A Whirlwind Road Trip!

What a crazy weekend!  We left all too soon.  Soon being, the next day.  We left Friday and got home Saturday night.  What a trip.  First, tho, some background.

Grandma has been on the VERGE of going to her home in Canada for several weeks now, and the summer is getting on.  The uncle's family kept getting distracted by various family events and just never took her up, so she's been waiting for ages to get "home".  So, after a slight kidnapping by my mother, some finagling, a bunch of phone calls and a very generous offer from Eliza, we three gals headed north.  Some names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Early Friday the family met Eliza, Marcey and Asa to trade cars.  What do you do when Eliza and Dad are packing a car and Mom gets nervous?  Hand her a baby, of course.  I don't have pictures, but I'm told it worked extremely well.  :)

After picking me up in Salem, off we went!  The trip started and ended very well.  We drove like bats out of hell and made it to the border within 7 hours.  Grandma fielded a never-ending string of phone calls from the relatives as we drove, with great quotes like "So-and-So said he wanted to drive me but he doesn't have his passport and I thought, isn't God wonderful?" and "You know, I really like that Lady Gaga."  and "What do you mean you're got getting visited by Whatshisname?  Tell him to get his skates on!" Good times.

Around 2 we stopped for a lovely lunch in Bangor at the Muddy Rudder.

The rest of the drive was spent chatting and singing and sharing some family gossip.  We also saw a funnel cloud.

 
Just over the border we stopped to get some water filters for the house...

...and later we got some milk and eggs for breakfast.  They had my favorite thing about Canada... bags of milk!!

The scenery was beautiful, as always.  Click the picture below for a larger image, the thumbnail just doesn't do it justice.

We got to the house just before 10pm EST.  We had a bit of trouble getting in, and we had some trouble with the house alarm (a pair of wire cutters solved that problem).  After bringing in the luggage, installing the water filters, wiping down the freezers, removing the dead birds from the basement, we looked around a bit before collapsing in bed.  Below is a picture of Grandma's 1930's era cabinet.  Inside is her depression-era glass and silver from her mother, her grandmother and relatives I'd never heard of.  It was so exciting to see some family history, I've experienced so little of it.

The next morning before Grandma got up, E&I set to work:

• Find coffee
• Fix the hot water heater
• Start Grandma's car

The coffee sounded like an easy one.  Not so much. We found out later it was tucked in a suitcase.  Giving up, we went to the hot water heater.  We tried a few different fuses (real fuses!) in the electrical box and moved on to the car.  That's when I started cursing my uncle up and down.  20 nails, in a 2x4, holding the door to the molding every which way.  I couldn't believe it.  Thank goodness this girl remembered her toolbox and a chisel.  It took at least 30 minutes to get into the 2x4 removed (idiot) only to be followed by the door getting caught on the floor boards.  That's when Grandma came out and started kicking the door open.  Eliza was a little shocked, I think.  Later she said, "You told me your grandma could kick your ass and I didn't believe you... Um, I believe you!!"

The car was eventually freed, jumped, and started thanks to Grandma's Chevy Malibu expertise.

Problems solved, I got to look around the house a bit.

 
I was very interested in the pictures.  Do you recognize the girl below?? 

My mom and Uncle Chuck

I never really saw much of myself in my mom's side of the family- too funny

Mabel, my Grandmother's mother

I love this collection of my grandmother's sister, Marion.  What a hottie in that suit!

 Me and Brendan

I was really impressed by this FULLY FUNCTIONAL bellows organ.  

Also note the needlepoint Grandma did on the walls.

Overall the place was immaculate, ready for some nice vacationing.  I was so interested by everything there, and it was really nice to see Grandma in her element rather than at the whim of others.

Just before we left, Grandma made us breakfast.  One can only argue so much.  :-)

Like I said, we left all too soon.  It was so peaceful up there.  The air was so fresh and clean, and the stars...oh my goodness the stars... I'd forgotten how amazing they were.  I really hope we do this trip again (with slightly more notice) and get to stay a few days.  There's a duckboat in Halifax Grandma wants to take us to, and the Bay of Fundi.  Grandma was so excited...It was wonderful to spend time with her- I don't see her nearly enough. 

We left around 10am EST and got to Salem 11 hours later.  It was so wonderful having someone to drive with- the trip was WAY more fun and WAY faster that way.  Thank you, Eliza.  It meant so much that you came!

We'll be back soon!