Heading home

Time has come to head home for a while to check on Mom, take care of a few medical things, fix this & that and plan our next trip. Left Boothbay about 8am Sunday.

We stopped by Bourne, MA to visit with Art & Peggy Neves. They drove to the campground from their home on the Cape. We had a wonderful time catching up with each others lives.

The Bourne Scenic Park, a municipal campground , is right on the Cape Cod Canal. There is a paved multi-use path running along the canal. Took a nice walk. Our campsite is right under the bridge in the picture. No shortage of traffic noise, sirens, helicopters, etc. Nice enough for one night but next time I would make a different choice.

Drove to Alex's house in Annandale, VA on Monday. Visited with Alex & Jennifer & families. Left to drive home on Friday morning.

We had a very enjoyable trip. Our longest to date.

Need some time in Ft. Pierce to catch up on stuff, take care of some RV & house repairs, visit with Mom and plan another trip.

Boothbay, Lazy Daze Rally

On Wednesday we drove to Boothbay, Maine for the Northeast Lazy Daze Caravan Club Fall Rally. There were 36 LD's there. The biggest rally to date. On Thursday night we had "stone" soup. Stone soup is based on a tale about two peasants who had no food for their children so made soup by putting a stone in a pot of water. A person passing by saw this and put a carrot in the pot. Another passerby added a potato, etc., until finally the family had a nice pot of soup. To make Stone Soup everyone brings a can of vegetable stock plus something else to add to the soup. After a while you have a large pot of very tasty soup. On Friday night we had the traditional Pot Luck supper. Saturday was the lobster cookout. Two lobsters per person, streamer clams, corn on the cob, roasted onions & blueberry cake. All cooked at the campground. We had the most wonderful time catching up with our old friends and making new ones. We're hosting the annual Southeast Group Lazy Daze rally at Hanna Park, Jacksonville, FL, in March of next year. A lot of the people who were at Boothbay, winter in Florida so will be at Hanna Park.

Back to the USA

We left for Maine about 8am. Windy,overcast & cool outside. The plan was to stop somewhere about half way to Boothbay. At about 1 pm an hour east of the St. Steven,NB/Callis,ME border crossing we saw a take out seafood restaurant crowded with people . Ossie's Clam Shack. Made a U turn, pulled into the parking lot and had a wonderful take out lunch. Carol ordered the bucket of fried, whole belly clams and I had the fish & chips. "Real" fish fillets, not the type where it's mostly bread. We shared a vanilla soft ice cream for desert. This may have been our best Canada seafood meal.
Customs went well. About a 15 minute line. Basic questions about alcohol, tobacco, meats, veggies, etc. Didn't confiscate anything from us like they did when we crossed from British Columbia last year.
Took a rest break in Maine. Both napped for an hour then we just continued on. Spend the night at the Camden Hills State Park near Camden which is only about an hour from Boothbay. Called family to let them know we were back in the States, caught up on e-mail, etc.

Warm & sunny. Finally. We were both tired of the constant winds & cool weather we had in PEI.

The Canada part of this trip was just wonderful. Carol & I agree that the music & dance was the most memorable part of our visit. The street performers in Halifax, the music & dancing at Pictou and Louisbourg, the Scottish Pipers, Drummers & Dancers at Summerside, and the Acadian Festival at Abram-Village. The Canadians we met were just the nicest, most polite and friendly people. Even the drivers were courteous at the times when we clearly didn't know where we were going, were driving slowly, etc. The typical irritating tourist type driving we see so much of in Florida. Only once did someone blow their horn at us. Canadians are very proud of their Country & Province. You see National & Provincial flags everywhere. On homes, cars, churches, offices, etc. You don't see that very much in the US.
We'll be going back to Canada. Prehaps Montreal & Quebec next summer.

The end of our visit to P.E.I.

On Sunday the 2nd, our friends from the Northeast Lazy Daze Club showed up at the Twin Shores Camping Area. Twelve couples made the trip. We sat around and caught up on everyone’s recent travels and plans. They are staying here until Wednesday morning then heading to the big get-together at Boothbay Harbor. We’re leaving Tuesday instead because we drive slower and take more breaks then most others. We’ll meet up with the group once again at Boothbay.
On Sunday night we went to an ice cream social at the campground rec. center. This is the Labor Day weekend in Canada. The campground is about filled. Mostly families on the last camping trip before school starts.
The weather has been pleasant, mostly sunny, but windy.
Some of our friends are going on day trips today. We have seen the area so decided to just stay put and chat with the others. As always, we had a wonderful time with these camping friends . Spent some time with Monica Brickle today. Monica is our age, single and has toured the Country by herself for the last few years. She had some wonderful stories to tell.

Tomorrow morning, Tuesday, we head back to Maine.

We've had a wonderful time visiting the Canadian Atlantic Provinces.

PEI through August.

On Tuesday we drove to Charlottetown to go grocery shopping. Ch-Town, as it’s called locally, is the only shopping area for miles around. Stocked up for the remainder of our Canada trip. I have been searching for cans of Diet Coke since we’ve been in PEI; no luck. All they sell are 1 liter glass bottles of “pop”. After shopping we went to the Prince Edward Island National Park of Canada and stayed in the Stanhope Campground. A nice, wooded area right on the ocean. After dinner we walked to the ocean and spent an hour or so watching the sunset.

Wednesday morning we left for the Cabot Beach Provincial Park. Along the way we stopped in North Rustico for fresh baked bread & cinnamon rolls. Checked e-mail at the Information Center in Cavendish. When we checked in at Cabot Beach, Dan & Anna were there. This is the fifth time we’ve bumped into them since we’ve been in PEI.

Thursday we did laundry, cleaned the RV and read our books.

On Friday we drove to Abram- Village for the L’Exposition Agricole et le Festival Acadien. A “county fair” with a decidedly Acadian/French twist. We stayed the night in a grass field with about 150 other RV’s. $5/night. Talked to several of our neighbors. Mostly from PEI, New Brunswick or Quebec. People with Acadian ties. They all spoke English but it was clear that French was their native tongue. The Florida tags on the motorhome combined with the unique design and paint scheme, always attract attention. Almost everyone we talked to go to Florida in the winter or have some family who do.
The festival runs from Friday through Sunday. This turned out to be among the highlights of the trip. We saw the standard 4-H type projects, animal exhibits, tractor pulls, etc. All announced in French. During the afternoon we saw the Spectacle de Jeannino; a magician. You don’t have to understand the language to enjoy the magic show. Later on there was an amateur talent contest. A wonderful group of young Acadian musicians, dancers, etc. Two of the performers we had seen in the Highland Storm show in Summerside. In the evening there was a “Jam des musiciens”. A group of locals playing fiddles & guitars and step dancing. People from the audience would get up and step dance. The dancers were not kids. The age ran from about 50 to over 70. This was probably the most entertaining event we attended.

The weather really turned bad over night. High winds & rain. Woke up to 55* and rain. Since we saw the things of most interest to us, we decided to leave on Saturday morning, do our last Canadian grocery shopping and go to the Twin Shores Camping Area where we are meeting with a group of camping friends tomorrow.

On the way to Twin Shores we visited St. Mary's church.

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.