A quiet day today

Thursday, June 30, 2011

It was a nice quiet day today. I worked on my tummy freckles for a while, then we went grocery shopping, and Mom and Dad had sticker shock again!  On the way home we stopped at this GREAT BIG HOUSE that turned out to be a doggie day care place.  Mom and Dad are going to take a tour Saturday if Quebec City and I get to go to this place called Le Manoir des Majeste's - that's French.  I'm not sure what that means - all I know is, I get to go play all day with some new friends!  Mom did a translation on the computer and found out it roughly translates to The Manor of Majesties.  Maybe they are going to treat me like a queen?? 

When we were eating dinner, the rain came back, but it wasn't too bad.  The park is really filling up too, so I guess everyone is getting ready for Canada Day tomorrow.  Mom has been trying to remember the words to "O Canada" (the national anthem), but has forgotten more than she remembers.  And she has been remembering more as we go along - she even remembered the address and zip code from where they lived in Edmonton - T6J 2X7!

This is one of the MANY churches
we have seen in this area

This is my most favorite place, but Mom says I shouldn't
be laying on the table - it's rude - but it makes me TALL
and I can SEE!

I get to add another Province to my list....We made it to Quebec

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

We didn't post yesterday, becuse we didn't have any connection.  We stayed in a camp right on the water called Camping by the Bay in Black Point, NB.  We didn't unhook the truck because we took off this morning for Quebec.  It was another really long day today of driving through the rain and mist, but the wind wasn't too bad.  We got into camp about 5:30 pm which is late for us - 9 hours on the road!  Mom and Dad usually like to stop by mid afternoon, but they decided to push on, and then we don't have to move for a few days.  We also gained back an hour, so we are in Eastern Daylight Time again.  Dad wants to stay her for a few days until the holiday is over - July 1 is Canada Day (like our July 4th).  We are in a campground that is Bi-Lingual so it was easier to register.  Almost every sign is in French, so it is a challenge to figure out what and where things are.  We are staying here until July 3rd, then we will be moving on.


This was our view when we stopped for lunch on the
way to Black Point, NB



 WHAT A DIFFERENCE A DAY MAKES....



This was one of the views on the way to Levis, QC

When we go site seeing, we will post some more pictures from Quebec - we are just across the river from Quebec City!

Back to New Brusnwick

Monday, June 27, 2011

We crossed back over into New Brunswick today and stopped in Moncton, NB.  Mom picked a really nice campground, and when we got here the sun came out and I got to stretch out on the nice green grass to cool my tummy off.  We are only staying here for one night, and will be on the road again tomorrow morning, heading farther North.  I'm going to have to ask Mom and Dad why we only stay at these nice campgrounds for only one night!!  (Probably because there is not much to see, and we have been through here before.)  Dad had to change into shorts when we got here because it was so nice and warm.  The rivers look like chocolate milk again, because we are close to the Fundy Bay area.

You will notice that Mom added another Map today so you can see our progress home...


The border between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick -
it was a bit windy and cloudy and rainy!



Halifax and Margaret's Bay (aka Peggy's Cove)

Sunday, June 26, 2011

We had another great day of site seeing - the sun seems to come out when Mom wants to take pictures lately!  Things started out a little grey, but then we got sunshine and warmer weather.  We went to Halifax - just a big city.  Nothing was happening at the docks because it was Sunday, I guess.  Then we drove the same road we took to camp around Margaret's Bay.  The scenery was really different - low shrubs and granite rocks scraped clean from the glaciers.  There are a lot of little coves and docks, so Mom went crazy with the camera.


Reflection of the Canadian Flag
in building windows.




Part of downtown Halifax




Tour boat in the fog in the bay at Halifax

PEGGY'S COVE



Docks and buildings on the cove





Boats tied up at the cove





Lighthouse at Peggy's Cove




Granite boulders in the cove



OH OH, be careful!



Another cove along the coast

 

Tomorrow we will be off to the North towards Quebec.  It will probably take a couple of days to get up there, Dad said.

Long miserable day on the road....

Saturday, June 25, 2011

We made it to Halifax, NS despite the rain, wind, and fog - Mom couldn't even take any "on the road" pictures.  It was a miserable travel day.  We are staying outside of Halifax at a place called Wayside Park in Glen Margaret, NS. We had to move from the first camping spot we had - the sewer was overflowing - YUCK!  We are right on the coast and we could see some really different scenery through the fog and rain.  We will go on a photo shoot tomorrow, then pull out on Monday and head towards Quebec.

Just a few notes on Canada:  Everybody in Canada is upset because the postal workers are on strike.  Mom and Dad said that is nothing new - they were on strike when Mom and Dad lived here, too.  The check is in the mail isn't really funny here!

Mom was a little surprised that Canada is a little behind the times.  They haven't gone digital for the TV, so when we have to use the antenna, we don't get much, if anything at all.  The roads have, for the most part, have been terrible.  They try to patch the pot holes and make the roads worse.  We have been on dirt roads that were smoother than the highway.  Everything sure gets tossed around in the trailer when we hit those roads, despite what Mom does to tie things down.  (Mom has to clean out the refrigerator - the milk fell over, and SOMEBODY didn't put the lid on tight - wasn't me, I don't have any thumbs!)

Maybe we will get some good pictures for you tomorrow......

WOW! What scenery!

Friday, June 24, 2011

The last two days sure were filled with a lot of BEAUTIFUL SCENERY!  Forest, canyons, plateaus, headlands, bluffs, cliffs, rivers and streams, ocean coastline, fishing villages, and lots of shopping, just to name a few.  Mom's trigger finger is in traction - over 230 pictures!  And, some of them are pretty good!  The name of the area is the Cape Breton Highlands National Park of Canada, but the entire drive is called The World Famous Cabot Trail.  Yesterday we drove a little over half way around the park and even drove to the end of the most Northern road to a place called Meat Cove.  We haven't really figured out how it got it's name, but is sure was pretty.  The park it's self is over 367 square miles (950 square kilometers), but we covered an area almost twice that size by the time we drove all the way around.  The actual road is 200 miles long, but by the time Dad got done taking all the side roads it was more like 275 miles.  That really doesn't really sound like much, but when you drive it at 40 miles an hour or less, and make all those stops to go shopping, take pictures, and make pit stops, it takes a long time.  We watched a bunch of lobster boats work their traps, and boy oh boy, are there ever a lot of traps out there.  The coves are covered with hundreds of different colored buoys for the lobster pots.  OH, and as you will see in the pictures, the sun came out for our whole trip.  It was nice and warm for the most part, but the wind sure blows up on top of those mountains.  By the time we got home today, the clouds had moved back in.

We really wanted to see a moose, but they were all hiding, I guess.  We stayed in a motel in Pleasant Bay and that had to be the most disappointing part of the trip.  It looked good from the outside, but the rooms really needed some work.  When we went to bed, we all met in the middle, and  Mom had a hard time sleeping on the edge.  I guess we are spoiled, because for $80 per night you would think you would have shampoo, conditioner, and coffee in the room - but not here - and the restaurant didn't open until 8:00 am today, so Mom had to wait for her coffee this morning.  Mom and Dad had dinner there last night too, and that was disappointing also - Dad's turkey was a little dry, but Mom said her scallops were OK.  Breakfast wasn't much better today - Mom's french toast could have used more egg on it, but it filled the hole.

The most exciting part of the trip was today on the way back.  Dad was driving along when all of a sudden a black bear charged across the road!  Mom SCREAMED "BEAR", Dad hit the breaks, I did a nose plant on the dash and Mom got one shot of him.  He was sure BIG, BLACK AND SHINNY!  Dad still can't hear out of his right ear, and I am deaf! 

Let's see if Mom can pick out a few pictures for you:

Here we go!



River heading towards the ocean.



Up on top, looking back



The famous Keltic Lodge (sits on top of a bluff overlooking
the ocean).




A view of the cliffs.





Driving through the forest (if you look in the center
of the picture, you will see a little white spot, that
is the road up ahead!




Meat Cove - the flat green area is a tent campground.




Another little fishing village and cove.




Fishing village boat docks and the
village in the background




Forested canyons.




Cloud hanging over the mountain.




This is the road along the coast line.




A view of the coastline closer to the water.




Typical fishing village.




BEAR!
I know this doesn't look too exciting, but at the time
Dad and I thought Mom was going to pee her pants!
In Moms defense, she didn't have time to zoom in on him
and she had to shoot this through the windshield!

 OK, that was more than a few pictures, but Mom really covered the park from start to finish.

Tomorrow we are going to head to Halifax, then it's on the Quebec.  Looks like we are turning the corner and heading towards home!  (Of course, it took us 9 months to get out here, so who knows how long it will take to get back!)

What is that BRIGHT yellow thing in the sky???

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

We actually saw the sun today!  It was still cold and windy, but we did have periods of sunshine!

We took a drive over to Sydney, NS today to nose around.  Of course, Dad had to go down to the docks to see what was happening.  We saw some really BIG ferries - the ones that go to Newfoundland, and we got to one dock just in time to watch the lobster fishermen unload their catch - take a look:


Beautiful vista of St. Andrews Channel





Lobster boats docked and unloaded




Dad and me waiting to see the catch of the day!



There it is...the "Catch of the Day"!!





Some more of the "Lobster Fleet"

  

More of St. Andrews Channel





And an other view of the Channel



It was a really nice day, and Mom got a call from her Dad's cousin from Iowa, so now we are hooked up with her.  Mom is getting excited about meeting more of her family....



Baby its cold outside.....

Tuesday, June 21, 2011

Happy Summer to everybody - PLEASE send us some warm weather!  We are in Baddeck, Nova Scotia now and it is a cool 12 C (54 F), misty, cloudy, and windy.  It was so cold when we got here that Mom baked cookies to warm up the trailer!  YUUMMMM! 

While we are here, we will be driving around the North end of the island and then making the turn to head WEST!  It will take us some time to get all the way across the continent to the West coast, but we hope to be close to home late September, early October.  So, we hope to see all our friends in Nevada in a few months - we miss you all.  In the mean time, we will be going to Quebec, the Great Lakes, Iowa, etc.  We still have a lot to see on the way back so keep posted.  Here are some pictures Mom took today.


Baddeck Bay, Nova Scotia





We think the bottom half of this sign is Celtic???




A church in the sunshine across the bay.


Mom and Dad went to the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site this afternoon too.  Mom didn't realize he lived here and was also involved with working with the deaf and on flight - mostly hydroplanes!  Mom said the exhibit was very interesting and she actually learned something! (Go figure.)

Tomorrow we are going to just take a day trip, and the next day Mom and Dad will be packing our bags to take the trip around the island.  We will be staying in a motel for one night and leaving our home on wheels here while we are gone.  Of course, we will have the computer and the phone with us so we can keep in touch.

Our third Province

Monday, June 20, 2011

Well, as promised, we made it to Nova Scotia, but our ferry ride was only a little over an hour (not three hours as previously reported).  I got to get out of the truck to meet some of the crew - they were really nice and thought I was a good looking little girl!  This ferry was really different - when we started to load, the floor of the deck opened up and the cars went down into the bottom.  When they tried to close the floor, the "door" got stuck, and it took the crew quite a while to get it to go down where it was supposed to be so we could drive on.  Also, the front and the back of the ferry opened up like a big mouth to let the vehicles in and out (on the other end).  We didn't have to go "down below" because we were classified with the BIG trucks, so we were on the second deck.  We were one of the first RVs to load, so that means we were one of the first RVs to unload.  Nova Scotia is very GREEN, just like the rest of the Maritime Provinces - must be all the rain they get.  Yes, it is raining AGAIN, but it's just misty, not real rain drops.  We found a nice little RV camp in the city of Antigonish, and will be moving on tomorrow closer to the park.  The park we are going to is supposed to look like the Scottish Highlands - not that we really know what they look like!

Mom and Dad are trying to find me a Canadian Provincial Sticker Map, but they are hard to find - when we find one (if we do) we will add that picture to the USA Sticker Map.


The ferry ready to swallow us up behind it's big "mouth".



Me and Dad taking a walk on deck





This crossing was a little rougher than the other ones -
notice the horizon is straight, but the ferry is listing to
the left!  (Mom made it just fine.)




A light house so we don't hit the coast




The "mouth" opening up to let us out!



Mom and Dad almost had KITTENS when they saw this sign!



Here we are!




Colors for the day - GREY and GREEN!



Dad's Day!!

Sunday, June 19, 2011

Today we let Dad do what ever he darn well wanted - which wasn't much!  I guess when you turn 75 years OLD, you get to do what ever you want!  Mom did laundry and Dad and I just chilled out at camp.  After the chores were done, we went for a drive into town to look at "Old Charlottetown".  They have some really old buildings in town and we watch while they unloaded a big freighter full of what looked like dirt!

Mom wanted to take Dad to dinner, but he opted for Meat Loaf instead of Lobster!  And, he wanted a new pair of slippers, so we went to WalMart.  Real exciting stuff!!

Tomorrow we are going on a three hour ferry ride over to Nova Scotia, Canada.



Unloading the freighter and filling up dump trucks.




OLD building in downtown Charlottetown, PE




OLD Catholic Church downtown




Another OLD building - notice the
bust on top of the building

  Is there an OLD theme here?


Storm clouds over "camp" - we had rain off and
on today with 20 C temperatures (70 F) and some sunshine