"Thank you for visiting my country"

I think that when most people come here, most white people that is, they stay in their cars and fear the people. They are afraid of people begging or stealing or afraid of the filth and the chaos.
We visited the church on Sunday morning. Everyone was beautifully dressed and clean and pressed, even though some of them came across the street from the tent city. The church was packed because it was first communion for the kids so we couldn't find a seat.
So we went across the street to another fancy hotel and I had pumpkin soup for breakfast. Much better than the pumpkin soup I tried to make. The hotel was another gorgeous building and had a pristine landscape. Again, with a tent city right outside its windows. Every inch of public landscape that was free is being used now for tents. There are no public spaces left for gathering, playing soccer, no parks or statues or fields. In the tent city we visited, people were using a public sculpture representing the Haitian freedom from slavery to do their laundry and tie up their tents.
We visited the Caribe hotel- where we were supposed to stay- and it would be a fancy hotel by US standards. It was super nice, pool, tennis courts, spa. We sat in the shade and talked for hours.
In the afternoon, Antonio, Cheryl, Ray and I went for a walk. People stared. They aren't used to people walking their streets and sharing their space with them. We were never in danger, the only thing uncomfortable about the walk was maybe the smell and the heat. My favorite part of the experience was the joy on the kids faces when we would wave at them. We acknowledged them- that's all. We talked to a few different people (Ray speaks Creole) and one group of guys asked us if we felt safe walking and if we were comfortable and they were happy that we were. One man actually said to us in english, "Thank you for visiting my country" We walked into a soccer stadium- inside the teams were warming up for a game and right outside there was another tent city. We went into a cemetery and a hospital. We saw a pile of rubble with a teddy bear and a little shoe. But everywhere we went if we said Bon Swa (I'm sure that's not how it's spelled but it means Good afternoon) they'd respond happily and in a friendly manner. I think that hour and a half walk has been the most impactful time on this trip for me, to see how the people know they are perceived in a negative way and to try to break down those barriers.

The view from the back of a pick-up

So day one in Haiti, we visited the Haiti Y, which is a nice new clean building with a computer lab that I'm using now, and meeting and office space. The kids mainly play outside at the front of the building and do their homework. To get from place to place with 11 or so people we often have to not only cram into a car, we also have to cram into the back of a pick up truck. So I have had the opportunity to do something I would never do at home!
Buildings are in ruin here. Tent cities everywhere. Rubble and trash everywhere. Pigs eat garbage in the street. The Y is a safe clean place for these kids.
For dinner we walked to the Olifson- an old mansion converted to a hotel and restaurant with open porches and decoration. I tried some Conch. Everything is good. And again, there is such a discrepancy between those who have money and those who don't. We walked to the hotel through streets covered in sewage and trash, walk up the stairs and we're in a different world. It's not like there's a bad part of town and the hotel is in the fancy part, they're right there together. It's hard to understand why it is that we can eat a fancy dinner where we throw food away, when the people outside probably only eat two meals a day that they cook over a little stove or fire on the street. It's not like we deserve it more, we were just born in a more privileged position.
People here aren't as accepting of us taking photos- who can blame them? Where they're living isn't always a pretty scene and it is again treating them somewhat like a zoo. Although, despite the unsanitary conditions they live in, most of the people are clean and neat. The little girls have their hair in braids and bows and are just beautiful.
Day Two, we heard from a professor about the history of Haiti, including some politics. Then we went to visit the tent city across from the Presidential Palace. It is an amazing image- imagine the White House caved in, collapsed and destroyed, still that way a year after the destruction. And then imagine the yard in front of the White House covered in a city of tents, one after the other, each leading to the next, a maze. No sanitation. 6 people living in one tent, but where else do they go? Their buildings and businesses are still in ruin. They don't have the machinery to remove it. And if you were to stay and work on removing the rubble from the site of your home- first of all where do you put it and second of all, if you're doing that all day how would you ever earn money for food? So homes are abandoned for tents and selling things on the street seems to be the way to earn an income. And the hillsides here are just homes built up up up one after the other so that if any catastrophe comes they all come tumbling down.
The kids jump rope in front of the Y with a simple piece of rope, like something we'd use to haul something. But they dance and laugh and enjoy life. The Y has an area at the back that was donated to them because it was a tennis court that was damaged in the earthquake. So we painted it all together. Us foreigners and then the kids quickly took over, all pitching in to paint different parts.
We went for dinner that evening at the Plantation, a french restaurant. I tried a snail. Super fancy. The Haitian staff joined us, they are inspiring in the passion they put into their work here. Some of them only volunteers. We spent four hours at dinner, just enjoying conversation and one anothers company.

Starting over

So, one big thing I was afraid of in Haiti was the airport- before I came. I was told that that would be the scariest part of going to Haiti and it was nothing- no one bothered us, it was orderly, no chaos. And since that was so easy, I should have known everything would be fine there on out.
The Y of Haiti, we're going to learn more about it this morning, but because of all the support they've received they've been able to build a completely new building after their Y was destroyed in the earthquake. They are very proud that nothing was looted from their old site, the people of the community respected them too much to steal anything. They've built the first building of its kind in Haiti- earthquake and hurricane proof. The furniture can all be collapsed quickly to make this an emergency center. It is also environmentally friendly. They wanted it to be a model in the community that they have to rebuild the right way. It was $100,000 to build and 15% of it went to pay customs including bribes to get the materials into the country. They could have rebuilt somewhere else- it would have been easier but they didn't want to let down this community. We interviewed the director, Gwenael and one of the staff Guerline and I can't wait to share it with you. It was so impactful and I think it brought tears to everyone's eyes. But right now, I'm headed out to learn some more :)

Tricky Tricky

So Day 3 in the DR we had an amazing leadership seminar from Ray Smith who will be visiting me at some point in the future and I hope will always continue to teach and challenge me.
We went to a very nice oceanside restaurant and experienced our first taxi ride. Having said nothing about the DR and Haiti traffic I feel the need to comment a little here. There is no order. No rules, no lines, no traffic signs that are obeyed. You turn when you want to turn and traffic has to stop for you. I would never survive in an aggressive driving environment like that. City Mouse might. . . hmmm.
Then we had an afternoon at the beach. Andres wanted to send us off happy and we did have a really nice relaxing afternoon. He sent a bodyguard and his son with us . . . Some went shopping but I had a foot massage and got braids put in my hair. I would never have done this on my own but was forced and by golly, 3 days later I still have my little bead braids. Ray loves Haiti and the woman on the beach in the DR was Haitian so he bought a couple of us the braids and the massage and through his example I see the importance of investing in these people- not giving them money when they beg but supporting them in their work. Because no matter how little money I think I make, it will always be so much more than they can imagine.
I also stood in the ocean for awhile and it was super nice, even though the beach was just down from an oil refinery. So here's my lesson for the day.
We had several little boys with shoe shining equipment leave their tools under our table, the asked us to watch them for them. They did some gymnastics on the beach and played around and we took photos and they looked at them and they were so sweet. So after an hour or two they came back. And I can't understand the language but they are talking amongst themselves- it seems almost like an argument. They begin counting their money and still talking. I'm not paying too much attention but then they start using my sandal to dig in the sand so we try asking them what they've lost. And they are missing 25 pesos which is a small amount but they are digging frantically in the sand for it. So we give them some money to make up for their lost amount. They sincerely say thank you and go on their way. Later it comes up and many in our group comment about how they have a nice little scheme going on and Cheryl and I say what? Noooo. They were sincere, we believe them etc. And so we ask the bodyguard who only speaks spanish and he said no, they tricked us! And that about made me cry. I can handle the sights I've seen here. The poverty and the filth. But when it comes to deception, I can't handle that.
Ray says that if you give a Haitian women 1000 pesos to go buy you sandals, which he did, she will go do it and bring you back the change. Because you have honored her by trusting her. They are different cultures so I'm not sure the same applies for the Dominicans but I have felt less threatened about someone taking my stuff in Haiti than in the Dominican.
We went to a nice farewell barbecue at the beach with music and dancing. We all joined in and I'm sure the Dominicans were like, these crazy white people!
That night before we left for Haiti we were all so fearful. Ray told us not to open our eyes in the shower! And then there's Baby Doc (Duvalier) and all the "scary" things in Haiti. I just think back to all that fear and shake my head.

Dominican Republic with the Y Day 2

See how I need City Mouse to create the titles? No originality! My friend Vicki titled this day "Frogger" You know, the old Atari game?
Today we went to two more DR Ys. The 2nd was in a very poor neighborhood. The Y came there in the 70s after a hurricane to help rebuild houses and saw that there was not one school in the neighborhood so they started a school. They have a ton of space to build on and an old broken down basketball court- outdoors and no money to expand. The people here cannot pay for the school, it's only $100 a year and they get physical checkups and two meals a day plus an education. We went across the street to visit the village- dirt floors, leaky roofs, cook over fires, bare feet in a nasty field, a skinny pig tied up in the yard, naked children but. . . families grouped together, older kids helping to care for the young, respect for adults, playing baseball with the simplest tools in the only space they have.
It's hard to be in these countries and to keep from feeling like it's a zoo. I don't want to walk around and stare at them and take photos and do nothing to help them.
On the way back, one of our cars broke down and they had to push it off of the road (thus the frogger). We had pizza that night and ice cream bars and french fries. Everything here is very relaxed and it makes me a little disgusted with the American culture- no offense. In the US we value every minute instead of every person. We rush around accomplishing tasks- and we all know I am one of the worst offenders. But here, you spend 4 hours at dinner discussing things that matter. You take the time to enjoy every minute. We've talked about how ours is an individualistic culture and here it's collectivist. In the US we look out for #1 and here it's your family and your community that you value.
We went to another beach for beer and coconuts. I drank coconut milk and ate some coconut and coming from a coconut hater- real coconut is nothing like the artifical stuff.
When we came back to the hotel room there was a pair of pink underwear that didn't belong to me on the table beside my bed! We had a number of speculations about how that underwear got there but I have decided to believe that they cleaned under the bed and found it and hopefully it was clean. But I assure you I sanitized the area after I removed it. I suppose I should have titled this blog- pink panties and more people would read it :)

The Dominican Republic Day One with the Y

So now that I've been in Haii a few days, my time in the Dominican Republic seems like it was a year ago. I have some great travel companions, from Florida, Tennessee, Minnesota, New Mexico, Chicago, Des Moines. The first night, we were all nervous about venturing out on our own and how to manage the water and what can we eat, and what do we do when people ask us for money. . . and of course there's the whole getting to know you thing but we're all family now. In fact, we are discussing now how our leader, Antonio, is the youngest of us. There are three younger than me.
So the DR YMCA is led by Andres. A jolly man who draws small children like a magnet and leads the Y with a passion and desire to serve and better his country. He has gone to every effort to make sure we are taken care of and comfortable. His leadership is led with passion and vision but not so much organization. The big problem in the Dominican is that there isn't enough public education, so the Y is in place to meet the community need through schooling. But most of the families can't afford the $5 per month for the half day of school on weekdays so the schools loose money. So he's trying to develop ways to earn an income by building a new facility in a middle class neighborhood that will provide a fitness area and aerobics.
So, we went to the main Y, it has a classroom, a computer lab with computers that were probably used in the US 20 years ago. A Technical school to teach adults skills needed to work in restaurant services, beauty salon, fixing computers, electrical. Then we went to talk to the president of the DR Lawyers Association, and he talked to us about the history of the DR and Haiti. And there is just so much there that I am totally unaware of. We've heard so many different perspectives here from some really really smart people. The DR and Haiti don't really get along. Yet Andres was one of the first to support the Haiti Y after the earthquake. Haiti was the 1st independent nation from a slave revolt and they never want to be enslaved again- this affects their relationship with us and with every foreign country. We went through the whole history about the dictators in the past that behaved like Hitler with killing off of certain ethnicities and people who opposed them. Currently, the biggest challenges facing the island (a bird with two wings) involve migration, as the Haitians migrate to the DR, they aren't citizens so they take the benefits of the country but don't pay taxes because they don't have citizenship, even if they are born here. This drains the DR. There is no leadership here because the leaders were all killed off during the dictatorship so there is a void of leadership. I think it is definitely something we should all become more aware of. . . I mean I had no idea that there was a genocide going on here just a few decades ago. And this affects all of us, as we learned yesterday, you can't choose your neighbors, we have to work together like it or not. Of course, this is the girl who doesn't watch TV or follow the news.
We traveled to another neighborhood within Santo Domingo to visit a Y facility that has several classrooms, a computer lab with absolutely no working computers, a playground on the roof, a health clinic area, and a preschool. The children sang and prayed and ate lunch with us. They are all taught core values. We communicate through gestures and we take their photos and show them to them on our digital screens and they love it! They are all clean and dressed in uniforms but Ray told us that they're putting their best foot forward for us. The preschool is for single mothers- mothers from Haiti, husbands in jail, domestic violence while they work as street vendors.
We visited the new Y site. He wants it done in 3 months, they work by hand. He has amazing vision for this place. It was a huge beach house with a view of the ocean and they are building onto it a gym, aerobics, a medical clinic (that's the other thing, they provide medical check ups for their students) 8 classrooms, computer lab, kitchen. . so many dreams and not a lot of cash. It would be like us starting building a building without the money to finish. They don't want to borrow money because they come from a history of bankruptcy. After seeing the Haitian men that work in the sun laboring over the construction site for under $3 an hour, we went to the navy social club and sat by the beach and drank beer. That is one of the main things I am going to take away from this trip- the amazing discrepancy between those who have money and those who don't. And the beer in the Dominican Republic, by the way, is el Presidente. And I like it. We also had wine. I totally thought I wouldn't drink alcohol my entire time here - because of expense and the malaria pills-and I've had a drink every day. Mainly because of my generous family members here. I've also learned that females should not pour their own wine. Huh.
We went to a traditional Dominican Republic food buffet. I danced with a Dominican Republican man. He kept having to put his hands on my hips and say side-to-side No! Meringue. We have been eating very well in both countries. I'm probably gaining weight. I remember clear back on that night, sitting by the pool discussing Baby Doc (Duvalier) and our fears about going to Haiti. Ha! There is no need to fear Haiti.

More about Kim

By the way, I'm in Haiti now. Arrival and airport transport all went well and we're at the Haiti YMCA in the cybercafe.
So back the DR. Kim ate six pieces of pizza and ice cream! We had a great time asking one another questions. The zoo and aquarium were both closed so we just ate and drove around. She didn't get disappointed or anything, they were all so sweet- It was her, her mom, her two sisters, a translator, a driver and the woman from Children International who works with Kim's family. It was a great day. Kim takes 12 courses at school and it's only an afternoon school. All three girls have great dreams for the future- to be a dentist, accountant and Kim wants to be a pediatrician. They sang and danced for me and tried to teach me a little. She asked three times if I would come back someday. . . and I think maybe I will.
My spanish is a struggle. I speak a few words and revert back to english!
I have to go to lunch now. I hope to tell you about the DR Y later.

So much to say. . .

Wow. I can't belive it's only been 3 days since I left. So everything is fine, there may be difficulties that I didn't anticipate in the cleanliness area and choosing what to eat but I'm having a good time.
To start with at the airport as soon as I got in line, a man started talking to me about universal religion- because I had a Y shirt on. Not only did he want to talk in line, he wanted me to meet him at the gate and continue our conversation! But he ended up being a nice guy, I thought he was misguided, he thinks I am but we agreed to disagree. . . or I stopped talking and maybe he thought he'd given me something to think about. He also did me the favor of finding Antonio- my Y leader. So, the dynamic of a flight in the middle of winter to Miami- want to take a guess of the median age?
So arrival in the Dominican Republic was very welcoming, Andres is the director of the DR YMCA and also the leader of the Carribean Alliance of YMCA's. We met up with him and his son, and Ray, a gentleman from Kentucky who used to live in Hait and is our Haiti expert. They took me out to a beautiful restaurant on the beach with multi levels and colors and I tried Mofundo, or something like that, plantains mixed with some meat and tropical fruit juice. It was good. Probably the most cultural food I have had so far. It was a great introduction to the country. I was warned not to expect that every night.
The hotel. So that first night, I had a room alone. And I know I thought to myself, I haven't done this for awhile. . . and it's almost panic when you realize how far you are out of your comfort zone. And I'm still only in the DR. When we came to my hotel room, the refridge had been left open and leaked all over the floor. . . and some of you know the problem I have with wet floors. Someone was supposed to clean it up while we were gone and didn't. Then, the shower didn't work. I got all ready for my nice hot shower after a day of travel and then a trickle of cold came out. It was about 12:15 a.m. and I had to get up at 6:30 a.m. Uh oh. So you deal with it. I imagine it's going to get a lot worse. Sleeping in bug repellent. Man.
And I'm thinking, how did I get here?
And I think back to a night where I was sitting in the pool office catching up on my reading because there weren't enough lifeguards and I read a Y Discovery Magazine about these ILI experiences and I thought, I'd like to do that someday. . . and then at a training this fall I heard about this opportunity again and I made it one of my short term goals. . . and I've wanted to come to the Dominican Republic for a few years because I have a sponsored child through Children International that I wanted to meet. Kimberlyn. And then I just happen to notice on our national Y website this ILI opportunity in the Dominican Republic (and Haiti) and I thought. . . well maybe I'll apply for that, just a few days before it was due. And I got in. So there you go, I'm here.
So after a breakfast of scrambled eggs and what I found out today is SPAM I headed out to meet Kimberlyn. . . which was amazing. Honestly. Not only is she real, she's really sweet and mature, and tall and gets along with her sisters and is considerate. But I should probably get off this computer now, so I'll have to tell you about Kim and the amazing work of the DR YMCA later. I've been drinking beer.

Country Mouse is off to new lands!

One week and counting

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…..

Little Mice, Big City.

Hello friends! Country Mouse here to tell you about our lovely second day in Boston. We arrived in the city after once again successfully navigating the train system around 9:00 a.m. We observed a lady on the train with super high heels with glitters and a nice top with sweat pants on in between. Who knows? Living in the city must be entertaining. Unfortunately today our friend Emily had to work so the two mice were off to conquer the city on their own. First stop was breakfast and I had the best tomato basil tort and I’m not sure what it’s made of but it was the best thing I’ve had so far. So good. Then we ventured toward the Boston Common. . . Now I think we all know what the “Country” mouse favors in the way of an environment. But Boston is a contradictory place, there are nice country areas within the larger city. The Boston Common (5-sided) contains a frog pond, a swan pond, a public garden area, lots of sunbathers, and lots of green grass. Would any of you wear an itty bitty little bikini and lay out near the Swan Pond in Winona Lake? No! But this is what the people of Boston do. . . Wear as little as possible and lay out in the green areas of the city. To their credit, I heard someone saying that it has been the hottest day all summer. And it was very warm, especially for the mice in their matching black tops. But on with our journey. We waded across the Frog Pond, which does not contain frogs at all but is a lovely shallow pool for families to come and enjoy. It may be my favorite spot in Boston- or close to it. We observed the Swan Boats in the Swan Pond. Some poor soul paddles these huge boats around like a bicycle and people just sit on them and move very slowly. We passed on that adventure. We walked down Newbury Street. And then we went to the Esplanade. For the life of me I cannot keep in my head how to pronounce that word- but it is an area around the river that is very green and peaceful and full of runners. And. . . The tannest man alive. I may let City Mouse tell you more about him. We took a nice little nap there by the river because we had been walking FOREVER in the heat and we were tired little mice. We also went by the Hatch Shell which is an outdoor area where they have concerts and movies. I am going to have to go back sometime when I can witness this- the idea of sitting outside on a blanket and drinking wine while watching a movie really sounds fun to me. But then comes the best part of the day. . . We met up with my friend Ashley and he took us sailing. SAILING! We had a delightful time. And then we ate at a nice little restaurant where the menu is made up by the best chefs in Boston. And then he took us to his place and we sat out on a deck to drink some wine and listen to music. It was great. This house is a skinny six stories tall and it has an elevator. Cool place. I could not have imagined a better evening. It was just about the perfect day. . . And yes country mouse is saying the perfect day was in the city. We went home around 11:30 p.m. so we were in the city walking for 14 plus hours . . . We were sweaty messes when we arrived back at Emily’s.
Unfortunately we had to depart this morning but we were on to a new adventure, driving up the coast to Port Clyde Maine. . . Via Gloucester, MA.
We stopped in Gloucester because I was there nine years ago with my family and it’s quite a pretty little place. When I was there then my dad and I got up one morning so that I could shoot photos of the sunrise between these two lighthouses. So today we set off on an adventure to find the same place again. And we did- when I was there before it was sunrise and abandoned. This time there were hundreds of people with bright umbrellas but it was cool to find again. It made me really appreciate that memory where my dad took me to take pictures. Thanks dad.
There’s also an artist colony there so we checked out some art and traveled up the coast some more.
I will tell you that I am eating entirely too many eggs on this vacation. I had then last night for dinner, today at breakfast and this evening in a quiche. Enough is enough.
We are staying in this awesome Bed and Breakfast (my favorite) and there’s a barn restaurant next door, too cute.
I was in this area nine years ago with the fam and again 4 years ago . . . I came up here for almost 2 weeks on my own to take two classes at the Maine Photographic Workshops in Rockport (near Camden). It was a big time for me. I am struggling now with whether or not we should go to all these places that I have in my memory or try to see new places. So far I’m going for the memory and tomorrow we’re going to Monhegan Island, a place I loved before.
I’m going to hand it over to the City Mouse now. . .

City Mouse is tired. She will write later….

The Scenic Route

City Mouse: Yesterday morning we left our Yale friends and headed up the coast toward Cape Cod. We opted to take the more scenic Rt 1 vs taking the interstate. This took us through cool little seaside towns, such as Mystic, CT. We made an attempt to stop at our winery for the day, but quickly opted out (costs...tastes...strange pushy wine lady...). We made the decision on the way up the coast to stay in Cape Cod for th night before heading to Boston so we could explore the national seashore a bit. with the help of ETBFM we secure a camp site at Shawme-Crowell State Park, in Sandwich, MA (the oldest town in the cape). We hit a local farm market to grab goods to make dinner (which country mouse came up with the recipe on the fly, in the car), then headed out to see the cape. Everyone warned us about all the traffic from the vacationers for the weekend, but I didn't find it that bad. We drove all the way to Provincetown at the tip of the cape and back to Sandwich. with some little adventures inbetween.
we got back to the campsite (after dark again, but this time we had already set up the tent during daylight), and made our dinner. the fire didnt go so very well this time. I think the wood was a tad wet. it wouldnt burn. but we made it work. and it was delicious.

in the morning we enjoyed a cute and yummy breakfast (involving whipped cream made with sugar) at a little tea house in Sandwich and headed up to Boston. An easy drive, a little over an hour. Since I just wrote about our time in the country, I will have Country Mouse tell you about our time in the city today....

I would like to say that one of my favorite adventures on the way to the end of Cape Cod, was chasing the sun. I really wanted to see the sunset so we chased it down a road called Pleasant Point. . . we mostly missed it but it was a pretty anyway. We also found a dumpy cottage on a dead end road that was $749,000. Unbelievable.

We arrived safely in Boston at my friend Emily's who just moved here a little over two weeks ago. She is very nicely hosting us for the next two days. When you enter the city you go under it for a long time. It was pretty cool.

We navigated the T Train taking the Orange Line from Malden to State Street. I would be a fish out of water without my two pals to guide me around. We ate some Italian sausage from a street vendor because it smelled so darn good. We wandered the streets a bit and saw street singers, and people who act like statues and awesome architecture everywhere. We took the National Park Service's Freedom Trail tour with a very entertaining elderly chap who really liked Paul Revre and wore a ranger hat. He "had no vocal cords" so we all had to gather in close to hear his tales. I learned some history and saw a lot of interesting things around Boston. There were pastry stores that must have something special because the lines for them would extend half a block out of the store. There's a huge farmers market with a box of tomatoes for $5 and 8 peaches for $1. There's quite an interesting mixture of old and new, huge skyscrappers built from glass and then there in front is a much smaller brick building that looks like it's painted in, it looks so out of place.

We went through the Holocaust Memorial that's here in Boston. It's here because of all the history symbolizing freedom here, having to do with the Revolutionary War. It was pretty powerful. There were glass pillars inscripted with all the numbers of those who died in the concentration camps. As you walk through, steam would rise underneath you- like the gas in the gas chambers. There were quotes all along the way from survivors about things they saw. It makes you very thoughtful and quiet and I really about cried there in the middle of sunny Boston. And then on the other side of the street were all these people laughing and talking and eating at Irish pubs.

There is one section of Boston with 138 Italian restaurants. We went for seafood instead and City Mouse got her crab cakes (the one thing Nicole wanted to eat in Boston). We sat at the harbor for an hour watching skateboarders and models and boats and bride-to-bes.

Tonight, despite how much I love the outdoors and camping, its nice to be somewhere comfortable and safe. A car alarm went off in the middle of the night last night while we were camping, and for some reason I thought it was my car, although, I don't think I have a car alarm, and it made me super anxious that a person or a bear was going to attack us in the tent at any momment. It's just nice to not have to worry about that tonight.
Over and out.

see ya later,
History Mice

What do you call two mice in a Prius...?

awesome.

City Mouse here, checking in from a cute little joint called Cafe Romeo at Yale in New Haven, Ct. We are just sitting amongst our smarty-pants peers, soaking up the knowledge and culture, enjoying lattes and coffee cake and sunshine and conversations on how to improve the world. but let me back up and fill you in on the adventure so far.....

we got off to a start tuesday night by driving separately to my brother's house in Mt. Vernon, OH. Country Mouse did a nice job following the big redheaded van across the miles. We were just at brother mouse's house long enough to enjoy my too-cute-to-boot niece, who entertained us with smiles and jabber.
Wednesday morning we had breakfast at the local greasy spoon and headed east. To the end of the world to be exact. World's End State Park, PA. it was a LONG drive. much longer than we expected. We arrived at our site after dark. But being the Wilderness Mice that we are (and by we, i muean summer), we got the camp site set up. After setting up we needed to find some firewood so we could make dinner (no propane fueled camp stove for us--unlike our camping neighbors--thats cheating), plus we had no cell phone reception, so we drove 15 miles back out of the state park. We found a gas station to sell us firewood, and much further down the road we found ice cream, and more importantly, cell phone reception! Counrty Mouse would like you to know that the reason we didn't have firewood is because we arrived 8 minutes after the camp store closed. such luck. oh well, we are resourceful. We checked in with both momma mice and extremely tall boyfriend mouse and headed back. Country Mouse prepared a delicious dinner of chicken tacos, potatoes, and corn that we picked up a farm market on the way. I built a fire. a darn good fire if i do say so myself. (i know how to do this because I paid attention on vacation last month and watched extremely tall boyfriend mouse (ETBFM) do it. it was stellar, as was the food. it was soooooooooo delicious. the we climbed in the tent and hit the hay.

In the morning we make delicious pancakes over the fire (that i also built!), got ready and went mini hiking.
Country Mouse here to tell you about how beautiful Worlds End State Park is. We walked along the river on a lovely little path complete with my favorites, pine trees and ferns. I took pictures. Do you know how long its been since I've shot a roll of film all in one day? Lovely flowing water and rocks and the air. . . all those of you in Indiana, just imagine air without humidty that is just the right temperature that you can actually feel sunlight as it filters through the trees. Perfect. Then we drove on this dirt road up a mountain to a scenic area with a rock garden. We climbed around for a bit and then had to move on.
The gps (geeps) guided us through the back roads of Pennslyvania, maybe not in the most direct route. But it was an enjoyable scenic drive. . . but then I got sleepy so a stop had to be made. We decided to use the geeps to find a lunch stop. It said that Back Mountain Tomato was just a few miles away. We drove out into the middle of nowhere and had the nag (voice on geeps, not Nicole) say via point on right. . . not so. So we tried another 4 restaurants and they weren't there either. Lovely technology. At this point, we are a few hours behind schedule, but you can't pass up a winery when it's on your path. Family owned at that. Had to make some investments there. Finally we got on the road. . . for hours. Traffic and craziness. So glad city mouse is driving. I saw New York City across the Hudson River.

City Mouse back....We got into Yale about 730 last night. I took Counrty Mouse to one of my favorite Thai food places, York Street Noodle House ( I love me some noodles). Then after a nice visit with our friends Gabe and Sarah and their awesome dog, Delft, we slept. Great long day. Good to sleep.

So here we find ourselves, getting ready to head up to Cape Cod National Seashore, via Mystic, CT and Newport, CT. Pray for less traffic. Its not our favorite.
Thanks for reading and stay tuned for more adventures to come.....

love,
the Mice

Coast to Coast Adventure, Part II

Stay tuned. . . August 25th

Day 7 “Still Going…”
Where did I leave off…
Oh yeah, Gerard Butler-look-alike and I did become friends. He’s pretty cool. His name is Sean, but I call him Hawaii, because that’s where he’s from. He’s the same age as me and he’s moving from New Orleans to Anchorage for a girl. Hawaii and Fox and I have pretty much become the Three Amigos on the ship. We play games, we joke, we laugh, we cry. Ok, maybe not cry, but we are having a smashing time. Hawaii looks out for us too. He hooked us up with the air mattress, pillows, and blankets. He pretty much has our backs. He would make the perfect big brother. He’s also driving the same route to Anchorage as us, so it will be nice to know some one out there on the road through Canada. I think we amuse him quite a bit.



Hanging out on the ship has been so much fun! The time has gone surprisingly fast. Lights go out in our lounge at 9pm so Fox and I have been going to bed at that time. I’ve been getting up around 6am and hanging out with Hawaii, drinking some coffee and watching the sunrise over the mountains. Its extremely beautiful. This morning we docked at our first port, Ketchikan, AK. The three of us walked into town , got some coffee, then went looking for an internet connection. After several tries Hawaii found us one and we were good to go. We stopped at a local supermarket and got some delicious goodness for lunch, then Hawaii got us a cab ride back because we were all too cold to walk the two miles back to the ferry. The scenery has been amazing. I’ve been surprised how close we’ve gotten to the land at points. They keep telling us to be on the lookout for wildlife. I haven’t seen anything on the land, but we did spot a bunch of Orca whales and some porpoises swimming along side the ship. Pretty cool stuff….



Ciao,
Mouse

P.S. Word on the water is that we may get to see the Northern Lights soon… I really hope so!





AKRT
Day 8
“…and going”

We have been having such a fun time on this ferry, I think we’re making people jealous! Last night Fox, Hawaii, and I found New Jersey Nick and a bottle of wine and had the most hilarious time playing cards. We played poker for awhile, but the boys kept having to give us their chips because Fox and I went all wild with our betting (since we weren’t playing for money). I think the boys got tired of that so they taught us how to play spades. But we were laughing and talking so much each round took about an hour! The boys nicknamed me “Ginger” (because of my hair) and Fox “Hot to Trot” because she gets a bit sassy . Finally around midnight we gave up and went to sleep.



In addition to making friends with half the passengers we also had the ferry crew quite fond of us. Which works in our favor because we got a lot of stuff for free….the guys in the kitchen hooked us up with some breakfast… our galley guy ”Bert” (named because of his crazy eyebrows) went and got me a blanket (for free) from the blanket rental because I was cold playing poker…we even managed to get ourselves a stateroom to sleep in for the night. Dang we’re good. I mean nice.

In the morning the four of us met for breakfast and then hung out and talked until we docked at the port we were all departing from. As it turns out there are several people we met on the ferry that are making the same trip as us so we are all kind of caravanning through Canada. We have about a 4 hour drive ahead of us through the Yukon wilderness until we get to our stop for the night in Haines Junction, Canada. This drive is AMAZING. Its all snowy and frosted over. Pure wilderness, which looks a bit like Narnia, if you can imagine. We drove through a bald eagle preserve and saw TONS of bald eagles. It was awesome. Some were even perched along the side of the road. The boys are ahead of us on the road and we are thankful that we have them to follow. We made it to the Canadian boarder crossing after about an hour. It wasn’t to hard to get through. They asked us a bunch of questions and took our passports. They were going to make us open the car but Fox convinced them that would be a terrible idea. They took one look at the packed pruis and agrees. But I am kind of ticked, I don’t think they stamped my passport!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


We are now crossing the pass. The pass is what we were told was the most dangerous part of the journey. Its basically a narrow road that crosses over the summit of the mountain. If the pass isn’t clear you can’t go on. Its going to start getting dark soon, but the border guard said it was pretty clear, so Hawaii in his white Grand Am, Jersey in his white Silverado, and Fox and I in our silver prius disappear into the snowy distance. This is one of the craziest drives I’ve done. The ground is white, the tree are white, the mountain peaks around us are pure white, the sky is white, the air is even white, and we are trying to follow two white cars. By this point Fox’s knuckles are white. We have about 3 hours now till we get to our destination for the night. The four of us are going to find a place to eat and call it a day.

See ya in the morning, eh!
Canadian Mouse

AKRT Day 6 "Going to Sea"

Fox and I left Aunt Debbie’s house Friday morning and drove north to a town called Bellingham, WA, where our ferry was. We checked in at the terminal about 2pm and they told us to go get our car in line to board the ferry between 3 and 4. So we did. Friends, all I’m gonna says is they did not start boarding us until 6:30pm. 6:30! We sat in that prius for 4 hours!!!!! Poor Fox had such a headache. She was just about ready to burst. I had a great phone conversation with someone cool so my four hours when a lot better until my phone died. Eventually we did get on the ferry and started to unload the things we thought we’d need for the next 3 days and nights.


A little about our ship:
We are taking the Alaskan Marine Highway from Bellingham, WA to Haines, AK. It will take 3 days to get there. They stop at several other ports along the way which is why its taking so long. We are on a ship called The Malaspina. It’s 408 feet long and can hold up to 701 passengers. I bet there are less than 200 people on our ship. The lower deck is where all the cars are parked. Fox and I were surprised to find out that people have pets that they have to leave in their cars. You can access your vehicles during specific times throughout the day, but we can’t figure out where the pets go to the bathroom. Gee, the things that make us go hmmmm?



Our ship has a mini movie theater (which is only showing kids movies on this trip), a cafeteria, a recliner lounge, a cocktail lounge, an observation deck, a play area (if you can call it that), some video games, a gift shop, a dining room, a shower room, a bunch of cabin rooms (that you have to pay extra for), and a solarium. All in all a pretty decent ferry.


Fox and I were one of the last ones to board with our car (go figure) and get unpacked and to the upper deck before we left port. I have never carried so much stuff at one time, I should change my name to Pack Mule instead of City Mouse! We had to carry our stuff up 3 or 4 flights of stairs, many outdoors, to the top of the ship, the Solarium. The plan was to pitch our tent, put our air mattress inside and make a little private campsite. As it turns out, the Solarium was really tiny and only had 3 walls, and the rest was open deck. There were heat lamps, but many of them were not working and in our mad rush to get out of the car deck before we left port, we left behind most of our blankets. (duh.) There were lounge chairs on the Solarium deck and about 7 or 8 were already claimed with sleeping bags. One of the men informed us that we couldn’t pitch a tent under the heat lamps, it had to be out in the open air. I looked around, noticed that it was almost all men out there and we decided to explore the ship for other options. We hit gold pretty quickly in the recliner lounge. Basically a big, enclosed room that has rows of chairs, similar to a large airplane. We noticed people setting up little sleeping areas on the floors, between chairs, and across rows of chairs. We spotted and empty row, claimed it, and moved out stuff in from the Solarium. We spread out all our stuff, made ourselves something to eat from the food bag, and then noticed some other spots that were good ones. I found a dark little corner in the back of the lounge and moved my camp there. Fox found a table that opened up where she could lay across the row of chairs (being a shorty comes in handy at times like this…my 5’8”ness was not going to fit), so we moved her camp to there. By this point everyone in the lounge in now probably wondering where else we are going to move to. But I think we are pretty content with our choices. There are a row of lockers by me so Fox and I decide to get one to keep our purses in for the night. We fish around and find the only two quarters we have and get a locker. About 5 seconds after we lock them in and pay for it, Fox realizes she wants her crochet needle out of it. So we open the locker back up, loose our $.50, and decide to forget the lockers.



Fox came over to “my room” for awhile and we watched some Friends episodes on my computer. Then they turned lights out around 8:30/9:00 so we decided there was not much else to do but go to bed. I didn’t sleep to well. Not because I was uncomfortable, but because it was 9-freaking-o’clock and I wasn’t tired. I woke up about 2am. Stayed up for a bit to write this entry, then went back to sleep about 3:30. I was up this morning at 7, took a shower, and Fox and I went and got breakfast in the cafeteria. We are now hanging out in Fox’s “room” aka, the table. Me, writing, she, crocheting. I spent most of the morning walking around meeting everybody. I met two girls that are going to be making the same drive as us to Anchorage, so we are going to try and caravan together. I met 2 guys named Nick, on from AK and one from Jersey. And currently there is a cute guy sitting across the isle from me that looks just like Gerard Butler and I’m thinking about introducing myself, just for Jessica’s sake, because I know HOW MUCH SHE LOVE GERARD BUTLER. I am probably gonna have to talk to him, because it would probably be pretty weird just to walk up and take his picture. Ha ha! I am having fun talking to everyone here. My goal is the be the most popular girl on the ship by the time we reach our destination! Plus Fox brought all kinds of games and movies. Whats not to love about two hot girls with fun things to do on a ship out to sea for 3 days!!!
To be continued….
Ice Cube Mouse