We've been back for a week or 2, but I thought I'd share our recent vacation out East. This was a new area for us, we'd never been and had a great time. The 9-7x pulled like a champ, this was my first major trip with it. The comparison to my previous vehicle, an Aztek, well there IS no comparison!
The following is a link to a Google Map that I have of our travels, the stuff to the east of Michigan is this trip.
Google Map
Here's the rig, all loaded up and waiting for the Admiral. I got an attachment called a dual hitch that allowed us to take the borrowed popup and our bikes. I never would have done it with my trusty Aztek, but the 9-7x has capacity to spare when towing the pup, it was a great system.
Our first stop was the 1,000 Islands, we took a tour boat through the islands and stopped at Heart Island and Boldt Castle. This really made me miss my boat, I'd love to take some time to explore this area.
The next night we headed up to Ottawa to check out Canada's Capital. We parked downtown and did a little exploring on the way to parliament. We walked through the Rideau Canal Locks, my retirement dream is a trawler, and this would be high on the list!
We made our way to Parliament and wondered around, and found out that they would be testing a light show that takes place ON Parliament. Since we couldn't see it for real, we decided to hang around a bit and check it out. Pictures can't do it justice, but here's one! They show movies and have lasers and more.
The next morning we returned to see the Changing of the Guard, a similar ceremony to the famed English one. I've had the pleasure of seeing a few US military ceremonies, and I have to say the precision of the US groups is more impressive. We did enjoy the event!
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Our next stop was Montreal, and it was a bit late, so most stayed at camp while my buddy and I headed in to check out the famed Montreal Jazz Festival. All I can say is WOW, it was amazing. Tons of people, and great music in a lot of styles. We ended up catching the last bus back to the campground.
The next day, all 12 of us (3 families) took the subway in to Montreal. We explored the Olympic site, went to Mont Royal Park for lunch, and had dinner in Old Montreal. We visited Notre Dame, wow, and took the whole crew for a quick visit to the Jazz Festival. Of course, it was crazy hot and we sweated our way through it all!
After leaving Montreal, we stopped by Ben & Jerry's in Vermont. We took a factory tour and couldn't resist getting some ice cream.
From there, we went to the Rock Of Ages granite quarry. The tour guide was great, as a matter of fact we were a large group and they were a bit backed up, so we got our own tour. The size of the quarry and the granite blocks they pull out is amazing.
Our camp that night was just outside of Franconia Notch SP in Lincoln NH. There was a stream running right by our campsite, the kids had a ball with it! The next day we spent biking and hiking in Franconia Notch. We started by visiting the Old Man of the Mountain memorial, he fell down a while back. The memorial is still under construction, but what they have is very cool. We biked to The Basin, stopping to check out waterfalls and whatnot along the path. We hiked up the Cascade Trail, the water and rock formations was amazing. I'm a sucker for waterfalls, and there were plenty here. We finished the day at the Flume Gorge, the trademark of the park. They've built platforms and stair sections to get you through the gorge, it's something to see.
Our next stop was in Bingham, Maine for whitewater rafting on the Kennebec river. Wow, it was great! They fed us lunch on the river. Our guide was an adventureous sort, and encouraged us to ride one of the rapids in the water. Very cool! No pictures here, I haven't been able to get the pictures off our waterproof camera yet, sorry!
The following is a link to a Google Map that I have of our travels, the stuff to the east of Michigan is this trip.
Google Map
Here's the rig, all loaded up and waiting for the Admiral. I got an attachment called a dual hitch that allowed us to take the borrowed popup and our bikes. I never would have done it with my trusty Aztek, but the 9-7x has capacity to spare when towing the pup, it was a great system.
Our first stop was the 1,000 Islands, we took a tour boat through the islands and stopped at Heart Island and Boldt Castle. This really made me miss my boat, I'd love to take some time to explore this area.
The next night we headed up to Ottawa to check out Canada's Capital. We parked downtown and did a little exploring on the way to parliament. We walked through the Rideau Canal Locks, my retirement dream is a trawler, and this would be high on the list!
We made our way to Parliament and wondered around, and found out that they would be testing a light show that takes place ON Parliament. Since we couldn't see it for real, we decided to hang around a bit and check it out. Pictures can't do it justice, but here's one! They show movies and have lasers and more.
The next morning we returned to see the Changing of the Guard, a similar ceremony to the famed English one. I've had the pleasure of seeing a few US military ceremonies, and I have to say the precision of the US groups is more impressive. We did enjoy the event!
- - - Updated - - -
Our next stop was Montreal, and it was a bit late, so most stayed at camp while my buddy and I headed in to check out the famed Montreal Jazz Festival. All I can say is WOW, it was amazing. Tons of people, and great music in a lot of styles. We ended up catching the last bus back to the campground.
The next day, all 12 of us (3 families) took the subway in to Montreal. We explored the Olympic site, went to Mont Royal Park for lunch, and had dinner in Old Montreal. We visited Notre Dame, wow, and took the whole crew for a quick visit to the Jazz Festival. Of course, it was crazy hot and we sweated our way through it all!
After leaving Montreal, we stopped by Ben & Jerry's in Vermont. We took a factory tour and couldn't resist getting some ice cream.
From there, we went to the Rock Of Ages granite quarry. The tour guide was great, as a matter of fact we were a large group and they were a bit backed up, so we got our own tour. The size of the quarry and the granite blocks they pull out is amazing.
Our camp that night was just outside of Franconia Notch SP in Lincoln NH. There was a stream running right by our campsite, the kids had a ball with it! The next day we spent biking and hiking in Franconia Notch. We started by visiting the Old Man of the Mountain memorial, he fell down a while back. The memorial is still under construction, but what they have is very cool. We biked to The Basin, stopping to check out waterfalls and whatnot along the path. We hiked up the Cascade Trail, the water and rock formations was amazing. I'm a sucker for waterfalls, and there were plenty here. We finished the day at the Flume Gorge, the trademark of the park. They've built platforms and stair sections to get you through the gorge, it's something to see.
Our next stop was in Bingham, Maine for whitewater rafting on the Kennebec river. Wow, it was great! They fed us lunch on the river. Our guide was an adventureous sort, and encouraged us to ride one of the rapids in the water. Very cool! No pictures here, I haven't been able to get the pictures off our waterproof camera yet, sorry!
