It's great to be back home again!  And although I love me some cold weather it's also great to be back in Houston where it is sunny and in the 70's....I'm on the final push of The Book so please be patient if you've emailed recently.  I'm only checking email once a day for the next few weeks so that I can keep focused on the projects and manuscript that are due.  I know I know, what are the correct answers for the question Where In The World is The Crochet Dude?  Without further adieu....

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I -

Central Park in New York City.  What an amazing day I had there.  I had been through the park once or twice but in a hurried top of the double decker tourist bus kind of way.  That day I just meandered through the park and the weather was incredible and I found lots of Kodak moments.  I do agree that it looks like I'm somewhere in Georgia...

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II -

This is is in Newport, Rhode Island and is the house that the Vanderbilts had built was back in the 1890's... it's something like 128,000 square feet and has 40 bedrooms.  Fancy.  I calculated that my house could fit in the entry hall...twice.  Everything is covered in a layer of gold except the one room where they just concluded that it is covered in a layer of platinum.  Not too shabby for a summer cottage that was only used a few weeks each year, eh?  (PS: Laurie, no I didn't see Cooper Anderson anywhere...sorry!)

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III -

This was along the Freedom Trail in Boston, Massachusetts.  It's always amazing to leave a relatively new area of the country and go places where buildings were erected in the 1700's!  I walked the Freedom Trail the entire length all the way out to Bunker Hill that day.  I figure it's the least I could do to honor our founding fathers...

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IV -

As some of you figured out via The Google I am standing in downtown Bar Harbor, Maine.  Such a great town and all the shop owners were very happy because it was pretty much the final weekend of tourist season and everything was 80% off and they were all talking about how much fun they were going to have in the south for the winter.  It reminded me very much of my hometown of Saugatuck in Michigan. 

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V -

I must say congrats to new reader Amanda who figured out that this church is in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  It seemed like the most challenging of the photos that I posted since there were no real landmarks around the building to give hints.  You either knew it or you didn't.  It's an amazing church and yes I was there the day it closed for the season.  Are you seeing a pattern to my vacation?  LOL - not on purpose though.

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VI -

I spent two days in Quebec and it was c-o-l-d!  But I got to practice my french and eat some incredible food and walk for miles and miles and it truly felt like I was in Europe somewhere.  I bought some items that made me nervous as I passed through customs on the way home and also nearly got kicked out, I mean, respectively escorted out of the parliament building.  The nice lady at the front didn't like it when I asked her "what is this place?" and "is parliament in session?" and "is there anyone important i can photograph?", etc.  I'm not really sure what I actually said because it was in my version of French.  C'est la oui....

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VII -

I knew that if I posted this photo first y'all would figure it out right away.  It's an amazingly imposing castle like building right on the cliffs of Quebec City called  Château Frontenac .  It was originally the governor's house but I can't imagine why he would need so many bedrooms.  I think it's a hotel now.

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VIII -

This photo is significant because I was on a cruise ship and the captain skipped Prince Edward Island in Canada so that he could race around Halifax (you know, where the Titanic sank and they buried all the survivors in that famous cemetery there?) so that he could beat Hurricane Noel to Portland, Maine.  We docked that morning and had fairly decent (albeit cold and windy) weather until about 2pm.  Then the rain from the hurricane hit and it was super cold and coming down sideways and by that time I had hiked all over Portland and was standing at that lighthouse that you can see in the background and all I could think about was getting back on that ship where the buffets were open and the bartenders had learned my name...not that I would indulge in either of those activities... you can't prove anything.

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Final Day -

We actually docked in New Jersey but the route offered the ship this fantastic view of the NYC skyline including the Statue of Liberty.  What a great way to end a vacation!

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Thanks everyone for playing along.  There were going to be some pretty amazing prizes if someone had guessed all the photos correctly but alas no one did.  Maybe next year!  Have a great weekend everyone!!