Maritime - Week Eight

Sunday, July 24, 2005 - Day 50

St. John's, NF

Overnight, the rain started peppering the roof of the coach, and we awoke this morning to what looked like an all-day drizzling rain.  And, that's exactly how it turned out.  So, what do you do when it rains?  Why, go to Wal-Mart, of course!  We did exactly that, and also to Canadian Tire, which is similar to a Wal-Mart, Academy, and Home Depot.

By the time we were done looking around in the stores, it was about 12:45, so we drove downtown to find a place to eat.  Found Zachary's on Duckworth Street, a little small cafe that served breakfast all day, and of course other stuff too.   Could only seat about 25 or so, but was really a neat place.  The staff was very friendly, the service good, but slow, and the food was excellent.  We met a couple from Alabama, exchanged advice about things to see and do, both in NF and back in the states.  He was with the Alabama Dept. of Education and teaches at Harvard in the summer. The lady had lived in St. John's until she was 7, which she said was 46 years ago.  And she even located and visited the house where she lived, after writing a letter to the address and getting a response from the current owners.

We then went to the GEO Centre, an excellent presentation of the formation of the planets.  The rocks in this area are over 550 million years old, 450 million years older than the Rocky Mountains. The Centre itself is underground with these same rocks forming some of the walls.  Exxon/Mobil also has a great exhibit about discovery and drilling for oil and gas in the North Atlantic region.

There is a huge display of information about the building, sailing, and sinking of the Titanic.  There were lots of replicas of item from the Titanic, and many narratives about the things that were wrong with its construction, promotion, and its operation on the ill-fated maiden voyage.

Then it was back to the coach, and Donna decided to go do the laundry.  Since we have been dry-camped for several days, we have been unable to use the onboard washer/dryer, but she really got caught up today.

Monday, July 25, 2005 - Day 51

Leaving St. John's

We checked with the campground office this morning about 10 and the new D2 controller from DataStorm had arrived.  We hooked it up, got on the phone with Arch at DataStorm, and got the connections of the D2 and modem situated and communicating with the computer.  As it was nearing check out time, we left the overflow area, dumped the tanks, and filled with water.  After 5 days without hookups, we were actually still in good shape.

We said good-bye to our new friends that had been parked next to us the whole time.  A really nice family from Trenton, Quebec.  Donna had made a batch of brownies and share with them and a couple of other families we became acquainted with.  We had helped them out a bit, since the battery charger was not working and they had no lights, by plugging their trailer into our coach.  They then had electricity for their lights and refrigerator.  Just before we left, they gave Donna a beautiful bouquet of cut flowers.   THANKS, FOLKS!

We tried to get connected to the DataStorm while parked in a parking lot outside the campground, but were not able to.  DataStorm is located in Salt Lake City, and Monday was a holiday (Founder's Day), but they did have one support guy working.  Several attempts while we still had phone service were to no avail, so we went on down the road.

This situation really created a problem, because after a 100 miles or so outside St. John's we would have no cell phone service until we returned to Nova Scotia.  We parked in a pull-off tonight and after hours on failed attempts to connect to the satellite, we gave up and went to bed.

After tonight we will have no cell phone service and no internet or email, so no contact with our office.  Big Problem.

Tuesday, July 26, 2005 - Day 52

Enroute to Port aux Basque

After much discussion, we concluded that it was wise to forego the remainder of Newfoundland, and return to Nova Scotia.  We know we really missed some of the best parts, but the lack of communication was the deciding factor.  Although we know things are in Scott's good hands back at the office, we felt uncomfortable being out of touch.  So, off we headed for the 300+ mile drive to Port Aux Basque to catch (hopefully) the 8am ferry to North Sydney, NS.  The drive was uneventful, and through some pretty lake and river country.

We arrived at a paved parking area about 10 miles outside Port Aux Basque, and pulled in for the night.  We were situated right on the Bay of St. Lawrence with a clear shot at connecting to the Internet Satellite, and after a while, we were back in business, internet wise.

Looking out over the Bay, we were treated to a really nice sunset.

Today marks our 52nd day on the road, equal to our trip to Alaska in 2003.  And we still have at least a month to return to the heat and humidity of East Texas.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005 - Day 53

Ferry to Nova Scotia

We did not have reservations on the ferry, but were hopeful of getting on as a standby ticket.  We woke up about 3:30 and by 4:00 we were at the ferry, inspected, measured, and ticketed.  The reservations were totally booked, and we were assigned to the standby waiting lane -- Lane 13!!  We were number 3 in line for standby.  As the ship started loading, thing moved rather rapidly, 18 wheelers, motorhomes, campers, and cars all being sent to one of two levels of the ship. Eventually all the other lanes, except Lane 13 were cleared, and one of the two in front of us was loaded.  Then everything stopped!  The traffic directors were talking on radios, obviously to the crew on the ship, then he told us.."We'll get you on the next one"  OR did he say, "We'll get you on NEXT"?  Neither Donna or I were sure, but suddenly he motioned to go on board.  We were quite relieved not to have to wait 2 1/2 more hours, and STILL be on standby, because the next ship was also booked.  We think only about 4 or 5 more cars or pickups, and one motorhome were loaded after us.

The 5 hour trip was normal, boring cruise, with lots of fog that early in the morning.  However, while I was outside on the deck one time, I did spot a few small whales (I think) as we passed by.

After leaving the ferry, we returned to Arm of Gold Campground, one of our favorite campgrounds, where John and Flora are the owners.  Grabbed some fried chicken at the local Lick-A-Chik, got the DataStorm up and running, and took a long nap.  (Donna's was longer than mine - hehe).

Thursday, July 28, 2005 - Day 54

North Sydney, NS

Based on advice from John, the owner of the campground, we decided to drive over to the Louisbourg Fortress today.  We had heard a little about Louisbourg, but had the misguided impression it was another fort like the Citadel, or others we have seen.  WRONG!

The Site was once a busy fortified seaport.  From its founding by the French in 1715 to its abandonment by the British in 1768, Louisbourg was a place of profound significance in the Franco-British struggle for empire.

Unlike most other colonial settlements, Louisbourg did not have subsequent cities built on its historic ground, but lay idle and abandoned until the 20th Century.  As a result the Fortress site preserves a massive archaeological time capsule.

Obviously very little of the original structures remain, other than the various rock foundations of the buildings.  But thanks to French Archives, original drawings, sketches, and actual architectural plans still in existence, many of the the buildings have been meticulously reconstructed.

Each summer the Fortress springs to life as dozens of costumed animators become the town's residents of the summer of 1744.  Period homes and exhibits line the central streets of Rue Toulouse and Rue Royale, as well as along the waterfront.  Men, women and children enact the range of society from the leisurely activities of the rich to the hard physical labor of the poor. 

On our way to the parking lot at the Visitor's Center, we spotted a couple of 'campers' that we had spotted loading on to the Ferry.  I didn't get a real good shot, but here it is anyway.  If its not clear, its an old Mustang and old Corvette, pulling campers matched to the car.

We also spotted one of those unique campers that German Tourist use to tour Canada and the US.  We saw the same bus in St. John's, NF, and a similar, if not the same on, back in Washington, DC.  There seems to be 24 passengers, a driver, and tour guide, for a total of 26 folks.  They ride in the front part, sleep in the back part, and the passenger side rear has a tent the comes out to provide a kitchen and dining area.

Friday, July 29, 2005 - Day 55

Enroute to St. John, NB

We left Arm of Gold Campground this morning about 10.  We probably would have been gone earlier, but a drizzling rain kept on.  We finally caught a break in the rain, hooked up, said good-bye to John, with Flora waving from the back door of their home.  We promised that Donna would send them the recipe for the brownies.

We considered traveling along the north coast of Nova Scotia, but as we reached the Canso Causeway, it was raining even harder, so we just continued on west on the Trans-Canada Highway.  Our next area to visit will be the southern coast of NB, between St. John and St. Anthony, near the Maine border.  Tonight we are in St. John, NB for an overnight stay and will head on east in the morning.

Saturday, July 30, 2005 - Day 56

St. Andrews, NB

We left Saint Johns' Rockwood Park this morning about 9:45, following TCH 1 to Highway 127, the cutoff to St. Andrews.  St. Andrews is between St. George, the access to Deer Island, and St. Stephen, the last point before entering the US at Calais, Maine.  We arrived a little after 11:00, not sure where the campground was, only that it was at the end of Water Street.  Well, we followed the signs, and it turns out Water Street is the main drag right downtown.  Narrow street with parking on both sides, but we made it with no mishaps.  We didn't have reservations, not knowing just what the town was like, so we are parked in the 'overflow area', just about the best spot in the whole campground.

The town was quite surprising, a beautiful village, with many old, restored buildings and homes.  It is basically a 'tourist town', with lots of folks from various parts of Canada and the US.  There are several hotels, including a Fairmont hotel, and many, many Bed & Breakfast homes.

The town is on the Bay of Fundy, where the tides can exceed 40 feet.  This part however does not experience tides that drastic, only about 20 feet.  Low tide was about an hour ago, at 2:30, and high tide will be tonight about 8:30.  Both these pictures were taken from the same viewpoint, the left at low tide, the right at near high tide.

As we drove around we stopped by a little historical spot, where the locals had built a blockhouse with some cannons in 1813.  With the War of 1812 going on between Great Brittan and the US at the time, the locals were concerned that the US would try to take possession of this part of Canada.  No shots were ever fired.  While we were there, we noticed a bunch of white chairs set up on a little point, thinking it was probably a wedding.  And sure enough, not much later the bride showed up in a BMW, there was a wedding ceremony, and then lots of picture taking.  Probably about 50 people attended.  As is visible in the background, it is low tide, and much of the bottom of the bay is exposed.

We visited a while with one of the young ladies working for the Canada Parks Department, that oversees the park and interacts with the visitors.  I kidded her about maybe would be her turn soon.  She said she was really looking forward to a wedding, just not sure she wanted everything else that went along with being married.

We later spent a little more time downtown on Water Street, and stopped by the grocery store for a couple of items.  We grilled pork chops on the grill tonight, then later watched the "Stage Stompers" perform here in the park.  Lots of folks attended, and their program was quite long, but then once you have seen a couple of numbers of tap dance, you've seen most all of them. I guess they were pretty good, since they all had the same foot in the air at the same time. Not sure I am much of a judge, though.