Saturday, July 27, 2013

Mainly Maine!

This morning we woke up extra early in an effort to get to Saint John, NB from Dover, NH in time to see the reversing falls do it's thing. We were thwarted by one issue after another. We got on the highway finally only to discover that my GPS refused to acknowledge the satellites and therefore could not give us directions. This was not the first malfunction this trip, so I pulled into the next Best Buy I saw and grabbed a new one, on sale, and tax free, so what the heck I thought.
Then I plug it in and go to pull out and discover that it's actually only loaded with USA maps, which I'd have known, if I'd had my glasses on.
So, I did what any horror fiction fan, when faced with having to chose a destination in Maine, while headed toward the border to NB. I used Stephen King's address to get me to Bangor Maine while we stopped at several wifi locations in an attempt to load the map software. There aren't a lot of bathrooms on the way, nor gas stations once you leave Bangor. We did meet some fellow Ontarians, making all the same pit stop and gas stops as us, which was kind of fun.
Anyway, many many hours later, we are finally in NB, and we got to see some very interesting parts of Maine. FYI, the highway in NB has moved and part was completely blocked off costing us another 10 minute detour.
Saint John was a little bit more...industrialised than I expected. And um... something about the site of that big ass paper plant made me almost turn the car around. But I went on. Into the incredibly tight construction lane!
Holiday Inn express Saint John, is no Holiday Inn express Westfield, MA, but it has a little bedroom for the kids, with ikea table, chairs, etc. and bunkbeds. Also down by the pool is a kids play area which we used after playing in the pool which was nice. The pool was an insane madhouse, so the playroom was a nice diversion.


Friday, July 26, 2013

Day 2 down, day 3 begins!

I'm sitting here starving while my slug a bed children sleep in. Why doesn't this ever happen at home?!
Yesterday we drove from Westfield, MA to Kittery, Maine. At which point I learned that my GPS can't tell the difference between US bypass RTE 1 and RTE 1 itself. So that was super awesome, and cost us 45 minutes of driving and getting stuck on a lift bridge, that we couldn't actually see anything when it lifted (the little kids were excited that they might get to see the drawbridge go up. for the record we just saw traffic).  We did see the USS albacore sub, which i might take the kids in to see today if I can find where I was. The littles should find it interesting for a few minutes at least!
Almost got stuck in a large traffic jam after leaving the kittery outlets and thankfully were able to get off right away and pop into an Olive Garden for supper, without any wait. Yay!
This hotel, the Homewood in Dover, NH is theoretically bigger than the one we had in Westfield, but honestly, there was more place for us to sit and actually be in the room at the Holiday inn.  
Back to shopping today, and hopefully some lunch at Bob's clam shack, which we saw once on the food network. Who knows might try to squeeze in a stroll at the state park if the weather is crappy enough to keep most people away, but not crappy enough to keep us away-
Thrills and Chills ladies and gents, 'cause that's how I roll.
Tomorrow we wind our way North to Saint John. Hopefully it stops raining. Damn you weather network for being crazy far off the forecast!


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Day 1 is done!

We made it approximately 759 km today. Got in the car by 7:30 am and pulled into the hotel at 7:38pm.   We spent 2 1/2 hours playing at the museum, made 3, or so bathroom stops, and still had time to get some swimming in!The kids enjoyed their brief visit to the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester.   http://www.museumofplay.org/    We've been there before, and they knew they were basically taking a break to stretch their legs, so they picked the parts they wanted to see the most before we hit the highway again.(Be warned, the exit is under construction as of July 24, and had a detour that I missed, which threw me off a bit)   We then spent the next 5 1/2 hours on the road to Massachusetts.
Surprisingly there wasn't a massive amount of whining, though one teen with an upset stomach was still periodically sick throughout the day. I blame the gravol.
We got off the highway in Westfield, MA for the night. The Hiexpress
This Holiday Inn express is decent. It seems fairly new,the bedroom is two double beds, and then a separate area with a sofa bed as well, some benches to rest our stuff, or us on, and a nice chair/ottoman combo. A desk, fridge, etc as well.  The pool's ph or something is a little off, but it's nice and warm, we were pleasantly surprised all around. The kids think the big aquarium in the lobby is neat too.  At this point, I'd stay here again. Of course I have no intention of driving this far again for  a while...
 Well, not until the way home anyway! Tomorrow we head for NH. Live Free or Die. Is that the best state motto ever or what?

1800+ km to go!

Dawn has arrived and is gloomy and cold.  Not sure whether to be glad it won't be scorching in the car or not.  4 days till we hit PEI ! Currently one preschooler is crying because daddy can't go with us.  Another is crying in bed because he has to get up (usually he's up ages before the rest of us). One teen likely never slept, and the other has taken gravol and is nursing an anxious upset stomach.  Woohoo! It's time to hit the road!  Maybe I should go without the rest of them. At this point it might be more fun 😛.
Approximately 750km to our first night stop- hoping to squeeze in a stop at the Rochester Museum of Play to break the ride up a bit.  
Start your engines, cause this road trip is about to begin!
This is Z and I on the carousel at the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester.  I was actually trying not be be sick. Rides and I are not friends, but he's usually terrified to go on, and wanted to, so I braved it.