America the Beautiful

We have friends that vacation at their parents cabin in Maine and they have always talked about how beautiful it is there. They are actually the reason we decided to make it part of our trip and I'm so glad we did. It is beautiful here. Right now it is considered "out of season", but with the leaves changing and it being much less crowded, I think Fall is the perfect time of year to be in Maine.

We have been in Bar Harbor, Maine for a week now and I am a little sad to leave here tomorrow. We have spent most of our time in Acadia National Park and really enjoyed it. We went bike riding through the park along the carriage roads. There are 45 miles of carriage roads throughout the park that are for bikes, pedestrians, and/or horse drawn carriages only. They are really scenic and pass by several lakes and through the mountainous woods. One thing you don't get too much of in Florida are hills. Well, here in Maine there are plenty of them. On the carriage roads we were either riding up or down hill. It took me awhile to figure out the gears on my bike, being that it is used to traveling on flat surfaces. I must also confess that the driver of the bike (me) is also used to traveling on flat surfaces and let's just say my legs were on fire after 11 miles! I went through a mix of emotions on that bike ride. I was either that girl that drives me crazy wining, "I can't make it" to gritting my teeth and saying, "This hill is not going to beat me"! (I know that my friend, who rides bikes all the time, is probably calling me a wimp right about now.)

We also did some hiking while in Acadia. I should call it 'clim-king,' because it was part climbing and part hiking. It was awesome and the views were amazing. We made our lunch beforehand and ate it at the top of Acadia Mountain. It was just so wonderful to sit there and look out at the valley below. It really made me so grateful to live in such a beautiful country. We ended the day with some ice cream at the local Dairy Bar. What a wonderful day!

Of course a trip to Maine wouldn't be complete without some lobster. So we made sure to ask the locals where to go. We ended up at a place called Ruth and Wimpey's. I got lobster, steamers and corn cooked in boiling saltwater, complete with a lobster bib. Yummy

Click here to see all our photos from Bar Harbor, Maine

Canada, eh?

We decided to go over to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. On our way, we stopped at a fruit stand and bought the most delicious apples picked right off the tree. We thought about it later as we were at the border, that bringing fruit into another country probably wasn't the brightest idea, but they never checked our car. They mostly mentioned the bright yellow kayak on the top of our car and what we planned on doing with it. Scott joked that we were going to take it over the falls. Let me just mention that the people they employ at the border aren't so big on jokes and actually on the way back into the states I found my palms getting sweaty as the border patrol interrogated us on what we did while in Canada. I almost blurted out, "Okay we have fruit in the backseat!" But thought better of it.

The next day we were on the road again, heading for Maine. We decided to try and save a little money and stop at a rest stop along the way instead of paying for a campsite. It worked out okay, but those rest stops fill up quick with all the truckers and we ended up at a less than desirable rest stop that was close to the road. The traffic noise was so loud with all the semi-trucks whizzing by at 70 miles per hour. So when we woke up at 6:30am, we weren't surprised that we were groggy. Scott got up and walked the dog and I looked out the window wondering why it was still so dark out. When Scott go back we were getting ready to get in the shower when he noticed that the microwave clock was different. It said 2:30am. Did I make that clear enough, 2:30 IN THE MORNING! Ahhhh! No wonder it was still dark out. (Note to self, make sure the clock is correct before going to bed.) After going back to sleep for a couple of hours, we were on the road and arrived in Maine by afternoon. I can't wait to explore Maine this week!

No Wet, No Fun

When we were on our Honeymoon, eight years ago (wow, has it really been that long), we went to Dunns River Falls in Jamaica. The tour guides loved to push the tourists into the cold water of the falls and then say, "No wet, no fun". This is a saying we have carried on our adventure, especially in Niagara. Sure, you can see the falls and not get wet, but what is the point?

We went to Niagara Falls on Friday and it was breathtaking. I can't even express how awe inspiring the falls are. Just the force of the water rushing down is amazing. The weather couldn't have been more perfect the day we went to the falls; sunny, clear, and just slightly cool.

First we went to the area called Cave of the Winds, where they give you ponchos and water shoes to wear, then take you in an elevator down to the base of the falls. All I can say is wow, did we get wet. They have a Hurricane Deck (or Hurricn' for those of you Southern folk) where you are practically standing underneath the falls. We also rode the Maid of the Mist boat right up to the base of the falls. You definitely need to click on the link below and look at more pictures.

It has rained here in New York and brought a cold front in. It was a chilly 44 degrees, burrr. We had to run the heaters in the Coach last night. Tomorrow we have a quick stop over, then make it to Maine. I can't believe it has only been a month and we have seen and done SO much.

Click here to see all our photos from Niagara Falls

The Greene's Are The New Rainmakers

I don't know if I've mentioned it or not, but the Greene's bring rain. Many of the areas we have visited were experiencing a drought. No worries, Scott and I came to town and it rained. Arkansas...rain, Memphis...rain, Virginia...rain, New York...you guessed it, rain. But the best part is, that none of the rain has ruined our fun. In Virginia we kayaked down the James River, in the rain, and had a great time.

Just to recap, our trip to Virginia was great. We stopped and saw Scott's Granny and Papa, who live in Bristol, VA. It was really nice visit. We got to get off the road and have lunch at Cracker Barrel. They showed us their beautiful home and we got to show them our new home "on wheels". After the visit it was back on the road so we could get to the Natural Bridge campground before dark. The city is called Natural Bridge because there is this bridge that was formed out of rock thousands of years ago when a cavern collapsed. It is 215 feet high, taller than Niagara, and 90 feet wide. It is considered one of the oldest tourist destinations in the US and one of the the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Just to give you a little history. A young George Washington carved his initials in the bridge which can still be seen today. Thomas Jefferson purchased 157 acres that included the bridge from King George III before writing the Declaration of Independence.

We did a lot in the four days that we were there. We explored the caverns, saw the Natural Bridge, went kayaking and even had time for a quick trip into the town of Lexington (Which you'll be happy to know has a Super Walmart, yippee!). As you can see in the pictures, we saw all these geese on the river that must have been getting ready to fly south for the winter. It is starting to get a bit nippy here for the thin blooded Floridians. Hopefully we can finish exploring New England before we join them on the trip south!

We are in Niagara, NY today and plan of seeing Niagara falls. I can't wait!

Click here to see all our photos from Virginia

Another Greene Adventure

Before I talk about the crazy morning we had, I want to mention that the people in Tennessee are super nice. One of the days we were in town, Scott started craving homemade candy. In Gatlinburg there is a candy cookery on practically every corner. The only problem is that there is no place to park and just run in. You have to park in a parking garage and walk. It was almost 6:00P so we just gave up and started heading back to the RV park when we spotted a artist plaza with a candy shop and even better, a parking lot. So we got out and started walking to the shop. When we got there it was 6:00P and it was closed. We were pretty bummed and started walking back to the car. In the parking lot a woman and her son were sitting in their car. Her window was rolled down so I said to her jokingly, "it's closed". She asked what was closed and I said "the candy shop". Then she said "Oh, you wanted candy. How bad do you want it?" I told her "real bad". It turned out that she was an employee in the store and had just closed up. She then offered to open the store. How nice is that. She wasn't the owner, just an employee on her way home. But instead of just leaving, she took the time to open the store for us. I now have some renewed faith in customer service.

And now, on to the adventurous morning we had...
On our way to Natural Bridge, Virginia, we had a couple of hurdles. Unfortunately, I sent us on the highway heading east instead of west. So we decided to get off at the next exit. What we did not realize was that the next exit was the entrance to the Foothills Parkway, which does not allow commercial vehicles. We figured the only choice was to make a u-turn. We started to make the turn and realized that we are so long that we filled up the entire two lanes and if we kept turning we would have ended up rolling into the ditch. We had to make the split decision to unhook the tow vehicle and get out of the road. Thank goodness it was a Saturday and there wasn't much traffic. Scott and I rushed into action and started unhooking the tow vehicle as fast as possible, as cars started to line up. We got it done and got the car out of the road. We gave each other a high five and started to rehook the car, only to realize that one of the pieces of the hook up equipment was missing. We started looking for it on the side of the road. As we were looking for the piece I said to Scott, "We probably ran over it with the car and it is under the tire, but what are the chances of that?" Well let me tell what the chances of that are, 100%. It was under the tire. After a good laugh, we got everything hooked up and headed back towards the highway.

But wait, there's more...
We decided to pull over at a rest stop to make sure that, in our haste, everything got hooked up correctly. It had, so we pulled back onto the highway. I was talking with my my mom on the cell phone,recapping the eventful morning when Scott yelled that one of our hatches opened and a bunch of our stuff flew out onto the highway. We pulled over and got out to assess the damage. I started walking down the highway towards our stuff which was being pounded by all the oncoming semi-trucks and cars. (Kids please do not try this at home.) About four of our bins had fallen out of the RV into the road. One of the bins had our camping equipment. Forks, knives and shards of the plastic bins were flying all over the place, very dangerous. We salvaged what we could and were so thankful that our stuff did not cause an accident. That second episode really shook us up. You start to feel sort of beat down when two major events happen in the span of two hours. But at the end of the day it is just stuff.

I want to share a little story with you that I heard early in our trip.

"I saw an older man walking near the beach with his wife in Hawaii. He had a cane and appeared to be having some trouble walking. He held on to my arm as I walked by and said to me, "Son, how old are you?", I responded "23 years old". He said "Let me tell you something. I saved up my whole life for this trip to Hawaii and I can't even walk in the darn sand. Live life now, while you can enjoy it."

This story was told to us by a professor we met in Jacksonville. Whether it is a true story or not, the message is still so clear. So even though we have had a few bumps along the way, we are making the most of this wonderful journey and loving all the ups and downs.

Strenuous Trail Ahead

First let me just say, I'm in love, with Tennessee and the Great Smokey Mountains. One of the most scenic drives we have had so far has been from West Memphis, Arkansas to Gatlinburg, Tennessee. We really enjoyed all the mountains and the gigantic Christmas Trees (Frasier Fur Trees).

Yesterday we drove through the Smokey Mountains and up to the lookout point (elevation 6,500 ft). All I can say is wow. We took a million pictures, but they can't come close to capturing the beauty of the Smokey Mountains. It was breathtaking.

Today we decided to hike the Smokies. We got a recommendation at the visitors center for a hike with a waterfall at the end. We figured since we completed a 6.5 mile moderate hike, that a 8 mile strenuous hike would be a piece of cake. Let me tell you, when the park service volunteer tells you the hike is strenuous, you should believe him. I make the mistake about a mile and a half into the hike of saying that guy was all wrong and that this hike wasn't that strenuous. Famous last words....Hiking uphill on rocks and roots (sometimes climbing over trees) was very...whats the word..oh yeah, strenuous! I am so sore right now, even my fingertips hurt typing. But let me tell you it was worth it. We saw three of the oldest trees in the park. They were huge. There was also this beautiful waterfall. If you ever get a chance to see the Great Smokey Mountains, do it. It is so worth it. I wish we could stay longer, but it is off to Virginia tomorrow.

Before/After

Click here to see all our photos from Tennessee

Rockin' & Rollin' Down the Caddo

We decided to go kayaking today down the Caddo River. We found a canoe outfitters place that would drive in the car with us up the river and then take our car down the river to the stopping point. We don't have a river kayak, but figured our ocean kayak would work just the same. The only problem is that, as I mentioned in earlier blogs, Arkansas hasn't had rain in a while and the river is very low. Our ocean kayak has a "V" shape to the bottom. I'm sure you can see where this explanation is going. For the most part we moved along pretty well until we came to the rapids and ended up doing the "boot skootin' boogie" over the rocks.

It was really beautiful and we saw a lot of wildlife along the way. We saw Trout, a really big Heron, spotted Gar and a ton of turtles. One neat thing was there was this butterfly that rode the whole way down the river with us, either on my shoulder or my hat (see picture below).

By afternoon we decided it was time to have lunch, so we stopped in a shady spot along the river. We were half way into our sandwiches when I looked over and noticed two river snakes fighting (or at least I thought they were fighting). Scott thought they were really cool, but as they started to move a little closer I thought it may be time to get on our merry way. I don't think they cared for us interrupting their afternoon romance. We had a blast and ended up completing the 6 hour trip in half the time. Who says an ocean kayak can't handle the river!



Click here to see all our photos from Kayaking on the Caddo River