Hawai’i

I have a conference on Oahu this week, so I’m headed out early and going to do a tour of the Big Island!  I’ve always wanted to go and it is the only island that I haven’t been to (or at least sailed around).  So I’m super excited.

A unplanned drive in the mountains

I left work early today with the intent to drive South and make it for J's son's Bday in Georgia.  Unfortunately, I hit traffic everywhere and when I say everywhere, I mean the middle of nowhere, not in the cities where I expected it.  I'm already going on less sleep than optimal, so by the time I was only about 2 hours from the house and I had been in traffic for over 4 hours, I exited and drove west.  Ended up in Morgantown, WV where I found a hotel.  I spent the weekend wandering through the mountains of WV and VA, dodged some rain showers, drove a little of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and spent some time hiking near the Peaks of Otter and the James River.  Not the same as getting to see J and fam, but a spontaneous and welcome diversion!

Cool railroad bridge

My future homestead

A walk in the woods

A Peak of Otter

Victory!

Today was the Women's World Cup Final . . . and even though we are all home now, it really seemed like an extension to our trip, so . . . I am happy to announce that that our trip has resulted in Team USA winning the 2015 FIFA WWC!  Carli Lloyd scored three goals in the opening minutes of the match, with Lauren Holiday and Tobin Heath also contributing goals.  A great game to end a great trip . . . even if we had to watch it end on TV.

La tour de QC

After the Tableau incident we returned to QC and took in the Citadel, some shopping, and other local sites. 

Standing watch on the city walls

St. Lawrence Seaway View

We wound up at a bar we scoped out the first night as a good spot to watch the USA v Germany match.  It was a great place to watch the match, if you want quiet and subdued and quite possibly to be the only people in the place watching the game.  But we had fun and made some noise (but probably less than we would have elsewhere).  Team USA marched on to another victory, securing their place in the WC finals in Vancouver on July 5 . . . if only it was one day earlier that would be so appropriate.  Wish we could go!

Post match we discussed our plans.  We had originally thought about sticking around for one more day in Canada, as tomorrow is Canada Day and festivities might be interesting, but we are all tired and decided we’d just head back tomorrow instead.  Its been a great trip, with great friends, and a great WC experience!  Thanks for all the memories, J, K, Sara, Carly, Megan, and crew!  Remember "Don't Wambach it!"  (Sorry Abby!)

Its on the license plate

La tableau du Terroir?

Canadian favorites at work.

So this morning we decided to set off outside the city to see some of the countryside.  We decided to make a visit to a local sugar shack (a place they make and sell maple syrup).  This one was a place we saw on a food channel special.  Upon arriving, we find the parking lot deserted except for employee cars and a large sign in front advertising “La Tableau du Terroir”.  Knowing some French, I do know this just means they serve local food, however, being a group of native English speakers and given the deserted setting in the middle of the woods, one can't help but have some negative connotation . . .  They routinely terrorize their guests?  Understandably intimidated, we decided to find a hike instead and perhaps come back later . . . Nearby we located a trail that wound around a local lake and got out for a short hike.  Nice area, obviously a favorite with the local mosquito population as well.  Also popular with some locals who attempted, but failed, to photo bomb Sara.  A worthy spot for stretching our legs in the woods a bit, and the bug bites will help us remember how enjoyable it was.  After the hike, we passed by a still empty Sugar Shack . . . we’ll mark that down as a fall only attraction.

Failed photo-bombing by the lake (premature pose dropping)

Our Private Bar

Our hotel the Clarendon, has a “legendary” jazz lounge and bar.  It was still early, but we figured that we should check it out . . . the place was empty, save the bartender who I think we probably annoyed with our super slow decision making.  So naturally we came back several times during our stay.  Always the same bartender and almost always empty.  Tried several cocktails here, but the best find may be these local beers:

Decent bar find . . . in a can.

Bye bye J :-(

Today we sadly waved goodbye to J as she flew home, but not before we dragged her to Quebec City.  On our way out of Montreal, we also found our way to the suburbs to a coffee shop that some skilled sleuthing had identified as a spot where Megan Rapinoe had coffee the previous day.  No USWNT sightings, but we did have some nice cups of coffee and delicious pastries.  Then we headed up the St. Lawrence Seaway toward Quebec City.  We passed some interesting roadside attractions, including some life sized dinosaurs along the way, but our attempts to navigate the frontage roads to investigate were unsuccessful. 

Arriving in QC, J had a couple of hours before her flight, so we did a quick drive through of the historic old town and then headed to a waterfront restaurant we found in one of our travel guides.  Our travel guide was a few years old and arriving at the location the GPS led us too, almost gave up thinking the restaurant had closed.  But some exploration and a little persistence and we found the restaurant and enjoyed our last meal together.