Hey all, Caleb here, hope you enjoy this update of our journey :)
Short Version:
Left Cape Breton(Canada) towards Maine, couchsurfed in Truro
Camped near Millinocket Maine: saw a moose :)
Stayed a night in Bangor: watched a local play - Around the World in 80 Days
Camped in Acadia National Park: had torrential downpour on our tent...
Couchsurfed in Conway New Hampshire: did some hiking
En route to Essex Vermont, We hit the food trail: Cabot Creamery, Ben and Jerry's Factory
Went to Essex and found 2 cemetery's that are full of Hannah's ancestors.
Went to Oswego, New York (upstate on Lake Ontario) to stay with people we had met in Florida
Went to Niagara Falls on the Canadian side- amazing
Drove to Holmes County Ohio, (amish country) stayed with a friends of family
Had a night of recuperating in Lima Ohio at friends house that were out of state.
Went to Goshen Indiana and stayed with my cousin Jason and his wife Courtney, while there we saw my cousin Lacey and her fiance Luke, and also one of my best friends from college.
Drove to Green Bay and did our final couchsurfing (we think)
Went to Minneapolis and stayed with friends of mine, Russell and Camille from my years working at Western Mennonite and also saw a couple of friends, Matt and Dan, that we met in Cape Town last year.
Now we are in Grunthal, Manitoba Canada visiting our friend Iris that we met in Cape Town as well.
In these past few weeks we have had amazing scenery, a bit more time processing, gaining a more solid idea of where we might "be" the next couple of years, talking more deeply with people, and seeing people we actually know. It has been a good few weeks and getting even better. Our friends Evan and Katie Finley will be flying one way to Chicago from Oregon and we will pick them up on the 16th and take them home with us as we hit a few national parks along the way. What a great way to end our trip, we are SOO looking forward to it.
The Long Version:
Starting where we left off on our last post; Cape Breton was absolutely amazing. It was almost overwhelming to have so much beauty and not enough time to enjoy it all. I wish some day we could spend two weeks there... After staying in a little hostel on the Cape, we headed to a town called Truro where we couchsurfed with a couple that we were linked up with via another couchsurfer. We didnt have much time with them, but shared some travel stories.
The day after we started our trek back towards Maine. We ended up camping in a little leen'to since it was going to rain, and had a bad nights sleep with that rain pounding on the tin roof. It was kinda a fun little experience though.
Before we went to bed we went on a moose hunt. I asked people where we might see one and they told us of a spot that was off a back road a few miles out. So after a small drive and waiting for about 20 mins, there it was, A MOOSE! Not a bull with big antlers, but a moose nontheless. I was really glad to see it, my first ever :)
From that little town we drove an hour south to Bangor Maine. We decided to get a cheaper hotel than we were planning on getting and then splurge on some mexican food :) mighty tasty. After eating out we decided to drive around downtown a bit and just check out Bangor. As we drove by an old theater we saw that there was a play about to start. Around the World in 80 Days. Hannah always enjoyed the story (I had never known it) so we decided to watch it. It was a hoot. They would say and do things that you couldnt get away with in other towns, but since it was Bangor, and you didnt have multiple races and backgrounds, they did what they wanted, kinda hilarious, a definite cultural experience.
The following day we headed to Acadia National Park where we thought we were going to stay for the next two nights. The weather stunk, but we thought, lets just gut it out, Acadia will be worth it. Well... the first evening it was worth it. We did some hiking and although foggy, it was dry and still nice, but then that night the rains came down and the floods came up :) water everywhere, but luckily our tent kinda held... (it wasnt meant for that weather) so in the morning we decided to pack everything up (open trash bags and dump everything inside) and move on. The weather report was that it was going to keep raining all day and night, and we may have drifted away if we stayed there. Also it was cloudy and rainy, so we wouldnt have been able to see anything. Major Bummer, but we counted our losses and moved on. Can't win em all...
So in desperation we called our couchsurfing host and asked her if we could come a day early. Sure, why not, was the answer, so we left Maine and crossed back into New Hampshire. We stayed in Conway for 2 nights, did a little hiking, hung out with our hosts, etc.
After doing that for two nights we drove on to Vermont. We stayed one night in Rutland, kinda regrouping, then took off towards Burlington to find a little town called Essex that has 2 cemeteries with lots of Hannah's ancestors buried in them. But first on our way to Essex we stopped at Cabot Creamery, took the 2 dollar tour, and ate lots of cheese samples (too much). We then moved up the road where we stopped at a "sugar shack" where they make maple syrup. Hannah has been waiting a long time to buy real maple syrup from somewhere in New England and finally it all came together and she was able to get some. After sampling different grades of syrup we then went to Ben and Jerry's Factory where we took the 4 dollar tour (not cool when machines arent going) and tried some ice cream that they havent put on the market yet. yay. We hit the food trail and didnt have to make our own lunch that day. So after all that we wound up in Essex, talked to a few guys at different cemetery's and finally got pointed in the right direction. After searching for quite some time, we found the right cemetery and hit the jackpot. Loads of Castle, Keeler and Ayer's, Hannahs ancestors. We spent a lot of time trying to document what we found. It was like a treasure hunt. Here's one! Here's another! Oh wow, a whole family here... you get the picture. It was really neat.
So after the cemeteries we then figured we would just find a place to park the car and sleep in it for the night. Well that didnt happen. Hannah posted something about it already, but long story short, we got to talking with a lady late at night in a grocery store and she wanted to help us out even though we werent asking for it. She had a friend that she called at about 11:30 pm and ended up taking us over to her house where we had a bed for the night. It was really nice of them. We had a good time talking that night and also fun time in the morning where Hannah got her pancake fix :)
So from there we moved on to New York, a little town called Oswego on Lake Ontario. We stayed with a couple that we met in Florida at a state park while we were looking for gators. They told us to come stay with them when we came through so we did. We stayed two nights with them. It was really nice to be with them and get to know them more. They had a lot hard things that they were dealing with and didnt hold back from telling us about them and we felt honored to have been able to learn about their situations and hardships. Neither of us have really been around people that have broken families and are dealing with court custody stuff and really bad severed relationships etc. It was a unique time with them and one I wont soon forget. (I also loved their dog Gunner (english bulldog))
From Oswego we kept going west and went back into Canada to see Niagara Falls. It was really really amazing. I loved it. We spent the whole afternoon by the falls. We didnt do any of the touristy stuff, just sat and looked at it and enjoyed it. It was really cool.
We then drove through Buffalo NY, Pennsylvania, and into Ohio, stopping at Cuyahoga National Park and did a small doce of hiking, and then continued on to a little town near Holmes County. Holmes County is the place to see Amish, they have loads of tourism going on there. Its also a part of my family history. My grandma (dads mom) grew up Amish till she was four. They came from a little town of Charm where the farm still is. Pretty neat.
After staying with some people near there we drove all over Holmes County and then after lots more cheese tasting and sampling of all sorts of stuff, we started to drive towards Lima, our next stop for the night. There is a town of Mansfield along the way that is home to the Shawshank Redemption movie (and others). We stopped in some places where there was shots from the film, kinda fun, but we were to late to take the tour at the prison, bummer.
From Lima OH, we went straight to Goshen Indiana. We stayed with our cousins Jason and Courtney. We had such a good time with them. Sharing good life stuff is fun, and especially fun when similar hearts connect over similar journey's. Its also fun when you have an awesome pug like Murray :)
Also while we were there, we met up with our cousin Lacey and her fiance Luke who are about to get married in about a week (we are sad to miss the wedding). They were really fun to talk with and get to know more. And then I also had a friend, Shane, from college that lives in the area, so he also came and met us at the local coffee shop for a time of catching up that I was really glad worked out.
So from Goshen (due to scheduling) we skipped Michigan and went through Chicago and Milwaukee and did our final (we think) couchsurfing in Green Bay. Kinda crazy to have a "small town", 105,000 people, with an NFL team in it...
From Green Bay we went to Minneapolis to visit a number of friends. We stayed with my friends and former coworkers at Western Mennonite High School, Russell and Camille, and their own little Hannah. We were able to help them do some gardening which was a lot of fun. And it was great to catch up with them. I just have always really liked them :)
We also were able to see and catch up with a couple of guys we met last year in Cape Town. Dan and Matt. We had such a fun time hanging out with them. Good laughs, good stories, good guys. It really did the heart good to spend time with them. Its been so nice to finally be with people we have relationships with already. We hadnt been with anyone familiar in a while, but now this part of the trip we are with all these friends that we have been excited to see. Its lots of fun.
A couple days ago we drove straight up to Manitoba to the little town of Gruthal to see our friend Iris that we met last year in Cape Town as well. We are here with her now and it has been such a good time of rest, relaxation, and catching up with a sweet friend. I was even able to mow their yard for them (kinda big one) it felt so good to be in the sun, cutting grass, there is just something about it...
We also went to Landmark Christian Fellowship this morning, connecting with the people there. We saw Lydian Frey and her family. Had lunch with Larry and Ina Reimer and Carlon and Tanya Yoder (and family). It was fun meeting these people and finding out how we are all connected.
I realize that a lot of this writing we have done is more of just what we are "doing" and not as much about what we are becoming, what Papa is doing, things in our hearts etc. But that is intentional, its not for everyone to know right now. And if I tried to process it all and quantify it, it would take me out of just living it in the here and now, and oh what a joy it is to learn how to start living in the moment! There are some things that you just have to cherish between you and your Lover, so for now, you guys arent getting all the good stuff, but hopefully some day, in person, if the time is right, maybe we will be able to share some deeper things of life together.
Once again, thank you all so much for caring for us. We are getting less than two weeks away from being home and we are REALLY looking forward to it. We plan on working part time in the summer (full time actually, but part time in comparison to our usual hours) and having time to be around and reconnect with people. We cant wait to be somewhere stable, somewhere that is Home.
Love you guys, see ya soon!
some extra pics
Short Version:
Left Cape Breton(Canada) towards Maine, couchsurfed in Truro
Camped near Millinocket Maine: saw a moose :)
Stayed a night in Bangor: watched a local play - Around the World in 80 Days
Camped in Acadia National Park: had torrential downpour on our tent...
Couchsurfed in Conway New Hampshire: did some hiking
En route to Essex Vermont, We hit the food trail: Cabot Creamery, Ben and Jerry's Factory
Went to Essex and found 2 cemetery's that are full of Hannah's ancestors.
Went to Oswego, New York (upstate on Lake Ontario) to stay with people we had met in Florida
Went to Niagara Falls on the Canadian side- amazing
Drove to Holmes County Ohio, (amish country) stayed with a friends of family
Had a night of recuperating in Lima Ohio at friends house that were out of state.
Went to Goshen Indiana and stayed with my cousin Jason and his wife Courtney, while there we saw my cousin Lacey and her fiance Luke, and also one of my best friends from college.
Drove to Green Bay and did our final couchsurfing (we think)
Went to Minneapolis and stayed with friends of mine, Russell and Camille from my years working at Western Mennonite and also saw a couple of friends, Matt and Dan, that we met in Cape Town last year.
Now we are in Grunthal, Manitoba Canada visiting our friend Iris that we met in Cape Town as well.
In these past few weeks we have had amazing scenery, a bit more time processing, gaining a more solid idea of where we might "be" the next couple of years, talking more deeply with people, and seeing people we actually know. It has been a good few weeks and getting even better. Our friends Evan and Katie Finley will be flying one way to Chicago from Oregon and we will pick them up on the 16th and take them home with us as we hit a few national parks along the way. What a great way to end our trip, we are SOO looking forward to it.
The Long Version:
Starting where we left off on our last post; Cape Breton was absolutely amazing. It was almost overwhelming to have so much beauty and not enough time to enjoy it all. I wish some day we could spend two weeks there... After staying in a little hostel on the Cape, we headed to a town called Truro where we couchsurfed with a couple that we were linked up with via another couchsurfer. We didnt have much time with them, but shared some travel stories. 
The day after we started our trek back towards Maine. We ended up camping in a little leen'to since it was going to rain, and had a bad nights sleep with that rain pounding on the tin roof. It was kinda a fun little experience though.
Before we went to bed we went on a moose hunt. I asked people where we might see one and they told us of a spot that was off a back road a few miles out. So after a small drive and waiting for about 20 mins, there it was, A MOOSE! Not a bull with big antlers, but a moose nontheless. I was really glad to see it, my first ever :)
From that little town we drove an hour south to Bangor Maine. We decided to get a cheaper hotel than we were planning on getting and then splurge on some mexican food :) mighty tasty. After eating out we decided to drive around downtown a bit and just check out Bangor. As we drove by an old theater we saw that there was a play about to start. Around the World in 80 Days. Hannah always enjoyed the story (I had never known it) so we decided to watch it. It was a hoot. They would say and do things that you couldnt get away with in other towns, but since it was Bangor, and you didnt have multiple races and backgrounds, they did what they wanted, kinda hilarious, a definite cultural experience.
The following day we headed to Acadia National Park where we thought we were going to stay for the next two nights. The weather stunk, but we thought, lets just gut it out, Acadia will be worth it. Well... the first evening it was worth it. We did some hiking and although foggy, it was dry and still nice, but then that night the rains came down and the floods came up :) water everywhere, but luckily our tent kinda held... (it wasnt meant for that weather) so in the morning we decided to pack everything up (open trash bags and dump everything inside) and move on. The weather report was that it was going to keep raining all day and night, and we may have drifted away if we stayed there. Also it was cloudy and rainy, so we wouldnt have been able to see anything. Major Bummer, but we counted our losses and moved on. Can't win em all...
So in desperation we called our couchsurfing host and asked her if we could come a day early. Sure, why not, was the answer, so we left Maine and crossed back into New Hampshire. We stayed in Conway for 2 nights, did a little hiking, hung out with our hosts, etc.
After doing that for two nights we drove on to Vermont. We stayed one night in Rutland, kinda regrouping, then took off towards Burlington to find a little town called Essex that has 2 cemeteries with lots of Hannah's ancestors buried in them. But first on our way to Essex we stopped at Cabot Creamery, took the 2 dollar tour, and ate lots of cheese samples (too much). We then moved up the road where we stopped at a "sugar shack" where they make maple syrup. Hannah has been waiting a long time to buy real maple syrup from somewhere in New England and finally it all came together and she was able to get some. After sampling different grades of syrup we then went to Ben and Jerry's Factory where we took the 4 dollar tour (not cool when machines arent going) and tried some ice cream that they havent put on the market yet. yay. We hit the food trail and didnt have to make our own lunch that day. So after all that we wound up in Essex, talked to a few guys at different cemetery's and finally got pointed in the right direction. After searching for quite some time, we found the right cemetery and hit the jackpot. Loads of Castle, Keeler and Ayer's, Hannahs ancestors. We spent a lot of time trying to document what we found. It was like a treasure hunt. Here's one! Here's another! Oh wow, a whole family here... you get the picture. It was really neat. 
So after the cemeteries we then figured we would just find a place to park the car and sleep in it for the night. Well that didnt happen. Hannah posted something about it already, but long story short, we got to talking with a lady late at night in a grocery store and she wanted to help us out even though we werent asking for it. She had a friend that she called at about 11:30 pm and ended up taking us over to her house where we had a bed for the night. It was really nice of them. We had a good time talking that night and also fun time in the morning where Hannah got her pancake fix :)
So from there we moved on to New York, a little town called Oswego on Lake Ontario. We stayed with a couple that we met in Florida at a state park while we were looking for gators. They told us to come stay with them when we came through so we did. We stayed two nights with them. It was really nice to be with them and get to know them more. They had a lot hard things that they were dealing with and didnt hold back from telling us about them and we felt honored to have been able to learn about their situations and hardships. Neither of us have really been around people that have broken families and are dealing with court custody stuff and really bad severed relationships etc. It was a unique time with them and one I wont soon forget. (I also loved their dog Gunner (english bulldog))
So from Goshen (due to scheduling) we skipped Michigan and went through Chicago and Milwaukee and did our final (we think) couchsurfing in Green Bay. Kinda crazy to have a "small town", 105,000 people, with an NFL team in it...
From Green Bay we went to Minneapolis to visit a number of friends. We stayed with my friends and former coworkers at Western Mennonite High School, Russell and Camille, and their own little Hannah. We were able to help them do some gardening which was a lot of fun. And it was great to catch up with them. I just have always really liked them :)
We also were able to see and catch up with a couple of guys we met last year in Cape Town. Dan and Matt. We had such a fun time hanging out with them. Good laughs, good stories, good guys. It really did the heart good to spend time with them. Its been so nice to finally be with people we have relationships with already. We hadnt been with anyone familiar in a while, but now this part of the trip we are with all these friends that we have been excited to see. Its lots of fun.
A couple days ago we drove straight up to Manitoba to the little town of Gruthal to see our friend Iris that we met last year in Cape Town as well. We are here with her now and it has been such a good time of rest, relaxation, and catching up with a sweet friend. I was even able to mow their yard for them (kinda big one) it felt so good to be in the sun, cutting grass, there is just something about it...
We also went to Landmark Christian Fellowship this morning, connecting with the people there. We saw Lydian Frey and her family. Had lunch with Larry and Ina Reimer and Carlon and Tanya Yoder (and family). It was fun meeting these people and finding out how we are all connected.
I realize that a lot of this writing we have done is more of just what we are "doing" and not as much about what we are becoming, what Papa is doing, things in our hearts etc. But that is intentional, its not for everyone to know right now. And if I tried to process it all and quantify it, it would take me out of just living it in the here and now, and oh what a joy it is to learn how to start living in the moment! There are some things that you just have to cherish between you and your Lover, so for now, you guys arent getting all the good stuff, but hopefully some day, in person, if the time is right, maybe we will be able to share some deeper things of life together.
Once again, thank you all so much for caring for us. We are getting less than two weeks away from being home and we are REALLY looking forward to it. We plan on working part time in the summer (full time actually, but part time in comparison to our usual hours) and having time to be around and reconnect with people. We cant wait to be somewhere stable, somewhere that is Home.
Love you guys, see ya soon!
some extra pics
Frozen Custard is our new favorite food
cape breton area
one of our meals on the go... :'(
our campsite in Acadia before the torrential rains
trying the pumpkin spiced chai icecream that Ben and Jerry's hasnt come out with yet.
a cool little national park in Cuyahoga Ohio
the Miller's, near holmes county
we recently went over 294,000, totaling so far 14,000 on this trip
