... at sea -- Sat, 7/30/22

 

We're on the move:  From Nova Scotia to Newfoundland, like 656 nautical miles, docking in St John's at 8am tomorrow.  Weather-wise, today was a nonperformer, as in foggy, misty, off/on drizzle and rain.  Plus, if you were outside when that ear-splitting foghorn blasted, you'd be knocked out of your shoes, it's that loud.  Well, there's always laundry, washing those sweaty clothes from our sunny, hot days ashore.  Nannie and I found the laundromat and came back with clean, sweet-smelling clothes!

Craig Diamond presented a talk/slide show about Houdini from 11-Noon, which was pretty interesting because he gave us info we'd never heard before.  After lunch, Nannie and Jimmy and I played Yahtzee, and each of us won two games, which made everybody happy.  Later, after the fog had cleared enough that the horn wasn't sounding, Jimmy and I donned our suits and jumped in the (nice warm) swimming pool.  More fun!  The water was sloshing back and forth, but not at tsunami level yet.  We usually skip the elevator for the stairs, so we get our exercise moving about the ship.

This evening we opted for the Grand Dining Room, rather than the more casual Terrace Cafe.  Some of us chose the roasted Maine lobster in Chermoula sauce (whatever that is), but you see it above.  Pretty tasty!  You can have a gander at the menu, below.

Now comes one of the more fascinating moments of our lives.  At least it seems so to us, me and Jimmy. I don't really know what to call it. While seated at our table, two ladies walked in and sat at the next table.  I looked at the lady facing me and instantly recognized her!  (but it can't be!)  I leaned over to Nannie and said, "I think I know that woman."  Then I whispered to Jimmy, "That looks like Linda, from our NZ/Australia trip."  (but how can that be?)  We finished our dinner, but every time I glanced at the woman, the surer I became that it was Linda.  (could it really be?)

In the Grand Dining Room.

The string trio playing classical airs, such as Beethoven -- quite good.

She and her friend got up from their table before we did.  I looked at her and asked, "Is your name Linda?"  "Yes," she said.  Well, there you have it.  Sure enough:  Linda from our Road Scholar New Zealand/Australian trip in 2016.  We hadn't seen her since then, six years, but she looked the same to me.  She lives on the East Coast, we live on the West Coast.  If you'd like to see Linda bungee jump from a bridge near Queenstown, New Zealand in 2016, click here.  She was the only brave soul in the group to attempt it.

Anyhoot, she didn't know we'd be on this ship.  We didn't know she'd be on this ship.  Neither of us had any inkling that we might know the person sitting right next to us from a previous trip!  You could've swatted either of us to the floor with a feather!  What are the chances?  What are the odds?  Can the world get any smaller?  It gets a bit better.  This was our first dinner in the Grand Dining Room.  It was theirs, too.  Seated side by side.  We are in awe of how our universe works.  All of it:  Unbelievable.  Here are the three of us visiting the next day, above.

Howdy Halifax! Fri, 7/28/22

From Bar Harbor to Halifax was 275 nautical miles ... or nighttime cruising from 6pm to 12Noon.  In the process, we lost an hour to a new time zone.  We tried to sleep with our veranda door cracked, till the foghorn echoed through the foggy air, then had to close it -- that horn sounded every three minutes (I think, or four) very loudly!  Once the door was shut, the noise wasn't bad and we could sleep.  I looked out once and saw nothing but pea soup fog.  By breakfast, light rain was falling.  Dismal-looking day.

Across from where Insignia is docked is a perfect view of the Georges Island Lighthouse.  Built in 1917, it replaced an earlier tower from 1876.  Automated in 1972, it's operated by the Canadian Coast Guard.  Look at that sky -- kinda ominous.

Nevertheless, we dressed for wet and chill, and set forth on the Halifax Harbourwalk, a two-and-a-half mile boardwalk, with shops, cafes and sea-life scenes.  We'd all been to Halifax previously in our RV's, thus, we had no specific itinerary for the afternoon.  Jimmy and Bubba are standing beside a, dunno what, something ...

... while I'm hunkered between Samuel Cunard's legs. 😄

Harbourwalk was filled with statues and sights,

dealing with Nova Scotian life.

Before long, I pushed back the hood and eventually we jettisoned our jackets.  Low fog turned into either high fog or clouds, which might even be the same thing.

Uh-oh, the light pole fell to the deck!  Maybe Jimmy can pick it up; he'll try.  No go?  Ahhh, it's down there on purpose -- it's called "art."  Clever art.  Makes for fun photos.

Summer in the Maritimes is a showplace for flowers!  Everywhere we go, residents and shop keepers have filled flower boxes with annuals.  Much appreciated, too, by us travelers.

I had to take this pic.  Color amid Gray.

We stopped for a cuppa (excellent coffee, too), and then we (maybe me?) thought a visit to the Citadel would be in order, even though it was straight uphill, since sis and hubby hadn't seen it.  On the way, I spotted this wind vane above -- can't fathom how large it was.  (The thing was far away and this pic is zoomed in.)  Isn't it great?

Getting to the Citadel was a serious uphill grind, and by the time we arrived, we had less than an hour to tour inside the grounds, more's the pity, so we ix-nayed a tour.  

Now you know.

Spectacular views from up here.  There's serious hills in these parts.  Our ship is far below, but getting back will be easier than hiking up!

A guard at the Citadel grounds is apparently always on duty.

After a respite to breathe, we began our zig-zag descent.  Spied several murals en route, one of them above was especially appealing.

Churches and cemeteries.  We'll stop for either.  This burying ground was used from 1749-1844.  We didn't tarry long as we were all tired and footsore.  Not sure why some graves were raised like you see in the top photo.  We did see some of the interesting "gravestone art."

We finally reached the ship!  Fog was rolling in again, as you see, above.  Showers and a change of footwear kept us going, through dinner and a magician show with Craig Diamond at 9:30.  At bedtime I checked my fitbit and had almost 15,000 steps.  Whew, no wonder our feet were tired.  I tell you what, though -- we slept well all night!  Notwithstanding the weather or despite the weather, we had a grand Halifax day.

Tomorrow is our first sea day.

All aboard! Wed, August 4th, 2010

When Jimmy called Marine Atlantic on Sunday evening to check on our scheduled departure from Argentia NFL for the overnight trip to Sydney NS Tues evening 8/3, the lady on the phone said, "No, you're scheduled to leave from Port aux Basques Wed morning 8/4." Jimmy said, "Nope, uh, our reservation has us departing from Argentia." [near where we were camped]. She laughed and said, "Sorry, your departure has been changed and you're booked 8/4 from Port Aux Basques." Hmmm ...

Apparently due to breakdowns, the ferry service was "a mess." Our plans were abruptly changed for us. We had to drive approx 900 kilometers (hundreds of miles) from Witless Bay - the very East Coast - to Port aux Basques, the opposite West Coast. While the ferry trip was much shorter with the new schedule, and also free because of the snafu, we lost two days driving in fine weather. Poo!

 

 

 

The Joseph and Clara Smallwood ferry

coming into and docking at Channel-Port aux Basques.

We made it, tho, and boarded the Smallwood - a huge ferry! - and landed in Nova Scotia on Wed eve. Because of the lateness of our arrival and the fact that we hadn't been able to book a reservation anywhere, we spent the night camped in a Walmart parking lot, along with several fellow ferry RV'ers (our first time). It was all right and also free, of course.  Not something I'd want to repeat very often, but handy when you just need a spot to park.

Nova Scotia, Canada 6/29 - 7/4

We looked for Uisge Ban Falls one day and couldn’t find the road, so we thought we’d have better luck finding Egypt Falls (the name? – unknown). The climb down to the falls was “treacherous,” to quote a youth beginning his trek down the trail. He was right. But when we reached The falls, we were amazed. This same youth and his buddies stripped to bathing trunks, climbed to the second tier of falls and then jumped in a pool up there. They hollered like girls! I felt the water – it couldn’t have been a degree over 55. BTW, the climb back up to the car was, uh, rugged. A fun day.  The pics below are all from our Egypt Falls Hike.

Good luck!

Wheeee!

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Baddeck, Cape Breton Island is a great little town (ba DECK) on Bras-d’-Or Lake. We toured the excellent Alexander Graham Bell Nat’l Historic Site on Canada Day, July 1st (free entry today!). He and his wife owned a summer home “Beinn Bhreagh” on Bras-d’Or Lake and spent much of the last 37 year of their lives there. We couldn’t tour the home, but it looked like a castle in the photos. The next day we visited the library, had lunch at the Mello Cello Café, and then ferried to tiny Kidston Island, where we rambled pretty much around the whole island. Neat.

Cold water!

Aboard the ferry to the island.

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(Why-COG-[a]-mah) – on Bras-d’-Or Lake. Hilly, green, peaceful – we liked it enough to want to return. Morning lows ranged from 43F to 61F – that 43F caught us unawares and we froze our heinies – had to find the quilt! One of the days we hiked to the top of Salt Mountain – wow! – helluva climb to get there … but the views were spectacular, including the soaring bald eagle. Acres of lupines - white, pink, lavender, and purple: wonderful color. Robins were bobbing everywhere! (Learned about black flies too, and bought ultrafine mesh bug jackets with hoods for whenever we’re overwhelmed by the stinkin’ things. The fly is tiny, but its bite is awful.

 

Whycocomagh Provincial Park, Cape Breton Island

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Next was the very nice Five Islands C/G, near Parrsboro on the Bay of Fundy with its phenomenal 40’ tide range. The tide was in when we set up camp, but the next morning we were totally surprised to see just how far out the tidal flats went! A mile, two miles? We saw people in boots way out on the flats (even using four-wheelers) with rakes and buckets, piling clams into their buckets. Not me – uh uh, no clams for me - I was afraid of getting stuck in the mud, like quicksand, so go ahead, I don't care, call me a stick in the mud!

Tide's out!

Tide's in!

What a great week we've had!

Nova Scotia observations ....

Nova Scotia is a very hospitable place with friendly people who love well-tended velvety-green lawns. Since it's surrounded by water, you may well imagine that water is everywhere – lakes, streams, rivers, ocean. The entire province is very green with colorful wildflowers. It was our pleasure to observe the reds and golds of autumn showing up in mid-September. Beautiful trees dot the province: Spruce, fir, white birch, maple, etc., as well as apple trees loaded with apples growing roadside, with apples squished on the road. Road signs and printed material are always given in both English and either French or Celtic (?). We didn't encounter much traffic on most roads and signs are easy to follow. Paved roads are marginal, and some are terrible, but the speed limits are lower, which saves on gas and gives people (like us) more time to gawk. It is not flat, except perhaps at oceanfront – everything else is tilted either UP or DOWN – which makes Nova Scotia ear-popping country. The wind blows constantly. If it had a national bird, my money would be on a CROW or a SEAGULL. Nova Scotia is expensive for Americans, but we enjoyed our visit.

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One of my favorite Canadian road signs.

Nova Scotia: Week Four - Sept 15-22, 2007

Sunday the 16th we moved to Cheticamp C/G at Cape Breton Highlands Nat’l Park for a couple of nights. The day was still cloudy and cool, jacket weather, but no rain. We decided to hike the sometimes-rough 7.6 mile R/T Salmon Pool River Trail, which started out wide enough for a vehicle and ended up a narrow winding footpath. We followed the tannic Cheticamp River from our campground near the ocean to the mtns where it became a raging torrent, plunging over boulders, wild with rapids and waterfalls. We didn’t see any salmon, but aren’t they hard to see in the water unless they’re jumping? We enjoyed a great hike, and got back sort of late.

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Monday the 17th dawned clear and sunny, altogether gorgeous, and we set out for the Skyline trail. The brochure says it’s a “dramatic headland overlooking the rugged Gulf of St. Lawrence coast. Whales, eagles, moose, bears.” This 5.7 mile loop was one of the most outstanding trails we’ve ever been on. We saw both Minnie and Mickey (big rack!) moose, hawks, and at the top of the headland, we watched pilot whales frolicking in the waters 250 meters down. Fields of wildflowers and ferns mixed with fragrant conifers. A boardwalk led off the trail with stairs and platforms for viewing the Gulf far below. Fainthearted people wouldn’t be able to do this one!

After finishing this trail, we elected to do a wee 1.9 mile hike to Benji’s Lake, very different than Skyline. We spotted more birds (no moose) here, inc. a spruce grouse poking along on the ground, and identified the red-breasted nuthatch, an early warning fella, whose call sounds like a toy tin horn and who alerted everything else in the forest of our presence, the rat. We were tired when we got “home,” but we had a terrific day! Windy and 5°C (40°F) is our forecast low – real snuggling weather – we can add that third blanket, and wear lightweight long-johns! We don’t sleep with the heater on, but we appreciate it in the morning – either electric or propane, depending on if we’re hooked up or not.

 

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Tuesday the 18th we pulled up stakes to drive wherever the wind blew us … and we ended up at the world’s end – Meat Cove, at the very top of Cape Breton Island – where the road ends and the sea starts! The last 5k was an unkind dirt road, but the view … oh my, it was worth it! Meat Cove is a tiny rural fishing community, the most northerly settlement in Nova Scotia.  We managed to pull our little RV onto a high grassy bluff next to the ocean. Yikes, don't get too close to the edge, because it's a long way down! This campsite has to be the best ever, with mountains behind us and the ocean in front, and craggy coves along the coast. No hookups here! We love that we can camp in our little RV with or w/o hookups.

Our little Trail Lite is camped at the top of the world!

We got "directions" to Cape St Lawrence Lighthouse, so we set off on foot – straight up, and up, and up. The route was tortuous. We either missed our turn or didn’t go far enough, but we didn't find the lighthouse. I don’t know who was more surprised – me or the ponies – as a line of three horses, two painted ponies and a big brown mare, came around a curve, ambling up the trail like they were out for a Sunday stroll. They stopped to see if we had any goodies and continued on! Nothing and nobody else around – huh! Crazy! We also startled a ruffled grouse. I'm not sure far we hiked, but we were gone for hours. We were tired this evening, but we stood outside after dark, studying the sky that stretched from horizon to horizon, eyeing the Milky Way and a heavens full of stars – wow! Another cold nite is forecast.  We don’t mind a bit.  Such a spectacular place to camp!

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We left Meat Cove on Wednesday the 19th and followed the scenic Cabot Trail south to Louisbourg. Somewhere along the way we stopped to pick a dishpan full of really dinky “native” apples hanging on a tree in front of an old white clapboard church that seemed unused. We also paused a couple of times while still in the Nat’l Park at awesome scenic viewing places; such a pretty day to drive. At Point of View RV Park in Louisbourg, we signed up to stay for two nights.  And, we enjoyed a buffet dinner in their restaurant. Halibut, oh yeah, yum-yum! Did a lot of laundry here, too.

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Thursday, Sept 20th, turned into another warm, sunny day.  Jimmy and I were at the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada ... founded by the French in 1713 and abandoned by the British in 1768. The British blew up the fortifications in 1760, and in 1961 Canada decided to reconstruct one-fifth of original Louisbourg. Nowadays dozens of costumed animators become the town’s residents, àla summer of 1744. Period homes and exhibits line the central streets. We spent fascinating hours touring, asking questions, watching demonstrations, etc. The blacksmith made us a hook, and we bought a loaf of “period” white/wheat bread to go with our chili, which, if it had been round, could've been used as a bowling ball, but it tasted good … the first night. After the Fortress, we rode our bikes to town to go thru the RR Museum.  FUN day.  After our return to Tergel, we ate our delicious chili and bread! Then, we peeled and cored those silly apples and cooked ‘em up with a bit of brown sugar – nice, sweet desert!

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Friday the 21st we elected to hop the ferry to Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.). When we drove up to the ticket booth @ 2:45, the ferry was boarding, and this time we weren’t last to board – three monster gravel trucks pulled up alongside our little RV (geez!). We chose Brudenell CG in eastern PEI because it was close to Montague, which has a farmer’s market on Saturday. It’s one of the few campgrounds open at this time of year, and it’s a great choice for us ... as we’re close to the Confederation Bike Trail.

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On Saturday the 22nd, we hopped on the bikes aimed for Montague.  Cool temps to start, but the day warmed fast in the bright sun. The Confederation Trail (rails-to-trails) stretches across the island, and it’s perfect for riding as its relatively flat and smooth.  This wonderful trail is bordered by raspberry canes and ferns, flowers and cattails, and fabulous trees. More reds and yellows and oranges of autumn are appearing. (Watch out for woolly bears!) We found the farmer’s market, but were disappointed as the vendors were at the 70-mile yard sale! We rode around (up and down) the town and even checked out a couple of yard sales, then rode back to camp for lunch. After lunch (we finished up the everlasting cabbage we bought in Liverpool!), we rode to Georgetown, an old shipbuilding town with marvelous old homes and beautiful Chestnut trees. I bought a newspaper at Darryl’s (they have everything) mostly for the paper's name: The Guardian – Covers Prince Edward Island Like the Dew. Okayyyyy!  Still windy, but t'was a wonderful day to ride – we put on 30 miles. Lovely, lovely day.

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