage, New York, Vermont, Adirondack, etc., mild and sharp, Monterrey and Jack, jalapeno, and habanero cheddars.  I finally found a 50% reduced-fat sharp cheddar…I had been missing cheese a lot.

Cabot Creamery's tasting table

Then we went to where the hills are alive. The famous von Trapps left Salzburg in 1950 to recreate their lovely Austrian lodge in the hills of Stowe.  All 2,500 rolling acres are filled with time-share villas, country club, bakery and brewery, green meadows, and wonderful trails. Maria and the Baron had 3 children, in addition to the 7 he already had. The youngest, Johannes, is now taking care of the family estate.

Trapp Family Lodge at Stowe, Vermont

But the best find from the magazine is the Hope Cemetery at Barre, where granite sculptures and inscriptions therein celebrate the legacies of the interred. There was a large soccer ball, dice cube, biplane, and convertible, a woman coddling her love on his deathbed, and great replicas of the Pieta, dual pyramids, and Roman columns. But my favorite is the couple in jammies, whose tombs are their beds, holding hands saying to each other, ‘Set me as a seal upon thine heart for love is strong as death.’ For a detailed Vermont itinerary, check out the Backpack and Snorkel travel guide.

'Love is as strong as death' says the couple, holding hands
in their jammies with their tombs as their bed

The best of Maine and Vermont will be difficult to forget. But the second half of our Canadian tour beckons. And may I add that our new wood laminate flooring is sooooo coooool! This is truly having the best for last!

Loving the Lighthouses, Lobsters, Beaches & LLBean of Maine OLA

LLBean, the company that grew from making boots, on its 100th anniversary! 

Well, finally we reached the last state of the Eastern coast of the US this blistering summer of 2012. I thought it was quite smart for us to be here at this time. But we still got caught in the web of the record heat wave. We had 90s in Maine for several days!  Good thing Maine is blessed with a long coastline (3,500 miles), second only to Florida in the Atlantic coast..

Ogunquit Beach, Maine

We brought M'a 'turn to Webb RV in Bangor, Maine for a redo of our flooring (strip it of its old carpet and replace with wood laminate tiles). We pick it up when we return from Bill’s reunion with high school buddies in Nova Scotia in Canada. Then we visit Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park and pass through northern Vermont on the way to Quebec and Ontario in Canada.

the Portsmouth Light, most photographed lighthouse
 in the Atlantic Coast

Lighthouses

We have been taking pictures of many lighthouses ever since they first caught our attention at the Outer Banks. And why not when they always carry the aura of romance? Even if their bright beacon lights and eerie sounding foghorns no longer have quite the significance they had in this day and age of the GPS, their distinctive figures still strike a commanding pose against the sky, the sea, and the land. So they continue to evoke the drama of their pasts each time, all over again.

Nubble Lighthouse

Maine has such a jagged coastline that more than 60 lighthouses dot its coast, starting at the south with the well-known Nubble Light in York, one of the most photographed lighthouses because it sits elegantly in a nubble of rocks. Going north, Kennebunkport has the Goat Island Lighthouse. It took us quite a while to find the Wood Island Lighthouse at Biddeford Pool.  But we finally got a view of it from a little park where the bell that it once had stands together with a memorial to its light keepers over time.  

Portland Observatory

At Portland is the oldest and most photographed lighthouse in the east coast, the Portland Head Light. Downtown also features the only existing maritime tower, the Portland Observatory, that was used to warn ships. Then there are four other lighthouses in Cape Elizabeth. Two are in Two Lights Road strangely amidst residential homes. One of them was ostensibly used as a lighthouse before, while the other one never got commissioned. Then nearer the harbor are Halfway Rock and Ram Island Ledge.  

Long Beaches

pretty beach at low tide in Ogunquit

Maine beaches come in various sizes and shapes. White sands cover much of the southern coast, like the other Atlantic beaches down south. As you go north, they begin to just dot the coastline because the beaches become rockier. The coastline becomes more jagged with many pretty little coves.  Perkins Cove with its Marginal Way gave Bill nice hikes with awesome vistas, much like Cliff Walk in Newpoirt, Rhode Island. It is very near our campground, Moody Beach Resorts.

at Perkin's Cove...

And there’s Ocean Avenue that hugs the Ogunquit and Wells beaches, lined by pretty vacation cottag4es, sometimes on both sides in the midst of acres of salt marshes. At low tide, the boats are pretty lying in wait for the next high tide to come. Parking is cramped so you can pretty much take a trolley for $1 to your favorite destination.  The beaches offer  refreshing dips with lots of rocks for playing, unique stores for shopping, and eateries for the freshest of seafood to go, cooked or fresh.

sweet, succulent lobster at Kennebunk wharf in Maine

Lobsters

lobster roll with fix-ins at LLBean

I fell in love with the certified Maine Lobster, succulent and sweet, especially if done just right (crabs used to be my favorite). Beginning in Massachusetts we have seen Lobster Rolls being advertised often. So we had our first such order at an outlying pier of Kennebunkport. For $12, it was a lot of lobster, mostly the prized claw meat, wedged between the two bends of a slice of bread. Wow! We thought a lobster roll was like a chicken salad sandwich!. No sireeeee…it was pure lobster joy!  So I ordered one again at LLBean in Freeport, Maine and also at Sea Dog Bar and Grille in Bangor, Maine.

Sea Dog lobster roll

Lobstering in Maine is worth more than $300 million a year to its 6,000 licensed lobstermen.   2011 was a record catch of over a 100 million pounds. The is a model of a well-managed sustainable fishery program. Only two species of lobsters are of commercial importance: H. americanus, found mostlyin the Gulf of Maine and H. gammarus, the European lobster, found along the western European coast. They have five sets of legs, including a pair of large, meat-filled claws. The world’s largest lobster was caught in 1977 in Nova Scotia, Canada, weighing over 44 pounds and measuring almost four feet long. 

locked moose, preserved as they were caught with each other,
at LLBean Flagship Store in Freeport, Maine

Other Interesting Points 

Fortunately, Maine has diversified from just tourism and fishing. We visited the well-known LLBean, a quality outdoor apparel manufacturer that grew from a boot maker to a large corporation that is celebrating its 100 years anniversary this year. With its flagship store in Freeport, Maine, the town has grown to be a shopping mecca. An outlet mall and almost all brands have branches there. I had a heyday shopping because everything was at a sizeable discount for the 4^th of July weekend sale!

Tom's of Maine at Kennebunk

The other well-known Maine personal care products manufacturer is Tom’s of Maine, manufacturer of natural organic-based toothpaste, soap, etc. When I was teaching business in Seattle Community College, I used it as a case study many times as an example of a successful niche strategy. However, it did not offer tours of its plant headquarters in Sanford, Maine. But we found a good outlet of its products in Kennebunk where it also had its corporate offices.

the George H. W. Bush estate in Kennebunk, Maine

But the most interesting for me was seeing the beautiful George H. W. Bush estate, jutting out from Kennebunkport, Maine.The northeasternmost state of the US is truly spectacular. and we haven’t even seen Acadia and Bar Harbor yet! There are a lot of dramatic things to see:  long sandy and rocky beaches with pretty little coves and awesome vistas, island-dotted bays, and harbors filled with ships, camera-worthy lighthouses of all sizes and locations, and all the fresh lobster you can eat!

Stopping by the Woods...in New Hampshire OLA

The USS Albacore, first in a teardrop-shaped design,
now in exhibit at Portsmouth Harbor where it was built

If you add ‘on a snowy evening’, you will have the complete title of the most popular poem of four-time Pulitzer Prize winner for poetry, Robert Frost (1874-1963). The most memorable lines are:

The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

It is evocative of feelings Bill and I normally experience during those times we still have to travel great distances but pause before continuing because of the beauty we have suddenly found.  I have always loved to dabble in writing poetry since high school when I was a nerdy teenager, socially misplaced in the American School in the Philippines, only able to express suppressed feelings in writing, in poems.

Home of Robert Frost in Derry, New Hampshire

Thus I was ecstatic to discover that Frost’s home was in Derry, New Hampshire, just a few miles southeast of Concord, the state capital. We had just brought the RV to Chichester, several miles northeast of Concord, where a Camping World branch is located. We needed to have our water heater and furnace checked. So I was simply searching the web for places to see in to while away the wait.

Although he was born in San Francisco, California, his grandfather brought his family back to Lawrence, Massachusetts. Before marrying his wife Elinor, he gave Frost the piece of land known today as the Frost Farm in Derry. He was unsuccessful as a farmer though. He relocated to Great Britain until the breakout of WWI when he bought another property fondly called the Frost Place, in Franconia, New Hampshire, up in the beautiful White Mountains. Frost wrote much of his poetry in these two homes.

the rescued barred owl at the Silk Farm Wildlife Sanctuary and Audubon Center

Fishway Learning Center in Concord, New Hampshire

New Hampshire is the 5th smallest and 9th least populous of the 50 U.S. states. But her land is 80% forest so it is beautiful, especially in fall. Birds thrive in this environment so it was not surprising that we found a Silk Farm Wild Life Sanctuary and Audubon Center in Concord where we met a cute owl. There was also the Amoskeag Fishway Learning and Visitor Center where a big fish ladder invites fish to make their annual runs. There are actually six such centers throughout the state.

Scouting Museum in Manchester, New Hampshire

This is also probably why the scouting movement is extensive in New Hampshire. We found a Scouting Museum, first such find in our travels. Unfortunately it was closed.  Bill was a scout master for 6 years when he watched a number of young men in the troop achieve the rank of Eagle, including his son Jim. So this was quite a discovery for him!

coming out or going in, the sub doors are small!

With only 18 miles of coastline, it was also surprising to discover that the Portsmouth Harbor played an important role in the maritime industry and naval history of the US.  For the first time in my life, I was finally able to see a submarine up close and to inspect the cramped interior for its 55-member crew. Although the USS Albacore was not a big, weapons carrying submarine, it was the first to be constructed, at the Portsmouth shipyard, with today’s tear-shaped design as an experiment. 

Home of John Paul Jones in Portsmouth, New Hampshire

But even in earlier years, we found out that the shipyard was used to build the ships for the newly created Continental Navy for the American Revolution.  John Paul Jones, first American sea warrior and famous for the phrase, ‘I have not even begun to fight’, lived in Portsmouth for a while, supervising the construction of the frigate Alfred, his ship, as a 1st lieutenant and commander. The house is now a museum.

Portsmouth Light at the Portsmouth Harbor in New Hampshire

 We also had a chance to find two lighthouses, the Portsmouth Light and the Whalebeck Light. The latter is reputed to be the ugliest lighthouse in the East Coast. It is unpainted and lies in a very small islet on the harbor. Bill and I found it to have its own charm, seemingly brave, alone in the midst of the wide blue sea, saving many a soul from disaster.

Whalebeck Light off the Portsmouth Harbor in New Hampshire

Home of Franklin Pierce, 14th president of the US,
in Concord, New Hampshire

Finally, it was interesting to find out that New Hampshire produced the 14^th president of the US (1853-1857) preceding Lincoln and the Civil War, Franklin Pierce. We went to the Pierce Manse, his home in Concord. Unfortunately again, the museum was closed. Even the American Stonehenge, supposed to be 4,000 years old was closed. Thus we could not verify the claim (as if we could, anyway.. From the brochure, it looked like just a collection of stones, an interesting tourist attraction.

Our visit to New Hampshire, though short, was replete with interesting discoveries.  Frost and the submarine were the highlights for me. We stopped by the woods. We also stopped by the seas. And we stopped by the giant fish of the sea. But we have miles to go before we sleep. And miles to go before we sleep!