Catching Up

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 with the package we came back into Portland downtown and went to Eventide Oyster Co. for lunch.  Jim had read about this place in the Wall Street Journal.  Very popular…we had to wait only 30 minutes for a table near the front windows.  Had a beer while we waited.  We both had their trademarked Brown Butter Drawn Lobster Rolls.  Tiny Chinese dumpling-type roll with lobster.  Good but pricey.  Had some special potato chips along side.  We left there and headed back to the campground.  As I said previously the road was still closed for the earlier accident.  We did manage to find a place nearby called Run of the Mill Brew Pub.  Cute little place on a small island in the Saco River.  Jim and I tried some of their craft beers.  We sat out on the patio which overlooked the river.  Headed down the road back to the campground for the night.

Sunday morning, June 18^th, we packed up camp and left the KOA to drive to the ferry for our 2:30 pm departure.  We made it with no problems, picked up our boarding passes and parked the rig and car in the CAT ferry parking until they open the gates at 12 noon.  Jim and I walked along a footpath looking at the boats in the bay.  Beautiful sunny day.  We were first to go into the gates and get in line to board the ferry.  We were all alone until about 12:30 when everyone else started showing up.  We were the only motorhome.  There were lots of motorcycles and cars.  We thought Jim might be first to board but he was next to last.  I got on before him because I was driving the tow car.  I managed to get on deck and film him backing the motorhome up the boarding ramp.  No problems!  The ferry was very nice but smaller than the ones we were on in Alaska.  We found some seats and planned to watch some US Open golf on the tv.  Finally got underway and took some photos as we left the dock.  It wasn’t long before we hit the fog and we stayed in dense fog the entire 6 hour trip across to Yarmouth!!  The ferry blew the fog horn every two minutes the entire time.  The ferry was rocking and pitching so much you could not walk easily.  I found the coolest seat and leaned back hoping to not feel queasy.  One of the ladies working there brought me some crackers and ginger ale which I believe saved me.  Finally arrived in Yarmouth.  I drove off the ferry before Jim.  Unfortunately he had the customs declaration papers.  Thankfully we had a very nice customs agent who was not bothered by this and actually told me where to park and said he would tell Jim where to find me.  It was a little crazy since it was dark, the wind was howling and we looked like we were in a cloud since the fog was so thick.  Jim did find me and I navigated to our campground with not too much trouble.  I had to use Jim’s phone since mine decided to go on strike.  We are camping at Campers Haven RV Campground right outside Yarmouth.  We did not get there until after 10 pm but the lady was there to check us in.  She was so nice.  We have a great pull-through site #33 and got in with no trouble.  Basically put out the slides and went to bed.  It is very cold…I feel that way because I was freezing on the ferry too.

Monday, June 19^th, we awoke to more howling winds rocking the motorhome and socked in with fog.  It was a cool 57 degrees this morning.  Drove to Cape Fouchou to see the lighthouse.  Still heavy fog kept us from seeing much of any view and the wind was relentless.  Once we left there we drove back into Yarmouth and toured the Yarmouth County Museum and the Pelton-Fuller House.  The museum was full of everything about sailing and fishing as well as home life through the ages here in Nova Scotia and Yarmouth in particular.  The Pelton-Fuller House was the summer house for The Fuller Brush Man!  It is a beautiful Victorian house.  We also walked around the Frost Park which has a beautiful fountain with flowers and trees along with the ancient headstones…it was the first cemetery in Yarmouth.  By now we were starving and went back to the waterfront to Rudder’s Seafood Restaurant and Brew Pub for lunch.  I ordered a fish burger.  When it came it was a full filet of haddock on a deli bun…delicious as were the French fries with it.  Leaving Rudder’s we headed out in the direction of our campground but decided to drive to Comeau’s Hill to check out Tusket Island Lookoff.  We drove all the way to the end of the road but the fog was still too dense to see much.  On our way back on the road we saw a little trailhead and decided we could use a walk.  After hiking about a ½ mile we came to a large rock called “La Roche”.  There was a small memorial bench where you could enjoy the view.  This looks out over the Atlantic Ocean and the fog was not so bad.  We had a nice little rest enjoying the view of the water and the rocky coastline.  We decided to go back into Yarmouth and make another run at Rudder’s…this time at the bar.  We shared flights of four small samples of their craft beers.  While there we met a young man who is in Yarmouth to teach culinary skills to people who want to get jobs in restaurants.  He’s a native Nova Scotian but has done lots of traveling and studying in Europe.  He had lots of information about Nova Scotia and it was great getting advice on where to go and what to see here.

Now we are back at the motorhome and getting ready to settle in for the night…another foggy and windy one.  Tomorrow we set off north to discover more of Nova Scotia.