Going on a Little Drive
I decided to go for a little drive. The Queen often complains about our little drives because we end up in other regions of the country. When we lived in Virginia, after having breakfast at Bob Evans, Avery and the Queen decided we should take a ride around Washington DC to take in the sites.
We drove out of DC on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway because it was pretty. Once we made it to the Delaware border she asked me "How far is New York City from here?"
My response was "Around 4 hours."
Well, we have nothing better to do...off to New York.
After entering Connecticut, we decided to make it a weekend excursion. Since we were without clothes, diapers and toiletries, we stopped at Target and bought everything. This trip ended us up in Portland, Maine. A very nice trip that we repeated with the remaining children later that same year.
Today, my little drive ends me up on Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Yes, I always warned her I would take her to Canada. Last night, we packed up most of the family and headed North. There were some minor stops in St. Johns, Michigan (absolutely adorable) where I picked up my Father's day gift (Sirius Radio) and the Queen grabbed a barn full of yarn.
When we crossed the Mackinac Bridge, Shae proclaimed "Yeah! We made it to the Upper Pennsylvania." We took great joy in explaining to the 16 year old that the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is quite distant from Upper Pennsylvania. She laughed and just brushed it off stating that as long as we get to "Canadia," that is all that matters. I sometimes think she has my sense of humor and says these things just to test us.
We are going to take in the Soo Locks tomorrow and who knows what else. We tend to shoot from the hip on these things.
We are trying to decide on either Thunder Bay, Ontario on Saturday or taking a glass bottom boat ride in Munising, Michigan. I am sure many of you have absolutely no idea as to what could hold interest in either of the places...or Sault Ste. Marie. They are new to my family.
This brings me to my point (as I almost always have one). There are treasures all over North America. Little hidden secrets of adventure, beauty and interest that you wouldn't expect just from the name. For me, living life does not mean I need to see the Eiffel Tower in Paris or Running with the Bulls in Pamplona.
For me, finding a gem like Magnetic Hill in Moncton, New Brunswick far outweighs Big Ben. Riding down Lombard Street in San Francisco on a scooter is much more exciting than I could imagine the Leaning Tower of Pisa being. My point is, look for the little things where you least expect them. Sometimes, they are more fun than the big ones.
I have assembled a few of my favorites:
We drove out of DC on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway because it was pretty. Once we made it to the Delaware border she asked me "How far is New York City from here?"
My response was "Around 4 hours."
Well, we have nothing better to do...off to New York.
After entering Connecticut, we decided to make it a weekend excursion. Since we were without clothes, diapers and toiletries, we stopped at Target and bought everything. This trip ended us up in Portland, Maine. A very nice trip that we repeated with the remaining children later that same year.
Today, my little drive ends me up on Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Yes, I always warned her I would take her to Canada. Last night, we packed up most of the family and headed North. There were some minor stops in St. Johns, Michigan (absolutely adorable) where I picked up my Father's day gift (Sirius Radio) and the Queen grabbed a barn full of yarn.
When we crossed the Mackinac Bridge, Shae proclaimed "Yeah! We made it to the Upper Pennsylvania." We took great joy in explaining to the 16 year old that the Upper Peninsula of Michigan is quite distant from Upper Pennsylvania. She laughed and just brushed it off stating that as long as we get to "Canadia," that is all that matters. I sometimes think she has my sense of humor and says these things just to test us.
We are going to take in the Soo Locks tomorrow and who knows what else. We tend to shoot from the hip on these things.
We are trying to decide on either Thunder Bay, Ontario on Saturday or taking a glass bottom boat ride in Munising, Michigan. I am sure many of you have absolutely no idea as to what could hold interest in either of the places...or Sault Ste. Marie. They are new to my family.
This brings me to my point (as I almost always have one). There are treasures all over North America. Little hidden secrets of adventure, beauty and interest that you wouldn't expect just from the name. For me, living life does not mean I need to see the Eiffel Tower in Paris or Running with the Bulls in Pamplona.
For me, finding a gem like Magnetic Hill in Moncton, New Brunswick far outweighs Big Ben. Riding down Lombard Street in San Francisco on a scooter is much more exciting than I could imagine the Leaning Tower of Pisa being. My point is, look for the little things where you least expect them. Sometimes, they are more fun than the big ones.
I have assembled a few of my favorites:
- Renting a motor scooter to cruise around San Francisco.
- Ferrying to a day trip at Mackinac Island, Michigan.
- The Old Post Office and the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC. (The Old Post Office never has the wait of the Washington Monument and has a great view. The Canadian Embassy has an area by the street surrounded by water that creates a open-air sound-proof chamber.)
- Lenny the Moose in Len Libby's Chocolates in Scarborough, Maine is great when you are with kids.
Did you know...
The day after President George W. Bush was reelected, Canada's main immigration website had 115,000 visitors. Before Bush's re-election, this site averaged about 20,000 visitors each day.
Comments
i love this post though because i love to travel. and i love making spontaneous decisions to do so. it's nice to hear the adventures of others.