Lobster Rolls and Lofty Peaks

 Our last hurrah of summer was inspired by the latest heatwave to hit the Green Mountain State in this already long and hot season. We scoured the northeast for a respite from the heat and humidity and found it in a town park that our friends from Maine helped us discover the previous year. We didn't plan to go to Maine this summer since we drove the length of the coast last year on our trip to Nova Scotia, but we packed the car and headed down east!

After a late lunch at Gusanoz Mexican Restaurant in Lebanon, New Hampshire we found ourselves at Winslow Park around dinner time. Annabel played on the playground while we filled her with as much dinner as we could distract her with before bed. We set up our tent on our 'glamping' site for the next three nights - site 53...very private, in view of the playground and it had WiFi. No living off twigs and berries like we usually do in the backcountry on this trip.

Our first day was mostly spent around Winslow park. We spent more time at the aforementioned playground (which even had a pirate ship with a fireman's pole...) and walked the shore looking for hermit crabs. Annabel liked talking to them but didn't want to touch one. We did take a short drive into the town of Freeport to have Annabel's kindergarten backpack and lunchbox monogrammed but other than that it was a quiet and relaxing day.

On our second day in Maine, we packed the car and headed to the Maine Maritime Museum in Bath. The museum was much more extensive than we were picturing and celebrated Maine's wooden shipbuilding years. However, we were tipped off to an exhibit of Chris Van Dusen's artwork (one of Annabel's favorite authors) so we spent much of our day in that section of the museum. It was air-conditioned and no one was complaining.

In the evening we met our friends Brian and Emily and their children for dinner in Yarmouth. We had a great time catching up and walked to get ice cream...an impossible activity at home.

Our third morning in Maine was spent with more time on the playground (noticing a theme) and another short stint on the shore to say goodbye to the hermit crabs. I'm sure that they were really sad to see us go but we redirected the car away from the sea and headed west. We grabbed lunch at the Maine Diner so that we could consume the seafood that Maine requires you to eat before you leave. It was a solid meal.

We pointed our car into the mountains of Vermont and camped for the evening in a lean-to (Boxelder) at Coolidge State Park in Plymouth. We were able to snag one of the sites with a view of the mountains and enjoyed our quesadillas while watching the sun sink over the Greens. It was magical to start our day lounging at the ocean and finish in the cool mountain air.

In the morning, we packed our things and enjoyed the view from the pavilion at Coolidge State Park before descending to the Calvin Coolidge Historic Site. It was a whole village! Annabel required a beeline to the cheese factory and we obliged since we were also hungry! After our "lunch" we toured the historic buildings before eventually finding our way to Route 7 for the long journey home. 

Québec

After the whirlwind of June, we needed a quick getaway but our dreams of a camping trip were dashed by poor weather. So instead, we grabbed passports and pointed our car to the great white north for a trek to Quebec City! We crossed over at the Highgate/Philipsburg border crossing and began snaking our way to the town of Granby (with an obligatory stop for donuts at Tim Hortons on the way) to go to the zoo. Annabel had been there two years ago, but her memory had faded.

We started by exploring the African animals where we saw Zebras, Giraffes, Rhinoceroses, Lions and Elephants. It was a hot afternoon, so we cooled off with popsicles while simultaneously watching the humans and animals. 

The aquatic animals were a hit for Annabel who especially enjoyed petting the stingrays and would have spent her entire afternoon there if possible. She was complaining that her legs were getting tired, so we took the slow monorail tour overlooking the South American animals instead of strolling which gave us some welcome shade. With her well rested limbs, she then found a tall slide that she proceeded to climb relentlessly for the good part of an hour.

We bid adieu to Granby and headed east to our humble abode for the next three nights - a KOA camping cabin overlooking the trans-Canada highway and a power station. Annabel was delighted to find that we have the closest cabin the the playground that includes a giant jumping pillow trampoline. She would proceed to spend much of the next three days bouncing on that thing...

Rain overnight and rain forecasted for the majority of the next day, we headed to the aquarium of Québec. It was an extensive complex of buildings and outdoor exhibits and listing all the creatures here would take too long. However - they had a POLAR BEAR and ARCTIC FOXES... Annabel again found a stingray petting tank that consumed much of her day as well as the starfish petting tank. She was also enamored with the walking tube at the bottom of one of the largest tanks where you could watch fish above you.

The late afternoon and evening was spent on the playground with the jumping pillow trampoline thing.

We had better weather the following day and took a bus to Old Quebec City where we learned that Annabel loves pretending to fire cannons...and there is no shortage of battery in that walled city. We took out numerous pretend British vessels on the river before snaking our way for a tour of the citadel. Since it is a working military base, we were only allowed a group tour which was augmented by actual cannon fire to mark noon!

After our tour, we found lunch at Restaurant L'omlette where Annabel ate crêpes and we feasted on the Quebec special (pea-soup, meat-pie and maple syrup pie). It was a delicious way to finish our visit to the old city. We had just enough time to sink a few more British ships before a quick exploration of Notre Dame des Victoires church - the oldest church in the province with a turreted alter.

The evening was spent on the playground with the jumping pillow trampoline thing.

Our final day in Québec was mostly a drive home - but we picked Fort Chambly National Historic Site as a midway stop. Annabel loved the "Elsa castle" and we enjoyed the historic tour of the use of the fort and its preservation starting in the late 1800's.

We drove home disappointed to find that we would be spending the evening without a playground or jumping pillow trampoline thing....