At the Boyd Farm Part 1

After Washington we spent another few days in Philly. We headed north planning to camp out at a few places in New England and enjoy the beautiful fall colours.

 Our first night we stopped in at Wells State Park just over the Massachusetts border and got a nice spot by a lake. At about 4 am that night there was a torrential downpour that lasted for over an hour. The rain continued on throughout the next day. We tried to wait it out but by 11 am it showed no sign of stopping so we hurried to pack up our soggy ten and get everything into the car as quickly as possible. 

Our next destination, Acadia National Park, was 5 hours up the interstate in Maine. We were hoping that the weather would be clearer up there, but the closer we got, the more it poured down. Not looking forward to setting up our soggy tent in the rain, we decided to continue on the remaining three hours over the border to Johnville New Brunswick. We arrived at Bill's family farm just after dinner and thus concluded our two month adventure around the United States. 

So we've been here for over a week now and what have we been getting up to? Well Playing with kittens for one. There's no shortage of affection from all the cats around the farm. 

Our first weekend in town Bill's mom was selling jams, aprons and lots of other stuff. We helped her set up and pack up. In the mean time we visited some old friends of Bill's around town. 

Setting up Bill\s mom for a weekend craft fair 

View from the hill behind the farm

You can see all the way to America!

It's hunting season so we've been wearing orange when we go for walks

These two followed us on our walk to the spring and back

On another afternoon we went for a walk to Maggie's Falls. New Brunswick is beautiful at this time of year. 

Maggie's falls

En route to the falls

After our walk we drove on up to Grand Falls for a late lunch

Grand Falls

Pizza at Ryan's Wood Fire Oven

All the cats!

We went to walk a trail along an old road that used to run behind the farm. The entrance was overgrown so Bill went back to ask his dad exactly where it was. He came back with a hockey stick. 

Me: What's the stick for?
Bill: Dad said to take it along in case we run into a moose
Me: That's the most Canadian thing I've heard all week.

Walking along the old road

The kittens followed us the whole way

So much to explore!

Model H farmal and a hay rake

The farmhouse

Daphne moon

Daphne guards the house

Turning the hay over so it dries evenly

Leaning to drive the tractor 

Climbing up into the hay barn with Bill

Since we arrived I've learned to drive two tractors. Bill and I also helped load square bales of straw into the barn, We've gone on lots of walks in the area and gone out for dinner in town with the family a few times.

There's been lots of good things to eat here too around the house. Pumpkin pie, cookies and hearty dinners. After thanksgiving we're heading to Halifax to visit Bill's brother. After that we're heading back to Ontario!

Washington D. C

National Portrait Gallery 

We got the Washington the day before the Pope arrived. To take a break from driving and to avoid having to hunt for free parking, we left our car with our friends in Philadelphia and took the Megabus to Washington D.C.

Washington Memorial

We did so much walking each day! There's a lot to see in Washington, tons of free museums and memorials all within walking distance of the downtown core

The White House, South Side

We really enjoyed all of the walking tours we did with Free Tours By Foot in New Orleans. Turns out they offers tours in Washington as well. We signed up for a bunch of evening tours to avoid the crowds in town to see the Pope.

On our first day we checked into our hostel and went out for lunch at SUN-de-VICH, a really tasty sandwich shop that has a huge range of sandwiches named after the city that inspired them. I had a Buenos Aries with some tasty steak and chimichurri while Bill got the Kingston with jerk chicken and pineapple 

Brand new World War II Memorial

For the afternoon we perused the halls of the National Portrait Museum. We returned to our hostel to relax for an hour over dinner before catching our 7pm walking tour of the National Mall

Our walking tour took us from the Washington Memorial down to the Lincoln Memorial and covered the history of almost all of the memorials in between.

WWII Memorial

Newly added, was the World War II memorial, a huge piece with fountains and lots of detail. 

Lincoln Memorial

Due to the Popes presence in town the following day, the memorials were a lot less crowded than they usually would be for the time of year. We were able to get some pretty good pictures as most tourists and locals were avoiding the downtown area for the next few days. We also found the museums pleasant uncrowded.

Inside the Lincoln Memorial

Washington Memorial and Reflective Pool

After our tour we were looking for some late night food. We found a small El Salvadorian place a block away from our hostel. Their food was amazing! If you're ever in D.C., check out El Rinconcito Cafe!

The White House, North Side

National Portrait Gallery 

Pret A Manger is on every street corner in London England, So strange to see one here in Washington

The Smithsonian Castle serves as the visitors center for the 19 Smithsonian locations.

The next morning we enjoyed some free pancakes for breakfast at our hostel. We made our way down to the National Air and Space Museum. We got there at 10 am, just as they opened to avoid the rush.  

Amelia Earhart's pane at the National Air and Space Museum

The museum is huge and there's lots to see. This is the most popular of the Smithsonian Museum locations so we hit the interactive exhibits first to avoid the lines. 

Flying like birds with the simulator at the National Air and Space Museum

The interactive exhibits allowed you to fly in V formation with a bunch of geese, design your own plane and run it through a course and practice flying in a simulator.

Jet pack

Flying my custom designed plane

The Wright Brother's Plane. 

Model of an air craft carrier

After the Air and Space Museum we made our way down the National Mall to Arlington Cemetery. The cemetery is technically in Virginia and it overlooks the city from a hill. 

View of downtown Washington from Arlington Cemetery  

The cemetery was established after the civil war for the nation's honoured dead on the grounds of Arlington House, home of General Lee and once home to George Washington. Arlington House still stands in the center of the cemetery and is now a museum which we took a tour of as well. 

Arlington Cemetery

A Bill-Sized doorway at Arlington House

We went to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier just in time to watch the changing of the guard. The tomb represents all American soldiers who were never identified and is guarded round the clock since 1937 by the US Army.

Tomb of the unknown solider, Arlington Cemetery

Later that night we took another walking tour. This one told the story of the Lincoln Assassination.

Korean War Memorial

The next day we walked down to the US Holocaust Memorial and museum. It was a pretty powerful museum

U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

Afterwards we had enough tome to see some of the American History Museum before it closed for the day.

At the Smithsonian American History Museum

Later that night we made some home made mac and cheese at our hostel with Velveeta cheese. It was really tasty. 

Making home made Mac and Cheese at our hostel

Smithsonian Natural History Museum

We caught the Mega bus back to Philly the next day. Before we left we had enough time in the morning to check out one more museum. We ended up at the Natural History Museum. A beautiful building full of dinosaur bones and lots of other interesting exhibits.