MD to AZ, Fall '09 - Days 1-4

Day 1: Saturday 10/10 - MD to Gettysburg
We arrived in Gettysburg before noon after a very easy trip from Solomons. The new Visitor’s Center and Museum is really nice. It was tremendously crowded, however, full of Boy Scouts. We really enjoyed the movies in the Museum, describing the 3-day battle. Because it was so crowded we had to park up near the end of the Battlefield Tour, which meant a nice walk through the woods to get to the Visitor’s Center. We also were positioned to walk to the battlefields and monuments of the big 3rd day of fighting, which included The Copse and The Angle, the site of Pickett’s Charge. Of course, we also visited the National Cemetery, site of Lincoln’s Gettysburg address.

The traffic through Gettysburg was horrendous. The hotel desk clerk told us it was homecoming weekend and the apple festival. We also saw LOTS of small soccer players and their families. The earliest reservation available at the “drunken scallops” restaurant that had been recommended to us was 9:15! Way too late for us. Although we ended up at Ruby Tuesday, our consolation prize was a beautiful orange/pink sunset.

Day 2: Sunday, 10/11 - Gettysburg to Niagara Falls
Our drive along the Susquehanna River was disappointing due to dense fog for most of the trip. We had a couple of sightings of the river, but for the most part we were all fogged in. At least the trees had started to change, so the land views were good. The drive through the Alleghany Mountains was gorgeous, with the fall color peaking. We spent almost 3 hours at the Museum of Glass in Corning, NY. It was amazing – you could say we were blown away by it! The museum covered glassmaking from 1500 B.C. to today, including a huge new collection of works since 1968 donated by a couple from Chicago (named Heineman). Glass in every way, shape and form. Unbelievable.

We had to sit for a long time to get across the Rainbow Bridge into Niagara Falls, Ontario. The toll booth person said it was due to the conclusion a little earlier of the Buffalo Bills football game. He also advised us against coming back across the next day (which we had planned to do to take in the view of the falls from the American side) because it would be Canadian Thanksgiving – who knew?!- and the waiting time would be even longer!

Day 3: Monday, 10/12 Thanksgiving, Canadian Style
I have now seen Niagara Falls, from both sides. We discovered that pedestrian’s can cross the Rainbow Bridge, so we walked over to the American side and back. It was not all that far. The falls are amazing, perhaps more for their power than beauty – they are mesmerizing, like the geysers at Yellowstone. It was cold, about 40 degrees when we arrived at the Falls this a.m. and never got above 45. Fortunately we both had wool sweaters with us, and I had my gloves. The wind was blowing the spray from Horseshoe Falls up onto the land so hard it was like a rainstorm. We were also fortunate to have had our rain jackets in the car (the advantage of a cross country move, having all of our possesions with us), but that didn’t keep our pants dry. It was really a driving rain – almost sleety. We didn’t feel any need to take a boat ride down by the falls to get closer to the spray.

We stayed near Niagara-on-the-Lake, so drove up the Niagara Parkway for our return trip. It is an upscale, quaint, scenic town – reminded me a little of St. Michaels, MD. We were surprised to find that this is a huge wine growing area. We must have seen 50 vineyards by the time we left the region. They specialize in ice wines, which does seem appropriate for Canadian wineries…. We ate dinner at the Hillebrand Winery and had a delicious meal, with truffle & mushroom broth as a starter, followed by venison for me and beef rib eye for Arthur, both fixed with very unusual sides and flavors (I had goat cheese au gratin something that didn’t taste like anything I had ever had before). We started the meal with their sparkling wine and had their cabernet sauvignon with the meal, and they were both very good. Who would have thought?! Canadian wine?!! We also decided food is expensive in Canada, and we wish we had visited in the old days when the U.S. dollar was worth a lot more.

Day 4: Tuesday, 10/13 - Back to the U.S. A.
We drove across Ontario, headed to the Detroit area. That part of Ontario looked just like Ohio, or most anywhere else in the U.S. Midwest – corn and beans, beans and corn. There were a few more trees than we usually see in the Midwest, and the leaves had turned, so that made for better views.

We spent a couple of hours at the Henry Ford Museum. It was an unusual place. It is basically a museum of manmade things, much the like the Smithsonian Museum of American History, only more focused on transportation and industrialization. Lots of great old cars, as you would expect. Also, a really cool “Dymaxion” house designed by Buckminster Fuller in 1946 to be made from airplane parts and aluminum. It was actually somewhat appealing, even though it was like living in a round Airstream trailer. We weren't surprised to learn that only 2 prototypes were built because he couldn’t get enough investors. We decided the Museum was worth a stop if you were here for some other reason, but not worth a trip. Tomorrow we go to Greenfield Village, another part of the Henry Ford historical complex.

The people at our hotel directed us to the Big Fish restaurant in Dearborn for dinner. For some reason, the folks at Big Fish LOVE to get out-of-towners into their restaurant: they had printed copies of today’s menu with personal greetings for us, we were given the choice of a free appetizer or dessert (we had calamari that was the best we have ever eaten), the manager came to check on us several times, and then the chef came out and introduced himself. I mean this is better service than the Inn at Little Washington, which cost mega-times more. The food was delicious and the price very reasonable.

Pictures of trip at http://picasaweb.google.com/aldixon3