Catching Up...Again

Well I think I have officially flunked blogging since I have not created an update since mid June.
So here is a quick catch up, with more fill in to follow.
Since Bar Harbor Maine in June we have stayed in:
St. Martins, New Brunswick
Darnley Prince Edward Island
Cavendish Prince Edward Island
Peggy's Cove Nova Scotia
Baddeck Nova Scotia
Doyles Newfoundland
Eastport Newfoundland
St. Johns Newfoundland
St. Brides Newfoundland
North Sydney Nova Scotia
Mocton New Brunswick
Bangor Maine
Monson Massachusetts
Cooperstown New York
Erie Pennsylvania
Cleveland Ohio
Noblesville Indiana
St. Louis Missouri
Louisville Kentucky
Grand Junction Michigan
Traverse City Michigan
And finally, Petoskey Michigan where we are currently.
I will be posting some pictures and goings on from these various places when I get my act together...if that is possible. All, including Lance the kitty, are having fun!

O Canada Newfoundland

Six hour ferry from North Sydney, NS.


Carries cars, rvs, trucks, and people.

Took 2 days to drive across the island to St.John's. Newfoundland has its own time zone, 1/2 hour different from Atlantic Coast time. So we were quite confused. Asked a local about why, and he suggested they just wanted to be different!
Spent one night in Eastport. On way to cute restaurant on water, saw icebergs off shore. Really cool.

Stayed in the city park 2 nights in St.John's. Visited easternmost point (by direction Jack) in North America, Cape Spear.

Visited Signal Hill, first radio communication across Atlantic, and beautiful view of ocean and St. John's.

Boarded ferry for 16 hour ride from other end of island, Argentia. Because of that time issue (that's my excuse) we barely made it, last to board.

 

Had to wash away my anxiety with a beer, Iceberg of course.

Next stop, thru New Brunswick and back to the USA.

O Canada Nova Scotia

First stop in Nova Scotia, Peggy's Cove just west of Halifax.

Sea, lighthouse, and music!

Toured Halifax on July 1, Canada Day. This is celebration similar to our July 4. If I remember correctly this is the day that four provinces, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Upper Canada (Quebec), and lower Canada (Ontario) formed the federation of Canada back around 1867.
We hoped to watch the great fireworks display but because it doesn't get dark until about 10:30 we had to travel home and missed it.

Halifax harbor on July 1, Canada Day.

Next stop Baddeck, Cape Breton Island. Closer to North Sydney and the ferry to Newfoundland. Had to wait several days for space on the boat so explored the area a bit. Looked for some fine dining. Can't beat this!



Chicken I think.

Visited Alexander Graham Bell museum. He is considered father of Canada's first flight just after the Wright brothers his group won a contest to fly a minimum distance. Later developed other aircraft and hydro planes. Played golf at Bell Bay.
Golf at Cabot similar to Bandon Dunes. They even got Ben Crenshaw to build a second course. All on the water with great views.
Attended couple of Ceiligh's where there is plenty of Scottish music. Bagpipes and fiddles.
Hurricane Arthur felt here with not much rain but lots of wind. Closed up the coach sides for a night to insure we didn't fly away.
Finally on to North Sydney for 6 hour ferry ride to Newfoundland.

O Canada Prince Edward Island

Next stop Prince Edward Island.
Darnley PEI and a campground overlooking the Gulf of Labrador.



Sunset at the homestead!

Traveling is usually very easy since most of the roads are pretty good and there is very little traffic (not so many people live here). But once in a while you can be met on the road by a very large vehicle and have to pull into a driveway.


Cottage on the road!

Next stop was Cavendish resort area, scenery and seafood. Also enjoyed some different beers. Have to try the Moosehead.



What a pig! Two pounds of mussels.

And golf too.

Crowbush Golf Club

 

 

 

East end of island.

On to Nova Scotia.

O Canada New Brunswick

We crossed the border into Canada. Not sure what I said but they inspected the coach closely. Seemed to be looking for alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. We were ok on 2 of 3. Fortunately, or unfortunately, our alcohol supply had been diminished so we had little to declare and were eventually cleared to enter.

Our first Canada experience was St. Martins, New Brunswick, just outside of Saint John on the Bay of Fundy. The Bay of Fundy is noted for the height difference of the high and low tides. The boats actually sit on the ground at low tide.


Low Tide

High Tide

Visited St. John, where the rising tide actually reverses the river flow.

On to Prince Edward Island


Maine

We finally arrived in Ba Haba, Maine, or Bar Harbor to the rest of us.
Cadillac mountain in Acadia (I think they left the r out of the name so we would all pronounce it the same) National Park is the tallest mountain on the eastern US coast. You can see all the surrounding area.

 Wearing my Cadillac hat while on Cadillac Mountain.

Of course our primary reason for coming here was the food....lobster!

 Lobster

And, more lobster!

You can get lobster everywhere here. Enjoyed some at Stewman's Restaurant at the harbor area.
Picked some up at Eastern Lobster Pound near our RV park, and enjoyed dinner sitting outside; clam chowder, mussels, lobster, wine. What more could you want!

Visited the Oceanarium where they study and facilitate the harvesting of lobster. Each of the eggs on the bottom of this mom, well about 1/2 of 1% of them, will make a great 1-1/2 lb meal in about 7 years.

Could be looking at a future meal!

Over 120 million pounds were caught in Maine last year. We didn't make much of a dent in that annual harvest but enjoyed trying.

Now it is off to Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada...if the officials let us in.

Gettysburg

Next stop was Gettysburg, PA to visit some Civil War history.



Used the bikes to travel around a variety of locations in the park where the battle took place over 3 days. It's a little mind numbing to think of the death and destruction that happened here. Learned that several thousand men were killed within 1 hour. But it did become the turning point in the war. It's hard to not get emotional knowing what happened here.

Mary and I caught up with Abe again. Also visited the hotel he stayed in where he finalized his famous address (Four score and seven years ago....) the night before he spoke at the cemetery dedication.

A stop at nearby Hershey, PA and Chocolate World is a must in this area. Kind of like visiting one of our breweries, complete with theme park. Of course tasting is a given. I got a BIG kiss!

We actually did learn something about tasting chocolate, let it melt in your mouth versus just chowing down. It took numerous samples to verify the technique in order to earn our degrees. A masters!

Now, it is on to Maine for that other essential food....lobster.