Days 57-68, Playing Catch-up, part 2

We decided to take our trip international!  Since Vermont is right on the US-Canada border, with Walden, VT, only an hour from border patrol, we decided Bailey should have a stamp in her passport to really round out the journey.

The Parkers couldn't stop raving about the province of Québec, in particular Québec City, so of course we made the drive there first.  With the cobblestone streets, inclement weather and French cuisine and language, you can't help but feel like you are walking along the Seine in France, not just hours by car from the US.

The walled old city is truly spectacular to see, with it's immaculate gardens and flower boxes, pristine churches, glorious hotels and entertaining street performers.  What was icing on the cake, however, was the Image Mill, a huge outdoor movie "projected" onto the grain silos along the harbor--a great way to beautify these daytime eyesores.  

From one French-speaking town to another, we next drove to Montréal.  As gorgeous as Québec, Montréal has more of a modern feel to it, with all the same French character.  We spent the day admiring the sites and of course, photographing Bailey the tourist. 

Day 57: Québec City, QC, The Image Mill.  This is a free show that the city of Québec puts on nightly during the summer months.  The history of the city in images is set to music & transforms these huge silos into the world's largest screen.  See a little of what we're talking about in this quick video.

Day 58: Driving day from Québec City to Montréal.  Our beautiful Bailey in the morning light.  

Day 59: Montréal, QC.  Just another day, just another country for this international traveler.  

Day 60: Camping in the "suburbs" of Montréal, QC.  

 
Knowing our next big destination would be Illinois, where Mike has a lot of family, we figured the most monumental drive from Canada to Illinois would be through Niagara Falls.  Really, what road trip across the United States would be complete without seeing the most romantic place in America?
Thankfully my sister, Sara, gave me the advise to stop first at Niagara-on-the-Lake, a quaint town on the shores of Lake Ontario, famous for it's wine and ice cream.  Of course we would stop there!  We had a picnic on the shore, then Bailey got to play in the water, displaying her stick-fetching skills to all the American and Chinese tourists.  Then it was off to the falls!
What's most spectacular about the falls is the lack of safety barriers for negligent tourists.  Honestly, being from the US, where any oversight for the safety of the public is a lawsuit waiting to happen, it was refreshing to be somewhere so natural.  There were places along Lake Erie so easily accessible by foot, and yet, just yards away from a 175 foot waterfall.

Day 61: Niagara Falls, ON.  Such a beautiful site...maybe not the most romantic with all the tourists & getting wet from the mist, but beautiful.

From Niagara Falls, we headed to a great campground on the outskirts of Buffalo, NY.  Typical of our trip, we arrived to the campsite late at night, unknowing what the facilities held in store, but were happily greeted in the morning to camping almost waterside to Lake Erie.  Bailey was able to, again, show off her stick-fetching skills to a crowd of about 10 adoring children, then we were off on a long days drive south.
With not much to see or do on these long stretches of road, Mike and I tend to take any and every available detour that may be interesting.  Sometimes the detours are a waste of time and gas, but sometimes we have a great time and find the gems of America... We decided therefore to take our chances and head into Pennsylvania in the hopes of coming across some Amish country.  After about an hour of aimless driving, once again cursing our US guidebook for misleading us, we came upon this:

Day 62: Pennsylvania Amish country.  What a different site for 2 Californians!!  I truly appreciate how they've been able to keep their culture, their morals, yet live in such a modern world.

Wow!  How crazy is that?!  And not that I wanted to stare, but stare I did, so intrigued with their truly unique way of life.
As Mike and I sat parked in the Amish Peddler parking lot, watching carriage after carriage go by and hearing the click, clack, click, clack of horse hooves, I found myself daydreaming what their daily lives must entail: no cell phones, no television, no getting caught up in the consumption that the majority of Americans live with daily, just having a pure and simple life dedicated to one's family, land, community and God.  For a moment there I think both Mike and I entertained this lifestyle...but then a young Amish man and his family pulled up in their carriage, and as I tried not to stare, I noticed something that connected our two worlds: a bag of Doritos, in which the children were hungrily feasting on.  I guess our lives aren't as foreign to one another as I thought. Well, maybe....

And finally, after one last long day of driving, we pulled into the Land of Lincoln...

Day 63: Illinois state line.  We made it!!

Since Mike's parents are originally from Illinois (Mike's father's family were farmers in Southwest Illinois and Kathy, Mike's mother, was born and raised on the south-side of Chicago), we knew we had plenty to see and do.
We made our way first to South Jacksonville, IL, to stay with Mike (Mike's namesake) and Mary.  Mike and Mary live in a beautiful old turn of the century home right on Main Street.  In stories past, they'd always talk about the annual 4th of July parade in their small town, where all they had to do was set up their lawn chairs on their front sidewalk; there was no "staking out your claim" here.  Well, the parade no longer runs along their stretch of Main Street, but what finally occurred to me, as it hadn't anywhere else in the US before, was that I finally was on Main Street, USA, the heart of America.
Mike and Mary had a full schedule for us: we first visited Springfield and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum and Library.  It was spectacular!!!  We learned so much about his tenure as president and the Civil War that I had no concept of before, plus the museum was very interactive, so every exhibit was engaging.  Then we headed to an area of Springfield that the National Parks is restoring--four blocks of Lincoln's neighborhood.  Sadly we went when all of the homes were closed, but the area was well-preserved and of course, very interesting as well.
The next couple days were spent relaxing, eating (we ate way too much!) and being chauffeured around the Illinois countryside, all awhile learning of Mike's family's history in the area.  We visited the family farm which Mike still owns a portion of and even spent one day in Hannibal, Missouri, the boyhood home of Samuel Clemens aka Mark Twain.  And how could I forget to mention the surprise visit to the Redneck Fishing Tournament in Bath, Illinois!  Yep, 'merica.

Day 64: Springfield, IL.  The home of Abraham Lincoln sits to the right in this photo of his neighborhood.  It was nice to read that Lincoln was very good friends with his neighbors..made me a little homesick for our awesome neighborhood!

Day 65: Hannibal, MO.  Mike, Mary, Mike & Bailey posing in front of the "Blue Bunny" Studebaker.

Day 66: South Jacksonville, IL.  Our day of rest: Bailey's favorite pastime is to stare squirrels down.  Maybe one day she'll make a friend, but squirrels are as uptight in Illinois as in California.  Sorry Bailey.

Day 67: Chandlerville, IL.  Mike checking out his bounty on the family farm.  Yep, they grow soybeans & corn.

BONUS Day 67: The fruit of the rednecks' bounty.  The reason behind the tournament is that Asian carp are very invasive to the area, so locals pride themselves on ridding the species from the rivers.  There are many ways of doing so, some of which I don't condone; check it out yourself on YouTube. 

Day 68: Grafton, IL.  Our last day with uncle Mike & aunt Mary.  Here we're enjoying lunch on the patio while checking out the Mississippi & Illinois rivers' convulance.