Happy Holidays

In this season of long nights, may your home be warm, and may you find a good book, a great album, or a new lego project to fill them.

Pink Yink Ink Drink

This is a Pink Yink Ink Drink. Today Wuggy Norple and Exploding Poptart discovered that you can make it with:
Blackberrries
Strawberries
Milk
Honey

It makes your face pink.

Winter Fat

Well, we've watched those squirrels getting fatter and fatter all fall. Now they are so fat and the trees so bare we finally pulled the car over during an errand to catch them on film, and they were so engaged with their meal, they posed beautifully so we could share them with you. They are so much fatter than the squirrels Exploding Poptart used to watch out the window at the church back in California. Even the Squirrels take winter more seriously here.

Snow Pie

We woke this morning to big fluffy flakes of snow. By the time we were dressed, the ground was a proverbial blanket of white. We busted the tags off snow-boots and waterproof gloves and made the first footprints on our street.


Wuggy Norple asked that we post his first snow-pie of the season.

Wedding

Finally the wedding was on. The great wedding of LouJones and Guy.
Papercup Mixmaster got to be one of the best men
Exploding Poptart got to perform the ceremony
And Wuggy Norple was the best flower thrower ever. [Gosh he looked sharp in his orange tie]

The cold afternoon in the Marin Headlands melted into a warm yellow glow that felt like the world's longest hug. What an auspicious beginning. Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Guy-Jones. We love you.

Our little band of travelers could not stay to close the party down, as we love to do. We had to catch an early morning flight back to the great white north. (mostly fog so far, the snow didn't stick). After being surrounded by people we love for 10 days, it was sad to leave. But as Wuggy Norple said in his thanksgiving toast "I'm thankful to spend time with friends, and to enjoy them for as long as I can before we go back."

Sunny Thanksgiving

For years we have celebrated Thanksgiving with Papa Saxophone and the boys. It feels sad not to be pulling giblets out of a turkey with them on a cold and damp Seattle morning, but we sure have enjoyed chopping and mixing with King Me and Mlle. here in California, where the sun streams down into their hillside home. Yesterday (after a sweet and too-short visit with Happy Potterer and Another-Other-Mother and my GuideDaughter Mookie) we spent the day making too many pies: Apple Walnut, Pecan and Pumpkin. ("That's half a pie per person!" said Papercup Mixmaster. I didn't tell him there were actually 2 pumpkin pies...)

Wuggy Norple made Cranberry sauce this morning, and is now the timekeeper for our thanksgiving schedule:
"It's 10:02- I think we are a LITTLE bit behind schedule for the Cranberry Sauce."

Sweet smells from the kitchen, football on the TV, and good friends all around. It's a Happy, Sunny Thanksgiving.

Finding the Scone

Here we are in California to witness the wedding of Lou Jones and Guy. We drove through snow (real one-inch-deep, draping the ground and rooftops, scenic-postcard snow) as we left Ithaca last Friday, and arrived Saturday to a beautiful, Sunny, California afternoon. When Mlle. met us at the airport, she was decked in flipflops and shorts.

I hope there will be time later to tell the story of the Bachelor party and our other adventures, but now I just want to say that after our slumber party at Drama Mama's we (expectant and filled with trepidation) went to the neighborhood Starbucks in hopes that they would have Wuggy Norple's favorite baked-good and symbol of life-as-it-should be: the mini vanilla scone. And there they were, sending their sweet sweet love to us from the pastry case. We ordered 3 and a Kid's milk filled with glee. Once again we were eating vanilla scones with Drama Mama and Princess Punk. Wuggy Norple is very happy to be back.

Woog is born!

Today, November 9, at 11:01 am, Woog was born. Son of K-nob and King Waffel, brother of Boog. He was a wopping 9 lbs 9 oz. As you can see he is very beautiful. We are told that when Boog first saw Woog in his mother's arms, it blew her mind. She stood in the doorway open mouthed processing for 2 whole minutes, says King Waffel.

Waiting very excited...

Right at this very moment K-nob is being prepped for a surgery according to plan, and we all anxiously await the birth of the newest member of our family. While we are starting our ordinary day of work and school, a whole new life is ready to begin. Wow.

Snow!

Real, live snowflakes falling from the sky (without actually piling up on the ground or anything) witnesed in the Ithaca sky and on our windshield on this day, Wednesday November 7. Our first New York snow!

Halloween

[pumpkin design by Wuggy Norple]

This was one of the all time great Halloweens. We made a pilgrimage down Philadelphia way to attend the Eagle's Kids Club Halloween party at the Linc, where Eagles cheerleaders gave away candy to costumed Eagles Fans, and let us try on Eagles gear as a band of devilish musicians roved the Linc playing "Fly Eagles Fly". Most importantly Uncle Clutch, Aunt Sunny D, Cousin Tiny Hings and Cousin Smiley Walker met us at the stadium to tour the Eagle's locker room and run out the very tunnel our favorite players run through before each home game. It was worth the rainy gloomy drive down route 81.

When we arrived at Godmama Q's place she had left Halloween treat bags on our pillows, and made us the most delicious chili and corn bread to chase the chill away. We even got to see our old friend MadDog, and his beautiful new home in Philadelphia. We miss our California friends, but we take comfort in the fact that that even in our brand new home we have old friends nearby.

The weekend closed with another pilgrimage- this time to watch the Eagles' Sunday game on local TV at Uncle Clutch's childhood home. (Boy, his mom and dad sure know how to make you feel welcome!) After all those years of watching Eagles' games with Clutch and Sunny D, it was a kind of reunion, and chance for Wuggy Norple to spend the afternoon playing tackle football with Adventure Gramma and Tiny Hings (the ball was invisible I believe- but the tackles were real).

All that, and we haven't even gotten to Halloween itself. Wuggy Norple dressed up in his Jango Fett jumpsuit, and we walked through our neighborhood on a beautiful fall evening, replete with crisp autumn air and traditional fall foliage. We got all the way to his Arts Camp Friend's house where we stopped to rest, and then headed home (Wuggy Norple is the rare child who is satisfied with one bucket of candy). Exploding Pop Tart sat in the big wicker chair on the front porch with a giant bowl of candy and talked across the porch rail with our next-door neighbor (Dallas Cowboys fan though he is). Because the surrounding area is so rural, some folks come by vanload to our neighborhood to trick or treat. It was the friendliest neighborhood we've ever trick-or-treated in.

Afterwards Wuggy Norple had invited some neighbor friends, along with the Boog and her family over to play "Pass the pumpkin" and eat halloween cupcakes. It was so nice to drink wine and cider with our new neighbors and read Halloween books with the children. Exploding Poptart and Papercup Mixmaster were delighted. (Wuggy Norple says- "It wasn't what I expected." It never is, Wuggy.)








[pumpkin design by K-Nob]

Thoughts from Wuggy Norple

On our cold early morning walk to the bus stop:
"We can't be late for the bus, it's still dark outside."

Fear Winter?

Driving down through the hills of the southern tier of New York and the northern tier of Pennsylvania, the rolling tree-covered hills had changed from mostly green to mostly orange/yellow/brown. In the light of the setting sun it looked almost like the yellow hills of California in July. What I'm told is an unseasonably warm fall has finally caught up to itself, and there is a real chill, especially at Wuggy Norple's bus stop before the sun makes its full appearance. The squirrels are very, very fat.

Everyone has talked so much about the winter; we look forward to it with some trepidation. Will we still be able to head south for the weekend to visit our mid-Atlantic family and friends? How will Exploding Poptart run when it gets much colder? When will we get our first $400 heating bill? Everyone jokes about how hard February and March are; what does that really mean? Will Wuggy Norple really throw snowballs at our backs when we're not looking? Will we really be able to make snow angels in the backyard? Is it premature to buy cross-country skis?

Hitting the Wall

Here it is. The wall. Like in a marathon, when you hit mile 20 and just can't seem to run another step (or so I hear). Except ours is much more concrete, and gives the house that unsettled look, though we tried to hide it behind the rocking horse.

The unpacking has slowed to a crawl. All the easy stuff is unpacked. All the bookcases and drawers are full. And yet there are still so very many boxes remaining. I keep telling myself "do not fear your stuff; it all fit somewhere in the old place, and this place is no smaller."

It's easy to unpack a box of books into a bookcase. The problem comes when the box (marked "kitchen" probably) holds 20 copies of Papercup Mixmaster's last Album, a waffle iron, and all those 1" high rubber alien guys we used to keep on a windowsill. Now that we no longer have a garage, it all has to actually go someplace.

The wall emerged when we decided to corral them all into one place, so that now there are many "box free" rooms in the house. I've started to approach the boxes from a mining point of view. Somewhere behind the layer of "books that are going to go in that bookcase we ordered which the furniture store says will surely be here in 6-8 weeks" there is real ore. That cookbook that has my potato soup recipe. My favorite pencils. We mined pretty much all of Wuggy Norple's toys early on, but occasionally we hit a new vein, and voila! A great set of castle-building blocks to surprise and delight.

Probably if I have a banana and dump a cup of water over my head I can push trough this.

-E.P.T

I love New York in Fall

Wow, it's already as cold and wet as winter ever got Silicon Valley, but it sure is beautiful.

Quick Updates

This updated is dedicated to Adventure Gramma who checks our blog every day even when we let weeks go by without updating.

Papercup Mixmaster has finally gotten the organ out from under piles of boxes, and is within days of being able to make music in the new house.

Wuggy Norple just found a vintage Lego motor in the family Lego archives, and is now building Lego robots to go in his Lego universe.

Exploding poptart is happy at her new job- the people are great, and though there is always more work to do than time to do it, she gets to drive all around the county inspecting homes and taking in the beautiful landscape listening to Feist and Old Crow Medicine Show, and is always glad to be useful.

These shoes

These are the shoes Exploding Poptart wore to see Michael Franti and Spearhead last week. They are the same shoes she used to wear to the Cyber Ball. It felt good to carry so many memories on the walk around the corner to the show.

This is the restaurant where Exploding Poptart and Papercup Mixmaster had dinner before the show. And, incidentally where Michael Franti had dinner before the show.

This is the band that opened for Michael Franti. They rock.

The show was joyful and engaging. His music makes so much more sense in a live context. Suddenly we understand why so very many of his songs have lyrics about making noise, putting your hands up, and how, truth be told "I like my bass loudy, loudy, LOUDER. Poptart and Mixmaster agree, Franti knows how to keep a crowd engaged. It was a great night. A shout out to K-nob and Boog for having a sleepover with Wuggy Norple so we could throw our hands in the air.

This is the band that opened for Michael Franti. They are from Australia and we love them.

Things we left behind

Wuggy Norple recently was saddened by the realization that some things he loved and counted on in California just don't exist in Ithaca. Some of you know the depth of his love of the KFC Mashed Potato Bowl. He was crushed to find that there is no KFC in Ithaca at all. He was so disappointed that after a recent hair-cut-trauma when I offered to take him out to any restaurant he chose, he decided he'd rather go without if he couldn't have his beloved Mashed Potato Bowl. The blow was compounded later that same week when his worst fears were confirmed; the Ithaca Starbucks does not serve mini vanilla scone. Really, why even leave the house.

When surveyed, Exploding Poptart admitted that while she loves her new yoga studio, she still pines for Willow Glen Yoga, especially when a morning of Vinyassa is followed by a Carrot Ginger Muffin. Papercup Mixmaster misses hanging out in the studio in the old garage. (The studio is currently in a dozen or so boxes piled on the electric organ in the upstairs hallway.)

Moistly, we all miss our California friends very much.

Rain

Rain in Ithaca takes itself very seriously. It comes out of no where, pours and storms and torrents and makes small lakes out of every parking lot for 20 minutes and then, satisfied, goes on it's way. This weekend Wuggy Norple was saddened when a sudden thunder storm pulled him out of Cayuga Lake where we were splashing at Boog's Gramma's house. Within minutes of getting inside, we saw more lightening through those lake view windows than I've ever seen in one storm. We drove home less than half and hour later in relative dryness, and it seemed like every lawn had it's own downed tree. It took a while for the storm to make it down the lake to our house, but the next night we got our own whipping winds and sheets and buckets and loud crashing thunder, which we watched from our front porch as the power went out all down our side of six-mile creek. Adventure Gramma took us on an expotition to follow the firetrucks to the source of our trouble, and soon we saw the downed tree making a triangle out of a wire that wanted to be a line. The firetruck and NYSEG truck checked it out briefly and drove away- I guess it was a busy night for those guys. We hoofed back to the porch, and Papercup Mixmaster played us some tunes on the acoustic.

Top 15

Here is our top 15 list of things to do in Ithaca:

15 Hiding out in the brand new "little room" in the children's section at the public library. It is covered with beautiful new murals.

14 Watching the Ultimate Summer League championship game in Cass Park. (The Udders won handily, 13-7. Moo.)

13 Walking to stuff; half our favorite things to do are walking distance from our house.

12 Eating wings and watching the game at Uncle Joe's.

11 Looking for fossils along the edge of Cayuga Lake.


10 Muffins at the Smart Monkey Cafe. They are even better than the ones at Peet's which Exploding Poptart has been pining for. Better yet, they are just down the street from Exploding Poptart's new job!

9 Sandwiches at the Shortstop Deli. Try a large "Sui" (short for suicide) and don't forget that Truck Sauce.

8 Visit Museum of the Earth. Now a veteran of Fossil Camp, Wuggy Norple loves to give tours to friends and family.

7 Walking through the Cornell Plantations. Exploding Poptart and Godmamma Q got their first tour this weekend. Wow.

6 Random free cultural events like Jonah Bokaer's Informal Dance Showing of Invention of Minus Onen, brought to a sweaty and grateful crowd in a community center gymnasium. Exploding Poptart says she hasn't seen dancers that good in at least a decade. She thinks that one guy takes yoga...

5 Listening to local band IY get those hippie chicks groovin. (Also, watching the hippie chicks ~groove~)

4 Running in Cass Park, a nice smooth waterfront trail where Exploding Poptart can make her morning run through the wildflowers, past the marina and Children's Garden.

3 Drinkin' Horny Gingeritas or Pineapple Basil-Tinis at Felicia's (not Wuggy Norple, of course).

2 Watching crayfish crawl on the rocks in Six Mile Creek.

1 Chillin with the family (we suddenly have so much of it!).

Lego Star Wars is Complete!

100% completion of Playstation Lego Starwars 2; the Original Trilogy was reached today at 8:24 pm. It took 73 hours 3 minutes and 47 seconds. We now have over a billion studs. It's a big day.

Wuggy Norple wants you to know that includes 100 gold bricks! (It makes a cool stud fountain we just completed tonight)

I wonder what we'll do tomorrow?

Yoga in a Brave New World

Yoga, you'd think, would be pretty much the same East and West. And mostly it is. Like %80 it is. I, Exploding PopTart, found 2 great studios when we first visited over a year ago. One, Sunrise Yoga, is on the 3rd floor of an aging building downtown. It's a roomy studio, with a million plants by the windows in the front of the studio where the teacher sets his mat. He teaches in the Kripalu tradition which, so near as I can tell so far, is not so very different from the Vinyasa yoga I have been practicing for the past few years. They start every class with core work and some crazy hip thing, and they do Warrior I with the heel up instead of heel down, but generally I catch on. The most embarrassing mix up was when the teacher called for "elbow stand" and, taking a guess at what that might be, I went up into a headstand. The way I was arranged, I couldn't really see anyone else, except a great shuffling of mats. When I did finally come out of the pose, I noticed everyone else arranged against the walls in what I had come to know as "forearm balance" or Pincha Mayurasana. Anyway, everyone there seems very nice, they have lots of classes and are very affordable.

I also have been going to Soma Yoga. They don't have as many classes, and are more expensive, so I've just been going once a week. It's on the main drag, further from the downtown in a converted house much like the one we are living in. Everything is very beautiful, and looks newly renovated and painted. The teacher mentioned that she made the bolsters her self, and I wouldn't be surprised if she painted the lovely signs too. It's the same attention to detail she gives to her yoga practice. She teaches in the Iyengar tradition, which means if you get out 3 blankets, a bolster, 2 blocks and a belt before class, there is a chance you'll need one or 2 more blankets before class is over. I find I can generally get through most Vinyasa classes with one blanket, and when I studied in the Ashtanga tradition they eschew all props, so I have learned to do without even my one security blanket when the occasion arrises. I have nothing against props, I just am not sure what to do with them in such great quantity, and as last night's class went on, found myself getting into my prop-supported poses with decreasing grace. Class started out with reality intact, but after years of looking for the 4 corners of my feet, I learned last night that actually feet have 3 points, not 4 corners. And after years of agreeing that "the back foot drives the pose" in pyramid, it turns out the front foot is in charge, and allows the back foot to get involved. Plow pose- I still go into that one remembering my Ashtanga teacher adjusting my pose so that the tops of my feet were on the floor. No, sorry, in Iyenger the toes are tucked, and the hands are on the back. Finally we went up into Viparita Karani, and I asked out loud (the only person asking any questions at all, I assure you) "What prop do you guys use here?" The teacher says "just do it the usual way" which turned out to be short by 2 blankets, to make it a total of 2 blankets and a bolster under my hips. Now how do you get up on pile that I wondered? My attempt created a loud thunk-thud type noise. "Now that can't be right" the teacher said. Well, I was just thinking I had lost my "beginner's mind" in Yoga and probably was not as sharp in my practice as I was during my first year or so. I sure feel like a beginner now.

Here's the craziest thing about yoga here. Where are the morning classes? Willow Glenn Yoga had classes like clockwork every morning of the week. I've enjoyed them all but I like Tuesday and Thursday best, thank you (plus Saturdays at home with dog and Wuggy Norple climbing under and over me) followed by a Carrot Ginger Muffin at Peet's.

It's a brave new world I tell you.

Thoughts from Wuggy Norple

Wuggy Norple wants you all to know that this Lego Star Wars Walker, that he built with Papercup Mixmaster last night not only turns his head, but the guy can sit inside when the hatch is closed.

Glitter Story

Tonight a craft-kit we had sent away for came in the mail, and Wuggy Norple immediately chose the one that involved gold glitter. Despite our precautions, it went everywhere, including all over him. I asked him to wash up for dinner, so he didn't have to eat glitter.
He said "know what glitter tastes like?"
"What?"
"Fairies."

A Home!

A real settle in and unpack your books home! We saw the house, made an offer, and had the offer accepted all within the same afternoon. We knew as soon as we saw it that this was the one, and as we were used to the break-neck pace of California Real Estate, probably took things a little faster than the more sedate Ithaca market calls for. We've been trying to catch up to our selves ever since, but after a few sleepless nights, we are feeling sure again that this place is right for our little family at this moment in our lives, and hopefully for the next decade or two. So what if there is no garage or driveway, and the lot is smaller than our place in California. It is BEAUTIFUL. And it has a wrap-around porch, which has been a dream for Papercup Mixmaster since before we first met. It's so close to the Commons, that we walked there with K-nob, King Waffle and Boog for the historic "Ithaca Sundae Celebration" last week. So what if we will have to dig our car out after the snow plow comes during the winter blizzards, we can just walk to the sports bar, the yoga studio, the over-priced clothing and craft boutiques, and like 5 pizza places. And darned if there isn't a statue of St. Joseph in the little garden (Nonnie and Drama Mama, you know what I'm talking about.) Now if we can just figure out where we are going to store Papercup Mixmaster's Records, an my multitudinous boxes of books I used to keep at the church...

But I am getting ahead of myself- we're still in our inspection period. If all goes well we close atthe end of August.

And More Camp

This week is "Stone Circle Camp" advertised to be a Waldorf inspired season-oriented camp. And so it is. Mostly, however, it is small and person-oriented. I showed up the first day, however, and no one was there. Wuggy Norple and I played on the playground, and checked out the real-live stone circle that is like a mini solstice oriented henge thing. finally, when I was thoroughly flummoxed, a parent pulled into the driveway to "pick something up" and the mystery was revealed: seems they really meet down the street at the Foundation of Light.

There are between 3- 7 kids in the camp at any given time, and 1 or 2 teachers. They make little Waldorf dolls, do puppet shows, run around in the yard, explore the woods, build fairy houses and end these hot summer days splashing in giant buckets of water. I guess it's not that much smaller than Fossil Camp, but it feels more intimate. It reminds me of Wuggy Norple's Family Daycare from when he was little (Kids@home, it was called). I went to drop off his lunch the first day, and Wuggy Norple greeted me adorned with gold beads. I asked him "are these kids fun?" and he replied "This is a fun camp." Long though, he said. Apparently this month off from school has gotten him out of the rhythm of a 9-3:00 day.

Stone Circle was full in August, though, so coming next are "Nature Camp" and "Arts All Around You Camp." (or, as Papercup Mixmaster calls it AAAY!) I hope Wuggy Norple doesn't get tired of camp-hopping.

We have Camp!

For the past 48 hours I've been looking for a camp for Wuggy Norple (many of them are full, as you could imagine).

I can now proudly say he is signed up for daily swim lessons at the YMCA and "Fossil Camp" at the Museum of the Earth for next week.

Fossil Camp is a one week deal, but it looks like there are openings in arts camps and traditional day camps for the next few weeks. I'll keep you posted.

Tooth Fairy

Wuggy Norple lost his second tooth! It came out tonight while he was eating Uncle King Waffle's special home made chocolate chip muffin. His new tooth is under his pillow right now, with that first tooth. (He wanted to make sure we were safely back in the U.S. and all his loose teeth were out before daring to request a visit from the tooth fairy. What if he sees here as she goes out the window, he wonders?)

getting started

So far in Ithaca we have found:

K-nob's house
the grocery store
the mall
a pizza place
decent local beer
the lake
a yoga class

Still needed:
A job for Exploding Poptart
A camp for Wuggy Norple
A house for everyone to live in after September rolls around.

I think we are all a little tired. It seems like everything needs doing all at once. Papercup Mixmaster starts work again Monday, so he needs to have his home office set up. We don't have any of our furniture until we find our permanent home, so we are trying to make things work with what we have, but some shopping is still required. There is no usual routine yet, no comfortable old habits to fall back on. We are starting over in many, many ways.

Very much house hunting this week. Nothing that's ready to move into in the part of town we like. We realize several times a day how easy it would be to abandon our vision of living downtown, where houses are older, and the dollar doesn't go as far. So far we are holding fast (and wondering if we are in for major renovations...)

Dog and I took a walk by the creek that runs by our house and that reduced the angst somewhat. Wuggy Norple continues to be deeply invested in Leggo Star Wars. Papercup Mixmaster finally got his temporary studio set up, and we get A's games in streaming video, which helps with the fact that our TV gets literally 0 channels.

Fortunately K-nob and family (Boog and King Waffle) have been incredibly supportive. Yesterday they invited us out to the Grandparent's house by the lake for BBQ and fireworks, dropped by today with some crazy Backyardigans water toy and we ran around for a while squealing.

We Made It

Plant, Dog, Wuggy Norple, Exploding Poptart and Papercup Mixmaster are finally home! They didn't even make us get out of the car at customs, and the whole ride took less than 3.5 hours. We had an hour of interstate, then back on the 2 lane road through farm land. But this time that 2 lane road is our 2 lane road. Now we are here on Titus Avenue in this beautiful sublet with hardwood floors and slate counter tops in the kitchen hanging out with K-Nob and Boog drinking local Ithaca beer. We are realizing that now the real adventure begins.


Total miles traveled: 3893

A Day in Niagara

As LouJones was just commenting, we are almost there. What could go wrong at this point, Eh? How about if Papercup Mixmaster woke up feeling super aweful, and got sicker and sicker as the day went on? Fortunately he rallied for a walk down to feel the spray of the falls, endure a juggler in the park, and a ride up the tower to see stuff from super high up. Then I, Exploding Poptart, had to try to step in as "arcade buddy" for Nick (Fortunately I spent Baltimore with MadDog, who taught me to love pinball.)

After all our tokens were used up, we tried to see the skywalking man, but he seemed to be on strike or something. One thing led to another and we ended up reading several chapters aloud from "Super Fudge" by Judy Blume. I got in a run before dinner. I as definately the only runner around, but I managed to run the whole circuit from the Rainbow Bridge to the Table Rock, through all those beautiful gardens and winding paths (That "hidden garden" is so cool...) Then I ran back through the area closest to the falls, and damned if there wasn't a rainbow, visible for at least 10 minutes, over both falls in a huge full arc. And for the first time I went out where the river ends, flowing away from you down into the abyss. Wow. I was so sad that Papercup Mixmaster was too sick to see it with me. And me without my camera!

I made up for it after dinner. I looped up to the Jersey-Shore-meets-Reno part of town with Dog (who did amazing by the way. That Dog really can hold her own.) I walked and walked through that madness, and by the time I got back down to the river... fireworks. No, I'm not kidding. A full rainbow and surprise fireworks in the same day. That's Niagara Falls for you. They even light them up in case they are less spectacular by night.

When we got home my tired guys were ready for bed, so we read a final chapter of SuperFudge. It was a full day.

So Close

We're in Niagra Falls. Wuggy Norple and Exploding Poptart are asleep. Soon I will be too. Tomorrow we will spend the day exploring. We will ride to the top of the Skylon Tower. We may ride the Maid of the Mist. We may buy hockey jerseys. We will chill out for a moment or two. We will relish our last day in Canada, and the last day of our trip.

Total miles traveled: 3724

Ferry Ride

The ferry ride was worth the wait, firstly because we had so much fund waiting in South Baymouth, secondly because it's just fun to ride a ferry. It turns out that dogs are only allowed in this one little dog-ghetto, where they have to sit outside on the doggy deck, which is dark and cold. Also turns out it's okay for dogs to ride in the car, so after some time riding on our bench together, we brought Sandy back to the car on the car-deck, and we got to go inside to have lunch and play some arcade games. Then up on the top deck to look through our binoculars and obsessively take pictures of gulls in flight (why is it so hard to take a good picture of a bird?)

We arrived in Tobermory by 3:30, and on the advice of the nice folks at the coffee shop where we had breakfast (especially a 10 year old boy who knows what's fun for kids) we decided to go straight to Niagra Fall, where we were assured there was lots of fun stuff for kids. (Apparently looking at vistas and going on walks is not where it is at).

We found a hotel right in "fallsview" (the tourist area- it even says it on signs). The hotel is huge -- so big the lobby is in another building. It's very 1970s, brown and boxy in design, but all the carpets are new, and the room is HUGE. We have a balcony you can even go out on (amazing view of the parking lot and 3 billboards) but most importantly it's walking distance to the falls. It's weird to be in the middle of this swirling sea of people after being on rural tributaries for so long.

In which we finally explain all our adventures on the North Shore and our expotition takes us to the birthplace of Winnie the Pooh

So here, finally is the story of our travels in Canada. I (Exploding Poptart) write you now from inside our car as we are parked on the boarding area for the ferry, scheduled to leave half an hour hence. What a long strange trip it's been since we left the US. First of all, that drive up scenic route 61 is extremely beautiful. We were rested and ready to head to Canada. We knew we had 3 days of driving to reach South Baymouth and the Ferry, so we decided to get some extra miles on this first day.

We made it as far as Rossport, which is a former fishing village that had fallen on hard times and turned itself into an upscale rest spot recreational travelers and boaters. We were staying in the historic Rossport Inn, perported to be established about 150 years ago. Our cell phones had been out of service for some time, so there was no way to make a reservation except to drive up and see. The Inn had one small cabin free for us, so small that when we inflated nick's small air mattress, there was no room to walk around it. It was without TV or internet, but very sweet and situated with a few other cabins on a large field with wildflowers and inviting chairs. A group of bikers had the next 2 cabins and cooked up dinner on their hibachi overlooking the lake. We had a view of the local docks, just over the railroad tracks where a train whistled as it roared right by the Inn every couple of hours during the night. We settled in and took a walk across the railroad tracks to the lake, and a quick swing over to the towns one store- a gift shop in a historic garage, which was closed.

Favorite quote from Rossport:
Papercup Mixmaster: Oh my God, look at the size of that bug on the windshield!
Exploding Poptart: Do you want me to take a picture of it?

Because the sun sets so late, we started dinner after 8:00 and still finished a late dinner even before sunset. The dinner was served just to guests, very sweet and elegant and homey and expensive. We rigged up a way to connect the Playstation to Nick's portable DVD Player (Thanks Nonnie!) and even in our little cabin the boys could play Lego Starwars. I tried to do some yoga in the field out back, but the mosquitoes were everywhere (I think I still have a dozen red itchy spots on my neck from that night). The proprietor offered to let me use the barn up the hill, and I pictured hay and livestock, but ended up doing yoga between lawn mowers and outboard motors.

The sun was bright and beautiful the next morning, and I ran through the whole of town twice. Finding only one other restaurant in town, that also looked sweet, elegant and pricey, we hit the road and continued our way around Lake Superior. We ended up stopping in Terrace Bay for breakfast, and after a few false starts were able to get some eggs at the Red Dog Inn (Absolutely No Dogs Allowed). The character of the whole day of driving was much the same- rural country wiht a lake-based economy (tourism, fishing, paper mills) Long distances between towns, hard to enjoy "hunters and fisher's paradise" from the road. The highlight of the drive was our visit to White River- home of Winnie the Pooh. This confused us, because isn't Pooh from England? Read the story for yourself. We later stopped to see a water fall not too far off the road, but the mosquitoes and the drizzly weather drove us quickly back into our car.

We were, at this point, a little tired of road-side diner favorites: hamburgers, BLT, mash and gravy. And each of us had at one point or another expressed existential angst about the whole journey. We decided to just plow through this part of our journey, and headed for Soult Ste Marie. We ended up at this crazy hotel called "The Water tower" with a heated indoor pool, hot tub, wading pool (into which fell a faux water fall) and an outdoor whirlpool (with a waterfall and fountain surrounding for ambiance). The place was new and cushy, and they even had a special "kids check-in" with stairs leading up to the lobby desk. And yet for some reason we went out to see the town. We had some dinner at the dock-side restaurant, but aside from some boats and cool scuplture by the library, we couldn't find any there there, so we came back to the hotel. THis is when we found out that our wifi was so weak we had to walk the laptop down to the lobby to blog and make travel plans. Much less fun than writing and editing and editing in the privacy of your own room. So we spent much of the rest of the evening in the very cool pool room (me n Wuggy Norple that is, Papercup Mixmaster was trying to get caught up on the world of baseball...).

Before bed I ordered breakfast to the room. It seemed cool and no one in Canada has the continental breakfast we were taking for granted in the states. It's really weird though to be expecting a stranger at 9:00 am, and to wonder if you have to tidy up for the room service lady. We decided to make tracks again that day (Canada Day, July 1) and make it all the way to South Baymouth so that we could get on the ferry the next morning. More cracked linolium and BLTs for lunch.

Eventually we crossed the swinging bridge to Manitoulin Island, which is a really cool collection of islands where many first nations have a strong presence. We headed all the way to the bottom of the island, where we had found a motel right next to the ferry station. We checked in at the gift shop counter, and were given our key to our "loft" which turned out to be an efficnency apartment on top of a garage, with a balcony overlooking the lake. We took a long walk to a restaurant that was highly recommended, to find all your favorite mashed potato dishes served in a clean spare newly painted space. The food was clearly made with extra care, but was still the same menu, and sitting in a pool of butter. Wuggy Norple had been at the end of his rope since we arrived in town after 2 days of marathon driving, and we all had trouble making it through dinner. Papercup Mixmaster put a "loony" in the jukebox, and the management turned it down when someone complained. When we finally got back to the motel, we set Wuggy Norple up with his Lego Starwars, and Papercup Mixmaster and I sat out in the evening air and talked about how we were discouraged, and how it didn't really feel like a vacation sometimes, because really were were mostly just trying to get to our new home in New York. It was nice to just be there on the balcony looking out at the water and talking. After a little Playstation-Yoga-Balcony photography, we went to bed early in hopes that since we could not get a reservation on the ferry, we could be among the first in line for the 1:30 ferry if we arrived before the 9:10 ferry left. We got there before even 9:00, which I thought was crazy, but they waved us right into line. Papercup Mixmaster had to stay with the car until the 9:10 ferry left, while Wuggy Norple and I found a playground at the marina, but then we just parked there in line and went off to breakfast. The morning was filled with warm sun, friendly people and the sweetness of a very small town with no national chain businesses. We had such a lovely time we only had a few moments to take advantage of the free wifi which is, I believe, where we began.

To Sea

Papaercup Mixmaster here. Connection has been nearly impossible on the north shore of Lake Superior. This morning I am in the yard of the South Baymouth, ON ferry terminal, sitting literally at the base of a wireless Internet tower. At 1:30 this afternoon we will board the ferry and sail to Tobermory, across Lake Huron. Right now it's time for breakfast, so we'll be back later.

Total miles traveled: 3490

Canada

We made it to Canada!

Border Guard: What brings you to Canada?
Papercup Mixmaster: We're moving from California to New York
Border Guard: Are you lost?

Dog and Plant both made it through okay. All they seemed to care about were handguns. Thank goodness we're pacifists.

Turns out there is enough open space in Canada to make Wisconsin look crowded. We've been in a cell phone void for days now- although occasionally my phone beeps to tell me I have a mounting pile of messages in my voice mail, I just don't have a strong enough connection to get any of them...

Now I am in the hotel lobby in Sault Ste Marie, since the wifi is too week in our room.
Last night we stayed in a sweet cabin totaly off the grid in Rossport. The proprietor just chuckled when I asked if they had an internet connection in the cabins.
So more details of our journey will have to wait.

Hoping to get to South Baymouth tomorrow to take the ferry
Hopefully they have DSL down there so we can tell the whole story...

If not Leggo Star Wars...

What, you might wonder, is Exploding Poptart doing during the Lego Star Wars Marathons?

Just finished Lady of Avalon and Going Postal.

It's been a good week fiction-wise.

Knitting is a sadder story. Papercup Mixmaster says this is the sound of Exploding Poptart Knitting in the car this week.

"&&$# %&&& &$$%"

First 40 rows on unnecessarily complex lace wrap complete. Unfortunately that's only 2".

Back to reading...

Wellman and Marina

Silver Bay, MN is a mining town. There are piles of unknown ore and a massive crane adding to the piles. This is right on the banks of Lake Superior. Very near this:



You can walk/climb out to that little island. Exploding Poptart caught a butterly (in pixels).

Just a short photo safari on our day of rest in Minnesota.

Staying Put

Top Ten Reasons to Stay in Silver Bay, MN One More Day

10. Checkout time was 30 minutes ago.
9. Wuggy Norple is coughing harder than a tractor with a pig up its tailpipe.
8. Dog has a mysterious little red ring on her belly and still has questionable border-crossing papers.
7. Exploding Poptart has a physical presence that just says "bleh." (She needs rest.)
6. Indoor heated pool with water slide.
5. Lego Star Wars! Lego Star Wars! Lego Star Wars!
4. Vending machines only a short crawl from our door.
3. Canada will still be there tomorrow, eh.
2. More time to practice our Minnesota accents.

And the number one reason to stay one more day in Silver Bay, MN is:

1. Did we mention that checkout time was 30 minutes ago?

Fireworks, anyone?

Hi folks, Papercup Mixmaster here. We have decided to make it our goal to arrive in Ithaca on July 3rd, since July 4th features traditional massive lakeside fireworks courtesy of my sister and her extended family. So I am taking the liberty of inviting anyone reading this to join us for the festivities. Just contact my sis for the details, who heretofore will be known as:

K-nob.

P.S. If you don't know how to contact K-nob, then nanny nanny foo foo to you.

North Shore

Today we made it across Minnesota and began our route around the North Shore of Lake Superior. I, Exploding PopTart, am a little crabby about my sore throat-cough thing, and too tired for much detail. Hope these will help:

That famous bridge in Duluth, where we at lunch at a restaurant named "Grandma's" and threw rocks into the lake. Papercup Mixmaster: loved the bloody mary at Grandma's. Very nice little waterfront area in Duluth. This could be a nice place to settle.Sadly, there were not good shoulders to pull over and take pictures of the cool marshy forests around the lake, and of the cat tails going to seed. It seems like the safe places to pull over a u-haul never look as cool as the places on the edge of a 2 lane road with no shoulder. And now the landscape has changed again. But once we got to the North Shore there was a chance to stop and photograph all that cool stuff we look at out the window as we drive along,




















including waterfalls on the river pouring into the lake,

















and to get out occasionally and throw more rocks into that huge huge lake:

Finally we landed in the lap of luxury in Silver Bay, MN, which is a mining town and more importantly has a 3 story waterslide in this building pictured below. Tomorrow, Canada! (If we can get Dog allowed in with our inadequate proof of Rabies Vaccination...)

Total miles traveled: 2688