Roaming About

A Life Less Ordinary

Category: Sightseeing (page 13 of 19)

Snapshots from Maine – Indian Summer at the Coast

November 2, 2019 / / 44 Comments

In my previous post, I showed why Quebec City was the perfect place for my parents to join us; it is the most beautiful city of Canada. After a few days of sightseeing, we left the city and the country. Instead of driving all the way to the coast of Maine, we decided to split that long journey up by stopping about halfway, in Kingfield. This is the town where our friends Jen and Mark have a second home. They generously let us stay there – again – to charge our batteries.

Maya shares her space…
Brushing Maya
Let there be light!

Kingfield

Of all the places to get rained on, this was the most favorable, as we planned to relax for most of the day. Luckily, we managed to go on a short walk to the hidden waterfalls and on another one to the river. Fall had arrived, but the weather remained comfortable.

Revisiting this pretty waterfall with Maya
Colorful fall!

Bar Harbor

This cute town on Desert Island is the gateway to Acadia National Park. I didn’t find a hotel for all four of us (and Maya), but the affordable place we booked for my parents (fall special at US$120 a night), was located in the center of Bar Harbor, in walking distance to everything. The room came with an adjacent parking spot, so Mark, Maya, and I managed to sleep in our camper, low-key.

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Snapshots from Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

October 23, 2019 / / 59 Comments

Quebec City is the most beautiful city in Canada. We heard – and read – it left and right. We believed it. We wanted to visit, but it didn’t fit in the schedule when the three of us made our way east from Utah, the beginning of summer. We’d already made a serious detour to add Canada’s runners-up Eastern cities (Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal), as well as Niagara Falls, to our route into Massachusetts.

Mark, Maya, and I would be back in the country in August and September, to explore Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island, before meeting my parents. What better place for them to fly into than Quebec City? Coming from Belgium, it would be a gradual change towards New England’s attractions. When in Old Town Quebec, one could easily feel transported to a historic town in Europe. It is the only walled city north of Mexico and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

(Hover over the photos to see captions or click to enlarge.)

Part of the Citadel
View towards Old Quebec
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Wordless Wednesday: An Axe, a Brewery, and a Bridge

October 16, 2019 / / 51 Comments

The World’s Largest Axe

There it is… it’s big.
Zesty and the axe
Maya and the axe

The Nicest Brewery on Our Journey

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IWSG Writing Update October 2019 – Sightseeing Instead of Submitting

October 2, 2019 / / 52 Comments

Every first Wednesday of the month, the IWSG (Insecure Writer’s Support Group) engages writers to share their fears, thoughts, progress, struggles, excitement, encouragement, or anything really, about their writing. A different question is posed each month as a writing prompt. Answering it is optional.

This amazing, supportive group of writers was founded by Alex J. Cavanaugh. Today, the co-hosts are Ronel Janse van Vuuren, Mary Aalgaard, Madeline Mora-Summonte, and Ellen @ The Cynical Sailor. Feel free to swing by their sites and see what they’re up to.

The question for this month’s blog hop is long: “It’s been said that the benefits of becoming a writer who does not read is that all your ideas are new and original. Everything you do is an extension of yourself, instead of a mixture of you and another author. On the other hand, how can you expect other people to want your writing, if you don’t enjoy reading? What are your thoughts?

My answer

I believe that reading benefits people, whether they are writers or not. The advantage of being a writer who reads is that you always learn, consciously or not, and this improves your craft. The disadvantage of reading for me is that, 1) I compare myself to other writers, leading to two trains of thought, either “I’ll never be able to write this well and become successful” or “I can and do write like that, so why am I not becoming successful?” And, 2) I get annoyed by typos, feel like I have to proofread and correct the copy, and try to retain wisdom. As a result, reading often feels like work instead of enjoyment. In general, reading does make me a better writer.

However, I don’t agree that not reading means that you don’t enjoy reading, as suggested in this question. I rarely read because of time constraints, not because I don’t enjoy it. Also, writers might purposefully NOT read much (in certain genres) to develop original ideas and unique voices. Nothing wrong with that.

The world’s largest axe in New Brunswick
The world’s longest covered bridge in New Brunswick
Definitely the most impressive covered bridge we’ve seen and walked/drove through
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Snapshots from Nova Scotia – Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail

September 21, 2019 / / 49 Comments

Mark, Maya, and I had five weeks to explore the Canadian Maritimes, before my parents would arrive from Belgium. Time flies! Especially when all hiking and sightseeing is postponed on rainy days. We knew we couldn’t circumnavigate Nova Scotia in its entirety, due to long distances, expensive fuel, and time constraints.

Crossing New Brunswick took about a week, then we spent another one in the Halifax area, where we had to choose: travel about the southwest corner of the province or the northeastern part. We picked the latter and headed to Cape Breton Island, many hours and kilometers away.

We hit the Cabot Trail – a famous scenic drive – on the first day of September. Another traveler had recommended we’d drive counter clockwise to take in the dramatic vistas from the best angle, so we did. While pretty, it wasn’t as spectacular as we anticipated; the nicer parts reminded us somewhat of the Acadia National Park shoreline in Maine.

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Snapshots from Nova Scotia – Picturesque Ports & Places

September 15, 2019 / / 46 Comments

Mark, Maya, and I spent about two weeks in Nova Scotia, a beautiful province that is part of the Canadian Maritimes. This is the first of two posts I will publish about our time there, the end of August and the beginning of September 2019. Before that, we explored the southern part of New Brunswick.

Economy

Our intended camping experience near and hike to Economy Falls failed, due to the road’s horrible condition. Mark and I could have biked to the trailhead, but not with Maya. Ten miles of running beside bicycles on top of a five-mile romp in the woods would be too much. So, we opted for free camping option two: Thomas Cove Coastal Reserve. There, we found a peaceful spot to park along the Bay of Fundy, at the beginning of multiple flat but fun hiking trails. (Click on photos to enlarge and read captions.)

Not a bad spot for a couple of nights
Almost low tide in the Bay of Fundy
Look at all that cushy moss – Maya loved jumping around in it!
Nobody else was around during this fun walk in the woods
Exposed rock during low tide
Hiking in the woods
Low tide
After running around for miles, Maya’s tongue was hanging pretty low!
Giving Maya a bath – finally the outdoor shower comes in handy!
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Snapshots from New Brunswick, Canada

August 26, 2019 / / 39 Comments

After spending a few days at our friends Mark and Jen’s cabin in Maine – the perfect place to hang out, write an article, and arrange part of my parents’ upcoming visit – Mark, Maya, and I hit the road again. Our (late) summer destination: the Canadian Maritimes.

Three people (Jen, Mark, and Mark) and three Dogs (Moose, Stubby, and Maya) in the kitchen
Maya is pretty mellow.
Small falls on a lovely hike
Mark, Mark, and Maya pose in front of the main falls
Maya likes to be on a “perch”
And, she still loves the water

But first, we had to endure an evening of buzzing and feasting mosquitoes in a free beautiful, forested, riverside campsite. We had “planned” a two-night stay, but left first thing in the morning and crossed the border; an uneventful affair.

Welcome to New Brunswick, Canada

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Journey East (Part Three) – Canadian City Tour & Lots of Sweat

July 18, 2019 / / 44 Comments

You can read part one (about sights and boondocking in Colorado) here and part two (about the Midwest and meeting a TV celebrity in Iowa) here. The last stretch of our trip east from Kanab, Utah to Newburyport, Massachusetts started in Ontario, Canada.

Niagara Falls

Lake Erie, Ontario

Part of choosing this route, was to check out some of the Great Lakes, which I’d never been to. We found a nice-sounding boondocking spot along Lake Erie, before our real city tripping started. If it wasn’t for the hordes of biting flies chomping on our flesh, we would have stayed an extra day to relax. (Click on or hover over photos to enlarge and read the captions.)

Entering Ontario and Canada
Comfy Maya in the car
Stroll along Lake Erie
Trouble! Maya finds food everywhere…
Scenic spot, but biting insect-ridden
Mark and Maya in the golden light
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Journey East (Part Two) – Drive-through States and a Celebrity Encounter

July 13, 2019 / / 42 Comments

This is blog two of a three-part series about the road trip in our camper van Mark, Maya, and I took from Kanab, Utah to Newburyport, Massachusetts the last few weeks. You can read part one about our sightseeing and camping experiences in Colorado here.

Drive-through States

Have you ever heard the term “fly-over states”? It’s the large, middle chunk of the United States that most people never get to see or visit, because they fly from one side of the country to the other – the areas with the biggest population and the most liberal views are located on both coasts. For this trip, we have dubbed those states (also called the Midwest) the “drive-through states”.

It was time to cover some distance, after our dilly-dallying in Colorado. We decided to “avoid highways” and follow secondary roads northeast, passing through villages, intersections, lights, and stop signs. (Click on or hover over photos to enlarge and read captions.)

All kinds of vehicles reduced our progress.
Another obstacle slowing us down. Why didn’t we take highways?
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Journey East (Part One) – The Art of Boondocking

June 28, 2019 / / 51 Comments

Why East?

After almost three years of house sitting and van living “out West”, it is time to leave our most favorite area of the United States and spend the summer and fall “back East”. We both have doctors’ appointments, my citizenship interview happens in August, and Mark’s aging parents can use help. Also, our van has never been to its place of registration and family and friends can’t wait to meet our newest crew member, Maya. From our home base in Massachusetts, we hope to explore the Maritimes in Canada as well. 

(Hover over the photos below or click on them to read the captions.)

The Art of Boondocking

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know Mark and I rarely pay for camping, which is reflected in our monthly expense reports. This means we practice the art of boondocking, also called dry camping, wild camping, and sometimes urban camping (in cities), without a fee involved: we park our camper van for one night or more on BLM land, National Forest land, or areas where this is allowed.

Our favorite boondocking site in Kanab, Utah
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