Newfoundland 2017

JUNE 26, 2017  MONDAY Looks like a beautiful day to travel.  We will be leaving Shubie Park this morning and driving all the way to North Sydney, NS.  We have reservations at Arm of Gold RV Campground which is just minutes from the ferry port.  We said goodbye to our “close” neighbors and got on the road.  We are taking Trans Canada Highways all the way.  Shubie Park is not too far from the 102 which connects to the 104 and finally meets the 105 to North Sydney.  No trouble traveling at all.  Traffic is amazingly light which I love.  Saw lots of other motorhomes and trailers traveling north and south.  A caravan of motorhomes passed us heading to Halifax.  I wonder if they were coming from Newfoundland. We don’t see many billboards on the side of the road.  The few we may see are a waste of money because they are tucked into thick trees.  Such a beautiful drive…up and down hills and around curves through the valle...

June 25, 2017  SUNDAY Upon leaving the campsite we found a major bike race starting just at the gate to the park.  Everyone must be timed ‘cause the starters let us out of the park between two groups of bikers.  Thankfully they were headed in the opposite direction from us. We drove back into Halifax.  One the way we passed a large lake where they were having time trials for kayaks.  The water was marked with lanes and the lake was full of kayaks.  The edges of the lake were covered with spectators sitting in camping chairs and even under little tents.  Must be the sport activity for Saturday mornings. Our guide at the Citadel We headed straight to the Citadel.  We had gotten a Parks Pass at the visitor’s center yesterday so we got in free.  We did have to pay for parking but that was right at the entrance.  Very sunny today and warm.  The poor guys and girls who work at the Citadel as guides and demonstrators were ...

JUNE 24, 2017  SATURDAY Very windy this morning and cloudy, cloudy!!  It is raining too.  Looks like it will be an indoor kind of day.  After breakfast we set out for Halifax.  Took another way into the city over the Angus Macdonald Bridge (toll $1 Canadian).  First turn off the bridge and we were at the waterfront.  Navigated to the Visitor’s Center and actually got a parking space right in front.  Parking on Saturday and Sunday is free.  We got a little city map and had the guy recommend a place to eat lunch.  Before that we went to the Maritime Museum.  Beautiful models of famous ships.  Amazing exhibit on the Halifax Explosion of 1917.  Over 1600 people were killed and around 9000 were injured.  It was the largest explosion in the world until the atom bombs in Japan.  Many stories from those who survived.  Boston was the first city to respond with aid for Halifax and the city still sends Boston a Ch...

JUNE 23, 2017  FRIDAY Very clear night last night.  Woke up to 52 degrees.  Took our time waking up this morning.  We have a very short drive today….about 50 miles to Halifax. The trip today was very easy…highway almost all the way.  We did run into some traffic in Halifax.  Managed to find the A. Murray MacKay Bridge (toll $2.50…I think they didn’t see the little car we were towing) from Halifax to Dartmouth.  We have a campsite reserved at Shubie Park Campground.  We asked for a full hookup site…big mistake.  We probably got the last one which was very narrow and sitting on a little hill.  I managed to guide Jim into the site with little room between us and our neighbor.  Too close Luckily, our neighbor is gone right now so we didn’t feel too bad infringing on his space.  After leveling we couldn’t use our steps because of the hill.  Oh well…we just jumped out every time.  The campground has nice site...

JUNE 22, 2017  THURSDAY Brilliant morning!  Sun is bright and skies are clear!!  Looks like it will be a great day. We left the motorhome after breakfast and took Trunk Road 3 (scenic route) from Chester to Peggy’s Cove.  Drove through some picturesque fishing towns on the way.  One of the towns on the way is Hubbards, home of the Shore Club, and lobster suppers.  That I will save to the end of the day. The area around Peggy’s Cove is very rocky and I mean big rocks right up to the water.  There is also a lighthouse there.  We can’t go inside but we took photos and walked around the rock formations left by glaciers.  We parked at the Visitor’s Center and walked about 10 minutes up the road to the lighthouse.  I was amazed that it was not as windy as I expected it to be.  Very nice place to visit.  Lots of people there but no problems with parking etc. Peggy's Point Lighthouse at Peggy's Cove, NS For lun...

JUNE 21, 2017  WEDNESDAY Woke up to less fog but still overcast skies.  Temperature was about 58 degrees.  Hoping it clears up later. Set out and took the scenic route (Trunk Road 3) to Lunenburg.  Passed through many small villages.  Mahone Bay was the most spectacular.  It is famous for the three churches which you can see from across the bay.  Three churches in Mahone Bay The road actually travels right along the bay taking you through the town center.  Lots of shops so attracts many visitors.  We continued on to Lunenburg. The road took us along the bay with beautiful homes all around.  Lots of flowers and the rhododendron are brilliant.  Lunenburg has houses right on the road in the town.  Roads right on the marina are full of restaurants and shops.  We did visit the Visitor’s Center which is right at the campground in town.  You need to take a backroad to get to the campground but it would...

JUNE 20, 2017  TUESDAY Woke up to rain and more wind.  Took our time packing up for the trip today to Chester, NS.  We have reservations at Graves Island Provincial Park.  For the trip to Chester we took the better road (103).  It was a good idea as it rained to whole way and was again foggy.  Some of the rain was very heavy but Jim did a great job of getting us to Chester safely. Thankfully, the rain had stopped when we got to Chester and we found the campground with no problem.  The park is located on a small island.  There is a one lane but short causeway to the island and we checked in with no problem. Causeway to Graves Island Provincial Park  Set up camp quickly.  The site we have (#30) is very wide and deep so we had no trouble pulling in.  We can see the bay and out into the ocean but it would be better with no fog on the water. That's us on the right.  You can see the water further down. ...

Very busy time the last three days.  We did spend June 17 th checking out our way to the ferry for the 18 th .  One the way up ME1 to Portland we were stopped because of a serious two-car crash just up ahead of us.  Never found out what happened except that it was bad enough to close the road all day.  We had to back track and detour around the accident.  We drove down to the coast road and drove through the cute little town of Old Orchard Beach.  On our way back to the campground from Portland we were detoured around the area again. We found our way to the CAT ferry just fine and went inside the office to ask questions about time to be there and where to park.  Very nice people working there.  After that we wanted to go to the FedEx shop to mail a package and got caught up in PridePortland 2017 parade and celebration…hundreds of people in the city.  We couldn’t get to the shop so we diverted to another nearby.  After finishing wit...

We had a very restful night sleeping in the cool temperatures.  Woke up this morning to 60 degrees and partly cloudy skies.  I took a shower and washed my hair only to discover my hairdryer was in a drawer I couldn’t open because of the disabled slide.  Drip dry is not my normal style….at least it’s clean! We got back on I-84 and headed north.  Our route today will take us out of New York into Connecticut through Massachusetts and New Hampshire and into Maine.  The entire trip was about 277 miles in 4-1/2 to 5 hours.  I-84 connected to I-90 which connected to I-290 which ran into I-495 which ended up on I-95. All I can say is there is a lot of road work up here…most I think I seen on one trip before.  We also managed to get hit by a golf ball while driving through Southington, Connecticut.  Suddenly, I saw a golf ball flying towards the road from the right and it hit the interstate right in front of the motorhome bouncing off the road and...

Yesterday we discovered that one of the stabilizing cables on one of the slides was frayed.  We’re afraid it will break soon.  Called for some advice and ordered a replacement part which will be sent to the campground in Maine.  Hope to find someone who can repair it before we get on the ferry on Sunday. Got up early this morning and got underway at a good time.  We are heading to Fishkill, NY to spend the night at another Walmart.  We took I-81 all the way through the northwest corner of Maryland and into Pennsylvania and connected to I-84 just past Scranton, PA.  More traveling up the hills and down and around the curves.  Thankfully, there were slow traffic lanes on the upgrades.  We stopped in Newburgh, NY, to refuel at a Pilot Travel Center (truck stop).  Too many big trucks for my liking.  Got in and out just fine and back on the road.  We crossed the Hudson River by the Newburgh/Beacon Bridge.  Beautiful!  ...

We left home on June 7 and headed to Atlanta to visit our son, his wife and their beautiful new baby daughter, our FIRST grandchild!  This was the first time to see her since her birth in March.  She’s grown so much!!  She shared lots of smiles with me…maybe she thinks Grandma looks funny!!  Anyway, we had a great time with her and also spent some time with Leah’s family too.  Always fun and festive being with them. The time came to say goodbye for a while and we left Stone Mountain Campground on June 13 taking I-85 north connecting with I-77 in Charlotte, NC.  We made it as far as Elkin, NC, after driving through pouring rain.  Heavy winds sent the dirt flying through some construction sites along the highway.  Trucks and cars were pulling off the road and it was difficult to see very far ahead.  Jim kept going at a safe speed and finally came out of the storms.  We spent the night at Walmart (did some shopping, of course)....