The Mice Coast to Coast: By The Numbers

2626 miles traveled
200 cough drops eaten by City Mouse
47 rocks collected by City Mouse
30 degrees difference in temperature in 1 day(91 to 61)
15.5 rolls of film taken by Country Mouse
15 coffees/lattes
12 days of vacation
10 states
10 meals with eggs
10 bottles of wine purchased
8 bodies of water
8 friends we saw
7 places geeps directed us to that did not exist
7 things we ate that had blueberries
7 postcards sent
6 modes of transportation: walking,driving,the train,sailboat,ferry boat,tour boat
6 tanks of gas
6 wine tastings
5 Farmers Markets
5 delicious meals cooked over a campfire
5 state parks visited
4 nights camping
4 nights with friends
4 islands visited
3 successfully built fires by City Mouse
3 times we ate ice cream
2 hotels
2 national parks visited
2 times we heard Man in the Mirror by Michael Jackson
1 Bed and Breakfast
1 the number of times we had to use nature as a bathroom (we won't tell you which mouse...)
0 the number of speeding tickets acquired by City Mouse


All in all, a VERY successful trip.

We thank you for following along!
City and Country

The Mice get their rainbow...

After a nice breakfast in Sketch-nectady, we moved on and made the mistake of trusting Geeps again and following her direction to a Meadery and Honey Farm that did not exist in the middle of nowhere far north of our original course. But we made the most of it and found another winery and Chimney Bluffs State Park where we dipped our toes in Lake Ontario and City Mouse collected rocks and driftwood for awesome art projects she will make in the future. We then headed further west to Niagara Falls with our first bout of weather that was less than desirable. It cleared up though as we walked toward the falls. I have always been under the impression that Niagara Falls was a big touristy gimmicky place but it is really a pretty and well serviced State Park. We went first on the Maiden of the Mist, a boat that takes you pretty close to the falls and you get soaking wet, they do however provide you with a nice blue poncho. As we were going by, the sun came out for some great rainbows and the falls were pretty amazing. Then you walk across the rapids on a pedestrian bridge and over to another area where you can do a Cave of the Winds tour. This tour provides you with a pair of awesome sandals and another poncho and you walk up a bunch of wooden stairs and on a boardwalk growing algae right next to the falls and you get drenched. It was pretty awesome. The water was really clean. We had possibly our last vacation dinner at the Top of the Falls restaurant complete with a chocolate decadence cake. And then we watched the colored lights on the falls change colors and the evening was completed with a firework show over the falls. The whole Niagara Falls experience was spectacular and highly recommended.

Country Mouse

I don't know, City Mouse makes up the titles and she is busy. . . she'll fill it in. . . maybe we'll call it Hillbilly Fun Park?

(Country Mouse, again City Mouse is busy) So on Wednesday we explored Camden, Maine. Quite the cute little tourist spot, complete with lots of little knick knack shops and a harbor full of beautiful boats. We had breakfast and coffee at Zoot and then walked about stopping randomly and always being very thankful when the store we were searching had air conditioning. We went out to the Cellardoor Winery and sampled a few wines which were pretty good (I’m up to seven in my road trip collection) they even had a wine that mixed blueberry and maple syrup into the wine. On the way back into town we spontaneously decided to take a swim at the lake, because really, how often can you take a swim in a random lake in Maine among the mountains? There were fish visible beneath us, the water was clear and it was quite refreshing. Then we headed back into town to continue our shopping after eating Lobster Rolls and Lobster Bisque while overlooking the harbor. And I’ve also discovered how great blueberry soda is. . . We tried to buy some to bring home today but apparently they only make it on the coast. We went to the Camden Farmers Market and headed down to Rockport, home of the Maine Photographic Workshops. I walked around the harbor and went up this little path I know to a bench that overlooks all the boats. It’s lovely. Great little town really. If you want to visit Maine and see the boats but don’t need all the hustle bustle of touristy shops, I would hang out in Rockport. Our last night at the campsite with some pasta, tomatoes and pesto and potatoes and zucchini. And finally we had the thing that defines camping- smores. The marshmallows were in one large clump from being in the car, but hey, they taste the same.
Thursday morning we took one last look around Camden and headed west. . . Through Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont to New York. Vermont was gorgeous, winding roads, mountains, a river and sunshine. We stopped at one point and ate a watermelon in a parking lot outside of what I think was a senior center. A not-nice-lady observed us and seemed a little put out by us using that parking lot and we’re pretty sure she called the police so we moved on. Safe and sound now in a motel in a place I can hardly pronounce. . . Schenectady, NY. Niagara Falls tomorrow.

Mad Mice

The mice are going to stop writing if we don;t get some comments! is anyone reading this?
City

Adventures of Sailor Mice and the Carins

Country Mouse again, City Mouse is too busy talking to ETBFM on the phone. We are being camping mice again, sitting at the campfire after finishing smores in Camden Hill State Park, Maine. A call out to my sissy who probably isn’t reading this (until mom tells her she should), this is the same park as your favorite hike! The hike to Mt. Battie.
The mice didn’t get to make that hike today since it’s somewhere above 90 degrees and humid. But wait, wait, I’m not talking about today, I must start back on Monday night since City Mouse never filled you in. So we’ve only been on this vacation for a week. I worked last Tuesday. That seems like a different lifetime ago. Maybe that is what vacation is? It makes you forget board meetings and deadlines and WORK (but I do love my job). Every day has been a new adventure.
So Monday night we stayed at this splendid Bed and Breakfast the Seaside Inn. We had a very early breakfast and hopped on the 7:00a.m. ferry to Monhegan Island. It was a little over an hour and gorgeous and sunny the whole way. Small boat. There was apparently a wedding on Monhegan Island on Tuesday and everything was shutting down so the island folk could go to it. We hiked along the sea to a shipwreck and absolutely beautiful cliffs and waves and cairns. We explored the seaside and all the little caverns rocks can make. I’ll let City Mouse tell you more about that if she wants to. She knows what I mean. We made a cairn and sat on the rocks and read and then hiked back in to the village. There was quite a bit of rock climbing and maneuvering. This mouse thought it was super fun. Then we had lunch and I had a lobster. It’s been awhile since I’ve had one and I remembered all the nasty water that comes out of a whole lobster but I’d forgotten about the green brown nasty stuff. But with a little butter, it was super good. We browsed and shopped and the sun was very intense, there was no relief from it. We watched all the wedding guests headed to their wedding. A man in a tie, a button down shirt and shorts, a lady with ripped up jean shorts with patches and a shirt that said What Wedding? Which was funny because there were signs everywhere and everyone was talking about it all day, lots of sundresses and some suits in the 90 degree heat. City Mouse wanted to crash the wedding but I restrained her. Then we sat for awhile by the beach. I fell asleep on these great big rocks by the water. Then the ferry return home. It was a beautiful day on Monhegan. What I am shocked by as I am revisiting places I was at 4 years ago is how little they change. I took a photo then of a pitcher in the window of a red house. . . And I took the same photo yesterday because it looked exactly the same!
We drove up to Camden then and spent another night in the tent but this one wasn’t quite so comfortable. . . It’s a little warm out. So warm in fact that they had to cancel school for the first time due to heat. None of the schools have air conditioning because they’ve never needed it. I guess this heat wave is very rare. And we definitely noticed it in the sauna of our tent. City Mouse gave up after four hours of marinating and slept in the Prius instead.

City Mouse additions coming soon. Stay tuned…..