So Segways are cool

On to Newport RI! Jim and Ginge recommended we take a Segway tour (on their dime no less! Thanks guys!) to explore many of the old historic mansions in this historic beach town. City Girl and I parked our car and walked to the segway place (which was not well marked). We got there a bit early so we explored a few of the shops and tried to get out of the heat (It was +90 degrees again).

It was time for our tour to start so we grabbed our helmets and headed to the garage to "practice." Segways are surprisingly easy to drive. It's all about weight transfer, so lean forward, go forward. Lean back, slow down. Easy right? Well I can't turn and managed to hit every single cone during his little practice run but after a few turns on the road while also avoiding cars, I started to get the hang of it.

The Breakers Mansion

On our Segways on 10 Mile Drive!

Cliff Walk

Don't ever build a house in Newport! It seemed every single mansion we visited, our tour guide Will, would tell us a bit about the mansion then would inevitably say "This house also has a sad story. The owner had a stroke/was on the Titanic/ wife left him/ insert horrible thing to happen to a person." All within a few years of starting to build the house or just moving in (Talk about bad luck). Most of the mansions are now owned by the Historic Preservation Society but three were still privately owned. One was recently bought by the owner of Alex and Ani which city girl was very excited about as she was wearing her bling from there. The tour was very nice but towards the end, the heat was really getting to us. We had to stop and take a break and down a few drinks before finally making our way back to the garage. After a quick lunch in Newport, we headed out to NJ for my annual family party in Toms River.

The party was once again a huge success. Good food and great family and a POOL. A nice little break for us to just relax from the constant go, go, go of the first week of our adventure. But soon it was on to NYC to stay with Kevin and Jack and to the Bronx Zoo!

- Nature Boy

Beers & Witches

After reluctantly saying goodbye to the northern coast of Maine and two quick stops in Freeport and Portland, we arrived at our motel just outside of Boston, MA. I was more inclined to lay in our air conditioned room and watch TV all night but after a little persuasion from Nature Boy, I realized a night out in Boston would probably be more interesting and it definitely was.

We cleaned ourselves up, drove into the city, and started on our way to the Beantown Pub, a recommendation from a friend. The sports bar was a fun little stop but after one beer we decided that we had to stop by one of Boston's prime tourist spots: the Cheers bar. Technically the Bull and Finch Pub, this bar was the inspiration for the well-known TV show Cheers. It. was. fantastic. The walls were covered in memorabilia and pictures, the waitress was so friendly, and we even met an interesting local couple that we chatted with till closing time. Apparently Nature Boy doesn't trust my navigational skills after one (or four) beers but I proved to know a bit more than he does when it comes to city streets. 

Under the Cheers sign!

Delicious brews at Cheers

The next morning we made a short drive to the historic town of Salem, Massachusetts, the site of the infamous 1692 witch trails. I loved walking through the little local shop lined streets and looking at all the traditional architecture. My favorite part of the day was touring the iconic House of the Seven Gables. When we first entered the Turner Ingersoll mansion we walked into the kitchen/dinning room. Our tour guide, Betsy, explained a little about the restoration of the house and told us that we wouldn't be taking the usual way up to the third floor. She then turned around and opened a secret staircase door next the fireplace! It was the coolest thing I have ever seen. We all single file walked up this tiny spiraling staircase that took us straight into the attic bedroom. The whole house was filled with interesting hidden treasure and beautiful decor. I 100% recommend a visit to anyone interested in architecture or history or cool secret passages.

Shop lined street of Salm, MA

Derby Square Bookstore (aka my own little piece of heaven)

The House of the Seven Gables

The rest of the day was spent learning about the witch hysteria and trails of the late 1600s during a self-guided tour of the Witch House. The house is the only location still around that is directly related to the trails as it was the home of one of the judges. Even though the number of magic stores, palm reading adds, and psychics was a little much, the town was one of the most interesting I've been to and totally worth the day trip.

The Witch House

~ City Girl

Camping Makes People Tolerable.

On our first afternoon in Acadia we decided to hit Sand Beach after setting up camp. Most of Maine's coast is very rocky due to the volcanic action that helped shape Acadia National Park. Due to some reasons that an actual scientist can explain to you, one section of Acadia has developed into a sand beach surrounded by all the granite and forests that the park is known for. City Girl wasn't a huge fan of all the water plants that washed up with the tide and tangled around your ankles, but we had fun playing in the sand and people watching.

Sand Beach, Acadia, Maine

After a couple hours at the beach we thought it'd be a good idea to check out another of the more famous spots in the park: Thunder Hole. This naturally formed inlet is well known for the loud thunderous noise that waves make as they crash into the cavern. Unfortunately, we didn't make it before the tide came in so we didn't get to witness the phenomenon. Still, the jutting rocks surrounding the area made for an excellent adventure off the beaten path.

Hiking along Ocean Trial

The best part about hiking around the park is all of the different hidden views and paths you can find. There are so many beautiful spots on the island that no matter where you go it's definitely worth the trek in the blistering sun. We spent our entire second day exploring the Ocean Trail, Otter Cliffs, and Park Loop Road. After a quick shower (seriously, we only had four minutes and 10 gallons of water to use) and dinner, we headed up to Cadillac Mountain, the parks highest peak at 1,530 feet.

View of Porcupine Islands from the top of Cadillac Mt.

Sunset atop Cadillac Mt, Acadia, Maine

The drive up was actually easier than we expected. Nature Boy spent a few months driving through the Sierra Mountains a few summers ago and compared to that this seemed like a piece of cake. City Girl would get very excited about the stunning views and very scared about the narrow, sparsely barricaded road at the same time. The combination of excitement and terror resulted in Nature Boy having to witness this the entire ride up: 

Our trip isn't even half way over but we have already learned several things after a few short days of camping together:

1. You'd think that going as far north up the East Coast as possible would save you from an insane heat wave... it doesn't. 

2. Sand reaches the same temperature as lava when it's 92 degrees out.

3. Rising tides have a serious negative effect on Nature Boy's ability to show off his limited engineering skills to his beautiful girlfriend. (Seriously every single time I had the perfect little fortress built, a giant wave came and destroyed it. C'mon Mother Nature!)

4. Water in Maine is insanely cold even during freakishly hot weather.

5. Don't steal the abandoned firewood from neighboring sites after the campers have checked out. If they left them it was probably for a good reason, like the wood sucks and will not catch on fire no matter how hard Nature Boy tries.

6. City Girl has an inconvenient and painful talent for hitting her elbows on anything everywhere.

7. Camping makes people far more tolerable then they are in everyday life. They say good morning as you walk to the bathroom, people in cars wave as they drive by, and everyone is interested in where you're going/where you've been. We have met several interesting and friendly people in our travels so far.

Between the sunset atop a mountain, whale tours out on the Atlantic, hikes along the rocky coast, drives through the pine trees, and the best lobster we've ever eaten, we both agreed that Maine was gonna be difficult to beat. But we still have an entire coastline to travel and plenty more to see and learn.

- Nature Boy & City Girl

So, Whales are cool

So whales are cool. On Monday morning City Girl and I made our way down to Bar Harbor to go on a whale and puffin watching tour. We took a boat out to a nearby island to see where the puffins have their borrows. Tons of these little penguin looking birds swooping around, diving for fish in the water and returning to shore. Several of them flew up and over the boat too which was fun to watch. After a short stop with the puffins, we made our way out to the whale feeding grounds!

Petit Manan Island and National Wildlife Refuge

Atlantic Puffins along the coast of Petit Manan Island

Our tour guide Mandy explained to us how to locate the humpback whales. We would either see a fin out of the water, the air from their blowhole or if we were really lucky, one would jump out of the water. (That is rare apparently) Not far into the whale feeding grounds we saw two whales just hanging out on the surface. Mandy explained to us that whales are voluntary breathers. Basically, this means they have to think about each breath they take. So the two whales floating on the surface were "sleeping" but only half their brain was asleep while the other half was functioning helping them swim, breathe and stay alive. We decided to go further into the grounds and came across an active mother named Sparr and her calf. These two kept going under and showing off their tails and then resurfacing close to the ship to give a great look at how large these animals really are. At one point Mandy was explaining something about whale feeding habits when suddenly Sparr surfaced 20 or 30 feet away right along the boat! Mandy was even startled by this and we naturally snapped as many pictures as we could (I'll post these later) One of the cooler shots we were able to see was a humpback on its side, slapping its fin against the water. Unreal how large these animals are. Makes you feel sort of small actually.

Humpback Whales

One of the whales showing off its tale before diving down into the ocean

Sparr and her calf

All in all we saw about 6 whales. 5 were humpback whales and the other was a finback whale (I didn't see this one but it was spotted on the boat) Also saw some dolphins out there. By far one of the coolest things I've ever seen or done. The only thing was it was really cold out when the boat was cruising. Later, we would have loved to have felt that breeze in the hot summer heat. But more on that later.

Until next time!
Nature Boy

One Weekend. Four States.

The Empire State:
We started off our journey by heading up North to Saratoga Springs for a little lunch... and by little I mean a platter full of PJ's BAR-B-QSA heaven. Honestly, there is a buffet of different BBQ sauces to try (Tommy and I even grabbed a couple cups to go we loved them so much). Tommy got to spend a lot of time in Saratoga last year during his internship at Norrie Point in Hyde Park, NY. It was great to get a chance to put a picture with where he spent so much time and the stories I heard so much about over the phone.
And after only getting lost once, it was time for us to experience our own new adventures together.

Saratoga Spa State Park, NY

The Green Mountain State:
Sadly, we only got to drive through Vermont but we quickly realized that whoever gave it the nickname "Green Mountain State" clearly knew what he was doing. Absolutely beautiful.

Roadside views through Vermont

Live Free or Die:
I might have been more excited to see all the moose crossing signs than anything else in New Hampshire. But after about 9 hours on the road I think I was just so ecstatic about finally getting to our first destination that I would have been excited about anything. We stayed at White Birches Campgrounds in the White Mountains region and had a beautifully peaceful site to set up home for the night. After a night of rest, we packed up camp early and made our way into the White Mountain National Forest for an early afternoon hike. The trails ran alongside a number of little babbling brooks which made for gorgeous scenery. We also ran into a fellow New Yorker who spends two to four weekends a year volunteering in the region.

White Mountain National Forest, NH

Open For Business:
The coastline of Maine must be one of the most breathtaking drives in the country. Although the number of bridges over all the water makes me a little uneasy, I will admit that the views are worth it. We found our way to our adorable little motel, got cleaned up and headed into the coastal village of Bar Harbor to spend the evening. After a delicious seafood dinner (and a chit-chat with our waitress who is originally from Syracuse!), we strolled down Main St to try out a little ice cream place recommended by President Obama himself. We shared two scoops of Butterbeer flavor that was everything I hoped it would be. Ending the first weekend of our road trip atop a hill looking out onto the harbor was the perfect relaxing night we needed. Now it's off to bed early to be well rested for our whale watching tour in the morning!

Bar Harbor, ME

~ City Girl

Started in April and its here!

Its the morning of July 13th. The blog we planned for months has finally been created and we are already 20 minutes behind schedule! The car is packed and ready to go except for one of Brianne's bags, but I'm pretty sure it will fit! (crossing my fingers).

Last night we saw Brad Paisley at Darien Lake which was awesome to say the least. Carrie Underwood showed up to sing a song which got Brianne and Linds very excited. On the way out Brianne found a cool camo hat that she is going to wash and keep. The line out was a standstill so we decided to eat the last of our sub and talk with the people next to us. Dave from Ontario gave us a few beers and told Brianne and I that our career choices of environmental design and sustainability were only going to get bigger and we were always going to have a job! (Woooo! Way to have some foresight us!) The cops showed up on their little go-cart and told us that we had to leave. Something about a go-cart just screams authority so we packed up and left.

Someone may or may not have had too many coors lights that Dave from Canada gave him. He also may or may not have tipped over the glass of water moments after being handed it. He may or may not have told everyone to stop laughing at him and he also may or may not have a headache as he types this.More on this later....

Betty made us some pancakes so we already have a good meal in us as we prepare for adventure 2013. We leave shortly for New Hampshire with a lunch time stop in Saratoga Spa State Park so I can show off my sweet trail I helped build with the SCA last year and check out the natural springs.

Car is packed, getting in the car shortly and away we go!

Signed,
Nature Boy