thomas@allegra.UUCP (David Thomas) (07/10/85)
At last, the summary of travel info about Canada and NE USA that
you thought you would never get:
New Hampshire
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(1) White Mountains - Location of the tallest mountain in New England
(Mt. Washington), which can be climbed on foot, in a car, or by train.
Alpine ecology in good shape but the whites are somewhat crowded in
summer. Hiking trails all throughout the Whites. Also, peppered
throughout the various ranges are overnight huts run by the Appalachian
Mountain Club, where you can get a bed, breakfast and dinner for about
$30/night/person. These are an alternative to tenting, and are usually
about a 3 hour hike in from main roads. Some of the huts are
spectacularly located near the peaks of the larger mountains in the
range.
(2) Portsmouth - A really pretty town on the coast, with some very old
sections (circa 1680's) that have been renovated; good shops, and a
bunch of real nice restaurants. A nice place to stop for lunch.
Massachusetts
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(1) Tanglewoods - A famous outdoors music festival featuring artists
usually from the Boston Symphony. Concerts going on all the time - and
even if you can't get "shed" tickets, there are lawn tickets available
on the day of the concert. Nearby in the Berkshires (the foothills to
the Green Mountains of Vermont) is the dance festival at Jacob's
Pillow. Nice towns to stay overnight: Lenox and Stockbridge (esp. the
Red Lion Inn, Stockbridge)
(2) Amherst/Northhampton, Mass - Approximately between Tanglewoods and
Boston is the "happy valley," home of five colleges (Amherst, Umass,
Smith, Holyoke, Hampshire). Well known for its "new age" flavor. A
nice place to eat lunch in and walk around for a break from the
driving. Right near I-91, one of the major roads going N through New
England.
Vermont
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For scenery, you can't beat the trip from Bennington, Vt. up to
Burlington.
Maine
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(1) Bar Harbour area (including Acadia Nat. Park (Mt Desert Island))
resort area for camping (if you want to tent there, you have to make
reservations early), hiking and biking.
- Food - Popovers and tea: Jordan pond house (from 3 PM to 6PM only). *
Cheap lobster: at a port to South of Bar Harbour. * Indian Pudding:
"Down East bakery", on main street, Bar Habour.
- Biking - Park Loop trail, Acadia: ~25 miles, hilly, spectacular, ~4
hrs. * Carriage trails.
- Hiking - Precipice trail: marvellous views and sheer drops. * Jordan
Cliffs trail: very spectacular. * "Thunder hole" on the rocks, tide
caverns. * Woods near the coast.
- Cruise - Seal and osprey boat cruise (aquatic fauna, history), bring
own food.
- Music - Marlboro Vt. (or Mass?) : music festival in country town setting
(2) Baxter State Park - home of Mt. Katahdin, the northern terminus of
the Appalachian Trail (runs from Georgia to Maine). Great hiking
around Baxter - again, somewhat crowded in summer.
CANADA
------
Exchange rate $1 US ~ $1.35 Canadian
All of the prices below are in Canadian $ (I hope).
Quebec
------
(1) Montreal
- Art - Picasso exhibit: Montreal Museum (for all summer) superb and unique.
- Other - Baseball: Expos game at the Olympic Stadium (a stadium which is
worth a visit in itself) * Amusement park: La Ronde. * Worlds fair site:
(Expo '67) on Isle Ste. Helene in the St. Lawrence (access by car or metro)
* McGill University: nice to walk through, has a museum.
- Getting arround - Metro: fare is ~$.85 (or a book of 14 tickets
for $.60 - $.65/ticket, also good for bus) runs until at least 1AM)
- Districts/Streets - Ste. Catherine St: Window shopping. * Crescent
St.: best english nightlife (Loud dancing bars, quiet
sit-and-have-a-drink-or-two bars (eg. Woody's Pub), nude dance clubs
etc.) average drink price is $4.50, beer $3.50 * St. Denis: French
equivilent of Crescent. * St. Laurent: ethnic foods, atmosphere,
architecture. * Old Montreal: oldest, original part of the city (like
Europe).
- Parks - Mount Royal Park (Montreal is named after Mount Royal)
for walking, bicycling, lake (pond?), views of the city.
- Accomodation - Four Seasons (Le Quatre Saisons) hotel: in heart of
downtown, truly elegant, expensive ($200 - $250/night) unless you can
phone in advance and get a 2 or 3 day package for about $80-$90/night.
* Holiday Inn: $60-$80/night.
- Food - Gibby's: in Old Montreal, plentiful, excellent food including
huge complimentary salad, $25-$50/person with wine. * Le Caveau: on
Victoria St., $15-$40/person. * Roma: on McGill College (street leading
to main University entrance), Italian food, very good to excellent
quality, $15-$40/person * Mother Tuckers: high reputation and prices
(but less than Gibby's) well stocked and different salad bar and a
roastbeef bar * Basha: on Ste. Catherine, cafeteria type middle eastern
reataurant, < $5/person * Schwartz's: on St. Laurent, the best "smoked
meat" (a cross between pistrami and corned beef) in Montreal * The
Victoria Station: at 7500 Victoria Station, Steaks and Ribs for a good
price. * Thursdays: on Crescent St, excellent french cuisine, but
expensive. * [Ben's, Dunn's, Four Season's: high prices and NOT
recommended.]
(2) Quebec City - Very picturesque, with a lower "old city" right on
the St. Lawrence. As close to Paris as this continent can offer. The
most well known hotel is the Chateau Frontenac, a huge renovated
fortress type building that is pretty spectacular.
(3) Cap-de-la-Madeleine - along the St. Lawrence River, beautiful Catholic
Shrine
(3) Chicoutimi - Optional side trip - a couple of days would be
required to get there and back. Beautiful old town, and desperate for
tourists
Nova Scotia, New Brunswick - coast line
--------------------------
Prince Edward Island
--------------------
if time
Newfoundland
------------
skip it - there is very little there that isn't in other Maritime provinces.
Ontario
-------
(1) Ottawa - (side trip you can leave out if you want) the capital of Canada,
see the Parliment Building (climb the clock/bell tower).
(2) Ontario Cottage Country
between Ottawa and Peterborough (on the way to Toronto) highly
recommended
(3) Trent Canal system and the highest lift-lock in the world.
(3) Toronto
Try the down-town area, Ontario Science Centre ("Cinesphere" travel
movies highly recommended), Ontario Place, 1400ft CN tower, Harbour
Front, Toronto has more restaurants/cinemas per capita etc. than
anywhere else in the world and is one of the cleanest, modern cities in
North America.
(4) Elora Gorge - nice little Toronto->Niagara-on-the-lake stop
(5) Hamilton - Canada's version of Pittsburg * Dofasco has the latest
steel rolling technology (may be able to take one of their annual tours)
(6) Niagara-on-the-lake - theatres, shops and eating places
(one of the best "little-towns" around), nice accommodation.
(7) Niagara falls - grossly overcommercialized (but probably
mandatory), cheap accommodation. The Canadian side of the falls (the
Horseshoe Falls) is the better tourist attraction. Try to see the
falls from Goat Island in the middle of the river at the top of the
falls. There are also (boat) tours that go up to the falls on both US &
Canadian sides. There is even a tour of the caves under the base of
the falls if you feel brave.
(8) A long scenic trip along the top of Lake Huron, Lake Superior -
Route: From Toronto or Niagra up to Tobermory (Georgian bay to your
right, Lake Huron to your left), take the Che-che-mun (BIG car ferry)
(2 hrs) to Manitoulan Island (indian for 'island of the gods', dairy
farms, a vacationers' paradise, it is in the middle of Georgian bay),
drive up across the top of Lake Huron to Sault St. Marie (see:
locks/docks (dock boat tour), confluence of Lake Superior, Lake Huron
and Lake Michigan) take train up to Agawa Canyon (Call Algoma Central
Railways (ACR) for info - nice all-day round-trip) The North and North
East shorelines of Lake Superior are the most beautiful and rugged
areas in the Eastern half of the continent (you look down from the hwy.
to the bottom of ice-blue Superior). Possibly take the ACR train to
Hearst, and then a CNR or CPR train to Cochrane and take the Ontario
Northlands Railways (ONR) train ("Polar Bear Express" I think) up to
Moosinee/Moose Factory on the shore of Hudson's bay (>= 3 day trip).
OR Go up to North Bay, going north on hwy. 11 through Temagami
(especially if you like lakes!), going up into the far civilized north
of the Geraldton and lake Nipigon region (more lakes and great scenery)
to Thunder bay.
Return route: back on the bottom side of Lake Superior & Lake Huron.
Near Travers City in Northern Michigan are the Sleeping Bear Sand Dunes
State Park. They have wide expanses of sand dunes up to 1000 feet &
more high. OR Drive south through US Sault St. Marie, take (people
only) ferry to Machinac Island (world's largest draft horse breeding
stables, interesting history, "Grand Hotel" - very flash, too
expensive) (come back past Detroit???).
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See: "Let's Go: Northeast USA" for low-budget tips.
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Thanks to: Swami Devanbu (@AT&T Bell Labs, Murray Hill, New Jersey),
David Carno (@ ATTIS), Chris Lewis (@Computer X (CANADA) Ltd., Toronto,
Ontario, Canada), Al Gates, Carlo Sgro (@U of Waterloo, Ontario), Rich
Ganns, Brian Carty (@AT&T Bell Laboratories), Doug Stumberger (@AT&T
Bell Laboratories), charm!sdc, Eduardo Hernandez, ihnp4!ihu1e!jee, jrc
(No responsibility for the accuracy of the above information is accepted
by any of these).
--David Thomas.smh@rduxb.UUCP (henning) (07/14/85)
**** **** From the keys of Steve Henning, AT&T Bell Labs, Reading, PA rduxb!smh I would like to add some of the unique out of the way places and some of the main places that were omitted in the previous posting which seemed to be aimed at New Yorkers. > CANADA > ------ > > Nova Scotia, New Brunswick - coast line > -------------------------- > BADDEC, NOVA SCOTIA - Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Park is a small museum with an interesting display of Bell's many inventions. CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS AND CABOT TRAIL, NOVA SCOTIA - Very similar to Scotland's scenic west coast highlands region. FORTRESS OF LOUISBOURG NATIONAL HISTORIC PARK, NOVA SCOTIA - A very enlightening peak at the 18th century and important aspects of our history. PEGGY'S COVE, NOVA SCOTIA - This quaint fishing village is one of the most popular spots for artists and photographers as well as nature lovers who marvel at the heath & heathers that surround this small village. KEJIMKUJIK NATIONAL PARK, NOVA SCOTIA - One of the homes of the Micmac Indians and a very relaxing place to enjoy nature as the Micmacs did. FUNDY NATIONAL PARK, NEW BRUNSWICK - Home of the world's highest tides and one of the best National Parks in the world. It has a swimming beach and swimming pool, golf course and lawn bowling, tennis, camping, hotel and motels, lakes and streams, scenic coastline, and a craft school where you can make a souvenir on those rainy days. > Prince Edward Island > -------------------- > if time > PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND NATIONAL PARK, PEI - Has one of the best nice warm swimming beaches in the world. That is due to the fact there is very little tidal change and the slope is so gentle that you can walk way out. > Newfoundland > ------------ > skip it - there is very little there that isn't in other Maritime provinces. > GROS MORNE NATIONAL PARK, NEWFOUNDLAND - This is a must for any geology buffs. Newfoundland is part North American coastline, part pushed up ocean bottom, and part African coastline. This is most easily seen in this park. This gives one a great orientation for visiting the island. L'ANSE AUX MEADOWS, NEWFOUNDLAND - The site of a Viking settlement established about 1000 AD. Excavations and a museum show much of our history that is left out of most history books. > Ontario > ------- MOOSONEE, ONTARIO - An Indian village with fur trading still evident. This town is only accessible by a train from Cochrane and a canoe ride to Moose Factory Island in the center of Moose River and at the southern tip of James Bay which is part of Hudson Bay. > Quebec > ------ GASPE PENINSULA, QUEBEC - One of the most scenic collection of fishing villages in North America and home of Codfish Tongue, one of North Americas great delicacies. DISCLAIMER - The author tends to avoid cities and large hotels. He likes to visit interesting sites, interesting people, and places where doing nothing is pleasurable. Each of the above spots is unique and, as an avid traveler, is a spot which I will add to my list of all time favorites. None of these spots were created by Disney and may bore those who do not enjoy the world around them as it is without any props or gimics.