Sunday, March 30, 2014

Another "Weather Bomb"!

This blog is beginning to sound more like the weather channel than a travel blog! Such is life! We are still in Halifax and have been hit by freezing temperatures and freezing rain…. and as I type this the lights are flickering. I believe we are in for a power outage! Better make this quick! Like I said, we are still enjoying the company of our friends and the warmth of their home! The weather unfortunately has stopped us from getting out and enjoying the area, but we have squeezed in a few nice walks. Halifax dates back to the 1700's, and Point Pleasant Park is a 77 hectare piece of land dating back to Halifax's beginnings. The park hosts many artillery batteries and the oldest Martello Tower (fort) in North America. Unfortunately in 2003 Halifax was hit by Hurricane Juan, destroying 3/4 of the trees in the park. In 2008 over 70,000 Acadian Forest Trees were planted surpassing the amount of trees lost in the storm, awesome! One more interesting tidbit. Halifax leases the park land from the Canadian Government for 1 shilling per year! The original lease was negotiated by Sir William Young in 1866.



Halifax Memorial dedicated to the men and women who have lost their lives at sea during both World Wars
HMCS Bonaventure's Anchor Monument
Point Pleasant Park Lodge. Built in the 1800's to house the park's superintendent

Mango of course is enjoying the cold temperatures!



Wednesday, March 26, 2014

It's a white out!

Halifax had a crazy late winter storm today! Go figure! Since we have been on the road we have done nothing but run from the extreme weather that has been hitting North America this year! We received over 2 feet of snow along with high winds, freezing temperatures and storm surges on the coast! Waves were reported to be as high as 42 feet! Kind of nice to experience a little winter, but only in small doses and from the warmth of the house! We woke up this morning to the snow falling, the smell of coffee and Glenn making bread! We could get used to this! Most of the day was spent reading and relaxing while sipping tea. Closer to dinner Graham was eager to get back into a real kitchen and cooked us up some ham and lentil soup. Perfect for a cold night! Tomorrow is supposed to be sunny and 4 degrees celsius. I'll believe it when I see it!






Saturday, March 22, 2014

Pedal to the metal!!

On Wednesday we decided it was time to start speeding up our trip and bolt to Canada! Why you ask? Well, for a few reasons. Firstly our allotted 6 month time in the United States was sadly coming to an end. Secondly, the further north we travelled the colder it was getting, and many State parks are closed during the winter season. The little T@b is just not equipped for freezing temperatures, and to be honest… We were getting a little tired. So we both agreed it was time to kick it up a notch and go visit our Vancouver buddies, that are currently living in Halifax, Nova Scotia. They have kindly invited us to come and stay with them! Yaaaa! Thirdly…. Yes, there is a 3rd reason…. but we are going to keep you in suspense and explain ourselves in our next post! Hee hee!

So the details! We left Lorton Virginia on Thursday morning around 10:30am. We decided we would try and split the drive north into 3 days, but once we started rolling we didn't want to stop! Graham was a madman! We were in 9 States the first day!! We arrived in Maine around midnight and pulled into a rest stop to park and get some well needed sleep! The next morning we woke before the sunrise and started moving once again. This time one state and 2 provinces. Arriving at our friend's home around 7:30pm! What a sight for sore eyes!! So here we are in the Maritimes! Loving every minute of it and looking forward to spending time with our friends and exploring the area! We will write again soon with the details of our next move, so stand by! In the meantime, here are a few stats from the last 2 gruelling days!

  • Distance travelled 1st day - 542 miles or 872 km, approximately 12 hours including stops
  • Distance travelled 2nd day - 569 miles or 916 km, approximately 12 hours including stops
  • Tolls paid - $95.30!
  • Gas, lots of gas - Waiting for the Visa update! Yikes!
  • 10 states and 2 provinces driven through
  • Food - homemade sandwiches, salt n' vinegar chips, Doritos, corn nuts, apples, water.. and lots of coffee! 
  • Miscellaneous purchases - 1 bumper sticker and 1 $5 "I Love NY" t-shirt!
  • Animals spotted - 2 beavers…. strange I know!



Unfortunately this is as close as we got to NY City. We decided if we are going to do the Big Apple, we have to do it right! Hotel, restaurants, shopping and shows! Next time NY!

A new friend at the Maine rest stop!
Maine sunrise, second day!
One lonely highway!
Welcome to Canada! Bienvenue!

After a long drive, a welcome hug from Lina!
Happy campers with Glenn the smooth operator!



Wednesday, March 19, 2014

A day in Washington DC!

With all the snow and freezing rain, our time here in Virginia hasn't been all that productive. Luckily we did get time in with friends, and yesterday we bit the bullet and went into DC. We had plenty of warnings not to attempt driving into town, as traffic can be nuts. So we took the warnings seriously and drove to the nearest Metro station to take the train into town. The train ride itself was pretty cool, every station was named after something or somewhere pretty historical. Pentagon City Station, Arlington Cemetery Station, the Federal Triangle Station, Smithsonian Station, etc, etc. Once in the city we signed up for the Old Town Trolley Tour. Unfortunately I think every other tourist did as well. The waits were brutal, and the buses far and few between. Thank goodness for our new toques! Every time we got off a bus to explore a monument or duck into a museum we risked being abandoned. That said the bus drivers were great with lots of interesting stories and facts. We tried to pick our stops wisely and still missed so much. It would take days if not weeks to see it all. Here are a few photos of us freezing our butts off and trying to get a glimpse of Obama!

The U.S. Capitol Building


The Washington Monument
Here is a close up of the monument. Note the scaffolding around the bottom. That is to repair the damage from the earthquake 2 years ago!
This is inside the Smithsonian American History Museum. This picture is for my friend Robin who is a Wizard of Oz fanatic. Yes, those are the real ruby slippers!
The front of the White House. Not as grandiose as we expected!
The back of the White House. This is the image that we were expecting…. Minus the snow!
The Lincoln Memorial… Picture taken from the warm bus!

Monday, March 17, 2014

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Currently camped at Pohick Bay Regional Park in Lorton Virginia! Before the snow storm hit us on Sunday night, we took a drive over to Annapolis Maryland to visit some old friends! We met Kevin and Liz in Mexico last year at the start of our run away adventure! Super couple that are going through a tough time right now. When we first met Liz last year we had something crappy in common. Both cancer survivors. Liz with ovarian and myself with breast. Also another thing in common at the time, my sister was in the midst of ovarian cancer treatment, and Liz was kind enough to reach out to my sis during her difficult time. Unfortunately Liz is now battling a second bout of cancer, and is currently half way through her treatment. Kick that cancer butt Liz!! Even during her treatment she and Kevin invited us over for some St. Paddy's day celebration. They took us into the city to show us some sites, while stopping in at a couple of taverns to sample some of the traditional crab dishes, delicious!! Of course we sampled a Guinness or two keeping with the spirit of the day!


Liz was sweet enough to prepare for arrival with some festive gear! 

In the background is the United States Naval Academy, founded in 1845
After our tour around Annapolis with Kevin and Liz, we went back to her mom's house, Marianne's. Where she cooked up a great Irish feed! Corn beef, veggies and Irish soda bread of course!
Annapolis street view. Such a quaint city!! Capitol of Maryland and was once the temporary capital of the United States from 1783 to 1784. This place is oozing with history!
As you would guess. Having the United States Naval Academy. The city is big on boating and sailing! Look at these little guys out taking lessons! 

New friends and snow storms!

As always we continue to meet amazing people! At our last stop in Selma North Carolina we met Jeannie and Brent. Nicest couple from Arizona. Brent served in the military so they have had quite the interesting past, and lived in some pretty cool places around the world! They were kind enough to invite us over for a BBQ one night, mmmmmmm… burgers, and a campfire another night! They were both very excited about the journey we are on, but Jeannie was a little concerned about us heading north into the cold. On the morning of our departure from RVacation campground, we went over to say our goodbyes. Jeannie was frantically knitting and asked us if we could hang on another 30 minutes or so. Turns out she was knitting us toques! Soooo sweet!! She sent us on our way with handmade hats, as well as her own scarf, mittens, and a blanket to hang at our door to keep out the cold! Unfortunately her concerns were well warranted! We arrived in Lorton Virginia to be covered in a foot of snow!




This is one of the 3 adopted dogs they have. Sooo cute! 




Thursday, March 13, 2014

North Carolina Potpourri!

One of things about travelling the country with limited time and budget is you have to come to accept that you can't see everything. We had to blow through a few states due to this crazy polar vortex, and now that we are on way back north the time constraints are nipping at our tail lights. So here we are in North Carolina, having boogied through South Carolina and only getting a small taste of Georgia, we study the map deciding on the next stop. Such is life, we are still grateful for this amazing adventure! We have spent the last week near the small historic town of Selma, NC. Exploring a few nearby towns, their monuments, antique shops, graveyards, walking trails, and parks. Thankfully the weather has cooperated so far, most days are sunny and warm, but the nights are cold and windy. Which gives us no guilt when the 3 of us snuggle up and throw in a DVD! Thank you Redbox!

A day at Clemmons Educational State Forest




Here we are on the "Talking Tree Trail". Mango listens intently to the educational audio recordings along the way.

Below are photos from a day on the Neuse River Walk in Smithfield, NC. A 3 mile greenway that runs along the river, and through the historic Smithfield Town Commons.


Behind Graham are the old supports for the Neuse River bridge. It was a 2 lane covered bridge and was replaced in 1907.  Unfortunately I can't find more information on it's age or history.
Riverside Cemetery in Smithfield dates back to 1777
Just in case you weren't sure. NO GUNS.
Historic Hastings House, built in 1854. Served as a pre-battle command office for General Joseph E. Johnston, commander of the Confederate Troops.
The recent rains flooded this section of the Greenway, and unfortunately we didn't have our gumboots!

A beautiful sunset brings our day to a close!