Great Lakes to Graceland

We set out on the road on Saturday July 28th for an eastern tour of the US and Canada. The main purpose was to get away from home for a few weeks and visit some family and friends along the way, here are a few highlights:

Saturday July 28th, 2007


After lunch we began our journey, first stop, Hannibal, MO. It was an easy drive to Hannibal, the kids slept and we got to listen to some new music we bought just for the trip. When we got to Hannibal we found a sign for Mark Twain Cave Campground so we decided to stay there. It was a beautiful campground covered in large shade trees and short thick grass. A playground was about 100 feet from our site and the kids got to play while we set up the tent and got some dinner ready. Once it got dark we made our first campfire and cooked some marshmallows, the kids liked the uncooked marshmallows better. Pascal took Blaise to the tent to lay down, Pascal fell asleep in no time, as usual, but Blaise decided to explore our toiletries instead.
I thought I heard him talking in the tent, so I went to see what he was up to, he had poured an entire bottle of shower gel all over our toothbrushes, deodorant and the rest of our toiletries; like Gaston said "Blaise is a leprechaun".

Sunday July 29th, 2007

After breaking down our camp we ate in downtown Hannibal at the Mark Twain Diner, we were a bit disappointed with the state of downtown Hannibal, although it was a Sunday.
We got on the highway towards Indiana Dunes State Park around noon. We drove through Illinois, past Chicago and finally arrived at Dunes State Park around 5:00pm. The kids began to argue in the car from being cooped up all day and Gaston told Blaise he was a toilet train. This became the joke of the trip.... "toilet train, it says chugga chugga chugga chugga poo poo, chugga chugga pee pee!!!"
We got to the visitors center and found there was a Yogi Bear camp site, we thought that would be fun for the kids so we tried to find it, what was supposed to be a 15 minute drive from the visitors center turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. We stopped and asked several people how to get there and they told us to turn right when it should have been left, or other odd directions. Finally I decided to call the campground, I asked where exactly are you located, we don't have an address. She replied, "in Indiana"! I told her we knew that much, and that we were on highway 20 and headed west just past Coca Cola road, and she told me that she didn't know the names of streets.
Miraculously we made it to the run down trailer park that Yogi Bear is, and set up tent and ate pork and beans. We left very early the next morning.

Monday July 30th, 2007

The dunes were an absolute must before we left this area so we found our way to the state park area and immediately found an amazing beach. The sand was silky soft and the color of the water was azure blue. It was like being on the ocean without the wind, extreme waves, and salty smell. I could have stayed a few days on this beach.
After lunch we began another long drive to Ontario, my cousins live near Detroit so we thought it would be fun to stay in Ontario in order to visit them. We got off the highway near downtown Detroit and it came to mind that this was the 40th anniversary of the riots that burned downtown Detroit. We were a bit surprised, although we had heard that it was a bit of a neglected area, to find that it was probably boarded up 40 years ago and has remained the same since. Block after block of abandoned property, it was like a war zone abandoned and left to rot.
Finally we found the tunnel and crossed to Canada, Windsor was a culture shock to be sure, especially after crossing through downtown Detroit. People on the streets, cafes with sidewalk seating, shop after shop, it seemed almost European. We drove through the center of Windsor and thought we found the highway to Wheatley Provincial Park, but got really confused. I couldn't tell you where we drove, but it was all in the wrong direction. Finally we bought a map, but that still didn't help much, the streets aren't marked there very well, you don't see the name of the street until you actually turn onto it and then realize you are going the wrong direction.
We did find it and were so happy, it was a beautiful camp site, deep in the woods near Lake Erie. We all slept really well.

Tuesday July 31st, 2007

We drove to my cousins Aldre and Jerry's house in Troy, MI for lunch, we got stuck in the tunnel back to the USA for almost an hour!
We had such a great lunch with everyone, Anne and Erika were there and Erika and Gaston (being only six months apart) hit it off immediately. After lunch we went to a fantastic water park, there was a slide for smaller kids, a great pool and the best part, a sand box from heaven. It had an entire play ground in it, a slide and tunnel and climbing thing, plus there were two faucets to collect water and pour on your sand creation, Blaise and Erika were in heaven!
We went back to Aldre and Jerry's and met Matt and Ken and baby Cameron for dinner, we sat on their peaceful back deck and had a great time. Gaston and Erika barely sat still to eat, they will remember playing together for a long time.
On the drive back to Ontario for the night we had such a warm feeling after spending the evening with our cousins, it was so nice to connect with them as adults, we are lucky to have them in our family.


Wednesday August 1st, 2007

We broke down our camp site in Wheatley Provincial park and decided to check out Lake Erie, since it was right down the street from us. It stank so bad, the sky was very hazy and it was difficult to tell where the sky began and the water ended. The water was eerily still and it seemed dead, the stench coming from the beach was not very inviting. The kids and Pascal swam anyway and on our way out of the water we discovered a huge rotting catfish on the beach, it was likely the source of the rotten odor, although I am sure the water was also foul.
We headed to Ohio to visit Nikki, Mike, Bennett and Frankie who have relocated to Canton. It was busy on route 80. Bennett and Frankie were peering out their second story window when we pulled in the driveway, Frankie gave me the biggest hug! They have a beautiful old home in the center of Canton, it is truly a dream home.
The kids played and caught up, Nikki fed us really well and we all slept like babies.

Thursday August 2nd, 2007

Chef Nikki made us all a fabulous breakfast of eggs and avocado then we walked down the street to an amazing park. Each garden area had a theme, my favorite was the five senses garden, herbs for taste and smell, lambs ears and some prickly bush for touch, seed pod plants of some sort for hearing. Gaston's favorite aspect of the garden was the "recylceasaurus" a metal dinosaur sculpture made of recycled metal objects. The small creek that ran through the park surprisingly had a six inch long crayfish living in it. Bennett was so excited he said, "can we eat it?" pure Louisiana heritage!
Pascal made some "boats" and the kids had a blast trying to sink them (see pictures).
Old friends of Mike and Nikki's who have also relocated to the area came for dinner, we met them when they were in KC studying with Mike. We all had a blast at dinner while the kids played in Nikki's dirt pile, then we went for amazing ice cream at the local ice cream shop, Taggerts. We got a free tour!

Friday August 3rd, 2007

Cleveland Rocks! Well, we actually wouldn't know, we went for the Natural History musuem which has a juvinile t-rex on display as well as some other impressive dinosaur bones and a dunkleosteus, an armoured fish from the Devonian period, we know this because Gaston has told us this is true... our junior paleontologist.
Blaise had a fit the entire one hour car trip to Cleveland and made us all on edge, after luch we finally got to tour the museum, it was good, there was a lot to see, our kids were a bit to young to appreciate all of it. Outside they created a walkway with live animals, our favorite was the sea otter who performed without pause, we enjoyed every second.
When we got back to Canton it was time to go to Bennett's last baseball game of the season. He did so well and even got a trophy and cupcake for all his hard work.
Nikki and i went for a few drinks and then to our much anticipated third installment of the Bourne series, the Bourne Ultimatium. It was great.

Saturday August 4th, 2007

Ohio likes their "Hall of Fames", Canton is home to the Football hall of fame and we just happened to be there for the annual Football Hall of Fame Parade. After we slept through it, we were luky enough that Nikki and Mike's neighbors were in the parade riding their horses. They rode their horses up to the neighbor's house, all the kids got a ride, what a treat.
That afternoon we went for a swim in the hills nearby. We drove through Zoar, OH which was a quaint old Ohio town that had a re-enactment going on. The lake was great, Blaise went down the built-in slide about one million times.
That evening we ate at the "best Mexican" in Canton, and it was pretty good. The gigantic margarita was overwhelming.

Sunday August 5th, 2007

Nikki fed us yet another amazing lunch and we headed south on highway 77 to North Carolina. We knew it would take us two days to get to Columbia, NC so we stopped in Princeton, WV around dinner time. The drive through WV was amazing, the Smokey Mountains really delivered, especially since it rained the first half of the trip, it was foggy or "smokey" the the rest of the way. We have got to return to explore this amazing mountain range again.
Blaise began "meowing" and speaking in a falcetto saying it was his mouse voice. We aren't sure where this came from, he is quite a creative individual.
For dinner we ate at the Outback Steak House. I have never eaten there before, and if I had I wouldn't have suggested it over Chili's. They have no vegtables on their menu. They only serve meat, it is truly bizarre.. I have no need to ever go back.


Monday August 6th, 2007

We swam in the morning and drove towards NC around 11:30, We stopped in Mount Airey, NC for lunch, just across the NC border. NC had a beautiful rest stop and visitor's center near by. After luch we began one of our longest driving days yet. It seemed like we would never get to Columbia, NC.
We drove through, Greensboro, Winston-Salem, Duraham, Raleigh, but never saw any of them. After Rocky Mount, NC we ended up on a smaller road by mistake and it took us almost two more hours to get to Columbia, but we made it, and Angela had dinner waiting! We found her artist residency at the Pocosin Art Center in Columbia, NC and we stayed the night in her room there.

Tuesday August 7th, 2007

Angela and our brood headed towards Cape Hatteras around 11:00am. It became the day that everything would take forever. We stopped at the grocery store and got groceries, plus some lunchables for the car trip to the campsite. It was so hot on Roanoake Island it was unbearable. We also stopped and got some fabric lined floaties, sun hats and an umbrella for the beach. We finally got on the road towards Frisco, (OBX!)
The Frisco Woods campgrounds was very nice at the entrance, they had a nice big office and general store. Our campsite was a bit rough. The entire campground was covered in a blackish sand that Blaise began digging in immediately, and it covered him in a black dust. It was probably from the pine needles and leaves of the trees that had fallen all over the ground. At least there were trees, it was extremely hot. We couldn't finish setting up the tents because of the heat so we went to the pool and stayed in until around 5 or so.
Angela made us tuna steaks and we sat around a little fire before we went to bed.

Wednesday August 8th, 2007

The heat gave us no other choice but to hang out at the beach all day. We stayed under a pier on the beach for eight hours! A record for even Angela. The pier was perfect, it provided shade and the wind from the ocean was nice and cool, the water was the perfect temperature, we swam and rode waves on and off all day long, between swimming we made a huge sandcastle, Blaise was again in heaven with all the sand, Gaston really took to riding waves.
Another hit at the beach were the mole crabs, they are constantly being uplifted from their home in the sand by the waves, then they quickly burrough back into the sand, if you are really quick you can see them, and you can dig them out, this was entertainment for at least an hour.
We paid the $1.00 spectators fee to walk out on the pier and Blaise fell asleep in my arms, this doesn't happen anymore, so he was really exhausted. I took him back to our spot under the pier and he slept for a couple of hours on the floatie.
It was a great day at the beach, and our only day at the beach, we had enough sand and salt after that.

Thursday August 9th, 2007

Angela left in the morning to drive to Chapel Hill where she will be attending graduate school for the next two years. I am so glad we were able to visit her this year, I will miss her being around.
Frisco Woods campground was really well organized with the laundry facility being adjacent to the pool, so we swam while we did some laundry. After the laundry was done we decided to get a nice lunch, we stopped at a local fish and chips place and ate really well. We figured the kids would take a nap in the car if we drove a bit, so we headed down towards the Ocracoke ferry. It is free!! We had to wait in the car for about 40 minutes to board the ferry, then it was about a 40 minute trip to Ocracoke island. It was a nice trip, the kids loved being on the boat.
It is 13 miles from where the ferry lands to the other end of the island, where some shops and restaurants are, we toured the Black Beard museum and ate at the Jolly Roger restaurant. Before dark we took the ferry back to Cape Hatteras, but the ferry runs unitl midnight.
That night it got really stormy, it there was lightening and strong winds all night, but thank god, it didn't rain until we got everything in the car the next morning around 7:00.

Friday August 10th, 2007

We ate a hearty breakfast at the Gingerbread House on Cape Hatteras before making it back to the main land. It poured down rain, we were so glad we were not camping in the sandy camp site with rain.
We hit the road seriously at 8:00am and made it to Asheville, NC at 5:00pm, this is quite a feat, good driving Pascal! We found a place to stay at the Mountaineer lodge, which was basically a motel.
We drove through the tunnel to downtown Asheville and found a fantastic French bistro called Bouchon, it was so delicious. We had escargot, a pate and cheese spread and mussels and some bubbly wine from Languedoc (the region Pascal is from) it was what we needed after several days of camping.
After dinner we strolled through downtown and came upon a square, probably 100 people were gatherd there dancing and listening to the drum jam that was taking place. It was so magical, probably 15 people playing different types of drums all in harmony and young and old people dancing in the 90 degree heat forgetting about everything and moving to the primal music.
I was surprised but the kids didn't like it, so we didn't stay long, I could have stayed all night.



Saturday August 11th, 2007

My only goal for the day was to explore the galleries in downtown Asheville, since it is supposed to be the clay center of the US.
The staff at the Mountaineer told Pascal that we should go to Black Mountain, a town 7 miles to the east, because a craft fair was taking place. We drove there in hopes to eat something for breakfast once we got there. We couldn't find anything that we wanted. As we were walking up the street I was absolutely shocked to see a pick-up truck drive up the street flying three rebel flags! They made several tours around the small town, and as a yankee I couldn't believe what I was seeing, no one seemed disturbed by it.
The crafts were not that great, so we got in the car and drove to Builtmore, where they were hosting a home-made raft race, it was pretty interesting, the park was beautiful, it was set under trees next to the French Broad river. They had live bands play and a local tai kwon do group perform.
The rafts were a lot of fun.
Finally we got to downtown Asheville to see some art, the first few galleries we visited were a bit disappointing, but finally we found Blue Spiral 1, it was like visiting a museum. The work was top notch and the space was also really nice, they had three complete floors of gallery space. I needed to see some good work, it was refreshing.
We had dinner at a Chinese restaurant downtown and ate outside on the terrace, European style. One day we will go back and spend some time in Asheville.

Sunday August 12th, 2007

We found the Blue Parkway and had a very enjoyable ride to the Smokey Mountain National Park. Twists and turns, climbing and descending, amazing panoramic mountain views every so often, teasing us with a glimpse of the Appalachian range.
And 16 tunnels, thanks Gaston for counting them!
We were pleasantly surprised by the Cherokee village, we had no idea it was near where we were going.
We found the closest campground inside the SMNP and set up camp, despite the amazing whining by the kids. This was the first day they acted so whiney, we began to realize that they had had enough traveling.
We cooked a nice meal and splashed in the river a bit.
The river reminded me of trips from my childhood. My dad would take us to the rivers in southern Missouri and we all wanted to swim in them so badly, but they were spring fed and too cold, the river bed was made of large rocks and it made it hard to walk in, let alone run and play. Gaston had the same issues with this river, it was rocky and cold, he kept wanting to swim, but got frustrated with the low water, the temperature and all the rocks.

Monday August 13th, 2007

Cherokee village was our destination for the day, and well worth it. The village is a guided walking tour through a replica Cherokee village that was typical between 1500 to 1820. Cherokee guides demonstrated crafts and tool making,and blow guns. They explained their social structure and traditions. It was one of the highlights of our trip.



Tuesday August 14th, 2007

We left SMNP early to try to get to Nashville before too late in the day. We drove through Gatlinburg, TN, which is so over developed it is hard to see where the once quaint town existed. Next on highway 40 is Pigeon Forge, TN which was one of the more horrifying places I have ever been through (and I have been to Council Bluffs, IA). Apparently this is where Dollywood is, but it is also home to eight or more Nascar fantasy go-cart tracks, numerous miniature golf courses and massive parking lot after massive parking lot in front of various entertainment venues such as Chinese acrobats, magic theaters, comedy clubs (one is even built up-side-down), dinner theaters, and others too many to count. Between the entertainment establishments are more parking lots leading up to florescent painted buildings boasting the cheapest souvenirs in the area, or 10,000! t-shirts and don't for get Christmasville (open all year!). I think this is where the energy crisis began, too much asphalt, too many air-conditioned buildings, too many cars and plastic junk for sale.
It was certainly shocking after spending two weeks in nature camping to come across the absolute antithesis of nature. And no more than 15 miles or so outside of a national park.
After passing through Pigeon Forge we stopped at a cute roadside restaurant in the Cumberland Mountains called the Bean Pot. They had a very cute menu written phonetically in the local accent.
The drive to Nashville was very pretty, Nashville was not, it was hot and dry and there was no place to go, my romantic visions of a vibrant town like Asheville were not realized.
We found a Day's Inn and ordered delivery and swam and slept.

Wednesday August 15th, 2007

"We're going to Graceland, Graceland, Memphis, Tennessee; we're going to Graceland, Poor boys and pilgrims and families and we are all going to Graceland" -Paul Simon

We were so excited, three hours on the road and we found the first tourist information center, we stopped to get directions and more information on Memphis. We were stunned to find out we just happened to be there during Elvis week and the 30th anniversary of his death! We had no idea.
We decided the best thing, considering the crowds and the intense heat would be to drive by Graceland. We were glad we did just the drive-by.
People were piled under white tents on asphalt parking lots waiting for their turn to tour Graceland, or for something, I am still not sure what they were waiting for. They could visit Graceland anytime during the year, what made this so special is a bit odd, especially during the dangerous heat wave.
In addition to the crowds we were stunned by the appearance of the road leading up to Graceland, it was littered with dilapidated buildings and sketchy businesses such as pay day loans and pawn shops. The private planes Elvis owned are fenced off on a asphalt parking lot across the four lane street next door to a Day's Inn. It is not the grandeur that we expected, but we didn't do the tour.
We hoped to make the most of Memphis and head to Beale Street, which turned out to be two blocks long and not necessarily appropriate for young children. (Although not 1/10th as inappropriate as Bourbon Street) It was just a few bars and music joints surrounded by the fall out of an abandoned downtown. Memphis was not worth the stay.
Blaise entertained himself by finding imaginary kittens on the street and putting them in my bag.
We decided to get a lead on our trip home so we drove up highway 55 and stopped in Blythesville, Ar.
Wow, we had the most luxurious nights stay of our entire trip, and we deserved it. They had down comforters and down top mattress covers. It was amazing, like being rocked to sleep.

Thursday August 16th, 2007

We ate our free breakfast at the adjoining Perkins and then swam for an hour to rid the kids of any extra energy they may have before we set out on the long drive home.
By almost 3:00 we made it to Saint Louis and were getting anxious to get home.
We have seen so much and have traveled so far. We totaled 3794.2 miles.
We made far too many potty and poop jokes, passed too many trucks, eaten too many hamburgers, listened to too many kiddie movies and picked up too many travel brochures. It was time to come home, do laundry, work and go to school again, and remember with longing how wonderful our trip was.

Amy