Grand Isle, Vermont - Part 1

We spent a relaxing month on Grand Isle.  The cool temperatures made outdoor activities enjoyable.  Our RV campground has a 9-hole par 3 golf course on site so we played golf 2-3 times a week.  The course has many large trees along with 2' high thick roughs to which my ball was drawn.  When searching for a lost ball we often found other people's lost balls so we wound up with more balls than we started with. 

Fake coyote to scare varmints

The golf course and rv campground were nicely landscaped

The greens were very fast, sloped, and challenging but by the end of our stay we were getting pretty good at reading them.  We sometimes came so close to sinking a putt.  I am convinced the greens sloped away from the cups! We'd like to go back again and maybe spend the whole season there playing golf!

We also took time to explore the area.  We rode bikes across the lake from the island to Colchester on a bike path that used to be a marble block causeway that was built by the Island Line Railroad.  The bike path goes to the south of downtown Burlington.  We did not bike the full length because it would have been 22 miles round trip.  We rode for 12.5 miles and that was long enough!

At one point on the causeway we had to ride a bike ferry across a gap that used to be a train trestle.  The gap was only about 75' wide so it was a short ferry ride.

Blocks of marble along the causeway

The gap in the causeway

Waiting for the ferry

On the bike path

The view from the causeway

On Labor Day we decided to visit the Mazza Farm Corn Maze.  It's actually 2 side by side mazes, one 1.2 miles long and the other is 2.1 miles long.  The maze was designed by Shawn Stolworthy of MazePlay, a design and GPS consultant firm from Idaho.  Once the design is approved he goes to the field, unloads his tractor and cuts the field in about 3 hours sometimes even after dark totally directed by GPS. The maze is cut when the corn is young, usually in July.  It took us about 1 1/2 hours to complete the maze.  For most of our time there we were the only ones in the maze.  It had rained the day before and people probably thought the maze would be muddy but the soil was sandy and not muddy.

Throughout the maze there are 12 numbered stations, each with an individually shaped paper punch so maze runners can track there progress through the maze.  On the back side of the maze picture is a map to help you along the way.

Fork in the road!

The farm also has a store with a bakery and fresh farm produce, a petting zoo, and a cut-your-own flower garden. It was a nice place to spend a few hours.

Beautiful flowers!

The Alchemist is a brewery in Stowe, VT that brews Heady Topper.  Heady Topper is ranked "world class" by Beer Advocate and can be hard to find.   We had read that that on days when stores get their beer deliveries people would line up hours before opening hoping to buy this beer. There's a limit of 4 4-packs per person at the beginning of the day and as the day goes on and supplies run short, you are limited to even fewer.  We decided to buy the beer at the brewery.  We arrived about 15 minutes before opening and were surprised to see only about 20 people in line.  No problem buying beer!

Line's not too bad!

Where the magic happens!

Worth the drive!

More on our Vermont visit in my next blog...

Goodbye Montreal!

On August 17 we left Montreal and headed for a 1 month stay in Vermont.  We will miss the beauty of the Montreal area, the cool temperatures, the farmers markets, and the bike paths but we're looking forward to getting back to the USA.

Hello America!

The navigation system route to Vermont took us to a ferry from New York to Grand Isle.  I was worried the ferry would weigh too much with our RV and two large trucks on it, but thankfully it was an uneventful 10 minute ride across the lake.

In Vermont we are staying at Apple Island Resort. It is on Grand Isle on Lake Champlain and about 20 minutes from Burlington.  There is a par 3 9-hole golf course on site and we are excited to dust off our clubs and play a few rounds while we're here.  And, best of all they have WONDERFUL Wi-Fi!!!

Our lake view--when no one is parked there!

More on golf, Grand Isle, and Vermont in a couple of weeks!

Beautiful Quebec City

We took the train from Montreal to Quebec City for a long weekend. The train ride was about 3 hours long and made brief stops at several stations in small towns along the way.

Train station in Montreal, Gare Centrale

All aboard!

Quebec City train station, Gare du Palais

The park across the street from the train station, Gare du Palais

Quebec City is a beautiful city on the St. Lawrence River.  It is one of the oldest European settlements in North America.  It was settled in 1608.  Quebec's Old Town (Vieux-Quebec) is the only North American fortified city north of Mexico whose walls still exist.  It is a UNESCO world heritage site.   It is the capital of Quebec province and like Montreal, French is the primary language. 

Vieux-Quebec has a distinct European feel with its stone buildings and winding streets lined with shops and restaurants.

We stayed at Hotel Le Germaine in the heart of lower Vieux-Quebec. 

Lower Vieux-Quebec is on the riverbank and has many shops, restaurants.  Here are some pictures of lower Vieux-Quebec...

Notre-Dame des Victoires Church

The village square where they have re-enactments...

...in French so we didn't know what they were saying!

Wall mural depicting Quebec City's history

Crowds were really thick in the middle of the day!

We rode the Funicular up the hill to upper Vieux-Quebec

View of lower town from top of the hill...

Up we go to the top of the hill to upper town

View of lower town from the funicular

Upper town is just a beautiful as lower town...

We stumbled upon a street of restaurants...

We walked by the Citadelle of Quebec, the largest active fortress in North America...

We walked on the boardwalk built on the edge of the cliff with beautiful views of the St. Lawrence River.  The boardwalk was right in front of the massive Chateau Frontenac Hotel, the most photographed hotel in the world.

And, we visited Notre-Dame de Quebec Cathedral, mother church of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec.  In 2014 the cathedral celebrated its 350th anniversary. 

Could not get a close-up of the altar because it is undergoing renovation

Time to walk back down to lower town and have a well deserved dinner at a sidewalk café!

That's me enjoying a glass of wine!

 Forgot to take pictures of our delicious entrees but here's what we had for dessert...

Chocolate mousse

Crème brulee

On our last night there were fireworks on the riverbank and luckily we could see them from our hotel room because I was too tired to take another step (and it was a rainy night)!

Quebec City is a beautiful city.  We enjoyed our visit there and will always remember its beautiful architecture and history.