We decided upon a combination of "pilgrimage" and "fun" for our honeymoon. After we left the reception at around 5:00 PM, we drove straight through to Montreal, the sight of many a church and saint. After Montreal, we drove south to Vermont and across the country east through New Hampshire and Maine.
This allowed us to see both the beautiful White Mountain Range containing the largest (tallest) mountain on the East Coast (Mt. Washington) and the Atlantic Ocean. We then drove down the coast through Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, and on down to DC, seeing the places I'd wanted to see most (and ironically getting stuck in traffic in most of those places).
Mt. Washington, White Mountain Range, New Hampshire.
One of our good friend works for Marriott and was able to get us some great rates on hotels where we stayed all of the nights of our trip. We are big Marriott fans. I was very comfortable and happy with our choices.
We arrived in Montreal at 4:00 AM. We stopped only for food and bathroom breaks. This really benefitted us on day two (after 14 hours of sleep each) when we were finally back on a normal sleeping/waking schedule. It was so good to finally be together in the same cities without having to find each other places to stay for the night. (Thank you to all our family/friends who helped with that!) The engagement period seemed so long. This was our first trip together and very special.
DH had been in Montreal before. It was a special place for us because it was there at Bl. Kateri's tomb that he picked up a prayer card in 2007 and began praying consistently for my happiness. I was dating another man at the time; and that (providentially) began going downhill after DH began praying for me. It was quite moving to be there three years later with this fine man, who became my husband.
There were so many fine sights in Montreal. We also visited St. Joseph's Oratory and the Cathedral, which is a scale replica of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Even the baldacchino is the same. It was phenomenal!
Coincidentally, the Sunday Mass was a celebration of the canonization of Br. Andre Bessette, who was buried in the Oratory and had been canonized in Rome hours earlier. The place was packed. The Mass was quite impressive. We realized that in Montreal - like Italy - lines do not exist. So when the time came for reception of the Eucharist, there was a mad rush to the altar. I forgot that some people in the world prefer that way of doing things. We had a good laugh and decided to wait in our seats until most of the madness had ended. Then we had 4 working lines - tight but working - to use when approaching the altar. (Much more helpful to our proper disposition!) We then visited the now St. Andre's tomb and lit candles at the St. Joseph Shrines. The building is impressive if for no other reason than its projecting size. You can probably tell from the photos that it is also on a hill.
That afternoon, we visited the church of St. Francis Xavier Mission in Kahnawake, where Bl. Kateri is buried. The door man was just locking the place up and let us in for a few minutes. Reinforcing stereotypes, he insulted us on our pronunciation of "Kateri," attributing it to our being Americans. We took it gracefully and were grateful to have some moments with my patron. However it became the joke of our trip: Stupid American! ;)
On day three, we drove to Vermont. Since we had decided to take advantage of the only time in our lives when we wouldn't have anything to do (We were returning to Saturday, Sunday, and Monday work events of mine.), we toured and tasted the ice cream at the Ben & Jerry's headquarters in Waterbury. It was really fun.
We then drove through the White Mountain range in New Hampshire, which boasts of the largest mountain on the East Coast: Mount Washington. We could see it a long way off, even though we were driving through many hills before we passed it. It was truly impressive. The colors were beautiful vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows. The photos don't do the landscapes justice, but they do give you a hint of what we experienced.
We were excited when we hit Maine, the state where we were staying for the third night. I don't think that I would ever have traveled to Maine otherwise, but I'm glad we did because it's fantastically beautiful. It has mountains, the ocean, and Acadia National Park, which was a little too far from where we were.
We stopped in Boston. I was itching to see Harvard University, especially given the dramatic emphasis on academia in the DC area. We stayed long enough to get stuck in unholy traffic, see the church & science building, and get out before we hit the rush hour. As traffic began to speed up, DH decided that we couldn't leave without showing me the Boston Common. After seeing it, I agreed. It has to be the heart of the city - quite historic and beautiful!
Our final night was spent in Connecticut, which is still one of my favorite states in the union. After spending a weekend retreat in Stamford last October, I fell in love with the place! It boasts of miles of parkway, lined with maple trees, bursting with color. It has the New England feel but seems friendlier. And it's only 4-5 hours from DC, which is perhaps the reason I like it the most. Everything was stamped with Yale University's logo. That was the most notable memory of that particular visit.
On Wednesday, we decided to visit New York City after all. DH let me drive, which I think he later regretted. Everyone was incredibly aggressive. We saw Central Park and Times Square and decided that we'd had enough of traffic. But then we got stuck in the Lincoln Tunnel on our way out. Once we were safely in New Jersey (I never thought I'd say that about NJ), the husband took the wheel. The only way to see New York City is on foot.
We arrived back that night and rested up for the next two days. It was really nice to get away and really nice to have some time together in our new home without rushing back to work. Thanks to a friend's gift card, we enjoyed a fantastic dry-aged steak dinner at the Capital Grille on Thursday night. Most of the fun of traveling is who you're with; this was my favorite trip ever.
