On The Road Again: The Epilogue
We’ve been home for a while from our nearly three-month-long journey. This post shares some random thoughts, a quick summation, and some of my favorite images from the trip. Random thoughts first.
With apologies to the more-is-better crowd, as a society, we need to use less electricity. The pollution from the power plants, the altered and degraded ecosystems from the dams, it's a high price to pay. I'm sure we could all find ways to use less power.
Upstate New York produces some fabulous wines, and the tastings are so much less pretentious than in better-known wine-producing areas.
Music night at Snow Farm Winery in Vermont.
Niagara Falls- worth the price of admission!
Ontario doesn't mess around with speeders. From the Ontario website, speeders caught exceeding 150 kilometers per hour (about 92 mph) get-
-an immediate 30-day driver’s license suspension
-an immediate 14-day vehicle impoundment at roadside, regardless of whose vehicle it is
-a minimum fine of $2,000 and a maximum fine of $10,000
-a jail term of up to six months
Maybe my home state of Florida should consider similar legislation...
Roadside farm stands and bakery stands are the greatest! Farmer's markets rank pretty high, too. We fairly lived off those places for much of our trip.
A honor-system roadside stand in Maine that featured freshly baked blueberry pies.
Seeing all those exquisite, hand-made canoes in the Canadian Canoe Museum makes me want to build a canoe myself.
I could spend a lot of time canoeing and fishing in Ontario and Quebec!
Why is poutine so popular??
All of us should speak multiple languages. I say this as someone who routinely mangles English, and has non-understandable smidges of Spanish and Portuguese.
I wish the loggers of years past had left us more virgin trees. Big, old trees inspire awe.
If it weren't for winter, I could easily live in northern Vermont. Through all of those small New England towns, there's such a real feeling of community.
Striped bass are awesome fish. Even the schoolies.
There are few things more precious than old friends.
Susan and Maryann on top of Cathedral Ledge in New Hampshire.
We put about 7500 miles on the van this trip. It still ran great, and the mattress was still very comfortable. We noticed campground fees in the east are much higher than out west. In one case, it cheaper to stay in a motel.
My wife makes travel easy and fun!
We're already thinking about where we might adventure next summer. Canadian Rockies, anyone?
Dusk falls over Maine's Kezar Lake.
Although our journey started from our home in Florida, this trip really began in Marietta, Ohio. From there we visited Pennsylvania, New York, Ontario, Quebec, Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, and Connecticut (briefly), travelling about 7500 miles altogether. Then home again, by the fastest possible means.
Susan's favorite place was Ile d'Orleans, in Quebec, farm stands, art galleries, and great views all day long. I choose to cheat and pick two favorites- the Canadian Canoe Museum, and the Goodsell Fossil Reef Reserve in Vermont. But it's a tough choice, because there were so many great places, moments, and people.
Afternoon storm over Bridgton, Maine.
And those great places, moments, and people are what makes the travel experience so worthwhile, so worth the expense and occasional aggravation. You could stay home and watch TV, ah, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! No, that's never a good choice. There's a wonderful world out there! Get out there and experience it for yourself!
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