Grandma's Alpha-blog: October 2010

Warning! This is not the usual kind of post about books and boystuff.

It is unusual because it is very long and unlikely to be read all in one sitting.

Unfortunately I just have this urge to write the

Fall Foliage Alphabet Adventure

of Grandma and Grandpa Chambers

Aa is for Anne of Green Gables

. . . one of my favorite books and movies. We visited Prince Edward Island and actually walked inside Green Gables! My very first souvenir from this trip was a cute Anne of Green Gables doll.

Bb is for bridges
We walked across the world's longest covered bridge in Hartland, New Brunswick . . . drove across the 8-mile Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island . . . and saw other cute covered bridges along the way.

Cc is for Canada
. . . the country where we spent the first 8 days of our vacation. Do you have eagle eyes? See if you can spot the Canadian flag in any other pictures from our adventure.

Dd is for ducks
Grandpa just loves ducks and found some in a pond of the Public Garden in Halifax. Then he noticed animal carvings at the ends of every single pew in one fancy church we visited, including a duck. Best of all, he found another wood duck to add to his collection.

Ee is for Evangeline
One beautiful Sunday morning we learned the story of the Acadians who were harshly deported from an area of Nova Scotia by the British. Evangeline was separated from her husband and spent the rest of her life looking for him, so this statue and chapel were built in her honor. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow even wrote an epic (very long) poem about this legendary lady.

Ff is for Fundy Bay
. . . which is famous for the highest tides in the world--up to 50 feet--tides that come in and out every 6 hours and 13 minutes! The boats at the top of this picture were floating in the water as we drove by around 9:30 one morning and sitting in the mud four hours later when we drove by again. The bigger picture is the ferry we rode across the Bay of Fundy on our way to New Brunswick.
Gg is for granite
Acadia Nationl Park is on an island just off the coast of Maine and covered in granite rock . . . on the seashores, in the mountains, everywhere!
Hh is for Halifax
The most unique thing about this harbor city in Nova Scotia, Canada is a cemetery there that is the final resting place of over 200 people from the Titantic. Many of their graves are marked only with a number and "died April 15, 1912" because they are unknown.

Ii is for islands
Besides visiting my favorite island of all --PEI--we rode in a boat one day all through the Thousand Islands. I had no idea there was 1800 or more islands in an area of the St. Lawrence River between Canada and the United States. Some of the islands are so small only one house fits . . . other islands have several homes on them . . . one island even had a castle built on it!
Jj is just for fun
I'm putting in this picture of Dave and me standing by a lake of shining waters because I don't have a picture of the blueberry/lemon jam he bought to add to his jam collection.

Kk is for the Kancamagus Highway
. . . known as one of the most scenic fall drives in the U.S. . . and located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Ll is for lighthouses and lobsters
There are 44 lighthouses on Prince Edward Island alone, but the lighthouse in this picture is actually at Peggy's Cove. And the fisherman is a real lobster fisherman! We learned all about how they catch lobsters, Grandpa ate a whole lobster, and I found cute salt and pepper shakers which, believe me, are far cuter than any real lobster!

Mm is for Montreal and Maine
Montreal is another large city in Canada famous for hosting the Summer Olympics once upon a time . . . Maine is famous for lobsters and blueberries . . . and the man in the picture above loved taking pictures of mushrooms and other fungi in all the forests.

Nn is for nut
One day on a nature walk in New Hampshire we found a cute chipmunk nibbling on a nut

Oo is for Ottawa
. . . the capitol city of Canada. We went on a tour in these elaborately fancy Parliament Buildings and saw the most ornate library I have ever seen in my life as well as a stained glass ceiling with my name in it (see the letter Uu)

Pp is for pumpkins
Porches all over Canada were decorated with pumpkins probably because their Thanksgiving was coming soon (it was October 11). I liked the pumpkin people (and flamingoes) we saw in several little towns in both Canada and New Hampshire

Qq is for Quebec

. . . a charming city in Canada where they mostly speak French. We ate lunch in the elegant Le Chateau Frontenac, Canada's most famous building high on a hill. After lunch, we went shopping in the quaint shops along narrow cobblestone streets in Old Quebec.

Rr is for rocks
Grandpa is standing of a rock on top of Cadillac Mountain overlooking Bar Harbor, Maine and leaning by another rock in a little town near the Bay of Fundy. I am safely sitting on the rocks by Peggy's Cove and the red rocks of Prince Edward Island.

Ss is for Sand and Sea
We are standing on the only sandy beach in Acadia National Park (the granite park, remember). This beach is called (big surprise) Sand Beach! The other picture is of the cool sea caves on the Bay of Fundy that are usually under water. We remember this spot, however, because our favorite lunch was near here--the best seafood chowder ever.

Tt is for Toronto
. . . the largest city in Canada with the second tallest tower in the world. We ate lunch in a revolving restuarant in this 1, 815-foot tall tower where we could see the whole city including a Toronto Bluejays baseball game!

Uu is for up

Believe it or not, when I looked up at this stain-glassed ceiling in the Parliament Building in Ottawa I found my name (which is Christie, by the way)

Vv is for vegetables

We visited a couple farmers' markets in Canada where the vegetables (and apples galore) were very carefully arranged in little baskets or bins. And in one of these markets we ate the best croissant we've ever tasted.

Ww is for waterfalls

We saw Grand Falls in New Brunswick, walked down some rickety steps to Sabbaday Falls in New Hampshire, and wore yellow raincoats to walk behind the biggest waterfalls of all: Niagra Falls. You may or may not be interested to know that enough water goes over Niagra Falls every day to fill one million bathtubs!