AZORES, SYDNEY AND HALIFAX

Decided to just put these all together in one post

The Azores, Island Sao Miguel: 

We were up and had coffee in the lounge and while waiting for the sun to rise. Next we had breakfast at Cabanas, bacon and oatmeal. Then it is to deck 10 to watch our arrival at at Ponta Delgado. As this was the first time Disney Cruise Line has visited this port, a fire boat met our ship with a spray down salute. Always nice to see this. 

We were soon docked and we prepared to go on an excursion called Best of the West and wine and Cheese. Franciscan Monks brought wine making to the Azores and dairy production is a main product produced in the Azores. 

We were to start our excursion in the Concierge Lounge and were escorted to our awaiting bus, here we had to wait for the others in our group to arrive. Our Guide was Marco and he did an excellent job sharing much about the many facets of the Azores.

Soon we were on our way heading to the west side of the Island. Island Sao Miguel is one of the nine islands which comprise the Azores Archipelago. I was surprised at how green the island is, very much with many species of plants and trees. There are very few endemic species there,  as many of the plants were brought to the island by the islands early wealthy residents as a sign of their wealth. These species flourished and in many places have taken over. I was expecting the island to be more of a basaltic barren environment, not at all the case. 

One of the main businesses on the island is dairy production, as there are 250,000 people and 500,000 cows. Mostly Holstein and very few Jersey cows. A majority of the dairy products used in Portugal are produced here in the Azores. The dairy operations are not like we have in the US, as the cows are rotated in the fields they graze and a milking station is brought to them. There is some corn for production and some turned into chopped silage for the winter months. The temperatures here are rather moderate and we were told range from 21-25 C. Very nice in my book. 

Our bus took us to the edge of some of the calderas where we enjoyed very nice vistas of the islands. We did make a stop at a small town and visited a bar/cafe. Sete Cidaes is the name of the village. Here I had an expresso and cheese sandwich, made with local cheese, Lynn had a coffee and milk and a “conventional cake” (made from recipe from the Convent). The cheese sandwich was excellent with a nice chewy bread and a creamy cheese, Lynn’s cake was a moist sponge cake, sweet and eggy. Our snack was a total of 4.50 euro and was simply excellent. 

From the village we drove to another overlook on the south west side of the island. The Vistas on this island are very nice. One thing we learned is there are many hiking trails all over the islands. From the trailheads they all looked wide and very well groomed. One could spend a few days exploring the trails. 

We soon found our way back in Ponta Delgado where we went to a local hotel for a sampling of local wine and cheese. The wines were dry and good, both a red and a white. The cheeses were all a light white cheese. The St. George was my favorite as well as a garlic. 

After the sampling, we struck out on foot to find the local farmers market. We did locate it and it seemed to be a very quiet time at the market. We were able to locate some gifts as well as some jam for us. Next we made our way to the city square by walking along the cobblestone streets. The streets were designed with different patterns where imported white stones were incorporated with local black lava rock to make a design. The early days each street was different and it was a system used to identify the street one lived on and used to give direction to a persons house. Most of the architecture in the down town area was baroque and enjoyable. The temperatures started to to warm up and we searched for local super markets and did find a couple where we bought some Jam and honey. 

Knowing our concierge staff was not getting much time off in port we did get them some local pineapple jelly as pineapples are a locally grown product.  

Our time in port was growing short and a light refreshing rain had started to fall and we made our way back to the ship. 

I could really see returning here to spend some time hiking the trails and hanging out in a local coffee shop. There are flights from Boston and Providence, RI. Also from London with Ryan Air. Makes one think.  

Sydney Nova Scotia: 

Sydney at one time was an major industrial center for Nova Scotia. A location where  steel and coal were king. Yet, time changes and so must cities, when the mills and mines closed Sydney turned to tourism and the harbor now hosts thousands of cruise ship visitors. 

Sydney is an entry port for Cape  Breton  Island, known for it lake areas, scenic drives and the town of Baddeck where Alexander Graham Bell lived and worked. 

Sydney was founded by British Loyalists who had fled the newly formed United States. The mills and mines attracted many workers from around the globe and I understand immigrants from the Scottish Highlands and garlic is still spoken. Celtic music also is a local favorite as is evidenced by the 50 foot fiddle found outside the cruise terminal. 

I was expecting to see classic New England Architecture and was not disappointed. I also expect to find a quaint coastal village, we will see. 

We have read about a couple of the older buildings to be found in Sydney. The first is the Jost House, which is the oldest wooden building in town. Here I hope to get a feel for the early days in Sydney. 

We have also learned about a the Cosset House Museum, one of the oldest houses in Sydney. This house was built by Reverend Ranna Cosset, a loyalist who was induced to move by the Crown with the gift of land.  His wife, Thankful, died in childbirth delivering their 13th child. The family continued to continuously live in the residence until 1975 when it was restored to it’s period glory. I do hope this gives me a glimpse of the early days in Sydney.  

Our plan for this day is to simply walk about and see what we can find. We do have some information on a couple of local pubs and brewhouses. 

Sydney did not disappoint as I found it to be a not very small port town, yet not large. The Old Town area is made up with well maintained old houses. One thing I really liked were a couple local craft markets where local crafts people offered their wares. I appreciate these offerings much more than the rubber tomahawk shops. 

We first visited the Cosset House. Here the house had been restored with many period items. This made the early life in Sydney come to life. 

Next we visited the Jost House where an interpreter guided in through the house starting in the basement kitchen area and ending in the upstairs areas. I especially liked this visit as the rooms contained really nice artifacts of the period. One thing which was also nice was several displays and books dealing with the local flora and fauna. 

We next visited the Saint George church. One of the oldest churches in Nova Scotia and the stone used for construction were brought from LO???????. 

 Next we tried to find a local craft society shop and found it closed. Then we went to a local pub called The Old Triangle Irish Ale House. Here we had lobster sliders for lunch and a local stout. The location was quiet when we arrived and then a couple of the ships tours arrived along with several crew members. I always like to see the crew members off the ship and having some time off. 

There was free internet at the port and in the pub, but with the volume of people on line the service was slow but not as slow as the ship. 

Halifax: 

Busy busy busy is the best description I can say about this port city.  The Disney Magic was berthed in an outlying working dock area and we had to take a shuttle bus to the main port area. We were treated to a ride on a school bus. At the main terminal we were dropped off at the Cunard Pavilion the farthest terminal out. We really did not mind as our plan was pretty much  one of walking about. 

We stopped in the one of the cruise terminals where the Farmers Market is located and scoped out the wares which were available. Yes there is free WIFI at the Port but with three ships in, with every passenger and crew member trying to access, it was really slow. I did check email to check on The Boys (our dogs). Our plan was to walk further afield and shop on the way back. 

We did find a guy selling dog toys and yes The Boys got one. I hope they like it. 

We continued along the water front past the Maritime Museum to a local ferry terminal. Before riding the ferry across the harbor to Dartmouth, we found Tim Hortons and had a Fruit Explosion Muffin and coffee. We then boarded the Ferry to Dartmouth. 

Arriving in Dartmouth after a 15 minute ferry journey we found a nice uncrowded city with some nice uncrowded parks. One park is called the peace park and from our research we learned it contained parts of the Berlin Wall and the Great Wall of China. Not what I expected and found it to be rather interesting. The display was an enclosed rather large display case. In the case were rocks, bricks, and debris from around the world. Yes there was a 2 foot piece of the Berlin wall and a brick from the Great Wall. There were rocks from here, there and every where. The US contribution was a chunk of concrete from a decommissioned missile silo. The park was enjoyable to walk around and if time had allowed we would have ventured further into Dartmouth. 

After the return ferry ride, we made our way slowly back looking for gifts and an item for a Christmas ornament for the travel christmas tree. Along the way we grabbed some street food. We shared a Hot Dog and a Beaver Tail. Both were very good. 

We did get to take a double decker bus back to the ship. Fun as we were not sure it would make it, and there was discussion we may have to get out and such. 

Back to the ship for typical ship activities like eating LOL. 

AZORES PHOTOS

SYDNEY PHOTOS 

HALIFAX PHOTOS 

Mine Mine Mine 

Day 6 COVERED BRIDGES

Day 6  10/06/2116

I was up and at um at 0430 and took The Boys for a walk and then fed them back at the camper. They must have been tired as they did not wake us up in the middle of the night. 

Decided to make a simple breakfast this morning so we can hit the road to see the covered bridges. Have learned there is a working grist mill on one of the Bridge Routes  in a town named  Bridgeton.

Skies are currently partly cloudy and the camp ground is very quiet, well there are only 4  of us here using the 150 spaces. Also the spaces are not even close together like some campgrounds. 

We were on the road early to explore the covered bridges of Indiana. The heyday for covered bridges was from 1805 to 1885. Back in those days a covered bridge was more than just a good looking bridge, as they were built with timber the covering helped protect the structure from the elements. As the bridge was sometimes the largest covered structure in the local communities they became a place to gather for weddings, revival meetings, and political rallies. 

In 1930 the Indiana Historical Society formed a Covered Bridge Committee and the 202 bridges at that time were identified and a directory of the finding was published.  It was not until 1998 the number of covered bridges had dropped to only 98. Some fell victim to apathy, others arson, and reckless drivers as well as vandals took their toll on these structures. Here in Parke County Indiana there are 32 covered bridges for visitors to enjoy. Some you can still drive across and other can be visited and walked across. On our journey to see these bridges we discovered one being rebuilt as the foundation was being repaired. 

We had hoped for some fall colors but the nature was not ready for us. This is ok, we are here about a week before the Covered Bridge Festival starts, we keep hearing about the thousands of people who will be visiting and the craft booth tents are starting to spring up. I can not imagine driving down some of these narrow, winding, blind curve roads when there are so many people here to see them. We did see one other person stop at one bridge where we were. 

I think the festival would be fun for the crafts and food, but the crowds would be crazy. Yet many interesting places were not open. One I really wanted to visit was a grist mill, and buy some corn meal to make cornbread with, but it was closed. 

We had packed a picnic lunch and were lucky to, by chance, find a bridge with a covered picnic table for us to enjoy our lunch. We did take The Boys for a walk and they found a nice mud hole to get the paws and legs rather muddy. So after cleaning them up we continued our search for covered bridges. 

Lynn said we saw 20 of the bridges today and we were out most of the day on many a back road to locate them. We were pretty darn successful. Thus we stopped at the DQ for a treat before returning to the campground. 

We got back to the campground at about 1500 and it is rather warm, so I am glad we have electricity and AC. 

Tonight for dinner I will cook up some ham, potatoes, onion and peppers. We will also do a pup walk when things cool down as the temp was 84 when we pulled in.  

   

ON THE ROAD DAYS 3, 4, and 5.

Day 3 ON THE ROAD 10/3

The Boys were up and at um, so that means we are up and at um at 0500. We took them out to the dog park here at the campground and they had a very nice romp and wrestle session. The Boys were fed and happy, as I put the  coffee on.  

Waffles are what is for breakfast with sausage, easy to do with the full hookups. 

Will shake out the rugs and give the floor a sweep before we head out this morning. 

Camping Tip 105: 

When traveling down the road, bugs will splat on your RV, it is a given. Should you be in an area where there is a nice dew which forms a layer of moisture on your RV, these splatted bugs can easily be removed. The moisture on your RV is just about perfect to soften the splatted bugs and one can simply wipe the off in the early morning hours, better than waiting for the sun to bake them on.

Today our route took us by Ronald Reagan’s Birthplace and home town, also the Herbert Hoover Library Rest Area. 

The rest areas in Iowa are pretty darn nice and you can stay there for 10 hours. 

Thanks to Facebook, friends from our Amazon ABD Trip who live in the Kankakee area who noted our post informed us our planned stop was closed, we made contact and will visit with them this evening. Also with their help we were able to locate a campground  that normally only takes weekly and monthly guests. So we did a cash deal for a one night stay. I would venture to say the park manager/owner has some beer money for tonight :) , but a good deal for us.  

Seems like a lot of the campgrounds in the area are closing for various reasons so I must say we lucked out. 

We pulled in and set up and will meet folks at their permanent campground site. 

Well, campground site is not really a good description, more like a lake side community. A permanent camp resort might better describe. Very nice for sure. 

We enjoyed catching up, a great camp fire, excellent chili, sangria  and pumpkin bars. My brain was picked about what to do in London and I am sure there will be more conversations which is a good thing. I do hope they visit our place as they make a journey out west. Our little patch of heaven way out West is always open for guests. (if we are home) 

We made our way back to our camper and got The Boys for the evening walk and crashed. Yet for some reason they wanted to go out at 0130. 

Oh well it was a great day and the lessons learned are many, surprise visits are fun, and travel with people bonds you in many ways . It is all good.  

Day 4 10/04/2016:

After a great visit with folks last night, we crashed. Yet at 0130 The Boys wanted to go out, so a little pup walk was necessary. 

The Boys have been very good travelers in many ways. Sitka just chills all the time and Kenai is Mr Nervous Pacing Dog (at times) and he sometimes get freaked at the strangest things i.e. like opening the camper awning. He must think the sky is falling. 

Up at 0530 and got the coffee on as the others sleep. The Boys had their breakfast and were walked. English muffins and sausage was for breakfast. 

We will loose an hour as we head into Indiana today. 

Our GPS we call Squirrelly took us through the back roads and through small towns and past corn fields. A nice route. Then we hit I-65 and it was just an interstate. 

We did make a stop at Fair Oaks Farms where the farm has been turned into an attraction where one can learn about dairy operations. We sampled some of their cheese and  bought some 5 year aged cheddar. The 8 year cheddar had an bit of a musky after taste and the clerk agreed with my tasting notes. 

We then made it to Prophetstown State Park camp ground and it is really nice. Great  gravel site that is level and we have full hookups. Yet there is no WIFI.  There is a lot to do at this State Park and it is a shame we are only here one night. One of their paved trails is themed for the season and it is called the Trail of ScareCrows. It is set up by various community organizations, the scarecrows are voted on by placing a penny a vote at the visitors center. Looks pretty darn neat, and we will check it out this evening. Lots of hiking and biking trails, a farm here where they offer information about the local early agriculture as the workings are done by draft horses. 

All in all, this is a great state park and could deserve another visit and spend more time. Lots of hiking, birding and bits of Americana are to be found here. 

Our friends came by for a visit and we took all our pups for a walk. It was great to see them and chat away, catching up with events in our lives. Really blessed to have met some great people all due to our travels. 

We went out to dinner and were treated to a great pork loin sandwich. I remember getting these when I was in undergrad school here in Indiana, the loins are breaded and fried and they are the size of a hubcap. The size is enhanced by the serving on a small bun, but these were served on a large bun and were excellent. 

We returned to the campsite where for the first time we left The Boys in the camper alone. The weather was warm so we turned on the AC and they went to sleep, and that is how we found them upon our return. Maybe they are maturing LOL. 

After our friends headed home, we took the boys for an evening stroll, well, a good long walk. We made our way along a bike path trail which was part of the Trail of Scarecrows. The first one we encountered Sitka was ready to protect us from the scarecrow, silly pup. After the first one he was ok with the rest. 

Back at the camper we caught up on our logs and crashed, We will be cooking pancakes  for our friends tomorrow morning. 

The Boys learned a trick from Cousin Eddie LOL 

Day 5 10/5 - To the covered bridges: 

 The Boys were up at 0430 for a walk and then we were up at 0530 and took them for a longer walk at 0600. Back at the camper we got the coffee on and took showers. 

Having folks over for breakfast today and will be making pancakes on the griddle.  These are the first folks we have had over for a meal with the camper. Irregardless, it was a great time visiting with these folks. The Boys enjoyed getting a couple toys. We enjoyed breakfast and coffee and good conversation. I am sure our paths will cross again down the road on a trip somewhere. 

We were packed up and heading out at about 1100. Squirrellie, the GPS, took us a very different route and a couple of times we did not go his suggested route as the road was gravel. There was a good bit of construction in West Lafayette so we were all over the place. We did however end up on some narrow windy bumpy back country roads. 

We made it to the Rockville Lake Campground and checked in. The person in the office was very helpful in giving us tips as to things to see and do. We learned there are only 4 campers in this 150 site campground.  After lunch and getting set up and getting The Boys for a walk, the weather was getting cloudy with rain in the air, we decided to do some shopping for supplies, so off we went to Rockville. 

Rockville is a classic midwest bucolic town. There is a county courthouse and this is the center for the fall covered bridge festival. We are here just before the festival and most of the locals tell us of how crowded they will be in a few days. The court house lawn already has temporary tents set up for various vendors. In many many ways I am glad we are here before the masses arrive. This is a very nice little town with typical midwest hospitality. 

One of the highlights we were told of was the G&M Variety Store on the town Square. This store is best described as a classic 5 & dime store of days past, the type of store that sells just about everything one can imagine and then some. We bought some seasonal placemats for the camper, a couple of dog toys, a “beware of Malamute” sign and two coloring books all for $8 dollars and some change. We did receive a 10% senior discount as Wednesday is the Senior Discount Day. 

From the G&M Variety Store, we made our way to the local IGA for the groceries we needed. Just a nice local supermarket. One item we did get is an item many may have never had, Corn Mush for frying. I will cook it up tomorrow morning. I doubt if Lynn will like it but I might be surprised.  

Next we located a couple covered bridges in the area of town. Some of the bridges have been preserved and moved, as one we found this afternoon was located over a creek on a golf course. 

The campground person told us of a local Amish store where they sell bulk food and baked goods. So before returning to the campsite we visited this little store. We purchased some cumin, cinnamon, butter, pumpkin butter and Lynn found  some pumpkin spice fudge. 

Back at the camp ground, we stowed our goods and took The Boys for their pre dinner walk. It was a good walk exploring the campground and finding a nature trail. The trail took us along Rockville Lake. 

Back at camp, The Boys had their dinner and crashed. We had meatball subs, as we are trying to use the leftovers. Seems like we have enough food to last a long time. 

The evening walk was nice as we went to the beach area of this park. Kenai did not want to walk out on a fishing pier and when some geese took wing he was a bit freaked out. He is such a wimp. 

We did see a couple white herons and a bald eagle as well as a bunch of Canadian Geese.  

All in all a good day. 

Day 2 On the Road from Kearney Nebraska to Altoona, Iowa

0500 The Boys wanted to go out for a walk, so off we went. Walking back to the camper we noticed the reflection of some eyes in our flashlight beam, turned out to be a raccoon. I am glad The Boys did not see it as who knows what they would have done.  

It looks like there is a fresh water supply hose near the dump station. So may not need to travel here with a full tank of water.  

Back to bed and we woke up at 0615 and it is still rather dark out. I started the generator and started the coffee.  Decided on cereal for breakfast due to the darkness.  

We got on the road at about 0830 heading east. We just puttered along at about 60 MPH passing through countryside filled with corn fields.  We crossed the Missouri River and into Iowa. In Iowa the Interstate Rest areas are really nice and have very slow free internet.  Yet while we were there we got enough information to change our plans for the evening camp stop. We had thought about stopping in the town of Mitchellville, Iowa at a city camp ground where we would have have just electric for $25 for the night. Lynn had gathered some info about other campsites along the route. The weather had started to cloud up and if it were to rain, being in the camper more amenities might be nice.  So we placed a call to The Adventureland Campground and got a full hook up rate of $25. The decision of where to stay was a no brainer. 

Along our route we passed through Winterset,  Iowa, The birthplace of Marion Mitchell Morrison and the home of the Bridges of Marion County. Alas these are not the bridges we seek. 

We arrived at the campground, checked in and were soon all hooked up and The Boys fed and watered. 

We took The Boys for a walk before making our dinner. This campground is great as they have a very very very nice dog run. Super secure chain link fence and a separate area for smaller dogs. The Boys got to run a bit and chase their new toy.  

Dinner this evening will be the leftover pork cutlet as a BBQ sandwich, carrots, cream cheese with the pineapple salsa.

Time to take a shower and call it a night. 

Again no set plans for a spot tomorrow night. 

Our trip to see some covered bridges

Day One: 10/1/2016

We were all packed up and ready to go after we added water to the camper. We got on the road at about 0830 and headed East on I-80 into Nebraska. Our destination for the evening is the Fort Kearney Recreation Area.  We chose this location for our first stop as we have a reservation for this campground for the Solar Eclipse next year and thought it would be worth a stop to check this campground out. 

At about 1500 we stopped in Kearney and filled up Diesel Truck and headed to the campground. When we arrived we talked to the person at the entrance to the campground and asked if site 90 was open and if they had a map of the campground. He was not sure about the availability of site 90 but said if it was reserved it would have a reserved sign. He also said there were no maps of the campground. So off we go to see if site 90 is occupied or reserved. The campground sites are not very well marked so after a few laps we did locate site 90 and it was not occupied. So we back in and start to level when I notice a sign that says reserved. No problem we move and find a site without electricity we like. There is no campsite marker but it is a site given there is a table and fire pit. We back in and level up.

The Boys were needing a walk so we walk to the entrance kiosk to check in. The person we originally talked to was there and a young lady. She was wanting to take a picture of The Boys and give them some attention. I mentioned we had backed into site 90 but noticed the sign had been flipped and locked down indicating it was reserved. She said there would have been a green tag indicating if it was reserved. The young man then said he could check and then stated site 90 was available. Oh well, we were already set up and we can live without electricity, as we decided to bring a generator.

We took The Boys for a lap of the campground and they received their normal good looking beautiful dog comments. I think this is going to their head. We got back and I set up and started cooking dinner. Tonights meal was pork cutlets, with potatoes and peppers, served with a pineapple habanero salsa. It turned out rather well. 

The flies here are very prolific and somewhat of a nuisance, so after dinner we took shelter in the camper. Then it soon was time for The Boys evening walk, where they received several  more “Very Pretty Dogs” compliments. I will admit they are pretty darn good in campgrounds as other dogs do not get them excited to the point of howling or barking. 

Back at the camper, we check our battery level and it is good, so no need for a generator this evening. We will crank it up in the morning so as to make a pot of coffee. I am thinking pancakes for breakfast. 

On other notes about this campground, there are seven lakes in this area and swimming is allowed in one of them and the others are for fishing, might have to see what a license would cost next year.  There are shower rooms here but the showers are like those encountered in Europe where they are pay as you go. $0.75  for three minutes. Looks like we will be showering in the camper next summer.  Also I would recommend arriving with a full water tank as the fresh water supply here is a hand pump. 

I forgot to mention there are several hiking and biking trails and a frisbee golf course here at the campground. Also the campground host has a lot of bikes for campers to borrow so they can ride around the camp ground. I might bring some bike tools and see if they would like me to wrench on them. Could trade for free camping. LOL   

The local Boy Scouts had the firewood concession, the cost is $5 a bundle and it is an honor system. Since it is for the Scouts I am sure next summer we will have to haev a camp fire. 

Camping fee is $13 for a site, add $7 for electric and a $5 a day use fee.