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More pics

More pics

More pictures

Oh boy, do we have a lot of catching up to do. We've been in more remote areas and the campgrounds haven't had Internet access. This will be a long one as we've seen and done a lot of cool stuff. The flower pot rocks were totally neat. The pictures will prove it - the bottom of the flower pots is where the water comes at high tide. Sunday we spent the night in Shediac, New Brunswick - the lobster capital of the world (also see pic). Monday, we took the 11 mile bridge to Prince Edward Island. We went to the home of L.M. Montgomery, the author of the Anne of Green Gables books (the librarian in me made us stop). We stayed in one of our favorite campsites so far, at Brudenell Provincial Park (also see pic). Tuesday, we took the 75 minute ferry off Prince Edward Island into Nova Scotia. We were the last vehicle on the bottom deck with the semi trucks. We were the only vehicle that wasn't a semi on that level. The traffic director told us they'd find a hole for us and we fit with inches to spare. That night we stayed at another neat campground on a mountain salmon stream in Margaree, Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, we got a very, very, very, late start on Wed. because Larry decided he liked the campsite too much. He took off at 8:00 a.m and did not come back until 5:00. So we read books and chilled while we waited. We drove a whole hour and stayed last night at Cape Breton National Park. The Cabot Trail on Cape Breton is said to be one of the world's more scenic drives. It is.........it definitely lives up to its reputation (again, see pics). We both decided we liked the Pacific Coast Highway better though. We plan to check out Halifax tomorrow and then go into the Nova Scotia side of Fundy Bay. We plan to take the 3 hour ferry off Nova Scotia on Sunday into New Brunswick and then head to Maine the same day.
Comments from Eldon: TV sucks in the camper, I only get one channel if I'm lucky, but Cindy says we are not here to watch TV. She's right, but it hurts. The river we camped at was beautiful but the only place I can get a fishing license is from a natural resource office that I haven't found yet. The Hopewell Rocks were very cool. I would have liked to seen them at high tide too. The Cabot Trail would probably have won over the Pacific if we would have spotted whales and puffins which they say are abundant (there you go, should been here yesterday - boy, have I heard that).
Comments from Larry: The salmon river was totally cool. I would have been gone longer, but Cindy and Eldon's yelling for me was getting on my nerves. They act like this is their vacation.

Today we stopped at St. Johns, New Brunswick at the City Market. The ceiling is an inverted ship's hull built in 1860's. Had lobster rolls for lunch. It was foggy all day, so not a real scenic drive. We socailized around the campfire tonight with our camping neighbors. They are from Ottawa and fun people. Also, met an older couple celebrating their 48th anniversary on the road - they are from Harrisonburg, VA but didn't know the LuAnne & Mark (small world sometimes). We are camped near Hopewell Rocks. When the tide is out, you walk around flower pot shaped islands that are underwater when the tide is in. So we will check that out at 9:00 when the tide is out. At the campground office, they had fresh scallops for sale, so that was our supper. They were excellent (very sweet). I've never been a huge fan of scallops, but these were good. After the Rocks, we head for Shediac - called the Lobster Capital of the World. Sorry, we didn't take any pictures today - all we saw was fog.
Comments from Eldon: I learned I speak good Canadian - at least that's what one of the shopkeepers told me when he found out I was from the States. Then our camping neighbor told me that too when I mentioned it. I don't know what they're talking about, eh????? They were interesting people, one man was born in Scotland and the other England; they are rugby buddies and have played all over the world. Missy, you would have liked their stories.) Oh, by the way, miss your Princess)
Comments from Larry: Finally, a campsite I can explore. A lake and lots of birds; this is camping. (Roxy, you should see the size of the frogs here, you would love it).

Cold, windy and rainy today, but success - we did see finback whales today! We saw 4 of them - not full body at one time, but spouts, tails and humps. Finbacks are the world's 2nd largest whales (40-80 ft). So despite the weather, we are happy campers. Haven't been able to beach walk . The weather prediction for tomorrow is "like summer", so hope they get that right.
Comments from Eldon: Enjoyed the 3 hour cruise (yes, the 3 hour cruise just like Gilligan). The weather was getting rough, the tiny ship was thrown, if not for the captain and the 1st mate......wait, wait, just kidding. It was pleasant, but wet, but halleluja, I saw the whales. Also, so an eagle with seagulls feasting in the ocean. Learned a lot about tides from the 1st mate. I was amazed the tides can cause the world's biggest whirlpools here, enough to turn a small boat in circles. The tides here range from 6 to 40 feet. The 2 pictures of the ocean with the rocks in front were taken in the exact same spot in front of our camper. You can see the huge diffence between high and low tides. (Carlynn: no chicken neckin' here, you can just pick crabs up off the ocean floor.)
Comments from Larry: Spent a rainy day napping in the camper; who needs whales???? I did get to eat some smoked salmon they bought - yum, yum.

New Brunswick is a neat place. Picturesque and friendly people. It's not a place I've really heard much about before. We stopped at the Welcome Center when we crossed into New Brunswick. The staff person gave us some good suggestions. Today we saw the world's longest covered bridge (didn't drive it though as it seemed a little too risky with our camper height). We arrived today at our favorite town and campground so far. We are in St. Andrews-by-the-Sea - a little town on the ocean that is easy to get around in. The best part is our campsite. We have an ocean side campsite and only a 10 minute walk into town. So perfect, we are staying tomorrow night too. We are on the Bay of Fundy in southern New Brunswick across the bay from Nova Scotia. Tomorrow we are planning to go whale watching. It is the right time of year here for spotting them - pretty much a guarantee we will see them. Hope so! Will send pictures tomorrow (the camp ground has WiFi too, yea.......)
Comments from Eldon: Supposedly this area has the world's biggest change in tides. Right now we are not really ocean front, we are muck front. By the time I wake up, the ocean should have arrived. Will send pictures. Looks like good shelling.
Comments from Larry: Drove on a lot of bumpy roads today, so they (Cindy & Eldon) made naps nearly impossible for me. But with 2 days in this town, hopefully I can catch up.

We are about 250 miles east of Montreal and are camped by the St. Lawrence Seaway. Lots of farmland on the trip today. We did stay a long time in the grocery store because it was so interesting. All in French and stuff we do not EVER see in St. Ignace (like blood sausage and many pates.) Eldon made the clerks day when he meant to say thank you and said Bonjour (hello) as he was leaving - I think she is still laughing. Rain all day and chilly so it was good we were not planning on sightseeing and just doing a travel day. We're nice and toasty in the camper though. Ha....... we get WIFI tonight but only French TV! Maybe some French will sink in our heads if we leave it on. We have figured out the traffic signs - aren't you glad for us? We have found many Quebec people speak little English - that puts a new spin on things. We plan to be in New Brunswick tomorrow and work our way to Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Yesterday we spent the day in Old Montreal. It's a beautiful, very historic city with a French flair. Probably as close to France as we will ever get........Notre Dame Basilica is huge (FYI - Celine Dion got married there for all you non-Quebecites.) There are still cobblestone streets and narrow alleys and cool old buildings.

Comments from Eldon: Montreal has more restaurants per foot than any place I've ever been. Celine Dion is big here and I don't care if I ever hear another of her songs. They act like she's a super star or something..............loved old Montreal but the narrow streets are an RV challenge. The tall ships were cool with their polished wood and brass.

Comments from Larry: Campground last night stunk - it was like being in a city with all the RV's. Tonight it is cold and raining. But I love the French cats - they say Mo-la instead of Meow.

Vermont pics I couldn't load the other day..........

Time to play catch up. We are in Montreal at a KOA and they have wifi. The stops we made since the last post are the Thoroughbred Racing Museum in Saratoga Springs, New York. Nice museum; too bad we just missed the racing season. Oh well............We then headed into the Green Mountains in Vermont. Lots of trees and not many people - we felt right at home - very much like the U.P only the hills are bigger! People are friendlier in the U.P. though.............Lots of rain while we were in Vermont, but we stayed cozy and dry in our camper. We have been staying off Interstates when we can - good thing we are not in a hurry. We went to the Ben and Jerry's factory in Waterbury, VT. The tour was OK - the ice cream was great. Also went to the Vermont store, the cheese store and a cider mill - all in the day of a Vermont tourist. Lots of moose crossing signs; but no moose sightings. Went to a flea market on Saturday. Some fun stuff to look at amongst the junky stuff. Last night we stayed on Grand Isle; it's in Lake Champlain. Lake Champlain was almost the sixth Great Lake - it's very big and beautiful. We enjoyed seeing water again. Today (Sunday) we headed into Canada. We plan to tour historic Old Montreal tomorrow. One day in the city will probably be enough for us! It's very weird that all the signs are billboards are in French.
Comments from Eldon: I found the Vermont people to be extremely stoic, not unfriendly or friendly, just matter of fact. Vermont bridges have over-hangs which seem to be getting lower, but so far we've had our necessary 12 foot clearance, otherwise I guess our journey might be over if we can't cross the bridge. I've seen tons of moose crossing signs, but see no moose; I'm considering starting a bait pile by one the signs and camping there until I see a moose.
Comments from Larry: Last night on Lake Champlain was my favorite campground; lots of chipmnuks, lots of trees, and all the dogs were either small or fat so I was safe. I love exploring a new camp ground every night. Last night I almost got grounded for staying out past midnight.

After four months in St. Ignace, we are on the road again! We had so much fun out West; we are checking out the East Coast too. We bought a truck camper this summer and are enjoying the comforts of carrying our own home and cooking our own food. Larry enjoys a new woods to check out each night. We left home Friday, September 10 and visited our Ohio relatives in Bryan and Medina. Our first attraction stop was Niagara Falls. We took the 1/2 hour Maid of the Mist boat tour. The boat took us into the American and Canadian Falls. Canada wins - they are bigger. You get "souvenir" ponchos - they were needed as the ride gets you very wet. We weren't expecting much, but we were impressed. The Falls are nice, but wouldn't plan an entire vacation around them. Today we went to Cooperstown, New York to the Basball Hall of Fame. Eldon has always wanted to go there, and now his dream has come true. We spent the day looking at all the baseball memorbilia. The blog might sporadic this time as we won't always have Wi-Fi at campgrounds. Tomorrow we are heading to Saratoga Springs NY to the Thouroughbred Horse Racing Museum. Then we go into Vermont.

Comments from Eldon: The Maid of the Mist was very wet and extremely rocky close to the Falls. For a minute I felt I was in the Perfect Storm. The Hall of Fame in Cooperstown was very impressive. It honored the players in style and I learned a lot of baseball history. Go Abner Doubleday!!!!

Comments from Larry: Camping sure beats Motel 6! More treats, more naps, and no Pontiac Vibe - I can stretch out on the bed all day while they drive me around - it's great.................