13 PART III ~ LEAF PEEPING

PART III

We are now entering the third part of our trip; Leaf Peeping in the New England states.  Leap Peepers are what the locals call us tourists who come into the New England area to see the fall foliage.

We left Canada and drove back into the US with out any problems at the border.  The last time we crossed back into the US during our trip to Alaska in 2009, we had problems at the border.  The pulled us aside and went through our trailer and took possession of unlabeled meats (container of spaghetti sauce w meat), dog treats from Canada and a bag of citrus which we had forgotten we had.  We were almost fined over $300 because we said we had no citrus.  The USDA woman was very unfriendly.  This time they just took our tomatoes.  Whew.  They didn’t even ask us about our guns and explosives....just kidding.  The only weapon we have is an old baseball bat that is hidden...just in case.

We will be spending 22 days traveling through the New England states of MAINE, NEW HAMPSHIRE, VERMONT, NEW YORK, MASSACHUSETTS, RHODE ISLAND, CONNECTICUT, NEW JERSEY and DELAWARE.  We have already traveled through two of these states with the trailer; Vermont and New York.  The other states will be our first visit with the trailer.  That takes care of 7 out of the 11 states that we need to explore on this trip.  We’ve already visited 2 of the 11 so that is nine down, and two to go.

PART II SUMMARY

We had a great time visiting Canada.  In Ontario and Quebec we revisited the wonderful Montreal Botanical Gardens and the historic Quebec City.  We had new adventures and saw wonderful sights when we visited the Maritimes Provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia for the first time.  

In NEW BRUNSWICK we saw mythical creatures in a garden and walked back in time to experience what it was like to live in a 1790’s settlement.  We saw the famous Bay of Fundy where the tides are the world’s highest and walked the sea floor during low tide.  And we lived through a crisis with our “escape” kitty, Crystal, when she became gravely ill.  We thought we were going to lose her, but she pulled through and today she is better than ever!

In PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND we were in the “Land of Anne” and saw the beautiful farm land that inspired Lucy Maud Montgomery to write “Anne of Green Gables”.  We explored the island and visited the many galleries and studios where local crafters sold their creations.

In NOVA SCOTIA we saw spectacular coastal views on the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island and again walked back in time at an 18th century French fortified village.  We walked the sea floor again at low tide on the Nova Scotia side of the Bay of Fundy.

REVIEW

So far on this trip:

We have traveled for 81 days and driven 10,256 miles. We have visited 9 states, 5 provinces (Canada), and 68 towns, villages, cities. We have visited 10 National Parks, Monuments, etc, 8 Historical sites, 6 Gardens, 8 Zoos, 3 Aquariums and 37 other attractions.

We've had three crises; broke an axle on the trailer (delayed our trip by 7 days), one of the cats escaped from our trailer and was gone for 7 days (while we were waiting for the replacement axle....go figure) and the same cat became gravely ill. Two happy events; the cat came back and the cat recovered from the illness. Oh, and the broken axle was successfully replaced.