More of our Fab Trip East

One of the many lighthouses we saw along the coastline.

After we left Alma, on our way to the Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, we drove down a winding road to see the lighthouse.  The place was not open yet, so we parked and just got some pictures from above.

The Hopewell Rocks from Above

To get to the ocean floor you have to climb down MANY stairs...you can see people walking around down there.  When the tide is out, people are allowed to go down and wander around much of the floor.  There are some cavelike areas which are blocked off that would be dangerous to go in.  Then when the tide starts to come in, everyone has to evacuate the area.  The water will rise 20-30 feet at high tide.   We got quite a thrill out of walking on the ocean floor!!

Standing on the Ocean Floor!

At low tide, the eroded rocks are very visible...you can see algae growing on them.  At high tide, the arch behind Dick would be almost invisible.  The visitors' center has pictures of people canoeing right in the same area we are standing!

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

After visiting the Hopewell Rocks, we drove to Nova Scotia.  When stopping at the visitors' center, we expressed to the aid there that we were not interested in the typical touristy stuff so we avoided Halifax and went around further to this charming fishing town of Lunenburg.  We stopped at the town visitors' center and the lady there set us up with a lovely little B&B run by a local couple who were very friendly and interesting....all within walking distance to the village. This is a picture of the town from across the bay at sunset.

The Academy of Lunenburg

The town was first settled, in the 1600's by Swiss and German families.  This building was built in the  1700's for the education of the more elite children.  It is still being used today as the town's elementary school....beautiful construction and grounds.

A Street in Lunenburg

Although a bit more colorful than many of the houses in town, these are typical of the architecture of Lunenburg.





The Fishing Boat "Cape Rouge"

I don't know how many fans of the tv show "Haven" are reading this, but as we wandered the piers, we came on this boat which we discovered is used in the show.  We were moseying along when this ol' sea captain came out and asked us where we were from..we struck up a conversation with him and he told us that the town of Lunenburg, and this boat of his were used in "Haven"!  The show is a kind of SciFi, which I do watch so that was fun to talk to him....then after getting home and watching some I had taped, I could really recognize a lot of the places in the show....including this boat!

The Third Leg of Our Northeast Trip!

"There's no place like home!" Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz

Belted Galloway cows at Camden Maine

After getting our room at Camden, we drove around to see what we could see.  We came upon these cows, marked like nothing we had seen before so we had to check them out!

Penobscot Bay...Camden, Maine

We really enjoyed Camden...it is not far from Acadia National Park nor Bar Harbor; although it is not as well known as BH, we enjoyed it more because it seemed less "touristy" to us...a beautiful harbor, many cute shops and places to eat.  As we were driving North into Maine, the traffic heading South towards Boston and New York was backed up, three lanes deep and at least 10 miles long!  Then we realized it was Labor Day and everyone was heading back home...we felt real lucky we were going in the opposite direction!

Acadia National Park Shoreline

Beautiful park..we left Camden and came straight here..we spent most of the day here before getting our lodgings for the night.

Lunch at Jordan Pond

This was a neat spot about half way around the park that is traditional for lunches. Around the turn of the last century, this is where the elite of the east coast would dine on the lawn when visiting Acadia and have popovers with ice cream so we did, too.  There is a large restaurant with many verandas there also, but eating overlooking the water was the fun part!

 View from Cadillac Mountain

Cadillac Mountain has the fame of being the tallest point from the top of the east coast all the way down to Brazil.....compared to the Rockies, it isn't that tall, but for the east, it is a mountain!  Very pretty...a drive all the way to the top but many hikers and bikers were making the summit.

Bar Harbor Marina

We went to our lodgings then walked around Bar Harbor...still liked Camden better!

Next stop....New Brunswick and the Bay of Fundy...home of the highest tides in the world!

After Arrowmont

"A woman has the age she deserves"!  Anonymous (hmmm...think about it!)

Norman Rockwell Museum

After we left the Smokys and Arrowmont, we traveled to Stockbridge, Massachusetts....Norman Rockwell country.  Beautiful country, in the Berkshires.  The museum is located a little out of town on land purchased several years ago to locate the museum and to recreate Rockwell's studio...a lovely setting.

                       Norman Rockwell's Studio in the Berkshires

We were not able to take pictures inside...but what a thrill to see the "originals" done by an artist I have always admired!  We could tour the studio in part, which was the real thing....just moved to the new setting.

             Mark Twain's Home in Hartford, Connecticut

Then we drove to Hartford, CT and visited Mark Twain's home where he wrote "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" and others works.  There is a museum and then the house tour.  Our guide was a very entertaining young man who was just finishing up high school;  he was very articulate as well as amusing.  As I grew up near Hannibal, MO, I have always been a big fan of Twain's so found the whole visit to be very interesting.  The home was located in what once was a very exclusive area....Nook Farm...where the Alcott's and others of the time had homes.  Now it is kind of surrounded by a not so nice neighborhood....but the grounds immediately around the homes are still well kept.

                     A Statue of Mark Twain made of Legos!

Located in the museum is this statue of Twain made entirely of legos!  It is life size...my grand son would love to see that...and try to duplicate it......being the "lego" King of Texas!  Both the museum and home were very worth the trip, to me...and Dick is a fan of Twain also so he liked it too.

The next stop .......... the coast of Maine and Acadia National Park!

There is no place like home!

"Mid Pleasures and Palaces though we may roam, be it ever so humble, there is no place like home!" John Howard Payne
                                                                                                                                  

We just returned from a long trip...first went to Arrowmont Arts and Crafts School at Gatlinburg, Tennessee.  This is our fourth time to take classes there.  My class this year was with Martine House who is a wonderful, talented lady in the field of fabric manipulation, use of different kinds of fabrics to create texture, hand stitching and beading techniques...and so much more.  This is just a very loose beginning of my work in various  parts started there.   I hope to get back to work on it quickly so I can remember the different things she taught us!!!!

After spending a really great week at Arrowmont, we left there on an extended trip to the far Northeast...all the way to Prince Edward Islands via many other interesting sites!