Hugo Travels

September 3, 2011 - Move to Lubec, ME and Campobello Island

This morning we moved to Lubec, Maine, the easternmost point of the USA and our campground location for the next couple of nights. We are staying at Sunset Point Campground. We have fairly tight sights but we have a lovely view of the lake in front of us. No sewer hookup here though.

After getting set up, we opted to go on and see Franklin Roosevelt's summer cottage on Campobello Island. Back to Canada.

I've wanted to see Roosevelt's Cottage for years, ever since I saw the movie, Sunrise at Campobello, back in the 60's. Finally... a bucket list item come to pass.

the classroom

the bathrooms pretty much were the same throughout the house

master bedroom

kitchen

The house was very interesting. Comfortable for a summer cottage and certainly not plush by today's standards. I enjoyed it very much.

Before leaving the island, we drove around and checked out some other areas.

You can walk over to this lighthouse when the tide is out. It wasn't out when we visited. The mosquitos were definitely out though! They were horrible.

Crossing back into the USA over the bridge into Maine, we spotted some harbor seals.

Those little dots floating in the water are harbor seals. Cool!

 

 

September 2, 2011 - St. John, NB and the USA

A look at the Bay of Fundy from a scenic overlook.

We found the local Walmart in St. John and parked there for the night. We hopped in Pat's Tahoe and headed to downtown St. John. There was one thing we wanted to see and that was the Reversing Falls.

"The phenomenon of the Reversing Falls is caused by the tremendous rise and fall of the tides of the Bay of Fundy, which are the highest in the world. The natural southward-facing opening of the Bay of Fundy receives the on rushing ocean tides directly like a funnel. The tidewater is normal when it enters the bay at its widest point. But the farther up the bay it travels the more it changes. It is, in effect, squeezed by the ever-narrowing sides and the constant shallowing of the bottom forcing the water higher up the shores. The low tide running out of the bay collides with the new, incoming high tide, combining forces to make a higher wave coming in. The combination of wave forces is called resonance.

   The Bay of Fundy tides are a result of the tidal action originating in the Southern Indian Ocean sweeping around the Cape of Good Hope and then northward into the Bay of Fundy. They are also affected by the distance of the moon from the earth at this longitude. Here in Saint John, the bay tides rise 28 ½ feet. When the tide is low, the St. John River, 450 miles long, empties into the bay. Between Fallsview Park and the Pulp Mill, the full flow of the river thunders through a narrow gorge. An underwater ledge, 36 feet below the surface causes the water in the river to tumble downward into a 175-200 foot deep pool. Below the mill and under the bridge. The water then boils in a series of rapids and whirlpools.

   As the bay tides begin to rise, they slow the course of the river and finally stop the river's flow completely. This short period of complete calm is called slack tide. It is only at this time that boats are able to navigate the Falls. Shortly after this slack tide the bay tides become higher than the river level and slowly, at first, the river begins to flow upstream. As the bay tides continue to rise, the reverse flow gradually increases and the rapids begin to form, reaching their peak at high tide. The effect of this reversal is felt upstream as far as Fredericton, more than 80 miles inland. At this point the tidal waters are actually 14 ½ feet higher than the river.

   After high tide the bay tides begin to fall and the upstream flow of the river gradually lowers until the bay tides fall to the level of the river - once again resulting in another slack tide. The river then resumes its normal course and begins to flow back out of the bay. The bay tides continue to fall below the level of the river until at low tide the rapids are again at their peak, flowing down stream. At this point the tidal waters are 14 ½ feet lower than the river level.

   The tide rises and falls once about every 12 and a half hours."  (from the St. John website)

(Hey guys sorry for the quote but I knew I couldn't explain it correctly.)

After leaving the Reversing Falls viewpoint, we drove through downtown St. John.

Looks like one of my Snow Village houses.

Lots of flowers around St. John.

Flowers down the middle of the highway - beautiful.

Next stop  - the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!!!!! Home Sweet Home.

We crossed over at 2 p.m. on September 2nd and found the Walmart at Calais, Maine. The crossing back into the US was uneventful. The Walmart is really set up for overnighters like us. They even have a separate parking lot for overnight RVs but I forgot to take a picture.

 We are glad to be back in the USA. We will have internet/cell phone coverage/TV again. Yeah!

September 1, 2011 - Hopewell Rocks and Bay of Fundy

 

Today before leaving the Hopewell Cape, Richard and I made a trip down to the Hopewell Rocks and walked on the ocean floor. The tide was out early so we got the coach ready to leave, and then headed to the Hopewell Rocks Park. We had decided to walk on the ocean floor. We took the shuttle for $2.00 down to the steps to the ocean floor. We had walked that 15 minutes yesterday and it was pretty tiring. We didn't want to be too tired to make the 40 steps down to the ocean floor and back up.

 

Well, I made the 40 steps down and we walked around on the ocean floor for about an hour. Then comes the 40 steps back up! I made it up the steps and to the foot washing place. The mud from the ocean floor collects on your shoes/feet/whatever you were wearing. I hated that! Those of you who know me, know that I don't like mud/dirt, etc. and even worse, it is RED here in this part of the Bay of Fundy. Lucky for me, I had my Teavas which were made for walking in the water.

Those are the 40 steps back to the top.

I was exhausted! Walking in all that mud was tiring. Mud gets very heavy.

We were glad we did it! Not everyone can say they have walked on the ocean floor like we did. (Going to the beach doesn't count.)

After our walk on the ocean floor, we headed back to the campground, hooked up the jeep, met up with Pat & Barb and headed on down the road. We stopped in Alma again to have a bite of lunch and take pictures of the same boats with the tide in. Remember the posting of a couple of days ago?

same red boat...

Karen and Barb found a nice place to rest.

They were watching these people pull this boat out of the water.

This is the little place where we had lunch. Food was pretty good.

Back on the road again, we are heading to St. John, New Brunswick as our last stop before heading back to the good old USA!

August 31, 2011 - Hopewell Flowerpots and Bay of Fundy

We visited the Flowerpots and walked the trail down to the viewing spots and stairs to the ocean floor. It was about a 15 minute walk and a little tiring. To go to the ocean floor there are about 40 steps. I think I'll pass today.

Our friends Pat & Barb are down there though. We spotted them quickly and took some photos of them on the ocean floor watching the tide come in. Later they decided to take a kayak tour of the flowerpots so we stayed to watch and take photos.

This is the same spot with the tide out and then as it comes back in several hours later.

Kayaking through the flowerpots.

Our friends Pat & Barb.

 

August 30, 2011 - Driving to Hopewell Rocks/Cape in New Brunswick

Today we are driving in pretty weather! That's unusual for us this trip.

We are off to Hopewell Cape and the Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick on the Bay of Fundy. Today is a long drive for us - about 250 miles but at least it isn't raining.

We are staying at Ponderosa Pines Campground. It is not fancy but there is a beautiful little pond in front of the coach. Unfortunately, the mosquitos and other bugs are so bad that you can't stay outside and enjoy it.

After unhooking, we drove down the Cape and saw the Cape Enrage lighthouse. Since you had to pay to go past the fence, we took our pictures from up above and kept moving. We drove through a little town called Alma while the tide was out. All of the boats were sitting on the bottom of the ocean floor on the mud. (A couple of days later, we came through when the tide was in, what a difference that made - watch for those pictures in a posting in a couple of days.)

On the road to Cape Enrage we saw this porcupine heading for the side of the road.

The countryside as the tide goes out.

We thought these mud ripples left by the outgoing tide were interesting.

We stumbled across the boat in a field along with a lighthouse.

It was called Shipyard Park, dedicated to the people who developed or worked in one of New Brunswick's many 19th Century shipyards and those who sailed the tall wooden ships.

The boats in Alma, NB - you will see these boats again in a couple of days.

August 27-29, 2011 - Baddeck, Nova Scotia

We're back at the campground in Baddeck, NS and we will hunker down here and wait out Hurricane Irene. Hopefully we are out of its path.

We succeeded pretty well - we had some wind but very little rain. One day was really windy. That was the day our bedroom awning spring broke and the awning rolled back up on his own. We were over at Pat & Barb's when it happened so Pat & Rich went out there in the wind and took it off the slide; tied it up with plastic ties and then put it back on the slide. That will keep it from tearing up any further.

We actually didn't do anything while we were here. We stayed inside and I worked on my blog and caught it up-to-date (at that time).

a view of the lake with whitecaps

August 26, 2011 - Rainy weather once again

We hooked up at the campground in the misting rain and fog. We stopped at the Walmart and grocery store in Sydney before heading on to Baddeck.

After Sydney and before Baddeck, we drove through some pretty torrential rain and it is not even the hurricane. We were fortunate though, it stopped raining just as we got to the campground. Richard was able to unhook the Jeep and hook up the coach in dry weather, just a lot of muddy ground. The sites are gravel so they were in good shape.

We just hung out at the coach the rest of the day. Visited with Pat & Barb for a while in the evening. Slow day.

August 25, 2011 - the Fortress at Louisbourg

Louisbourg is named for King Louis 14th of France but Louisbourg was built by King Louis 15th.

The French came to Louisbourg in 1713 following territorial losses to the English in Newfoundland and Acadia (Nova Scotia) in the War of the Spanish Succession. Based on a thriving fishing industry and trade, Louisbourg quickly became France's most important stronghold and seaport in what is now Atlantic Canada.

By 1760, Louisbourg lay in English hands and its fortifications were destroyed. Today, the Fortress of Louisbourg is a national historic site and the largest reconstructed 18th century town in North America.

Each summer, costumed interpreters paint the picture of life as it happened in 1744. The sights and sounds of the 18th century come alive in period homes, exhibits, theme centres and along the busy waterfront. All of the rich, fishermen, soldiers and servants were a vital part of the fishing industry which made Louisbourg one of the busiest seaports in New France.

The ranger girl who gave us our guided tour certainly knew her history. She gave us so much information to comprehend that we were mentally tired by the end of the 75 minute tour, and that wasn't including the walking. <smile> She told us that only 1/5 of the fortress/town of Louisbourg has been reconstructed. The other 4/5 is in the field behind the sign in the picture below. There are no plans to go any farther with the reconstruction.

You have to take a bus from the Visitor's Center to the bus stop near the gate. You enter through a fisherman's cottage which would be typical of the time period. The sod roof and wooden walls are so the home could be burned to ground quickly in case of English attack. It also had a dirt floor. They didn't want to give the English any type of stronghold to hold on to.

 

We then entered by a side gate into the fortress but most visitors during the time period would enter through the main gate in the center of town. It has the fleur-de-lis of France and the dedication to King Louis above the gate. This is the main gate.

 

 The magazine - storage supplies were kept here, including flour, sugar, etc., along with firewood, black powder, etc.

There was an archaeological dig going on. They found a bit of glass from a bottle while we were watching.

This girl is making lace. It is called bobbin lace/pillow lace because of the way it is made on a pillow with bobbins. Very intricate and time consuming - it takes an hour to make an inch of lace.

The King's Bastion - soldiers quarters were here along with the Governor of Louisbourg.

 

Most families had gardens.

The only church was inside the King's Bastion. Everyone in town went to Mass here.

An officer's room.

The Governor's quarters.

A room in the Finance/Treasurer's house.

Karen... after a long day of walking.

 

August 23, 2011 - Sailing Day

We have a drive of about 100 miles to Argentia where we sail on the ferry. We are targeting leaving the campground around 11 AM this morning. Gives me time to work a little more on the blog. 

After getting everything ready to leave, unhooked, etc., we are off. It is foggy this morning but at least it is not raining. Yeah! The fog lifts pretty quickly after we leave St. John's so we have an uneventful drive to Argentia. 

We are way to early for the ferry so we found a place to park and just sit for an hour or so. Then we decided we might as well go ahead and get in line. There are a few ahead of us but not many. We go through the quarantine spray with the coach and jeep before getting in lane 13. We still have 3 hours or so before we "have" to be here. The ferry is docking just as we are coming through the gate. We will be sailing on the MV Altantic Vision. It is an 800-passenger ship including crew, much smaller than the short ferry boat we sailed on to Newfoundland. 

We went into the terminal and ate lunch at the snack bar called the Blue Jay Cafe. A short trip through the gift shop and back to the coach to wait. We run the generator until we board the ship. That way the fridge stays on until we have to turn it off. The propane tank had to be turned off. The fridge will be off for about the next 15-16 hours.

We are nearly the last to load. They start loading around 4:30-4:40 and we are loaded about 5:45 and we sailed at 6:30 pm.  It started raining about 5 minutes before they loaded our lane.

After parking the coach, we went up to the "people" part of the ferry.  The lounge areas are all really crowded right now. We took our bag to the cabin and checked it out. Our cabin is 8053 on the 8th deck. It is a cute little cabin, little being the operative word. We have 4 berths, a desk, closet and bathroom with a shower. The surprise part is that we also have a window! I love that. Richard put the berth over his head up and we stacked the extra blankets, etc., on the one over my berth.

We went out to explore the ship - since there is really only one deck to explore, that didn't take long. There was a small bar, 2 restaurants, a snack bar, big bar/lounge area, small play area for the kids, computer area, an area for games, gift shop/boutique, and a movie area. None of the places were very big except for the big bar/lounge area and one restaurant.  The main restaurant was a buffet restaurant at $19.95/person. The other restaurant was "a la carte" starting at $25 and up. The snack bar had one soup, hot dogs, cold sandwiches, no ice. The whole feel was like a miniature cruise ship. It was nice. Based on the price of the restaurants, it is a good thing we ate lunch at the terminal. We did have a hot dog in the evening.

 There was entertainment in the Colors bar/lounge area for most of the evening.


 The Mosquito Bar

We sat in the lounge area for a while and I checked email and had a little online chat with Barnes and Noble about my Nook which had decided not to work once we were on the ship. Thank goodness for wifi at sea!

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I have to say a few words about Newfoundland. In some ways I hate to say goodbye. We had a great visit and the people are so friendly and open to visiting with you. Chris, the owner of the RV campground at Bonavista, came over, sat down at the picnic table and gave us an account of what to do in the area. In the meantime, he also answered our questions about various lifestyle things we wondered about. He was funny and entertaining to talk to. He was just one of many that shared information with us.

Two of my "bucket list" experiences were in Newfoundland and I didn't even know they existed - seeing icebergs up close and personal as we did in St. Anthony Bight and other places along the coastline.

The other was my puffin experience at Elliston where you could sit and really watch the puffins up close. They are a fascinating little creature and enjoyable to watch. I don't know of another place where you can see them so closely without having to take a boat tour which limits your time and costs money.

If you are coming to the Canadian Maritimes and debating about whether to spend the money it costs to take the ferry and is it worth it? It is definitely worth it! Don't even hesitate.

 

August 24, 2011 - Arrival in North Sydney, NS

Well, Richard said he slept good last night but I sure didn't. Of course, it is usually hard to sleep good the first night anywhere that isn't your own bed. I can tell you that little berth did not sleep like my air bed!

After getting showered (which I loved), dressed, etc., we went up to breakfast. Back to the shower, it was one of those rainfall type of showers. It was wonderful - lots of pressure, etc. It made up for the lack of sleep. 

We went to the breakfast buffet for $11.95/person. It was OK but certainly not outstanding. After breakfast, we went back to the cabin, packed and got ready to disembark. The ship docked right at 9 AM. We went back down to the coach on the lower car deck. Within minutes, they were directing us out.

 the view from our cabin window this morning

Our destination for the next couple of days is Louisbourg, NS. Pat and Barb are already there as their ferry docked at 6 AM this morning. We are meeting at the campground in Louisbourg.

We got to Louisbourg about 10:45, got checked into the campground, said hi to Pat & Barb, then got parked and set up. We had lunch and checked email, the usual stuff we do in a campground when we first get there.

Later, Pat & Barb came over to see if we want to go check out the area. We drove to the lighthouse and then to the railway museum which was free. 

Tonight we went to a ceilidh with a group called "One Night in a Cape Breton Kitchen." It was pretty good. They performed in the Louisbourg Playhouse which is a story in itself. 

 In 1993, Walt Disney Studio announced that Squanto: A Warrior's Tale was to be filmed at Louisbourg. Filming required the construction of a 17th century timber-style theatre that was modelled after Shakespear's original Globe Theatre in London. The theatre was featured in several scenes including one in which Squanto wrestles with a grizzly bear.

After filming was completed, the theatre was donated to the community by Don Carmody Productions and the Louisbourg District Planning and Development Commission had the structure dismantled and reconstructed three kilometres away at the current site. It officially opened on July 21, 1994 with the original open roof. Later a roof was added, along with washrooms, dressing rooms and a heating system.

Tomorrow our visit is to the Fortress of Louisbourg.

August 20, 2011 - Bumming Around St. John's

We took off in the morning with Pat and Barb for a day of sightseeing around St. John's. Our first stop was the Fluvarium. What's a Fluvarium you may ask...here's the answer right from the website.

"See it here. Experience it. Explore the secret life of a river and the watershed and ecosystems of which it is part. Discover how water shapes our land, our city, our history, our lives.

Recognize that water is a finite resource that is essential for life!

Two exhibit levels to explore and experience.

The Fluvarium level or our ‘windows on a stream’ area has a speculator panoramic view through nine large viewing windows. See Brown trout and salmon living in their natural habitat. Walk along a series of natural water aquariums that showcase fish species usually found in Newfoundland and Labrador. View Atlantic salmon and Arctic char. See the amphibians that live in our province.

Explore the many facets of water – all on Level 2. See a model of a water molecule. Learn why earth is called the Blue Planet. Possibly see fish move up the fish ladder. View the fascinating life of tiny things found in water. Discover the techniques of water quality monitoring. Learn how humans interact with water."

The website makes it sound like there is a lot more to it than we saw!  

   Some live bugs (or larva) that were under a microscope and we could see them big on a monitor. After 6 years, these will become dragon flies and live another year.

Our next stop was the Geo Rock museum/interpretive center. Only Pat was really interested in this so we dropped him off and Barb, Rich and I went downtown shopping. Before that though, we made a stop for some pictures on Signal Hill. The wind wasn't blowing at all so it was a totally different experience than the other day.

 Barb and Richard acting silly. 


Richard took this picture of them firing a canon at the Visitor Center for Signal Hill.

Richard finally found him a t-shirt at this store downtown. It still didn't have a pocket but he finally gave up on that idea. No bling, no v-neck shirts for women and no pockets for men.  Shirt shopping is definitely different in Newfoundland.

 

August 22, 2011 - Chill day and Chores before leaving Newfoundland

We worked around the coach, getting things put back up, decided what to take on the ferry, etc. Just one of those days that is just life. The internet connection (or typepad) was finally working correctly and would let me upload pictures so I worked most of the day trying to get caught up on the blog. It is so much more frustrating not having my satellite dish working anymore and it makes it harder to keep things up-to-date.

We finally got out to go to Walmart, the grocery store and Costco. I wanted to have my "puffin layout" printed. For the first time, I found a Costco that didn't print 12x12 size pages so didn't get that done. Will have to wait until the next Costco down the road and try again. So, I'll just put it here for you guys to see.

We ate a quick dinner at KFC before hitting the grocery store knowing we would spend more money if we were hungry.

Back to the coach and back to the blog. 

 

August 21, 2011 - Driving the Irish Loop

 
Pat and Barb left this morning for Port aux Basques where they will catch the short ferry back to North Sydney. We have opted to stay here at St. John's a couple of extra days and will catch the long ferry (overnight) from Argentia to North Sydney. We will both arrive the morning of August 24th but about 3 hours apart.

The Irish Loop (200 miles) refers to an area that encircles the shores of Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula. The area is named after the Irish immigrants that first inhabited this part of Newfoundland, and for the geography which resembles their homeland. This tour around the Irish Loop can be done in a day at a leisurely pace to truly enjoy the scenery.

Acording to the tour book, this is some of the most fertile land in the province where you will see herds of dairy cattle and fields of vegetables as you drive by. The rolling green hills of the area are still being farmed by the descendants of the Irish families who settled there in the 19th century.

Anyway, it was a beautiful day and we hated to waste it doing chores and things, so off we went to drive the Irish Loop.

According to the books, you'll see whales, birds, etc. along the Loop. We didn't. We did see farms which is something we hadn't seen elsewhere in Newfoundland. We saw some beautiful coastline, some pretty scenery and some quaint little things that people have displayed along side the highway.

My favorite was this little fishing village - it was in a small pond across the street from the guy's house who built it and put it together. Everything is done to scale and it was quite well done.

 

The lighthouse seemed a little big in relationship to the boats but other than that, it was pretty much to scale. My favorite was the little fisherman standing in his boat full of fish - probably selling to the people at the table. Back in the corner of the village is a fish flake (it is a stand where they dry the cod).  Anyway, once you've seen as many little fishing villages as we have in the past couple of months, you can really appreciate the detail this guy put into it. I loved it!

 

Before we had gotten very far along on the trail, we came up behind this bike run for Children's Wish Foundation. They slowed us down a little bit but they pulled off and we were able to get past them.

 

 One little town on the Irish Loop is called Ferryland. It is one of the oldest European settlements in North America. The Colony of Avalon as it was named, was founded in the 1620s by Lord Baltimore, whose family later founded the American colony of Maryland.

Since we had a long way to go, we didn't stay and tour the Interpretive Center at Ferryland.

We started out on this gravel road to the Cape Race lighthouse. We drove nearly 4 miles and the road just got rougher and rougher. Even though we're in a Jeep, we didn't see any reason to keep bouncing over that road to the lighthouse which at the point we turned around, we could barely see in the distance. Cape Race is where they heard the wireless distress signal from the Titanic.

This was a pretty little valley we saw near the town of Peters River. I guess that river would be Peters River in the pix. Supposedly the ocean is really deep here near the coast and the whales come in and you can watch them from the shoreline. Needless to say...no whales today.

We finally found a bathroom stop (which are few and far between in Newfoundland) and this little Amphibian car was parked in front. The man who owned it came out just as we were looking at it and talked to Richard about the car.

This little car was 49 years old. It will go into the water and you can "drive" it in the water. It had 10,000 miles on it.

They didn't make very many of these cars. I wonder why?

 

Here is another little fishing village, but it is not quite as good as the other one, but still, someone had spent a lot of time building it.

 

We saw this sign by the highway near Peters River and St. Vincent's.

We finally got back to St. John's about 5 o'clock. We went downtown and ate at Zapata's Mexican Restaurant. El Fenix...I miss you!!!  Zapata's is located on the side of the hill and parking is a lot of fun! The restaurant is small and dark though they must have another floor because some people went upstairs.

 this hill is pretty steep though you can't really tell in the pix

August 19, 2011 - St. John's and Driving the Killick Coast

After a quick stop at Quidi Vidi Bay, we head toward Pouch Cove at the top of the peninsula. We are driving what is called the Killick Coast. I don't know why it is called that.

We saw some beautiful coastline and some quaint fishing villages. We also saw some absolutely stunning houses on Conception Bay, which by the way is absolutely beautiful turquoise water.

  This is a really steep boat launch. They attach the boat to the cable which goes through the building on a wheel and they pull the boat up.

Here are some shots of St. John's colorful houses. Quite an interesting city. According to their records, St. John's is North America's oldest city. St. John's is a busy seaport and the busiest fishing port in the province. It is also one of the more colorful cities we have visited. It is hilly and the houses are crooked but they are not afraid of color. We thoroughly enjoyed visiting this bustling city.

A view of the old and the new, still colorful though.

 

August 18 - Signal Hill

"Signal Hill rises above the entrance of St. John's harbour and because of its strategic location, was a natural site for a signal station and fortifications protecting the harbour and city below. As early as 1704, flag signals were flown from the summit of Signal Hill to inform St. John's of approaching ships, both friendly and hostile. In 1762, English and French forces fought the last North American battle of the Seven Years' War on Signal Hill. When the military withdrew in 1870, the Newfoundland government turned the vacant barracks into hospitals. It was in one of these, on the summit of Signal Hill, that Guglielmo Marconi made communications history when he received the first transatlantic wireless signal in 1901. Cabot Tower was built to commemorate Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee and the 400th anniversary of John Cabot's voyage of discovery. It is the location of the last signal station in Canada. Signal Hill stands today as one of the province's best known landmarks."

Signal Hill offers a panoramic view of St. John's, the harbour, the ocean and the coastline. You can see Cape Spear to the southeast. What the brochure doesn't tell you is that the wind can really blow on top of Signal Hill...the day we went, the wind was blowing so hard that you could hardly stand upright.

 

Cabot Tower.

  

St. John's Harbour from Signal Hill

A view of the Narrows (entrance to St. John's Harbour)

 

This is old Fort Amherst. We didn't walk out to this point.

This is a view of Cape Spear and the lighthouses.

After we left Cape Spear this morning, we made a detour through Petty Harbour which is supposed to be quite picturesque.

 Some more shots of St. John's as we were driving around town.

This building looks like it belongs in South Miami, Florida.

We found a Mexican restaurant here in St. John's, Quintana de la Plaza. It was actually pretty good. The chips and house salsa were pretty bland but the enchiladas and taco were really tasty. It was also a little pricey for Mexican food - $18 for 2 enchiladas and 1 taco.

We also saw this farmers' truck selling veggies.

 

August 18, 2011 - Cape Spear

Pat and Barb were ready much earlier than we were this morning. For some reason, I just didn't want to get up and then I was slow moving, so we told them to go ahead. We'd see them later.

Our first stop this morning was Cape Spear. Cape Spear is 11 kilometers from St. John's and is the most easterly point in North America.

Cape Spear is the oldest surviving lighthouse in Newfoundland. There is a World War II coast defense battery (what's left of it), and the place where the Millennium first saw the light of dawn in North America.

Cape Spear was the first lighthouse built by the Representative Government in Newfoundland. The original lighthouse, constructed in 1835-36, was replaced with a modern concrete structure in the mid-1950's. The old light station has been restored by Parks Canada to help visitors gain an appreciation for the tradition of lightkeeping in Newfoundland maritime history. Restored and furnished to the 1840's period, a visit to the lighthouse enables you to relive the daily routines of a lightkeeping family.

Walking trails took us along the coast to the most easterly point in North America and Fort Cape Spear, a World War II coastal defense battery. The walking trail up to the lighthouse is a series of steps, boardwalk and at the top, dirt trail. It is quite steep. It had me shouting at the top, "I did it, I did it" but I didn't have any breath left.  ☺

 

  The old lighthouse and gift shop. There is still farther to climb I found out.

The replacement lighthouse. "I made it, I made it"

A little worse for wear, but still breathing.

The parking lot from the top.

Inside the lighthouse (the square one).

The rolls in the case below are signal flags.

We caught up with Pat and Barb at Cape Spear and had our picture taken with them. Unfortunately, the photo of me is awlful so I'm not using it. This one is not great but better. The sign says most easterly point. Proof we were there!

 

 

August 17, 2011 - On to St. John's, NFL

We left Walmart this morning in cloudy weather but no rain. We are moving to St. John's for the next few days before taking the ferry from Argentia to North Sydney, Nova Scotia. St. John's is the turning point in our trip - at this point, we are beginning our trip back toward the States and homeward (where ever that is for us). Pippy Park RV Park will be our home until we leave St. John's.

The first sites we were given were impossible to get level in due to our length, so the guys scouted around and found some empty sites that looked more level.  We got permission from the office to change and moved. We got set up and ate a bite of lunch and then were off to check out the area.

St. John's is the capital city of Newfoundland. It is the only city in the province, the rest are all towns. We don't know what the qualifications are to become a city but assume it is population.

We drove downtown to the harbor area and then up to Signal Hill. Pat and Barb didn't have their park passes with them so we just drove through the area and will go back tomorrow for a more detailed viewing.

We went to Costco and they did a little shopping. We didn't really need anything. Back to the coach for the evening.

These are just a few shots of St. John's as we were driving around. St. John's is a very colorful town - the houses are painted and they are known for their logo of the colorful, crooked rowhouses.

 

 

We spotted this waterfall across the harbor.

Downtown Water Street has lots of pubs and restaurants...and gift shops.

August 16, 2011 - Ryans Premises and Drive to Clarenville

We wanted to tour Ryans Premises before leaving the area so we made a mad dash over there this morning. It was sprinkling rain when we got there but most of museum was indoors. Ryans Premises is a national historic site commemorating the fishery industry through exhibits, artifacts, films, etc. It depicts the rich history of the fishery and its impact upon the people of Canada's east coast.

Ryans Premises is made of five original buildings belong to Ryan Industries and consists of James Ryans' home, office building, general store and other buildings.

 a diorama of Ryans Premises




This is a fish flake. It was used to dry fish back in the old days. This one was located in Elliston.

It took about 2 hours to go through the exhibits and then we headed back to the coach to leave the campground without overstaying our welcome. By the time we were unhooking, dumping the coach, and hooking up the Jeep, it was pouring rain. Poor Richard was drenched. Also, somehow, when we brought the living room slide inside, in came a batch of flies and I mean BIG flies. There much have been about 30 of 'em. We swated flies for the next several hours. 

When we got to Walmart, it was still pouring rain. We picked out a spot and got as level as we could. When the rain let up a little, Richard unhooked the car and we headed off to find something to eat. We wound up at Rod's Restaurant. Rich had fish and chips; I had fried chicken. His was pretty good; mine was so-so. Before going back to the coach, we went to the visitor's information and sat in the car and checked email. When we got back, we went over to Pat & Barb's and played cards - another round of "hand and foot."

 

 

August 15, 2011 - More puffins

Today, after breakfast and getting around, we opted to go back and watch the puffins again. Pat and Barb went into Bonavista, then back down the road about 30 miles to Trinity Bay. Pat wanted to tour the Random Access site.

 Richard saw this wildlife at the campground.

Richard and I hiked back out to the puffin viewing site and settled in. Today there were a lot more people and several with small children. It was much warmer today and no wind so much more pleasant weather to see them, but there weren't very many around. While there were still some on the island, most were gone...whether they were out in water around the island because many were, or they were just gone, we don't know. It was just different than the day before. None flew over to the place where we were sitting, probably because of the number of people and talking they were doing. Anyway it was nothing like yesterday. We stayed about two hours though and watched them through the binoculars but took very few pictures. It would have been hard to top what we took yesterday.

Part of the good news for me was that I could hike out there two days in a row - two months ago I couldn't have done it. It made me feel good for myself.

One of the drop offs in the area where we walked.

These photos were taken yesterday of the puffins.

 Can't you just hear him thinking, "should I or shouldn't I" ?

 Puffins mate for life and they have a life span of about 30 years. They lay one egg a year.

We drove back into Bonavista, then stopped at the Little Dairy King for dinner. We both had hamburgers and fries which were pretty good. We drove back up to the lighthouse but didn't see very many puffins there either.

They say that one day the puffins are there, then one day they are gone for the winter. 

 There were Inukshuks everywhere on this hill. You can see the outlines of some of them.

A statue of John Cabot who founded the area of Bonavista.

The coastline around Cape Bonavista.

 

We got back to the coach about dark. We had another enjoyable day, watching the puffins and just enjoying the experience. We are so lucky to get to do this lifestyle!

August 14, 2011 - Moving to Bonavista and PUFFINS!

 
We arrived at the campground near Bonavista just about noon - we met Chris and he explained the two sites. We got set up and fixed some soup for lunch. Pat and Barb were ready to go way before us so we told them, we'd catch up to them. We're off to see the puffins.

We are going to Elliston, known in Newfoundland as the Root Cellar Capitol of the World. They also have a population of puffins on an island that is really close to the mainland so that you can see them up close.

We found the puffin viewing site quite easily and settled in to take photos and observe. He guy at the entrance gave us a tip about where to stay and move slowly and sometimes they will fly over to where we are and we can see them really close.

We hiked out there; it was quite a walk and some of it a little tricky but we made it. We settled down to watch the puffins. Pat and Barb were there and so was another couple or two. We waited and finally a few of the puffins flew over to where we were sitting. We got some great photos!!!! Between Rich and I, we took about 700+ pix (don't worry, I won't post all of them).  Sitting there and watching them up close like that was a once in a lifetime experience. 

After watching the puffins for a couple of hours, we finally headed back to the Jeep. We were getting cold as it was very windy and cool where we were sitting. We drove around Elliston and then headed to Bonavista the back way. We made our way to the Cape Bonavista lighthouse. It was closed but we were still able to get pictures. Bonavista is a little, strangely laid out town. Roads, lanes, etc., go everywhichway.

It was really foggy as we got back to the coach at dark.

What a great day! The Atlantic puffin is my favorite bird! It is such a funny looking little bird and moves very awkwardly. They are one of God's funny little creatures but neat!

One of the root cellars. There are over 100 in the little town.

A view of the walk out to the puffin viewing site. You walk out to the point before the island.

Cape Bonavista Lighthouse

Our coach in the fog that night.

August 13, 2011 - Gander to Clarenville

Had a pretty day for the drive to Clarenville. We can't get into the campground at Bonavista tonight so we will stay in the Walmart parking lot and try and get in tomorrow night. Sometimes it is hard to get into these small campgrounds over the weekend.

We arrived pretty early at Clarenville, found a fairly level place to put the coach, unhooked and we were off the check out the area. We stopped at the local scrapbook store. It was pretty small. Then we ate lunch at a Chinese restaurant, just for something different. We drove over to Random Island. Not much there - it was a pretty boring drive.

We went to a couple of places for a little bird watching but saw mostly ducks and seagulls.

 

 

August 12, 2011 - Drive to the Shores (Gambo loop)

 
Since we had done the Gander stuff yesterday, we are looking for something to do. Pat and Barb want to chill but Richard and I are taking the Drive to the Shores loop.

These are just pictures we took as we drove through various small towns along the coast. We hope they give you a picture of Newfoundland and the people and their humor.

Wildlife sighting: 1 bald eagle

We loved these!

In Dover, we walked a path uphill to a point where you could see forever!

 the remains of a plane that crashed in the bay - 

 Karen on her way uphill!

A small portion of the water in Newfoundland. There is water everywhere!

 The town of Dover below.

Here's another town on down the road. Note the rocky coastline and area where the houses are built.

 


A little farther on down the road, we came to this village.

In another little town, we found these:


This guy must have spent all winter making these.

Down the road we found this coastline, I think they called it Dead Man's Cove.

One of the many streams/rivers/creeks we've seen over the past three weeks.

August 11, 2011 - Drive to Gander, Newfoundland

 
We decided to only spend one night at Twillingate, so we are heading on to Gander.

Gander is where many US and European planes landed on 9/11 when all planes were ordered to land. There were about 39 planes and 6000+ people that landed in Gander on 9/11 and stayed there for a couple of days until US airspace was reopened.

We are staying two nights at Country Inn Trailer Park and Motel. Wifi at the office of the motel so once again, we are sitting in the office doing email, blogs, etc. 

We visited the Silent Memorial in Gander and the site of the airplane crash on December 16, 1985 which killed 256 people, 248 were soldiers from Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, on their way home from a peace-keeping mission in Egypt. It was sad spot.

 This is the actual crash site where they put the memorial.

 The metal on the cross is made from a piece of the exit door of the airplane.

We also started to visit the North Atlantic Air Museum but changed our minds and just took pictures from the outside. 

 

We made a stop at Walmart looking for a water filter for the coach; finally found one at Canadian Tire. We ate at a local fish & chips place called Ches’s in the mall. Going to the mall here or seeing the stores is like a step back in time to the 50’s/60’s. This has been true as we have traveled across Newfoundland. 

When we got back from running around, we made our reservations for the long ferry back to North Sydney. We are committed for August 23^rd at 4:30 PM. Pretty pricey – cost about $200 more than the short ferry but we won’t have to drive all the way back across Newfoundland.

August 10, 2011 - Drive to Twillingate

It was a cloudy, windy drive to Twillingate, about 100 miles up the penisula. This is normally a spot for tourists to view icebergs but they are still up around St. Anthony where we saw them so there is really not much to do here.

We got set up in the campground-the only one around, and then went driving with Pat & Barb. We didn't do anything but we did see pretty much the whole area. Here are some photos of the area.

Our first stop was the Longpoint Light House. No inside tours.

 We saw fields of daisies everywhere.

The views above were all taken from the lighthouse point.

 drying fish - probably cod

 

August 9, 2011 - Driving day in the rain

As fairly usual on this trip, we hooked up in the rain and took off for Grand Falls-Windsor. On the way, we stopped in Deer Lake at the Insectarium. Richard wasn't interested so he stayed in the coach but Pat, Barb and I went in. 

 This butterfly had just left his cocoon.

The Insectarium also had a small butterfly garden.


 

 a walking stick

After leaving the Insectarium, we headed on toward Grand Falls-Windsor where we will stop for the night at the Walmart parking lot. Arriving at Walmart, we found several other RVs, trucks, etc., already set up for the night.

Richard unhooked the Jeep and we went to check out the town. We found the falls but we didn't get a picture. Sometimes it just doesn't work out for pictures! They weren't very big anyway.

We also found an Airstream rally - must have been 50 of 'em. They were the reason we couldn't get into the campground.

We found a "chip truck" and got a hamburger and fries and took it back to the coach for dinner. Later we walked over to Walmart. This was a pretty small Walmart. They don't have Supercenters up here, just regular Walmarts.