Canadian Maritimes with Mahoney/Brewers 08

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Betty,

Your photos are great! 

I had a thought this morning and am wondering if you have figured out what the mileage distance is between how far south you went while in Mexico to the further point north in the maritimes?

Tim and I are getting anxious to get back on the road.  We've done enough projects in the new house to now need (and deserve) a break..... ;D

Marsha~
 
Thank You Marsha,

98% of the photos I post are taken by Terry.  He has the eye and the good telephoto. 
We calculated the most northern point of our travels to have been Red Bay,  Labrador and the most southern, Tapacula, Mexico for a grand total of 4,648 miles.  It never gets old. 

I miss my house but not the "housework."  I can relate to all the things you need to do in a new home to get it to feel like a nest.  Once ours felt like a nest, we  hit the road. 
Betty
 
I'm trying to figure out why the foreground of the second photo is blurry.  Were you shooting from a moving vehicle?  Interesting effect.  Almost looks like a double exposure...
 
KodiakRV said:
I'm trying to figure out why the foreground of the second photo is blurry.  Were you shooting from a moving vehicle?  Interesting effect.  Almost looks like a double exposure...

Frank,

I asked Terry about the photo and he said "Not  a clue.  I just  frame the photo and shoot."  He does the driving so I know it was not done in a moving vehicle.

Betty
 
It's time for the 60 Day Expense Report

Fuel includes motorhome & auto.
Meals includes groceries & restaurants.
Lodging is campgrounds.
Miscellaneous is everything else...mostly sightseeing/tour fees & souvenirs, Ferry fees...But not the new tires for the Envoy

Fuel.....................$3548
Meals...................  2515
Lodging................ 1754
Miscellaneous..........3774

Total.................... $11591
$193.18 a day for two people. We Have Not SKIMPED on anything.

Miles Driven

Motorhome................3808
Gmc Envoy................2881

Total........................6689
 
Terry A. Brewer said:

Meals...................  2515
We Have Not SKIMPED on anything.


Especially food - I think half the meal $ is for lobster  :D

Wendy
Jealous in Cortez
 
wendycoke said:
Especially food - I think half the meal $ is for lobster 

Wendy,

Yes we've had lobster quite a few times, (at least Terry has)  but overall groceries are high and so is wine.  To give you an example, The Lindemans wine I like so well and can get at Wal-Mart at "home" for $3.95 a bottle is $12.95 here.  I am now buying boxed wine as it is a bargain at $37.00 a box. (the equivalent of 4 bottles)  It has not slowed my enjoyment of the beverage but has contributed to the overall costs of this adventure.

Betty
 
August 15, 2008  Digby,  Nova Scotia  Digby Campground  (902) 245-1985 

I was sad to leave King Neptune Campground with our view of the sea  but it helped when  (within 10 minutes) clouds blew in and made a cloudy day.  We  traveled  inland through  spruce forests today and some were Christmas tree farms and lots of farmlands were present today.  We ended up in Digby.  Rvparkreviews.com website has been helpful in locating neat campgrounds that meet our need for clear cut, clear views of southern skies and easy access.  We checked in the office at our park and got very friendly advice on where to spend our late afternoon.

Digby is known as the scallop capitol of Canada. We toured The Digby Neck which is a long thin strip of land connecting two  islands  which we  crossed  by  ferry.  As I was reading the tour books to the guys I looked up and  the sky had changed from sunny to a very foggy day.  We giggled and moved on.  We have been so fortunate with our weather that this was a new experience for us.  Terry and I  hiked about a mile out to see Balancing Rock. It was a true  step aerobic experience as the last  ? mile was all downhill stairs  getting to the coastline but was all uphill on the way back  up.  This was a deep calorie burn walk.  We saw neat mushrooms in the bogs along the way and the foggy forests were  a bit creepy a but kept me walking fast.  The little coves we saw were indicative of the  big tides we are about to see.  We saw a harbor of sand with boats sitting in the middle of the harbor waiting for water to return . It is every bit as picturesque as Peggy?s Cove minus all the tourists.  We went out to eat and sampled the  scallops.  While they were delicious the meal was not memorable.  Side dishes are not special in most restaurants. The scallops I made at home last night were far better and less expensive but I had to make them and clean up. 

We have a big touring day tomorrow .
 

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Betty, while in the Digby/Annapolis Royal area one must see is "Habitation Port Royal".  I have always considered it one of my favourite historic sites.  It is Samuel de Champlain's first permanent settlement, and the second oldest (after St Augustine Florida) in North America.  It was re-created from paintings in the Louvre after it was rediscovered in the early 20th century.  It is only an hour or so view since it i so small, but well worth the time.
If any of you are golfers, the course at the Pines is a nice picturesque course.  Bear River has a lot of craft stores featuring local artists.

Enjoy our fair Province
Ed
 
August 16, 2008  Annapolis, NS

Today Russ took a day off while Terry and I  toured the area  like maniacs.  We first visited  The Annapolis Royal Tidal Power Project.  It is the one of 3 such  plants in the world and the only one in North America.  It produces electricity from the tides.  The displays inside gave me hope for our future that really smart people will  soon figure out how to produce our energy needs  without depleting all the  fossil fuels.  A 3 meter turbine is being installed in the ocean to use tidal action for electrical energy production.  It won?t  even show above the surface.  We saw how the osprey nests are moved to safety when they  regretfully build their nests atop power poles.

From here  we moved on the visit Port Royal National Historic Site--The Habitation.  It is a  1605  French site recreated in minute detail thanks to the detailed drawings left by Samuel de Champlain.  Costumed  staff  adds to the authenticity  of the hardships endured by early explorers and pioneers  lives compared to my own life where a hardship is 15 amp power.  It was a trading post fortified as were all settlements in the past.  It is on the shores of  the Annapolis River and in a beautiful setting that would have been even  more lovely with sun, but our weather was cool.
  From there  we toured the lovely village of Annapolis Royal.  It boasts of history from 1630 and includes wonderful examples of Victorian architecture .  The village has only  500 residents but today  was filled  with tourists as it was  ?Paint the Town Red Day.?  Local artists were out doing their thing and will sell their work at a silent auction later in the day. We enjoyed  dancers of the day  showing off their lovely dress accompanied by  flute music out on the wharf.  We just lucked out to have all this entertainment.  We like the spontaneity of coming up on community events we had no idea  were about to happen.

  A short walk away led us to  Fort Anne, the oldest  National Historic Site in  Canada,  so designated in 1917.  This  historical area was one of the most  fought after territories in North America  between British and French.  Over 3,000 years ago the Mi?Kmaq  claimed  this  site.  Then in 16 and 17 hundreds it was a  center of colonization called Acadian by the French. The 4 panel tapestry that depicts 400 years of history was done by 100  local volunteers  in needle point and is a highlight of the visit.  We learned that the French  Acadians were driven out of the area  because they would not declare and Oath to England.  They had for  years preferred to declared a neutral status in wars and because of that British feared their loyalty and  had them deported.  Very cruel stories followed.  We also viewed a video  that showed why star shaped forts were  developed.
A major  highlight of today?s touring was the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens where  I had a chance to stop and  smell the roses. We had the bonus that a saxophone player was giving a personal concert to visitors of the grounds today.  Terry?s best photos of the day are of the flowers.  The theme gardens demonstrate gardening techniques of the early Acadians and modern methods. I wish Winnie, my Mother in Law,  could have seen these gardens. 
We were exhausted by the end of the  63 mile touring day.  At 8:25 pm Russ announced the sky.  Wow!  We hope to take a day off tomorrow.



 

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Betty Brewer said:
I like so well and can get at Wal-Mart at "home" for $3.95 a bottle is $12.95 here.  I am now buying boxed wine as it is a bargain at $37.00 a box. (the equivalent of 4 bottles)  It has not slowed my enjoyment of the beverage but has contributed to the overall costs of this adventure.

Betty

$37 a box? Ouch ! I won't complain about the $14.95 I paid today for a box....or whine because they gave me the senior discount without asking if I qualified ! I know you're limited on how much alcohol you can take into Canada, but what about food? Could you cram the coach full of food and not get in trouble? Of course, 60 days worth of food is a lot of food to squeeze into a motorhome !

We're enjoying the travelogue even if Mike is jealous of those lobsters ! Keep it up.

Wendy
 
August 17, 2008  Digby, Nova Scotia

It was sunny and beautiful and we took the day off.  We toured a bit about the town but basically  just rested.

Betty
 
wendycoke said:
I know you're limited on how much alcohol you can take into Canada, but what about food? Could you cram the coach full of food and not get in trouble? Of course, 60 days worth of food is a lot of food to squeeze into a motorhome !

Wendy,

I went to the  Canadian Website to see what the rules were for bringing things into Canada.  I was limited on wine but unless I was going to be a commercial transport into Canada not much meat, fish or chicken  was applicable.  There are lots of stores here, although some are  small markets, I did not have any need to bring lots of food into Canada. That being said,  if you are selective on your  brands, you might want to hord.

Betty

Loving Viva Paper towels and can't find them here.
 
August 18, 2008  Scenic Drive to Yarmouth via Cote D?Acadienne

9:30 am was the departure time for our car tour today.  We headed south down Highway 1 to explore the  14 Acadian villages  that  claim to be the largest Francophone enclave in Nova Scotia.  Families re-settled here after being expelled by British in 1755  and the ?came back? to their roots.  Now around  250 years later the communities still proudly fly their  flag, red white and blue  with  a yellow star that  signifies  the virgin  Mary.  It was the day of churches. We saw one made of stone,  St. Bernard with a congregation of only 100.  It seems families long ago had families of 10-14 children all of whom attended,  now days families are much smaller and  young people move on to cities like Halifax for job opportunities,.  We saw the  largest wooden church,  Sainte-Anne.  We saw the oldest  church  on a hill, the Sacred Heart Church.  We saw the Saint Alphonse, built by  sailors with incredible murals  inside.  We saw  lovely  seaside villages on a clear day and  had no  wonder that  French families would want to settle this  little piece of the earth.  The flags and banners marking city limits  highlighted their pride.

We had lunch in Cape St Mary thrilled that they had clam chowder on menu.  It tuned out to me more like potato soup with clam flavoring but  it was tasty.    We traveled on to  Yarmouth.  In it?s heyday it was the  shipping capitol of Canada.  We toured old neighborhood where 200 sea captains had their beautiful homes built in several forms of architecture.  Most of them are fully restored and make  for an impressive neighborhood.  We visited the Yarmouth County Museum, housed in a 1893 granite church  and discovered the city?s  enduring relationship with the sea.

A highlight for me was the next door neighbor.  The house was the summer home of the guy who founded the Fuller Brush Company.  His widow  donated it lock stock and barrel as a museum and we had a first hand look at this wonderful business man.  I recall the Fuller brush man coming to our door when I was a kid.  The company is no longer in the Fuller family but at one time, in the 30?s  the company was producing  $3000,000 per day in product. 

We toured Cape Forchu Lighthouse in the fog, despite the fact that most of the day was very sunny.  Russ and I had a nap in the car on the way home while Terry drove us soundly back to Digby.  We move on North in the morning.
 

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August 19, 2008  Truro, Nova Scotia,  Elm River Park, 902 662-3162

We left Digby this morning and hit the road.  We traveled through farm lands, forests and were near the coast. At one point we traveled over a bridge where  we could see tides  below.  I saw many river rafters on the tidal bore below..

  We ended up in Elk River Park a Good Sam Campground  Russ visited 8 years ago.  While we were trying to set up,  we experienced  torrential rains and very heavy lightening and thunder.  I wish I could send  sound  to all of you.

Ka boom ?.. I did  not want to  go outside this rig in that  weather so I fixed  enchiladas and had  Russ over for dinner.  During the cooking of  the meal, the  convection oven went  off.  I made a newbie mistake of having too many things on with only 30 amp service. Seems the water heater kicked on and ended my cooking. I phoned the  manager and within  a few minutes had my  power backup to 30 amp with only a slightly bruised ego.  Terry said ?How many times do I have to tell you  this? Seems one more time??. 

The enchiladas were just  ok.  We combed the tide charts to see when the best viewing time will happen tomorrow for the Tidal Bore.  Russ will check out the viewing points in the morning. 

It has stopped  raining and we have the Olympics again.  I hate lightening
 
The rain and thunder could be worse Betty....you could be in Florida !! And I bet the enchiladas were great. You know, you could get Terry to print you up an amp list ala Green Acres of what things use what amps (someday I'm going to get one from Mike). Although, I would think that keeping track of amp usage and the water heater is a blue job?

BTW, back when my parents first started full-timing, someone would have had to go out in the rain to find the manager to get the power back on....no cell phones (also no ATM machines).

Wendy
 
August 20, 2008  Truro Nova Scotia  Tidal Bore

We got a late afternoon start on our touring.  Russ had scouted out the town  8 years ago and led us on a city tour of Truro  this afternoon.  Thirty years ago Dutch Elm disease  called for the removal of  diseased elms.  The city  fathers sought to make lemonade out of lemons and  contracted carvers to  make  statues  out of trees that remind visitors of the history  of the community.  We snapped photos  of many but there are  43 of them so we did not see them all. 

We followed the tidal schedule and had a front row seat to watch this  tide come in.  Before today I did not even really know what a Tidal Bore is.  The interpretive center described this  phenomena.  There are only  a few places in the world where one can see this  event.  If I understand it right, the tides happen as a result of the earths gravitational pull.  On the open ocean  one cannot see the tide but in outlets such as this Bay of Fundy, the inflow of water is visible.  The roar of the incoming tide was noticeable.  We estimate about a 2 foot tide.  The video at the  center said  the water that flows into the Bay of Fundy is equivalent to all the water flows of rivers in the entire world.  At some river outlets they even have rafting trips  on the tides.  It was way too wet and cold for us to consider such a thrill. It was enough to watch this wave come into the Salmon River and make it look like the river flows up stream instead of out to the ocean. 

We plotted our next venture onto Prince Edward Island tomorrow via Ferry.  We have spent  3 weeks on Nova Scotia and  enjoyed it all but  Newfoundland is still my favorite. 
 

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You lucked out seeing the Truro tidal bore.  The first couple of times we went there was barely a couple of inches.  Finally saw it better the last time.  We were told it's better at times of a full moon and I think there was one a day or so ago so good timing!

ArdraF

 
Betty Brewer said:
August 20, 2008   Truro Nova Scotia  Tidal Bore

Betty

On our first trip to the Maritimes, a Freightliner Chassis Club tour led by Adventure Caravans, we spent some time about 20 miles west of Truro along the Shubecanadie River where we learned about tidal bore white water rafting. We would go out into the river in Zodiacs and waited for the tidal bore to come up river. The tidal bore is the meeting of the incoming tide bashing against the flow of the river downstream. Sitting in the boats we could see the tide about a foot above the river level. The boats would then dash in and out of the bore creating a white water rafting experience. What a blast.
 
BernieD said:
along the Shubecanadie River where we learned about tidal bore white water rafting. We would go out into the river in Zodiacs and waited for the tidal bore to come up river. The tidal bore is the meeting of the incoming tide bashing against the flow of the river downstream. Sitting in the boats we could see the tide about a foot above the river level.

Bernie,

When we drove over that River we saw the rafters out in the  water, wet and cold.  I found it enough to enjoy from the comfortable distance of my  rig.  :) I am not into being cold!  But they did look like they were having fun.
Betty
 

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