Maine and beyond...

Your faithful reporter Oliver here!

Traveling down the road again and enjoying life.  Our big stop in Maine was Acadia National Park and the whole Bar Harbor area.  We visited the flagship LL Bean store in Freeport Maine and had our first taste of lobster in Bar Habor!

We got to the border in Maine in a huge lightening and thunder storm and decided to stay in a nice rest area before crossing the border.  It was a terrifying night of lightening!!!

The next morning as dawn broke and the sun came out we ventured into New Brunswick Canada.  

Our first stop after the visitors center was the town of St John on the beautiful St John River.  The big attraction here is the Reversing Falls...a place where the river stops and flows the opposite direction twice each day.  

We explored the area for a couple of days... Including Fort Howe and the city market.  

Then we traveled to the capital of New Brunswick... Fredericton. Alan and Robin have both fallen in love with this town and the surrounding area...me thinks they have become loyalists!  They attended local concerts and farmers markets and toured the govenor's mansion. 

They stayed In a Provincial park in the country and had a fabulous day at Kingslanding, a living museum that was so much fun.  Everyone is in character for the 1800's and stays in character.  It was 299 acres of original village, with all the buildings and gardens and all...really unique.  

Heading to The Bay of Fundy tomorrow!

Good bye Amish... Hello Henry Ford and Niagra Falls

Oliver as usual...

We all left Indiana dodging Amish buggies and headed to Michigan...glad a horse is not hauling me around!

The Henry Ford Museum was very impressive and then factory tour was fun...watched them build F150 trucks...the whole thing was like Disneyland for Alan, who loves his vehicles.  

We then headed to down town Detroit to the Motown Museum for Robin (he likes his cars and she likes her music).  

After leaving Detroit we crossed the border into Canada and drove 

along highway 3 on the shore of Lake Erie...very beautiful.  We stayed overnight in a kind man's motel parking lot because it started to rain so hard we couldn't get near the RV park!  

Arrived the next day in Niagra Falls and stayed with Boris and Sandy Ouzunoff. They were such gracious hosts and Sandy cooked for us and made lovely salads out of the garden...so wonderful.

We explored the area and did the Canada side of the falls...wow!  Of course the boat ride was wet but thrilling!

After a couple days we headed back to the USA side of the falls and explored that side too...very different experiences.  

Then we drove along the Erie Canal in upstate New York heading north. Amazing country and impossibly quaint towns and countryside. 

Great lunch in Brockport, New York...we love these little towns and the local food.

  

More later...  in the road again.  

Left the land of Lincoln

Oliver checking in...

Finally left our two week stay with Dail and Sue.  

The final day in the land of Lincoln was spent in Springfield, Illinois.  The travelers spent the day visiting the Lincoln Museum, the Presidential Library and the Lincoln home in Springfield. 

Great tour of Lincoln's home.  

The day we left Peoria they stopped early in the morning to tour the Caterpillar Museum... very impressive and educational.  Alan played with all the tractors and we're sure he was a farmer in a former life!

They then trekked to Indiana and went to NotreDame...because it is just a beautiful campus.  

Then the most extrodinary thing happened.  They wanted to tour another Rv factory while in Elkhart Indiana (where almost all Rv's are built).  I am feeling very anxious but they have assured me they are not going to buy one and I will always be part of this threesome. 

They happened to drive past the Forest River Corporate Headquarters and it was late Friday afternoon.  Always optimistic, They stopped to inquire about a tour.  To make a long story short, while at the front desk being told by the receptionist that a tour would probably be impossible, a very nice man overheard the conversation and said come with me.  Turns out he was the right hand man to the president of Forest River, the largest manufacturer of Rv's (owned by Warren Buffet).  

Mike gave us a personal tour of the class C factory next door and was so charming and accommodating. We were treated like royalty and he was so informative.  This was probably the highlight of our trip so far. 

Mike Stump and Alan

Alan, Mike the plant manager and Mike Stump

They were great and such a fun afternoon...got really lucky!

Still in Peoria. (Stuck in Lodi again)

Hello All... Oliver here

Almost two weeks here in the middle of Illinois visiting the folks in Peoria.  Oscar, the mighty steed that carries me on this journey, needed a little work but nothing serious.  We should be off the running in a couple of days.  

Here's the boys making new flaps for Oscar.

Alan and Robin have been enjoying the sights as we are camped here along the Illinois River.  This is actually a very historic area and was settled long ago and the river is a big player in the history. Robin cruised the Peoria Riverboat with Connie (Sue and Dail's daughter) and learned a lot of the river history.  

They spent time in the museum and this is, of course, the home of Caterpillar.  

There is some great old architecture Here in Peoria... Nice old homes and churches etc.

Saturday night was date night and Alan and Robin found The Mackinaw Valley Vineyard in the cute little town of Mackinaw and attended a great evening of wine tasting and music which they really enjoyed.  

The weather was crazy last night and I was scared... thought a tree would fall on me but alas, one did fall in the park but I was spared.  

Our park here on the marina is shared with the locals...

It's been a peaceful and relaxing time here but I'm ready to mount up and ride... So much to see!