DAY 46 MONDAY 22nd OCTOBER 2007

Michigan City, IN (Miles to Date: 3970)

Leaving Cleveland we travelled West – our next major destination was Chicago but we decided to have a stop over in Michigan City. As we previously mentioned our plan was paddle in each of the Great Lakes – the beaches in Cleveland did not look to clean so drove towards our next destination in Indiana, and pulled off to find a more suitable beach along Lake Erie. We stopped at Vermillion, which had a disappointing beach (but nice name) and instead we carried on until we found a glorious public beach, called Nickel Plate beach. By this time the temperature had risen to 70o F and it felt like a June day rather than the end of October.

We decided to stay in our first bed and breakfast of the journey so far, Tryon Farm, an old red brick farm building. On arrival we were met by Claudia who owns the B&B, who was a retired school principal who had chosen to run a B&B as a career change. The farm is not really a working farm and some of the property has been converted to residential units that are based on entirely renewable materials. Claudia bought the farm when the previous owner who was a farmer died – at that time it was a working farm so the house had been neglected. She has spent a lot of time restoring the building and it is now a very quaint B&B with 5 bedrooms. We had the largest room that had a little annex room with 2 trundle beds, so the grown ups had their own space (which is a luxury). Tryon Farm has a chicken coup, and Claudia allowed Jack and Emily to go in with her to try and track down some eggs. There are also horses in the surrounding fields, which Jack and Emily loved to feed.

Once settled in we took the drive into downtown Michigan City (which is not too exciting) along the banks of the Lake Erie – with its houses running down to a lovely, private beach. Our selected eatery was a burger shack called Swingbelly’s, based in a converted railway station, overlooking the lake and Michigan City’s quaint lighthouse. The food was okay – the highlight being a basket fried local perch.

Today we rose and was cooked a wonderful breakfast by Claudia, the children had waffles shaped like farm animals whilst the adults were provided omelettes, which were stuffed with tomatoes, mushrooms and wild rice. Delicious!! It was really nice to have adult conversations with the other residents – there were two other couples (one from Kansas City and the other from Orange County, CA) who had all been visiting Notre Dame (the famous college in South Bend). After packing up we set off for the Indiana Dunes, National Lakeshore Park. This was another destination we had not planned but found out about as we reached Indiana – it is great to get such surprise. I don’t think most people would expect to find sand dunes of such a size on the edge of a lake a thousand miles from the sea, but there they are. We diverted off the road to see one of the largest dunes, Mount Baldi, which climbs 120 feet and is encroaching onto the land behind it at a staggering rate of 5 feet per year (threatening the parking lot and the nearby Route 12). Our lungs (or at least Karen’s and Mark’s) were screaming by the time we had reached the top, but it was worthwhile as even on this grey day the views were stunning. The children ran down the side of the dune towards the lake, the parents ambled at a more leisurely pace down the slope. We of course had to do the obligatory paddle in Lake Michigan (only Lakes Superior and Huron to go now). By this stage the weather was closing in rapidly so picked ourselves up and went off to find the Indiana Dunes visitors centre. Here we met a wonderful Ranger called Jean Pierre (or JP) who helped Jack and Emily through their Junior Ranger programmes so they could get their badges. This being done we set off into the gloom for our final destination for the day Chicago.

DAY 49 THURSDAY 25th OCTOBER 2007

Dodgeville, WI (Miles to Date: 4060)

Fortified by another filling breakfast courtesy of Ray’s B&B we set out yesterday on a brisk, but fine morning. We had decided to try our luck on public transport and made our way by metro and bus out to Lincoln Park. Our main destination for the day is Lincoln Park Zoo, which is a quaint little zoo and has the added benefit of being free to enter. Indeed you just stroll up to many of the entry gates and wander in. We had done the zoo on our last trip but wanted to do it again (we like a nice zoo). Although funded by the City of Chicago it is well funded and has some great exhibits; in particular the large ape exhibit with it’s collection of gorillas, the Africa exhibit (which has pygmy hippos and aardvarks) and the small mammal exhibit. Also right outside the zoo is the Lincoln Park Conservatory which is a large formal green house with an amazing collection of tropical and temperate plants – including a collection of orchids. Once again admission if free!! After a long day walking around it was time to head back for Ray’s B&B – and there was no better way to wash away the aches and pains of a day on foot than to have a session in the steam room and sauna – luxury!!!

Today it was time to leave Chicago and Ray’s B&B (after one final amazing breakfast). We like Chicago (might be different if we had visited in January) it is vibrant city and there is so much to do, the streets are clean and the people are friendly. Also if we come back to Chicago we’d definitely try and stay at Ray’s again (anyone who is interested the website is http://raysbucktownbandb.com/). Our next stop is Dodgeville, Wisconsin.

DAY 47 TUESDAY 23rd OCTOBER 2007

Chicago, IL (Miles to Date: 4060)

We arrived yesterday evening in Chicago. When booking this visit we had looked at hotels, but the costs were prohibitive. It turns out that the World Amateur Boxing Championships were coinciding with our visit. Having experienced some of Jack and Emily’s fisticuffs on our journey we could have probably entered them into the competition – but there are probably child protection laws preventing this!!! Our chosen accommodation was Ray’s Bucktown B&B, but as we drove in the area just off the freeway it did not look to promising (by this time it was getting dark and raining which didn’t help). We were greeted by Ray, who was the most welcoming person. Ray had been a professional photographer – and the walls of the B&B were used to show off his work. His other passion was Red Wing pottery – he has an extensive collection on display (apparently he had more pieces but sold these off). Ray had used his experience of European hotels to model his B&B, making the stay there very relaxing. He has even installed a sauna and steam room – which is a great way to relax after tromping the streets of Chicago.

Today we started off with Ray’s fabulous breakfasts. He is a man who loves cooking and uses the best ingredients which results in fantastic tasting food. The food is all cooked to order and the combinations of omelettes, pancakes and cooked food is almost infinite. We all selected omelettes with sides and after this we were totally stuffed (and did not actually need to eat until the evening). As we had spent a long weekend in Chicago a year earlier there were many sites we chose not to see on this occasion such as the Sears Tower, Shedd Aquarium and Navy Pier, all of which were viewing. This time we decided to catch the bus out to the Museum of Science and Industry, which on this day had the added attraction of being free of charge to enter. This museum is very much more the traditional style of science museum without too much hands-on stuff – but there are some good exhibits. Our favourite one was the mine exhibit where you go down inside a mine shaft in a lift, and at the bottom there is a recreation of a coal mine. In this mine they have working equipment including the people transported, called a “mantrap” and various bits of drilling equipment which actually work. The kids were fascinated by this and stories of how canaries were used to detect methane. In addition to the mine exhibit there is a huge model train layout with scale models of Chicago and Seattle and the mountains in between and an 727 airliner suspended from the ceiling which you can go in. We had a fun 3 or 4 hours in the museum and it was free – there were plenty of other exhibits to see but we run out of time, including one featuring Star Wars (a temporary exhibit).

Our evening was set aside to see the musical Wicked in the sumptuous Oriental Theatre. Earlier in the day was had gone to the box office to get tickets – there were plenty to be had. Whilst there we got accosted by one of the many homeless people on Chicago’s streets who was more persistent than most! We generally are happy to give food and drink to the homeless and prefer not to give them money (in case then spend this on drink or drugs). As we didn’t have any food on hand we said we’d come back later but this man said that we were lying and deceiving our children and got a bit aggressive, all while we were in the lobby of the theatre. Of course we beat a retreat. The show was great and the children really enjoyed every moment – Emily particularly liked the character of Glinda, who is the good witch by a bit of a dumb blond (although she does come good in the end).

DAY 44 SATURDAY 20th OCTOBER 2007

Cleveland, OH (Miles to Date: 3660)

Our plan for today was to visit the Great Lakes Science Center, squashed between the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Browns football stadium on Lake Eire. We walked the short distance from our hotel to the Science Center as it was a bright but chilly morning. This science centre is one of the best we have been to and is full of great hands-on exhibits covering the broad aspects of science. As usual Jack and Emily were drawn to things like a hang gliding and flight simulator, whilst the parents tried to drag them towards what they believed to be more educational demonstrations (how boring). Many an hour was spent going from one exhibit to another. We had also purchased tickets for an exhibit called Lego Mindstorm where you get to programme some Lego robots and set them on some tasks on the surface on the planet, where they to collect some rocks and rescue some astronauts. It was great fun – even for adults. Finally we went to iMax film on dinosaurs in the dome theatre attached to the Science Center.

During the day we had found out that evening they were holding a Harry Potter evening so we readily signed up for it. As a part of the this event they held workshops on chemistry, electricity and general science plus some Harry Potter oriented activities such as Wizard Chess. The highlight of the night (which wasn’t the snack they provided) was a showing of the Harry Potter film, Order of the Phoenix on the iMax screen. We had seen this before but it is such a good film we had to see it again. The time soon reached the witching hour and the four tired Hoblets wandered back to their hotel.

DAY 43 FRIDAY 19th OCTOBER 2007

Cleveland, OH (Miles to Date: 3660)

Leaving behind us the peaceful and sublime countryside of Amish country we drove the 1 ½ hour drive up to Cleveland, OH on the banks of Lake Erie. Our plan for the day was to spend a couple of hours at the Rock and Roll hall of Fame. Jack and Emily are developing a passion for music, and Jack in particular has a love for rock music so it seemed to be an absolute must for us to visit. The exhibits are mainly film and memorabilia, with some stations where you can listen to music. It is all very well done and we had an absolute blast watching the films of old stars (most of whom are admittedly dead) like Janis Joplin, Jimmy Hendrix and Elvis Presley. To be fair Jack and Emily didn’t know who these people were but it was a chance for them to be educated that good music did exist at the time of their parent’s childhood. Having originally planned to be spend no more than an hour or so at the museum we ended up being their for more than 5 hours and were one of the last people to leave. All the Hoblets had a real blast.

Fortunately we did not have far to go to our resting place for the night, the Hyatt in downtown Cleveland. This is an interesting building as it had been a retail and office space before becoming a hotel – the main result being a picturesque building, but not being purpose built is somewhat quirky. Our room overlooked one of the livelier entertainment streets with a Blues theatre directly opposite, and it seemed like a good place for us to head out for the evening. We selected an Irish bar to eat in and dragged our meal out so we could listen to the live Irish band play a few tunes. We returned to our room and the street that had been the source of our nourishment turned into the street of our insomnia as the restaurants, bars and clubs turned out in the early hours full of people who’s sorrows for the Indian’s loss to the Red Sox had been well and truly drowned.

DAY 42 THURSDAY 18th OCTOBER 2007

Berlin, OH (Miles to Date: 3580)

Yesterday we left Canada behind us, crossing the border in New York State around Buffalo and followed Lake Erie south. We took a short detour into the city of Erie, but it all looked very depressed and dowdy so we quickly left. These long trips (we were in the car some 6 hours) are when we are trying to catch up with school work. It is fair to say that home schooling from inside a van is challenging – our only consolation is that Jack and Emily are getting plenty of education from the various places we are visiting. Our destination is Berlin in Holmes County, Ohio. The countryside changes dramatically as we approached Berlin, with rolling green hills, with fields full of cattle and other livestock. We pull over in Brewster, OH to visit the Big Cheese Shoppe (675 South Wabash Avenue, Brewster) which has a great selection of cheese, all of which you can taste – and also ice cream. We of course love our ice cream so indulging our passion was de rigeur. Around 5pm we finally reach our destination, Coblentz Cabins in Berlin. We had the most marvellous log cabin, which reminded us once again how much we’d like to own a log cabin one day. This cabin also had the added attraction of a basement with a pool table which the kids absolutely adored.

Our main purpose of coming to Berlin was that it is in Holmes County which is where there is the largest density of Amish in the USA. There are some 32,000 in this area; together with Mennonites they make up 80% of the population. The Hoblets senior members had long had an interest in understanding more about the Amish culture so put this stop over on the travel schedule. We took our first stop at the Amish Heritage Center in Berlin. The main feature is "Behalt" ( from the German “to keep or remember"), a 10 foot x 265 foot cyclorama illustrating the heritage of the Amish and Mennonite people from the Anabaptist beginning in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1525 to the present day. This was painted by Heinz Gaugel, a German artist, over a number of years. It is truly stunning and shows the persecution of the Anabaptists (those believing in adult baptism) and escape to the United States. We were given a very information tour by one of the Amish brothers, who then went onto give us a tour of a preserved school house and barn. This gave us a chance to ask some of the questions we had been dying to ask about Amish culture, which is still largely based around farming. They still choose to live simply, evidenced by the manual farm tools (you do see the occasional tractor) and washing drying on the lines in the gardens (no tumble dryer here). There is a lot to be said for this lifestyle and its lack of complication.

After the Behalt tour we just relaxed in and around the area, taking in another cheese factory and a bakery (to assist our ever expanding waist lines!!!). We drove down to Millerburg, but this was not really worth the time. So finally we just settled to chill out around Berlin. It is such a peaceful place – probably due to the presence of the Amish and Mennonites – and it is just as well as the Amish in their horse and carriages tend to slow the pace down (it would give a New York taxi driver apoplexy to drive around here).

DAY 40 TUESDAY 16th OCTOBER 2007

Niagara on the Lake (Miles to Date: 3260)

After the excitement of the previous day we decided to have a chilled out day in and around Niagara on the Lake. None of us, except Emily who was attracted like a moth to the bright lights, wanted to visit the tacky amusements of Niagara itself, on such a beautiful day. We had seen on our way up to Niagara on the Lake that the impressive hydro-electric plants did tours, so we decided to try these out as one of the field trips for Jack and Emily.

The two hydro-electricity plants on the Canadian side of the Niagara River (which marks the border between the US and Canada) are enormous. They are named Beck I and Beck II after the politician, Sir Adam Beck, who’s vision led to their creation. Work was started on these plants in 1905 and the first plant was turned on in 1910, and these plants now supply Ontario and major cities like Toronto. Water is taken from Welland Canal (which joins Lake Eire to the Niagara falls) and is fed into the top of the power station – which then falls down towards the Niagara River turning the large turbines that generate the electricity. Clean and renewable power!!! The tour itself is about 30 minutes and takes you down to the turbine rooms (which are not hugely interesting as the turbines themselves are covered), never the less it is informative (despite the tour guide’s mind seemingly elsewhere – he was a large chap and Karen suspected he had health issues) On leaving the power station some of the staff members were having fire extinguisher training so obviously we stopped to watch and they kindly let Jack have a go and as it turned out he was the most proficient.

We journeyed back to Niagara on the Lake and stopped at the Botanical Gardens – which we found to be free to enter (we like free!!) It was a beautiful day and it was great to wander around the formal gardens, which had many plants we recognised from England that we had not seen in gardens in North America. Our particular favourite was the rose garden, which was still in bloom. We all had great fun taking in the fragrances. There is also a huge clock face made up flowers, the design of which changes every year.

We continued our journey stopping off at a very tiny chapel – which was more like a shed! After this we went down to the shore of Lake Eire and went for a paddle. One of our ambitions for this tour is to take a paddle in each of the 5 Great Lakes. There was also a stiff breeze so we were able to fly our kite (which comes with us every where – how sad!!!). The day was finished off by a walk around the village of Niagara on the Lake which has some lovely, if very touristy shops. In fact this was an almost perfect day.

DAY 39 MONDAY 15th OCTOBER 2007

Toronto to Niagara on the Lake (Miles to Date: 3245)

Yesterday we helped out at Emily & Jack’s cousin, Giacomo’s, birthday party. He is five years old so the house was filled by 12 other five year olds – fortunately there were plenty of parents on hand to act as crowd control. Jack and Emily were also great help in entertaining these children.

Today we took the short journey around Lake Ontario from Toronto to Niagara. The weather was extremely dreary but at least by the time we had parked up the rain had stopped and the cloud cover was starting to break. We had done Niagara in the year we came across to the US, but wanted to see it again. The Canadian side of the Niagara gives the best views of the falls but is unfortunately totally commercialised, and reminds us of some of the tackier seaside resorts, like Blackpool, in the UK (as you can see from the attached photo - Jack has put some weight on from eating too many Dunkin Donuts). Before we went our images of what it would be like were more like those of Hollywood movies – the reality is bitterly disappointing. Therefore this time we chose the more serene haven of Niagara on the Lake to stay in. Despite the horror of the town the falls themselves are spectacular so we spent some time admiring the glorious sight and turned a blind eye to the inability of the Canadian government to maintain the pristine beauty of the surrounding area.

After a short visit to the falls we sped up to Niagara on the Lake and as the horror of Niagara town disappeared into the distance and the scenery improved the weather brightened in sympathy. Mark has decided rather than take the damp, docile trip on the Maid of the Mist into the falls at Niagara we would do the jet boat ride into the whirlpool. The whirlpool itself is about 7 miles or so down the Niagara river, where the river takes a 90o turn. The water pours over the Niagara falls, emptying the Great Lakes of Erie, Huron, Michigan and Superior, into Lake Ontario before passing down the St Lawrence River into the Atlantic Ocean. After the falls at Niagara the river passes through a gorge creating some of the most vicious white water rapids in the world. To get to the whirlpool on the jet boat from Niagara on the lake you have to travel upstream through some of these rapids. There are two options on these jet boats; the covered one that is a bit less dangerous (you can tip over but not fall out) and it keeps you dry – or the open top one. We of course chose the latter. They kindly provide you with some clothing – an old jumper that smelt like a decaying kipper (intended to keep you warm), a waterproof suit (of sorts), a poncho and some very soggy water shoes. None of which provide any protection from the wet or cold! The journey goes upstream of the Niagara River – initially passing a no wake zone at 6mph the boat speeds up to 50mph. To demonstrate the manoeuvrability of the boat they spin it through 360o, which is great fun. Next they take you up through the rapids called the Devil’s hole which are class 5 rapids with 20 foot waves – this is where you get really wet. After going back through these rapids a couple of times you get taken to the whirlpool – where the water looks calm. The whirlpool is a few hundred yards across and over 200 feet deep and apparently if you fall in your body might not surface for a week or three – so not the place to go swimming. The crew of the boat explains that we can’t go further upstream to the class 6 rapids known as the Himalayas as the journey back takes us over a bow wave at the entrance to the whirlpool that would barrel roll the boat and we’d all take a dip into the rapids. Instead we head back and do a couple more trips through the Devil’s hole, then journey home very wet and cold. Luckily we were staying at the King William III hotel – which sounds very glamorous but is more of a hostel than hotel but it where the jet boat business is run from therefore 30 seconds away from the boat yard. Those hot showers felt so good!!!!

DAY 37 SATURDAY 13th OCTOBER 2007

Toronto (Miles to Date: 3095)

We travelled from the 300 miles from Ottawa to Toronto where we planned to spend a few days with Mark’s brother Matt, his wife Melania and their two children Giacomo and Serena. The plan was to spend time together as families, particularly as the children hardly had spent anytime together.

On our first day in Toronto we decided to do a bit of site seeing. No visit to Toronto (or at least as a first time visitor) is complete without a trip up the CN Tower. This tower dominates the Toronto skyline and is the tallest free standing building in the world at over 1645 feet (although the towers they are building in Dubai will be taller – they already maybe). The lifts zoom up the tower at speeds in excess of 20mph to the first observation deck. We spent a bit of time admiring the 360o panoramic view from this deck, including the glass floor – which looks straight down about 1250 feet. Karen and Emily were too frightened to step on this despite the knowledge that the glass was extremely thick and could take the weight of 14 hippopotamus (how they calculate this we’re not sure). Jack on the other hand has no fear of heights and was happily jumping up and down – much to his mother’s terror. We then took the elevator up another 33 stories – to about 1450ft making it the highest observation deck on a building in the world.

In the afternoon we walked around the city, up through the very pretty area around the University to the Royal Ontario Museum. Here we met up with Mark’s brother and his family. This museum is still under construction with a new wing being built and some of the exhibits were still being set up. It has a reputation of being a haughty museum (and getting in is not cheap) and it certainly lived up to this reputation. Most of the exhibits were very static but there was one area that was dedicated to children with a display on biodiversity and some child- friendly exhibits that covered the general themes of the museum. Not the best museum for children though.

Through the weekend the adults swapped babysitting duties and this gave Mark and Karen their first opportunity for a child free night out for 6 weeks or so. We took to the subway into downtown and found an excellent restaurant called the Korean Grill House on Yonge and Bloor. The food was an all- you- can- eat buffet of raw meats, such as beef, lamb, ox liver, chicken and raw fish which you cook for yourself on a grill in the middle of your table. It was a really excellent meal!!!

DAY 34 WEDNESDAY 10th OCTOBER 2007

Ottawa – (Miles to Date: 2775)

The weather has not been so kind to us in Ottawa but fortunately there are plenty of good museums to see. Yesterday was a really horrible wet day so we dragged ourselves out to the Canadian Museum of Science. Compared to the Museum of Civilisation this place was very under-funded but did have some fantastic exhibits – Jack and Emily just love this type of museum particularly the hands-on displays. They also have presentations on the hour and we managed to fit in two, one on Electricity and the other on Physics. The former one was particularly fun as the presenter got the children up and charged them up on a Van De Graff generator and then discharged it through them, giving them all an electric shock. Just love to watch children being tortured … heh, heh!!!

Today we had not quite had our complete fill of Museums so we went out to the Museum of Nature. Unfortunately half the building is under construction but we did manage to see the other exhibits – the most notable of which were the Dinosaur exhibits and the one on Genetics. The Dinosaur exhibit was great combing full size models, skeletons and multimedia to give one of the best exhibits we have seen on dinosaurs. I don’t know about you but rows and rows of dinosaur bones is not exactly interesting but mixed in with informative displays and multimedia it comes to life. The Genetic exhibition was fantastic – it tackled head on controversial subjects like cloning, stem cell research and genetically modified crops – in such a way it was fascinating for the adults and the children. No mean feat with this subject matter.

As some light relief from all the museums we had been to in the last week we decided to rush and fit in the Museum of Agriculture, which is a working farm in the centre of Ottawa. It was a great way to end the day. We were able to see the new born calves being fed (and we were able to stroke them), the cattle herd being milked and had a chance to stroke the sheep and goats. To finish the day we went to the area called Parliament Hill which has an impressive array of official buildings which were constructed to impress the word outside as Canada developed into a republic of significant standing. The parliament building even has a clock tower not too dissimilar to Big Ben. We were amazed how close you could approach the Parliament building itself – virtually no security at all. They even off tours around the parliament building.

DAY 32 MONDAY 8th OCTOBER 2007

Ottawa – (Miles to Date: 2735)

Today is Thanksgiving Day in Canada so last night we went to Tuckers, an all you can eat buffet in Downtown Ottawa. The offering was the traditional Thanksgiving foods and also they provide the most amazing salad bar, soups, hot food and deserts. We all agreed it was one of the best buffet selections we had ever seen – and the Hoblets know their buffets having tried numerous restaurants the length and breadth of the USA. Unfortunately as is often the case the two male members of the party over indulged and Jack had to pay a visit to the bathroom before we left.

We are staying in the Comfort Inn Downtown Ottawa, which was not very downtown at all – in fact it is in a district called Vanier which is extremely seedy. We later found out the area is frequented by drug dealers and prostitutes. The hotel also seemed to attract the worst sorts (obviously we were there which proves the point) and the people next door made strange noises throughout the night keeping us awake. To add insult to injury on the way down to breakfast in the morning we found two of our bike seats had been taken off our bikes (which were locked on the back of the car). They even took Mark’s seat which was all ripped and torn. Fortunately two seats survived because they were harder to get off. Really, really annoying but we suspected our bikes would get vandalised some where along the way.

As the day was most unpleasant we decided to go to the Museum of Civilisation, which is excellent. There is an exhibit on Canada’s first people – a bit like the one in Quebec but much more extensive. The display of totem poles and other artefacts were stunning. Also there is a Children’s Museum onsite which was also great but our two were probably on the old side to get the most out of it. The last exhibit we went through was a trip through Canada’s history and development. It is a series of full size scenes and panoramas of city streets (you can go in and out of shops) and displays, complete with multimedia shows. It is one of the best and most informative exhibits of its type we have seen in a long time.

As we enjoyed our Thanksgiving meal so much at Tuckers the night before – guess what - we went back and over ate for the second time!!!!

DAY 31 SUNDAY 7th OCTOBER 2007

Montreal to Ottawa (Miles to Date: 2710)

Yesterday was a bit of a damp squib – the weather turned and the morning was raw. The night before had been totally different as we had taken a walk from our hotel down to the Chinese District where we had a Chinese buffet (the easiest way to satisfy the tastes of the Hoblets clan) and then wondered into the old town of Montreal which is very pleasant at night time with loads of people wondering around and lots of good places to eat. The area in front of the Hotel de Ville is particularly popular with tourists and street performers alike. Usually we manage to escape the attention of the street performers but this time the two senior Hoblets got nabbed (due to the loud behaviour of the two junior Hoblets who did manage to attract attention) and were “forced” to dance a slow dance and Mark was enticed to swear an oath of love to Karen.

So yesterday we just spent some time in the hotel catching up on things and then went out to tour Montreal’s underground city, a complex of some 1600 underground shops connected by passageways. Obviously Montreal gets some harsh winters so the population turns into to troll for 3 or 4 months of the year.

The trip to from Montreal to Ottawa was a mere 120 miles so we were there in no time at all.

DAY 29 FRIDAY 5th OCTOBER 2007

Montreal (Miles to Date: 2587)

As Montreal is a city that encourages the cyclist we decided to try out the cycle routes that have been set out around the city. We are staying at the Hyatt in downtown Montreal and the cycle route starts about ¾ mile away, so we decided to push the bicycles that far as the traffic is quite busy. We set our sites on reaching the Olympic Park some 5 miles or so away. The hotel itself is in a nice area but as we turn the corner and walked down the street it soon becomes clear that the neighbourhood was changing around us. There are a number of shops displaying lingerie and fantasy clothing, and clubs offering exotic dancing of one sort of another. Rather than avert the eyes of Jack and Emily we decided this is all a part of the rich tapestry of life and we were sure this experience could be woven into their curriculum for the year. The journey for the most part was uneventful and we arrived at the Olympic Park in one piece.

Our first activity was to go into the Olympic complex (built for the 1976 Olympic games) and take the ride to the top of the tower, which is 175m high and at a 45o angle – making it the world’s tallest inclined building. The trip to the observation tower at the top is by a funicular railway (our second of our journey so far) and this goes up the outside of the building, giving excellent views through the glass walls of the car. For Karen this was almost an unbearable experience and for some reason she and Emily felt better at the back of the car. At the top the views are amazing and you can look directly down at the ground below – which is all the more scary when you realize that you are in a building listing like some inebriated Scotsman after a night out on the razzle. I think all bar Jack (who has no fear of heights whatsoever) were glad to be on the journey down.

After the torture of the tower we went to the more serene environment of the Biodome, which is next door to the Olympic stadium and is the site of the Olympic velodrome. This building has been cleverly converted into an indoor exhibition of 4 ecosystems – a jungle, the Laurentian forest, the sea shore and the artic. These environments house plants, animals and bird life, which in the main roam around freely (except in the case of the artic where the birds – mainly puffins, auks and penguins are behind glass assumedly to protect the visitors from the cold). This was an excellent exhibition and the children loved it (attached picture of Karen stroking a beaver)

With these visits done the only job left was to cycle back to the hotel – this time we chose a different route (mainly to avoid a second visit to the red light district!!!)

DAY 28 THURSDAY 4th OCTOBER 2007

Canada: Quebec to Montreal (Miles to Date: 2587)

We have had a great few days in Quebec – being blessed with good weather and an excellent choice of things to do. We purchased a value ticket that gave us access to a number of museums, unfortunately some were closed for refurbishment. We went to the Interpretation Centre at the Place Royal (Centre d'interprétation de Place-Royale) which was great fun with a multimedia show about the history of Quebec and also an area where you can dress up in period costume (both adults and children). The French American Museum (Musée de l'Amérique francaise) was not quite so interesting, and not very child friendly but you do get to go through the chapel which is part of the seminary – which is classically ornate but at the same time stylish.

On our last morning in Quebec we went up the Quebec Observatory, which is 31 stories above the city (which does not have many tall buildings so it give a great view). This vantage point gives you a 360 degree panoramic view across the city, with excellent views of the Chateau Frontenac, the parliament buildings, the Citadel and beyond these the St Lawrence and Laurentian Mountains, which separate the lush countryside of the St Lawrence valley from the lake region of the interior Quebec province. The final stop for us in Quebec was the Odyssey which is housed in the Discovery Pavilion of the Plains of Abraham. This is a clever and fun multimedia presentation that gives an excellent overview of the history of Quebec city from its establishment in 1608 by the French explorer Samuel de Champlain to the battle for the city between the French and the British in 1759 to the establishment of the Canada as an independent country.

After three excellent days in Quebec we turned our sites towards Montreal. We would strongly recommend this city as a place to put on your itinerary when visiting Canada.

DAY 26 TUESDAY 2nd OCTOBER 2007

Quebec, Canada (Miles to Date: 2300)

Yesterday we changed countries, driving up through Upstate New York, stopping briefly at Plattsburgh (not a memorable stop), into Canada and our next destination Quebec. Travelling up to Quebec reminded us more of France than North America; the houses, buildings and landscape were very reminiscent. No wonder they referred to this place as New France.

The weather today was very bright once again as we travelled the short journey from our hotel into the downtown area of old Quebec. Quebec sits on the St Lawrence River one of the mightiest rivers on the continent. After passing Quebec the river widens as it passes out into the North Atlantic – the name Quebec is derived from the Algonquin (one of the Amerindian tribes local to the area) word for narrowing or straight. Old Quebec is two sections, the old port area which as one might expect sits on the river, whilst the rest of the town sits on a cliff some 200 to 300 feet above, making it an excellent place to defend from the river.

We parked up in the port area next to a newly docked cruise liner and rushed to get ready hoping to beat the expected crowds. Our first port of call was the Musee de la Civilisation, which is an excellent place to start your exploration of Quebec. The museum had two temporary exhibits, one on dragons, the truth and myths, and the second an exploration of Peruvian Incan culture through the Tintin books “The Seven Crystal Balls” and “Prisoners of the Sun” (by Hergé) – it was a very clever way of merging a children’s story and a serious exhibit on the Incan civilization. Also in this museum has a very good exhibit on the 11 tribe nations of the Canadian Amerindians – we took the very informative tour which was free with entry to the museum.

After three or four hours going around the museum it was time for some fresh air so we decided to walk around the old town of Quebec. The lower part of the town has lovely cobbled streets and quaint shops – very touristy. One of the stranger sites was a couple of musicians, one dressed as 14th Century Cavalier (on guitar) and the other as a Native American (on harp) who played merrily to the tune of “Greensleeves”. To get to the upper part of the city you can take the stairs or for those who are fitness challenged there is a funicular railway. This part of town is equally interesting with dozens of shops, restaurants and museums – Le Château Frontenac, a luxury hotel, dominates the city skyline. For those who love history there is plenty to see with the churches, the Citadel and the parliament buildings. We spent several hours just walking around.

DAY 24 SUNDAY 30th SEPTEMBER 2007

Oktoberfest Festival at Whiteface Mountain

Karen was obviously tired from her travels and the stress of the previous week. Everyone else was also knackered for one reason or another so we decided to do something that was not too strenuous. The chosen activity was to go to the Oktoberfest festival at Whiteface Mountain. For those who don’t know Whiteface it is the Adirondak Mountains' principal ski area in upstate New York (and where the Olympic downhill skiing event was run). During the off season they continue to provide gondola rides up to the summit, so we decided to do this first off, especially as Karen had not been able to do the trip up Loon Mountain. The view from the top was spectacular, it was such a clear day the visibility was tens of miles and the views across the tree lined valleys in their autumn colour glory was stunning. On the way up in the Gondola we had been behind the Bergermeister and some of the Oktoberfest musicians who once they got to the summit got inspired to break into full swing with their oompah music (which was considerably better than the bag pipe player on top of Mount Washington). When we got back down to terra firma we spent some time wandering around the Oktoberfest, which was very home spun but the kids enjoyed trying to pet alpacas and the rock wall, and as always there was hog roast on hand to satisfy the hunger. Towards the end we met up with one of the entertainers on stilts, dressed as a pirate sitting on large ostrich (which was not real – some of you reading might have heard of British children’s entertainer called Berny Clifton … this person was similarly attired). It turned out this man was British and had been an educator in Leicestershire in the UK, which got Karen excited because she had worked in the education system in that county (albeit in prisons). A small world, but fortunately they didn’t have any acquaintances in common…. otherwise we’d never have heard the end

We finished the day by going around the islands of Lake Placid on a boat trip. The sun was going down so it was a little chilly but nonetheless a beautiful way to finish off the day.

DAY 23 SATURDAY 29th SEPTEMBER 2007

Lake Placid (Mile to Date: 2153)

We spent the night with our friends the Quaintance's - Lee, Suzanne and their children Charlie, Catherine and Henry. After a leisurely morning sitting around and breakfasting we went out for bit of fresh air. As we were in Lake Placid us Hoblets were keen to look around the facilities left behind after the 1980 (& 1932) winter Olympics. Firstly we went around the Olympic centre with its numerous skating rinks, mind you the only thing that seemed to interest the children was a simulator ride where you could experience the thrills of being a down hill skier or a member of the bob sled run. After this we trekked out of town to the bob sled circuits, which looked terrifying, especially the thought of the louge and skeleton events (which are like coming down lying on a tea tray). Our final stop was the ski jump towers – it is difficult to fathom why anybody would want to do this event and how do you learn to do it (they apparently jump in to pools of water!!). It still looks hairy to say the least and when you see the height of the towers it looks all the more daunting. We decided not to take the trip up to the top primarily because of the cost so instead we got out for a walk in a near by area which is used for cross country skiing.

The children went of with Suzanne whilst Mark went to explore a near by monument. This turned out to be the burial of site of John Brown (as in the song line “John Brown’s body lies a-molderin in his grave”). He was one of the original American slavery abolitionists who chose a route of direct action, part of which was a raid on an arsenal at Harpers Ferry in Virginia. He planned to use the captured weapons to give to the slaves to start an uprising. During this raid two of his sons were killed and he was captured, tried for treason and executed. His body was then carried to his farm in upstate New York where we were now standing. We have planned out much of this journey to take in places we want to visit but it is wonderful to come across surprises like this monument.

Whist Mark was exploring Jack and the Henry (who is 6) decided to wander off and do a bit of their own trekking. After several minutes of not being able to track them down the parents on hand started to become a bit more frantic and started hollering out their names. This went on for a good ten minutes or so. We went back towards the car and noticed the door was open and reaching it found Jack and Henry chatting quite contentedly totally oblivious to the panic that had caused. Phew!!!!

That afternoon Karen flew into Albany from her mother’s funeral so Mark drove down the 120 miles or so to fetch her back to rejoin the great adventure.

DAY 22 FRIDAY 28th SEPTEMBER 2007

Ausable Chasm and Lake Placid (Miles to Date:1858)

Today were travelling to see some friends in Lake Placid – but we had some time to kill so we decided to visit Ausable Chasm – a natural wonder on the Ausable River which runs through the Adirondack mountains into Lake Champlain. Three or four miles short of the Lake Champlain the Ausable cuts through the red sandstone, creating a deep ravine. Ever since coming to the US I had wanted to visit this place. We took a walk along the rim trail that follows the river – it was a wonderful clear day and the sun glistened off the white, bubbling water running through the chasm. The chasm is about 30 feet wide for much of its length and climbs vertically 70 feet above the water. Apparently there have been times when the water levels have climbed to within 20 feet of the top of the chasm and taken away bridges and metal structures as if they were made of matchsticks (would have liked to have seen that). Anyway a mile down the rim trail there is the option to take the last mile in a raft down the river – of course we just had to do that. The river levels were low so it was not exactly white water rafting ( it can be class 3 rapids under the right conditions) but the guide who took us down gave us a lot of information about the geology and the fauna of the chasm.

This journey completed we spent the rest of the day travelling to Lake Placid.

DAY 21 THURSDAY 27th SEPTEMBER 2007

Waterbury, VT and Elizabethtown, NY (Miles to Date:1795)

We woke just about the time Karen’s mother’s funeral was taking place in the UK, so the day started with a period of contemplation. The plans for the rest of the day were quite simple – visit the Ben & Jerry’s factory in Waterbury, VT and then continue onwards to Elizabeth Town in upstate New York.

Getting to Ben & Jerry’s was a bit of a doubling back on the previous days journey but was deemed to be an essential part of the children’s home schooling curriculum for this year. Also reflected their father’s addiction to ice cream!! We decided to do the tour of the factory – primarily because you get ice cream samples at the end (and for the educational element of seeing a factory in production. )They are really geared up for the tour and judging by the size of the car park it is quite big business for them. The tour is in three parts. Unfortunately the guy doing our tour was a novice and had neither well honed presentation skills or knew much about the factory and the B&J business. Part 1 of the tour is a film about Ben and Jerry (yes they were real people) and how they developed a quirky business around quirky named ice creams. They started out by paying $5 for correspondence course in ice cream making from Penn State University (apparently they chose ice cream because the equipment was cheaper than bagel making equipment). The 2nd part of the tour is the viewing of the production areas – we were told no photography was allowed, although I expect if I were a determined industrial espionage expert it would not have been too difficult to break their security. I did feel sorry for the poor people working on the shop floor, pacing the halls of their work like caged lions. Seemingly the equipment felt equally resentful of its imprisonment and started to spill pots of ice cream the wrong way up on the production line conveyor belt. The workers stormed around the problem area like worker bees defending their hives and soon all was well. The final part of the tour took us to the tasting room where they had some rather sweet and sickly strawberry flavour on tasting for that day (most disappointing). To take the memory away of this pink, sugary monstrosity we had to visit the store and buy some other ice cream to wash away the memories.

After gorging on ice cream we had to take our leave and continue our journey to upstate New York. We were planning to stay in Elizabethtown for the night as we had some business there the next day. Our room for the night was a last minute arrangement at the quaintly named Cobble Hill Inn – but quaint it wasn’t. I was glad Karen was not with us otherwise we’d have been looking else where. The Cobble Hill Inn is a collection of 7 rooms attached to a somewhat seedy Irish bar. The beds were ridiculously uncomfortable – sagging mattresses and one of the light fittings was missing from the wall, and the wires were hanging out of the wall with no insulation tape around the bare wire ends. In the bathroom ,stuck to the mirror above the sink ,was a hand written note explaining the hot water leaked and was turned off at a tap underneath the sink. Oh well- we were only there for one night.

DAY 20 WEDNESDAY 26th SEPTEMBER 2007

New Hampshire & Vermont (Miles to Date:1662)

Another transfer day to another State, this time Vermont. We decided to break up the journey with a few stops – the first being Loon Mountain near Lincoln, New Hampshire. We had been told about the mountain by Emily and Jack’s orthodontist Dr Storm who has a vacation home there. We took the gondola ride to the top of the ski trails and the view was spectacular. Loon Mountain has tried to create an all season attraction and at the summit of the mountain is a craft shop and some walking trails – very much a home spun affair. We took the walk out to the glacier caves. Now my idea of caves is something eroded over tens of thousands of year by water – these were essentially slabs of granite that we created as the glaciers retreated by water freezing and thawing and then as the glacier moved (it was a mile deep so was fairly substantial by all accounts) out these lumps of granite piled up on each other (like a pile of dominos). Well the results was some gaps left under the pile – which they have labelled caves. Emily just about managed to squeeze through the gaps … some us larger blokes had to walk around (not sure I would have made it as a cave man – at least the fitting into the cave part of the job).

Apres the ski lift we set off for Vermont but had a couple of road side food stops planned (Karen was most upset when she heard this news!!!). We found these places in “Road Food” by Jane and Michael Stern which was kindly given to us by Meeghan. Unfortunately neither place at hand were health food shops but their offerings sounded delicious. Bishops in Littleton (87 Main Lincoln, Littleton, NH) was our first stop – a home made ice cream shop. We all had the Bishop’s bash – made from Dutch chocolate with bit of brownies in it – delicious!!! Now for desert we went up the road to Polly’s Pancake House (Hildex Maple Sugar Farm, Sugar Hill) – whose speciality surprise, surprise is pancakes. Oh are they good. I had the sampler which was half a dozen pancakes made from different batters and add-ins (blueberries, coconuts etc). Appetites satiated we set off for Vermont – crossing through some more mountains – the van struggled up a mountain pass ( I think 3 passengers full of pancakes were the main reason behind the difficult passage).

En route we stopped briefly at Bath, Vermont which has two things we wanted to look at: one a fully covered bridge and second a grocery store. The covered bridge was open to traffic so we drove across and then back again – these bridges for some reason (mainly down to Hollywood’s fascination with these artefacts of the past) remind me of films about the American Civil War and horror movies. After this short detour we pulled over and visited the general store in Bath, which is apparently the oldest general store in the US. There were some interesting things inside but we didn’t linger too long as we had some way to go.

Some hours later we arrived at our destination – a Travelodge in Burlington.

DAY 19 TUESDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 2007

New Hampshire – Mount Washington and the COG Railway (Miles to Date:1270)

One of the reasons for visiting this part of New Hampshire was to go up Mount Washington. This is the highest peak west of the Mississippi and is 6622 ft at the summit. It also has a reputation for wild weather and has an observatory at the top which records all these extremes – in fact it holds the record for the highest speed wind gust on land at 231 mph. The weather can be a pleasant summer day at the base but be more like winter at the summit.

We arrived at the base station of the COG at 1pm
and it was a very pleasant 80oF without a breath of wind. The fall colours were stunning and we were surrounded by the high peaks of the White Mountains – what could be more perfect. There are
about five or six trains running on the mountain on a normal day – the track is primarily a single track up the mountain with cunning passing points on the way up. The COG railway at Mount Washington was the first mountain climbing railway and was opened fully in 1869 after three years of construction. The project was the brain child of an ageing entrepreneur and inventor, Sylvestor Marsh, who had got lost on Mount Washington in 1859, and decided to build a railway to the summit as a result. Next time I get stuck up a mountain I have made a mental note to choose to build a giant elevator through the core of the peak rather than taking up another hobby like golf or bird-watching which might have been a more normal course of action.

The two most noticeable aspects of the train ride outside of the stunning views are its steepness and the how uncomfortable it is. The average incline of the railway is 25o but there is one section called Jacobs Ladder (this is a section of the railway which is on a trestle 30 feet above the ground and banked – according to the Guinness Book of records this is the most treacherous stretch of trestle rail track in the world – and who are we to argue) which is at 37.4o. For those who don’t like heights this is not the journey for them!! The other feature is the discomfort – this is a COG railway – it runs on tracks but has a large cog on the engine which passes through a rack centred between the two rails. As a consequence there is a lot of vibration – and the seats are not too comfortable – I would recommend this to anyone looking to loose cellulite from their buttocks.

It takes about 1½ hours to the summit. It is a long, slow journey but on this clear day the views were stunning. You get about 20 minutes at the top before the next train goes down. On the summit there is a cafeteria (which is deserving rest stop for those who walked up – but not for us who came up the easy way) and a weather station observatory (which you can tour around). True to form it was colder and windier on the summit – the temperature was in the low 60s and the wind was gusting at 45mph – making it feel even colder. As with all good explorers we had to climb to the summit – about 20ft above where the train dropped us off. Whilst we were there a man – I presume of Celtic origin- produced his bag pipes and started to play an off key version of Amazing Grace. Not sure if he was bad or whether his playing was being impacted by the wind or altitude. Most bizarre!

The journey down is a rapid, joggling hour long trek and reaching the balmy, calm base station was most welcome. All in all though a worth while experience.