Chesepeake Bay and Vermont

WE really liked Brattleboro, Vt. An eclectic town of farmers, writers, artists, eccentrics with a greata Jamaican vegan restaurant and a great progressive book store. Many buildings are brick; I think this used to be an industrial town. Also a great coffee shop (Moch Joe's), an art gallery with a patio/garden facing the Connecticut River, a guy with a hot dog cart who sells veggie hot dogs and Sam Adam's beer (my favorite. I only had one, I was good.) The Connecticut Riger flows through town. You cross it via two bridges, and you're in New Hapmshire. We did two great hikes through a forest of maples, hemlocks and more. We also saw a moose that had been startled by a dog.

We're now with our friends Marcus and Betty at their cabin near Chesepeake Bay. Very interesting area, we've been here since yesterday evening. It is hot, in a FRENZIED way; we did a short bike ride and then spent most of the late morning neck deep in the creek that runs past their place. Heavenly!

We don't have easy Internet access, I am writing from a library. We'll be back in Baltimore Monday evening (I think, this is Friday, right?) I'll post then if it is feasible; we catch a train the next day, so maybe Tuesday or so for a post. I'll say more about Chesepeake then.

You West Coaasters... be grateful for cool weather!

Vermont

We're really enjoying it here. A lovely state... continual mountains as thick as trees in a forest, brown rocky rivers everywhere, few cars on the freeway. Brattleboro is a sweet town, hilly, by the Connecticut River, very literate. Lovely brick houses... humble but creative. Book stores are astonishing here. We are right actoss the Connecticut river from New Hampshire. We'd like to visit Keene, where I went to school for two years... but there seems to be no bus service unless you want to pay for an expensive bus ticket...

We will be here until Wednesday AM, then head south to Baltimore vs. bus and train. I'll post more tomorrow night... take it easy all, more details soon. Pix will come.

back in Montreal...

The city is lively tonight. We ran into a group of street singers earlier tonight. They whispered to us in French, something about how we should follow them... we were very hungry and thought we;d find them after dinner, but no luck. Probably a mistake, who knows what would have happened?

We also saw guys balancing on giant hula hoops, people juggling hoops and others just setting up. There is a major street in Montreal that is closed to cars for three months every summer. Pedestrians claim it, and restaurants set up tables on the sidewalks- who says pedestrian malls are bad for business? These places were packed! We saw s,ome of the street performers on this street. It should happen everywhere!

Tomorrow we'll camp near Burlington, Vt., we'll have a hotel room in Brattleboro, Vt. 2 days aftere there, I will check in from there, Tuesday or so.

But I do have to say, this heat is pretty awful. I am gathering this is an unusually sweltering summer. If anyone from the east can comment, please do. The Sagueney region was cool... one of many things we'll miss.

too much to say...

Ok, in a nutshell, the last few days:

Quebec City , esp.Old Quebec is picturesque, romantic, fun to wander through and... very touristy.
It is best when the crowds start to thin out.. In the evening there are street performers everywhere, We saw a man on an unsupported ladder tossing torches to a woman on stilts, who tossed them back, We also watched a woman on stilts jump rope.
Totally fine!

The St. Lawrence River/ Sagueney Fjord region are some of the most spectacular places we've seen... deep forests, craggy cliffs by the fjord, fantastic hiking trails, and... whales. Today we sat by the River and saw grey seaks, porpoises, beluga whales, and minke whales swim very close to shore. It doesn't get better than that!

I could write more, but am busy doing outlines for several articles I plan to write re. the Sagueney region. I will keep this short and post pictures soon,..
We're about to head south and hook up with Marcus Colasurdond his wife Betty, who some of nyou may know... expect fun and creativity from there. Signing off for now, much to do.

Oh yes, I have been writing fast and made typos... will make a mental n ote of spelleheck.

Thanks to everyone who's commented on this blog. Rachel, I hope all went well with your air b&b guest. Gape, what is your email?

Montreal pix

I took the sepia colored image at the drumming festival. I think the sepia color works!

The forest picture is in Summit park in Montreal. That big tree is one fine paper birch!

Toledo pictures

The picture on the left is in the Kensington Market district, a truly quirky and fun place.

The shot to the right is taken on Toleda Islands.

Last night in Montreal... we will be back

We walked all over Montreal's city parks today. We started at Summit park, which is a bird sanctuary. There are more birds in spring when they migrate, but I heard many. The one I identified by song is a scarlet tanager, if I am right. Lots of wildflowers in this maple/beech/birch forest, and it seems to be early wild fungi season!

Then we walked all overPark du Mont-Royal. Fredrick Law Olmstead designed this park, and did a great job. It has lots of lawns and open spaces, also thickly forested trails. There are also great views of Montreal and la Rive Saint-Laurent (aka the Saint. lawrence River). There was a rather cute snake slithering across the trail (black with a yellow head), and two woodpeckers came very close to us, apparently doing a mating ritual on a tree.

Montreal is beautiful, friendly. It has excellent community gardens, bike paths and a great public transit system. It is a multicultural city, although it doesn't seem as diverse as Toronto (what is?) It has a lot to offer. We do feel like there's been some kind of cultural shift since our last visit 17 years ago (yup.) It seems to have lost some of its quirky uniqueness and moved a bit more towards chain store/generic world market culture, As I said last night, where are the street musicians and performers? Also, there seem to be far more panhandlers than last time... hard times? What can I say? I am basing this on a two day visit and may be totally off the wall. Also, San Francisco, sadly, has also lost much of its uniqueness and has become much more stratified during the same time period - this is not just a Montreal problem. Both places remain fascinating, and deserve a visit...may their good points survive!

Tomorrow we head to Quebec Sity for a night, then we head up to the St. Lawrence River/ Sagueney Fjord area for three days. Then we'll return to Montreal for one more evening.

Oh yes, my French is somewhat better than my Spanish. I can read French adequately. I speak it with a Pittsburgh accent, and I sometimes start a sentence in French and end it in Spanish. The exact opposite happens in Mexico! Aomehow I get by. Kate is better with languages, especially Spanish than I am... maybe she's the reason I'm still wandering!

Montreal

We do love this city, but the eastern heat is becoming pretty oppressive. How does anyone live like this??? We walked all over the place yesterday. The financial district is as blah as any other, but we found neighborhoods of stone houses with winding iron staircases, neighborhood gardens where folks gather, fountains everywhere. Very picturewque. I am wondering where the street musicians and performers we saw everywhere years ago are... hiding out from the heat perhaps?

We made our way to a community celebration on Mt. Royal. People gather in large numbers every Sunday to drum, dance and have a fine time. This originated several decades ago in response to racism in Montreal... I am forgetting the exact incident that sparked this, but will try to look it up. It was beautifully colorful, creative, great drumming... and hot! I did get some good shots that I will post later.

We were melting away last evening and needed an airconditioned movie. We located a place that shows films for $2.50. We took a short metro ride and walked along a busy road to the shopping center where the theatre is. The center was practically deserted, with empty stores except for an immigration office, an employment office and a nail salon ( all closed.) We found the theatre after some searching and saw a very interesting Swedish film called "A Better World". Afterwards, the mall was especially eerie, we thought we'd get locked inside... but made it out into the rain, which felt wonderful. We made it home a little damp but cooled off.

Forgot to mention, we had an interesting discussion with our Toronto Air B&B host Sarah before we left. She is becoming a counselor and wants to work with homeless and immigrant communities in Toronto. She put a lot of things in perspective about the city - yes, there are rough and troubled areas, although we didn't see them. I can share details another time.
Onto a Montreal bird sanctuary if it doesn't rain.

more pictures

The first image is the Lake Michigan Shoreline from the high part of Sleeping Bear Dunes Naational Lakeshore, Michigan. A hot and slippery hike, but very worth it!

The river is the Humber River...in

the heart of Toronto! No kidding.

We are in Montreal; more posts and pix to come.

Michingan teacbers

These are some of the teachers we talked with in Penwater, Michigan.

There were about 70 holding a vigil at a restaurant where a politician who supports the governor's policy of appointing an administrator who can run a school district or town without opposition,

Good luck to the teachers!

The lighthouse is at Luddington State Park, Michigan. More pix to come.

leaving Toronto

Today we went to the Toronto Islands, short ferry ride from downtown. The Islands are a total contrast with the fifth biggest city in North America... almost no cars (YAY!), tree liked walking paths connecting houses, short foot bridges connecting the islands, a cool breeze from Lake Huron. We swam in the lake which like jumping into a glass of semi-cold iced tea. Lots of barn swallows were darting about, and others singing from trees. You could see the skyscrapers of the Financial District from the Islands, a blending of two worlds.

Afterwards, we walked along the waterfront. There are bars, restaurants and things, but unique touches too: a parking lot that's been restored to a wetland, a museum dedicated to pets,
a garden that Yoyo Maa and others designed and based on a piece of music by Bach.

Toranto is a unique city, but we are feeling overwhelmed tonight, particularly in this HEAT!!!
We head to Montreal tomorrow, and will head up the St. Lawrence from there. Stay tuned, more to come. Including pictures.

Toronto Part 2

The financial district is the same as others... big skyscrapers with surfaces that reflect each other,
a big screen blasting ads at the crowds, etc. But it is easy to escape! Chinatown is a good one, with sculptures and street performers. We heard a funk with a tuba, a French horn, a saxophone and drums... really fun. Kensington Market is a spot where there are funky open air shops, including some that are based in old brick houses - clothes stores, cafes, record stores and head shops. One has an ad above the dore -"Serving pot users, since, ahhh, I forget. Like wow, mannn...

Little Italy and Little Portugal are delightful, quiet areas, with very nice brick row houses that sproout great gardens. This is a great city to wander through, full of surprises. More tomorrow.

Toronto

It's claimed that this is the most international city in the world. I looked at a book in the library and discovered a list of the cultures that are present here. A few include: Sikh, Turkish, Laotion, Russian, German, Tamil. That's about 1/20th of the total. WE plan to get out to explore some of these neighborhoods while we are here. I need to investigate how this city got to be this way!
It is huge... about 2.5 mil. people in the city itself and 5 million in the greater metropolitan area. I think that makes it the fifth largest city in North America and the largest in Canada. That is a lot of exploring we'll have to do!

Today we explored on foot, as we often do. We followed a trail through city parks along the Humber River. Astonishing hike, it felt like a hidden secret, a place where the city was hushed and silenced. Oaks, willows, sugar maple, staghorn sumac and other plants surrounded this shadowed tunnel through Toronto. Tiger lillies bloomed in sunny spots; redwinged and tri-colored blackbirds called to us from reeds. Great egrets, big white wading birds strolled through the deeper parts of the river, hunting fish and other swimming critters,

People of all cultures hiked by the river; it would be interesting to do an article about the different ways they relate to it. There are signs of old Huron and (I think) Iriquois settlements and activities around 1659;; I want to take a closer look at that.

When we came out from the trailo, we found ourselves surrounded by big white condos and roads of screaming traffic. It was funny, the beginning of the trail was pretty similar. The chaos in these spots were like parentheses that set the river trail apart.

I'm pretty tired; we hiked 8 - 10 miles altogether, so I'm letting the poet in me take over a bit here. Time to stop for the night; more soon. Bon soir.

Toronto and more

We got here yesterday afternoon and had dinner at The Commensal, a wonderful veggie buffet we remember from years ago in Montreal. Toronto appears to be a creative cit, we'll be here until Saturday and will send reports. We are staying in a lively multicultural neoighborhood, which appears so far to be home to folks from India, the Carribean, Central America, and Canada. Very cool, more to come.

You've probably heard horror stories about Detroit. Parts of it are, indeed rough. Kate's old pal Carolyn drove us around, and we passed through one very rundown neighborhood. There is a building that is crumbling, there's rubble on the sidewalk that apparently hit people. Carolyn says there are people in this neighborhood who set fires to express anger. They live close to very wealthy neighborhoods and are angry about the loss of manufacturing jobs, among other things. Desperation is real.
Other neighborhoods are doing well, and I don't just mean rich ones. We passed through middle and working class communities that seem quite healthy. There is also a very nice waterfront, and we visited an excellent science musem. Things seem mixed... as they do in many cities. People are coping well.

I forgot to mention... when we drove through the beautiful lakeside town of Pentwater, Michigan, we saw a demonstration of teachers who are opposing cuts to public education.
The governor of Michigan can appoint an emergency manager to a town or school district, this
person's rule will be law. S/he might get rid of collective bargaining rights, pensions, etc.
This has happened to a poor black community in Michigan. This is talked about in other states around the Great Lakes, and I think they mentioned Pennsylvania... any comments, Pennsylvania crew? We chatted with them for a while and said we'd spread the word. Be vigilant, folks, times are very frightening.

On the open road again... from Michigan

The endless rambling continues. We have been in Michigan since Wednesday. We camped in NW Michigan for three nights. This is a overwhelmt Lakesingly beautiful region with huge deciduous forests. The Great Lakes are remnants of ancient river valleys that were widened by glaciers. The glaciers also deposited immense amounts of sand, creating Sleeping Bear Dunes, where we hiked three days ago. Sleeping Bear Dunes feels like infinite sand, soft,powdery sand.We hiked up the biggest dunes, I am guessing the high point was 800 - 1000 feet above blue, immense Lake Michigan.
The dunes are moved by wind, but a species of dune grass holds the sand grains together, stabalizing the. Eventually dead grass decays so trees can grow, mainly in the back dunes, which are protected from wind by the younger foredunes. We saw this at Sleeping Bear, but also at smaller dunes to the south. These lovely dunes formed from sand that the wind blew from Sleeping Bear Dunes. Trees include white pines, eastern hemlock, sugar maple, beech, paper birch and others. They grow in patches on dunes, forming a patchwork, like a quilt of sand and forests. I love dune ecology!
We dropped off the rental care in Grand Rapids two days ago and spent Saturday night at an AIR B&B. This is an international network of people who rent rooms in their homes to travelers. We'll be staying in others on this trip. This one was amazing. We stayed with a school secretary,
her four kids (8-16), and their 13 year old guest from Spain. It was a wonderful time of story telling, games, talking, cooking together and water balloons. It beat a hotel!

We are now north of Detroit visiting an old friend of Kate's. We'll head for Toronto tomorrow...
We will post in 2-3 days if not before and will get pix up at some point.