je t'aime quebec

We made it to Quebec City by dark. we drove into downtown, and julie told Bob all about vieux quebec (old quebec). We were about two blocks away and never knew because it was dark, and we we were tired (and not watching signs very carefully).

We couldn't find any couchsurfers from quebec. :-( Julie *really* wanted to stay with some locals, but it just didn't work. Maybe it was because she massacred the French language in her emails to the couchsurfers? Or do the Canadians hate Americans that much? Oh well. We ate at Boston Pizza, and slept in the car. At least they had free wifi. It was c o l d. Bob and Julie practiced a little bit of French at restaurant. Mostly just bonsoir, merci beaucoup, and bien.

The next morning we headed for Vieux Quebec. It was beautiful. Very cold though. We saw the Chateaux Frontenac, the most photographed hotel in the entire world. It is just as beautiful as all of the travels books describe it to be. It was designed by American architect Bruce Price. It opened in 1893. We took a quick through the lobby. Not much to see if you're not a hotel guest. It was all decorated for Christmas though, and it was very beautiful.

We wanted to eat breakfast at the Cafe du Monde, and headed that way. Too bad they were closed. Julie pulled on the door a few times, and a nice waitress came to find out what we wanted. They didn't open for about an hour, and she directed us to another nice cafe down the street. We had a fabulous breakfast, and then headed out of town. We could have stayed a lot longer!

Border Crossing and Into Canada

The drive from Bar Harbor to the border crossing went quickly. It continued to be wet and rainy.

Bob was still driving (this shouldn't surprise anyone at this point). Julie hopped into the back of the car to organize everything in case we were searched at the border. Bob decided it would be best to have all of Julie's belongings on one side of the back, and his belongings on the other side. Not sure why, but Julie wasn't going to argue about it. We had everything neat and tidy when we got to the border. We were the only ones there. The border agent looked very surprised to see people from Idaho. He asked a few questions, did some silent staring at us, and sent us on our way.

It was exciting (mostly for Julie) to start seeing road signs in French!

a car identical to brand new sally!

Madison calls the car "Brand New Sally." We can't remember if we shared this on the blog or not, so we might be repeating ourselves. She named Julie's Kia Sportage "Sally." When we bought the new car, she liked the name Sally, and decided the new car would be "Brand New Sally." The name sort of stuck.

When we were in Bar Harbor, we saw another Chrysler Pacifica with a box on top!

Acadia National Park

It rained the whole morning we were here. We didn't get out of the car too much. Lots of sightseeing from the car.

We took a few rocks and some pretty fall leaves. Pictured is more of Julie's thievery from the national parks. Yes, we know, if every person who visited the national parks each took one souvenir home, it would be very bad. Thank goodness each person doesn't!

couchsurfing in maine

We hit a minor bump in the road when we tried to couch surf in Maine. We planned to stay with a blueberry farmer. The guy said he had a beautiful farm in a remote part of Maine with acres and acres of blueberries. Previous couch surfers wrote very nice references on his site.

It was a rainy and cold night when we arrived at his "house." It was more like a barn masquerading as a house. We stayed and visited with the guy, his young son, and their neighbor. They were all nice. When it was time for bed, we were given options for sleeping - the kid's bedroom or the living room. The neighbor lady left at this point. We waited for about 1/2 till we thought the guy and his son were sleeping. We left a thank you note, snuck out, and drove away fast. It was about midnight at this point. One the note, we wrote, "We decided to hit the road a little early. ..."The guy was a little strange, but we decided later he didn't have any bad intentions. He just lived in a filthy dirty house.

We drove about 45 minutes until we found a national park information office/rest area. Big parking lot - great for parking the car. Seemed pretty safe. At about 2:30am, some car pulled in and parked right next to us! They were there for about 1/2 hour - according to Bob. At that point, Bob flashed the headlights on our car so the people knew someone was in our car. They turned on their car, and drove up on the curb, and then started to back up. Bob honked our horn, and they backed up, and hit our bumper. Unbelieveable. They finally pulled out and sped away. At this point, Julie was awake, and wanted to call 911. We decided there wouldn't really be anything to report, and we had no idea where we were/what road, etc.

We hit the road again early the next morning. It was still pouring rain. We headed for Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.

The next spot where we had Internet access, we looked at the blueberry farmer's site on couchsurfing. The other people had apparently camped at his place during picking season and didn't actually stay in his house. The berry pickers are locals and have bonfires and eat lobster at the end of a day's work.

Maine

We stopped in Kennebunkport to find some lobster sandwiches. Several places were closed, but we found a spot that looked promising. They were $11 per sandwich. Bob was really angry when we got to the car and opened the containers. He saw a show on the Food Network about huge, delicious sanwiches. These were not exactly worth $11. Oh well. We took pictures, ate them, and moved on.

Headed out of the City!

The city was so congested and overpopulated. We were happy to head out of town. We left NYC about 6pm and fought through tons of traffic. We spent the night somewhere between Connecticut and Rhode Island. The next morning we stopped in Quincy, MA to do some Internet stuff at Starbucks.

We passed through right through Boston. Didn't even stop! Kind of a shame, really, but we had sort of had it with the city at that point.

Our next stop would be Maine and Acadia National Park.

Tour of NYC

Alan and his girlfriend Dana drove us everywhere. We saw Central Park, a street fair in Chelsey, Ground Zero, times square, Empire State Building, China Town. Lots of people watching.

We also saw the Irish Hunger Memorial, dedicated to raising awareness of the Irish famine. It's on a 1/2 acre site in Manhattan, and constructed to look like an Irish countryside.

Pictured are Alan and Dana.

Mrs. Orth

We went to see Mrs. Orth too, but she had no idea who we were when we knocked on the door.

She is Bill's mother, and she is 94 years old. Alan lives with her and helps her. She lives in Fort Lee, north of North Bergen.

Alan and his girlfriend planned to take us on a driving tour of NYC. We went to the house to meet them, and Alan wasn't there. Mrs. Orth opened the door, and we said, "we are here to meet Alan." She said, "I have no idea who you are. Alan never tells me anything." She remembered Bob right away, and we visited for a little bit.

Bob said he doesn't know Mrs. Orth's first name. It's just Mrs. Orth.

More Friends in NJ

We also met up with the Orths. Bill and Juanita were good friends with Bob's parents. Bill was the best man in their wedding. Bob and his family lost contact with them after moving. Bob found Alan (their son) on facebook a few months before we left on the trip, and got reconnected.

They are wonderful people. Bill just retired from the US post office. Juanita spends a lot of time doing cat rescues. She lover her cats! We had lunch and got to visit for a little bit. we wish we could have visited with them longer. Juanita and Bob's mom reconnected on the phone last week.

Sort of an awkward looking picture isn't it? :-)

New York City - Night on the Town

We met up with Bob's childhood friends for a night out in NYC.

Pictured left to right are Steve, Bob, Freddy and Devan. Steve is a banker, Fred a plumber and Devan an ER doctor. Devan organized the evening, and we all had dinner at a Cuban place with a cigar bar. Steve and Devan liked the cigar part. Fred and Bob did not try any cigars.

The restaurant where we ate:

http://guantanameranyc.com/media/guantanamera.html

Fred and his wife Samantha picked us up at Bob's aunt and uncle's house. We did not want to drive into the city! Fred is a plumber and works in the Bronx so he had no problem driving us and dealing with parking.

After dinner, we went to a dance club. There was salsa dancing on the top floor and a hip hop club in the basement. It was wall to wall people.

Lunch at Nick's Pizza

Bob's favorite lunch hangout when he was a kid. It is about a block from the school. Bob said on one of the last days he was in NJ, he went into Nick's for a last slice of pizza, and to tell Nick he was moving to Idaho. Nick told him to find a nice country girl to marry. The guy working when we went for lunch was named Nick, but not the original Nick. Bob told him that story, and the guy loved the story. He said the older and original nick stops by every couple of days, and he would share the story.

Bob's Childhood Home in North Bergen, NJ

gravesites

Elizabeth, New Jersey

We arrived in New Jersey, and headed straight to Bob's aunt and uncle's house. Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Frank. Aunt Carolyn was actually Bob's father's cousin. Bob's dad (Robert)was an only child.

Julie slept the whole way to New Jersey, and was startled to wake up and find out the current location. It's a magic nap! Wake up and you're where you want to be for the night.

Frank and Carolyn were very welcoming. When Bob's family moved out to Idaho in 1992, they lost touch with the rest of the family. It was a big, happy homecoming!

We stayed with Frank and Carolyn for 3 nights.

major problem # 1

The morning we planned to leave Hatboro and head again for New Jersey, the car decided to have a problem. We didn't drive it for two nights when we stayed with the Murrays. We started it up and the emergency brake was somehow stuck. Bob brought his tool kit, and tried everything he could, but nothing worked. We got online, and called a local mechanic. They were about 3 blocks down the road, and said they would meet us at the car in 5 minutes. They arrived right on time. Unfortunately, the car needed to be taken to the shop. They dismantled the emergency brake and we drove it to the shop. The guys told us it would probably take a couple hours. They suggested a good breakfast place in town, and we headed out with our fingers crossed that the car repair wouldn't be serious or costly. We ate at Daddy Pops. Great restaurant! The mechanics called us at about noon, and told us they fixed the emergency brake, and one of the front balls joints was worn out and needed to be replaced. Paying that bill put a damper on any extras for the rest of the trip!



We headed out at about noon for New Jersey. Julie was really tired, and started to feel a little sick. She slept the whole way to NJ.

staying with the murray family

We spent two great evenings with the Murray Familly - Jill, Les, Carter and Emily. They have a beautiful home in Hatboro, a really nice suburb. we felt badly arriving so late - they had not eaten dinner yet. Jill and Julie met at the University of Idaho in 1995 (or was it '94?). Jill is a fabulous cook and always has been.

We had a great dinner the first night, and then it was off to bed. Jill and the kids had the day off the next day (Les had to work) so we planned a day of lunch and then going to the park ( a park with a castle!) .

We had pizza at a great place called Quig's. While heading to the park, Jill's car was rear ended. Bob jumped out and helped. We called 911, and the police and fire department reponded within about 30 seconds. It turned out to be a 3 car accident. No damge to Jill's car (thank goodness), and no one in our car was hurt. The car behind us was smashed.

The Murray kids are just precious. We had a great time visiting with Jill and Les. We really enjoyed our stay with them!

Bad Neighborhood Tour - Thanks Google Maps!

We were pushing to make it to Hatboro, PA before rush hour (to visit Jill and Les). Didn't happen.

Our directions from Google maps took us through a pretty sketchy part of Philadelphia. It was depressing and very dirty.

We got off track, then completely lost. Jill helped us navigate back to the right part of town, and then into Hatboro.

New Jersey

Bob said, "Hard to believe I'm back in Jersey."

We stopped in Cape May, and picked up more seashells. Lots of them. Then, up the turnpike to Wildwood (where Bob's parents first met!) Oh, and we got lost again. It wasn't too bad this time. At this point, we're already trying to avoid tolls and then getting lost trying to find the non toll roads.

By the way, Bob has driven about 6,000 miles. Julie has driven about 50 miles. Bob said he loves driving, and wants to do the whole thing.

We drove up the turnpike and went into Atlantic City. We weren't impressed. Aggressive panhandlers and the areas around the casinos seemed unsafe. We drove through, got gas, and headed out for Philadelphia. You don't pump your own gas in New Jersey. The attendant at the gas station thought we were crazy for driving all the way from Idaho. Perhaps he is right.

Pictures is the ridiculously large compound built by Donald Trump. The entrance is bigger than the entrance to Disney World. we were not impressed.

Virginia to New Jersey - Ferry Ride

It's cold. No more flip flops. Julie couldn't find her tights, so decided to go for the half-exposed leg look.

We headed out early on November 1 to the Cape May Ferry. It was perfect timing. We arrived at Lewes, Delaware at about 10:30am, and the ferry was scheduled to leave at about 12:30. The ferry ticket was $38.

There were tons of cute little shops where Julie wanted to browse, but Bob rerouted the adventure to the seashore for picking up rocks and seashells. It is way less expensive to pick rocks and seashells!

we made it on the ferry for a quiet ride to New Jersey.

Assateague Island/Chincoteague

We made it up to Chincoteague and decided to spend Halloween here. This island/city is the home of the annual pony swim where the volunteer fire department (saltwater cowboys) rounds up the ponies, auctions them off to earn money. It has been going for years and years, and it's quite the event. Things were pretty quiet on the island when we were there. We entered the park/wildlife refuge (got in free using our national park pass!), and started the pony search. We only saw a few grazing pretty far away. We heard that if you have good timing, you can see ponies wandering along the road, lounging on the beach. We weren't that lucky. We stopped at the beach for a little bit and collected shells, stopped at the ranger station, and then headed back to town.

There wasn't much going on in town so we decided to head north. We debated about whether or not to buy something for dinner at the grocery store, and Julie convinced Bob to keep driving. Surely, there would be a bigger store up ahead a few miles, and we could barbecue a dinner and sleep by the ocean. NOPE! We did find a really quiet abandoned marina/oyster farm at an inlet. It was a perfect place to sleep for the night. The drive out to the inlet was kind of eery - a bunch of abandoned, run down houses and lots of cemetaries. We passed a Tyson chicken plant on the highway coming in, and there were lots of old chicken houses at each farm. The chicken plant didn't stink, and there were no chickens at any of the farms.

Virginia Beach, VA

We had a pretty long drive to Virginia Beach. Most of it was pretty uneventful. Stops at gas stations and starbucks. We rolled into Virginia Beach pretty late. The traffic was bad. Julie was again having problems with map reading, and trying to figure how an 8 lane highway was just going to end when we got the the beach. It did. It narrowed into two lanes, and ended at a stoplight. We were really tired, and stopped for a quick dinner at a local eatery. We tried to find a state park or someplace to camp along the beach, but those places don't exist in Virginia Beach unless you want to pay the price. We ended up sleeping in the car at a hotel parking lot. Turned out to be just fine. Bob woke up early the morning (as he always does) and started driving. Julie finally emerged from the sleeping bag to find out that we were about to cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.

The bridge is one of the 7 engineering wonders of the modern world. It was $12 to cross.

http://www.cbbt.com/history.html

Dalzell, SC

We stayed with Bob's aunt for a night at her house near Dalzell, South Carolina. We had a great time. Her dog, Trixie, growled and barked at Julie all afternoon, evening and the next morning. Trixie loved Bob, and licked his feet. We also got to meet Bob's cousin, Christina. we all had dinner together. We did laundry, relaxed, and talked about lots of family stuff. Bob's aunt, Betty, helped us draw a little family tree from what she remembers. We left the next morning at about 10am. We were going to head to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, but decided instead to head to Virginia Beach.

We posted a picture of Bob with his Aunt and cousin. We also posted a picture of evil Trixie.

Charleston, SC

We arrived late to our couch surfer's house. She (Rebekah) was very welcoming, and had dinner ready for us.

Charleston was beautiful. We spent one full day at the beach. Julie has never been much of a beach person, but the ocean was really fun! We spent most of the day combing the beach for shells. We found TONS of pretty shells. We had to dig for many of the big, pretty ones. We were filthy dirty and tired at the end of the day, and headed back to Rebekah's house. We got lost again. Rebekah invited people over to her house to meet and visit with us. We got back to her house ridiculously late, visited with everyone and then went to bed.

The more experiences we have with couch surfing, the more we realize the importance of finding people with whom we have something in common. It's not just about finding a free place to live. We really enjoyed visiting with Rebekah, and had many things in common with her. She really wants to visit Idaho. She has a couch waiting at our house when she decides to visit!

Posted is a picture of Rebekah. We decided to stay another night in Charleston. Julie slept in until about 9:30, and Bob was up and visiting with Rebekah at about 7:30am. Julie is NOT a morning person. We visited the downtown area, went to the open air market and strolled the the streets. Sounds leisurely right? not really. We got out of the car in downtown Charleston, and Bob said, "We have exactly 1 hour and 52 minutes. Let's move!" We needed to be in Dalzell, SC by that afternoon to visit Bob's aunt.

That's one of the really hard parts of this trip. We're getting to see a lot, but we have very little time in every city.

more bits and pieces

- We are getting homesick. The trip is still super fun though. Elsie has been sending pictures of Jellybean, and Bob talks to his girls a lot.

- We have been enjoying the beach a lot. The locals are all dressed for winter, and we are still wearing flip flops.

- Eric, you were right about the fruits and nuts for snacks. I'm sure you know what we mean here!

Savannah to Charleston

We didn't have much time for this stretch. We arrived into Savannah, and went to the visitor center to buy some postcards. To maximize our time, we decided to drive through the historic district and then head out to Tybee Island.

Savannah is apparently very haunted. It probably would have been a great place to spend Halloween.

Tybee means salt according to Native Americans. It's a resort town, but not dotted with high rise condos and glitz. It has a lot of character. Fall is a great time to visit the ocean. We have the beach to ourselves everywhere we go. We collected some shells, and then headed back into Savannah.

Once we were in town, we got lost, AGAIN. We couldn't find the highway out of Savannah to Charleston. At this point it was about 4:30pm, and we needed to be in Charleston to meet our next couch surfer.

time to organize

Julie finally took some time to organize!

Do you recognize the dress? It's the same one worn in most of the pictures on the trip. It's so comfortable! Yes, it has been washed.

It's going to be worn as we head north also. Add a sweater, some tights and some knee high boots, and it's a fall/winter outfit!

Orlando to Savannah

We left the Disney World campground and headed back to Richard's house to say goodbye. We got lost. We really need a GPS. We get lost in every city. It's a nightmare.

We are remembering back to Coral Gables where the street signs are actually small white rocks on the GROUND with names of streets painted on the rocks. Why are street signs on the ground?

It was a quick trip to Savannah. Julie slept most of the way. The car (Chrysler Pacifica) is perfect for sleeping.

Last Wednesday

The day after Disney World, we didn't waste any time getting rolling again. Bob says, "that's not quite how I remember it. We didn't get out of our tent until 8 am." He seems to remember a different story of casually packing up, wasting lots of precious time.

It's a good thing we get along well. Sometimes I'm not sure how though. Bob is very neat and tidy. Julie is a piggy pants.

Bob says the car no longer smells. I think he's just getting used to the smell.

trying to catch up!

Time flies very quickly. We're already in Philadelphia and we still need to make updates from Walt Disney World. We were really thankful to have a shower after the v e r y hot day spent at the park. We would go on a ride, and then go into a shop with air conditioning.

We are sitting in the Murray's kitchen right now trying to remember all of the things that have happened in the last week.

Here is a picture of Julie at the campground at Walt Disney World.