Maine

Back to the USA after a splendid week with our neighbors to the north, we passed too quickly through Vermont and New Hampshire to get back on the farm.  We overnighted near Burlington, VT, and got a taste of how valuable local food is to a lot of folks up that way.  Almost every restaurant seemed to emphasize that their food was indeed local and fresh.  We enjoyed the views across Lake Champlain and some great crepes (packed full of local ingredients of course) before heading south and east.  The weather was a little dreary and drizzly, but the beauty of the area was still evident, so green and hilly and alive.

The rain was at its heaviest as we blindly crept up a long dirt road, finally arriving at Ol’ Ways Farm near Solon, Maine.  Reading reviews by other WWOOFers online, it was clear that this was a very desirable place to work and play and learn.  Work was good – maintenance of machinery, grape vine propagation, fencing, weeding, planting, feeding and watering pigs, sheep, cows, geese, chickens… we really got good exposure to the farm.  But it wasn’t only the work that had impacted so many WWOOFers over the last few years.  We joined the home, already full of the family, cats, dogs, and 2 other WWOOfers.  We worked together, cooked together, ate together, essentially spent our waking hours surrounded by each other.  We passed too quickly through this place, just settling in when we had to move on.

Acadia!  Although the weather wasn't totally ideal, we had a great 24 hours in Acadia National Park, at times more mystical than majestic.  Highlights included a big hike up Cadillac Mountain, peaceful moments along the foggy coast, and appropriately – a lobster feast in Bar Harbor.  We passed too quickly through this place.

On to Portland, where we stayed with Barry and Mary and Maggie, a great Buteyn family connection.  Conveniently located in a great old neighborhood a couple miles from downtown, their inviting home was a great spot (full of tasty mostly locally sourced food and drink, and much informative conversation) for our brief exploration of the first east coast city that we’d come to.  The weather on Sunday was perfect for a big bike ride.  We started with the whole fam, comfortably cruising along the back cove and the east prom to the ferry terminal where Molly and I split off and took a ferry to Peaks Island for a leisurely ride filled with gorgeous views and fun seashore investigation.  On the way back home, we meandered through the old streets near the water, getting a glimpse of the Old Port, trying to envision the commerce these streets hosted in the past, now filled with retail and restaurants and tourists.  Curved quaint alleyways enticed.  Cobbled streets slowed traffic.  We passed too quickly through this place, said our thank-yous and goodbyes to our generous hosts, and headed south.

We found a bite and a beer in bustling Portsmouth, New Hampshire then cruised the New Hampshire coast as the sun set (yes, too quickly passing through these places), and arrived in Somerville, Massachusetts in time for a delightful stroll around Cambridge led by our new hosts, Molly’s friends Liz and Ahern.

Many Photographs! 

Oh Canada

We crossed the border north into Canada, eh!  Anyone who has ever visited with Rhoda and Johan will understand that time in their home after a month of being transient was a real treat.  They really are the hosts with the most!  They welcomed us in with beers and great conversations from the get go.  We settled in to our rooms (flowers on the bed side tables and all) and enjoyed a delicious dinner followed by a stroll around their lovely Hamilton neighborhood. 

The next morning we started off with a tasty breakfast and then made our way out to La Primavera farm – Joann’s family farm.  Rhoda and Joann have been friends for ever and are now sisters after a fortuitous marriage to brothers.  Joann used to come and visit in Grand Rapids so it was nice to see her again and see a little bit more of what her farm is all about.  We helped Rhoda and Johan plant some potatoes (adding onion skins to help prevent blight) and then set to work seeding rye and oats in the flower fields. 

Once the seed had been sown, we took a walk into the woods, found the cabin, and had a nice dip in the pond ­– very refreshing.  

After yet another wonderful dinner with Rhoda & Johan we were off on a bike tour de Hamilton courtesy of Rhoda.       

We made it to Toronto for one fast and furious day.  We covered some pretty serious ground on our bikes and enjoyed the charged riding style of the big city – the mild topography was pretty nice too!  Some of the highlights included…a building covered in bug sculptures, Run with the Kittens, the long downhill ride on Younge, the small farmers market we stumbled upon and the blueberry ice cream we bought there.

Montreal comes highly recommended by anyone who has ever visited and it’s easy to see why.  A compact big city with bustling streets lined by cafes, restaurants, and boutiques.  The oldest section of Montreal has a very European feel to it with slightly winding narrow cobblestone streets lined by three story buildings – easy to wander.  This is where we found the Basilique Notre Dame – intricate, detailed, opulent, showy.  The side chapel had a whole different style.  It had burned down in 1978 and was rebuilt in a much more modern, yet still stunning manner - glowing gold throughout the entire chapel. 

The Oratoire St-Joseph had an entirely different feel – lofty ceilings, modern design, artistic sculpture.  Fewer tourists and near silence coupled with the magnitude of space created palpable spiritual reverence. 

We checked out the urban food production efforts that are taking place on the campus of Mc Gill University and were thoroughly impressed.  They are growing using rooftop containers and layered green roof methods to show that neglected spaces in the city can be efficiently used to grow food.  The Mc Gill program has patterned with a local meals on wheels program to produce a significant amount of the food being distributed. 

Some of the best views we had of the City of Montreal were atop Mount Royal.  The big trees and shaded trails provide a nice contrast to the hustle and bustle of the city without having to go too far. 

We found that Montreal has no problem closing down streets to cars and letting people take them over.  They close St. Catherine for a handful of blocks every summer.  Patios are extended out into the street and pedestrians take over.  A whole section of the city was shut down for a week long music festival while we were in town.  Blocks were closed down for the display of Lamborghini and Bugatti – Grand Prix cars.  Mount Royal was shut down for at least 10 blocks for a street fare where local shops spilled their wares out into the road and street performers and strolling shoppers replaced cars.  It was amazing to see so many streets shut down at one time.  This is a far cry from the struggles many US cities have just to get a short section of street closure on a Sunday morning or afternoon.  Our wonderful couch surfing host Lara told us that they just don’t worry about making it easy for cars in Montreal.  So true!

Bicycling is the way to go in Montreal!  Cycle tracks, contra-flow bike lanes, buffered bike lanes, bike lanes, and sharrows can be found on most streets throughout the city and a Bixi station is never far away.  Riding through the City was comfortable and felt so safe.  It’s easy to see why so many people choose bikes over cars. 

Our neighbors to the north certainly treated us well on this leg of the trip.  You can find more pictures of our HERE.  

Detroit

The night before we actually entered Detroit proper we attended a Sierra Club meeting in Troy, a suburb of Detroit.  The reason we attended was the speaker - Kami Pothukuchi.  Heavily involved in Detroit urban food production as an educator, policy maker, and from what we've heard a stubborn and influential individual, we were impressed by her brief update on the latest news about Detroit.  A few words exchanged after her presentation helped to point us in the right direction for our visit the next day.

Driving into the city we hopped off the highway and started making our way through the neighborhoods.  Even after seeing photos and films, the deserted and often burned homes standing alone on desolate blocks evoked powerful emotion.  Moving further into downtown Detroit the contrast between bustling downtown activity and the previous neighborhood ruins created an unsettling juxtaposition.

We made our first foray into the world of couchsurfing.org on this stop and it ended up being a great way to stay.  Our hosts Jenny and Nick were super hospitable and their loft on the river was a spot that would be pretty tough to beat.  Nick took us on a bike tour along the recently constructed River Walk, up into Midtown, along Cass street for a snack stop at Avalon (an organic bakery and a key part of the urban agriculture movement), and then on to the hidden 4th Street. We parted ways and continued riding through the City checking out community gardens that seemed to be sprouting up everywhere we went.

A ride on the People Mover gave us a unique second story view of the city.  It's hard to know how much practical transportation this transit is providing - a clockwise circle around the downtown doesn't seem to provide too many direct connections.  However, we did see a mix of tourists and local Detroiters making use of it.

We were able to volunteer on Earthworks Urban Farm on Saturday morning.  The farm was started in 1997 as an extension of the Capuchin Soup Kitchen and has grown into a "beautiful food system through education, inspiration, and community development" that spans more than 20 lots over several city blocks.  A three hour session of sifting and spreading compost with fellow volunteers flew by and we were thankful that the program manager Patrick was willing to chat with us for a while afterward and give us a tour of the farm.

Still smelling of compost, we rode over to the Heidelberg Project to take in the unique creation of Tyree Guyton.  Words can't explain, so we'll let pictures speak for themselves.

Our next stop was the bustling Eastern Market where flower sellers hollered end of the day prices, farmers boasted the freshest asparagus around, and eager customers purchased.  We grabbed some onions, garlic, and mushrooms to pair with the canned tomatoes so kindly sent with us from Riverbound Farm and turned it into a fresh and delicious pasta dinner.

We got some night life in by poaching a Lauryn Hill show from a hill next to Chene Park Amphitheater and tasting some of the local brews at the Atwater Brewery.

Sunday provided the opportunity to visit the St. Bonaventure Monastery morning service - this Capuchin Monastery actually started the soup kitchen that Earthworks grew out of. We wrapped up our far-too-brief Detroit experience with a drive to Belle Isle for skyline pics of this incredibly interesting city.

DETROIT PICTURES

Weddings and Family and Friends and Cities

A pre-planned break from the action took us to Omaha and Grand Rapids.  Molly got a good couple days in Chicago, too.  Weddings, reunions with friends and family, some bike riding, and little glimpses of urban gardening in west Michigan filled our time.  We had to pull ourselves away, knowing there's so much for us to experience out east!  Click HERE to see photos of some of our good times.

Northwest Iowa - Center of Big Ag?

On our way from Dream Acres to our friends' wedding in Omaha we made a quick stop in northwest Iowa where we had the opportunity to talk with Dordt College Agriculture Professor Chris Goedhart.  While much of the work that Dordt is currently undertaking involves enhancing both conventional and organic large scale agricultural operations (corn, soybean, oats), Chris is also well versed in the smaller scale food production operations that we have been visiting.  Conversations included the massive number of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the three county area surrounding Souix Center, creative ways of feeding on larger scale pig farms (think ice cream and candy bars), and the recurring question of the best way to feed the world.  Chris shared a lot of helpful information, explaining that even after decades of deliberation, he still feels conflicted when considering farming methods.  It was sort of comforting, sort of frustrating to hear of Chris's conflicted feeling.  Will we ever really know what the best way to nurture a backyard garden or feed the world's hungry might be?  How different/similar with those systems look? We left our short afternoon with Chris with a much longer reading list and as usual, many more questions than answers about the best way to create sustainable food systems.

After our chat with Chris we decided to check out for a bit and went to see Thor in 3D.  Good entertainment.

 Then wrapped up the night with a bike ride on the local trail and a night of van camping at the city campground.

Chris was nice enough to put us in touch with a man in the area who has an organic beef and poultry operation.  Carroll DeNooy took time out of his busy schedule to show us around his farm.  Originally motivated by health concerns for him and his family, he has been committed to strict organic practices for years and shares this clean healthy food with the community by selling to several local retailers, at farmers markets, and directly off the farm to friends and family.  We even picked out some brats and steaks for a wedding gift.

We made a quick stop final stop on the way out of town where our friend Brianna grew up.  Very neat home/ barn/ gallery/ farm!