Day 29 - Sunday Sept. 29th 2013 - Cape Cod

We had a great sleep last night! The ocean air is so helpful in that particular area.

In looking around our camp site, I'm not sure how we will get the Motorhome out of here! It was a tight squeeze and angle to get it in. Backing it out should be a real treat! I will be thankful for the backup camera and big mirrors I am sure.

We just got our WiFi working this morning, its nice and fast. It will be with us on the road as long as we have a cell signal. The only way to go for WiFi!

The neighbours came over this morning and gave me a map of the area and where they thought we should go on the Cape. So nice of them and I love their accents!

We have to watch for Ticks here. They have a few different kinds. It can cause sickness with flu like symptoms and even Lyme Disease. We will have to steer clear of the bushes and stay in the middle of the pathways. If you notice that you have it they recommend going to the hospital.

Last night the stars were so bright. It was so peaceful. I stared up into the sky for quite a while. I couldn't see any satellites but the star show was almost as good as it was back in St. Andrews NB and Cypress Hills Alberta. The secret is getting away from the city lights.

Barb just reserved our camp site in Jersey City, for our visit across the Hudson River in New York City. The interesting part will be getting there and I see on the map avoiding Toll Roads will be impossible. We are booked in Jersey for Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights!

After that we will head to Concord, North Carolina to visit with friends who used to live in Cochrane. I expect we wont get there until Monday?

Now to get going for a day of touring the Cape!

Day 28 – Saturday Sept 28,2013 – Camping on the Cape!

I like the statement - "Camping on the Cod" better!

Barb says don’t say that! She tells me they simply call it the Cape!

I like saying we are out on the Cod!

What do you think sounds better? Ha ha.

But before we talk about today a quick rundown on yesterday is in order.

FRIDAY:

We toured around where we were camped at Camden, Maine.

A few little towns but I think our favourite was Camden itself. 

We originally meant to stay at Bar Harbour north of Camden but it was a Zoo when we arrived there. They had 3 cruise ships in port and I think there were about 9000 tourists wandering around town along with the usual tourists that come here!

As we entered the town there were signs for RV Parking which took us right through the middle of the zoo! Maybe an inch or two on each side of the rig and pedestrians that of course all know they have the right away.

Once we got to the RV parking there were only a few stalls and they were all taken with the last one taken up by a road grader. We parked in a parking lot for a few minutes and decided we needed to move on, so Camden became the place of choice.

Main Street in Camden

One of the Schooners in Port

Another Schooner

Camden from above, this beautiful town is to the right of the bay & marina.

In Camden we stayed at a nice State Park called Camden Hills. It even had free WiFi! I have never seen that in a state park! Later on I read that the prisoners in the nearby state prison chopped all the firewood, which they had for sale. The proceeds from that pays for the Wi-Fi.  So we stayed two nights and last night we had a nice fire in the pit outside the motorhome.

Our camp ground at Camden Hills State Park

Traffic & Tourists in Camden

Camden is a delight to visit. For the Ladies there a lots of little shops. For the guys there are quite a few restaurants. What was really good were all the sights for photographs, very scenic!

In the harbour right downtown by everything else there was lots to see. A nice grassy park with benches to enjoy the day. The marina was full of birds and  boats of every description. The one’s we really enjoyed were the Schooners. There were four of them in dock and they were restored dating back from the 1800’s to the early 1900’s.

The park over Camden Harbour.

These were used to take everything from tours of the harbours, inlets and area to trips lasting several days in length. After I learned about this I recalled that a few years ago Barb had found these same ones on the Internet and wanted to take a cruise on one of them. Again a small world.

Will we ever get to it? Someday, perhaps?

FRANCE!

We ran into an interesting couple while in Camden. They were from France and have been touring North America. Some of you may recall similar stories we have had in the past as we have seen this before from Europe. We chatted for some time and they told us about their travels. They even got out to Banff and where we live back home. They had shipped their Mercedes Sprinter motorhome over from France and will be shipping it back home from Baltimore in a few more weeks before the snow flies.

Els & Hans from France in their Mercedes which they shipped over.
Touring Canada and the USA!

A nice couple and very interesting to talk to. They had done similar trips in their motorhome in Turkey, Syria and Jordan!  Some people thought we were adventurous!

SATURDAY:

This morning I was up early and followed my usual routine of making coffee and sitting outside on the patio to enjoy it. After a while we loaded up and were ready to pull out. We planned for an early departure as we had a bit of a drive to get to our next destination. 

As per usual we hit the road at about 11am after draining the tanks at the dump station – my favourite task!

Must be a good restaurant - they were lined up around the corner to get in!

SATURDAY MORNING RAGE!

We headed south and went through a few small Maine towns and villages.

Just a few minutes south of town we noticed the traffic on our side (2 lane road) pulling over the right shoulder. There were two vehicles stopped on the far left shoulder for the oncoming traffic. Everyone was slowing down.

I pulled over and came to a stop while looking to see what was happening with the two stopped vehicles on the other side. They were beating on each other! Two men with fists flying! As I saw one driver stopped in front of me run over to their side I was preparing to also attend to help.

It was just at the point I noticed he had a small digital camera and started just taking pictures. He was right up to their faces as they were fighting and without getting hit himself managed to get a few good photos in I am sure.

After a few punches and a lot of screaming both drivers returned to their cars and left. There we were… still stopped on the side of the road. Ladies and gentlemen that was road rage!

I couldn’t decide if I was more surprised by the fighting or the guy running up to take the pictures of them beating on each other. I guess someone will have it posted on Face Book sometime later today?

Finally after that episode we got onto the real highway and then the Maine Turnpike and you know what that means – Mo Money!

Of the 3 tolls we went through today the cheapest was $4.00 and the most expensive one was just before leaving the state of Maine.

One last grab on their part for a hefty $10.50!

Toll Booth in Boston
We barley fit with an inch on either side of the mirrors!

TOO MANY TREES!

Finally we got to Boston MA.

No, do not ask me to spell the state. I won’t and I can’t! So we simply say MA!

View from the river bridge in Boston

The sad part is that today there were just too many trees. Although the colours are just getting more beautiful by the day it makes it hard to see the sights.

Unlike Chicago where we had a good view of the city from miles out, Boston didn’t allow for much of that.  The views were mostly of trees, which I shouldn’t complain about. However it would have been nice to see more of the city because like Chicago we went right through it!

The traffic in Boston was unreal. You could certainly tell it was Saturday and I don’t think anyone was at work! They were all in their cars driving on the same roads we were! Man was it packed! 

Nothing like driving a 53-foot monster in the big busy city! We did quite well though. We didn’t miss any turns and with one exception in the middle of town the traffic flowed pretty well, all considering.

Light traffic on a Saturday in Boston - It got much worse!

We went through one engineering marvel. An underground tunnel that I am guessing took us underneath the downtown core. The neat part was they had off ramps and they were all underground! It was just like an off ramp on a freeway but it was all below ground. Very cool!

As we finally made it out of Boston I had hoped to stop and see Plymouth and perhaps Plymouth Rock where the Pilgrims landed on the Mayflower. To be honest there was so much traffic and I was getting tired so we scrapped the idea. I will Google it instead.

Probably an hour south of Boston we hit Cape Cod. I wasn’t prepared for this. First of all the Cod is very big. Not what we had imagined. Second of all it too has too many trees! We couldn’t see any sights and we didn’t even get to see the ocean!

Entering Cape Cod!

History abounds.

We likely drove another hour before we found our campground, which is called Nickerson State Park. 

We got in just before nightfall (which is early around here) and got set up by about 7pm. The location seems to be very good and the campsites are very secluded from one another. Oh yes, Lots of trees!

One thing, if you are looking for a campground with services, there are no hookups here. Its dry camping with no amenities the good old-fashioned way. We are good with that. 

We are booked in here for two nights to rest and see the sights. If we need to we can fire up the generator, which is built right into our rig. Other than that we have propane, which runs the fridge, stove and furnace along with batteries and a converter to run everything else including my laptop that I’m typing on right now. 

All the conveniences of home!

Wi-Fi

Barb put the call in for our mobile Internet (Jet Pack from Millenicom in Oregon) to get started. We love this system. So we should have Internet on the go within the hour. We will have this while we are in the USA for the rest of the winter.

It became apparent within minutes that the people from around here are very nice. Shortly after parking the rig in our campsite I got to talking with both of our neighbours. Both of them are very friendly and helpful. They both come here on a regular basis, I can see why.

At first the accents are a little hard to understand and likely due to the hearing loss I have suffered over the years. But after a few minutes I was able to understand them much easier.

Tomorrow we will tour the Cape and get some photo’s for our album. Who knows maybe we will get to eat some great Lobster again or maybe a little Cod!

Good night!

Day 26 – Thursday Sept 26, 2013 – St. Andrews NB to Camden, Maine.

An example of the beautiful fall colours!

One of the most beautiful areas of North America must be the Maritime Provinces and the northeastern states of New England in the fall.

The trees are really changing colors now. The sides of the roads and hills are covered in fir trees and the others with leaves of varying shades of yellow, red and almost pink in color on some. Some are so bright you would think that the leaves had been painted. Simply beautiful!

The Bounder doesn't fit in a drive thru lane but that won't stop us!
Thanks to friends who supplied us with Tim Horton's Gift Certificates!

We crossed the border and immediately headed back over to the coast for a bit. Like parts of New Brunswick some of the back roads leave a little something to be desired. Rough and rutty from the big trucks going back and forth.

If you were driving in a car you might not notice it as much but driving a Class A motor home that tracks similar to a Semi truck while pulling a Honda CRV, which has a much narrower track, can be a little wavy shall we say?

It seemed at times the car would get into a rut and pull or steer the motorhome. Add to this some of the outsides of the roads were falling away as they crumbled and tugged on the motorhome’s wheel to go where one never wants to go – the ditch! The speeds are lower and many times I couldn’t even do the speed limits.

Add to that it was a bit crazy out there today. You can tell you are in a heavier populated area that is popular among tourists by the way the locals drive. They obviously get sick of the traffic and motorhomes like me that might be 5 to 10 miles per hour slower than the speed signs (due to road conditions).

One anxious guy passed me on a two-lane road with another car coming at him! A short time later another passed me with an island in the center of the road coming right at him as well! 

Finally the last incident was a pick up truck obviously not paying attention. I saw him come over the center-line right towards me and he corrected it right at the last moment! That’s about all I could take for one day.

More fall colours next to a babbling brook.

I don’t know if all the driving has accumulated consecutively on me or if it was just the amount of attention I needed to apply today. The small winding roads, the beautiful sights, most of which I miss out on by driving, the crazy drivers or the poor road conditions? I am just plumb pooped out! It was all I could do to make it to the campground we are at tonight. Tired, tired, tired!

Blueberry fields forever.
Signs say the worlds largest producer is Maine.

Both Bar Harbor and Camden are beautiful places. Bar Harbor was really busy with traffic and pedestrian tourists. There were 3 cruise ships in the bay there. I’m just too tired to enjoy them right now.

4471.8 Miles!

For our Canadian friends that’s 7,154.88 kilometers!

That’s how far we have driven so far on this trip. It may not sound like much to cover in 26 days but remember some days we do not move an inch. Other days we have toured around in the car, that mileage is not included in this mileage.

A bridge with a different design. The cables are in the middle!
This was beside Fort Knox in Maine.

I’m beginning to strongly believe that our estimate of a total 10,000 miles on this trip is going to be a bit shy of what it will really end up being. It will be interesting to see what the actual total will be when we get home in the spring. Parking for a month or 3 at a time in a nice resort is starting to look real good – ha, ha, ha!

Barb is tired now too.
PS: She does all the driving when we tour in the car and when I'm driving Bounder she does all the navigation with the maps and GPS.

Barb is in charge of driving the Honda and does a fine job of it too!

Dinner on the road and a Java to round it off.
Barb loves her Timmy's too!

A good night’s sleep will revitalize us, I am sure.

As I sit here in the dark at the campsite, it is a welcomed and quiet evening. All that I can hear is the flapping of the American flag here in the campground.

Some days earlier I stated how every time I come to the USA that I am taken back by all the homes in the that fly their countries flag. I admire their patriotism. 

In the maritimes of eastern Canada I saw a lot of Canadian flags flying at people's homes there. What is it with us in western Canada, why don't we do this?

One rarely sees our country's flag being flown at the homes of western Canadians! As I said before, one of the first things I am going to do next year when we get home is buy a flag pole and a flag for my front porch.

We all, both American and Canadian need to be proud of our country and our flags. We all stand for democracy and we stand for freedom throughout the world. 

In times like these when one watches the news on TV it should remind us about how lucky we are that we were not born into a country that doesn't have these freedoms.

As I ready myself to crash into bed tonight I challenge each and everyone of us to do the same! 

Buy a flag and a flag pole and let us not forget!

Good night :) !

Day 25 – Wednesday Sept. 25, 2013 – Charlottetown P.E.I.

Venturing into Charlottetown for a Canadian is really about seeing our countries roots. 

Beautiful area, the streets and buildings from Canada's early days.

In regards to Confederation.

The first talks were held here with government leaders of the time. 

They came from the maritime provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and P.E.I. who were about to form their own union.

Add to that the others from Quebec and the province of Canada heard about this meeting and showed up on a boat from Montreal to share their ideas with them for a larger union.

The reader’s digest version is that they held meetings for a few days along with dancing and socializing to get to know one another. The leaders from the French and the leaders from the Province of Canada thought it a better idea to have one union with all of the areas together. They felt they would be stronger this way, keeping in mind the USA had already been formed.

At the end of the meetings and with another one held in Quebec a short time later it was decided that Canada be born as one large country. Although PEI did not join right away. A short time after all of this in 1867 Canada was born as an actual country and union under the British North America Act.

These initial meetings were held in the Province House, which was the Legislature in PEI. 

Province House as it stands today.
The birthplace of Confederation for Canada.

The Provincial Legislature of PEI still meets in this same building up on the second floor. The Confederation meetings were held at the other end of the hallway on the same floor and this is all preserved and intact. You can almost hear their voices and discussion when you stand in the room!

This is the room where the meetings were held to form the Canada we have today!

For me, having been in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) this was quite the visit. After learning as a child and then even more as a Mountie all about this, being there just added the final chapter to the stories I had read and heard about.

Charlottetown is a beautiful old city. 

Lots of old homes and businesses from the era still stand today. 

Some of the buildings from the mid 1800's and earlier.

A Holland America cruise ship was in town while we were there as well.

It should also be noted that if you have ever read Anne of Green Gables, that book was written in and about a young girl here in PEI.

Another thing of note is the fact that PEI is famous for its potatoes and for its red beaches, sand, dirt and roadways. Not the only place on earth with red dirt but it is something to see especially the beaches!

We drove miles & miles of the red back roads.

In leaving PEI back for the mainland over the Confederation Bridge one has to pay a toll to get off the island. For cars it is $44.00 and for us it was $59.00.

Leaving the Province of PEI means paying for the bridge
that links us!

This bridge is quite something to see. Not as high as I thought it would be they do close it when it gets too windy. Its amazing the engineering that must have gone into this structure. I don’t know how long it is but would guess 4 to 5 Kilometers (around 3 miles?).

We continued on through Moncton and St. John, New Brunswick and made it all the way to St. Andrews, NB tonight. 

St. Andrews is near the Maine, USA border and sits on the shores of the Bay of Fundy. The Bay of Fundy is quite famous. I am told it has the largest tidal change of any body of water on earth!

Camped on the shores of the Bay of Fundy in St. Andrews, NB.

The shoreline here has red rocks and red sand too.
The Bay of Fundy.