I may get go to Cleveland for a couple of days. While I am there I'd like to be taking in a Indians game but that'll have to wait until next summer. Still I can spend time revisiting the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Then there is the very cool and totally interactive science museum. Best of all I'll have the chance to once again the fantastic International Women's Air and Space Museum at Burke Lake Front Airport right down town.

I am flying up in my plane. One way is about 3:15. Driving would take ALL DAY.

I have visited Cleveland before and I promise Dorothy Parker was wrong. Cleveland is a nice town and fun to visit. It really doesn't deserve the bad rap. A better quote would be from rock singer Ian Hunter when he shouted "Cleveland Rocks"

TRIP UPDATE:

I had to cancel our flight to Indiana yesterday. The weather there was bad. Rain, freezing rain and snow. Between 5 and 6 inches during the times I would have arrived and my planned departure. Freezing rain and snow...No Thanks ... We'll try again later on.

Every year we like to get together with our parents and take them to the mountains above Asheville. We missed last year because Kristie's dad was still in recovery from when the tree crashed down on him.

It was wonderful to return to StoneyBrook once again. It is a cottage located right up at the border of the National Forest. Surrounded by thousands of acres of forest land, streams and creeks is a great way to relax and truly enjoy the family. The past couple trips we've included Kristie's grandmother too. I must admit is is a great time.

Our tradition is to stop in Asheville and eat at Tripps. The lemon chicken is my tasty favorite. And we ALL always look forward to the Chocolate Mud dessert.

The last time we were there we happened in town during the Christmas parade, and while that is fun it creates a lot of traffic issues. Plus our Parents are getting older now and walking the hills of town is out of the question. We missed the parade this time however and were able to park right at the door.

After a very filling and satisfying meal we made our way to the cabin. The rest of the time was spent lounging around and naturally watching the Clemson, and UGA football games.

This year I hiked to the top of the mountain and got some great views. Most of the area is steep and rugged, and is within a bear preserve. Kristie insists I keep within walkie-talkie contact because she worries about my meeting 'not so Gentle Ben' on the way, or my falling and getting hurt in one of the many creeks I cross.

She need not have. However back in the cabin is where I needed the caution. I hurt my arm a few months ago and some movements cause sharp pain unexpectedly. It happened in the shower. I was reaching to adjust the spray an wasn't even wet yet. A stabbing pain shot through my arm and I jerked it back in reaction. Big mistake. Jerking it caused me to lose my balance and I fell, OUT of the shower through the curtain and banged my head on first the sink and then the floor. I was able to get up unassisted but scared everyone with the crash I made.

Long story short. After we got the bleeding under control I was not as seriously hurt as I thought. Still I bruised my leg, caused a huge bump on the back of my head, cut and bruised my ear and smashed my shoulder. A week later most has healed but I still don't have full use of my arm. Add that to the preexisting injury and I am one armed man right now. But hey it could have been worse. If any of the others fell like that, I doubt their ability to recover at all.
God protected me from serious injury and reminded me I too am growing older and slower.

Still I had a great time and look forward to next year. Without the pain I hope.

A great nights sleep was just the ticket for us. We awoke early and looked out the window. Snow was on the ground
Waking to snow is something of a tradition for us in Canada. Kristie and I have visited Canada five times and it has snowed every time.

After the free breakfast we remembered from before Kris and I packed and started our drive back to the U.S. It was exciting, yet sad too, because the vacations end is close.

We reached the border at Saint Stephen and figured we had one last chance to eat at a Tim Hortons before we crossed.

Then we drove to the checkpoint. The Border Guard on the U.S side was very no nonsense, but never rude.. He looked at BOTH our drivers license and our passports. With a very serious face he ask the usual questions, where we were from, how long we were gone, did we buy drugs, cigarettes, or alcohol. ( NO TO ALL THOSE ) Then he ask if we had any purchases over $ 500 dollars and I replied no. Did we buy gifts ? I blurted out that we just bought a few trinkets. CLICK ! Just like a light switch his whole demeanor changed. He lightened-up and grinned then laughingly said. You can go..Have a nice day. I think the word "trinkets" is the magic border word or something.

The ride back to Bangor was interesting. It was a different route than our trip northward. But just as scenic. As we neared Bangor and some of the surrounding towns we had visited a week earlier we noticed just how drastically the leaves had changed. They were now well past peak and a lot had fallen. In one week. Amazing.

Once back at the Airport Sheraton we relaxed an hour or so. Then we headed out do our last sites and to eat our final meal this vacation. We really were not very hungry. So where did we end up? We found a stateside Tim Hortons across the river in Brewer. Honestly we never failed to get great food from them. I am holding out for a franchise around here one day.

After dinner we returned the rental car. We had logged something over 1400 miles plus taken several ferry rides. It was a good car and a fun ride.

Back at the Hotel we repacked and tried to sleep early. Our flight departed at 6:30 so we had to set alarms for 4am.

We checked out and walked the 150 or so feet to check-in and security. Bangor is a smaller airport than GSP so I expected security to be almost instant. What I did not expect was that 5 flight all depart between 6 and 7 in the morning and each one was packed with snowbirds galore.
I think every one on our flight other than us was heading ultimately to Florida for the winter. It was an amusing sight.
We had great flights and another cup of Seattle's Best in Atlanta. Forget Starbucks, I like Seattle's Best much better.

While waiting to board Kristie and I saw a lady smuggling a dog in her purse. A cute little thing with a ribbon in it's hair. What I want to know is how he got through the X-ray machine unnoticed.

We arrived back at the car and got home with no trouble, heading home. One of the flight crew on our hotel shuttle mentioned rotisserie chicken and that planed the idea with us. So we stopped off at Bloome and got one for our dinner.

It was a great trip and a lot of fun. Wonder where we'll wind up next?

Like before I could not just sit and enjoy the ride. Right away I was up on deck. It was cold. There was a stiff wind blowing and the temp had really gone down. Add in the 18 knots we were making very soon and you get the picture. All I had was a light windbreaker. But I was not deterred.

Leaving the sheltered waters the ride became rough. I lack the experience to estimate the sea height and the ship give no feeling of scale, but the altitude readout on my GPS varied by as much as 15-18 feet between swells. It was rough.

Not wanting to loose our great seats Kristie and I took turns going to the cafe and bringing back food. She returned with a good looking burger and fries. But you know me. I am on a ship, so I must eat like a sea fearing manly man. I ordered a Grilled Scallop sandwich burger. Actually it was not too bad. It was fun walking with a tray back to the front cabin with those rough waters.

The ride smoothed and I braved the frigid air on the bow while Kristie used her time much wiser. She stretched out across our row and grabbed a few winks.
The Princes of Acadia arrived just outside Saint John harbor at sunset. I manged a few snaps of a large ship with the sun setting behind the hills. It got dark rapidly but with my Binoculars I caught a glimpse of our Harbor View Hotel. We were gaining on a tugboat and then passed it as we came into the sheltered harbor still making around 17 knots. Then all too quickly it was time to mount-up and go. The return to your vehicle announcement finally got me inside and out of the cold.

Disembarking, Kristie and I were glad we had spent the time last week doing a recon of the route to our Hotel. After dark, street signs and landmarks are hard to spot. But we had no trouble thanks to the rehearsal.

After checking-in I quickly made one last side trip. Yes to the nearest Tim Hortons for some HOT soup and coffee to help restore the feeling in my hands and toes.

We said our goodbye's to the big city and left Halifax for Digby. You have just got to love these names. After gassing-up the rod at near $4.80 a gallon we returned to the rural environs we truly enjoy. Naturally with-in eight miles we were forced to stop at our second Tim Hortons of the day. I had hit the brakes hard earlier when a truck darted in front of me, and unnoticed my cell phone fell to the floor. A few minutes later I missed it and thought I might have dropped it at the gas station. Quickly I exited the hwy into a parking lot of Tim Hortons which seem to be omni present in every city. A quick call to my phone activated the ringer and much to my relief it was quickly recovered from under the seat. Since I was at the store anyway, I had to "refill" my cup of Java.

Finally back on the road for the three hours drive across Nova Scotia, which proved to be more mountainous than I ever expected. But the views were amazing. I never saw sand drifts and serious Alpine mountains co-exist within the same square mile. It was unreal.

Digby is a cute little seaside town. We arrived there with several hours to spare before the Ferry boarded. So we spent some quality time soaking in the atmosphere. Small as it was Digby has a great harbor walk and some quaint little shops. We used nearly two rolls of film there alone. A couple souvenirs bought for the kids and then we were off to the Ferry.

The Digby to Saint John Ferry is massive. It can hold over 600 passengers hundreds of vehicles. The trip is across the open water and takes a little over three hours. We loaded our car like old hands after our other ferry ride. Made our was to the upper deck and found a quite row of airline type seats. The ferry was very lightly loaded with maybe 75-80 passengers and 20-30 vehicles, about half of which were 18 wheel logging trucks.

They have two cafe`s on board and a coffee shop. Also shortly after leaving port they show a first run movie in the theater cabin. But I did not have time for that. Despite the bitter cold, I was up on deck most of the time. I did not want to miss anything.

From Charlottetown it was an hour and a half drive to the Eastern Shore of P.E.I. to catch the ferry. We arrived about an hour early at the Wood Isle terminal so we drove to the light house on the hill. It is located in a park complete with a playhouse sized fishing village for the kids to play in. A whole mini village, docks and all. We walked around a bit but did not spend a lot of time because it was COLD. About 45 with a stiff wind blowing.

I had ridden a ferry or two as a kid, but this was my first time to actually drive onto one. The Spirit of Northumberland is a mid sized ship and carries 35-40 cars and around 120 passengers. It works just like the bridge in that you only pay when leaving the Island and costs just $4 more than the bridge. The fun of a ferry, plus the miles saved on this leg of the journey made it a great idea. The crossing to Nova Scotia is about 12 miles and takes around 55 minutes. It was a perfect time to relax and enjoy.

After we docked in Caribou, Nova Scotia we still had about two hours left to drive to get to Halifax. Right away we could see it was much more urban than the VERY rural Prince Edward Island. Still by the standards around here it could still be considered absolute wilderness most of the journey.

Halifax is a very modern, thriving city of over a million, if you count the whole metro area. It boasts a deep harbor with a beautiful skyline. Once again we had a harbor view hotel. The city is built on a very steep hill rising from the docks and high atop sits an old stone fortress. The Fort is appropriately named the Citadel. It is still in use by a military school and they have a very impressive changing of the guard ceremony reflecting the full Scottish heritage of the area.
From all over the downtown area you could hear the lonely sounds of bagpipes drifting through the air.It was a quick 10 minute passenger ferry ride from our hotel to downtown across the harbor. The boat runs every 30 minutes so we rode it daily. The dockland area is great with both tourist shops and working business side by side. The whole downtown is very nice and close in. Easy to site see on foot as long as you parallel the water front. But the roads seem to go straight-up if you venture past the second block.

Kristie and I climbed the very steep hills to the fort and were rewarded with a birds-eye view of the whole city. San Francisco has nothing on these steep streets.

After Saint John Kris and I moved onward to the tranquil setting of Prince Edward Island. We drove across New Brunswick on what they call a freeway. Two lanes most of the time but with ramps at the exits. I could get used to that. Everything in Canada is measured with the metric system and being honest, I liked it after getting used to it. Driving at 120km is great. ( 75 mph )

Getting to Charlottetown, PEI means you have to either go on ferry or cross the bridge. The toll is only charged one way no matter which choice you make you only pay upon leaving. We opted to arrive via the bridge and depart on the Ferry. This more suited our routing since the were on opposite ends of the island anyway.

The bridge is a modern and massive bridge. It is eight miles long and high enough that ocean going ships can pass under it. Eight miles long over the COLD Northumberland Strait. The longest single span bridge in the world. But not at all scary. Nothing like the old Charleston Bridges.

Charlottetown is about the size of Anderson, but much more laid back. Filled with great restaurants. The whole island has a farming lifestyle and is somewhat idyllic. If you read Anne of Green Gables you'll remember it was set there. The north side beaches are covered in a fine sand. Almost as fine a talc and the color of red bricks. It is so soft. That is the main draw during the season, but since it was only in the upper 40's while we were there swimming was out of the question. I noticed all our hotels had large indoor pools.

We arrived in Saint John in the afternoon and after a minor issue with a toll bridge ( we had no Canadian money yet ) Arrived at the Harbour View hotel. (Canadian spelling) We got a great room with a view and were informed of the free breakfast each morning. Now THAT is my kind of Hotel.

Saint John is on the Bay of Fundy and boasts the largest tides in the world. In fact so much so that the river changes with every high tide to flow backwards. They have famous reversing falls right in town.

Saint John is an industrial city but has a charming harbor walk and a smallish yet very lively downtown. In some ways it reminds me of Asheville but with a Cruise ship dock. Princess indeed had the Grand in port while we were there.

We strolled around and visited the farmers market. So many interesting things there caught my eye. We ran out of time.

That evening we dinned overlooking Falls in one of the nicest places I have eaten in years. I had a wonderful Prime Rib and seafood dinner in a very pleasant place with an unbelievable view. Anderson needs a few nice places to eat where you are not overwhelmed with noise, loud music and a party crowd. A place where you can actually have a conversation with table mates.

Kris and I flew to Maine for our vacation. Delta had some great fares from GSP to BGR ( Greenville to Bangor ) but like thousands of others we first had to change planes in Atlanta. There is an old saying around here in the deep south, 'That when you die, no matter which way you go, up or down, you'll have to change planes in Atlanta'. But that is not a big deal to a serious airplane nut like me. We used the park and fly option at the Hampton Inn in Greenville and the security lines are so much shorter at GSP.

For my friends who like me actually keep up with such things we had four flights. GSP-ATL, ATL-BGR and on our return BGR-ATL, ATL-GSP. Three flights were Delta connection flights ( ASA ) and one, our first flight was a main line flight. On a MD-88. Funny the shortest flight was the biggest plane. The long runs to BGR and back were CRJ-701's and the final flight back to GSP was a CRJ-200LR. All the flights were good, the planes were clean, crews friendly and ahead of schedule. Hey we even had to De-Ice in Bangor. Nice service and we had very few bumps. The CRJ-200 was in a special paint scheme. ( left ) Texas, BlueBonnet.

After leaving Bar Harbor we drove north on U.S. Hwy 1 to the U.S. Canadian border. The same road that goes through Augusta, and Columbia. It runs near the Maine coast and the scenery was spectacular. Traffic was very light everywhere and driving the 4-5 hours a day like we did was actually a pleasure. Like it was here 30 years ago.

We crossed the border into Canada at St Stephen, New Brunswick, and drove on to Saint John for a few nights.

At the crossing we had to park and go in to see Canadian Immigration. They were very nice. Looked at our drivers license's and ask the usual things ( biz or pleasure, were we bringing gifts how long to stay, where going ) and he asked if we were driving a rental car. Twice in two differing ways. I guess he was looking for the same answer. Seems they are having trouble with people buying cars and bringing them into Canada for people ( resale ) and avoiding a LOT of tax issues. He then asked our first stop. When we said Saint John, he whipped out a map and showed us the route and said how long, and asked if he could help with Hotels or anything. This was in immigration. Cool guy, but I noticed he had a gun and a bullet-proof vest on.

more later

Kristie and I made it back from our vacation. If you read this blog often you already know it was long overdue. More than a year and a half has pasted since we visited Colorado. Unusual events at work has made it more than crazy for a long while, and Kristie has been working punishing hours for far too long. So time for a get away was needed, and it was wonderful.

We flew ( via Delta ) to visit NewEngland and Canada. Specifically we flew from Greenville to Atlanta then onward to Bangor. Where we rented a great car ( 2008 Dodge Charger ) and then drove around Maine and the Canadian Provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.

I had lived in Bangor a couple years as a child and yes we found my house. In fact you could almost see it from our room at the Airport Sheraton. Let me tell you it was great to have a hotel room waiting and it was waiting within 50 yards of the baggage claim. With an enclosed skywalk even. Very cool.

After a couple days knocking around Bangor, we headed out to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We had a very nice day touring in the park and seeing the amazing beauty God created. We even hiked to the top of a mountain for some spectacular views. Our Hotel in Bar Harbor ( the Bar Harbor Blue Nose Inn ) was five star all the way. We were just a week or so past the traditional peak season and the rates everywhere reflected that. The only drawback is that some things were already closed for the season. But the leaves were late this year and we hit them just perfectly.

• more in pt 2 later..