Posts made in July, 2015
Red Sand
After leaving Moncton, we headed for the Confederation Bridge and the red sands of PEI. The bridge was an experience. There was no wind and the trip across was scenic but uneventful. As we drew closer to land, you could see the red sand beaches. We had booked 4 nights at Crystal Beach RV Park just outside of Summerside and was right on the ocean. Driving down the country roads sure brought back memories to Don. On the way to New Ananan, He recognized all the old haunts and his relative’s farms and houses in Traveller’s Rest wondering if any of the old family was still there. The first full day we spent exploring the island, going to different spots that held memories for Don. Lots of fields of potatoes and turnips. I spotted a fox sitting in front of a brush pile in a field watching something very intently. Probably breakfast. We stopped on the road and Don honked the horn to get him to look at us so I could get a good picture. Of course we had to visit Lucy Maud Montgomery’s birthplace. Across the street was the most beautiful heritage house nicely renovated and for sale. Tempting…but. We then went on to where she grew up at her grandparent’s home. We were surprised that her great, great (maybe two more greats) granddaughter giving an introduction about Lucy’s life there. Her parents, in their 80’s were still taking care of all of the gardening and had dug out the cellar of the house Lucy lived in. The house wasn’t there any longer, having dissolved into the earth over time. Each of the favourite spots had quotes from Lucy. We walked the path through the Haunted Woods along to Green Gables which is restored to the time period. Then we took a stoll to Lovers Lane and through more woods. I guess I am a bad Canadian because Lucy Maud’s books were never on my library list but after reading the quotes and seeing what an effect just living where she did had on her and her connection with nature, I will have to finally read Anne of Green Gables and the other three books. We took a break from sight seeing to visit Don’s uncles and aunts. The old houses are still there with some modern upgrades. The wood cook stoves had all been dragged out...
Read MoreYogi Bear & the Jellystone Park
All right. We confess. We really didn’t know what it would be like. We stayed at the Yogi Bear Jellystone RV Park in Woodstock, New Brunswick. We got the “couples discount”. Still never clued in. There were great big signs with Yogi Bear everywhere. Lots of kids. Still no clue. I did wonder why the lady in the office referred to herself as the “Park Ranger”. And once we were parked why the loudspeaker kept announcing all these little kiddie events that were happening every 1/2 hour or so. Blame it on being travel tired. I finally clued in when the tractor pulling the hay wagon drove by with Yogi Bear accompanied by a troup of children of all ages. There was another Park Ranger singing silly kiddie songs through her microphone. Ok, I get it now! Duh! It was a kiddie park! Santa had to go into hiding. We didn’t want a mob around us. While in New Brunswick, we visited the Magnetic Hill in Moncton. Who would have believed that our truck and rig could roll UP a hill! Yes, I know, it is an optical illusion but sure looks like you are going uphill. The cars back up (down) the hill but because we were towing, we had to put it in neutral and roll up (down) the hill. I also saw a vineyard on the hillside while we were driving in that area. I didn’t know that grapes could survive the harsher winters. The hill has become quite the tourist attraction. We had to pay $5 just to roll down that hill. « ‹ 1 of 2 › » ...
Read MoreJuly 12th & 13th
Well, we missed out on Fort Chambly. We found it ok but we could not find the RV parking lot. The streets were extremely narrow and lined with parked cars and pedestrians weaving in and out from the sidewalks to the street. It was a very scenic area and we were disappointed but after we made the bad mistake of entering a dead end narrow parking lot and having to make a 15 point turn, we gave up on Fort Chambly. Maybe another time. It was a Sunday too and a lovely sunny day which probably contributed to the mass of people and cars. Onward to Camping Transit in Levis, Quebec, on the other side of the river from Quebec City. Great spot, nicely grassed. The only downside is that although you drive through the countryside to get to it, it actually backs onto the highway which is noisy. We could live with that, though, compared to some of the spots we had been in. We signed up for the Red Bus Tour through Quebec City and headed off by shuttle to catch the ferry. Nice chatting with other travelers in the shuttle. We started at the museum. They had the Egyptian display which was fascinating. We were glad it was early in the morning and there were very few other people viewing the displays. After that, we got on the bus for the Public Market. There were lots of fresh veggies, fruit and cheese. In a hidden corner of a store at the far end of the Market, we discovered an exotic spice shop. There was a whole wall of drawers of spices. Cabinets with jars of different kinds of peppercorns. We couldn’t get enough of the smells. The bus tour continued on to the Plains of Abraham and past all the historic landmarks. The tour guide explained as we were going downhill on one very narrow street that the snowfall for last winter would have been up to the bottom of the flags on the light standards. It didn’t start to thaw until the end of April. Great beauty in the summer but I don’t know if I would like the winters! At the end of the tour, we watched the street buskers and then strolled downhill through narrow alleyways, past funky shops and lots of interesting smelling restaurants. We could have spent a month there. It...
Read MoreWawa – The Home of the Geese
In the middle of nowhere, we were stopped by police checking for drunk drivers. They were really diligent and spent quite some time chatting with each driver. We stayed at Wawa RV Resort on the river. It was certainly one of the nicer spots we have stayed in and was filled with RVs and tents. The owner said that there were a lot of people doing their bucket list trip across Canada and we met a few. One lady said there was a 3 week wait for the Newfoundland ferry. I panicked because we hadn’t booked yet so I phoned the ferry and the agent told me at the most there would be a 3 day wait. Not that bad. We could explore Nova Scotia while we waited. But she said that we would be paying roughly $400 each way. Yikes! I have already spent our reserve funds on rig repairs. PEI is $113 return if you take the bridge and the ferry. We may have to look for work! On our walk to the river with Lucy, we were stopped by a young man who asked if we knew where there was a store close by. They hadn’t brought any supplies with them and were wanting to buy something simple to eat for dinner. Of course, it being our first time, we weren’t familiar with the area and didn’t know how far it was to the actual town of Wawa. I offered them a Sidekick to tide them over. Too funny, they couldn’t find a pot to cook it in and then didn’t have any way to cook it so I offered to cook it for them. When I brought it back to them, turns out the fellow was a Metis artist from Saskatachewan and he gave me a printed art card as a thank you. They were on their way from Quebec to teach at a Francophone school in Red Deer, Alberta. We ran out of propane so had to run into Wawa to fill...
Read MoreWalmartians
Onward to Thunder Bay. We spent yet another night at Walmart. A great way to save money. The website that I search for parking rules at Walmarts said the place to park was by the garden centre so we found a nice level spot to park ourselves. We are certainly getting more comfortable parking at Walmart, although we haven’t yet dragged out our BBQ. We do put our bump out though. Just easier to move around inside with it out. Just as our heads hit the pillows, a train blew by. We had been parked for several hours and didn’t even know a train track was nearby. After that train passed, there was another every couple of hours. Hard to get used to those train when you are so used to silence. In the morning we had been joined by several other rigs parked in different corners of the mall parking...
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