La Finca

Day one in Quito we did some food shopping for our week at the farm, then had lunch out at Los Cebiches de Rumiñahui.  I had fish and shrimp ceviche which was excellent!  After that we packed up the truck and headed to the farm (la finca.)

On the way we drove through fog and rain. Once here the clouds settled in and made for a quiet, peaceful scene

I did not sleep well thanks to some over-achieving roosters in the area   They started at 2 am and well…12 hours later they are still making their presence known   I’m sure they will be “background noise” for me in a day or 2  

There was a light rain this morning so we hung out on the porch after a delicious breakfast and watched birds!   So many birds!  I will not bore my non-bird-watching friends but I’ll list what I saw at the end of the post for my fellow bird-nerds

Once the rain let up my friend and I headed out with machete, trimmers, and a small saw to clear a trail that was overgrown in the lush cloud forest where the farm is located   It was fun, hot, sweaty, muddy work   Tomorrow we will finish cleaning up the bottom half of the trail

Birds today:  lemon-rumped (aka flame-rumped) tanager, blue-grey tanager, white-shouldered tanager, Ecuadorian thrush, flycatcher (too far away to definitely ID), variable seedeater, rufous collared sparrow and turkey vultures

Flying South

It’s good luck to travel during a full moon   Lucky me!   I’m flying Monday to Atlanta then on to Quito Ecuador where I plan to spend 2 weeks with friends who live there  Monday is the first full moon of 2025–the Wolf Moon 

My luck won’t extend to the weather (rain almost every day) though for Ecuadorians who have suffered through a serious drought the rain is much needed.  Since electricity there is primarily from hydroelectric sources it’s very good indeed!

I would normally expect to be hiking, bird-watching, and helping out on my friend’s farm while there   I brought rain gear and mud boots for the outdoor activities this time   And I packed my binoculars just in case it clears up for a day or two

The birds in Ecuador don’t migrate as a rule   There are exceptions of course, but with warm weather and 12 hours of daylight year round there isn’t really a compelling reason for them to head north or south    That means lots of different kinds of birds than I’m used to seeing around home   Last time I visited my friend’s farm I saw yellow-rumped tanagers, blue tanagers, parrots, various kinds of hummingbirds and even a toucan   

Since those birds don’t migrate, I’m flying south to them!

Gigi hits the Road Again

                                                                                

 After we were back home from our trip out east about 3 weeks, I got the urge to go camping again.  We looked at our calendars and there were no good weekends available.  Then the lightbulb came on and I said "We're retired.  We can go camping during the week!"  

As it turns out, weekdays are much more pleasant for camping.  Fewer folks in the campground and on the trails.  It's easier to get a good campsite.  And this time around we got better weather.

We decided on a 3–4-day trip, someplace not far away.  We looked at some state parks in Illinois that we'd not been to, but none really appealed to me.  I suppose I might be spoiled after our last trip.  Then I started looking at parks in Indiana. It turns out my buddy had never been to Turkey Run, so we booked a site and off we went.

Turkey Run is close, only about a two hour drive.  I had not been there for years and for the most part I used to go there to canoe in the spring or summer.  But the hiking is also nice, and with the fall colors just past peak, we had lovely scenery to enjoy.  The weather was warm (in the 80s two of the days) and windy.  The winds did die down enough for a campfire every night. 

We had a strange encounter with a woman at the campground who assumed that we should have a bigger camper.  Of course she wanted to sell us one.  We told her no thank you, our little Gigi is just fine.  We took along a new 10x10 awning that has the option to add sides to make a little more dry space in case of rain, and we added sides to the new 6x6 awning to replace the one that Hurricane Helene ate for breakfast back in September.  

Home Sweet Home on the road

Gigi Meets Helene

After leaving Massachusetts we drove 2 1/2 days to get to Lexington Kentucky for The Bourbon Burn.  The Burn is a 3 day biking event with bourbon distilleries along the bike routes.  While I don’t ride, I do volunteer.  The evenings are for dinner, bourbon tastings, and live music.  Usually, that is.

We arrived Wednesday afternoon and set up camp under a beautiful big oak tree. Thursday there were concerns about weather for Friday as Hurricane Helene moved north.  Fridays ride was canceled and the evening events were moved to a more sheltered location.

Friday morning it had rained all night and we decided to head to a Waffle House for breakfast and coffee instead of trying to cook under a 4x6 awning

When we returned we saw huge branches from the beautiful big oak tree on our neighbors truck and camper   Then we saw our campsite

By a miracle only the awning was damaged   One branch was less than an inch from the bikes   Gigi the camper was undamaged, and of course we had the truck with us when it happened  

Staff from the Kentucky Horse Park and our camping neighbor Rodney came to help us move our stuff out of our campsite. 

This is Heather, a rock star at keeping us safe and helping out   Thanks so much Heather!!

 We packed up all our wet gear (except for the awning frame) and headed to a hotel   Even driving 5 miles in the winds was a white knuckle experience 

So we are warm and dry and tomorrow we head home a few days early  We had a fabulous trip and we are grateful for the many experiences and stories we have.  

Thanks for joining us on the road with Got Bliss?.

Got Bliss Gets Rained On

Disclaimer -my laptop died on this trip so I’m now blogging on my old little iPhone with fewer editing options   

Our last day in Acadia was beautiful.  We hiked Mt. Beech to the fire tower for more spectacular views.

We also drove to the Seawall, walked along the Wonderland Trail and visited the Bass Harbor Lighthouse

We hated to leave Maine’s beautiful vistas, excellent food, and perfect weather.   From there we next went to Wompatuck State Park south of Boston, where we had planned some hiking and biking, as well as a trip to Fenway Park.   But it rained for 3 days, limiting our options.  We did manage a couple hikes in the park.

      

Happily Sunday brought better weather so we hopped onto a ferry to Boston and enjoyed the Freedom Trail, a visit to the iconic Cheers and to the Green Monstah at Fenway Pahk!

It’s wonderful to see the sun again!!

Eastward Bound

After leaving Canada we spent a couple days in upstate New York near the sweet little town of Clayton.  The campground had the best showers, which has inspired me to dedicate a future blog to designing the perfect campground bathroom, shower, and dishwashing facilities.   But today I’ll stick with our less mundane experiences on the trip

We had a great meal at The Hops Spot in Clayton and had a lovely afternoon at Garland City Beer Works—Clayton Taproom.  The beer was good (I don’t usually like beer but Colleen’s coconut porter was yummy) and the place has a friendly feel to it.  The beers are named after the owners, their brew master, and their dogs!   Colleen even put the Bears game on tv for me

From there it was on to New Hampshire where we stayed at Franconia Notch State Park. We hiked the Flume Gorge one morning.  

We started another hike that afternoon but the terrain was similar to Devils Lake, giving me a small flashback to my “incident” there in June so I didn’t get too far. (See Got Bliss post from June 12). The good news is that I seem to be getting over that with hikes at our next stop:  Acadia National Park!

Here at Acadia we have driven to the top of Cadillac Mountain:

Beautiful 360 degree views from up here,

hiked the Ocean Path, Jordan Pond:

and here,

Mt. Gorham, 

And here…

Lower Harbor, and The Anvil.

And …well you get the idea.

We ran into some of my friends from home at our campground without realizing until recently we’d planned trips that would overlap here!

Small world indeed!

Acadia is truly a gem.  Parts of the park are very busy but the Schoodic Peninsula area is much quieter and the terrain is quite different

Sunsets at the beach near our campground!

Tomorrow we plan to hike another area in Acadia then head out for more adventures the next day.

Thanks for hitting the road with Got Bliss.

Oh Canada!

 Our last day in Holland, Michigan we climbed Mt Pisgah, 236 steps but who is counting?  The views of Lake Michigan and Lake Macatawa were fabulous.

Lake Macatawa from the top of Mt. Pisgah 

Lake Michigan from Mt Pisgah

We spent a lovely evening with friends in East Lansing on our way to Ontario where we camped at Wheatley Provincial Park.  We biked, walked, and enjoyed Lake Erie while there. We also biked one day at Pelee Point National Park which is a peninsula that is the southernmost point in Canada.  During spring bird migration birds heading to Canada land there in massive numbers.  We hope to experience that next spring.  It is almost time for monarch migration south and we saw a few but were too early for the peak.

Wheatley Provincial Park is very nice.  The facilities are clean, the staff are very friendly, our campsite was very nice.  You can walk to Lake Erie and hang out on the beach.  

   My meditation spot on the beach!

Some crazy guy has a goal of taking a dip in each of the Great Lakes.  Now he just needs Huron and Ontario.

This area of Ontario is known for its wineries.  We visited and enjoyed the tasting rooms of several including Cooper's Hawk, Paglione, Pelee Point and Southbrook wineries. 

Sampling wines at Southbrook organic vineyards

After several days there we moved on to Bronte Creek Provincial Park near Toronto.  

Our campsite was sheltered by a massive mother oak tree.

We had two reasons for staying here:  My traveling companion's aunt lives near here and we plan to visit her and some of his cousins today.  Yesterday, however, a highlight of our trip was a day spent at Niagara Falls on the Canadian side.  Neither of us had been here before, and it is truly spectacular.  A beautiful and powerful work of Nature.

One of  the many thousands of pictures of the falls we took.

My mom recommended we take a boat ride so we did!  It was wild   Even with the ponchos we got drenched but worth it for different views of the falls

 

  

                                       

Views of the American Falls from the boat

                                        

It’s been a great trip and we still have so much more to see and do.  Thanks for tagging along with Got Bliss? on the road!