The van turned 106,000 miles on Friday, July 17, as we were skirted Toronto on our westward journey home.
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| 106,000 miles! |
We were coming back from a trip to Pierce Pond to spend time with family. Pierce Pond is unlike any other place on the planet. There is simply nobody there, there's no cell coverage, the spring-fed lake is crystal clear, and the swimming is sublime.
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| The placid waters of Pierce Pond |
When we arrived, Allison's aunt picked us up on their pontoon boat. We spent a lot of time just sitting and talking and enjoying.
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| Intergenerational contact is essential |
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| A perfect spot for sitting and thinking |
While at Pierce Pond, Enzo has his first experience as a boat captain!
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| Enzo's first captain experience |
Meanwhile, Luca became the Sunfish Skipper, taking Madeline, Allison, and me for a sail.
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| Enjoying the sunfish |
Our time there was lovely, and yet we had to depart for Rangeley and the main (har har har) reason for our trip.
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| Arrivederci Pierce Pond! |
In Rangeley, we took Grampa's ashes to the Height of Land and sprinkled them on the Appalachian Trail, per his request.
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| Grampa's view |
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| Buon riposo Grampa |
Later that day, we ascended to The Nest and had a really lovely celebration of life. There were some tears and lots of laughter, it was a great event that could easily have lasted for another two or three hours. After the celebration, we descended by chairlift and were treated to a magnificent sunset.
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| Allison practicing her speech |
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| Stunning sunset from the Saddleback chairlift |
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| Bidding "a domani" to the sun from the Saddleback chairlift |
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| Allison and Luca marveling at the sunset |
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| Maine's lake district is stunning |
The next day we enjoyed some cousin time on the lake.
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| Rafting the pontoons |
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| Cousin swimming fun |
At Pine Tree, they serve fantastic ice cream, and outstanding lobster rolls! Only in Maine!
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| A last visit to Pine Tree in Rangeley before leaving for Québec! |
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| Only in Maine do you get lobster rolls like this at an ice cream shop! |
We also collected some new stickers for the Thule:
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| We've yet to see a moose in ME... |
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| Rangeley is a lovely place to visit |
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| Grampa tribute sticker |
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| Where Grammy and Grampa met, and where we had Grampa's celebration of life! |
We had never been to Québec before. It was sort of (not really) on the way home, so we decided to explore the city. Unintentionally we arrived during their annual summer music festival, so we got to enjoy some eccentric music in the evenings.
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| Cool African band |
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| Night stroll in Québec |
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| Fulfilling Madeline's poutine fantasies! |
Departure day was also Allison's birthday, and we had a really enjoyable lunch at a rotating restaurant. We concluded that we hadn't eaten at that many revolving places, and that the experience is totally worth it.
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| Rotating lunch in Québec |
Homeward bound, we made a stop in Kingston, Ontario. It was basically a good place to stop, and we found a really outstanding restaurant. It ended up being one of the best meals of the trip, and a great place to celebrate Allison's birthday.
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| Happy birthday my love! |
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| What a long candle! |
The next day, we headed for home. As we passed Toronto, we ran into the wildfire smoke that engulfed us for the rest of the drive.
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| Distopian wildfire smoke west of Toronto |
All in all, the van was a wonderful companion on this trip. It carred us and more stuff than we needed effortlessly and comfortably. What a machine!
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| 2386 trip miles, the van didn't miss a beat |
tk
