cindyabs

I got a mule and her name is Sal, 15 years on the Erie Canal.

I'm going to have that in my head the rest of the night,

PaulK

Lazzza:

I miss the Scottish Highlands too! I lived there in the early nineties before moving to Oregon in '94. Used to live between Newtonmore & Dalwhinnie at Crubenmore- do you know it?

Looking forward to taking my (American) wife there in 2011!

Cheers,

Paul.

robin1234

Another great thing about the Erie Canal is the cycle path that follows it.. not the whole length, but Rome, Syracuse, Rochester & beyond. We took a three day cycle trip along the canal about twelve years ago with the kids, there are some beautiful towns along the way (Lockport for instance.)

More like an English canal is the Rideau Canal in Ontario. This is the beginning of the canal in Ottawa, right by Parliament Hill... Here's Rideau Canal info including boat rental.

cindyabs

Stayed at the Chateau Laurier a few times right down from Parliment I thought that was pretty cool that the canal was right there.

My only canal experience was in Birmingham, but DH and I would love to do a trip.

Englishtart

I really hadn't imagined that we would be able to do any canal boating in the US, it is a lovely surprise to see how wrong I was

I checked out a couple of the companies doing the hiring, lots of differences in prices for doing the same amount of time/place. Big differences too, one started at around $3000 for the same week/boat size as another one for $1200

Hubby is excited to do some research on it all and think about booking something once we are settled again

Thank you all who posted links

Rete

Englishtart

Also check out cruises on Rideau Canal in Canada. It goes from Kingston, Canada (just outside of New York State's Can/Am border) up to Ottawa.

Rete

Brat1

I was born and brought up in Scotland and know how good and scenic the highlands and parts of the country can be. But having just moved to Connecticut, I can't believe how stunning the scenery and the wildlife is here. I have seen and heard my first woodpecker and the cardinal birds (bright red birds the size of starlings) are absolutely fantastic. So as much as we will both probably miss Scotlands beautiful scenery, I'm sure we'll both find something else in the US which is just as good, if not better. Maybe it's just last minute jitters which I've already been through, so know how you feel.

Look forward to your new adventure, and if you have any spare Wii games, pass them in this direction!!!!!!

tonrob

Just saw a cardinal outside my window as I typed this!

As I think I mentioned before - we are only up the road from you. We live in an old, compact, detached house with a sun-deck and the tiniest garden in town. In the five years we've been here we've had squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, deer, frogs, snakes, groundhogs and skunks in our garden - and a possum up our tree - and when it's been snowing overnight night we wake up to all kinds of tracks in the morning (it's sometimes fun to try to work out whether we had an elephant or a giraffe on our deck in the night).

Take a weekend trips up to VT and NH. In one weekend in the White Mountains we saw a moose and a bear.

You have New England as your new playground and there is tons to do. Enjoy!

Rete

I've stayed at the Lord Elgin when in Ottawa for the Tulip Festival one May. Have skated on the Rideau and it was great fun.

Rete

If you like cruising, check in to the many river cruises that are available. It is not just the Mississippi River that have river cruises but there are some in the midwest that go east to west and they all stop at various towns along the way. Grant you they are not inexpensive but a real treat if you want to see a bit of the US from a difference perspective.

cindyabs

Why I just happen to have a brochure,

tabskitten

Lazzza - where are you going to and why the move

OH and i are going to mve to states as soon as he finds a job there and i just cannot wait!! even nicked his CV and been applying for things on his behalf

Lazzza

OH intercompany transfer so L1A for him and L2 for the rest of us! We are off to Houston, Tx. Well Katy really. OH is away already, he left last week. I am waiting for my daughter to finish her Higher exams in Scotland and then the rest of us will be away too!

Lazzza

I know where you are. I certainly know where Newtonmore is! My son is at Uni in Glasgow so go up and down the A9 all the time!

another bloody yank

Looked into doing that for our honeymoon, until I saw the price! The cheapest tickets were almost within reach, but bunk beds weren't what I had in mind...