the turquoise trail

Maui; the valley isle Maui was probably my favourite island; it features a huge variety of landscape & packs in a multitude of things to do!  It's absolutely gorgeous, and completely different around every bend!  From rainforest to desert, lava rock to white sand beach, quaint country towns to artsy boutique towns.. this island's got it all.  Some highlights from 7 days on Maui.. {hiking} Haleakala Crater There are some fantastic hiking trails scattered over Maui; the highlight for me was Haleakala.  The different minerals left behind from the volcano are displayed in the variety of colours in the crater.  It's a sight to behold, and well worth the trip up - try to go on a clear day!  There are plenty of other opportunities for nature hikes, beach walks & window shopping, no matter what area of the island you're on.   {food} I didn't actually eat out too much during my time on Maui, but there are plenty of farmer'...

Week 8: My favourite part... I thoroughly enjoyed the town of Trois  Rivière Miles... 1063  Day 47: Quispamsis, NB to Fredericton, NB 79 miles  Not feeling too great this morning so I got off to a slow start, but I still made it up the stairs to church. After church a few stayed for a delicious lunch, although I was really wishing I felt better. I capped off the afternoon with a sunny nap on the patio hammock, then packed up and headed to Fredericton. I got into my friend C's around 6 for dinner and the evening with her... Hammock naps.. Day 48: Fredericton, NB to Trois Rivière, QC 465 miles  Today got off to an early start with a trip to see what downtown Fredericton has to offer.  From there I hit the road and headed homeward, making quite a few stops to rest and  stretch the bum. I stopped for lunch in Grand Falls and by mid-afternoon I found a little beach, the sun was shining, and it was hot... all at the same time! Ten...

Week 5: My favourite part. .. Hands down: whale watching.. Amazing!  Miles ... 901 Day 26: Pasadena, NL to Badger, NL 122 miles Got up around 8 this morning to have breakfast with a couple of very happy kids!  After breakfast, we got ready to head to church.  After church, we were invited out for lunch.. & what a spread! There were at least 5 different kinds of meat, and I didn't even count the vegetables.. It was delicious and I *obviously* ate way too much. After lunch, we made our way back to Pasadena where we figured out our plans for the night. It looked as if the rain would hold off, so I found a campground two hours down the road for the night. We got our things packed up, said a huge thank you & good bye, and hit the road east again! We didn't leave until about 5, and after a quick stop for gas, we headed towards Badger.  We got to the camp ground shortly after 7, to an already lit fire! After getting things set up, we had some dinner and...

Week 2: My favourite part.. Going lobster fishing! Total miles.. 880 Day 5: Richmond, QC to  Rivière-du-Loup, QC 274 miles It was an early start for some this morning, as a water pipe was leaking from upstairs. I, however, managed to sleep right through it. Breakfas t at 7:30 included an interesting but surprisingly edible combination of porridge, peanut butter and bacon. Our Sunday church meeting was half English and half French, and proved to test just how rusty my French has gotten.  After a delicious lunch of spaghetti and caesar salad, I headed out towards Quebec City. It was a gorgeous day to be on the road, a sentiment echoed by the sheer number of bikes on the road (I counted 227). I arrived on Ile D'Orleans shortly before 4, where I had the opportunity to pull over for a minute. Unfortunately, that led to the discovery that the front straps holding my box on had broken. I decided I had best find a  hardware store before they all closed,...

Red trail represents path taken, blue markers represent towns where we stayed.  {budget} My goal for this trip was $2000; knowing that was on the low side, we tried our best to be conscious of what we were spending while still enjoying the trip and seeing everything we wanted to see.  We stayed in a variety of hotels, hostels, B&B's and airbnb homes along our trip, and travelled over 2100kms.  Ireland uses Euros and Northern Ireland uses British Pounds, so to make it easier to follow I've converted everything to Canadian Dollars.    Flight: $813ea. Accommodations: $742.96 ($371.48ea) Car Rental: $727.75 ($363.88ea) Transportation (Gas, Ferry, Bus): $278.32 ($139.16ea) Attractions: $354.98 ($177.49ea) Food: $338.68 ($169.34ea) Other (Shopping): $287.20 ($143.60ea) All in all, the 11 day/9 night trip, including all spending money, cost each of us $2178.   {nutrition} The food we had in Ireland was delicious.  There are ...