Virginia to Maine. Via Montreal?

So we have arrived back in to Williamsburg today, and I have yet to sleep. Unfortunately for all of you onlookers in blogville, apparently my editing capabilities which are questionable to begin with, are entirely nonexistent when working on zero sleep. The page is going to take a while to load due to all of the pictures, but bear with me. A lot of stuff happened.
Above Jackson has just arrived in Vermont after sleeping all night in the car. Wow was he good travelling for this entire trip. He awoke bright eyed and bushy tailed and ready for breakfast. Our restaurant choice was poor to middlin' but we were introduced to the "Sassy Seat". This portable high chair was definitely a bare bones affair and I would have guessed it to be from the 1950s from its appearance, condition and the restaurant we were in. A little research now shows it likely to be from the mid 1980s(and surprisingly there was a recall back in the 80s for this, andI'm sure this one was sent back by the restaurant and repaired as per the recall).
Despite the breakfast, Montpelier was a cute little New England town with palpable charm. We had places to go however, so we did the shotgun tour.

We went to a sugar shack/maple syrup operation and it was about 48 degrees at the time so the above cuddle was not just for looks. I haven't thought of making maple syrup for a lot of years. I do remember Grampa having a tree tapped and making syrup but that is where my memory stops. Luckily Mom was able to fill in her recollection of making syrup with Grampa. Reportedly the boiling down process was done in the house and this gummed up the walls something fierce. I think she said the walls actually had to be cleaned and repainted.

And that is why we buy Aunt Jemima.

The quick facts on syrup making. 40 gallons of sap make 1 gallon of syrup. Syruping is only done in the North Eastern portion of North America(Found this very surprising). And the old tree tap with metal bucket is pretty much antiquated. Now they use networks of plastic tubing that collect all of the sap in a central location and keeps it cleaner.

Ben and Jerry's was our next stop. Pretty hard to go to Vermont and not at least attempt to go to Ben and Jerrys. We were there around 9:30-10 but that did not stop us from partaking in some ice cream. The tour was okay, but we were a little disappointed by it. We were spoiled when we went to York, PA a few years back(the factory tour capital of the world!) and went to the Harley Factory. At that tour we were on the floor with the workers and bikes were coming back and forth and we were whisked in and out of the lanes to let the flow continue. An immersive experience. The Ben and Jerrys tour was a plexi-glass window above the ice cream making floor. It reminded me of the Hershey's factory tour which we also felt was subpar.

Interesting facts from the tour: Ben and Jerry got their ice cream making licenses through the mail for $5. The mobile ice cream truck that was going across country in the 1980s caught fire and either Ben or Jerry thought it must be the Worlds biggest baked Alaska.

The tour ended with a taste of pumpkin spice ice cream(very sweet), and then we were off for Mt. Mansfield. Stowe Vermont was one of the most important parts of our early itinerary. I am attempting to get to the highest point in as many states as I can(see the recent trip to CO and NM). I have done ME, NH and MA before, but had never attempted VT.

We knew this was mostly a driveable mountain so we paid our $21 to drive up the mountain road to the trailhead that went the remainder of the way to the summit. We expected this to be like Spruce Knob(high point in WV which was Jackson's first high point). We were mistaken. The drive definitely cut off an appreciable chunk of the hike, but we still had quite a hike ahead of us.

Jackson was happy in his papoose and slept a good portion of the way. The terrain was very rocky and steep in parts and carrying a cutie in a papoose made it a little tougher.
As is typical with most climbs, the summit looked a lot closer than it was and I think we were climbing between 1.5 and 2 hrs total without lolly-gagging. There were a lot of other hikers and the day was beautiful. I would recommend this hike and view to anyone able to get to the peak. You can also take a gondola ride up the mountain and climb the rest, but this climb is supposedly VERY difficult. Sounds tempting, but not with Jackson in the wrap.
So we hiked down and finally made Montreal. We stayed at the Ritz Carlton because we got a great rate. Unfortunately, we are really not Ritz people and I never felt very comfortable there. I like to park my car and carry my bags, but thats not how its done at the Ritz. We dropped the car at the valet but we had to unpack quickly because someone was behind us. Jackson was in my arms and Laura was pushing the baby carriage full of luggage and clothes. We walked around the building and into the side door of the Ritz in our hiking attire, needing showers and pushing a stroller of loose clothes. If I had taken my hat off, someone might have thrown some change into it.

We walked Montreal which is a nice and old city with very fashionable people and dress. As Nana said, "It's just another big city."

Laura and I would like to qualify this however. Its not just another big city. It is a big city where the dollar is called a loonie, the primary language spoken and on signs is French, and the concept of "handicap-accessible", which is so nice for parents with a baby in a stroller, has not hit.

That said, we made a go of it and saw quite a bit. Above is Notre Dame which was beautiful and ornate with a stunning blue domed ceiling.

Below is the Olympic Stadium for the 1976 Olympics. The tour has an elevator in it and it supports a retractable cloth roof that apparently never worked correctly. It was supposed to be used by a football and soccer team after the Olympics but both teams have abandoned the facility and it stands as a museum now. We went to the Biodome next door which was used as a speed biking ring for the Olympics but has now been converted to four separate ecosystems with some interesting animals. Laura posed below for a seductive "Glamour Shot" in front of the penguin exhibit.

Then we went to St. Joseph's Oratorio. I found this one of the more interesting historical portions of the Montreal swing. This church is the largest church dedicated to the Earthbound father of Jesus and a gentleman named Brother Andre made all of this possible. He is quite a hero of the area and his story is interesting(click the link above if interested).
The church is huge with a large offerring of candles as you walk in. Quite impressive. Somewhere I thought I read it may even be the second largest church in the world, but I have been unable to corroborate this.

We attempted dinner that night but Jackson was not having it. And this left a sour taste in our mouth as we were getting ready to leave Canada.

Laura and I were both chanting USA as we entered at Canaan(I think) between NH and VT. And then we were off to Rumford for Dad to meet Jackson for the very first time. This was one of my highlights of the trip. We have been famous for showing up unannounced at Mom's work, but not usually at Dad's and it was very special.

Dad and Jackson became fast friends.

And then we were off to Mom's workand we got to show off Jackson to everyone there. We were alos lucky enough to steal her away from work early and go for lunch.
The next day we all went for a hike up Singepole Mountain in South Paris, ME. This area has many semi-precious stones and was mined for years. The top of this mountain has a small quarry which adds a little intrigue to the climb.

We also geocached at the top of the mountain and Mom found the cache.
Jackson had a picnic lunch.
Dad thought lunch sounded like a good idea so he fished for it. Probably would have had better luck if the pole had line on it.
We picked up a lot of quartz and mica on our hike and I tried to teach Jackson about this but I think he was drunk on milk.

We then went to Grammies new house in Augusta. We were very impressed with her new place and it seems perfect for her. I of course was partial to the color.
Back at Mom and Dads house, Dale and Deb came to visit and we had a great time sitting around and talking. Its nice to get time with relatives when there is no holiday and nothing else going on.
The following day we went apple picking and also a little camera crazy. Jackson picked out some beauties.

And then back to home and we had a visit from Grammie and Aunt Liz. Again, we had a great visit without the hubbub of Christmas in the background. (Thanks for the Blueberry Beer, Blueberry Wine and animal crackers).
Aunt Liz also seemed quite fond of Jackson and I think he was probably heavier than he looked on the blog. Always better in real person.

Mom and Aunt Liz took Jackson for a qalk in the field across the street.
Then Jackson was trying to drum up some business for the new Stove Shop. He doesn't seem to need to drum up much business, as Mom and Dad were seelling stoves left and right while we were there. Pretty impressive for the first month.
Finally, on our last day, Dad had to work but the rest of us went to the Cumberland Fair and saw an abundance of animals, farmers, and food. Pretty good mix and we all enjoyed it immensely.

The pumpkins were gargantuan and I don't know the winning weight but I saw one over 1000 lbs.
Jackson met a few pigs(and one even nibbled his blanket).

And then we were back to Mom and Dads for dinner and we hit the road. And now I'm sitting here babbling.

We love all of you. Thank everyone from the Virginia contigent for allowing us to go on the trip and thank everyone on the Maine side for coming to visit. We had a great time, we just wish it weren't so far away and the time could be longer. Hope to see you all again very soon.