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Bonjour, Croissant!

02 Sep

The scenery on the way to Quebec City.

I do not speak French. At all. I am ashamed to say that I hardly know even the basic French phrases. Beyond “Bonjour!”, I’m at a loss.  Oh, and I know “Croissant” but how many conversations involve this word? Not many, I assure you.  So, I had “lost tourist” written all over me a few weekends ago when we took a trip up to Quebec City. It didn’t stop me from having an amazing day, though. I just did a lot of smiling, nodding, and giving my best “I’m so very sorry I don’t speak your language” look.

Being in Burlington put us less than an hour from Canada and that was just too tempting.  So, I did my research on what documents were needed for Emerson to cross the border and off we went!  (FYI: For one’s own children under 16 years of age, a certified birth certificate is the only document needed if traveling to Canada via land. All other persons require a passport. If you are traveling with other people’s children under the age of 16, the rules are different. And, if you are traveling via air, all persons need a passport, including children. Make sure you check out the State Department’s website before traveling!)

One of the many beautiful parks.

We departed for Quebec City once Chris was finished with work on a Friday afternoon.  We got to the border and for some reason this always makes me nervous. I find I start lecturing Chris miles before we get there; telling him not to make jokes and to answer their questions seriously.  I have all of our paperwork in order and ready to hand over.  We get up to the booth, hand our papers over and Chris begins answering questions.  He threw in a joke or two…I’ve decided he can’t help it. He doesn’t even realize what he’s doing. I give the agent the “Please excuse my husband’s bad jokes” look. I’ve gotten really good at that one.  Thankfully, the border agent tolerated the joking and wished us well on our journey as our 7 week old daughter screamed bloody murder from the back seat.

Downtown Quebec City.

We proceeded on to Quebec City with no reservations and no clue where we’d stay the night.  By 9:00 p.m., after a few stops along the way to eat and feed Emerson, we were about an hour away from the city. (Hmmm…that last sentence is so poorly worded and makes it sound like I’m eating my child. I should remove it but it made me chuckle, so I’m leaving it in.  And, no, I’m not eating my child.  I’m feeding myself and my child on these stops.)  Anyways…we were exhausted by 9pm. Emerson was crying and we needed to stop and try to soothe her to sleep.  So, we did what other RVers and truckers were doing.  We stopped at a rest area for the night. Is this allowed in Canada? Anyone? Anyone? I suspected to hear a knock on the door through the night from officials asking us to leave but no one did.  We slept peacefully (as peacefully as expected with a 7-week old) and continued on our journey the following day.

Downtown.

As you may know, Chris and I approach travel a little differently. I usually like a plan while he prefers spontaneity.  I don’t dislike spontaneity — this method has provided many entertaining and wonderful travel memories.  But, sometimes (like when traveling with a trailer into a foreign city where parking may be an issue), I like a plan.  So, as we got closer to the city I continuously called out, “there’s a campground!” only to be ignored.  His thought was that there would be street parking for us and we could just park and walk into the city.  I had my “I told you so” speech all prepared for when we could find no parking.  I mean, come on! Parking a trailer within walking distance to a popular tourist destination? On a Saturday? In the summer? Not possible! And then I heard, “Look! There’s a parking lot with plenty of spots! And, it’s free!” D’oh! My “I told you so” speech was never delivered. Chris was right. Again. I cannot even begin to tell you how tired I am of him being right.

Playing with Emerson in the park.

Quebec City is one of my favorite places. It’s full of culture, life, beautiful parks, fabulous shopping, delicious food, and entertainment.  If only I knew French so I could easily converse with Quebec’s lovely people! We spent the afternoon walking the beautiful and crowded city streets. We watched the street performers do their break-dancing, magic acts, hula hooping, and creepy mannequin/statue poses. Seriously, those statue people both intrigue and creep me out.  We listened to a great band perform. We had incredible falafel wraps followed by delicious gelato.  We sat in one of the many parks, playing with Emerson and people watching. We witnessed not one, not two, not even three, but four wedding parties getting their pictures taken around the city. Finally, we ended our afternoon with some tasty Tim Horton’s coffee (my first ever!) before walking back to the Airstream.

We made our way back to the states that night, crossing into Maine but not before Chris joked around with the border agent.  Again.  And, once again, the border agent did not laugh.  Shocker.

We also learned a valuable lesson that night.  When traveling from Quebec City into Maine, always remember to make sure your gas tank is full.  Just as we crossed the border, our fuel light came on.  It was dark out. We had no cell phone service. We were in the middle of nowhere.  And, at one point, we were towing a trailer up hill fearing that the truck would die at that moment.  We passed a moose and I’m pretty sure he was laughing at us.  Thankfully, we made it to the town of Jackman, Maine on fumes and found a gas station.  Phew! We called Jackman home that night and boondocked at a lovely roadside park.    It was a fun-filled, exhausting day.

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I’ve Got a Golden Ticket!

31 Aug

Burlington Waterfront

I knew I liked Burlington, VT. We had been to this lovely city a couple of times but they were always short visits–a couple of hours or so.  Just as our previous visits, we had not intended to stay in Burlington for long. In fact, we had not really intended to go to Burlington.  But, somehow we ended up changing our very tentative itinerary and going there. Those spur-of-the-moment decisions usually prove to be great fun. And, this one did not disappoint.

It all started, of course, with our ice cream and farm tours. We also lucked out with our campground. The City of Burlington has a great campground just north of the city and on the shores of Lake Champlain. North Beach Campground is large and when we were there, it was packed.  I was doubtful we could get a site having no reservations but we when we inquired at the office about availability, we learned there was one spot open for the week.  We chatted briefly about our plans and decided to call Burlington home for the week.  It was an excellent decision.

Chris and Emerson at North Beach

The sites were tight but the location of the campground and its amenities (laundry, beach, bike path, and proximity to downtown) made up for the closeness to our neighbors.   (Not that we don’t love our neighbors….) We had  lovely week.  We spent our evenings walking down by the beautiful beach or in downtown at the pedestrian mall and waterfront.  During the day Chris worked and I tried to keep Emerson content. It was her sixth week of existence. I had read that fussiness generally peaks at the six week mark.  My child was right on schedule. At the beginning of the week she was fussier than normal.  She spent a lot of time in her carrier tight against my chest (her happy place) and we walked around the campground. By Thursday, I needed to get away from the Airstream and campground but to some place other than the grocery store.

I had read in our tourist information about the Lake Champlain Chocolate Factory and after a few days of little sleep and a somewhat unhappy baby, chocolate seemed like a good idea. So, I took a chance and Emerson and I made our way there. Just before tour time, I fed her and she seemed content. But, would she stay that way?

The "Chocolate Waterfall" Machine at Lake Champlain Chocolates. Yum!

The tour was free and included a video and an explanation of how chocolate was made. From an observation booth, we watched ice cream being made and saw the chocolate waterfall.  That’s right! They have a machine that has a chocolate waterfall. It’s the chocolate that covers the truffles.  It’s obviously not the Willy Wonka type waterfall a chocoholic such as myself would like, but it was neat nonetheless.  If I worked there, I’d be way too tempted to send random foods under the waterfall and then eat said random foods.  (e.g., pretzels, nuts, berries of all kinds,  turkey sausage,  etc.)

During the tour, they also provide chocolate samples, beginning with white chocolate and ending with dark. These samples are passed around in small bowls and each person can take a spoonful of chocolate.  I was the last person to get each sample bowl before it returned to the tour guide.  My willpower was tested this day. I could have easily emptied those bowls of chocolate. I, however, was a good girl and only took one heaping spoonful. From each bowl.

Burlington made Emerson happy!

I walked away from the tour a happy mom with a bag of dark chocolate, an ice cream, and a very content child.  Seriously, after that day, she’s been very content and smiley.  Clearly, she’s my child. (Although, she was also happy after Chris’ tour of Magic Hat Brewing and Otter Creek Brewing. Uh oh.) Again, it was a great week.

If you find yourself in Burlington, take the time to explore the area. It has a lot to offer! In fact, we’d love to go back and explore the region a little more if time allows.

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This Little Piggy…

26 Aug

Shelburne Farm

As you all know, we have a thing for farms. Someday, I suspect, we shall live on a farm.  With a pig. Chris loves pigs.  And, chickens. He loves chickens, too. After our (my) tour of Ben & Jerry’s, we headed to Shelburne Farms, a 1400-acre farm that sits on the shores of Lake Champlain. Given our slight obsession with farms, we had heard of this place earlier in the summer.  I was interested in checking it out so with the Airstream in tow, off we went!

When we pulled into the Farm, we noted the admission price.  I confess. We’re pretty cheap.  Yes, I’ll pay $3.00 for an ice cream tour but did I want to pay $8.00 to see a farm? I saw a lot of farms this summer. For free.  We parked the Airstream and sat inside it while I fed Emerson and we discussed whether we wanted to see the farm or continue on to our campground in Burlington. We were tired…Chris from driving and me…well…I was probably coming off my ice cream sugar high. Oh, and that whole minor detail of the fact that we have a newborn and nights of peaceful sleep are just a memory at this point.  So, yeah, we were tired.

View from the trail.

We convinced ourselves, however, to go and check out the farm. There have been too many occasions where we ended up not going to certain places because we didn’t want to pay the fee and too many people have informed us that we made a big mistake by not seeing said places.  Well, we were not going to be accused of that this time!

We loaded up the stroller with child and the bazillion things necessary for child and took off for the farm. (Seriously, how can someone who is not even 10lbs require this much stuff?)  The trail to the farm was 3/4 mile through an open field and then into a wooded area.  It was a beautiful day for a walk and Miss Emerson seemed quite content in her stroller.  She loved the bumpy gravel trails.

You can't possibly look at this without smiling, right?

Neither of us knew what to expect but as we came out of the wooded area the trail opened up again and in the distance we saw the amazing farmhouse. Or, farm mansion.

Developed in 1886, the farmland was to be a “model agricultural estate.” At one point, the farm had 300 employees working the land.  Today, it is a nonprofit organization dedicated to conservation education.  The grounds encompass a farmyard where children (and Lani and Chris) can meet the farm animals, a cheese-making building, an elementary school, an inn, a conference center, beautiful gardens, and miles of walking trails. Additionally, it still remains a working farm.

We explored the grounds, checked out the petting zoo, and watched some cheese being “cheddared“. (I learned something new during my visit!)   But, the highlight of our day were the piglets that were only three days old.  Oh. My. Goodness.  They were too cute.  We stood and watched as the piglets battled one another to nurse on mama pig. It was an amazing sight. So, amazing in fact, that I took a video of the piglets and it here it is for your viewing pleasure: (Sorry about the poor video quality.)

Isn’t that the cutest?  It does make me happy I only have one child to feed. (And I thought my nipples were sore!) Watching these piglets was worth the $16.00 we paid.  We could have stood and watched them all day long.  But, we didn’t.  We checked out some of the trails and I burned off some of the ice cream calories.  It was a beautiful and wonderful day for all three of us!  So, if you find yourself near Shelburne Farms, I highly recommend stopping.  If you don’t you’re making a big mistake!

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500 Calories

25 Aug

This is why I find ice cream tasty.

Did you know that while a woman is breastfeeding she is supposed to consume an additional 500 calories in her diet? This is 200 calories more than a woman should consume during pregnancy.  This makes me happy.  I’m going to assume that whoever came up with these numbers expected those extra calories to be in the form of ice cream.  Who’s with me? Anyone? Anyone?  I suspect my good friends Ben and Jerry would support my assumption.  So, I paid them a visit last weekend.

We arrived in Burlington, Vermont and had some time to spare before checking into our campground so I proposed to Chris that we take in the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream Factory Tour.  In previous trips to the area, we had always passed right by the factory, which I consider a form of punishment.

Why, yes. Ice cream does make me very happy!

Being lactose intolerant, Chris doesn’t eat ice cream, doesn’t like it, and had no interest in seeing this factory.  But, clearly he loves me because for this trip to Burlington, he endured the nearly one hour of learning about the history of the chunky, delicious ice cream, the sample tasting, and the walk through the retired flavor graveyard.

The tour mainly consists of a video and since we were there on a Sunday, the factory wasn’t in operation. Bummer! But, the video was interesting and we were able to see the factory floor from an observation booth and learn about the ice cream making process.  We also learned that employees get to take home three pints a day. THREE! That’s 15 pints of ice cream a week! Sheesh! If I worked there, I would need a bigger Airstream.

The graveyard was full of retired flavors. Some popular. Others...not so much.

After that, came the moment every person on the tour was waiting for: the samples.  Yes, we all paid $3 for the tour but what we really paid for was the “free” sample.  Whatever. It was totally worth it. The day’s sample was a chocolate caramel chunk and I devoured my sample and Chris’ sample. And, I just realized I should have gotten a sample for Emerson and eaten that one, too.  Next time.

Once I consumed all those extra (and, necessary) calories, we walked to the ice cream graveyard to pay our respects to those flavors that were no longer in existence.  R.I.P. Coffee, Coffee, BuzzBuzzBuzz.

It was a delightful tour and I  can finally check this off my “To Do” list.  Now, where are my stretchy, maternity pants? These jeans feel tight…

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Our Hall of Fame of Wonderful People

24 Aug

The Stratton Free Library in Swanzey, NHWe’ve been fortunate enough to see some pretty incredible sights while on our Airstream journey.  Sometimes, I look at our pictures and continue to be amazed at the places we’ve been.  For several places, however, it is not just the scenery that makes the memory so special.  Oftentimes, the wonderful memories are of the people we met while there.  We refer to our “Hall of Fame” often as we recall these individuals that have touched and inspired our lives.

We had the pleasure of meeting some truly awesome people while we lived in New Hampshire and Vermont this summer. Excluding our campground owners, of course, we felt incredibly welcomed into the community. I’ve highlighted a few of those individuals in previous entries (Yep, that includes you, Frank!) and I’d like to take an opportunity to highlight another person that overwhelmed us with her generosity.

When we first settled into our campground, one of the first things we did was visit the local library (which was just minutes from our campground.)  It was a tiny but beautiful historic building and we were both anxious to check it out.  I love libraries. Sometimes (okay, daily)  I wonder why I did not go to graduate school for library science. It’s a field that would fit me perfectly. I’m quiet (except when in labor), I love research, I love books.  See? Perfectly! But, I didn’t go that route for unknown reasons and it baffles me often. Ah, but I will not digress into the discussion of “The career path Lani should have taken….”

Showing Emerson all the great books.

So, Chris and I visited the Stratton Free Library soon after we settled in the area. Since we weren’t residents, I knew we couldn’t qualify for a library card but I thought I’d ask the librarian anyway. It seemed such a shame to be this close to a library for several months and not be able to take advantage of its services.  I explained our situation to Carol, the librarian, and she immediately emailed the Board of Trustees to see if we could be granted a temporary card.  She saw no problem with it but had to get permission from the Board.

We returned a few days later (this little library is only open 3 days a week) and Carol informed us that we could have a library card. Yippee! We took full advantage of it. We checked out books and movies and enjoyed our conversations with Carol throughout our time there.

Of course, when the baby came along my time for reading suddenly disappeared but we continued to visit the library to check out movies. We were proud to introduce Emerson to Carol and happy that this friendly little library would be the site for Emerson’s first library visit!

Carol, Emerson, and Chris

On one of my last trips to the library, I was returning a movie (embarrassingly, it was overdue…maybe I should rethink being a librarian?), and Carol had a gift for Emerson. In a small bag was a book about animals that was perfect for a baby, a beautifully knitted washcloth, and a personalized letter to Emerson on the library’s letterhead telling of her first visit to the library.  I almost cried. My daughter’s first library visit has been documented by the librarian in a beautifully written letter. How awesome is that?

So, Carol the librarian rocks.  We went back for a visit after we had left the campground and regretfully informed Carol that we were no longer in the area. We took some pictures, said our goodbyes, and thanked Carol once again for being so awesome and making us feel so welcomed.  While I have no intentions of returning to the campground (and the owners probably wouldn’t let me back on the property), I do look forward to returning to the library when Emerson is older and sharing with her the fond memories.

Thanks, Carol!

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