Rustico, P.E.I.

Today was a beautiful day. Warm, sunny with a nice breeze. One of the best days yet. In the morning we drove to Rustico, a primarily Acadian community, and visited St. Augustine's Church. It's the oldest Catholic church in P.E.I. The first church was a log building constructed in 1792. a replacement was built in 1807 and the present church was completed in 1838. The first service was the Midnight Mass of December, 1838.

Later in the morning we drove to the community of North Rustico. There was a boardwalk that ran along the harbour. Took a nice walk, watching the lobster boats coming & going, watched lobster pots being made. Bought three pounds of fresh mussels for dinner tonight; $5.00. Cooked lobster is only $8/pound. One of these nights we're going to buy two big lobsters for dinner.

We had lunch about 2 pm at the "World Famous Fisherman's Wharf Lobster Suppers" restaurant. Carol had a lobster salad; I had scallops and we both had unlimited seafood chowder, steamed mussels, salads, fresh fruit & great desserts. A diet is in line for both of us when we get home.

This is a very pretty part of the Island. Mostly rolling hills, potato farms and some cattle.

Got back to the New Glasgow Highlands Campground about 5 pm.

A very nice day.

Summerside & North Cape Coastal Drive

On Tuesday we drove to Summerside and stayed at the Crystal Beach Campground in New Annan, PEI.
First thing Wednesday, we drove to the downtown area of Summerside and parked near the boardwalk. The boardwalk runs for 4 km along the waterfront. The three of us, Gopher being number three, walked from end to end. Lots of cute shops, restaurants, marinas, beach access spots, etc. Summerside, as the name implies, is a summer resort. Later on we parked at a beach and enjoyed a beautiful day. While in town, we were pleasantly surprised to see Dan & Anna Cleveland, from Land O’Lakes, FL, pull up in their motorhome. We had met them twice before on the road. The first time at the Fundy National Park campground and once again while we were walking around Baddeck, NS. Had lunch with them in Summerside. Funny how the nicest people keep turning up. We made another friend in Norm & Roberta ?? from Ontario, CA. Camped with them twice. I think among the most memorable part of traveling is the people you meet. We go out of our way to talk to others in the campground and have consistently met a nice group of people.

In the evening we went to the Highland Storm show at the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada. It was a “colourful spectacle of music, song & dance”. There were Pipers(bag pipes), drummers (the Scottish snare drum), Highland Dancers and Step Dancers, singers and one Celtic Harp player. The show was very, very enjoyable. When we went back to the motorhome we got a major surprise. Gopher had diarrhea. Everywhere. What a mess. After we returned to the campground I spent a few hours cleaning. Did four loads of laundry. The following morning we stopped at a drug store and got her some Pepto Bismol pills and some bottled water to drink. We’re guessing the campground water might not have agreed with her.

Thursday we went to the Linkletter Provincial Park just outside of Summerside. That’s where Dan & Anna were staying. What a beautiful place. Right on the bay. Shared a campfire with them in the evening. Gopher is still sick.

Friday. It was raining when we got up and the forecast is for rain all day. At least Gopher is feeling better. We went to the visitor’s center in Summerside and checked our e-mail. Later in the day we met Dan & Anna at the Mill River Provincial Park near St. Anthony. Read, drank hot tea, took a nap. That sort of day.

On Saturday the weather cleared up some. We drove north through Tignesh to the North Cape. I went into the local Co-Op store in Tignesh. A Wal-Mart on a very, very small scale. Not very many people live in this area. Mostly farms & fishing. No industry to speak of.
North Cape is a far north as you can go in PSI. “The North Cape has long been famous for its natural wonders, including the longest natural rock reef in North America and the ‘meeting of the waters’”. The Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Northumberland Strait merge together over the reef. North Cape is also the home of the Atlantic Wind Test and Site and the North Cape Wind Farm. We counted twenty windmills at the site. Included is largest windmill in North America. Quite a sight. The wind farm generates enough electricity to supply all of the surrounding communities. We also saw some locals harvesting Irish Moss; a type of seaweed that is used to make a seaweed pie, strictly an acquired taste I’m told. Driving south we stopped at Abram-Village, an Acadian community. Bought bread and some molasses cookies. Both were just great.
We came across the Our Lady of Mont-Carmel Church in Mont-Carmel. The first church on this site was built in 1820. The existing church in 1898. The church was built with over 450,000 hand made bricks. To fund the church construction , the bricks were “sold” for five cents each. The name of each “buyer” is remembered by a special mass celebrated each November.Spent the night at Linkletter Provincial Park

Charlottetown,P.E.I.

We drove into Charlottetown this morning. Had another great breakfast at Cora's, a breakfast & lunch restaurant we discovered in Halifax. Carol had a crepe stuffed with sliced bananas, then covered with chocolate & whipped cream. A weeks calories for breakfast. :-) I was good and had a veggie omelet. On the average, we ate a fairly healthy breakfast. Cora's could become a habit. After that we walked through the downtown area then on the boardwalk running all along the harbor. The weather was finally sunny. Windy & cool, but sunny. Gopher, the dog, attracts attention when ever we walk with her. She is a nice looking dog. Most people think she's a Border Collie because of her black & white colors. I've given up explaining she's an Australian Shepherd and say, that she's 1/2 Border Collie. It's easier than explaining the difference in the two breeds plus people like being right so why correct them if it really doesn't matter anyway. At any rate, we were chatting with a couple who stopped to admire Gopher. They lived in Ch-Town as the locals call Charlottetown. We commented on the beautiful, but cool, day. It seems July is about the only really warm month. By mid-August the weather starts to get cool. By October it's mostly cold until next May. This is a pretty town. The older part has been extensively renovated over the years. Beautiful churches, government buildings, old mansions, etc. We would come back here again.

The photos were taken from the campground we stayed in. It was on the other side of the harbor.

Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton Island lies off the northeastern cost of Nova Scotia. It’s separated from the mainland of Nova Scotia by the Straight of Canso. The causeway connecting the two was built in 1955. Prior to that a ferry was used. There are three distinct cultures on the Island. The Mikmaq “Indians” or First Nations as they are referred to in Canada, the Gaelic/Scottish and the Acadians/French. Music & dance are the mainstay entertainment on Cape Breton.
On Monday the 13th, we drove from Halifax and spent the night at the Whycocomagh Provincial Park near Baddeck. A nice, well kept park in the middle of a pine forest. It rained most of the day. The next morning we drove to Baddeck and parked by the fishing dock. Walked around town for a while treating ourselves to a wonderful flax & carrot muffin. We ran into some friends we had made at a campground earlier in this trip. They too were touring Cape Breton.
We continued on to Louisbourg staying at the Village owner campground right downtown. Lucked out by getting the last campsite available. Louisbourg is a beautiful little town. Reminds us of the small coastal towns in Maine.
In the evening we went to a performance at the Louisbourg Playhouse. We say Lyrics & Laughter 2007. “A spirited performance of Cape Breton music and comedy in the historic atmosphere of the Playhouse”. We don’t recall ever attending a more entertaining event. The cast was composed of six of the most talented young singers & dancers. They are all local college students home for the summer. There was this one young women who played five different instruments, the fiddle, piano, guitar, bodhran (a type of drum), djembe (another drum), had a wonderful singing voice plus was the lead step dancer. Amazing. The weather today wasn’t much. Cool & misty. Rained hard most of the night.
On Wednesday we went to the Fortress of Louisbourg. The fort was founded by the French in 1713, captured by the British in 1745, returned to the French in 1748 by a treaty, captured again by the British in 1758 then abandoned by the British in 1768. When the local coal mines began shutting down in the 1960’s, Canada helped offset the very high unemployment rate by rebuilding the Fortress to appear as it did in 1744. “Each summer the Fortress springs to life as dozens of costumed animators become the town’s residents of the summer of 1744. Period homes and exhibits line the central streets of Rue Toulouse and Rue Royale, as well as along the busy waterfront”. A very enjoyable day. Bright & sunny.

Today, Thursday, was a down day. Cleaned the camper, caught up on some maintenance items, took short walks & went to dinner.

Louisbourg was a very enjoyable place to visit.

We left Louisbourg about 10am heading for the St. Ann’s Bay Campground near St. Ann’s. Stopped in Sydney at an Atlantic Superstore and Wal-Mart to resupply for the next leg of our trip. The weather was dreary; cool with a misty rain all day long. Never did clear up. We got a nice spot at the campground. An unobstructed view of the bay. If it wasn’t for the fog, we would be able to see the islands across St. Ann’s Bay.
Saturday morning. Still a cool, misty rain. It rained on & off all day with a two hour break in the afternoon. Today was supposed to have been an active day. Blueberry Festival in the morning, Bluegrass singers in the afternoon and a dance in the evening. We passed on the Blueberry Festival because of the rain, only one musician showed for the Bluegrass singing and the dance got rained out by a major storm. Thunder & lightning, pouring rain, the whole thing. Oh well, we read books, cleaned up things, talked to our neighbors sitting under awnings. It was nice talking to the “locals”. Heard a lot of interesting stories.

On Sunday morning we awoke to another grey day. Had breakfast and set out for Prince Edward’s Island and in search of nicer weather. Arrived in PEI about 3pm. Stopped at the Visitors Center, bought a $4.50, single scoop ice cream cone at a Cows store next door. Don’t think I’ve ever eaten a $4.50 cone before. Another first for both of us. Headed on to the Southport Motel & Trailer Park in Stratford. It’s just across the harbor from Charlottetown; our destination for the day. The rain mostly followed us. Right now, 9:30pm, it’s 54* and drizzling. The weather forecast calls for clear skies by tomorrow afternoon.

Halifax, Nova Scotia

We arrived in Halifax on Thursday. Staying at the Woodhaven RV Park in Hammond Plains. We're located about 20 minutes from downtown Halifax. As commercial campgrounds go it's rather nice. Wooded sites with a degree of privacy between sites.

On Friday morning we drove to Peggy's Cove; a local fishing community where the residents have earned their living from the sea since 1811. At present there are about 50 descendants of the original settlers still living in Peggy's Cove. The lighthouse is thought to be among the most photographed objects in Canada. It houses a post office. We mailed post cards from the lighthouse.

In the afternoon we went to the Point Pleasant Park located south of Halifax. This area has been used for different defence installations since the mid 1700's. We all took a nice long walk. Along the way we toured the Prince of Wales Martello Tower National Historic Monument. The Martello Tower was built by the order of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, in 1796-97 to help protect British gun batteries in Halifax. We ate lunch in a parking area located next to Halifax Shipping Terminal. Watched as they loaded a huge container ship. Very interesting operation.

We headed back to the campground about 4pm in order to avoid the Halifax rush hour traffic.

We drove the camper into downtown Halifax on both Saturday & Sunday mornings. It was tight but we found a great parking place overlooking the harbor. On Saturday morning we went to the Farmers Market. Said to be the oldest such operation in North America. There were dozens of booths selling prepared food, veggies, cloths, jewelery, on & on. Bought a wonderful cinnamon bun & a croissant. After the market, we spent all of both days enjoying the 21st annual Halifax International Busker Festival, a Show without Walls. A busker is a street performer. They were from all over the world; Australia, Ecuador, Japan, The Netherlands, The US and, of course, Canada. There were six "stages" which were really just open areas along the Halifax boardwalk. All during the day there were different acts on each stage. Among the performers were jugglers, acrobats, mimes, magicians, etc. Two photos are included. The Halifax Waterfront is quite the place. Restaurants, shops, museums, historic displays, etc. On Sunday we had lunch at an Irish Pub downtown. I had liver & onions served with small purple potatoes. Per the menu, liver & onions is typical "Pub Grub". Carol had a pasta dish. Not very Irish but very tasty. We had two wonderful days in Halifax.

When I was in the Navy, I visited Halifax for a few days. Probably about 1970. At this point, I don't remember anything about the visit.

Pictou, Nova Scotia

Spent all day Tuesday enjoying the Hector Festival at Pictou, NS. The Hector was the name of the ship that brought the first Scottish people to NS. It took over five years to build the full scale replica of the ship.

Read the engraved stone, picture #2, for an interesting story about the Scots. The English Lords were really rough on the Scots. Wool was commanding very high prices so they wanted to raise more sheep. Lacking enough vacant land in England, they simply forced the Scots off their land in Scotland. As a result, thousands of Scots emigrated to Nova Scotia/New Scotland. Later on, in New Brunswick the English did a similar thing to the French settlers, forcing them off their land. Hence the Cajuns in Louisiana and other similar groups in parts on Maine & Canada.

The festival was help outdoors. We enjoyed the fiddlers, singers of folk songs & dancers. Had lunch then a wonderful ice cream cone. We think it was the best ice cream cone ever. Carol had a chocolate brownie cone and I had almond. We enjoyed the festival. Everyone we met were so friendly. Always smiling, saying hello, etc. So different from the Quebec Canadians we ran into at Burlington. I don't think we'll bother visiting Quebec but we would certainly come back to this part of Canada.

The weather started turning bad about 4:00 so we drove to our campground in Trenton. It was a City owner campground. Nice setting although we didn't see much; it was raining when we checked in and raining when we left.

In the morning we drove to Halifax. Took a rest break and ran across this mastodon exhibit in Stewiacke,NS.

New Brunswick, Canada

We entered into Canada at the Calais, ME & St. Stephen, NB crossing. Going into Canada only took perhaps 15 minutes. When our turn came we were only asked if we had any weapons, alcohol or tobacco. Having none of any, we were passed right through. Coming into the U.S. from Canada the line was very, very long. At least three of four city blocks. I imagine there was a two hour wait. I exchanged $300 US to Canadian money at the Royal Bank of Canada. After a $3 fee, I only received $305.41. (The teller was born in Vero Beach. Small world) The dollar is essentially at par. There was a time when Canada was a very good deal for Americans. No more. Food & gas are very expensive n New Brunswick. Gas runs about $4.50/gallon. A 2 liter container of milk, not quite a half gallon, was $3.46. Three peaches cost me $2.80.

We drove to Saint John and stayed in the City owned campground at Rockwood Park. Not a very attractive campground; basically a gravel parking lot with water & electric hookups. But, it's only five minutes from the historic downtown area of Saint John. Plus it has free Wi-Fi. That probably accounts for it being perhaps 2/3 full. On Saturday morning we drove downtown. There was large parking lot very close to the historic district so parking the camper wasn't a problem. Visited the City Market; a nice collection of vendors selling fruits & veggies, prepared food, tourist junk, etc. Then we had breakfast at Cora's. Wow! There must have been fifty wonderful breakfast choices. I has an omelet wrapped in a crepe them topped with hollandaise sauce. Carol was even more decadent. She had a cinnamon bun, sliced then made into french toast then covered with a cream cheese topping. Between us we ate a weeks calories in one sitting. I should have walked back to the campground. After that we drove to a City park on the bay. The plan was to take a nice walk on the paved path but the weather, which started out cool & overcast, continued to deteriorate into fog mixed with a light rain. Not much of a day for a walk. We did some grocery shopping then headed back. Spent the rest of the day reading, playing with the computer, etc. This is one of the very few poor weather day's we've had on this trip.

Tomorrow, Sunday, we're off to the Fundy National Park.

On the way to Fundy NP we drove by the neatest little village of St. Martins. See the photo of the lobster boats at low tide and the covered bridge.

On Sunday we camped at the Headquarters Campground at the Fundy National Park. The costs of everything in Canada continues to amaze me. On more illustration. The cost to get into the park for one day is $18.50. The cost of one nights camping with no hookups is $24.57. At $43.07/night that makes for the most expensive campground we recall staying in. On the other hand, Fundy NP is just beautiful. The 40' plus tides are remarkable to see. See the attached photo of the Hopewell Rocks taken at low tide. All but the top of the rocks is covered at high tide. We walked into the adjacent town of Alma. Bought some sticky buns & fresh baked bread.

On Monday we headed for Nova Scotia. Stopped by a roadside railroad exhibit for lunch then the welcome center then continued on to the Amherst Shores Provincial Park near Amherst, for the night. A basic campground, nothing special but a place to sleep on a driving day.

On Tuesday we went to Pictou, NS, did our grocery shopping at Soeby's then stayed at the Harbor Light RV Park. If I wasn't just tired of driving, needed to dump the tanks and wanted wi-fi, I would have left. What a dump. Basically a parking lot with about 75% seasonal tenants. If you're ever up this way, don't stop here unless you're desperate.

We enjoyed New Brunswick. Worth exploring some more in the future.