Our computer finally died completely before I was able to complete our RV trip analysts. After 2 days of research, I purchased a new Dell Inspiron 7000 from Amazon with 17” screen (for watching movies at anchor) and 2.5 TB hard drive (to store all the movies). Unfortunately, it won’t be delivered until Wednesday. I promise to get right to work on the analysis as soon on as it is running and plan to include cost comparisons between different types of travel like driving your car and staying in B&Bs.
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Monday, August 26, 2019
Day 27 - Vermont to Home?
Day 27
We were out of the campground by 9am - both of us a little anxious to get back to our home, Second Wind. This time, I did pick "No Highways, No Tolls" on Google Maps and we followed all back roads from Chittenden, Vermont to Hudson, NY. The countryside in western Vermont was beautiful as we left the Green Mountains and ran south through the valleys. It was a sunny, calm day and we both enjoyed the ride.
This picture is a great example of all the dairy farms in Vermont with their huge hay and corn fields.
The second picture is a long-range view of the Adirondack mountains off to the west.
We were not lucky enough today to find a nice park for our lunch stop but did find an out-of-the way shopping center where we could stop in a corner of the parking lot for a little seclusion.
Around 2:30pm, we pulled into the Catskill Marina to end our 3,500+ mile trip. We both had mixed feelings - sad for the trip to end but happy to be back to our home.
The next several hours were spent taking cart loads of equipment, food, clothing, etc. back to the boat. It seemed much easier than loading the trailer since we didn't have to choose what to take. Bring everything that is ours.
By 6pm we had most of it moved and stowed on the boat so we finally took a break. We made cocktails and munchies then headed to our favorite place - the pool. It had cooled off a bit by then so Laura just soaked her feet. I dove right in and it was very refreshing. A short time later I sat at the table by the pool and listened to music on my bluetooth speaker while sipping a small glass of tequila.
Laura made home-made pizza for dinner, we watched a few shows on TV and hit the sack early. Our own bed felt very nice as we fell asleep quickly.
Today (Monday) we attended a funeral mass for my Uncle Leo Soulier and spent a little time with the family afterwards. It was very nice to see everyone again and we reminisced about being kids again.
After lunch we headed home to finish unpacking and trailer clean-up. Laura had most everything cleaned when I hooked up the trailer to the truck and towed it over to Hop-O-Nose Marina for a good bath. I was able to use their power-washer for cleaning both the truck and trailer. I think several years of grime came off.
Then, back to Catskill Marina where we setup the trailer next to the pool - her normal home in the summer. She served us well. I snapped this picture as I was finally heading back to the boat for a little relaxing.
Over the next day or two we will work on our comparison of cruising on a sailboat versus RVing with truck and trailer. We did both have a good time and enjoyed all the new places we visited and new friends we made along the way.
209 miles today (all towing) = 3,531 total trip miles
We were out of the campground by 9am - both of us a little anxious to get back to our home, Second Wind. This time, I did pick "No Highways, No Tolls" on Google Maps and we followed all back roads from Chittenden, Vermont to Hudson, NY. The countryside in western Vermont was beautiful as we left the Green Mountains and ran south through the valleys. It was a sunny, calm day and we both enjoyed the ride.This picture is a great example of all the dairy farms in Vermont with their huge hay and corn fields.
The second picture is a long-range view of the Adirondack mountains off to the west.We were not lucky enough today to find a nice park for our lunch stop but did find an out-of-the way shopping center where we could stop in a corner of the parking lot for a little seclusion.
Around 2:30pm, we pulled into the Catskill Marina to end our 3,500+ mile trip. We both had mixed feelings - sad for the trip to end but happy to be back to our home.
The next several hours were spent taking cart loads of equipment, food, clothing, etc. back to the boat. It seemed much easier than loading the trailer since we didn't have to choose what to take. Bring everything that is ours.
By 6pm we had most of it moved and stowed on the boat so we finally took a break. We made cocktails and munchies then headed to our favorite place - the pool. It had cooled off a bit by then so Laura just soaked her feet. I dove right in and it was very refreshing. A short time later I sat at the table by the pool and listened to music on my bluetooth speaker while sipping a small glass of tequila.
Laura made home-made pizza for dinner, we watched a few shows on TV and hit the sack early. Our own bed felt very nice as we fell asleep quickly.
Today (Monday) we attended a funeral mass for my Uncle Leo Soulier and spent a little time with the family afterwards. It was very nice to see everyone again and we reminisced about being kids again.
After lunch we headed home to finish unpacking and trailer clean-up. Laura had most everything cleaned when I hooked up the trailer to the truck and towed it over to Hop-O-Nose Marina for a good bath. I was able to use their power-washer for cleaning both the truck and trailer. I think several years of grime came off.
Then, back to Catskill Marina where we setup the trailer next to the pool - her normal home in the summer. She served us well. I snapped this picture as I was finally heading back to the boat for a little relaxing.
Over the next day or two we will work on our comparison of cruising on a sailboat versus RVing with truck and trailer. We did both have a good time and enjoyed all the new places we visited and new friends we made along the way.
209 miles today (all towing) = 3,531 total trip miles
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Day 25 and 26 - Fun in North Conway then off to Vermont
Day 25
We were at the Conway Scenic Railroad station around 11am for our lunch ride. I was looking forward to this since we were here last year and didn't take the train because we just missed the time. Now, we had our tickets and were waiting for the train.
Laura and I walked around a bit and toured the old engines and railroad cars being worked on in the yard. This picture shows where will be exiting the station and traveling up the valley. We're going through that little whole in the trees.
The ride was very pleasant from the beginning. Our car rocked back and forth a bit which felt like being back on the boat. The conductor explained what we were passing along the way - roads, bridges, rivers, etc. plus gave us a bit of train and local history.
Shortly after leaving the station we were served a 3-course lunch. Salad or fruit cup, I had the turkey wrap, Laura had a salad with chicken breast, then we had a bread-pudding dessert. It was all very tasty.
Here we are in the dining car just after our lunch was served.
The valley ride had beautiful scenery along the way and riding a train made it all that much better.
About 45 minutes into the ride, the train pulled off onto a siding. They decoupled the engine, drove it down the main track, then reconnected it to the other end of the train for our trip back. It seemed pretty complicated but only took about 10 minutes. Then we were pulled back down the valley and arrived back at North Conway less then 2 hours later. A very enjoyable ride.
Here is our locomotive going around the train to hook up at the other end.
After the train ride, we decided to hike out to Diana's Baths. It was only a short drive from the train station but, when we got there, it was packed. Probably a 30 to 60 minute wait to enter the park with cars lined up on the main road. We'll leave this for another time.
Here is a picture of the mountains that Laura took as we were driving back.
We relaxed at the trailer during the afternoon then showered and dressed for our evening out visiting one of our favorite Irish bands Dennis and Davey. The website showed the group played from 7-10pm so we arrived around 5:30 thinking we would have dinner and a cocktail before they started. Actually, they played from 7:30 - 10 so we had time to relax a bit.
Shortly after our dinner, Davey came in and started setting up. I introduced myself as a big fan even though we had only seen them once 15 years ago. Davey was so impressed he gave us his new CD and sat down with us on their breaks to talk about music and sailing.
By 7pm the restaurant had filled up and the music started at 7:30. Here is a picture of the guys starting the night. Dennis is on the left. He has an awesome voice and plays guitar and guitar synthesizer. For example, on their first song, his guitar sounded like a banjo. Davey is on the right and is a bundle on energy. His feet are playing base (like an organ base), he plays guitar, extended mandolin, several flutes, sings and is also one of the best harmonica players I've heard. Sometimes he does 3 or 4 of these things at the same time!
Here is their first song of the night that I recorded and uploaded to YouTube - Dennis and Davey
By 1/2 way though the evening, the place was packed. We had a couple bottles of wine before, during and after dinner but I was looking for something else. When I saw our waiter go by I stopped him and asked for "3 fingers of Patron Silver. Then ice and lime slice on the side." He was laughing as he walked back to the bar. I thought it would be a small glass and 3-fingers would not be very much. But, the glass he brought back was big. I had a lot of fine tequila to sip away at. Turns out this was around 9:30 (I hadn't looked at the clock) and I only had about 1/4 of the drink down before the band stopped at 10. Oh boy.
We talked to Dennis and Davey for awhile and several other people joined in the conversation. One was the owner of the restaurant, Sky. At one point he looked at me and said, "So you're the one hogging the best table all night. I couldn't even turn it over." I said, "Yep. But I'm drinking Patron. Doesn't that help?" He laughed and we had a good time the rest of the evening.
I finished the drink a while later, we said our good-byes to everyone and Laura drove us back to the trailer. I feel asleep as my head hit the pillow. What a great day!
Near Franconia Notch on I-93 we saw this beautiful valley in front of us with the clouds streaming down off the mountains. Laura got this great picture with her Nikon camera.
It was a beautiful and enjoyable ride up through central Vermont to about 30 miles north of Burlington where we pulled into Maple Grove Campground. Making reservations only a day or two ahead of time has been OK for getting a site, but they are not the best locations. The last two nights we were right next to the path to the bathrooms (with lots of foot traffic) and the site we have tonight is about 30 feet from the bathrooms here.
We were at the Conway Scenic Railroad station around 11am for our lunch ride. I was looking forward to this since we were here last year and didn't take the train because we just missed the time. Now, we had our tickets and were waiting for the train.
Laura and I walked around a bit and toured the old engines and railroad cars being worked on in the yard. This picture shows where will be exiting the station and traveling up the valley. We're going through that little whole in the trees.The ride was very pleasant from the beginning. Our car rocked back and forth a bit which felt like being back on the boat. The conductor explained what we were passing along the way - roads, bridges, rivers, etc. plus gave us a bit of train and local history.
Shortly after leaving the station we were served a 3-course lunch. Salad or fruit cup, I had the turkey wrap, Laura had a salad with chicken breast, then we had a bread-pudding dessert. It was all very tasty.Here we are in the dining car just after our lunch was served.
The valley ride had beautiful scenery along the way and riding a train made it all that much better.
About 45 minutes into the ride, the train pulled off onto a siding. They decoupled the engine, drove it down the main track, then reconnected it to the other end of the train for our trip back. It seemed pretty complicated but only took about 10 minutes. Then we were pulled back down the valley and arrived back at North Conway less then 2 hours later. A very enjoyable ride.Here is our locomotive going around the train to hook up at the other end.
After the train ride, we decided to hike out to Diana's Baths. It was only a short drive from the train station but, when we got there, it was packed. Probably a 30 to 60 minute wait to enter the park with cars lined up on the main road. We'll leave this for another time.
Here is a picture of the mountains that Laura took as we were driving back.We relaxed at the trailer during the afternoon then showered and dressed for our evening out visiting one of our favorite Irish bands Dennis and Davey. The website showed the group played from 7-10pm so we arrived around 5:30 thinking we would have dinner and a cocktail before they started. Actually, they played from 7:30 - 10 so we had time to relax a bit.
Shortly after our dinner, Davey came in and started setting up. I introduced myself as a big fan even though we had only seen them once 15 years ago. Davey was so impressed he gave us his new CD and sat down with us on their breaks to talk about music and sailing.
Here is their first song of the night that I recorded and uploaded to YouTube - Dennis and Davey
By 1/2 way though the evening, the place was packed. We had a couple bottles of wine before, during and after dinner but I was looking for something else. When I saw our waiter go by I stopped him and asked for "3 fingers of Patron Silver. Then ice and lime slice on the side." He was laughing as he walked back to the bar. I thought it would be a small glass and 3-fingers would not be very much. But, the glass he brought back was big. I had a lot of fine tequila to sip away at. Turns out this was around 9:30 (I hadn't looked at the clock) and I only had about 1/4 of the drink down before the band stopped at 10. Oh boy.
We talked to Dennis and Davey for awhile and several other people joined in the conversation. One was the owner of the restaurant, Sky. At one point he looked at me and said, "So you're the one hogging the best table all night. I couldn't even turn it over." I said, "Yep. But I'm drinking Patron. Doesn't that help?" He laughed and we had a good time the rest of the evening.
I finished the drink a while later, we said our good-byes to everyone and Laura drove us back to the trailer. I feel asleep as my head hit the pillow. What a great day!
Day 26
The next morning, we were a little slow getting started. No bad hangovers (tequila doesn't do that to me) but we were both dragging a bit. Showers, breakfast, get the trailer ready for the road and out of the campground by 9:30am. Not too bad.
We took Rt 112 through the White Mountain National Forest and it was very enjoyable. The mountain scenery was excellent and the roads smooth. Even the fairly steep hills (up and down) didn't bother me now that I've gotten used to what gear the truck needs for specific speeds up hills. Plus the downhills don't scare me now that the brakes are working great.
Near Franconia Notch on I-93 we saw this beautiful valley in front of us with the clouds streaming down off the mountains. Laura got this great picture with her Nikon camera. 
It was a beautiful and enjoyable ride up through central Vermont to about 30 miles north of Burlington where we pulled into Maple Grove Campground. Making reservations only a day or two ahead of time has been OK for getting a site, but they are not the best locations. The last two nights we were right next to the path to the bathrooms (with lots of foot traffic) and the site we have tonight is about 30 feet from the bathrooms here.
But, this campground is very quiet with only 26 sites. Last night, the campground in Conway was packed with over 100 tents and trailers. When we came back from the restaurant around 11pm, there were adults and children everywhere.
Tomorrow we head back to Catskill - about a 5 hour drive from here. We are both sad the trip is over but glad to get back to hour home / boat. We are working on the final analysis of sailing versus RVing so stay tuned.
174 miles the past 2 days (mostly towing) = 3,322 total trip miles
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Day 24 - Houlton, Maine to Conway, New Hampshire
Day 24
We left the My Brother's Place campground around 9:30 this morning - about 1/2 later than planned because we tried a different way to raise the front of the trailer and hook up the truck. Our process has been to lower all the leveling jacks on the trailer then raise the trailer jack enough to get the truck ball underneath. This involves a lot of manual cranking to raise, then lower the trailer. I thought it might be easier using the trailer front leveling jacks to raise the trailer since I use my cordless drill for that. It raised the trailer fine but didn't seem to hold the receiver steady. We had to back and fill the truck several times to line everything up and, even if we were off just a little bit, it wouldn't seat. Anyway, I don't think that idea will work well in the future.
We had about 180 miles of interstate (I-95 south) then 80 or so miles of back roads. The interstate seemed to tax the truck a little more than normal. Laura checked the weather and this area had winds out of the SW. Guess which direction we were traveling...
After 150 miles we stopped for gas and averaged only 8 mpg. Not good but, oh well.
Once we left I-95, I enjoyed the ride much more. I love driving through the little towns and forests - even towing a 27 foot, 7,000 pound trailer. I think I'm getting much more used to driving the rig and relaxing along the way. Especially now that I can stop pretty quick if someone does something stupid in front of me. About 1/2 hour after leaving the Interstate, Laura took this great picture of a lake. It was cloudy most of the day but gradually cleared up.
We followed the back roads just on the Maine side of the New Hampshire boarder with our destination of Beach Family Camping in Conway, NH. Lots of construction on the roads and, at one point, there was a warning of a 11 foot width up ahead. It was a temporary bridge over a construction site with concrete sides. Our trailer is only 8 feet wide so we had plenty of room. It didn't look like it though.
The campsite we are in is pretty with lots of trees. Unfortunately, as my brother-in-law Tom knows, it's impossible to grow grass under pine trees. The pine needles kill the grass. So, we are in a dirt area with a little mud from the rain last night. Check out the picture of this campsite.
After settling in a bit, we took our wine to the beach. Only about 200 yards away was this nice little river running by our campground. As we were walking around, Laura said, "I found some beach glass" and started laughing. Corona strikes again.
Tomorrow we will decide on three different adventures.
1. Ride the Conway valley train. Lunch or just excursion.
2. Hike to Diana's Baths in North Conway. When we come into a campground, I always ask the manager, "Is there something we should absolutely see while we are here?" She mentioned this.
3. Drive to Deacon Street Pub in North Conway to see one of our favorite groups Dennis and Davey (or Four Feet, Two Shoes). This is why we came here. They only play on Friday nights.
While writing this, Laura and I discussed the options and I booked the lunch train out of Conway for 11:30am tomorrow. Maybe when we get back from that, we'll drive to Diana's Baths. But, we will definitely hit the Deacon Street Pub tomorrow for dinner and the band.
We also decided and finalized the last few days of our trip. We will be here tomorrow and Friday then drive to Burlington, VT on Saturday. Laura reserved us a spot at a family run campground called Maple Grove Campground. We'll drive into Burlington on Saturday and visit the pubs near the water. On weekends, they usually have great music playing.
Then, we will drive back to Catskill on Sunday morning / afternoon. My last living Uncle, my fathers brother Leo, passed away a few days ago and the funeral is Monday. It was a good reason to get back, see that side of my family after many years, and start working on the boat.
We passed 3,000 miles today!
288 miles today (all towing) = 3,148 total trip miles
We left the My Brother's Place campground around 9:30 this morning - about 1/2 later than planned because we tried a different way to raise the front of the trailer and hook up the truck. Our process has been to lower all the leveling jacks on the trailer then raise the trailer jack enough to get the truck ball underneath. This involves a lot of manual cranking to raise, then lower the trailer. I thought it might be easier using the trailer front leveling jacks to raise the trailer since I use my cordless drill for that. It raised the trailer fine but didn't seem to hold the receiver steady. We had to back and fill the truck several times to line everything up and, even if we were off just a little bit, it wouldn't seat. Anyway, I don't think that idea will work well in the future.
We had about 180 miles of interstate (I-95 south) then 80 or so miles of back roads. The interstate seemed to tax the truck a little more than normal. Laura checked the weather and this area had winds out of the SW. Guess which direction we were traveling...
After 150 miles we stopped for gas and averaged only 8 mpg. Not good but, oh well.
Once we left I-95, I enjoyed the ride much more. I love driving through the little towns and forests - even towing a 27 foot, 7,000 pound trailer. I think I'm getting much more used to driving the rig and relaxing along the way. Especially now that I can stop pretty quick if someone does something stupid in front of me. About 1/2 hour after leaving the Interstate, Laura took this great picture of a lake. It was cloudy most of the day but gradually cleared up.
We followed the back roads just on the Maine side of the New Hampshire boarder with our destination of Beach Family Camping in Conway, NH. Lots of construction on the roads and, at one point, there was a warning of a 11 foot width up ahead. It was a temporary bridge over a construction site with concrete sides. Our trailer is only 8 feet wide so we had plenty of room. It didn't look like it though.The campsite we are in is pretty with lots of trees. Unfortunately, as my brother-in-law Tom knows, it's impossible to grow grass under pine trees. The pine needles kill the grass. So, we are in a dirt area with a little mud from the rain last night. Check out the picture of this campsite.
After settling in a bit, we took our wine to the beach. Only about 200 yards away was this nice little river running by our campground. As we were walking around, Laura said, "I found some beach glass" and started laughing. Corona strikes again.Tomorrow we will decide on three different adventures.
1. Ride the Conway valley train. Lunch or just excursion.
2. Hike to Diana's Baths in North Conway. When we come into a campground, I always ask the manager, "Is there something we should absolutely see while we are here?" She mentioned this.
3. Drive to Deacon Street Pub in North Conway to see one of our favorite groups Dennis and Davey (or Four Feet, Two Shoes). This is why we came here. They only play on Friday nights.
While writing this, Laura and I discussed the options and I booked the lunch train out of Conway for 11:30am tomorrow. Maybe when we get back from that, we'll drive to Diana's Baths. But, we will definitely hit the Deacon Street Pub tomorrow for dinner and the band.
We also decided and finalized the last few days of our trip. We will be here tomorrow and Friday then drive to Burlington, VT on Saturday. Laura reserved us a spot at a family run campground called Maple Grove Campground. We'll drive into Burlington on Saturday and visit the pubs near the water. On weekends, they usually have great music playing.
Then, we will drive back to Catskill on Sunday morning / afternoon. My last living Uncle, my fathers brother Leo, passed away a few days ago and the funeral is Monday. It was a good reason to get back, see that side of my family after many years, and start working on the boat.
We passed 3,000 miles today!
288 miles today (all towing) = 3,148 total trip miles
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Day 23 - Going back 45 years
Day 23
Today we were doing something a little different - going back 45 years to my Air Force days in Loring Air Force Base, Maine.
After breakfast, Laura did a couple loads of laundry as we were close to the machines. You have to take advantage of that sometimes. I walked to the office and paid for another day in the campground. I also had an interesting (to me) conversation with the husband and wife that own the campground. I mentioned that Laura and I managed a marina for the past 8 summers and it seemed to have a lot of similarities. This campground is very customer oriented. Much more than the past few campgrounds we've been in. For example, they don't take your credit card number when making a reservation and they give refunds if you pay, then leave early. The lady at the last campground in Gagnon Beach said they had exactly the opposite policy. If you reserved for a month then left early, too bad. Our marina policies are similar to here.
After laundry and a few odd jobs, we drove north on US Rt 1 to Presque Isle. Yes. This is the same US Rt 1 that goes all the way down to Key West, Florida. The northern end is in Fort Kent, only about 50 miles north of here.
I took several classes at the University of Maine at Presque Isle while stationed here and the college looked somewhat familiar. We also drove around Caribou where I lived for a year but couldn't find the house. Then we drove to the base which is now a commercial park. As we drove around I tried to remember when I was here and eventually drove to the building where I worked - don't know how I found it on the huge base. It was pretty overgrow. I walked around the building which formally housed the 42nd Bomb Wind - Avionics Maintenance Squadron. The base was closed by the Air Force in 1994 as part of the military reduction plan.
While driving around the old base, I spotted the Loring Military Heritage Center. I stopped but it wasn't open. Later, we drove by again and there was someone there. A nice lady let us in and showed us around. It was interesting but not too many items from the time when I was there. She told us this weekend was a big open house on the old base and they were going to have a B-52 fly-over. Originally, the B-52 was supposed to land and be on display for the open house but they were worried the old runway wouldn't support the heavy plane. Bummer.
We left the base and drove over to Limestone where I also lived for awhile. Of course, not much was familiar after 45 years but it was fun anyway. We drove back on Rt 1A and stopped in a lunch at Al's Diner in Mars Hill. Laura and I both had tasty salads (trying to recover from all the fried seafood we've been eating the past couple weeks).
After lunch, we drove back to Houlton and took a little tour of the quaint town stopping at Houlton Dairy Farms for ice cream. Back to the campground we took about a 1 1/2 mile walk around the groomed trails. My knee is back to normal (or pretty close).
Tomorrow we are heading south to Bangor than east toward Mt. Washington, New Hampshire. Not sure we will make it that far in one day so Laura is scoping out closer campgrounds. Maybe we'll boondock at a Walmart since it's just an overnight stop.
133 miles today (no towing) = 2,860 total trip
Today we were doing something a little different - going back 45 years to my Air Force days in Loring Air Force Base, Maine.
After breakfast, Laura did a couple loads of laundry as we were close to the machines. You have to take advantage of that sometimes. I walked to the office and paid for another day in the campground. I also had an interesting (to me) conversation with the husband and wife that own the campground. I mentioned that Laura and I managed a marina for the past 8 summers and it seemed to have a lot of similarities. This campground is very customer oriented. Much more than the past few campgrounds we've been in. For example, they don't take your credit card number when making a reservation and they give refunds if you pay, then leave early. The lady at the last campground in Gagnon Beach said they had exactly the opposite policy. If you reserved for a month then left early, too bad. Our marina policies are similar to here.
After laundry and a few odd jobs, we drove north on US Rt 1 to Presque Isle. Yes. This is the same US Rt 1 that goes all the way down to Key West, Florida. The northern end is in Fort Kent, only about 50 miles north of here.
I took several classes at the University of Maine at Presque Isle while stationed here and the college looked somewhat familiar. We also drove around Caribou where I lived for a year but couldn't find the house. Then we drove to the base which is now a commercial park. As we drove around I tried to remember when I was here and eventually drove to the building where I worked - don't know how I found it on the huge base. It was pretty overgrow. I walked around the building which formally housed the 42nd Bomb Wind - Avionics Maintenance Squadron. The base was closed by the Air Force in 1994 as part of the military reduction plan.While driving around the old base, I spotted the Loring Military Heritage Center. I stopped but it wasn't open. Later, we drove by again and there was someone there. A nice lady let us in and showed us around. It was interesting but not too many items from the time when I was there. She told us this weekend was a big open house on the old base and they were going to have a B-52 fly-over. Originally, the B-52 was supposed to land and be on display for the open house but they were worried the old runway wouldn't support the heavy plane. Bummer.
We left the base and drove over to Limestone where I also lived for awhile. Of course, not much was familiar after 45 years but it was fun anyway. We drove back on Rt 1A and stopped in a lunch at Al's Diner in Mars Hill. Laura and I both had tasty salads (trying to recover from all the fried seafood we've been eating the past couple weeks).
After lunch, we drove back to Houlton and took a little tour of the quaint town stopping at Houlton Dairy Farms for ice cream. Back to the campground we took about a 1 1/2 mile walk around the groomed trails. My knee is back to normal (or pretty close).
Tomorrow we are heading south to Bangor than east toward Mt. Washington, New Hampshire. Not sure we will make it that far in one day so Laura is scoping out closer campgrounds. Maybe we'll boondock at a Walmart since it's just an overnight stop.
133 miles today (no towing) = 2,860 total trip
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Day 21 & 22 - Last day in New Brunswick then back to the USA
Day 21 - Gagnon, New Brunswick
After taking it easy in the morning, we packed up the truck with hiking gear and drove about 20 miles to a hike Laura found near Moncton, NB. It’s called Dragonfly and John Howard Loop Trail and was very nicely maintained. Here’s a picture of Laura on part of the trail.
After a mile or so, the trail led us along a beautiful lake. We kept on the lookout for moose which Laura has been dying to see. No joy with the moose sightings. I love hiking around areas where we travel to see the different foliage and wildlife. There were many more pines around
here compared to Prince Edward Island where we found more hardwoods and lots of white birch.
About 30 minutes into the hike, my right knee started to ache a little. It slowed me down a little and didn't seem too bad but kept getting slightly worse as we hiked. I don’t think I twisted it or stumbled but by time we got back to the car, I was limping.
Most of our hikes in Canada have been on very well maintained trails. Not just the trails themselves but people spent 1,000s of hours on the walking bridges. Check out this one in the middle of nowhere.
After our hike, we headed to Shediac for some lunch and sightseeing. Shediac is on a very protect bay and would be a great place to visit with our sailboat. Maybe next year....
While driving around, we found a warf with a public pier and several restaurants / shops. We had lunch at Captain Dan's and the food was a little expensive but good. I finally had what I'd been looking for - fresh fried clams. When they arrived, I tried a few and they were cooked just right but... cold. The waitress took them back and brought me another order that was slightly over-done. Bummer.
The warf was behind a breakwater with a large marina behind. For boaters like us, it was very interesting that there were no larger sail or power boats - over about 40 feet. Our 43 foot ketch would have seemed huge in here. Laura took this picture of the marina from our lunch table.
After driving back to our campground, I took a couple Ibuprofen and laid down for the rest of the day to keep weight off my knee. Laura joined me and we watched the last 1/2 of "Step Dave" season 2. I guess I had downloaded that a few weeks (months?) ago on the iPad and had forgotten about it. We like Step Dave because it shows people working their way out of problems without violence. Quite different from many shows today.
I iced my knee through the evening and it eventually felt better. I slept great - probably because of all the Ibuprofen ....
Day 22 (start of week 4)
Today we were up around 8am and I was bugging Laura to get going. The transient part of this campground was not very nice and I wanted to get somewhere better. Over the past few days we have talked about where to go next. Even as late as last night we didn't know. Our current options (top of the list). Each would take 4-8 days depending on how long we stayed at different places -
1. Head north up through New Brunswick and into Quebec. We could go up to the St. Laurence River and work our way down the south shore. This would let us visit my cousin Sylvain and Guy near Montreal.
2. Drive to Houlton, Maine then down I-95 to Bangor. Then take the back roads through New Hampshire and Vermont. We could visit one of our favorite places - Jackson, New Hampshire - near Mt. Washington and maybe see our favorite Irish Band "Four Feet - Two Shoes" who play in that area. About 15 years ago Laura and I hiked Mt. Washington and several of the surrounding peaks during a week long vacation. We heard music as we were walking down the street in Jackson one night and eventually found this band playing on the second floor of a small bar. They were awesome. We have "both" of their CDs. They'd rather play than record.
3. Go back along the south coast of New Brunswick and Maine - along the ocean - visiting some of the places we missed on our trip out.
This morning I said, "Let's head back to to Maine and go to Houlton". Laura agreed and we set course for My Brothers Place campground in Houlton - about 208 miles.
Ok. I've got to let you know that I've been writing this blog at My Brothers Place campground, sitting outside on a beautiful day. We are almost through (our first bottle) of wine so I am hoping this all makes sense in the morning. If not, I'll blame it on the 19 Crimes The Banished (our favorite red).
We had about 4 hours in the car today and I started a conversation on how we were liking RVing. We've talked about this on-and-off for the past couple weeks but now we have more data. We both agreed we were having a good time but weren't sure if it was a life we wanted to continue. Then we talked about the good and bad differences between cruising on a sailboat and RVing. Laura took many notes which we will update and publish in the final blog for the trip (ya didn't think I was going to let you know now, did you?)
I'll give you a taste - we both agreed that the way we've been RVing is difficult because we don't have set destinations or goals. It's a little like trying to live when you don't have something to strive for. How do you know which path to take when you get to a branch in the trail? If you have a goal, one branch will get you closer.
As we were driving, Laura took a couple pictures that really highlight the differences between US highways and highways in Canada. Besides the beautiful scenery, there are many road signs. I especially like this one - speed limit 110. Haven't seen to many of those in the U.S..This second one might be common in Maine but not too many other states.
We stopped for gar at an Irving around 12:30pm. Neither of us were hungry for lunch so we kept driving. After another hour or so, I took an exit hoping to find a quiet place to pull the rig over. About 5 minutes later we came to a beautiful lake and Laura spotted a park / boat launch. We turned around and parked near the boat launch. One of our most beautiful lunch stops. We were thinking about staying the night...
We were back on the highway toward Houlton a short while later (way too short). As we approached the boarder, I saw that only one lane was open but there was only one car waiting. Cool. This will be quick.
Of course, it wasn't quick. Answering questions from the customs officer, we had two problems. First, we were carrying firewood (that we actually picked up in Maine before crossing to Canada). Second, we had some fresh fruits and veggies. We were asked to pull over for an agricultural inspection. The officers were very nice and the form was fairly short. But, we had to hand over the keys to the trailer and truck (they were holding our passports) and wait in the "customer" area where they also took our cell phones. About 1/2 hour later the officer came back with 2 limes, a potato and an orange. He showed us that they had bugs on them so were not allowed. I wondered if the bugs on the Canada side of the boarder knew not to fly to the U.S. but I didn't ask him.
Also, the firewood we were carrying was actually parts of a cut up packing crate and therefore "processed lumber" and not firewood. Firewood is cut-up trees that still contain the bark and haven't been processed. So, that was all good and we were on our way a little while later.
After a stop at Walmart (to work on my list) and Hannaford (to replenish our veggies), we pulled into My Brothers Place. The office manager was very serious and, even when I threw him a few Bill-jokes I barely got a smile. For example, Laura ask if they might have a site with some solitude. I chimed in with, "Maybe away from the loud kids and barking dogs..". He said they didn't have either of those and I asked how they did it (with a laugh). He said, "We have very strict rules." Yikes. Don't cross this guy!
Just a few minutes later we backed into this pretty campsite. Laura sprayed for bugs and I finished setting up camp. Here I am working on the blog.
We're thinking about staying another night and maybe driving up to Caribou. I lived there for 3 years while in the Air Force back in the early 70s so it would be interesting to visit. I'll let you know in the next blog.
280 miles in the past two days (about 1/2 towing) = 2,727 total trip miles.
After taking it easy in the morning, we packed up the truck with hiking gear and drove about 20 miles to a hike Laura found near Moncton, NB. It’s called Dragonfly and John Howard Loop Trail and was very nicely maintained. Here’s a picture of Laura on part of the trail.
After a mile or so, the trail led us along a beautiful lake. We kept on the lookout for moose which Laura has been dying to see. No joy with the moose sightings. I love hiking around areas where we travel to see the different foliage and wildlife. There were many more pines around
About 30 minutes into the hike, my right knee started to ache a little. It slowed me down a little and didn't seem too bad but kept getting slightly worse as we hiked. I don’t think I twisted it or stumbled but by time we got back to the car, I was limping.
Most of our hikes in Canada have been on very well maintained trails. Not just the trails themselves but people spent 1,000s of hours on the walking bridges. Check out this one in the middle of nowhere.
After our hike, we headed to Shediac for some lunch and sightseeing. Shediac is on a very protect bay and would be a great place to visit with our sailboat. Maybe next year....
While driving around, we found a warf with a public pier and several restaurants / shops. We had lunch at Captain Dan's and the food was a little expensive but good. I finally had what I'd been looking for - fresh fried clams. When they arrived, I tried a few and they were cooked just right but... cold. The waitress took them back and brought me another order that was slightly over-done. Bummer. The warf was behind a breakwater with a large marina behind. For boaters like us, it was very interesting that there were no larger sail or power boats - over about 40 feet. Our 43 foot ketch would have seemed huge in here. Laura took this picture of the marina from our lunch table.
After driving back to our campground, I took a couple Ibuprofen and laid down for the rest of the day to keep weight off my knee. Laura joined me and we watched the last 1/2 of "Step Dave" season 2. I guess I had downloaded that a few weeks (months?) ago on the iPad and had forgotten about it. We like Step Dave because it shows people working their way out of problems without violence. Quite different from many shows today.
I iced my knee through the evening and it eventually felt better. I slept great - probably because of all the Ibuprofen ....
Day 22 (start of week 4)
Today we were up around 8am and I was bugging Laura to get going. The transient part of this campground was not very nice and I wanted to get somewhere better. Over the past few days we have talked about where to go next. Even as late as last night we didn't know. Our current options (top of the list). Each would take 4-8 days depending on how long we stayed at different places -
1. Head north up through New Brunswick and into Quebec. We could go up to the St. Laurence River and work our way down the south shore. This would let us visit my cousin Sylvain and Guy near Montreal.
2. Drive to Houlton, Maine then down I-95 to Bangor. Then take the back roads through New Hampshire and Vermont. We could visit one of our favorite places - Jackson, New Hampshire - near Mt. Washington and maybe see our favorite Irish Band "Four Feet - Two Shoes" who play in that area. About 15 years ago Laura and I hiked Mt. Washington and several of the surrounding peaks during a week long vacation. We heard music as we were walking down the street in Jackson one night and eventually found this band playing on the second floor of a small bar. They were awesome. We have "both" of their CDs. They'd rather play than record.
3. Go back along the south coast of New Brunswick and Maine - along the ocean - visiting some of the places we missed on our trip out.
This morning I said, "Let's head back to to Maine and go to Houlton". Laura agreed and we set course for My Brothers Place campground in Houlton - about 208 miles.
Ok. I've got to let you know that I've been writing this blog at My Brothers Place campground, sitting outside on a beautiful day. We are almost through (our first bottle) of wine so I am hoping this all makes sense in the morning. If not, I'll blame it on the 19 Crimes The Banished (our favorite red).
We had about 4 hours in the car today and I started a conversation on how we were liking RVing. We've talked about this on-and-off for the past couple weeks but now we have more data. We both agreed we were having a good time but weren't sure if it was a life we wanted to continue. Then we talked about the good and bad differences between cruising on a sailboat and RVing. Laura took many notes which we will update and publish in the final blog for the trip (ya didn't think I was going to let you know now, did you?)
I'll give you a taste - we both agreed that the way we've been RVing is difficult because we don't have set destinations or goals. It's a little like trying to live when you don't have something to strive for. How do you know which path to take when you get to a branch in the trail? If you have a goal, one branch will get you closer.
As we were driving, Laura took a couple pictures that really highlight the differences between US highways and highways in Canada. Besides the beautiful scenery, there are many road signs. I especially like this one - speed limit 110. Haven't seen to many of those in the U.S..This second one might be common in Maine but not too many other states.
We stopped for gar at an Irving around 12:30pm. Neither of us were hungry for lunch so we kept driving. After another hour or so, I took an exit hoping to find a quiet place to pull the rig over. About 5 minutes later we came to a beautiful lake and Laura spotted a park / boat launch. We turned around and parked near the boat launch. One of our most beautiful lunch stops. We were thinking about staying the night...We were back on the highway toward Houlton a short while later (way too short). As we approached the boarder, I saw that only one lane was open but there was only one car waiting. Cool. This will be quick.
Of course, it wasn't quick. Answering questions from the customs officer, we had two problems. First, we were carrying firewood (that we actually picked up in Maine before crossing to Canada). Second, we had some fresh fruits and veggies. We were asked to pull over for an agricultural inspection. The officers were very nice and the form was fairly short. But, we had to hand over the keys to the trailer and truck (they were holding our passports) and wait in the "customer" area where they also took our cell phones. About 1/2 hour later the officer came back with 2 limes, a potato and an orange. He showed us that they had bugs on them so were not allowed. I wondered if the bugs on the Canada side of the boarder knew not to fly to the U.S. but I didn't ask him.
Also, the firewood we were carrying was actually parts of a cut up packing crate and therefore "processed lumber" and not firewood. Firewood is cut-up trees that still contain the bark and haven't been processed. So, that was all good and we were on our way a little while later.
After a stop at Walmart (to work on my list) and Hannaford (to replenish our veggies), we pulled into My Brothers Place. The office manager was very serious and, even when I threw him a few Bill-jokes I barely got a smile. For example, Laura ask if they might have a site with some solitude. I chimed in with, "Maybe away from the loud kids and barking dogs..". He said they didn't have either of those and I asked how they did it (with a laugh). He said, "We have very strict rules." Yikes. Don't cross this guy!
Just a few minutes later we backed into this pretty campsite. Laura sprayed for bugs and I finished setting up camp. Here I am working on the blog.We're thinking about staying another night and maybe driving up to Caribou. I lived there for 3 years while in the Air Force back in the early 70s so it would be interesting to visit. I'll let you know in the next blog.
280 miles in the past two days (about 1/2 towing) = 2,727 total trip miles.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Day 20 - Jacques Cartier, PEI to Gagnon Beach, New Brunswick
Day 20
I'm back writing the blog on the computer as I've found a way to get my computer to boot in SAFE mode. So far, I haven't been able to get the login screen in normal mode so SAFE mode will have to do for now. In a few days, we'll be near a Walmart and I'll pick up a Bluetooth keyboard for my iPad. That will make life easier if (when?) the computer dies completely. I found a 128 gig zip drive that I had thrown in the spare-parts bag from the boat and am currently backing up the critical files on the computer while I can still get it to run at all. How many people bring a spare zip drive on vacation?
Our stay in Jacques Cartier Provincial Park was a little short - less then 24 hours. The bugs were eating us alive and it was going to rain all day today so we decided to head off the island and see some new spots in New Brunswick. Living in the trailer without shore power or water was OK. The battery held up great and we had plenty of water. The campground showers were nice (much bigger than the last few campgrounds) so we both took showers there instead of the trailer. I think the mosquitoes there have learned to operate in stealth-mode. I went out this morning to look at the ocean and, in about 5 minutes, I killed 5 of them on my legs that I saw but didn't even feel. They sucked enough blood out of me I won't be able to visit the bloodmobile for a month....
Neither of us slept well because it was a little warm in the trailer. The breeze died and a little drizzle started last evening so we couldn't even open up all the windows. We haven't needed the air-conditioning for the past couple weeks except for last night but we couldn't use it because no power. I could have pulled out our Honda generator but it has to run almost full power to energize our air-conditioning and we had tent campers all around us. Even the quiet Honda would have been noisy at that speed.
It almost seemed like we were intruding on the tent campers in the no-hookup part of the campground. The field we were in had 6 sites and we were the only trailer. There were 4 tents and a VW camper bus. We hit the sac around 9pm last night to watch a couple Outlander episodes (only the bedroom TV works with my iPad). Around 9:30 we could hear another tent being setup right next to our bedroom window. They were loud and seemed to be having a good time. "Hey. We're trying to watch Outlander!", I felt like saying. Instead, I got up and closed that window too.
This morning several of the tent'ers left early (I assume because the rain was coming) so we were able to hook up the truck and use the field as a pull-through. But, we were a bit lazy and I had to finish hooking up the trailer in the rain.
We cruised out of the campground around 10am. The trailer was making a squeaking noise when going around turns that I hadn't heard before. I stopped a bit down the road and loosened the anti-sway bar. It seemed better after that and I eventually took off the bar completely a little later. Maybe it had something to do with being wet.
About an hour later we were bumper-to-bumper waiting to pay the toll on the Borden-Carleton (Confederation) bridge off Prince Edward Island. Our toll was $47.75 for the truck and another $16.50 for the trailer. I thought the trailer toll was pretty good considering it was $19 for motorcycles.
The bridge is 12.9 kilometers (8 miles) long and is the world's longest bridge over ice covered waters (thankfully, not this time of year.). Here's a picture Laura took today as we started over.
We stopped for lunch a bit later at a roadside restaurant. The clam chowder did not meet my expectations for $10 but the fish and chips were excellent. Big pieces of Haddock lightly battered. Yumm.
A short while later we pulled into the Gagnon Beach Campground and unhooked / leveled the trailer on the side of a big field. This was a 2-way site - power and water hookups. The sites are pretty close here and I miss the trees and isolation of our first few campgrounds 3 weeks ago. Shortly after setting up, Laura and I walked to the beach about 1/4 miles away - not as close at the 100 feet to the ocean last night. The beach was nice but I decided to head back to the trailer for a nap. Laura browsed the beach and found some sea-glass but it wasn't "cooked" enough yet.
If you click on the picture to expand, you can just see the ocean near the middle right side.
This is the beach near our campground. Laura is down there a bit so she's small.
Plans are to relax today then do some sightseeing tomorrow. We will leave here Tuesday or Wednesday - probably heading toward Houlton, Maine and back to The States. Our 5 days in beautiful Prince Edward Island were fun and very interesting. I'll miss the islanders who were friendly and helpful every day.
106 miles today (all towing) = 2,447 total trip miles
I'm back writing the blog on the computer as I've found a way to get my computer to boot in SAFE mode. So far, I haven't been able to get the login screen in normal mode so SAFE mode will have to do for now. In a few days, we'll be near a Walmart and I'll pick up a Bluetooth keyboard for my iPad. That will make life easier if (when?) the computer dies completely. I found a 128 gig zip drive that I had thrown in the spare-parts bag from the boat and am currently backing up the critical files on the computer while I can still get it to run at all. How many people bring a spare zip drive on vacation?
Our stay in Jacques Cartier Provincial Park was a little short - less then 24 hours. The bugs were eating us alive and it was going to rain all day today so we decided to head off the island and see some new spots in New Brunswick. Living in the trailer without shore power or water was OK. The battery held up great and we had plenty of water. The campground showers were nice (much bigger than the last few campgrounds) so we both took showers there instead of the trailer. I think the mosquitoes there have learned to operate in stealth-mode. I went out this morning to look at the ocean and, in about 5 minutes, I killed 5 of them on my legs that I saw but didn't even feel. They sucked enough blood out of me I won't be able to visit the bloodmobile for a month....
Neither of us slept well because it was a little warm in the trailer. The breeze died and a little drizzle started last evening so we couldn't even open up all the windows. We haven't needed the air-conditioning for the past couple weeks except for last night but we couldn't use it because no power. I could have pulled out our Honda generator but it has to run almost full power to energize our air-conditioning and we had tent campers all around us. Even the quiet Honda would have been noisy at that speed.
It almost seemed like we were intruding on the tent campers in the no-hookup part of the campground. The field we were in had 6 sites and we were the only trailer. There were 4 tents and a VW camper bus. We hit the sac around 9pm last night to watch a couple Outlander episodes (only the bedroom TV works with my iPad). Around 9:30 we could hear another tent being setup right next to our bedroom window. They were loud and seemed to be having a good time. "Hey. We're trying to watch Outlander!", I felt like saying. Instead, I got up and closed that window too.
This morning several of the tent'ers left early (I assume because the rain was coming) so we were able to hook up the truck and use the field as a pull-through. But, we were a bit lazy and I had to finish hooking up the trailer in the rain.
We cruised out of the campground around 10am. The trailer was making a squeaking noise when going around turns that I hadn't heard before. I stopped a bit down the road and loosened the anti-sway bar. It seemed better after that and I eventually took off the bar completely a little later. Maybe it had something to do with being wet.
About an hour later we were bumper-to-bumper waiting to pay the toll on the Borden-Carleton (Confederation) bridge off Prince Edward Island. Our toll was $47.75 for the truck and another $16.50 for the trailer. I thought the trailer toll was pretty good considering it was $19 for motorcycles.The bridge is 12.9 kilometers (8 miles) long and is the world's longest bridge over ice covered waters (thankfully, not this time of year.). Here's a picture Laura took today as we started over.
We stopped for lunch a bit later at a roadside restaurant. The clam chowder did not meet my expectations for $10 but the fish and chips were excellent. Big pieces of Haddock lightly battered. Yumm.
If you click on the picture to expand, you can just see the ocean near the middle right side.
Plans are to relax today then do some sightseeing tomorrow. We will leave here Tuesday or Wednesday - probably heading toward Houlton, Maine and back to The States. Our 5 days in beautiful Prince Edward Island were fun and very interesting. I'll miss the islanders who were friendly and helpful every day.
106 miles today (all towing) = 2,447 total trip miles
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Day 19 - New Glasgow to Jacques Cartier
Day 19
Ya know how bad news comes in 3s? After the flat tire on the trailer and having the truck in the repair shop, this morning my computer wouldn’t boot. So... the next full blog might have to wait a bit. Typing all that on my phone or iPad would not be fun.
Ya know how bad news comes in 3s? After the flat tire on the trailer and having the truck in the repair shop, this morning my computer wouldn’t boot. So... the next full blog might have to wait a bit. Typing all that on my phone or iPad would not be fun.
But, we did move to Jacques Cartier Provincial park on the west coast of PEI and are anchored right next to the ocean in our first no-hookup site. I’ll let you know soon how it works out.
Ok. I’ll try writing some blog on the iPad...
I stated getting ready to leave New Glasgow campground right after getting up. Since we were going to a place without power or water, I wanted to make sure our tanks had a chance to drain empty. While emptying the tanks, I went back in the trailer to fire up the computer and see what was happening in the world. Hmm.. the computer wouldn’t even display the login screen. Oh oh. I tried a few things then was able to boot in safe mode. I started a chat session with Microsoft support and he had me change a few settings. After rebooting, it still wouldn’t work. This is a job for later.
We were out of the campground by 11:30 and on the Hwy 2 heading west. The countryside changed a little - still rolling farmland but more forests. About 1 1/2 hours later we were pulling into Jacques Cartier Campground. It is about as far west and north you can get on PEI. I had picked an available spot on the website that was kinda in the middle of a small field but next to the ocean. It was grassy and seemed
plenty big enough for the truck and trailer even though the website said, “max 23 feet” and we are 23. We’ll see how hard it is to get out tomorrow. (Ok. That picture took me about 10 minutes to insert into the blog on the iPad. The computer only takes about 10 seconds. Hopefully, it’s a steep learning curve.)
So far, it seems people camping without hookups are friendlier. Two of our neighbors have already come over and introduced themselves. Only time will tell if they will ask for something they don’t have like ice or hot water. (Don’t see how to put a happy face from the iPad but that was a Bill-joke.)
Laura has already walked the beach and found sea- glass. We might be here for a while.
Speaking of the beach, most of the land in PEI is very red sandstone. I’ve been trying to get you a good picture and this seems like a good one. Check it out.
Tentative plans are to head off the island
tomorrow and back to New Brunswick. On the way out we’ll have to pay our head-tax of around $50 CN. Getting on the island is free (either by ferry or bridge) but you have to pay to get off. Maybe we’ll just stay. It’s been a great visit.
Tentative plans are to head off the island
tomorrow and back to New Brunswick. On the way out we’ll have to pay our head-tax of around $50 CN. Getting on the island is free (either by ferry or bridge) but you have to pay to get off. Maybe we’ll just stay. It’s been a great visit.
82 miles today (all towing) = 2,341 total trip miles
Friday, August 16, 2019
Day 18 - New Glasglow, Prince Edward Island
Day 18
A pretty day today weather-wise with warmer temps near 80 degrees. After a little relaxing this morning, Laura and I decided on a hike just about 15 miles south of here along a small river. In AllTrails, it was called Breadalbane Nature Trail. Here is the layout from the AllTrails map. It was a little longer than we've been doing (a little under 4 miles) but our walks the last few weeks have helped get us in better shape.
We drove to the trailhead through the rolling farmlands and small towns. This was the entrance.
The hike was 95% paths through the woods - up and down the small valley by the water. It was pretty well maintained and we even met one of the groomers who passed us along the way - cutting overhanging branches and cleaning up the trail. We talked to him for quite a while asking about the animals on PEI. He told us that the larger game animals had been hunted out many years ago. No deer, moose or bear were left. The only snakes were small garter snakes. No poisonous snakes at all.
Here was one of the many bridges we went over crossing a few streams and small rivers. Being late Summer, it's very dry here and the rivers are small. To us, the high bridges seem overkill but I'm sure the scene is much different in the wet season. There is a high threat of forest fires right now so the campgrounds are limiting campfires to the evenings.
After our hike I suggest we drive to the west end of the island for some sightseeing. Laura wasn't feeling well (upset stomach and maybe coming down with a cold) so she wanted to head back to the trailer. It worked out well as we got on our bathing suits and jumped in the pool It was much colder than the heated pool at Catskill Marina and Marla would not have liked it. After our swim we relaxed by the trailer. The wi-fi was pretty fast so I got out the iPad and caught up on my YouTube subscriptions. Here is the pool at our campground.
We read about a local restaurant called the Blue Mussel that was highly rated, so decided to go out for dinner. We arrived just after 6pm and the hostess told us it would be almost 2 hours for a table. Yikes! Oh yeah. It's a holiday here. We went to another nearby place called the Fisherman's Wharf Lobster Suppers. It was kind of a production line with lots of people. There was unlimited salad bar with fish chowder (so-so) and mussels (excellent). I had 3 big plates of mussels. They were tender and juicy - not overcooked like many places.
Both of our dinners were tasty. I had the fish (Haddock) and chips while Laura had the fried, breaded jumbo shrimp (also tasty). We left feeling very full.
We have made reservation for a campsite at the Jacques Cartier Provincial Park on the western side of PEI for tomorrow night. It is named after the first European to visit the island. He arrived in 1534. This will just about complete our tour of Prince Edward Island depending on how many days we spent there. We reserved a non-hookup site - no water, power or sewage - for a more secluded campsite by the ocean. This is our first non-hookup of the trip. Before leaving here tomorrow morning, we will empty our grey and black tanks then put some water in our fresh water tank. That should last us for several days but we won't have air-conditioning or heat.
This screenshot shows the whole PEI. We are currently at the blue dot and our campground for tomorrow is the red drop. It is only about a 1 1/2 hour drive (113 km). Don't forget, it's not a huge island.
only 54 miles today (no towing) = 2,269 for the trip.
A pretty day today weather-wise with warmer temps near 80 degrees. After a little relaxing this morning, Laura and I decided on a hike just about 15 miles south of here along a small river. In AllTrails, it was called Breadalbane Nature Trail. Here is the layout from the AllTrails map. It was a little longer than we've been doing (a little under 4 miles) but our walks the last few weeks have helped get us in better shape.
We drove to the trailhead through the rolling farmlands and small towns. This was the entrance.The hike was 95% paths through the woods - up and down the small valley by the water. It was pretty well maintained and we even met one of the groomers who passed us along the way - cutting overhanging branches and cleaning up the trail. We talked to him for quite a while asking about the animals on PEI. He told us that the larger game animals had been hunted out many years ago. No deer, moose or bear were left. The only snakes were small garter snakes. No poisonous snakes at all.
Here was one of the many bridges we went over crossing a few streams and small rivers. Being late Summer, it's very dry here and the rivers are small. To us, the high bridges seem overkill but I'm sure the scene is much different in the wet season. There is a high threat of forest fires right now so the campgrounds are limiting campfires to the evenings.After our hike I suggest we drive to the west end of the island for some sightseeing. Laura wasn't feeling well (upset stomach and maybe coming down with a cold) so she wanted to head back to the trailer. It worked out well as we got on our bathing suits and jumped in the pool It was much colder than the heated pool at Catskill Marina and Marla would not have liked it. After our swim we relaxed by the trailer. The wi-fi was pretty fast so I got out the iPad and caught up on my YouTube subscriptions. Here is the pool at our campground.
We read about a local restaurant called the Blue Mussel that was highly rated, so decided to go out for dinner. We arrived just after 6pm and the hostess told us it would be almost 2 hours for a table. Yikes! Oh yeah. It's a holiday here. We went to another nearby place called the Fisherman's Wharf Lobster Suppers. It was kind of a production line with lots of people. There was unlimited salad bar with fish chowder (so-so) and mussels (excellent). I had 3 big plates of mussels. They were tender and juicy - not overcooked like many places.Both of our dinners were tasty. I had the fish (Haddock) and chips while Laura had the fried, breaded jumbo shrimp (also tasty). We left feeling very full.
We have made reservation for a campsite at the Jacques Cartier Provincial Park on the western side of PEI for tomorrow night. It is named after the first European to visit the island. He arrived in 1534. This will just about complete our tour of Prince Edward Island depending on how many days we spent there. We reserved a non-hookup site - no water, power or sewage - for a more secluded campsite by the ocean. This is our first non-hookup of the trip. Before leaving here tomorrow morning, we will empty our grey and black tanks then put some water in our fresh water tank. That should last us for several days but we won't have air-conditioning or heat.This screenshot shows the whole PEI. We are currently at the blue dot and our campground for tomorrow is the red drop. It is only about a 1 1/2 hour drive (113 km). Don't forget, it's not a huge island.
only 54 miles today (no towing) = 2,269 for the trip.
Thursday, August 15, 2019
Dy 16 and Day 17 - Prince Edward Island
Day 16
I didn't realize that the hike was in a Provincial Park. It costs about $7.50 CN for a day-pass for us to enter the park. Not a problem. Above is the sign at the beginning of the trail.About 1 mile in, we walked across a marsh on a footpath made of floats. Here is Laura on the floating path with some of the sand dunes in the background.
A short while later, we came out onto a beautiful beach with the dunes in the background.
We had two more stops on our plans for the day - the "singing sands" at Basin Head and the sea-glass beach at Souris. This would give us a good loop around the northeast corner of PEI.
Basin Head was a hugely popular place and we lucked out getting a parking spot near the entrance. There was a lake attached to the ocean by a narrow canal. People of all ages were jumping into the water, doing flips or cannon-balls. Laura took this video of the craziness - Canal play at Basin Head.This is the town of Montague. I thought it was a cool view of the fields and town.
The singing-sands did not equal all the huff or we weren't doing it right. There is supposed to be something different about the sand particles here that causes noise (singing?) when you scuff your feet. We couldn't get it to work.
Next we drove to Souris which has a beautiful beach that is supposed to have lots of sea-glass. We got a little lost around the commercial harbor but found a nice little take-out place for lunch. Sally's Place was a little hole-in-the-wall but the food was good and prices were low. I had a fish sandwich (not bad) and Laura had a chicken wrap (good). While eating I mentioned we had about twice the food as what we bought on the ferry yesterday for the same price.
At the beach, Laura went off on her own here while I did a little sight-seeing around the harbor. There was a Lobster Shack selling lobster of all flavors including a huge lobster roll that I saw a gent leave with. Wish I had waited a bit for my lunch...Here is one of the numerous potato fields on the island. As I mentioned before, PEI grows 25% of all the potato's in Canada. They are all over the place!
I also stopped at a sea-glass shop to look at Laura's competition. Much of the sea-glass jewelry was very nice and similar to Laura's. The owner told me she collected most of her sea-glass during the off-season and anyone finding sea-glass with all the tourists around would be lucky. After Laura came back to the truck, she had found about 40 pieces. Mostly small chunks but would be good for making her 3-D, shadow-box scenes.
Then we drove back to the campground and arrived around 7pm. Another long day of sightseeing and I had over 10,000 steps on my phone for the first time in quite a while.
Our new friends Dana and Mourine invited us over for a cocktail and to see their trailer. It's only 1 foot longer than ours but has a long slide-out down the port side. What a difference. Seems like twice the area inside. The four of us were actually able to sit in the living area with a glass of wine and have a nice conversation. Can't really do that here facing each other. Good to know for future reference.
We hit the sack early and I slept well with the help of my buddy ibuprofen....
117 miles today (no towing) = 2,137 total trip miles
Day 17 -
Today was a travel day as we were moving campgrounds. I would have stayed here at least another day or two except for the barking dog 2 sites down from us. He woke me up both mornings with barking. I wasn't happy and let the campground manager know.
Anyway, we had booked a place near New Glasglow (where Anna of Green Gables was written) which was only about 1 1/2 hours away. But, we planned on stopping at the GMC dealer in Charlottetown because our brakes in the truck were grinding every time I stopped ant it was getting worse.
We first took a walk to the nice Panmure Beach. It's just a short walk down the road from our campground. Nice beach with lots of washed-up Arctic Red Jellyfish. Dana (and someone else) had told us that because of erosion, in just a few thousand years PEI will all wash into the sea. Looking at this beach, it seems quite possible.Around 11am we packed up the trailer and headed out. As happens sometime, Google Maps sent us the wrong way out of the campground because it wasn't sure where we were. Unfortunately, the direction it sent us was a dead-end by the Permure Lighthouse. I decided to do a 360 when a side road came up. As I turned the rig around, I had to go full wheel to stay on the pavement. The double-axle trailer didn't like this - it's two wheels on each side want to go straight. I could hear them rubbing on the blacktop road but couldn't do much about it now. In hindsight, I should have backed the trailer onto the side road to turn around.
Anyway, about 1/4 mile later we heard a loud BANG and a flopping sound. I stopped the rig in the road because I figured we had a blown tire and didn't want to pull off onto the sand with only one tire working on that side. I thought we'd sink in. There was almost no traffic and I turned on my flashers.
Yep. We'd blown a tire on the trailer. There was a nice spare and I figured I could change it quickly. I used the leveling jacks on the trailer to lift that side up after loosening the lug nuts on the blown wheel. Probably less than 20 minutes later I had the tire changed with the help of a Canadian who stopped and didn't believe me when I told him I was OK. He actually did help a lot and I was grateful.
I could tell the spare tire was low on air so took it easy for about 20 miles to the next Irving gas station where I could bring it up to 50 PSI.
Now on to the GMC dealer in Charlottetown where I pulled the rig into their parking lot. The service manager told me they were crazy busy because tomorrow was a holiday on the island - Gold Cup day. When I asked what the Gold Cup was he looked astonished that someone on PEI wouldn't know this. Apparently, PEI has the oldest harness racing track in the world and their annual celebration of this is the Gold Cup. There are parades and, of course, the Gold Cup race.
Oh boy. This was not going well. But, I hadn't been on PEI long enough to get to know the people well. It seems they will go out of their way to help someone with a problem (i.e. the guy who stopped and helped me change the tire.). He called across the street to their "Express" shop and the woman (Barb) said she would try to squeeze me in.I drove the rig over to the Express building and she told me to just drop the trailer in the parking log and she'd try to fit me in. She did get the truck in for checking out and they found the front brakes were almost non-existent. Here's the poor truck in the truck hospital.
After calling the parts department and finding they had the rotors and pads, she also had the gent start work on the brakes.
Meanwhile, I walked back to the GMC dealer to see if they had a new tire for the trailer. They did not but directed me to an RV dealer just a few blocks away. I started to walk down to the RV place and the parts guy stopped me. "I'll get you a ride" he said and wouldn't take no for an answer. They drove me over and the driver offered to wait. I went in to the parts desk and told them the tire size. The parts manager said the computer didn't show one in stock but he went to check. I sent the GMC driver back because I didn't know how long this would take. About 10 minutes later, the parts manager comes back carrying a tire. I bought the tire and said I was going to call the GMC driver back - he had given me his cell number before leaving. "Oh no", he said, "I'll get you a ride back". 10 minutes later I'm back at the GMC Express with my new tire. Barb laughed like crazy when I walked in with the blown tire and said, "Just a slow leak". Check out the picture (the new tire is behind it).She agreed to find someone to put the new tire on the rim and I could hear a lot of laughing. She came back in wiping her eyes saying, "They said they didn't have a patch big enough..."
Less than 2 hours after pulling into the GMC dealer we pulled back out with new front brakes on the truck and a new spare for the trailer. $550 for the brake-job and $201 for the tire. Not bad considering it was Canadian dollars and doesn't really count.
Laura found us a Chinese Buffet for lunch / dinner and the food was excellent. 1/2 hour later we were backing the trailer into a new campsite (for us) at New Glasglow Highlands Campground. We paid our fee for 2 nights and settled down to relax. It was a long day.Here is our new campsite up a little hill in the woods. Very pretty.
One thing I've learned over the years is when there is a problem, always trace it back to the disease, don't just fix the symptom. Tom told me he had a good mechanic look at the brakes before we left and also had the truck inspected (where they also check the brakes). I put this together with the seemingly LOTS of brake peddle pressure I needed to stop the rig and came to the conclusion something wasn't working right. Not knowing towing and trailers before this, I started researching the trailer brake control which is supposed to apply the electric trailer brakes when you hit the brake peddle on the truck.. I found setup instructions on-line which said a light was supposed to come on whenever you applied the brake. I don't remember ever seeing a light...
I went to the truck and hooked up the trailer wiring. After starting the engine and pushing on the brake peddle - no light on the trailer brake controller. I then started checking wiring and got a flashlight to look around under the dash. After not finding any problems, about 10 minutes I tried again and the light came on! Hmmm. I'm going to keep my eye on this - maybe a intermittent wire. I can't wait to drive the rig again and see if I can stop now.
Laura's RV Tip - We've been scheduling 2-days in each campground so we have a day for sightseeing before moving on. When the sight-seeing days are long (like our last 2 days) it would be good to have a 3rd day in the campground for relaxing.
Bill's RV Tip - Last Spring, I finally got tired of trying to manage my phone gigabyte usage month-by-month and upgraded to AT&T unlimited data plan for both our phones. It was only about $30 a month more and I've found it to be well worth it. For example, on the unlimited plan there is no charge for roaming in Canada or Mexico. All you have to do is turn on roaming and you have unlimited phone, text and data in all of Canada.
78 miles today (all towing) = 2,215 total trip miles
Tuesday, August 13, 2019
Day 15 - Linwood, Nova Scotia to Panmure, Prince Edward Island
Day 15 (start of week 3)
After a restless night's sleep, we were up around 8am for coffee, breakfast and get the trailer ready for moving again. I gave the campground office guy all the maps we had picked up for him on our travels yesterday and he was very thankful. Laura and I are starting to make a good team with converting the trailer from a stationary land home to a 60 mph, motor-less box zooming down the highway. We almost hit our 10:30am goal exactly as we motored out of the campground at 10:29.
A fairly short trip down Hwy 104 then north on 106 brought us to Caribou, Nova Scotia and a space in-line for the ferry to Prince Edward Island (PEI). The ferry gal on the phone yesterday said we "should" be able to get a spot if we arrived an hour ahead of time for the 1pm ferry - we should be the first RV in line (RVs have the lowest priority on the ferry because they take up so much room). When we arrived at 11:30am, we were the 5th RV in line. Oh well. We'll take what we get I guess.
I walked to the Visitors Center and talked to the nice lady about what to see on PEI. She gave me lots of good information that I will share later in this post.
Here is the group waiting for the ferry to board. The back of our trailer is on the right (Hideout) and you can see the ferry unloading just left of center. The bow swings up like a big open mouth. That little tractor-trailer heading our way just came out.
We watched what seemed like 100s of cars come out then they started loading the 30 or so cars with reservations. A reservation would have cost $108 round trip but stand-by was free. Then they loaded 2 long lines of cars waiting like us and 5 big tractor-trailers. Then they started loading the RVs but stopped when we got to the end. We thought for sure we'd be waiting 2 hours for the next ferry they waved us on a short time later.
Here was our view entering the huge ferry.
We had lunch at the ferry restaurant - I had a cheese, meat, salad and Laura had a bowl of chili. Total was just under $20. I checked out the whole ship and saw the Captain talking to another gentleman while I was eating. I thought about introducing myself as "another" ship Captain to see if I could get on the bridge but eventually decided to travel incognito. Sucking up to other Captains wasn't my favorite part of the job....
The ferry ride was smooth and lasted a little over an hour. We were near the front of the line and were off the boat quickly. We ended up taking a wrong turn just off the ferry terminal (Google said right lane when we should have stayed left) but got to see a little more of the island on the way to our campground. The scenery in PEI is way different from the rocky hills of Nova Scotia. The land is much more level (at least what we've seen so far) and seems to be 80% farmland. We read that PEI produces 25% of the potatoes for all of Canada. And, it's the smallest province. Here is a huge field with the ocean in the background.
On the other side of the road, was a large hay field.
The roads were fairly level as we navigated the 20 or so miles to our campground. The Panmure Island Provincial Park is a smallish campground with some sites near the woods and others near the beach. The sites near the beach were all booked but I was able to get a 2-way (water and power) site near the woods.
After setting up, I walked next door and introduced myself to our neighbors Dana and Mourine. Their trailer was about the same size as our but had a pretty good size slide out. Plus, he had all the toys - a Honda Gold-wing motorcycle, 2-person kayak, bicycles and boogie-boards. They have been RVing for many years plus toured both the US and Canada several times by motorcycle. He even has a ramp and winch for loading the Gold-wing into the back of the pickup before hooking up the trailer.
After we settled in a bit we invited them over for cocktails and munchies to hear about some of their adventures on the road.
PEI is the smallest province in Canada with the highest population per square mile (or kilometer, ...). But, the place is pretty big. Here is a map of the island from the Visitors Guide which shows 4 main sections. The bottom of the yellow section to the right is where the ferry came in. We are in a campground where I put the black "X". We had intended to take the truck around the yellow section tomorrow but it's almost 300 miles. Yikes! Instead, we'll drive up the east coast to a few places that might be interesting. I was told that Souris Beach has good sea-glass and Basin Head has singing sands (when you walk on the sand it kind of crunches and makes noise / notes). I'll let you know how it was.
We have this campsite for 2 nights but might stay another night or two if there is more we want to see. Laura is reading about places of interest on the whole island so we might be here a while.
Day 15 -
197 miles today (all towing) = 2,020 total trip miles (plus about 12 sea miles on the ferry)
After a restless night's sleep, we were up around 8am for coffee, breakfast and get the trailer ready for moving again. I gave the campground office guy all the maps we had picked up for him on our travels yesterday and he was very thankful. Laura and I are starting to make a good team with converting the trailer from a stationary land home to a 60 mph, motor-less box zooming down the highway. We almost hit our 10:30am goal exactly as we motored out of the campground at 10:29.
A fairly short trip down Hwy 104 then north on 106 brought us to Caribou, Nova Scotia and a space in-line for the ferry to Prince Edward Island (PEI). The ferry gal on the phone yesterday said we "should" be able to get a spot if we arrived an hour ahead of time for the 1pm ferry - we should be the first RV in line (RVs have the lowest priority on the ferry because they take up so much room). When we arrived at 11:30am, we were the 5th RV in line. Oh well. We'll take what we get I guess.
I walked to the Visitors Center and talked to the nice lady about what to see on PEI. She gave me lots of good information that I will share later in this post.Here is the group waiting for the ferry to board. The back of our trailer is on the right (Hideout) and you can see the ferry unloading just left of center. The bow swings up like a big open mouth. That little tractor-trailer heading our way just came out.
We watched what seemed like 100s of cars come out then they started loading the 30 or so cars with reservations. A reservation would have cost $108 round trip but stand-by was free. Then they loaded 2 long lines of cars waiting like us and 5 big tractor-trailers. Then they started loading the RVs but stopped when we got to the end. We thought for sure we'd be waiting 2 hours for the next ferry they waved us on a short time later.Here was our view entering the huge ferry.
We had lunch at the ferry restaurant - I had a cheese, meat, salad and Laura had a bowl of chili. Total was just under $20. I checked out the whole ship and saw the Captain talking to another gentleman while I was eating. I thought about introducing myself as "another" ship Captain to see if I could get on the bridge but eventually decided to travel incognito. Sucking up to other Captains wasn't my favorite part of the job....
The ferry ride was smooth and lasted a little over an hour. We were near the front of the line and were off the boat quickly. We ended up taking a wrong turn just off the ferry terminal (Google said right lane when we should have stayed left) but got to see a little more of the island on the way to our campground. The scenery in PEI is way different from the rocky hills of Nova Scotia. The land is much more level (at least what we've seen so far) and seems to be 80% farmland. We read that PEI produces 25% of the potatoes for all of Canada. And, it's the smallest province. Here is a huge field with the ocean in the background. 
On the other side of the road, was a large hay field.The roads were fairly level as we navigated the 20 or so miles to our campground. The Panmure Island Provincial Park is a smallish campground with some sites near the woods and others near the beach. The sites near the beach were all booked but I was able to get a 2-way (water and power) site near the woods.
After setting up, I walked next door and introduced myself to our neighbors Dana and Mourine. Their trailer was about the same size as our but had a pretty good size slide out. Plus, he had all the toys - a Honda Gold-wing motorcycle, 2-person kayak, bicycles and boogie-boards. They have been RVing for many years plus toured both the US and Canada several times by motorcycle. He even has a ramp and winch for loading the Gold-wing into the back of the pickup before hooking up the trailer.After we settled in a bit we invited them over for cocktails and munchies to hear about some of their adventures on the road.
PEI is the smallest province in Canada with the highest population per square mile (or kilometer, ...). But, the place is pretty big. Here is a map of the island from the Visitors Guide which shows 4 main sections. The bottom of the yellow section to the right is where the ferry came in. We are in a campground where I put the black "X". We had intended to take the truck around the yellow section tomorrow but it's almost 300 miles. Yikes! Instead, we'll drive up the east coast to a few places that might be interesting. I was told that Souris Beach has good sea-glass and Basin Head has singing sands (when you walk on the sand it kind of crunches and makes noise / notes). I'll let you know how it was.
We have this campsite for 2 nights but might stay another night or two if there is more we want to see. Laura is reading about places of interest on the whole island so we might be here a while.
Day 15 -
197 miles today (all towing) = 2,020 total trip miles (plus about 12 sea miles on the ferry)
Monday, August 12, 2019
Day 14 - Cape Breton Island - Cabot Trail
Day 14
We just arrived back at the trailer after a 10 hour day driving around Cape Breton Island. The drive is supposed to take 5 or 6 hours but, "Hey" - ya gotta stop and smell the roses! If I was going to do this again in the future, I would have booked a hotel or B&B around 1/2 way through the route. That would have given us much more time to stop at more places.
Our first stop was the Nova Scotia Provincial Visitor Information Centre (that's how they spell Center here...) just after crossing the causeway onto Cape Breton Island. The very helpful gal at the desk took out a map and pointed out several places to stop while circumnavigating the island. When she mentioned sea-glass on the beach at Inverness, Laura perked right up. While driving the next hour or so, Laura checked the AllTrails app for some short hikes we could do along the way. We knew we wouldn't be able to take any longer hikes - 3 or 4 hours - because we wouldn't have time and still get back to the campground before late at night.
This picture shows the various landscapes of the island. A farm on the ocean with green mountains in the background.
Laura found a hike a short distance from Inverness which was only 1/2 mile but climbed 800 feet to a waterfall. We punched the trailhead into Google Maps and followed it's directions. A little while later we turned down this dirt road with trees and bushes close on each side. After about 2 miles of bumps, ruts and potholes, we thought we must be close to the trailhead. Instead, we came back out on a main road. Looking at the map, Google routed us through a 2 mile dirt road to save 4 miles of main road. That sucked!
We checked the route to the trailhead and saw it was another 25 minutes yet. I vetoed this hike because it was too far from our route and would eat up most of our spare time.
After about 1/2 hour, we came to the beach in Inverness and it was very beautiful. The beach was one of the longest we've seen on Nova Scotia. It was a mixture of stones and sand. Laura walked about a 1/4 mile of the beach looking for sea-glass and found a nice piece almost right away. I knew she would be awhile so left and walked around the harbor. Here is a short video I took showing the beach - Beach at Inverness, NS.
Laura found several pieces of sea-glass and she posted a picture on Facebook. I don't know how she does it. I didn't find any. But, I can't find my golf-balls either...
I was able to pry Laura from the beach after about an hour and we continued our drive north. An hour later we stopped for lunch at the Belle View Restaurant. The view was very nice but they didn't have umbrellas on the deck so we sat inside. Fish chowder was good. Fried clams overcooked (as usual) but Laura enjoyed her steak-sub. Oh - the wi-fi was really good (much better than the campgrounds lately) and I was able to download 5 episodes of Outlander from Netflix to my iPad while we ate lunch.
A little while later we came to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park of Canada. We again stopped at the Visitor's Centre and were able to obtain a couple handfuls of trail maps that our campground was out of. The road followed the ocean and reminded me of Rt 1 in California. I was so glad we hadn't pulled the trailer through this. Some hills were 16% grades with no room to pick up speed. Plus, going down the other side would have been really scary hoping all the brakes held. Here's an example of the twisty roads following the coastline.
After several stops and starts for construction (on the side of mountains!), we came to a more flat area of bays and beaches. This is a typical harbor along the way. All the boats look in great shape but no pleasure boats. Guess the ocean is for working around here.
The lack of pleasure boats was to continue along our whole trip. On the eastern side, we drove around beautiful bays that looked like Lake George in Upstate NY. Except, no marinas every 2 or 3 miles. In fact, we didn't see one pleasure boat marina on the whole trip.
I'm not sure how this is going to come out but here is a picture going down one of the very steep hills with the ocean right in front of us. On some of downhill twisty parts, I had the truck in 1st gear to keep off the brakes full-time.
Check out this screen-shot from my phone showing the road in front of us. This is not zoomed in either. This was the next 1/2 mile or so. All down hill!
Once we turned the corner and started south around the other side of the island, the roads became better but still closely followed the shoreline. Every little bay and inlet we went around following the water.
Laura and I talked about stopping for dinner but Google Maps showed our ETA back at the campground for around 8pm. Neither of us were hungry so we continued the drive, enjoying the scenery and getting a little tired of sitting in the truck. We were glad to get back to the campground, eat a little snack and work on the blog.
On the way back, we started researching our trip for tomorrow. A little over an hour west of here there is a ferry to Prince Edward Island (PEI) where we plan on spending the next several days. The lady on the phone from the ferry company said we should have no problem with the rig if we showed up about an hour early for the 1:30pm ferry. And, it's free! So cool. We're going to turn our truck and trailer into a boat for a little while.
I also made reservations at a Provincial Campground on PEI for the next 2 nights. I don't usually like to make reservations in advance because if something happens, we loose the deposit. But, these provincial campgrounds are usually booked up for the summer and I happened to find an open site on this one. I'll let you know how it works out!
221 miles today (no towing) - 1,823 total trip miles
We just arrived back at the trailer after a 10 hour day driving around Cape Breton Island. The drive is supposed to take 5 or 6 hours but, "Hey" - ya gotta stop and smell the roses! If I was going to do this again in the future, I would have booked a hotel or B&B around 1/2 way through the route. That would have given us much more time to stop at more places.
Our first stop was the Nova Scotia Provincial Visitor Information Centre (that's how they spell Center here...) just after crossing the causeway onto Cape Breton Island. The very helpful gal at the desk took out a map and pointed out several places to stop while circumnavigating the island. When she mentioned sea-glass on the beach at Inverness, Laura perked right up. While driving the next hour or so, Laura checked the AllTrails app for some short hikes we could do along the way. We knew we wouldn't be able to take any longer hikes - 3 or 4 hours - because we wouldn't have time and still get back to the campground before late at night.
Laura found a hike a short distance from Inverness which was only 1/2 mile but climbed 800 feet to a waterfall. We punched the trailhead into Google Maps and followed it's directions. A little while later we turned down this dirt road with trees and bushes close on each side. After about 2 miles of bumps, ruts and potholes, we thought we must be close to the trailhead. Instead, we came back out on a main road. Looking at the map, Google routed us through a 2 mile dirt road to save 4 miles of main road. That sucked!
We checked the route to the trailhead and saw it was another 25 minutes yet. I vetoed this hike because it was too far from our route and would eat up most of our spare time.
After about 1/2 hour, we came to the beach in Inverness and it was very beautiful. The beach was one of the longest we've seen on Nova Scotia. It was a mixture of stones and sand. Laura walked about a 1/4 mile of the beach looking for sea-glass and found a nice piece almost right away. I knew she would be awhile so left and walked around the harbor. Here is a short video I took showing the beach - Beach at Inverness, NS.
Laura found several pieces of sea-glass and she posted a picture on Facebook. I don't know how she does it. I didn't find any. But, I can't find my golf-balls either...
I was able to pry Laura from the beach after about an hour and we continued our drive north. An hour later we stopped for lunch at the Belle View Restaurant. The view was very nice but they didn't have umbrellas on the deck so we sat inside. Fish chowder was good. Fried clams overcooked (as usual) but Laura enjoyed her steak-sub. Oh - the wi-fi was really good (much better than the campgrounds lately) and I was able to download 5 episodes of Outlander from Netflix to my iPad while we ate lunch.
A little while later we came to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park of Canada. We again stopped at the Visitor's Centre and were able to obtain a couple handfuls of trail maps that our campground was out of. The road followed the ocean and reminded me of Rt 1 in California. I was so glad we hadn't pulled the trailer through this. Some hills were 16% grades with no room to pick up speed. Plus, going down the other side would have been really scary hoping all the brakes held. Here's an example of the twisty roads following the coastline.
After several stops and starts for construction (on the side of mountains!), we came to a more flat area of bays and beaches. This is a typical harbor along the way. All the boats look in great shape but no pleasure boats. Guess the ocean is for working around here.The lack of pleasure boats was to continue along our whole trip. On the eastern side, we drove around beautiful bays that looked like Lake George in Upstate NY. Except, no marinas every 2 or 3 miles. In fact, we didn't see one pleasure boat marina on the whole trip.
I'm not sure how this is going to come out but here is a picture going down one of the very steep hills with the ocean right in front of us. On some of downhill twisty parts, I had the truck in 1st gear to keep off the brakes full-time.
Check out this screen-shot from my phone showing the road in front of us. This is not zoomed in either. This was the next 1/2 mile or so. All down hill!
Once we turned the corner and started south around the other side of the island, the roads became better but still closely followed the shoreline. Every little bay and inlet we went around following the water.
Laura and I talked about stopping for dinner but Google Maps showed our ETA back at the campground for around 8pm. Neither of us were hungry so we continued the drive, enjoying the scenery and getting a little tired of sitting in the truck. We were glad to get back to the campground, eat a little snack and work on the blog.
On the way back, we started researching our trip for tomorrow. A little over an hour west of here there is a ferry to Prince Edward Island (PEI) where we plan on spending the next several days. The lady on the phone from the ferry company said we should have no problem with the rig if we showed up about an hour early for the 1:30pm ferry. And, it's free! So cool. We're going to turn our truck and trailer into a boat for a little while.
I also made reservations at a Provincial Campground on PEI for the next 2 nights. I don't usually like to make reservations in advance because if something happens, we loose the deposit. But, these provincial campgrounds are usually booked up for the summer and I happened to find an open site on this one. I'll let you know how it works out!
221 miles today (no towing) - 1,823 total trip miles
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