|
Aloha MM's,
Big hugs and lots of love to
everyone in
Speaking of going mad...
I've discovered why
Initially we thought there
was nothing at all to see in
And what I'm realizing A LOT
is: at the end of the day. things have to feel good. It's the Bear Essential
part of life. Whether that's somewhere you are going, someone you are friends
with or something you are doing. There's an old saying, which I like
that says:
People need:
Something to do
Someone to love
and Something to look
forward too.
Ain't that the simple truth.
As we move from State to
State, we get to feel all sorts of energy.
Aaron asked me before, when was the last time I felt really enthusiastic
about anywhere we have been? Apart from
After a while, everything
starts to blend in together when things are not very happening. Or the energy
is flat! And
Oh,
I can't work out whether we
we are just jaded from traveling for so long and need to stop. Or whether we
have just been in a too low energy State/s for too long. Will things change
when we get past the Mason-Dixie (Yes, I know it's Mason-Dixon but Dixie sounds more fun) line? :-) Will a large helping of fried
green tomatoes make us feel 'fed' again? I'll be interested to find out
when we get back down there...
There—being Tennessee in
essence. I forgot to say the other day, that I asked the Guides when we were
struggling to cope with New England—what to do? I immediately got a
Tennessee sign. Thank god, I said. And last night, one of my best friends
Donnie also confirmed it was there. Knoxville. To be precise. So... stay
tuned and let's see what is on the table.
Currently we are in upstate
New York. Just outside Buffalo, NY—home of the backside of Niagara Falls.
Tomorrow, we'll take our passports and stroll over the bridge to the country
of Canada to see the front side of the Falls. Two countries in two minutes!
The last time I was here was 15 years ago in the middle of winter. Minus 22
degrees Celsius and it was like a wonderland. Everything was covered in a
hoar frost. Wire trash baskets were sculptures in ice.
Extremely beautiful
and extremely COLD!! I somehow managed to wear the thinnest
clothes possible and very thin fashionable leather gloves! I'd been living in
Michigan, so I'm not sure what I was really thinking or how I did that! I had
to walk from the car to the visitors center, a VERY short walk and as I
snapped photos—I could LITERALLY feel the blood and liquid in my
fingers start to slow and freeze up. Ghastly sensation! And one I hope to never
experience again.
So going to see the mighty
falls in the Summer has always been on my list of things I'd love to do. They
are really gorgeous. One of my favorite waterfall spots in the world.
And speaking of waterfall
spots. While we were in New Hampshire, we went to the White Mountain area,
almost quite by chance. If you'll recall, we are armchair or car seat
nature people. But one of the things that looked really pretty and really
interesting was the thing called 'The Flume.' Situated in the Franconia Notch
State Park. It is a long narrow walking gorge about maybe
They have created a walkway
alongside the water, hugging the sheer rock wall and you climb up and up for
an eighth of a mile, reaching about
It's pouring with rain and
the weather gods are deaf or speaking French or Swahili or something!! For
the last two days, they have been uncontrollable! We decide to go anyway and
Aaron invests in 2 plastic ponchos for us. We look like Yetis in them. We
both wear our coats underneath and I am in —of all things—jandals!!
(Translator: flip flops or slippahs) My choice of footwear is limited,
because I haven't really allowed for outdoorsy hiking type things
on this tour. The truth is: I rarely allow for this type of footwear.
We don't let the rain deter us though and we set off up the hill.
 
It's absolutely beautiful.
We go over a covered bridge and there are waterfalls and the wet
green bush everywhere. It's pouring with rain STILL...and I
continuously wipe the camera lens. The water doesn't bother the camera much
otherwise. Thank you the tough and trusted Fujifilm FinePix camera I
have.
I think, Fujifilm and
Maui Jim should get me to test drive their products. I am the ideal person in
everyday and not everyday test situations. I use them in REAL ways. I
use them constantly, I use them badly, I drop them all the time, I clean
the lenses with my dress, my breath, a napkin, my wool coat and still, they
go and go.
We walk on a general path,
then start to climb up the flume on the wooden platforms and steps all
along the steep sides of the mini gorge. The water roars down, cascading and
waterfalling all the way down the hill. It goes probably for a good half a
mile. It's is absolutely enchanting.
I huff and puff my way up
the hill, my lungs heaving. And by now, we are steaming nicely in our coats
and rain ponchos. My feet are sodden and have black mud on them but are not
cold. Walking in wet slippahs is hard on the toes though.
We reach the top and I feel
like I've just climbed Everest. Then we start our brisk descent to the bottom
again. On the way down, we get to quickly stop at what they call 'The Pool.'
It's a
We make it back in 1 hour
and 30 minutes. I guess the timing was for a little old lady who is a bit
fitter than I am and who doesn't have a weak heart and lungs. But not bad
going for the most unathletic person on the planet. Despite our rain ponchos,
we are still a bit soggy on it, but happy.
We get back into the nice
warm and dryness of the camper and abandon our steam baths. Then up the road
nearby to go to Clarks Trading Post. And this was absolutely FABULOUS.
This place has been going
since 1928—started by brothers Murray and Ed Clark. And believe it or not,
the main attraction is 'performing bears.' I am extremely leery of this, as
the thought of this sounds disgusting. The whole 'dancing bear' thing. But
the reviews on Trip Advisor—our travel bible, say it's wonderful and the
bears are like family and in really good condition. This makes me feel
better. Aaron is desperate to see a black bear—preferably not up close and
personal in the wild.
We park at the North Conway
campground the night before and they have 'Be careful of the bears' signs
everywhere. Aaron walks across the grounds in the dark to go to the movies
and back around midnight. I am alone in the camper and every noise—I
imagine the bears trotting around the campground peering in camper windows,
trying door handles, twanging our awning lights etc. I worry about
Aaron walking back in the dark.
Having an overactive
imagination is good for a writer!
  
We don't manage to see any
bears OR moose. Oh well. So, seeing these bears in up close and
personal is quite appealing on some level.
The place is very well run
and still run by the original family—son Murray and daughter Maureen
now. It's like a mini mini mini Disneyland. I like the bear paw print stamp
you get as you come in. There's a train that takes you on a wee journey. A
haunted house. Old Americana memorabilia, all nicely done and well run. All
part of the entry price.
 
We get something to eat and
then go and see the bears in their enclosures before the show. Beautiful
enclosures and the most gorgeous bears! The bears are chubby in a good bear
way, have glossy healthy coats and look pretty happy altogether. This is
a good start. They are playing—running around in the enclosures,
chasing each other. Cleverly pulling sliding doors along with their hands, so
their flatmate can't get through...they are very human like as
they frolic...it is lovely to watch.
We go and sit upstairs,
where we can peer down into the ring easily without the fence
interrupting the view.
And Omigod...it is
completely and utterly enchanting. We are enthralled. Murray Jnr tells us the
history and background of the bears and he's really funny!! Quite a show in
himself. He's like Steve Irwin without the steroids!
All the bears that have
passed away are buried in the gardens of the place, all with their own
beautiful headstones. They are much loved family members. These bears come
here usually from the wild, and are orphans. The Clarks give them refuge and
work with them in a very gentle way. Bears usually last about 8 years in the
wild. Here they can live 3 to 4 times that amount of time. Their oldest bear
so far has been 38 years old. There are the enclosures here and
then a habitat in the woods for them too. They let them run their usual
hibernation cycle and check on them to make sure they are okay.
The first bear out is a
girl bear called Echo. She's a cutie and weighs in at about
In case you are thinking—feeding bears ice cream??! That's dreadful! It's ONE ice cream! And the rest
of their diet is super healthy. You should see their coats and eyes. They are
in perfect condition. They are fed dog biscuits for the protein and vitamins
and minerals. They also get fed abundant fresh fruit and vegetables.
  
We saw one bear get his
dinner after the show. He got a huge steel bowl of fruit and vegetables.
They're incredibly human in their expressions and mannerisms. We see this
bear tip his bowl of food out, then he paws through the selection to see what
he's got. He's got some extremely good quality fresh fruit and
vegetables. A 1/4 of a whole watermelon, some freshly scrubbed carrots,
avocado and other things. The avocado is obviously a big favorite because he
grabs that first, and puts his paw on it, while he scrapes the fleshy fruit
off with his tongue. He's gorgeous to watch.
They all are.
 
They weigh themselves, get
the mail, sit in a swing, play Frisbee, ride on a scooter and just PLAY. We
are riveted watching these wonderful creatures, who seem so human. They are
highly intelligent and some of them have developed their own tricks they like
doing. One bear, likes to sit on his bottom and grab his feet and rock and
smile. He does this until he gets the right amount of applause. Apparently he
made this one up himself.
  
Murray and Maureen are
incredibly gentle with the bears. And the bears with them. You can see they
are like family pets. Maureen often kissed the bears on the nose, just like I
would with Leo. It is beautiful to watch. We see Echo and boy bear with an
unpronounceable name who weighs in at about
We come away from there
entranced with the bears. They are adorable and utterly magical. It is one of
the highlights of New England and we're so glad we got to see them.
   
We wander off from there in
good spirits and cross the border into Vermont and we plop back into flat
energy again. Bugger.
We do find a nice place to
stay though. It's right on the river and it's called the Moose River
Campground. And what's started out as a few 'tasteful' (is there such a
thing) moose statues, pictures etc, has now exploded into one of those
unstoppable things that happen when you collect things. Not only have THEY
brought moose stuff. People have given them moose stuff...so some 3,500
moose items later—it's turned into a Moose-a-rana-cana. You name it—they
moose have it. I know...very sad pun. What's even funnier than the moose
explosion, which is kind of fun, is the pink flamingo collection. A passion
of the owners too. After awhile, it just all looks like a haze, but it
somehow works. It's kinda fun.
   
We go into the small town to
pick up some food and Aaron says it reminds him of the Whistle Stop Cafe town
in Fried Green Tomatoes. I know what he means. I swear I can hear the
twang of a banjo every so often...
But it's a nice wee place
all the same. The next day, it's a slow morning, but that's okay. Despite the
grizzly sky, it's not raining yet. So I trot around the campground, in
my dress and dressing gown taking photos of the moose-a-rana they have
there. It's pretty spectacular.
  
We 'do' Vermont for the rest
of the day. We visit a sugar house, which is quite nice and buy maple syrup
and pure maple syrup candies which are delicious. They are like fudge without
the cloying sugar afterload.
     
We then go and visit the Dog
Chapel on Dog Mountain! This was built by an artist called Stephen Huneck who
believed that dogs were gods creatures and should be honored accordingly. All
his work centers around doggies. And it's very whimsical and fun. There are
dog things EVERYWHERE. It's fantastic. Go and see the photos to see what I
mean. It's almost too hard to explain!
We go on the day they are
having a memorial to Stephen who passed away last year. People have come with
their dogs who are all running around the place, like kids at a lolly
scramble. The dogs are fun, but the dog people are a bit of a sour bunch for
some reason. Inside the gallery with Stephens work, there is a buffet laid
out for the humans tp help themselves too. The dogs are hanging around this
table hopefully. But they have a ceramic dog head cookie barrel, which
has free treats in it for them. We feed a biscuit to a doggie, who takes it
gratefully. We imagine a cat place. You could offer free treats to the cats
and they'd sniff, assess them and then turn their nose up at it. Then look at
you balefully with your lack of insight as to what they really like.
   
We go over to the Dog
Chapel, which is a beautiful wee church/chapel dedicated to doggies.
The sign outside says:
Welcome
All Creeds
All Breeds
No Dogmas Allowed.
There are some lovely dog
statues outside, a HIghland terrier, a Jack Russell, a Doberman,
a Great Dane, A Labrador, a man and one cat. All done by Stephen!
Rather lovely. Inside, there are beautiful stained glass windows with -
what else - doggies in every one and all done by Stephen too. All the pews
have dog ends on them! Every inch of the walls are covered in photos and
memorial notes from people for their loved fur children. Aaron writes a note
for Annette and dads doggies Thorn and Molly and puts it up there. I am so
hammered by the emotion in there, that I take photos and choked up—I stand
outside to catch my breath.
     
But it's a lovely place,
despite the snotty people. The dogs are running around with each other and
they're having fun.
   
We leave there and by now,
the rain is starting to come down in buckets again. So, we drive west across
Vermont, stopping in the wee rustic country town of Waterbury. All of Vermont
has tiny wee towns like this. If you listen hard enough—you can hear the
banjo's warming up... We stop for lunch at the Cider House Pub and BBQ in the
hope of some Fried Green Tomatoes...but today they don't have any. Damn.
We are served by a bouncy
enthusiastic wee thing called Laurie Ann who is born and bred there in
Waterbury. She's only been out of State once in her whole life. To upstate
New York—camping with her family when she was younger. She reminds us
of a Coaster. (That's the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand —where some would say that their families trees don't fork much!) She has 65
relatives in the tiny town and tells us where they all live. All just up
the road. Lots of er...cousins.
She's a hoot.
She's fascinated by us and
wants to try the Vegemite. Aaron goes out to the camper to get it and
Laurie-Ann tries it on some hot corn bread. We tell her we won't be offended
if she doesn't like it. It's an acquired taste, that you have to be brought
up on, to tolerate it. But she bravely tries it, screws up her nose, but
keeps going. After a couple more bites, she thinks it's not too bad and is
thrilled to have tried something from another country. The food is not super
fantastic, but she alone is worth the price of the food. The boss says she'll
be talking about that all night now. :-) We give her a big hug when we go.
She was a sweetie.
Next stop—Ben and Jerrys
Ice Cream. By now, we are kind of done with the day. But we go up the wee
hill to view the graveyard of the dead ice cream flavors that didn't quite
catch on with people. Each with it's own headstone and epitaph. :-)
The Tennessee Mud—Coffee
Ice cream with Amaretto, Jack Daniels and almond slivers.
The bottle is empty
The cup and the glass
Mud with Jack Daniels
Was not meant to last
1988-1989
Bovinity Divinity and Miz
Jelenas Sweet Potato Pie—love the names.
Peanuts! Popcorn! - caramel
ice cream with white fudge covered caramel popcorn, toffee coated peanuts and
a caramel swirl
Peanuts! Popcorn!
Mix 'em in a pot
Plop 'em in your ice cream
Well, maybe not!
2000-2000
Our dearly departed White Russian
A concoction so to-die-for
We were forever in it's debt
As the liquer kicked the
budget
We finally, just had to say,
'nyet.'
1986-2002
 
This is the best bit of the
Ben and Jerry's experience. Very fun. We get an ice cream and a shake and head
to Burlington, VT for the night. And thus ends the New England portion of
this trip.
Thank god...
While there have been some
fun things...the energy has been hard going. We move into New York State the
next day and the weather finally let's up. No surprises there! It's been
mirroring the energy pretty well.
In truth, we probably should
have just moved on from New England awhile back. It was a bit of an endurance
test in some places. And things are not supposed to be hard. That is not how
things should run. If it's hard—it's not right on some level. Just notice
how things are going. Things are supposed to be easy. They are supposed to
flow. You should bearly have to put in a huge effort. Truly.
If things aren't feeling
good. If they're not easy—they're not right. I realize that just about
everything comes down to this Bear Essential. Do I get ice cream? Am I
having fun. Can I paw through my food and just eat the fun bits first. In
other words—does it feel good?
If not—it needs to be
changed. It's an unerring path through life that can't steer you wrong if you
follow it.
|
No comments:
Post a Comment