Halifax, Nova Scotia

On Saturday we got up early and headed south to the Nova Scotia Province for the weekend.  I had booked us a room in Halifax at the Westin Hotel thinking that we could explore one side of the island on Saturday and the other side on Sunday.  You know, middle of the road kind of thing.  Boy!  Was I wrong!

By the time we crossed over the bridge onto the island it was already 11am.  A tad longer drive than we thought.  This, by the way, would be the theme for the whole weekend... underestimating the distance!! 

First thing on our list was to visit Joggins Fossil Cliffs which is on the USESCO world Heritage list and is located on the Cumberland Basin, a sub-basin of the Bay of Fundy.  The area was established due to coal mining.  Its coal seams, which are exposed along the shore, were exploited as early as 1686 by local Acadian settlers and by the British in 1715.  They claim some of the fossils are from a rainforest ecosystem and are approximately 310 million years old.  Sure!  But it was definitely worth the stop.

Leaving Joggins, we continued along the shoreline on a narrow winding dirt road that took us forever to get to the next town.  By then it was past 2pm and we were both starving.  We came across this old church that had been turned into a restaurant and decided to give it a try.  It is run by two old men that were very friendly and were willing to make me a grilled cheese sandwich even though it wasn't on the menu.  Dennis, of course, struck up conversations with the other patrons and when we told them we were planning on driving the Cabot Trail in one day that all laughed.  Later we would understand. 

Advocate United Church, built circa 1857

Advocate Harbour Restaurant, Nova Scotia

After lunch, we put the hotel address into the GPS and discovered it was going to be 6pm before we arrived.  There went our plans on visiting the town of Lunenburg and Peggy's Cove.

Angus L. Macdonald Bridge built 1955

When we finally arrived in Halifax, we went to cross over on the Angus L. Macdonald suspension bridge only to be turned away due to our truck being way over the weight limit.  They had to stop oncoming traffic so that we could turn around.  Just a wee bit embarrassing but at least they were very nice about it.  It seems your vehicle has to be under 3200 kg (7055 lb) and our dually weighs over 13,000 lbs.  Oops!

A.Murray MacKay Bridge built 1970

We were directed to go a few miles down the road and cross over on the "new bridge" called Murray Mackay which turned out to be closer to the hotel anyway.  

Westin, Halifax

Our hotel was located in the heart of the Halifax Seaport District.  We had an awesome view of the harbor and just a short walk to the boardwalk where there were tons of restaurants to chose from for dinner.  It is also right across the street from Halifax's farmers market which was closed by the time we arrive but the place was huge.  The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 was also just a short walk.  We were told it compares to the US's Ellis Island. 
 

On Sunday we were out the door by 8am since the beginning of Cabot Trail was 3 1/2 hours away from where we were and the drive itself was 8 hours once we got there.  We had been warned we had a long drive ahead of us if we were crazy enough to do the Cabot Trail in a day and now we understood.  But crazy us took off anyway.

Our day started out great.  The weather was warm and sunny, the drive pleasant enough, and then the rain came.  By the time we reached the town of Cheticamp - which is at the entrance to Cape Breton National Park - the fog had rolled in and made the views from the cliffs impossible to see.  So after much debate (sure, we'll call it that) and heartbreak, we decided to cut our losses and head back.  At this point, we had been on the road for 9 hours and had a 5-hour drive back to our RV.  Definitely one of the longest days we have had. 

Don't get me wrong, the day was not a total loss. We drove threw some very cute towns and saw some beautiful mountain views.

Oh, but what we missed...

Just around this bend in the road is where we turned around. :-(

Even though our trip to Nova Scotia was a whirlwind, I have to admit it was worth it.  We both agree that we like Nova Scotia more than all of the places we have visited in Canada so far.  We will return to Nova Scotia one day and this time we will stay for a while.

Moncton, New Brunswick

On Sunday, we decided to head into Moncton and do a little shopping at a mall and hit the Costco along the way. (As if one could ever really do just a little shopping there.)

As we were easing out of the RV park, we came upon another RV who had pulled over to the side to talk with someone.  Since there was plenty of room, we continued on, and slowly drove around him on his passenger side, and BAM!, right when we got to the front of the parked RV, three boys on bikes came screaming around the front, right into our path!

Luckily, for the kid, I saw him and yelled for Dennis to stop.  Thankfully, we were only going about 5 KM/h at the time.  Dennis slammed on the brakes and looked down out of his window - the little kid was inches from our truck's front tire and bumper!  He couldn't have been more than 7 years old!  JEEEESH!

If Dennis had rolled even one more inch we would have hit his little helmet.  I can't tell you how upsetting this was.  We almost decided just to turn around and go back to the RV.  Hug your kid today, folks!

Notes from Dennis:  This shook me for DAYS!  I am fairly certain that we DID hit a few of that kid's guardian angels.

Moncton

 

When we finally got to the mall, we were not only surprised to find a Walmart located inside but also a Toys R Us.  So if you are one of those who was upset when Toys R Us closed its stores in the US, rest assured that they are alive and well up here for this isn't the first one that I've seen.  Just the first one inside a mall.

There were a lot of the typical stores you find in the malls in the US like American Eagle,  Bath & Body Works, Clair's,  Fossil, and  Spencer Gifts, just to name a few.

(Yes, we did go into Spencer Gifts and either they are a lot - and I mean a lot! - different up here than at the house or it's just been a long, long, long time since I have been in one.   To say I was shocked at some of the items on display is an understatement.)  

There were a ton of unfamiliar stores too.  I could have spent all day there but I could tell Dennis was itching to move on.  Here are some of the stores that caught my eye as we ran through the mall like the fire alarm was going off; Addition Elle, La Vie en Rose, Softmoc, Suzy Shier, Zumiez.

The food court was also very interesting.  They too had some of the normal restaurants; Subway, Burger King,  KFC, and Wendys.  But unlike the South, A & W is huge up here along with Dairy Queen which, to my surprise, now owns Orange Julius!  Who knew!?

So the "Not So Norm" restaurants were the two huge chain ones:  Tim Horton and Pizza Delight.   One guess which one Dennis chose his meal from...  I picked Guacamole Cuisine and got a Tofu Vegan Bowl.  Yum! 

After the mall, we headed back via Costco.  Oh!  My Word!  I have never in my life seen a Costco so packed!  The line just to get into the parking lot was insane!  The line to get gas was at least a 20-minute wait and the lines inside were even longer.  Needless to say, we didn't buy anything.  I just wasn't willing to wait in the line for blooming cheese and coffee!

Sunny 74

Thunder Cove Beach, PEI

Dennis and I don't have a great track record of finding cool things.  No matter how much research I do, we somehow always seem to miss a lot of neat places.  Well, this was one of those that almost passed us by.  As a matter of fact, it did.  We were five minutes down the road when I discovered that we had zoomed by it.  This is one of those things that if you didn't go looking for it, you will miss it.  I only saw one small sign with Thunder Cove Beach on it.   I am so glad we took the time to backtrack.

Partly Sunny

 74

Prince Edward Island

This last weekend, our excursion was to Prince Edward Island (PEI).  We decided to travel via the back roads and see some of the small towns along the way.  I have to admit we were very disappointed as most of the towns were so small that you didn't even realize you had blown through it until the GPS informed you of it.  Oh well, nothing lost but an hour.

There are two ways onto PEI, one is by ferry and the other is the Confederation Bridge.  Since we didn't know about the ferry we went via the eight-mile bridge.  Going across is free, but to get off the island you have to pay $47.75 Canadian which ended up being $36.06 US.

Red Rooster Restaurant

We headed out to the largest city of Charlottetown to check out the Old Home Week Family Fun Fair!  Along the way, we spotted a cute restaurant and decided to get lunch at the Red Rooster Restaurant in Crapaud, PEI.  Of course, D struck up a conversation with the people at the next table and to me, it felt like 43 years before we finally got back on the road again.  Social-boy strikes again!  I wish I could say the food was good but not so much.

 North Rustico, PEI

A bit further down the road, I spotted a lighthouse in this cute harbor town.  So we decided to make a quick pit stop and check it out.  This is one of the few active lighthouses we have seen.  Well worth the stop!  And the town ended up being a cute vacation spot. (making list for future)

As we got back on the road, we noticed that the dark clouds we had spotted way back at the restaurant were following us.  Well, wouldn't you know they decided to catch up with us in Charlottetown.  It felt like the second we arrived in town the bottom fell out of those dark storm clouds.  I think D had been over there in the driver's seat silently praying for rain the whole time since he is not a big fan of fairs. Jerk! Notes from Dennis: hehe!

Anne of Green Gables

“The world looks like something God had just imagined for his own pleasure, doesn't it?” Anne of Green Gables

Since the fair was a bust, we moved on down the road to Cavendish and visited the birthplace of  Lucy Maud Montgomery.  For those few folks (I'm sure I'm mostly talking to guys here - Notes from Dennis: Gasp!  How SEXIST!) out there that don't know who she is, she's the author of the Anne of Green Gables series.  There, we got the chance to go inside a replica of her home.  We were informed that the only thing left of the original one was one of the stone footings and we could pay money to go look at it if we wanted to.  That was a hard NO!  Still, it was very cool walking through the house and around the grounds.  The house was surprisingly big inside too.  If you haven't read these classics, I highly recommend them.  Of course, we had to stop by the gift shop for a gift for the granddaughters (and maybe me too)!

Anne's Bedroom

One of the many peasants!

Chance of Rain
70

Change of Heart

I think upon arrival,  I was so upset over the small things, that I didn't take time to just be.  This past week has ended up a good break from the norm.  We have settled into an easy routine of D going off to work at the park's office while I am shopping, blogging. and organizing.  (Which is never-ending when you live in an RV.)

 

Irving Eco-Centre

In the evenings we have been going over to the Irving Eco-Centre.  The park is located only 2 miles from the park and lies along the Atlantic Ocean.  The park has the longest sand dune in the province.  It stretches out for 7 miles.  There is a winding boardwalk that zigzags over a portion of the dune with steps that lead down to the beach periodically.  If one walks along the beach of the dune, they will come to Bouchtouche Lighthouse!

 

Our walks have not all been totally uneventful for this southern girl.  I have been constantly reminded that I am not in the South anymore.  For the most part, folks around here speak French as their main language which I guess explains a few of the things I have seen.

For example: On one occasion, we saw a family of four on the beach where the father stood up and took off his swim trunks and shook them out and paraded around naked for a few minutes before re-dressing.

Hey naked dude, Smile! You're on camera!

And on another occasion, we saw a man just strip naked for all to see and go swimming. Yup! Definitely not in the bible belt! 

This weekend (providing the rain holds out) we plan on driving 90 minutes south along the coast and go exploring Prince Edward Island. 

Weekly Average 76

Help! Where is the nearest cell tower!

Ever since we arrived here in Bouctouche,  I have been trying my best not to count the strikes against this park.  Well, today I failed!  They struck out today and it has cost the home team the game!

• Strike one was the distance to the beach.  Not an easy walk like advertised!
• Strike two was the park's slow wifi speed and horrible cell coverage.
• This morning was strike three!  Dennis was assured by the folk's in the office that the wifi would be soooo much better after all the weekenders left.  NOT!

As it turns out, it's the same slower-than-dial-up speed as yesterday.  At lunch, D packed up his laptop and headed into town to find good cell coverage.  He is currently working out of his truck in a shopping center parking lot.  Since we have paid for the month with no chance of a refund, we either suck up the money and move on (if we can even find a place) or Dennis continues to hang out in parking lots like a stalker or homeless dude living out of his truck.  Oh, how I am missing the states about now!

It pays to ask questions!

After all this worry and stress, we had finally decided to just pack and move back to Campbellton at a huge expense.  So last night when we went to fill up with diesel,  we stopped into the office just to let them know what was going on.  They were honestly very concerned and was upset we were having to leave because of it.  Well halfway to the gas station they called us with a solution.  They have a total separate internet connection in the office for campers and a conference room!!  The young man in the office said, "Duh, the second you walked out the door it dawned on me that you could just work back there."  All I can say is, "praise the Lord"!!   ♫ So to work, to work, off to work he went!♫

Hot day! 80

Lessons Learned

I am going to chalk this stay up to "the learning curve of booking online without thoroughly researching the area."  To give myself a little slack, I am pretty sure that this site was one of the very first parks I booked back in February when we first sold our home.  And the park's website is very misleading about the WIFI and the area in general.

Oh well!  We are here for the month and need to make the best of it!  After all, we are within an hour or so driving-distance to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.  ♪♪ Everybody's working for the weekend! ♪♪

We set out on Sunday to have a picnic in this cool city park on the water.  Well so did ALL of the local inhabitants of this small town.  Parking Benjamin (the truck) was once again a no-go!  We ended up on the outskirts of town at a roadside park that had a just a handful of wooden picnic tables, a huge sign of the town's name (see above pic) and, as luck would have it, a very nice view of the marsh.

After eating, we decided to follow the sound of the music that we kept hearing while eating.  Come to find out it was a concert going on at a local venue just on the other side of the water and of course, it was a french speaking band. 😡

We decided to drive down to the towns of Shediac and Moncton.  We wanted to check out more RV Parks in case we have to move. We are concerned about Dennis not being about to work tomorrow since our cell coverage at this park is pretty much non-existent.  And history has taught us that you can never count on the park's wifi.  Well, that was a waste of time.  Finding a 50amp spot near during prime vacation season is just not going to happen.  Especially since we are looking for 3 + weeks.  Ugh!

Since we were so late arriving back to Bouctouche, we stopped at this little fish market/restaurant and picked up carry out.  I have to admit the reason for stopping was because of the name.... Ponzi's Sub Shop!  You just gotta!  I got fish and chips and D, of course, got a burger.  Who gets a hamburger in a fish house!?  I didn't even see burgers on the menu until he pointed them out in the bottom right corner hidden behind the fridge in small print.  (just kidding about small print)

Sunny 77

On the Move: Bouctouche, New Brunswick

Before heading out to our next stop, we decided on Friday to check out the Atlantic Superstore, which is a subsidiary of Canada's largest retail grocer, Loblaw.  In my opinion, it's somewhat like the new Krogers that are popping up in the South.  They have food, of course, along with clothing, footwear, and household items.

Of course, we couldn't get out of there without picking up a few bags of chips that caught our eye!  Just for the record, we only bought two of the ones below, however,  I think D finished off the Sour Cream and Bacon bag in one sitting that very night!  (Notes from Dennis: I felt very bloated and unattractive after that stupid move.)  If any of you guys want to try some of these crazy flavors just let us know and we'll be glad to pick you up a bag or two before we are out of here!

After shopping, we drove over to the Indian Reserve one last time to fill up on diesel and of course to pick up tobacco.  (Hopefully, the last time buying tobacco while we are in Canada).  Normally the gas is cheaper on the reserve just like it is in the states.  We filled up with 99 liters of diesel, which roughly equals 24 gallons and it came to $96 (US)!  Don't know what the cost is in the states at the moment but that's $4 a gallon!  And when you only get 9 miles to a gallon when you are hauling, it hurts the ole pocket for sure.  This has not been the highest we have paid for diesel since leaving the states but it's also not the cheapest we have paid either.  We noticed on our way back that it was only $.06 cheaper on the rez, but since it was close it was still worth it.

Our route to Bouctouche was quick and rather uneventful since it was only a three hours drive.  Much of the drive was through wide-open spaces with warning signs every 10 miles about moose.  We did go through a few VERY small little towns with some cool bridges.  Oh, and Canada's Irish Capital, Miramichi, NB!

Gas Station in Listuguj