What a blast: at the beach with portland, an Armenian Orthodox wedding, gabbing with family from all over, the baseball Hall of Fame, Ommegang brewery, Howe Caverns, four hotels - the last with a bowling alley (Ed.: as illustrated).

America is different from Canada in a few ways. There are way more flags on houses - many of which are the stars and stripes. Beer in grocery stores is just plain sensible. Cape Cod is actually filled with Cape Cod style houses.

Some of the nicest looking towns in the north-eastern USA include Woodstock, Vermont; Cobleskill, NY; and South Portland, Maine.

The bowling, by the way, was Freddie Flintstone big-ball ten-pin. I grew up with candlepin while the good wife was a five-pin queen in high school. She would have won the YABA 80 game badge (illustrated from a part of the YABA badge display case). Not I.