This is the train tracks across the interstate-equivalent thing I mentioned. Can you believe this? Blows my mind.Saturday, July 24, 2010
I just had to share this picture.
This is the train tracks across the interstate-equivalent thing I mentioned. Can you believe this? Blows my mind.
All good things...
...must come to end. And even though this amazing vacation ended nearly two weeks ago, I thought I ought to do one more entry to have a full record of the trip.
So, pretty much right after I posted the last entry in St. Martins, we were getting ready to go to bed when we hear fire engine sirens and then realize that they are IN the campground! Dad and I went outside to see if we could see what was going on and ended up pointing a few of the volunteer firemen (in their own cars) in the direction we had seen the fire truck go, but we didn't walk as far as the actual fire site. We didn't want to seem obviously nosy, but you could see a huge cloud of smoke rising over the campground. When we left the next morning, we did deliberately drive down the road that the burnt-out camper was on and it was awful. Completely gutted. Luckily, the owners had not been in it the previous night and it didn't seem that either of their neighbors had been there either. They all appeared to be "perms" (as dad calls them) - people who leave their camper at a campground all the time.
Before leaving, we also enjoyed the view of the Bay of Fundy - the mist coming off the bay in the early morning was beautiful.
From St. Martins, we had about 100 miles to get to the border at St. Stephen. We wanted to hit the duty-free shop and stock up on some more candy and last-minute souvenirs. The border in "downtown" St. Stephen is TINY and we drove right past the duty-free shop - which looked like it was closed. So before crossing the border, we turned around and went to the New Brunswick visitor's centre and found out that the shop had actually been closed since the opening of the new border crossing point. This border had only been opened about 6 months earlier, when they completed an extension of Trans-Canada 1, and so it didn't show up on the GPS. So we did a little backtracking and headed to that border, getting excited when we saw that the duty-free was a big building.
We were sadly disappointed when we found out that the big building was pretty much empty. They really didn't have much at all, which really bummed us out. But again, our last visit to a duty-free shop was at the Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls, which is a much bigger tourist spot. All we bought was a box of Allsorts licorice (mom) and a bottle of Malibu rum (me). Then we headed to the actual border.
Much to our relief, we were all allowed back in the country. Two border agents did come on board the motorhome and they ended up confiscating our grapes and tomatoes. The grapes they took because we didn't have the original bag which stated their country of origin and the tomatoes they took because apparently in the last couple months there has been a big issue with Canada importing tomatoes from whatever country and then sticking a "Grown in Canada" sticker on them. Don't talk to mom about it - she is still mad! (They were really good tomatoes.)
Dad said, "They're probably going to go have lunch now. With the mayonaise they took off the last camper and the loaf of bread they confiscated yesterday!"
But anyway. It was good to be back in the States - we headed back down Route 9 with the Star-Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful playing on the stereo. :)
We went back to Christie's - which we all agreed looks much nicer in the sunshine. Dad visited with the ducks again and the next morning we had one last breakfast at Tim Hortons. I really wish I'd bought myself a can of Tim's coffee - I don't know why I didn't think of it! Anyway, it was just a short ride down 95 to Freeport, ME - aka the town that the Bean family built. Here is the flagship L.L. Bean store, as well as an L.L. Bean outlet, the Boat & Bike store, the Hunting and Fishing store and the Home store. Amazingly, I really didn't spend TOO much money while we there. We met up with Stephen, Erica and Silas again - they had been in Maine for about a week visiting with Erica's adopted family, the Marshalls. After about 6 hours of shopping, we followed them back to the Marshalls' house, where we "camped" in their driveway and spent a nice evening visiting.
The next day, all the Macumbers departed Maine and drove about 5 hours to Erica's sister's house in Massachusetts. We "camped" in Jessica and Scootie's yard and again enjoyed a nice visit. Silas got to play with his cousin Carter, who is five, and we got to see Erica's new neice, Kenzie Jo, who was born in February. On Saturday morning, Jessica drove us over to Canaan, CT (only about a mile away) and showed us where their grandmother lives - unfortunately, she was visiting family in Colorado and Arizona, so we weren't able to see her.
From Massachusetts, we went through Connecticut and into New York. Following the GPS instructions, we got on the Taconic State Parkway, which is apparently intended to primarily be a commuter highway for Duchess & Westchester County residents to use to get into NYC. As we were getting on, we saw a small sign that read "passenger vehicles only." This caused quite a bit of consternation - did we qualify? Were we too big? And if we weren't supposed to be on this road, what could we do about it now? We were on the entrance ramp - we couldn't exactly go into reverse. And it is a limited-access road - there wasn't really anywhere to get off. We were only supposed to drive it for about 17 miles, so we decided we'd risk it. And with a mile and a half to go, dad got pulled over by a NY state trooper. Turns out it's illegal for anything besides a car or very small pick-up to drive on a parkway in New York State. Luckily, it was pretty obvious we were from out-of-state and clueless, so the trooper let dad off with a warning. We stopped for a Starbucks break and all agreed that the experience had actually been scarier than the re-entry border crossing!
Anyway, eventually we made it to the campground in Milford, PA, which was kind of an odd place. It's not so much a campground as it is an exclusive summer trailer-park. It's almost entirely permanent summer residents with about 10 spaces reserved for Coast-to-Coast members. It was on the edge of a big hunting preserve along the Delaware River and in the morning, we saw an honest-to-God BEAR just strolling down the road in front of the camper. Scared us all half to death! We also saw a deer on the way out.
From Milford, we drove through the rest of PA, through Maryland and into Virginia. I finally got a meal at the Cracker Barrel (a road trip requirement as far as I'm concerned) and then we made it to Shenandoah Crossing Resort in Gordonsville. This place was fancy. Each campsite had a furnished patio and a gas grill. Some also had an outdoor sink and counter space and a few even had a private Jacuzzi. At the bath house, there were three shower rooms that were completely private rooms with heat lamps and fans and a huge shower. Dad and I walked to the lodge that was within walking distance and saw the general store, meeting room area, arcade, fitness room, life-size chess board and the incredible outdoor pool complex. They had a sprinkler area for little kids, a hot tub, a small pool that only went four feet deep, a larger pool that went up to about 6 ft and I think another hot tub. We didn't see the other lodge, with the restaurant (that you could eat at and charge to your campsite, like at a hotel!) and the indoor pool. We also didn't see the lake or the equestrian center. This place was insane! Definitely the kind of place you could come and stay at for like a week. And only about an hour's ride from DC, so you could do siteseeing there too. Of course, we didn't get there until about 8 or 8:30, so it was too late to enjoy anything, but oh well.
Monday morning, we got up and headed down 29 to come home. It rained most of the way, which was pretty miserable, but it was so nice to finally be home, after nearly 4,000 miles!
It was truly an incredible trip - we had so much fun! Don't think we're gonna do any major driving for a while, but we've got plenty of ideas - I want to do the 'Little House' trail - Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Kansas and Missouri - and mom and dad really want to drive the old Route 66. And there's always the fancy RV park at Disney to think about trying out!
So, pretty much right after I posted the last entry in St. Martins, we were getting ready to go to bed when we hear fire engine sirens and then realize that they are IN the campground! Dad and I went outside to see if we could see what was going on and ended up pointing a few of the volunteer firemen (in their own cars) in the direction we had seen the fire truck go, but we didn't walk as far as the actual fire site. We didn't want to seem obviously nosy, but you could see a huge cloud of smoke rising over the campground. When we left the next morning, we did deliberately drive down the road that the burnt-out camper was on and it was awful. Completely gutted. Luckily, the owners had not been in it the previous night and it didn't seem that either of their neighbors had been there either. They all appeared to be "perms" (as dad calls them) - people who leave their camper at a campground all the time.
Before leaving, we also enjoyed the view of the Bay of Fundy - the mist coming off the bay in the early morning was beautiful.
From St. Martins, we had about 100 miles to get to the border at St. Stephen. We wanted to hit the duty-free shop and stock up on some more candy and last-minute souvenirs. The border in "downtown" St. Stephen is TINY and we drove right past the duty-free shop - which looked like it was closed. So before crossing the border, we turned around and went to the New Brunswick visitor's centre and found out that the shop had actually been closed since the opening of the new border crossing point. This border had only been opened about 6 months earlier, when they completed an extension of Trans-Canada 1, and so it didn't show up on the GPS. So we did a little backtracking and headed to that border, getting excited when we saw that the duty-free was a big building.
We were sadly disappointed when we found out that the big building was pretty much empty. They really didn't have much at all, which really bummed us out. But again, our last visit to a duty-free shop was at the Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls, which is a much bigger tourist spot. All we bought was a box of Allsorts licorice (mom) and a bottle of Malibu rum (me). Then we headed to the actual border.
Much to our relief, we were all allowed back in the country. Two border agents did come on board the motorhome and they ended up confiscating our grapes and tomatoes. The grapes they took because we didn't have the original bag which stated their country of origin and the tomatoes they took because apparently in the last couple months there has been a big issue with Canada importing tomatoes from whatever country and then sticking a "Grown in Canada" sticker on them. Don't talk to mom about it - she is still mad! (They were really good tomatoes.)
Dad said, "They're probably going to go have lunch now. With the mayonaise they took off the last camper and the loaf of bread they confiscated yesterday!"
But anyway. It was good to be back in the States - we headed back down Route 9 with the Star-Spangled Banner and America the Beautiful playing on the stereo. :)
We went back to Christie's - which we all agreed looks much nicer in the sunshine. Dad visited with the ducks again and the next morning we had one last breakfast at Tim Hortons. I really wish I'd bought myself a can of Tim's coffee - I don't know why I didn't think of it! Anyway, it was just a short ride down 95 to Freeport, ME - aka the town that the Bean family built. Here is the flagship L.L. Bean store, as well as an L.L. Bean outlet, the Boat & Bike store, the Hunting and Fishing store and the Home store. Amazingly, I really didn't spend TOO much money while we there. We met up with Stephen, Erica and Silas again - they had been in Maine for about a week visiting with Erica's adopted family, the Marshalls. After about 6 hours of shopping, we followed them back to the Marshalls' house, where we "camped" in their driveway and spent a nice evening visiting.
The next day, all the Macumbers departed Maine and drove about 5 hours to Erica's sister's house in Massachusetts. We "camped" in Jessica and Scootie's yard and again enjoyed a nice visit. Silas got to play with his cousin Carter, who is five, and we got to see Erica's new neice, Kenzie Jo, who was born in February. On Saturday morning, Jessica drove us over to Canaan, CT (only about a mile away) and showed us where their grandmother lives - unfortunately, she was visiting family in Colorado and Arizona, so we weren't able to see her.
From Massachusetts, we went through Connecticut and into New York. Following the GPS instructions, we got on the Taconic State Parkway, which is apparently intended to primarily be a commuter highway for Duchess & Westchester County residents to use to get into NYC. As we were getting on, we saw a small sign that read "passenger vehicles only." This caused quite a bit of consternation - did we qualify? Were we too big? And if we weren't supposed to be on this road, what could we do about it now? We were on the entrance ramp - we couldn't exactly go into reverse. And it is a limited-access road - there wasn't really anywhere to get off. We were only supposed to drive it for about 17 miles, so we decided we'd risk it. And with a mile and a half to go, dad got pulled over by a NY state trooper. Turns out it's illegal for anything besides a car or very small pick-up to drive on a parkway in New York State. Luckily, it was pretty obvious we were from out-of-state and clueless, so the trooper let dad off with a warning. We stopped for a Starbucks break and all agreed that the experience had actually been scarier than the re-entry border crossing!
Anyway, eventually we made it to the campground in Milford, PA, which was kind of an odd place. It's not so much a campground as it is an exclusive summer trailer-park. It's almost entirely permanent summer residents with about 10 spaces reserved for Coast-to-Coast members. It was on the edge of a big hunting preserve along the Delaware River and in the morning, we saw an honest-to-God BEAR just strolling down the road in front of the camper. Scared us all half to death! We also saw a deer on the way out.
From Milford, we drove through the rest of PA, through Maryland and into Virginia. I finally got a meal at the Cracker Barrel (a road trip requirement as far as I'm concerned) and then we made it to Shenandoah Crossing Resort in Gordonsville. This place was fancy. Each campsite had a furnished patio and a gas grill. Some also had an outdoor sink and counter space and a few even had a private Jacuzzi. At the bath house, there were three shower rooms that were completely private rooms with heat lamps and fans and a huge shower. Dad and I walked to the lodge that was within walking distance and saw the general store, meeting room area, arcade, fitness room, life-size chess board and the incredible outdoor pool complex. They had a sprinkler area for little kids, a hot tub, a small pool that only went four feet deep, a larger pool that went up to about 6 ft and I think another hot tub. We didn't see the other lodge, with the restaurant (that you could eat at and charge to your campsite, like at a hotel!) and the indoor pool. We also didn't see the lake or the equestrian center. This place was insane! Definitely the kind of place you could come and stay at for like a week. And only about an hour's ride from DC, so you could do siteseeing there too. Of course, we didn't get there until about 8 or 8:30, so it was too late to enjoy anything, but oh well.
Monday morning, we got up and headed down 29 to come home. It rained most of the way, which was pretty miserable, but it was so nice to finally be home, after nearly 4,000 miles!
It was truly an incredible trip - we had so much fun! Don't think we're gonna do any major driving for a while, but we've got plenty of ideas - I want to do the 'Little House' trail - Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Kansas and Missouri - and mom and dad really want to drive the old Route 66. And there's always the fancy RV park at Disney to think about trying out!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
St. Martins, NB
Well, let's see. I left off in Lunenburg on Saturday, so let's catch ya'll up on the last 3 days. Sunday morning we got up and moved to the Oakhill Pines Campground in Bridgewater, about 12 miles from Lunenburg. We stopped in Mahone Bay on the way and did a little shopping, mostly at Amos Pewter. Pewter is a big thing in Nova Scotia and Amos is one of the very best. They had so many beautiful pieces. It took forever for us to decide what we wanted to buy! I got a penguin necklace and matching earrings as well as a little cat figurine. My aunt Susan also got me a penguin ornament for my Christmas tree, which was very sweet of her.
From Mahone Bay we went on to Bridgewater, got settled at the campground and then used the rental car to shuttle over to Uncle Ivan and Aunt Shirley's house. Ivan is my father's mother's youngest brother and the one Rodenhiser sibling still living. He turned 80 in April and Shirley just turned 78 in June and they are shap as tacks and the cutest things ever. I had apparently met them once before, at my Nana's funeral, but I was 7, so I really don't remember. Ivan took Dad, Joan and I over to the Bridgewater cemetary and we saw the graves for Uncle Valson, Aunt Olive and Uncle Barney and my great-grandparents, Morris & Eva Ann Rodenhiser. There were also the graves of another uncle and an aunt, both of whom died very young. It seems like it should be creepy, but it was kind of neat. There were Rodenhisers, Hirtles and Conrads all over the cemetary - probably half the people in town are 3rd cousins or something.
When we got back to Ivan and Shirley's, dad's cousin Jo-Anne, her husband Alan and her daughter Alexis were there. Alexis is 16 and plays hockey on the girls' team. She seemed like a really good kid. Shirley made us a fantastic dinner and there was delicious strawberry shortcake for dessert. After dinner, most of us drove outside of town to see Jo-Anne and Alan's new house on the lake, which is not quite complete, but is going to be an amazing home. They have a great view from their back deck!
Monday was a nice restful day - Joan flew home to Toronto, so Susan and Pat were gone most of the mid-day driving her to the airport in Halifax. While they were gone, mom got some laundry done and we all just kinda vegged. When Pat & Susan returned, we went back to the cemetary and also to the Bridgewater veterans memorial, which has my grandfather's name on it.
Then we went grocery shopping and went a little crazy buying candy that we can't get in the States - Bounty and Coffee Crisp and Smarties and dark chocolate KitKats (yes, I found them!). Dad got to buy real Canadian bacon to have for breakfast and it was delicious this morning with scrambled eggs. I was also excited to find dill pickle Lay's chips - we don't seem to sell them at home anymore.
Then we had dinner at the A&W, which, as far as fast food joints go, wasn't so great, but it was fun to eat somewhere new and get your root beer in a frosted mug!
We went back to visit with Ivan and Shirley briefly and then stopped by Jo-Anne and Alan's house in town and met their sons, Cale & Ryland. Cale is 22 or 23, I think, and just finished university and Ryland is 19. Both were very nice, polite boys.
We said our goodbyes at the campground this morning and Ivan and Shirley surprised us by showing up to say goodbye as well. We then started the long trip home, heading west to New Brunswick. We spent a fortune at the Nova Scotia welcome center shop and we are now camped on the Bay of Funday in St. Martins, NB. We are literally on the bay - it's just a short walk to the shore.
I've been surprised by how very French it is in NB - all my previous visits here have always been to Ontario, which is pretty solidly English. My impression was always that it was pretty exclusively Quebec that was French, but apparently that's not quite the case. But, that's what traveling is for, right - to learn new things.
Tomorrow we get back in the States and spend a couple days in Maine. Can't wait to get to L.L.Bean! :)
From Mahone Bay we went on to Bridgewater, got settled at the campground and then used the rental car to shuttle over to Uncle Ivan and Aunt Shirley's house. Ivan is my father's mother's youngest brother and the one Rodenhiser sibling still living. He turned 80 in April and Shirley just turned 78 in June and they are shap as tacks and the cutest things ever. I had apparently met them once before, at my Nana's funeral, but I was 7, so I really don't remember. Ivan took Dad, Joan and I over to the Bridgewater cemetary and we saw the graves for Uncle Valson, Aunt Olive and Uncle Barney and my great-grandparents, Morris & Eva Ann Rodenhiser. There were also the graves of another uncle and an aunt, both of whom died very young. It seems like it should be creepy, but it was kind of neat. There were Rodenhisers, Hirtles and Conrads all over the cemetary - probably half the people in town are 3rd cousins or something.
When we got back to Ivan and Shirley's, dad's cousin Jo-Anne, her husband Alan and her daughter Alexis were there. Alexis is 16 and plays hockey on the girls' team. She seemed like a really good kid. Shirley made us a fantastic dinner and there was delicious strawberry shortcake for dessert. After dinner, most of us drove outside of town to see Jo-Anne and Alan's new house on the lake, which is not quite complete, but is going to be an amazing home. They have a great view from their back deck!
Monday was a nice restful day - Joan flew home to Toronto, so Susan and Pat were gone most of the mid-day driving her to the airport in Halifax. While they were gone, mom got some laundry done and we all just kinda vegged. When Pat & Susan returned, we went back to the cemetary and also to the Bridgewater veterans memorial, which has my grandfather's name on it.
Then we went grocery shopping and went a little crazy buying candy that we can't get in the States - Bounty and Coffee Crisp and Smarties and dark chocolate KitKats (yes, I found them!). Dad got to buy real Canadian bacon to have for breakfast and it was delicious this morning with scrambled eggs. I was also excited to find dill pickle Lay's chips - we don't seem to sell them at home anymore.
Then we had dinner at the A&W, which, as far as fast food joints go, wasn't so great, but it was fun to eat somewhere new and get your root beer in a frosted mug!
We went back to visit with Ivan and Shirley briefly and then stopped by Jo-Anne and Alan's house in town and met their sons, Cale & Ryland. Cale is 22 or 23, I think, and just finished university and Ryland is 19. Both were very nice, polite boys.
We said our goodbyes at the campground this morning and Ivan and Shirley surprised us by showing up to say goodbye as well. We then started the long trip home, heading west to New Brunswick. We spent a fortune at the Nova Scotia welcome center shop and we are now camped on the Bay of Funday in St. Martins, NB. We are literally on the bay - it's just a short walk to the shore.
I've been surprised by how very French it is in NB - all my previous visits here have always been to Ontario, which is pretty solidly English. My impression was always that it was pretty exclusively Quebec that was French, but apparently that's not quite the case. But, that's what traveling is for, right - to learn new things.
Tomorrow we get back in the States and spend a couple days in Maine. Can't wait to get to L.L.Bean! :)
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Lunenburg, NS - I'm not sure what number day anymore!
Well, there is a lot to catch up on! We haven't had decent wifi since we left Cavendish and our wifi code actually expired around 7 pm the night before we left!
We are up to over 2100 miles now, which is more than half the mileage for the trip and we're just today at the halfway point. We've been gone a week and a day and we'll be home in a week and a day. So that's good. Most of the rest of our driving days are easy days. Tomorrow we'll move to a new campground just 12 miles away in Bridgewater, where my grandmother and an aunt and an uncle were born.
I'm sitting on the sidewalk outside the visitor centre in Lunenburg, which is also the office for the campground we're at. Across from me is a monument to the founders of Lunenburg, listing the family names and I found Hirtle, which is a name on our family tree about 4 generations back, so that's kinda cool. If I look through the trees, I can just see the harbour below. It's absolutely gorgeous today.
Wednesday we got up and left the campground, driving along the Shore Road through PEI national park. We stopped and walked down on the beach for a minute, so I finally got to really see the red sand beaches and cliffs of Cavendish and stick my toe in the ocean. (Freezing!) Then we stopped in North Rustico to mail some postcards and then drove to Charlottetown, where we stopped at the Girl Guide office and chatted with the intern running the office for the summer. We didn't get his name, but he was a very nice guy, probably late teens or early 20s and he was placed there through a government program. He was incredibly knowledgable about the Guides, though, probably because he has nothing else to do but sit there and read the literature. He gave me several patches, some different flyers and catalogs and a box of Girl Guide cookies. The office was even smaller than Norcross, with about 3 rooms and a basement, which he said was a mess. Lady Powell might even be hiding down there somewhere!
After Charlottetown, we went to Wood Islands to get the ferry to Nova Scotia. I thoroughly enjoyed riding the ferry, much better than the bridge. The sailing took about an hour and the sun came out for the first time in days, so it made for a beautiful afternoon. The ferry lands at Caribou and we drove from there to a Walmart in Antigonish, because we needed milk. Then we had to decide if we needed a 1 L or a 2 L of milk! Also, the Walmart employees here still wear vests, which seemed weird to me, since it's been about 4 years since they took ours away.
Anyway, we drove onto Cape Breton Island, to Baddeck. The campground itself was okay, but the internet connection sucked. You had to hike way up a hill to the bathhouse and stand at the washing machine to get connected. So I decided to just not bother for a few days. The campsites were not level at all there, so Dad really struggled getting the camper to where he felt it was "just right." He tried 3 different campsites before he was kinda, sorta satisfied.
Thursday morning we got up and drove the Cabot Trail. It is about 185 miles and winds up and around the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. There was some truly gorgeous scenery. I'll get the pictures on Facebook eventually. We stopped for gas in Cheticamp, which is still very, very French - "la couer d'Acadienne." (I think i got that right.) Their harbour was very pretty. On the other side of the island, things are still very, very Scottish - the road signs on that side are in English and in Gaelic. Fascinating! I bought myself a scarf in the Nova Scotia tartan - a lovely blue with green accents. Everyone said the Cabot Trail should take 6-8 hours - we drove that sucker in less than 5.
So we had time to stop at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site - we were debating if we wanted to pay to go through the museum, but ultimately decided we would. And then we found out that because it was Canada Day, all national parks were free admittance! So that was awesome.
I was pleasantly suprised by the museum - Alexander Graham Bell did a whole lot more than just the telephone. He worked with deaf people his entire life and essentially invented the hearing aid. He also made the worlds fastest boat and the first machine to fly in Canada. He was really a very interesting man. He did a lot of work with Helen Keller, which, even though I've read a lot about her before, I had never realized.
Friday, we left Baddeck and Cape Breton and headed for the South Shore. We stopped at Peggy's Cove, one of the most photographed spots in Canada (probably in the world, really) and that's where we met up with my Aunts Pat & Susan and my cousin Joan. We walked on the rocks at Peggy's Cove - words cannot do justice to how incredibly beautiful it is there. It is unreal.
From Peggy's Cove, we finally made it to Lunenburg and had dinner last night at a restaurant overlooking the harbour. Our campsite looks out at the back harbour and it's just beautiful. We are close enough to Old Town to walk, but there's a very steep hill involved so I've only walked some of the time. Now that Pat, Susan and Joan are with us, we have a car, so that is great.
Today we went back down to Old Town and went to see the Bluenose II, a very famous schooner. It's won many races and it's image is on the back of the Canadian dime. We were lucky to get to walk on it, because on Monday they will begin tearing it down and restoring the hull, which will take about two years.
That brings us to now! Hopefully I will not have to go quite as long before the next dispatch. We are having a great time visiting and making each other crazy. :)
Tomorrow we'll go to Mahone Bay on our way to Bridgewater. Aunt Pat says the shopping is better there than here.
See you next time!
We are up to over 2100 miles now, which is more than half the mileage for the trip and we're just today at the halfway point. We've been gone a week and a day and we'll be home in a week and a day. So that's good. Most of the rest of our driving days are easy days. Tomorrow we'll move to a new campground just 12 miles away in Bridgewater, where my grandmother and an aunt and an uncle were born.
I'm sitting on the sidewalk outside the visitor centre in Lunenburg, which is also the office for the campground we're at. Across from me is a monument to the founders of Lunenburg, listing the family names and I found Hirtle, which is a name on our family tree about 4 generations back, so that's kinda cool. If I look through the trees, I can just see the harbour below. It's absolutely gorgeous today.
Wednesday we got up and left the campground, driving along the Shore Road through PEI national park. We stopped and walked down on the beach for a minute, so I finally got to really see the red sand beaches and cliffs of Cavendish and stick my toe in the ocean. (Freezing!) Then we stopped in North Rustico to mail some postcards and then drove to Charlottetown, where we stopped at the Girl Guide office and chatted with the intern running the office for the summer. We didn't get his name, but he was a very nice guy, probably late teens or early 20s and he was placed there through a government program. He was incredibly knowledgable about the Guides, though, probably because he has nothing else to do but sit there and read the literature. He gave me several patches, some different flyers and catalogs and a box of Girl Guide cookies. The office was even smaller than Norcross, with about 3 rooms and a basement, which he said was a mess. Lady Powell might even be hiding down there somewhere!
After Charlottetown, we went to Wood Islands to get the ferry to Nova Scotia. I thoroughly enjoyed riding the ferry, much better than the bridge. The sailing took about an hour and the sun came out for the first time in days, so it made for a beautiful afternoon. The ferry lands at Caribou and we drove from there to a Walmart in Antigonish, because we needed milk. Then we had to decide if we needed a 1 L or a 2 L of milk! Also, the Walmart employees here still wear vests, which seemed weird to me, since it's been about 4 years since they took ours away.
Anyway, we drove onto Cape Breton Island, to Baddeck. The campground itself was okay, but the internet connection sucked. You had to hike way up a hill to the bathhouse and stand at the washing machine to get connected. So I decided to just not bother for a few days. The campsites were not level at all there, so Dad really struggled getting the camper to where he felt it was "just right." He tried 3 different campsites before he was kinda, sorta satisfied.
Thursday morning we got up and drove the Cabot Trail. It is about 185 miles and winds up and around the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. There was some truly gorgeous scenery. I'll get the pictures on Facebook eventually. We stopped for gas in Cheticamp, which is still very, very French - "la couer d'Acadienne." (I think i got that right.) Their harbour was very pretty. On the other side of the island, things are still very, very Scottish - the road signs on that side are in English and in Gaelic. Fascinating! I bought myself a scarf in the Nova Scotia tartan - a lovely blue with green accents. Everyone said the Cabot Trail should take 6-8 hours - we drove that sucker in less than 5.
So we had time to stop at the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site - we were debating if we wanted to pay to go through the museum, but ultimately decided we would. And then we found out that because it was Canada Day, all national parks were free admittance! So that was awesome.
I was pleasantly suprised by the museum - Alexander Graham Bell did a whole lot more than just the telephone. He worked with deaf people his entire life and essentially invented the hearing aid. He also made the worlds fastest boat and the first machine to fly in Canada. He was really a very interesting man. He did a lot of work with Helen Keller, which, even though I've read a lot about her before, I had never realized.
Friday, we left Baddeck and Cape Breton and headed for the South Shore. We stopped at Peggy's Cove, one of the most photographed spots in Canada (probably in the world, really) and that's where we met up with my Aunts Pat & Susan and my cousin Joan. We walked on the rocks at Peggy's Cove - words cannot do justice to how incredibly beautiful it is there. It is unreal.
From Peggy's Cove, we finally made it to Lunenburg and had dinner last night at a restaurant overlooking the harbour. Our campsite looks out at the back harbour and it's just beautiful. We are close enough to Old Town to walk, but there's a very steep hill involved so I've only walked some of the time. Now that Pat, Susan and Joan are with us, we have a car, so that is great.
Today we went back down to Old Town and went to see the Bluenose II, a very famous schooner. It's won many races and it's image is on the back of the Canadian dime. We were lucky to get to walk on it, because on Monday they will begin tearing it down and restoring the hull, which will take about two years.
That brings us to now! Hopefully I will not have to go quite as long before the next dispatch. We are having a great time visiting and making each other crazy. :)
Tomorrow we'll go to Mahone Bay on our way to Bridgewater. Aunt Pat says the shopping is better there than here.
See you next time!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Day 5 - "Avonlea"
Today was a day I've been waiting about 22 years for - we went to Green Gables. It was wonderful.
We slept late this morning - it was the first time on the trip that we were staying somewhere more than one night. Plus, the hour time difference takes a bit of a toll. So even though we got up around 8:30 our time, it was 9:30 here.
The bath house here is fairly decent - we are 2 for 4 on bath houses so far, in terms of how nice they are.
Anyway, so first we had to go up to the corner to get gas - $.99 a litre. That equals out to about $4 a gallon. So suddenly the $2.80/gal we were seeing in NY and ME doesn't seem so bad! Then we went over to the Cavendish Visitor's Centre where mom's day was made because we finally were able to get a map of just PEI.
We went back down the road to Green Gables then - it's part of Prince Edward Island National Park and I was pleasantly suprised at how non-commercial the actual site was. Everything around it is terribly commercialized - the Shining Waters Fun Park, the Kindred Spirits Cottages, that kind of junk. But the Green Gables house is just a re-creation of the late-1800's era farm that Lucy Maud Montgomery grew up near.
There is a restoration of the barn and then you go through the actual house, which has been re-stored and decorated to look as it's described in the novel. You even get to walk through the upstairs, which I thought was really neat since most old houses don't let you go up the steps.
There are two walking trails near the house - the Haunted Wood and the Lover's Lane, as described in the book. The Lover's Lane trail was only about 1/2 a mile, so dad and I walked that while mom waited at the gift shop. The other trail was even longer, so we decided not to do that one.
I spent a fortune in the gift shop - upgrading to DVD copies of the three PBS movies. I had thought that a lot of the movie's exterior scenes were filmed here, but apparently it was primarily scenery shots. But whatever. I still love the movies (for the most part - I have some issues with the third) but Megan Follows was perfect as Anne and I adore Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert.
Roasted chicken for dinner tonight and finally a campfire and some S'mores!
We slept late this morning - it was the first time on the trip that we were staying somewhere more than one night. Plus, the hour time difference takes a bit of a toll. So even though we got up around 8:30 our time, it was 9:30 here.
The bath house here is fairly decent - we are 2 for 4 on bath houses so far, in terms of how nice they are.
Anyway, so first we had to go up to the corner to get gas - $.99 a litre. That equals out to about $4 a gallon. So suddenly the $2.80/gal we were seeing in NY and ME doesn't seem so bad! Then we went over to the Cavendish Visitor's Centre where mom's day was made because we finally were able to get a map of just PEI.
We went back down the road to Green Gables then - it's part of Prince Edward Island National Park and I was pleasantly suprised at how non-commercial the actual site was. Everything around it is terribly commercialized - the Shining Waters Fun Park, the Kindred Spirits Cottages, that kind of junk. But the Green Gables house is just a re-creation of the late-1800's era farm that Lucy Maud Montgomery grew up near.
There is a restoration of the barn and then you go through the actual house, which has been re-stored and decorated to look as it's described in the novel. You even get to walk through the upstairs, which I thought was really neat since most old houses don't let you go up the steps.
There are two walking trails near the house - the Haunted Wood and the Lover's Lane, as described in the book. The Lover's Lane trail was only about 1/2 a mile, so dad and I walked that while mom waited at the gift shop. The other trail was even longer, so we decided not to do that one.
I spent a fortune in the gift shop - upgrading to DVD copies of the three PBS movies. I had thought that a lot of the movie's exterior scenes were filmed here, but apparently it was primarily scenery shots. But whatever. I still love the movies (for the most part - I have some issues with the third) but Megan Follows was perfect as Anne and I adore Jonathan Crombie as Gilbert.
Roasted chicken for dinner tonight and finally a campfire and some S'mores!
Day 4 - Newport, ME to Cavendish, PEI
Left Newport around 10:30 am - arrived at the Cavendish KOA around 8:30 pm (Atlantic time, so 7:30 EDT).
Miles driven - around 400
Total trip - around 1500!
It poured rain all Sunday night in Maine. Dad had to put on his rain jacket to go out and unplug all the stuff. He came back in and his pants were soaked. But when we looked at his camera & saw the pictures he took, we said well no wonder you're all wet - you walked all the way down to the lake to take pictures of the ducks!
We stopped at the Walmart in Palmyra, ME before getting on I-95 - there is no sales tax on food in Maine!
We rode on 95 for a little bit and then took Route 9 over to Calais, where we crossed the border. We waited about 30 minutes to get through customs - it's a very small border. Only a couple of lanes to drive through. We found out later that the Queen arrived in Halifax yesterday, so we wonder if that might have been why it took a little bit longer - they may have been checking a little more closely and there may have been more people driving through than normal. Of course, we're also used to crossing over at Buffalo/Niagara Falls where there are two bridges and tons of lanes. So who knows!
Then we had to get all the way across New Brunswick. We drove on the Trans-Canada Highway, which is the closest interstate equivalent up here.
Then we see a sign that says Train when Flashing.
A little bit later?
Ya'll, there are railroad tracks running ACROSS THE HIGHWAY! Can you imagine a train running across the middle of 40 and all the traffic stopping for it? Crazy! A little bit later we came up on a bunch of backed-up traffic and I was hoping it was because of a train so I could take a picture but it was just because of going to one-lane in a construction zone.
Anyway, we finally made it to the Confederation Bridge, which is 12.6 km long and terrifying. I do not like bridges. But they're very glad to have to it because you used to only be able to get over the Island by ferry. Then we drove all over a bunch of back roads and finally made it to Cavendish.
Dad walks into the store here at the KOA to register and the guy working the counter is on the phone with someone. Turns out it's dad's cousin Ann wanting to find out if we were there yet. I walked in the store and the guy's like "Welcome to PEI - everyone knows your business here!" So hopefully she will be able to come over and visit us this evening.
Gotta eat breakfast and then head to Green Gables now!
Also, just a maintenance note - with the weak internet connections, uploading pictures to Blogger takes forever. So I'm just going to put pictures on Facebook and recap the trip here. Thanks for following along! :)
Miles driven - around 400
Total trip - around 1500!
It poured rain all Sunday night in Maine. Dad had to put on his rain jacket to go out and unplug all the stuff. He came back in and his pants were soaked. But when we looked at his camera & saw the pictures he took, we said well no wonder you're all wet - you walked all the way down to the lake to take pictures of the ducks!
We stopped at the Walmart in Palmyra, ME before getting on I-95 - there is no sales tax on food in Maine!
We rode on 95 for a little bit and then took Route 9 over to Calais, where we crossed the border. We waited about 30 minutes to get through customs - it's a very small border. Only a couple of lanes to drive through. We found out later that the Queen arrived in Halifax yesterday, so we wonder if that might have been why it took a little bit longer - they may have been checking a little more closely and there may have been more people driving through than normal. Of course, we're also used to crossing over at Buffalo/Niagara Falls where there are two bridges and tons of lanes. So who knows!
Then we had to get all the way across New Brunswick. We drove on the Trans-Canada Highway, which is the closest interstate equivalent up here.
Then we see a sign that says Train when Flashing.
A little bit later?
Ya'll, there are railroad tracks running ACROSS THE HIGHWAY! Can you imagine a train running across the middle of 40 and all the traffic stopping for it? Crazy! A little bit later we came up on a bunch of backed-up traffic and I was hoping it was because of a train so I could take a picture but it was just because of going to one-lane in a construction zone.
Anyway, we finally made it to the Confederation Bridge, which is 12.6 km long and terrifying. I do not like bridges. But they're very glad to have to it because you used to only be able to get over the Island by ferry. Then we drove all over a bunch of back roads and finally made it to Cavendish.
Dad walks into the store here at the KOA to register and the guy working the counter is on the phone with someone. Turns out it's dad's cousin Ann wanting to find out if we were there yet. I walked in the store and the guy's like "Welcome to PEI - everyone knows your business here!" So hopefully she will be able to come over and visit us this evening.
Gotta eat breakfast and then head to Green Gables now!
Also, just a maintenance note - with the weak internet connections, uploading pictures to Blogger takes forever. So I'm just going to put pictures on Facebook and recap the trip here. Thanks for following along! :)
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Day 3 - Schenectady, NY to Newport, ME
First - catch up from yesterday since there was no WiFi at Frosty Acres.
Gettysburg, PA to Schenectady, NY
~364 miles - left around 10 am and arrived around 5 pm.
Today - left around 10 am and arrived around 8:30 pm. Went about 390 miles today.
Total trip miles so far - ~1100 miles!
We had a great day yesterday. Very smooth traveling - bright and sunny in PA and a little drizzle in NY, but okay weather for the most part.
The campground in NY was okay. The campsite they gave us was right in front of their rec hall, where they were having a big dance with a DJ, so that kinda sucked, but we watched Toy Story 1 & 2 and the party broke up pretty much right at 11.
Stephen, Erica and Silas met up with us and spent the night, so it was great fun to visit. Silas liked to climb up on my bed and then slide right off - whether there was a stool or anyone to catch him!
Dunkin Donuts for breakfast this morning - causing my usual panic. The employees at these DDs in NY seem to always be in a hurry, which makes going to DD very stressful for me! But the donuts themselves are much better here than at home. Even if the girls working the counter were like 12 and had a bad attitude!
Longest day so far today - but tomorrow will be longer. These are our two longest travel days of the whole trip though, so at least we're getting them over with early.
We crossed through Vermont and New Hampshire and are spending the night at Christie's in Newport, ME. Dad stayed here several times as a kid and so instead of driving interstate, we had to come across the back roads they took 40 years ago. There were a few stretches in Maine where the road was not paved. But we made it and the camper is still in one piece!
Tomorrow we cross the border!
Friday, June 25, 2010
Day 1 - Pictures
The internet's being a lot more coooperative now, so I got my pictures uploaded. Just a couple today!
Cannon.
More cannons.
Plaque about the army of Northern Virginia. Where ever we were, it was on the Confederate side. But if you ask dad, he'd tell you that it's marking the site of a historical vista. And it's important. Or something.Day 1 - Kernersville, NC to Gettysburg, PA
Departed: ~11:15 AM
Arrived: ~6:15 PM
Today's miles: ~350
Total trip miles: ~350
Well, we have made it Gettysburg, PA! YAY! We are staying at the Gettysburg Battlefield Travel Resort, which is a pretty nice campground. The highlight here is the bath house, where you get your own little room to yourself, with a sink, toilet and shower.
However, their Wi-Fi kinda sucks, because I've been trying for an hour to get logged into GMail and Facebook, so I'm not gonna try to upload any pictures tonight. Besides, you've already seen most of them on FB anyway! The only other pictures I took today are of some cannons we saw when we wound up driving through a portion of the actual battlefield due to a detour.
Today was pretty uneventful. Since my brother's assignment to Ft. Drum in upstate NY, we have driven this stretch of NC-68/US-220/I-81 several times. It's pretty standard interstate. We have actually also stayed at this campground before - Emily, you'll be glad to know it's much nicer here when it's not raining.
Chris, you'll be jealous to hear that even though it's still in the high 80s here in PA, you can totally tell the difference from the high 90s at home.
We stopped at two Sheetz today - the one in Kernersville to get coffee on the way out of town and one in Staunton, VA. That was our only real pit stop today, so we figured we did pretty well! We also learned that you can get a cup of ice for free in any size cup, as long as you use the coffee cups.
Hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner tonight.
That's pretty much it for today - not very exciting, I know! I kinda feel like I'm in a Baby-Sitters Club Super Special, writing up my daily report for whichever girl was working on a scrapbook or had to stay home from the trip or whatever. You so know Kristy would have totally had those girls keeping a blog if they'd been around 20 years ago!
Good night - catch ya tomorrow if I can! :)
Arrived: ~6:15 PM
Today's miles: ~350
Total trip miles: ~350
Well, we have made it Gettysburg, PA! YAY! We are staying at the Gettysburg Battlefield Travel Resort, which is a pretty nice campground. The highlight here is the bath house, where you get your own little room to yourself, with a sink, toilet and shower.
However, their Wi-Fi kinda sucks, because I've been trying for an hour to get logged into GMail and Facebook, so I'm not gonna try to upload any pictures tonight. Besides, you've already seen most of them on FB anyway! The only other pictures I took today are of some cannons we saw when we wound up driving through a portion of the actual battlefield due to a detour.
Today was pretty uneventful. Since my brother's assignment to Ft. Drum in upstate NY, we have driven this stretch of NC-68/US-220/I-81 several times. It's pretty standard interstate. We have actually also stayed at this campground before - Emily, you'll be glad to know it's much nicer here when it's not raining.
Chris, you'll be jealous to hear that even though it's still in the high 80s here in PA, you can totally tell the difference from the high 90s at home.
We stopped at two Sheetz today - the one in Kernersville to get coffee on the way out of town and one in Staunton, VA. That was our only real pit stop today, so we figured we did pretty well! We also learned that you can get a cup of ice for free in any size cup, as long as you use the coffee cups.
Hot dogs and hamburgers for dinner tonight.
That's pretty much it for today - not very exciting, I know! I kinda feel like I'm in a Baby-Sitters Club Super Special, writing up my daily report for whichever girl was working on a scrapbook or had to stay home from the trip or whatever. You so know Kristy would have totally had those girls keeping a blog if they'd been around 20 years ago!
Good night - catch ya tomorrow if I can! :)
Monday, June 21, 2010
T-3 days!
3 days left before we leave! Woo!
(I'm a little excited.)
I'm about two-thirds packed. Various tote bags in varying stages of fullness are all over my house and my closet looks REALLY empty.
And of course, as soon as I got my suitcase out, KC settled in his usual spot. He does this everytime I start packing for a trip.
Like he thinks he's gonna go somewhere. (Well, he is actually - but just to his vet to be boarded. It's better that way. He hates riding in a car and they probably give him wet food.)
(I'm a little excited.)
I'm about two-thirds packed. Various tote bags in varying stages of fullness are all over my house and my closet looks REALLY empty.
And of course, as soon as I got my suitcase out, KC settled in his usual spot. He does this everytime I start packing for a trip.
Like he thinks he's gonna go somewhere. (Well, he is actually - but just to his vet to be boarded. It's better that way. He hates riding in a car and they probably give him wet food.)
Thursday, June 17, 2010
So, we'll see how this goes...
Next Friday, my parents and I will set off on a trip that has been in the works for YEARS (really - mom and dad have been talking about taking this trip for about 30 years.) So, I'm very grateful and excited to be going along for the ride. After some prodding, I decided, what the heck, I'll try my hand at blogging. WiFi permitting, I will try to post each day so you can follow along on our road trip.
We will leave NC on Friday morning, June 25 and head north towards Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, Canada, with stops in PA, NY, ME, NB, MA & VA. We'll hopefully connect with my brother, sister-in-law & nephew on both the northbound and southbound legs and we'll meet up with my dad's sisters and niece in NS.
And, I finally get to go to Green Gables - I am so excited, you don't even know. Our campground on PEI is supposed to be within walking distance of both the Green Gables house and a Tim Hortons, so it's pretty much perfect.
Now I just have to get packed.
Here is our home on wheels!
Aunt Pat, Mom & Me with the motor home.
We will leave NC on Friday morning, June 25 and head north towards Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia, Canada, with stops in PA, NY, ME, NB, MA & VA. We'll hopefully connect with my brother, sister-in-law & nephew on both the northbound and southbound legs and we'll meet up with my dad's sisters and niece in NS.
And, I finally get to go to Green Gables - I am so excited, you don't even know. Our campground on PEI is supposed to be within walking distance of both the Green Gables house and a Tim Hortons, so it's pretty much perfect.
Now I just have to get packed.
Here is our home on wheels!
Aunt Pat, Mom & Me with the motor home.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
