May 31 Peggy's Cove

This morning we were reminded we are 4 hours later than Langley; we wanted to watch the live feed today; so we decided to drive a little over an hour back to Peggy's Cove. Caroline was checking the webcams and it looked like it was more clear today than yesterday so we headed out. It's such a beautiful coastline here in Nova Scotia, lots of hidden bays and villages, lots of photo opportunities. The weather on Hwy 103 was sunny and +20 degrees, but soon changed as we turned on the smaller road to Peggy's Cove. As we got closer and closer to the point (don't forget this point is very open to the Atlantic, they always get hit first with any type of weather coming off the ocean) we realized it can sock in very quickly. The sun was poking through as we got to lighthouse point. Got down to about 8 degrees so we donned our wind breakers and strolled around the bare wind swept rocks. As we drove around we found some nice little sheltered bays for some more pics. I can see this place would be a real busy place in July-September; even today the parking lot was fairly full. We headed back to our camp site to watch the live feed from LCRC; as we were getting closer to 1:30 the wifi from the park was simply not working; some parks are good but many seem to have older equipment. I would recommend to anyone in the future that if you're planning a long trip to get a satellite. We shifted to a private individuals unsecured wifi and got a good signal. It was good to hear about Christ's promises to all those who believe in Him and that He is the bread of life as shown in John 6; and especially that He will always satisfy us, that he will never drive us out of His Kingdom, as well He will never allow us to be lost. Amen! It was good to see our home congregation worship with us.
The weather changed as predicted, we've had rain for the last hour and the forecast looks better tomorrow and as the week goes on. A more quiet day but that's ok. A restful day and we'll be right back at it as we head North East tomorrow. Cheers

 Peggy's Cove lighthouse

 the rough coastline

 the seas were fairly calm but winds were cold and in around the 30KPH range

 Nice!

 this was kinda cool; a local artist carved this out of the rock in the hillside

 this is the memorial made to commemorate the victims of the Swissair 111 disaster in 1998. Many of the locals helps in the recovery of this plane disaster

 Nice!

 Nice!

May 30 halifax and area

Today we were debating between Halifax or Peggy's Cove first. We noticed when we got up there was a cloud cover so we decided Peggy's Cove first and if the weather wasn't good we could try again after on our way back. We found some beautiful picturesque coves and inlets en route, got some really nice "memories" but as we got closer and closer to Peggy's Cove, we saw what we had been warned of; FOG which had rolled in due to a cold front along the coast. We didn't even bother to take any pictures there as it was so socked in. Bummer! We kept going into Halifax, our first stop was the Halifax Citadel, a fort built and finished in 1856; designed to be the main headquarters for the Royal Navy to supress any land assaults. It is very well kept and we enjoyed the walk through Canadian history. From there we drove through the downtown streets (Miss Garmin told us to!) to Pier 21; this is where many Dutch immigrant's landed when they immigrated to Canada in the late 1940's and early 1950's. We went directly into the "information" area to ask about our parents and Caroline's grandparents (my grandparents did not immigrate but both of Caroline's had). We gave the name of the ships and our parents names but we were told immediately due to government regulations and privacy laws, unless they were deceased for at least 20 years, they could not release any documents to us. Too bad! I was really hoping I could see something of my parents landing at this pier over 64 years ago! Oh well, we still felt some nostalgia walking where they first stepped afoot on a new land and adventure. We were getting a little hungry, and as there was a farmers market happening in the building next door, we strolled over and did some "shoppe", grabbing some freshly squeezed coffee and snacks. Off to COSTCO!! as we needed to get a few things. My prize catch was a 6 pack of gloves for $15!! as my rubber "work gloves" had been ripped as I got one squeezed and ripped off in the cap you put back on the sewer connection when trying to get this cap on one morning. With my index finger part of the glove gone, I decided I didn't want any more sewage leaking onto my hands through this opening! (I'm sure all the guys will understand)
Caroline had found an app which had two webcam's of two spots in Peggy's Cove; as we were driving back we kept checking to see if the fog had cleared but no such luck. We were resigned to check again tomorrow morning; we really want to see this beautiful spot. Caroline heated some worshies she had bought at the farmers market with cheese, this was our meal for the day. A good day (except for missing Peggy's Cove)

 lots of good photo opp's

 you can see the fog rolling in

 and more as we got closer to Peggy's Cove

 the fort Halifax Citadel

 a "she-guard"

 ok this was actually very funny; I was ready to take a pic of this very solemn sentry. Caroline slowly starts sleeking in behind him; he didn't move one iota as she slowly "crept" in. You had to be there!!

 Pier 21; where many of our parents and grandparents first stepped foot onto Canada

 no land between here and Europe!

May 29 Halifax (Lunenburg)

Last night we stayed just outside Truro NS at a simple RV park. It was by a small river but not a very exciting spot. We had pulled in a bit later than usual as we passed Shediac NB as there was again not much there for RV parks. Again we had not pre booked; we stopped by one park but yech! lets move on. So it was a longer driving day than we had done since the sprint across Texas; a 5 1/2 hour drive. A nice bbq meal made the day. A game of 3 card up also finished off the evening (it was a slaughter :)).
In the morning we made a quick visit to a local river to watch the "tidal bore"; this phenomena occurs when the ocean tide comes in and a river or narrow pass has a whole bunch of water come back in with the tide. In this case the moon had an affect on this tide (less) so the bore was actually quite small. I needed to gas for the first time in Canada; WOW! First time I put in over $200.00 since I left BC. Gas is definitely more expensive in Canada. Diesel in the states was averaging $1.60/gallon; here I paid $1.15 per litre.
After getting back we hitched the horses and made our way to Halifax. Miss Garmin was not cooperating as I couldn't even get Martins River to register so we got directions from our next location, a small park in a place called Martins River, about 50 minutes south of Halifax. After "unhitching", the closest town we wanted to see was Lunenburg; a neat little town on Mahone Bay just south of us. Lunenburg is the home of the Schooner Bluenose, which we got a close up look of. it is apparently going to be ready for sailing this summer. We walked the streets as well, doing a little "shoppe" and drove back. A bit boring of a writeup this time; maybe the pictures will wow you more.

 we hired a professional photographer to take this shot; go to www.selfietimerleaningagainstthebbqbeforeifireditupphotography.com I've seen some of his work; its not that bad :)

 so we had heard so much of the tidal bore; how one can surf it, 6' high and so on. well due to the lack of moon pull this is what we got :( the river normally flows from right to left

 the town of Mahone Bay

 the Bluenose 2

 facts

 lots of old buildings in Lunenburg

 so many photo ops

 ditto

May 27 Into Canada!!

We are actually excited to head out this morning, as we decided to cross over into new Brunswick. We got up fairly early, and after a nice waffle breakfast got onto highway 1 north. We weren't sure whether to follow #1 on the coast or take #9 which we thought might be a better road. #1 it was, but soon realized it wasn't that great; lots of uneven pavement, I think the winter took its toll on some of these older roads; keep in mind this is the furthest northern state and roads, and we could tell. Densely populated so maybe the tax dollars don't stretch this far north in the good old US of A :(.
We detoured a little inland hoping the road was better but not! very narrow with absolutely no shoulder to speak of; the whole trip I do think about the possibility of needing to pull over for a punctured tire or some emergency; these roads to not equate to a safe pullover. Well we finally got to Calais and entered a brand new border crossing which was designed mainly for the trucks as the old crossing couldn't handle the larger vehicles. As we're pulling up to this beautiful facility we were the only ones! The main questions asked were of our liquor on board. We actually had beer still on board which we had bought in Palm Springs; I did notice a bit of a grin from the TFSA officer! Seems he was more interested in "spirits". After indicating I had an open bottle of rum and about 2" of vodka left in another bottle, he was quite satisfied I was not a drug smuggler! When we left baaa haaarbe Miss garmin told us it was a 4 hour drive! I could not fathom that a 130 mile drive would take this long. As we are on the road I kept hitting the statistics on the gps to see how far we were away and still didn't realize one thing; when crossing into NB the time changes. We are now 4 hours later than Langley! DUH!
Now im not sure if because this crossing was so new this affected the condition of this highway, but wow! such a nice road which puts our #1 through the valley to shame. We'll see if this trend continues.
Our spot to stop was St Andrews NB, we found an RV spot (again) right on the ocean.
After pulling in (and my trusty sidekick actually beating me this time to set up) and settling in (you guessed it a small gelaashe wine as our reward for another gruelling day behind the wheel), I unhitched (sounds like our horses!!) the bikes, got our helmets out (we're in Canada now, its mandatory) and headed for the small town of St Andrews. A very cute little ocean front town with neat little shops. We found some cool stuff; wood carvings, trinkets, Caroline found a very nice scarf ; very pretty! :).
We then biked up the hill to a garden which was recommended called Kingsbrae Garden. it was off season, they offered 2 $10 coupons to their on site café plus we had a 50% off coupon, so wow did we Dutch at heart take advantage of this. We were just a little hungry so we scurried over to the eating establishment and ordered a salmon and salad appie with two glasses of Ontario wine. The waitress reminded us that this "café" is rated in the top 100 restaurants in Canada. They even hosted a Trudeau fund raiser last year!
A leisurely stroll through the gardens topped off another good day.

 this was the #1 road north to the border, drove this one for 20 miles. you notice I'm part way on the other lane; this was the only way to avoid the ruts and holes on the side of my lane. when another vehicle came along I had to slow down and be careful I didn't go too far right.

 ok so I put this one in for my driving prowess. we saw the sign for a rest stop and needed to take a break. Now most rest stops are huge pull thrus with nice facilities. So as we're coming up I see a sign and pull left, not realizing what it actually was. First thought is how the heck am I gonna back onto a highway with semmies zipping past at 55 MPH on a curved stretch?? Well this was a challenge to get this 65' train turned around; but one shot! I was close to the 5th wheel hitting the cab but managed to pull a U-turn to get me out straight. Phew!

 very nice road as we entered Canada, lets hope this continues

 another beautiful spot on the ocean. it was a little windier than most but it was sunny and +20 degrees

 St Andrews NB

 Memories :)

 I asked them how much, but they said no

 Nice :)

 couldn't resist, the Dutch in us

 Kandy Vandelden? this one is for you! it is a candy store in St Andrews; the owners name happened to be Kandy!

May 26 Baaaa Haaaabe

Ok so it was really Bar harbor for you Westerners :) We had thought about staying one more night in Belfast but decided to move on; the drive was one of the shorter ones we've made, only a little over an hour. This was also the very first time on our trip we did NOT book ahead. We took the notion as we've come quite far North that we are enough removed from locals, and the last park was virtually empty; we have decided to try and "wing' it a bit. With our passport America membership, it only cost us $30 for a $60 site.
Bar Harbor is the largest city (village) on this "island"; the only separation is a small bridge, but hey, these are Americans, anything to exemplify a fact to get more money from tourists. The shocking thing was we actually found free parking right at the waterfront; nice! We first did some shoppe, picked up a few really cool things. The weather was very nice after a rain shower last night; the one problem with an RV; when it rains heavy, the pitter patter of rain is more like "Thump Thump". I'm normally a very sound sleeper in thanks to the metabolism of my mother :) but I actually woke a couple times when it came down hard. But today was sunny, some scattered clouds and a balmy 70 degrees. After a couple of waffle cones to combat the scorching heat (lets face it ice cream always goes good over 70 degrees) we headed for a drive around the "island". We stopped at a number of sites to take pictures of the beautiful coast line here. One stop was actually a nice small gardens Caroline had actually read about in a Frommers guide. Her love of plants and flowers would never stop me from stopping at any exhibit with flowers and plants. I know who the boss is at "those moments" hee hee. We know who really is the Captitain driving this bus? Right?
After picking up a few groceries, I fired up the barby and cooked up some deliciously scrumptious chicjen boneless skinless thighs smothered with peanut sauce; couple with a mean ceasar salad and a small testing of fiddleheads (yes, first time!); a great way to end another good day.

 another bridge, this was kinda cool

 our spot in bar Harbor

 ok so you're thinking what is the picture of; well, that mound there believe or not is THE highest point of land on the east coast all the way to Brazil!!! 1540 feet high. Americans; they'll try anything to make money; the Parks board wanted to charge us $25 bucks to enter the park and visit this marvel. NOT!

 Caroline in her glory

 another beautiful coastal bay pic

 and another

 I was going to not mention what we ate in my dialogue above but thought what the heck; with some butter and garlic, they were very tasty

May 25 Belfast maine

We left our concrete pad this morning in Salem and headed for Belfast Maine. We could sure see the traffic heading back into Boston South as we drove North, the Memorial day long weekend was in full swing as many campers headed back to Boston. The roads were good and bad. Seems again each county is responsible for their own section of highways. Maine is good. And more toll booths! After listening to Martin my bother in law; he suggested to go into the Fast pass lane and simply wait for them to mail you the invoice (they Apparently mail you a bill); Martin says I shouldn't receive any! Cool.
After driving on I95 we headed East on #1 which is more coastal, only problem is more stoplights; I HATE stoplights; pulling 9 tons of trailer this is the only thing I don't like; braking. With my turbocharged 800 horsepower fire breathing dragon of an engine, I can drag any punk off the line pulling my rig; ok just kidding, but I have gotten some looks from the guys in the left lane as they SLOWLY pull past me as I've got it floored. Couple guys have given me the thumbs up! NICE.
Not once have I seen warning lights that flash that the light ahead is going to turn red. Most of the time I've got the cruise control at the posted speed limit; when I see a light coming I move my foot from the very relaxed position to the right of the gas pedal over to about 2 inches away from the brake pedal!! I try and find the little indicator light at the intersection to the right which indicates how many seconds pedestrians have to clear the cross walk but on the side highways they don't have them. I try and look for when our light turned green which should give my lane lots of time, right?? NOT! Even today Caroline said "just run the red light!!" What?? I told her I'm a law abiding RV'er who will not take any chances (and I don't, I have learned on this trip to be cautious and relaxed behind the wheel; cant wait to get back into my Infinity for a blast :)
We made it to our next location; Moorings RV park in Belfast, and boy what a nice surprise! We try to get a spot in the Passport America listed parks, or even Good Sam; bit this one Caroline had googled and didn't show up in either. Was a little more than what we've paid, but LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION!!  I mean we have a quiet park, only 5 overnighters and about 5 seasonal who are not here yet out of 50 spots. Nice.
After our well deserved glass of wine after setting up (Caroline my trusty side kick who does her job in 5 minutes and me in 4!) we relaxed to enjoy the view from our patio; and wow what a view. Waterfront exclusive property at a fraction of the cost.
We headed into the small village of Belfast and explored; this is another quaint town on the ocean and not nearly as busy as the Salem/Boston area. Quaint little shops with very reasonable prices; added to my collection of mugs and hats and teeshirts. Caroline keeps asking me where im going to put al these mugs; I simply tell her "my office". I may well have to buy two floor to ceiling bookcases to accommodate them all. Walked the local boardwalk, did some local organic grocery shopping at the local coop, then we headed back. We were told about a great place to eat seafood (East Coast, seafood, LOBSTER!!!!) not far from our spot; it is called Youngs Lobster Pound (yes, you do buy the lobster by the pound). Well what a treat! You not only get to pick what you want; lobster, clams, shrimp, and even raw oysters), but you can pick whatever combination you want; as well as what size of lobster. Weeeell, we were in Lobster heaven (sorry for those staunch Canadian Reformed back benchers :)). We chose a "basket" which had (you guessed it) lobster, raw oyster, clams, mussels, AND corn on the cob and tons of butter to dip all of these delicacies into our mouths!! What a feast! And we were also told we could bring our own wine!!! We had just picked up two bottles of wine at the Coop so the timing couldn't have been better.
Oh, I didn't mention yesterday was Carolines birthday; this was her treat and she thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it (I did too :)). After all it was Sunday yesterday and even though we are on holidays, we try and avoid supporting our "mail and female servant" wherever possible.
A very good day!

 a great view on the ocean

 we visited a nearby state park sanctuary

 a typical "saltbox" new England home; and believe me, there are tons of them here on the east Coast

 main street in Belfast

 Caroline "peering" in before actually going in (I think this is a woman thing) Men know exactly what store they're going in, finding the item, buying it, and getting out as quickly as possible so they can go golfing, or mow the lawn, or simply grabbing a beer and relaxing on the patio; right guys??

 ok this is THE largest boat crane (well this is what the RV park owner told me) on the East Coast. It can actually lift 440 ton of boat out of the water!! Ok I did the calculator for you already; that's 880,000 POUNDS of boat!!

 the haaaaabah in Belfast

 yes I grabbed the lobster of MY choice and I actually kissed him (Caroline missed the kiss but I reeeeealy did kiss him. right on his Shnaushaaaa!!)

 doesn't she looked squeamish?? (its that's certain smile I've come accustomed too; love you sweetie)

 and what else goes good with lobster, clams, mussels, and oysters?? a good $4.99 bottle of wine from the local Coop! makes me wonder why I spend $40.00 for a bottle at a restaurant :(

 ok here's the question: whats missing?? hee hee

 the feast finished :)

 all the workers here threw us off; we were expecting Baaaaastan accents; they were all Jamaican! I kibitzed with him and spoke their language (only Canadians can do this with a straight face! Ha)

 relaxing after a very good day

 had to get one with my beautiful wife on the beach :) (ok ok we did finish a bottle of wine)