Day 12 - May 20
Back
in the USSA
We were fortunate enough to
stumble across a fine establishment in North Bay last night called Churchill's Restaurant
/ Winnie's Pub. An authentic English pub atmosphere (well, except that they
encouraged cigar smoking, as did Winston himself) and they served several English ales on
draught not commonly found. Much-better-than-pub food, toohighly recommended.
On the road fairly early, as
usual, and headed toward Ottawa but turned south before we got there. It was beautiful
farm country (including many more dandelion farms, whose crops were more mature the
further south we got). When we reached the Saint Lawrence River, we traveled northeastward
along ita very scenic drive with a lot of expensive estates on the river.
We then crossed back into the
States at Ogdensburg, NY and crossed Upstate toward Vermont. This was a very enjoyable
drive through the Adirondacks on a lot of twisty, nearly-vacant roads on a sunny, warm day
in our Alfait don't get much better! Yes, we're still enjoying driving the GTV even
after all those miles!
Crossing Lake Champlain by
ferry (a short break from driving), we arrived in Burlington, VT, where we spent the night
with our nieces Jessamy and Abigail, Jess's boyfriend Bobby, and a bunch of their friends.
They took us to the Vermont Pub and Brewery, recognized as one of the finest anywhere, and
we, um, verified its reputation. Then to a cafe for a little more of the local brew and to
listen to a jazz guitar duo, a couple of guys that Jess and Ab know. And finally back to
their place, where we begged for pillows at around 1:30AM. Thanks, dear nieces, for
letting us crash!
This is where
we went today
(Sorry, our mapping software only covers the USA.)
Oh, Canada
Our obligatory pic of the Canadian flag. Dave slalomed around the circle until John
found a shot with the flag relatively unfurled.
A query for y'all
Driving all across Canada, and into upstate NY, we observed that the white pines
next to the road were all brown or dead. Larger trees were brown only on their sides
facing the road. Further back, the trees were all fine. Do you know what causes this? We
have our own theories (such as that they drive nuclear waste trucks through too often),
but if you know the answer, send us an email (see below)!
Tank Driver
We continue to get attention and admiration from all sorts of vehicles that we
pass, this one belonging to the Canadian Forces.
The Saint Lawrence River
Some parts are industrial and shipping-oriented, of course, but others are quite
lovely.
Lake Champlain
We took a little break and left the driving to the ferry boat captain for a short
ride across Lake Champlain as were were heading for Burlington.
Fambly Portrait
Abby (eyes closed), Jessie, Bobby and us. Dave's the one without the beer (rather a
first).
Beer(s) of the Day
|
(Various)
Vermont Pub and Brewery, Burlington, VT
One of the nation's earliest brewpubs, and still
one of the best. Vermont's brewpub-per-capita ratio is a reason for moving there.
Vermont's ridiculously cold winters are a reason not to. |
Culture Feature
Driving along Canada's trans-continental
highway, we were startled to encounter what appeared to be an ark being loaded with
animals. We discounted it, though, since it was such a sunny day with no rain in the
forecast, but weren't so sure after observing a pair of zebras being marched aboard.
Alfa Spotting!
|
Day 1 |
0 |
(Except for a bunch while still in San Francisco) |
|
Day 2 |
0 |
(No Alfas, but one Fiat X-1/9 parked, but standing on
its own wheels) |
|
Day 3 |
0 |
(No Alfas, no Fiats, but one Corvair that looked like
it might have run) |
|
Day 4 |
1 |
The Milano parked in Doug Zaitz's driveway when we
pulled in. |
|
Day 5 |
23 |
That's 20 or so on the Wine Tour, plus the three in
Doug's loft. |
|
Day 6 |
12 |
(All of them in the Veloce Motors garage.) |
|
Day 7 |
0 |
Hey, we were in Idaho and Montana. |
|
Day 8 |
0 |
Hey, we were in Montana and North Dakota. |
|
Day 9 |
0 |
But we've got something up our sleeves for
tomorrowstay tuned! |
|
Day 10 |
100 |
We didn't actually count them, but there must be at
least this many at Alfa Heaven. |
|
Day 11 |
0 |
Ah, back to normal. |
|
Day 12 |
0 |
Our expectations were high, it being a sunny Sunday
afternoon but, alas, it was not meant to be. |
|
__________ |
_____ |
|
|
Total |
136 |
|
May 2001 |
|
Back to the Road Trip 2001 title page
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