Well the middle of Newfoundland.  We stayed in a hotel in Gander. Brian mentioned how the landscape made him think he was in Ireland (not that we have been there).  

While in Gander, we ate at Jungle Jim’s and while the kids had burgers and fries I enjoyed a sweet n sour chicken dish. 

Tomorrow we head to the east coast. 

Later y’all

Today we drove to Cow Head, Newfoundland.  We had to drive through Gros Morne National Park which is stunningly beautiful.  We are staying 2 nights at the Shallow Bay Hotel &  Cabins. 

We stayed in a 2 bedroom cabin with small bedrooms but it had a restaurant and a nearby convenience store. While we were at the cabin we realized that the hike to Brooke Pond would be too far for Sean.  Instead we had another laundry day and the boys caught up on their video games. 

I did manage to take them to a nearby lighthouse, but that was adventurous as we got. 

Today we hopped onto a car ferry to take us over to Newfoundland.  While I have already visited the states and provinces we have driven to so far,  this is the first new territory I have visited. 

The ferry terminal has quite a bit of space and plenty of room to stretch out while you wait to board the ferry (we had to be there 2 hrs before departure time) . They even have a bit of a park area that people were taking their pets to for a last potty break. 

We paid a bit extra for a 4 berth cabin instead of reserved seats or the first come first served seating.  It was totally worth it. 

Both boys were able to stretch out and we didn’t have to worry about finding the bathroom (we had our own) and we didn’t worry about anyone stealing our stuff as our door locked. Brian even took a bit of a nap while Sean used his laptop (they had one outlet) to play games. 

We enjoyed a great night at our hotel which was within 10 min of the ferry. One thing we did learn is that you often pay your dinning bill at the front desk of the hotel.

Tomorrow we head up the western coast. 

Later Y’all

Today we head to Sydney, Nova Scotia to prepare to catch a ferry. We have been staying in quite a few hotels that are part of Hilton. Tonight we have our last one of the trip. 

Brian has enjoyed occasionally setting up his camera and experimenting with the settings. He is very good with the filters on his iPhone and he is hoping when we get home to learn how to use photoshop and tweak his camera photos. 

We are definitely looking forward to riding on the car ferry tomorrow.  We will be heading over to Newfoundland which will be a new experience for all of us. 

Take care Y’all

Today we headed to Halifax,  Nova Scotia.  However,  we bypassed Halifax so I could take the kids to visit one of my favorite places I have ever visited.

We drove down to Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse.  This is one of the places I visited when I was in my early teens with my mom, younger brother, and my maternal grandparents.  I have fond memories of climbing around the rocks for ages and also using imagery of the rocks for a college project.

I had quite a few flashes of myself in Brian as he scampered about (yes he really scampered). He had a blast climbing around and taking photos with his camera (thanks Pat) and also with his iPhone and then playing with filters.

We are almost 1/4 of the way through our trip. Today we crossed the border and headed over to St. John, New Brunswick.  Originally we had planned to visit the reversing falls. Unfortunately,  the tide waits for no one and we completely missed it.

While the boys relaxed at the hotel, I drove around St John and stopped at their market on the hunt for souvenirs and home made crafts. I was glad Sean didn’t go with me as it was very fishy smelling due to the fish market inside. Sean has an intense dislike of strong odors. 

Next up is a trip into Nova Scotia.  

Later Y’all

Today we traveled into Maine. Originally I was going to take the boys to L.L.BEAN.  However, since we missed flume gorge,  I decided on visiting a light house near Bar Harbor. 

We visited Bass Harbor Head lighthouse.  It was approximately an hour from our hotel but we all enjoyed the scenery.  We actually drove a longer route in the way back from the. lighthouse and had our windows down to enjoy the sea air.

Due to our current Internet connection we can’t upload photos from our camera. Luckily, Sean usually reminds us that we need to take a selfie. 

Next up,  New Brunswick, Canada.

Take care y’all

Today we traveled to New Hampshire with a quick side trip into Vermont. We took a side trip to drive over a floating bridge in Brookfield.  Originally it used gallon drums to float the bridge. It has since been reconstructed with pontoons which makes it significantly safe,  but not fun to drive.

What we expected...

What we saw

We then headed to New Hampshire where we were supposed to stop at flume gorge. Sean asked if we could go to the hotel instead of stopping, and as it was a laundry day we all decided to skip the gorge. 

Living the life!

Tomorrow we head to Maine!

Take care y’all

Day 4 – June 18 today we traveled to Cambridge to see MIT before we headed to Boston where I was thrilled to meet up with a great friend and her family. They toured the aquarium while I took the boys on a duck boat tour. They loved the tour. I was a bit sad because I was on the wrong side and didn’t get as many pictures as I would have liked. My favorite part is going out on the water.

After walking around and viewing all the items for sale in the markets,  we headed off to Cheers. Both boys enjoyed their burgers while I had a turkey sandwich with a pretzel roll. We all had a fantastic time watching Hayden eating a lemon. He loved making us laugh with his sour faces he was making.

After saying our goodbyes,  the boys and I headed to The Liberty hotel. It was cool because part of it used to be the jail,  but the over priced valet and room service made us wish we stayed in our Hampton Inn standby.  The majority of the trip (USA portion)  we have stayed in Hampton Inns or other Hilton family hotels. We definitely do not recommend this hotel.

Tomorrow we are off to NH.

Take care y’all