Northeast 2023

This was by far one of our best trips ever! We had an amazing time cruising around the Northeast in Steffanie's new CR-V, making short stops along the way, and just enjoying the beautiful scenery. We tried to keep each leg of the trip to no more than a 6-hour drive. There was so much to see and do, it wasn't difficult.
Waterford, MI
Our first stop was in Waterford, Michigan, to see Steffanie's friend, Brittany, and family. We had a nice time visiting, and finally getting to meet the kids we keep getting pictures of each year! Britanny and her husband were very hospitable, and Britanny even made us a delicous meal sans onions and garlic, for our delicate stomachs! We spent all afternoon and evening there before returning to our hotel for the night.
Ontario, Canada
On our way to Maine, we decided to take the Canadian route and to stop in Montréal for a couple of nights. We'd never been there before, and Steffanie wanted to check it out. Being big Schitt's Creek fans, we took the opportunity to spend a little time around the Toronto area to check out some of the filming locations.
Rosebud Motel
Bob's Garage
Rose Apothecary
Café Tropical
The Schitts Residence
Town Hall and the Veterinary Clinic
Québec, Canada
We made it to Montréal in the afternoon and checked in to our hotel. This was a really nice place! We enjoyed our stay at the Griffintown Hotel, and were located in a great area.
Steffanie was tired after a long day of travel, so I took a walk like I always like to do when we get to a new place. I was gald I did, as there was so much to see in the evening. Montréal is a very old city, founded in 1642. The primary language is French, spoken by over 85% of the population. They do also speak English, thankfully! When they greet you, they say, "Bonjour, Hello", as if to say, "I can converse with you in French or English."
The streets reminded us of Edinburgh, Scotland. Very old, cobblestone roads and pathways. A mix of Gothic and Art Deco architecture mixed about in the city.
The next day, we visited the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal. What a beautiful place! We took a self-guided tour, and they even let you take pictures and video inside, which was surprising. As you can see at the upper right of the cathedral, they were finishing up some exterior upkeep.
The inside of the cathedral is jaw-droppingly beautiful. So much intricate detail and feature in every statue, painting, carving and sculpture.
Steffanie made a small donation so that she could light a candle in prayer of her continuing good health.
We went all out one night and treated ourselves to a fancy dinner at Restaurant Bonaparte. This place was so fancy; we felt a little out of place.
Our maître d' was very friendly and understanding. He first presented us with warm cloths, like they do in first class on airplanes. We looked at him and slowly took them from him, wondering if they were for our hands, our face, or what?
And of course, our meals were amazing! What I liked was that they don't give you too much food. It's just the right amount where you don't walk out of the place feeling stuffed. I started off with the fresh butternut squash soup - tasted like it was right from the garden. For our main course, Steffanie got the beef filet mignon seasoned with 5 peppercorns and cognac, and I got the chicken breast w/ melted brie and sage cream. It had to have been one of the best meals we'd ever eaten! For the price, it should've been.
Steffanie got a picture of the inside of the bathroom - talk about deluxe! She said each stall had its own mini-chandelier.
Maine
After our short visit to Montréal, it was time to head back into the US, as we made our way to Bar Harbor, Maine. And what a gorgeous drive it was entering west-central Maine. There isn't a whole lot going on in this area. Very rural - mostly just wide open roads lined with a beautiful landscape of trees.
Our first stop in Maine was at the Sarrampus Falls rest area. This was such a serene place to just take a short break from driving, and breathe in the quietness and natural beauty.
Steffanie took her shoes off and dipped her toes into the cool stream. I could've just sat here all day.
We passed through Bangor on our way to Bar Harbor. And you can't not stop by Stephen King's former dwelling for a few pictures. I mean, this is exactly what you would expect his house to look like. Check out the carving below from an old tree!
Bar Harbor, ME
We made it to the Moseley Cottage Inn late in the day, checked in ... and then we slept in. We had a list of things to do, but also made sure we had time to relax and enjoy a slower pace. With four full days here, it afforded us time to take in the local fare, do some shopping, site seeing, and circling back to anything we may have missed.
We hit the Bar Harbor Lobster Co. for our first official meal here. Steffanie has never (ever) tried lobster, so we started her with a lobster roll. I ordered the fried fish sandwich as a swap meal, just in case she didn't enjoy her first lobster experience. Turns out, she didn't like it, so we swapped meals. 😃
We stayed around town the first day to check things out. Took a drive to see what places we wanted to shop at and eat at. This is down at the end of the main drag, and is also where you can catch boats to go whale watching.
Bar Harbor is your typical tourist town. Ice cream and fudge shops every half-block, expensive restaurants and souvenir shops. A wonderful place to visit, but might not be an affordable place to live.

The season here is fairly short, so the shops go fast and hard at pulling in as much dough as they can to sustain them through the long and vacant winter months. You see a lot of young people who reolocate here just for the tourist season, and then return home during the winter. There are plenty of places looking for help during the busy season. If you were young and wanted to find something different to do for the summer, I would think this would be an interesting short-term job.
Acadia National Park
Years ago, friends of ours made a trip out to Acadia National Park. I remember them sharing their pictures with us, and all I could think was, I need to go here sometime. And I'm so glad we did. Not only is the park itself a great place to visit, the journey getting here was also very enjoyable.
Our first stop inside the park was at Sand Beach. I thought this was a silly name for the beach, but it turns out that Sand Beach is the largest, and technically only, sandy beach in Acadia. Despite the freezing cold water and strong tides, people do actually swim here, or at least cool off here.
Next, we headed over to Thunder Hole. This narrow inlet makes a thunderous *CLAP* as the waves come crashing into its granite pocket. Water comes shooting up as the air escapes with a loud crash. The water is said to have shot up as high as 40 feet. Luckily, we came at the right time as the tide was coming in. There's a slippery path surrounded by railing that you can descend for a closer experience.
Every beach we visited had its own signature sound, as the waves swept out and returned to shore. We took short recordings just for the zen of it. Such a relaxing melody of rapid ripples and clacking of rocks, like marbles swirling in your hands.
We stopped for lunch at Jordan Pond House Restaurant. This is situated somewhere in the middle of Park Loop Road, and makes for a nice pit stop between park attractions. I got a delicious smoked salmon, and Steffanie got the BLT, but without the B. Apparently the bacon was left off the sandwich, but they rallied and got it to her for the second half.

Those twin peaks in the background are nicknamed The Bubbles. But let's face it, we all know they should call them The Boobles.
Our last attraction for the day was Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse, located on the southern tip of Southwest Harbor. In order to get a good picture of the lighthouse, you have to take a path along the edge of the cliff and then hop and crawl between a series of large rocks to get to the right spot. When I went down there, many people were just chilling out on their claimed rocky plateaus.
As we left the parking lot of the lighthouse, on our way back to Bar Harbor, I saw something on the road. At first, I thought it was a balled up paper bag, but slowed as I got closer and noticed it was a baby squirrel just sitting there. I thought it was hurt, so we pulled over to check it out. I grabbed some gloves from the car so I could pick it up, and it just wanted to bite on the gloves. So I gave it one to chew on as I picked it up to get a closer look. We took some video and pictures of it. A seemingly friendly, and possibly dazed squirrel, we took it to a safer place just into the woods. Not really sure what had happened to it. Maybe it was abandoned or sick. Either way, we didn't want it spending any more time in the middle of the road.
One last picturesque view of Southwest Harbor as we head back for the evening.

It turns out that karma was not on my side with this whole saving the squirrel thing. We decided to order a pizza for dinner, so pulled off at a gas station, no longer in service, to call and place our order for pickup back near our B&B. The pumps at this former gas station had been removed, but those concrete barriers that protect the pumps were still very much there. I pulled up next to one of them to place the call. The reception was bad and I kept breaking up with the lady on the phone, so I pulled ahead and turned to try and get a better signal -- totally forgetting I was right next to that barrier.

Yep, her brand new CR-V, I totally dented it up on the passenger side door. The good news is, yesterday (9/3/2003), we got the car back from the body shop, and she's good as new!
Schoodic Peninsula
The next day, we drove over to Schoodic Peninsula. Schoodic (pronounced "SKOO-dick") Peninsula is part of Acadia National Park, but is actually the only part of the park attached to the mainland. It is a less visited part of the park, so is a nice place to get away from the crowds.

The owner of this land was a rising Wall Street star named John G. Moore. He had plans to develop this land into a resort area, to compete with Bar Harbor, and the then named Lafayette National Park, just to the west. Unfortunately, John died at 51 and was unable to see his plans to fruition. His family had a difficult time continuing with his vision, so agreed to give the land to the national park, with one stipulation -- Lafayette had to be changed to Acadia, as the Moores were English supporters, and they didn't want their land to be associated with a French name. Acadia, in Greek means, "a place of rural peace in pastoral poetry."
Schoodic really was less crowded, which was nice. There was a lot of open space to look around, and amazing sea sprays as the waves pounded against the pink granite coastline. Because this area was so secluded, we grabbed subs from a nearby gas station, and ate in the parking lot of one of the parks.
After we got back from Schoodic, I took a walk along Shore Path and through some of the neighborhood near where we were staying. Then I went along the shore, looking for some of the smaller sea life while collecting shells. I found these shrimp trapped swimming in the tide pools, as their opportunity out wouldn't come until the next high tide.
Cadillac Mountain
On our last full day in Bar Harbor, we went back into Acadia to do a couple of things we weren't able to the first day. We were planning to see Cadillac Mountain on our first day, but it was very foggy. Under advisement of a local souvenir shop employee, we decided to come back in a couple of days when the sky would be clear.
We're so glad we waited for a clearer day, as you could see for miles from up here. Cadillac Mountain is the first place in the continental US where you can see the sunrise. People come up here very early in the morning, just to witness this. We weren't in a hurry to catch the sunrise, so strolled in here just before noon.
My final quest before leaving Acadia was to visit Bubble Rock. This was a bit of a hoofer, so Steffanie stayed behind in the car as I made a quick trek up to see it. Bubble Rock is what they call a "glacial erratic", which is a term used to describe the relocation of a boulder to a different area by way of a glacier. The bedrock with which this 14 ton boulder sits on is not of the same composition as the boulder. Bubble Rock is composed of Lucerne Granite, which comes from Lucerne, ME, about 30 miles northwest of Acadia.

This boulder sits precariously balanced over a 768 foot ledge. A popular picture pose people take is an attempt to push it over the cliff ... but it's quite heavy and won't budge.
Vermont
We checked out of the Moseley Cottage Inn the next morning and headed off to our next stop. It was sad to leave the serenity of Bar Harbor, but we were looking forward to our road trip through the scenic countryside of New Hampshire and Vermont.
I made us a reservation at the Colonel Williams Inn, in Marlboro, VT. This is in the Southwest corner of the state, and not far from the Massachusetts and New York borders.
After checking in, we headed back in to Brattleboro to meet up with Andrew, Radhika, and her sister. They were getting ready to move from CT back to WI after Andrew completed his Masters. So we found a good meetup point at a restaurant in Brattleboro. It was awesome of them to make the 1:30 trip to see us!
To Steffanie's delight, we found out that the B&B was haunted. Not only that, it was also investigated and featured in the Carriage House Creeper episode of Kindred Spirits, one of Steffanie's favorite paranormal investigation shows.

The story is, the previous owner of this B&B was a real jerk, a homophobe and a pervert. He fell down the steps in the barn and died, and now haunts this place. As usual, we didn't experience anything, but hoped to.
Our breakfast the next morning was amazing! Our host, Victoria, was so accommodating and friendly. We had a nice chat with her about the history of the house, as well as the ghost investigations. She told us some great stories from prior guest accounts.
One last picture on the grounds of the Colonel Williams Inn before we head to New York. But not before getting sucked into a gift shop just a few miles up the road. The picture below is us outside of the shop. What an amazing view this gift shop has. And about every type of maple syrup you can buy in VT. We must've sampled (yes, they had samplings) and bought almost every variety. We definitely paid their electric bill for the month when we checked out.
New York
I made plans to swing by Albany to meet one of my good friends Kyle. It'd been a long time since we'd seen each other in person. I think the last time was when our family made a trip to Boston in 2018. Kyle made us a delicious toasted ham and cheese lunch as we visited with him and his wife for a bit. And then it was off to NYC!!
New York City
Just like Huey Lewis says about New York, NY, "Where else can you do a half a million things, all at a quarter to three?" We stayed at the Millenium Hotel right down in the middle of it all in Times Square. My description of Times Square is like being on the midway at the county fair, times 1000. It was just nuts; packed with people, entertainers, food vendors, and just about anything you could want. It's amazing how quiet and vacant it is in the early morning, and then it just gets progressively busier as the day goes, up to the evening, where you can barely walk without running into somebody. It was a challenge staying together with Steffanie, even holding hands.
The first evening when we got into the city, Steffanie was a little stressed by all of the traffic and people, so hung back at the hotel to decompress. So I do like I always like to do when we're in a new place - I take a walk to familiarize myself with our new surroundings. I had a blast walking around Times Square.

There was a guy who looked like Doc from Back to the Future. He had all kinds of props you could take pictures with, for a donation. I couldn't resist the opportunity to get in the DeLorean - for Liam.
When I got back to the hotel, it occured to me that tomorrow was Friday, and they would be filming the Today Show just a short walk from our hotel, at Rockefeller Plaza. So I went back out to get a poster board and marker to make a sign. The next morning, I got up super early to get my place in line, and luckily got a pretty decent spot. The whole process was interesting as there are railings around the plaza, as you notice when you watch the show. You have to go through a metal detector, and get any bags X-rayed - just like the airport. They even check your signs to be sure there aren't any words misspelled! So you don't look like an idiot on national television.
The show begins at 7:00 AM, and the first hour you stand outside and watch it on the big screen. Then at 8:00 is when the hosts come out to do their segment on the plaza. Before the show started, Hoda Kotb and Craig Melvin were getting ready and you can go over to the side window to see them broadcast. I saw Hoda and held up my sign for her, she gave me a fist pump, if you can see her in pink in the background. So exciting!!
I was fortunate enough to be on the side of the plaza where they did most of the filming. Having watched shows since then, I realized that they use the other side of the plaza as the backdrop most of the time as it's much more appealing. It has the flags, and is the side where they put up the Christmas tree.

The whole crew was out here, except for Al Roker and Savannah Guthrie. I would've liked to have met Savannah.
I only got to meet a couple of Today Show hosts. Craig Melvin stopped by me and commented on my sign. He extended his hand and said, "I, too, am a Today Show nerd." He was awesome.
And this, of course, was one of my favorite pictures from the entire trip. Hoda made one final round before going back inside for the 9:00 hour. She got over to me and said, "I was looking for you!" She loved my sign and said she "liked my whole vibe." So I guess I'm putting off a vibe ... nice!

I got back to the hotel and told Steffanie about my Today Show experience. She had been watching the show from the hotel room, and was sharing pictures on FB. I told much of our family to watch the show that morning. Good times!!
This is a still shot of a short piece of video played on the Today Show. I made the cut!!
We went back over to Rockefeller Plaza to do a little shopping. Steffanie wanted to treat herself to a Tiffany bracelet with money from her new job. It was quite an experience. A lot of personal attention - almost like buying a new car.
30 Rock in the background.
Another silly photo op - this one (for Colin) in front of the Nintendo store in Rockefeller Center.
Ah yes, our usual stop for a souvenir t-shirt and hat. This place was HUGE!! And the portion sizes were smaller. Usually they give you way more than you can eat in a single sitting. These meals were more manageable, without leftovers. Our only complaint was the VIP privileges. Steffanie had to let Michael Jackson cut in front of her. He's much bigger in person.
We went back to the hotel after lunch to chill for a while. The city is hot, just always hot, like you're walking around in a furnace. The city is heated by steam, delivered through underground pipes. So now it makes sense to me.

Our plan for the afternoon was to check out Central Park. I tried to hail a couple of cabs at the hotel - unsuccessfully. Then this friendly guy on a bike swung up and asked us if we wanted to ride with him? Steffanie had wanted to take a bike taxi, so we hopped in, not having any idea what the fare was -- oooof.

Radio City Music Hall in the background.
The bike ride was enjoyable, as he pedaled us through Central Park playing his pop tunes and pointing out places for pictures. And then we got his bill. Since we didn't do any homework on the price for this mode of transportation, it was a shocker. He charged $9/minute, and we rode for 25 minutes. So ... $225!! And then a nice tip. I now refer to it as the world's most expensive bike ride. Poor Steffanie used the rest ot her Tiffany's spending money for this ride.

We took a cab back to the hotel - it was $12.
One of the places we checked out while in Central Park was Strawberry Fields. This was dedicated to John Lennon and was near the location where he was shot. It's a beautiful area. We spent some time walking around and listening to the entertainers. I took a short walk without Steffanie to get some other pictures. While I was gone, some creepy guy was trying to secretly take pictures of Steffanie on the park bench. Then she heard some critter behind her scuffling through the brush - it was a rat! So she got a nice NY style experience.
It was Fleet Week while we were visiting. Lots of service members from every branch out roaming the streets of Manhattan. I was able to get these fine young sailors to pose for a picture with Steffanie. A couple of them were a rate I was familiar with, so had a brief chat with them.
Steffanie planned ahead and got us tickets to see The Book Of Mormon. A Broadway show had always been one of her bucket list items. She was dressed very stunningly. So much so, that a random stranger intentionally brushed her arm and smiled at her while we were waiting in line to enter the theatre.

We even had some nice side entertainment while waiting to get in, as a man dressed like a ninja had a sparring match with a trash can. The cops broke it up and declared the trash can the winner.
We couldn't take pictures during the show, so Steffanie got a nice one of the theatre before it started.
The walk back from the theatre was craziness - everybody was in Times Square! We survived the crowds and were able to get one more shot before closing out our busy NYC day.
A quick bite to eat from one of the street vendors before heading back up to the hotel room for the night.
On our last day, after checking out, we headed down to the Financial District to visit the 911 Memorials. This Callery pear tree, known as the "Survivor Tree", was found amongst the wreckage of the 911 attacks. Heavily damaged, it was moved to a tree nursery and restored back to good health. It was then replanted at the memorial, where it blossoms each year.
The Reflecting Pools are very somber. They are an endless flow of water that drains over the footprint of the North and South Towers. Etched along the edge of the pools are those victims of 911. The atmosphere here was very heavy.
One World Trade Center (Freedom Tower). She is the 7th tallest building in the world, and the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere.
We just plain ran out of time in NYC, so this is the closest we got to seeing the Statue of Liberty (where Steffanie's finger is pointing). Perhaps we'll come back and see her another time.
To round out the whole NYC experience, you gotta get a hot dog from a street vendor. We each grabbed one for the road. The key here is the sauerkraut - it was a hit! Had a sweet taste to it, kinda like apples. So good!!
Because why not get a picture?!