johnbettys

John and Betty’s Travels Part 10

Well, the camping weekend was a blast. We met up with Della’s brother Todd and his wife Gloria who have a seasonal sight next door to Barry and Della’s. We also met Barry and Della’s real good friends Bill and Dorothy who have the seasonal site on the other side of Barry and Della. They have been friends since Barry and Bill went to school. On Saturday afternoon/evening there was a end-of-season “bring what’s in your fridge” potluck that involved about 16 people. The food selection was so abundant and absolutely tasty. To sum up the weekend, we ate, drank and sat around the fire, it sure doesn’t get any better than that. Though it was a bit cool (13° C) and overcast with the odd sprinkle that didn’t deter us. Sadly, we said our goodbyes on Sunday night as we were leaving towards home on Monday and Barry and Della would be heading to work from their trailer early in the morning. sigh……..

Well readers, we are now home. After leaving Virden at 1030 and pulling into Moose Jaw, we decided to press on and head for home. So after filling the truck with fuel and our stomachs with food, we were on the road to Medicine Hat.

To sum up our trip, we were gone 106 days, visited 8 fabulous provinces, travelled 15,768 kilometres of which 10,896 were with the trailer, hooked and unhooked the trailer 32 times, saw the cheapest gas in Winnipeg Mb on Sept 18th at Costco for $0.879 and the most expensive in White River Ont (west of Wawa) on Sept 15th at the Husky for $1.379 (thankfully we didn’t need to fill up…..phew…..) Betty and I had a great time and would we do it again? You bet, in a heartbeat……

Thank you all for following along as we hope that you enjoyed reading about our escapades as much as we did living and writing about them….

—-Betty and John

John and Betty’s Travels Part 9

On Monday Sept 4th, we started our journey home. With overnight stops in Woodstock NB, Levis (Quebec City), saw us reach Morrisburg Ont on the 3rd day. During those 3 days of travel, some of the fall colours started to show themselves. If you recall back in July, we wanted to visit Upper Canada Village (UCV) but we were rained out. On Thursday Sep 7th after a quick trip to the quaint village of Morrisburg for gas, we stopped and took pics of the Holy Trinity Anglican church. Though this church is only 100 years old, it has quite a history. You can read all about it at http://www.holytrinityAnglican.ca and then onwards to UCV.

Though the skies were overcast and the forecast was for periods of rain, Betty and I ventured to UCV. We entered the Village and went through the wool mill. The machinery was working away and a lady was putting the fringe on a wool blanket that had been made just a day or two before. We ventured to the sawmill which happened to be in operation. It is very similar to the sawmill at King’s Landing in NB. While we were in the sawmill, the skies opened up and a torrential downpour occurred. Betty was smart enough to have brought her raincoat with her but I had left mine in the truck. So off I go and get my raincoat, dodging raindrops along the way, well kinda….lol . The sawmill operator was very passionate about his tasks and regaled us with stories of the sawmill. He was very familiar with the issues that plagued the King’s Landing sawmill. The rain did let up and we were able to enjoy the balance of the day’s visit, dry and with a nice blue sky. While visiting the blacksmith’s shop, we were able to watch a horse being shod. Their Fall Fair was coming up and lots of people were preparing their products for display.

Scooping cheese curds that will be pressed into a cheese wheel

Dried flower arrangement for the Fall Fair

The Baker. (All bread made during the day is sold at the Gift Shop.)

Stalks that will be harvested, dried and made into brooms.

Rain gutter downspout made by the Tinsmith

Items made by the Tinsmith and are available for purchase at the gift store.

The next day saw us travel to Brighton to visit Carole and Tyler for a few days. On Saturday, we went into Trenton to watch the Trenton Irish Scottish Games. The women’s heavy competion was scheduled for Saturday with events such as the sheath toss, hammer throw and caber toss. There were 6 Pipes and Drum bands that played individually throughout the day but during the Women’s Awards ceremony, they came onto the field as a massed band. It was quite the sight.

Sunday was a day of leisure with a nice stroll along the waterfront at Cobourg.

On Monday Sept 11, we headed north to Sundridge to visit John’s sister Reina and our brother-in-law George. The fall colours are becoming more prominate. On Wednesday, John’s brother Herb and our sister-in-law Carolyn came up to visit and we were able to get caught up with everyone’s summer activities.

On Thursday Sept 14th we continued our journey towards home. We travelled to Sault Ste Marie and the fall colours were exceptional. We were able to capture the colours while in the campground. Really awesome.

By Sunday, we are in Winnipeg, visiting with Betty’s son (John’s step-son) Chris, daughter-in-law Paulette and grandson’s Colin and Brett.

On Tuesday Sep 19th, we headed to Brandon and were able to park in Betty’s brother Barry and sister-in-law Della’s driveway. We’ve been catching up and have been visiting with Betty’s mom. On Friday, we are going to Aspen Grove Campground in Virden Mb to camp with Barry and Della. They have a seasonal site at the campground and this upcoming weekend is their wrap-up party weekend…….woohooo!!!!!!!!!!! Gonna be a blast………..

Part 10 will be the wrap up………

John and Betty’s Travels Part 8

On Saturday August 19th we departed Baddeck and headed to Halifax. We were fortunate that our friend Glenn has offered up his driveway for our trailer. Glenn lives in Lower Sackville and we have known him for almost 30 years. Glenn has been a widower for 8 years and was looking forward to our visit. He is from the Halifax area and has a wealth of knowledge of the area’s history. Once we arrived, we got ourselves all sorted out and now it was time to get caught up on our life’s activities.

On Sunday August 20th, the three of us headed to the Halifax waterfront to visit Pier 21. If you haven’t heard about Pier 21, it is the spot where immigrants entering Canada by ship would be processed. One reason for going to Pier 21 was to try and find some information on our daughter-in-law Paulette’s ancestors who had immigrated from Austria in 1898 and arrived at Pier 21. At the Records Room, with assistance of a staff member, we were able to get copies of the manifest when they boarded the ship in Hamburg, the manifest of their arrival in Canada and the history of the ship that they had sailed on. It was absolutely fantastic that this was accomplished within minutes of entering in a few key words. We then went through the museum which was a very interesting and informative experience. If you want to know more about Pier 21, just Google “Pier 21” or use the full name, Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21. Then we were off to the Citadel to do more sightseeing. The views from the Citadel are quite spectacular.

Actual doors that immigrants used to enter into the processing area

Part of the model of Pier 21 processing area

Monday August 21st saw the three of us head to Peggy’s Cove. One cannot go to Halifax area in Nova Scotia without taking in the sights of Peggy’s Cove…just saying….lol… About 5 kilometers before Peggys Cove, we stopped at the memorial for Swiss Air Flight 111. Swiss Air Flight 111 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on September 2nd 1998 with a loss of 229 men, women and children. It was a very sombre visit.

I guess they needed to put down signs…..just saying….

Glenn has a house that backs onto First Lake and as Tuesday Aug 22nd was hot and humid, it became a day to catch up on laundry, lazing about and swimming in the lake and naturally, happy hour(s) came earlier than usual……lol…. It was soooooo relaxing…..

On Wednesday August 23rd, I took Betty to the Halifax airport so that she could fly to Victoria BC to attend our grandson’s wedding which happened on Saturday August 26th.

Thursday August 24th was spent firstly taking care of the truck as it needed an oil change, then getting the propane tanks filled at Costco and pick-up a few things at Costco…….honestly it was just a few things …. back at the house it was to reconnect the propane tanks on the trailer and have lunch. Then off we go to Uniacke Estate Museum Park. Richard John Uniacke was a prosperous Irish-born politician and was the Attorney General for Nova Scotia from 1797 until his death, had this mansion built with the construction starting in 1813, completed two years later in 1815 and full occupancy occurring in 1816. This mansion was occupied by 7 generations and in 1949, the entire estate was sold to the province to be used as a museum. A very fortunate aspect is that all of the contents are original to the house. Go to Uniacke.novascotia.ca to learn more.

Friday August 25th saw Glenn and I headed to the waterfront and had a very nice leisurely stroll. There was an arch that signified the last steps of military personnel as they boarded ships headed for Europe for both World Wars and footsteps have been burnt into the wooden boardwalk, very impressive. We went aboard HMCS Sackville, the last known corvette from WW II and is still an operational ship that is used to perform burial-at-sea ceremonies. It is also a museum.

Theodore the Tugboat (An actual working tug)

On Saturday Aug 26th, Glenn and I headed north to Grand Pre, the principal scene of the Acadian expulsion in 1755. The Interpretative Centre has some extremely fantastic artifacts. Grand Pre which means “great meadow” refers to the extensive dikes lands in the area. Settlers from Port-Royal moved to Grand Pre in the late 17th century and, copying the successful dike and floodgates system used in Port-Royal, reclaimed the rich marine sediment from the Mines Basin. Soon Grand Pre became the largest and most important community in Acadia. The Acadian expulsion was immortalized by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem “Evangeline.” Naturally if you want to learn more about the expulsion or the poem, well you know the drill……..just Google……….lol

I picked up Betty at the airport on Monday August 28th. The wedding was wonderful, the bride was beautiful, the groom was handsome and the wedding party were stunning. Though it was a short visit, she had a good time and was able to get caught up with the grandsons and with the daughters, Carmen and Jennifer.

Tuesday was a maintenance day for laundry and travel preparation. Glenn was leaving on Wednesday to visit his sister and brother-in-law in South River Ontario. South River is 60 km south of North Bay. On Wednesday we moved to the Halifax West KOA which is located at Upper Sackville. It took us 20 minutes to travel from Glenn’s place to the KOA …….lol… After setting up, Betty and I headed up to visit Uniacke Estate and then proceeded to Grand Pre. Though I had seen these sites, I knew that Betty would really enjoy them as well. It became a pretty full day.

Water sluice trough (circa 1680) found in the 1960s

Cross at the site where the Acadians were loaded on boats and deported

On Thursday August 31st, we went into Halifax to visit the waterfront. We went through The Maritime Museum and the artifacts and displays were simply amazing. The exhibit on the 1917 Halifax Explosion was extensive and extremely interesting. Google it to get the full story of the collision and the results of the collision. The Titanic exhibit was a little disappointing as some of the artifacts weren’t on display due to their condition and were being restored. The museum is definitely a place that a person wants to visit. As we walked along the waterfront, we were able to see Theodore the Tugboat cruising along. After our waterfront sightseeing was done, we drove up to Fairview Lawn Cemetery where some of the Titanic victims are buried. In another part of the cemetary, there is a mass grave of some of the unidentified victims from the 1917 Halifax Explosion. After paying our respects, we headed to the place where the shaft of one of the Mont Blanc’s anchors landed. This spot was well over 3.5 km from the explosion site.

As Friday September 1st was a cool, windy day we decided that it would be a leisurely day with a trip to Wal-Mart and the liquour store. After having a late lunch in Lower Sackville, we noticed that the Hitman’s Bodyguard was playing so we went to the 4 o’clock show. It was entertaining.

Listening to the radio on Saturday morning we find out that the price of gas has risen by 13 cents a litre since Thursday, damn it!!!!!

On Saturday September 2nd, we headed to Lunenburg, home of the Bluenose. While travelling to Lunenburg, we stopped in the quaint village of Mahone Bay. Mahone Bay is noted for having three churches visible from across the bay and is a great photo op.

While having lunch in Lunenburg, we were able to take pictures of Bluenose II departing. Later we saw her with the wind in her sails, it was quite the sight. Lunenburg is a very pretty town, especially with the colourful houses. We were lucky to catch one of the tall ships, Europa at dock and sailors in the rigging. Then it was a trip to beautiful Blue Rocks. Blue rocks? Yes, lots of beautiful blue slate (well, bluish!!!!!). The stryations in the rocks were amazing.

Just east of Mahone Bay is Oak Island and is a must-see. Anyone that has watched The Curse of Oak Island on the History Channel will know what I mean. We had hoped to be able to go on a tour but tours are only available twice a month and needed to be booked on-line. They are sold-out within hours. We were able to drive on the short causeway and see the “War room”. At least we can now say “We were there!!!!!!”… Now it was time to head back to the campsite…..

Our sightseeing trip has basically come to an end. Sunday will be spent organizing and prepping for our journey home. On Monday September 4th, we’ll hook up and start heading back. The only sightseeing destination on our way back is Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg as it rained (poured) on the day that we wanted to see it.

The next post that you’ll see will be at the end of the month when we’ll do a wrap-up. And then we’ll be into WHL hockey……..Go Tigers Go!!!!!!!!!

John and Betty’s Travels Part 7

Sunday August 13th was spent walking about Baddeck’s waterfront. And who did we come across sitting at one of the benches? It was no other than Mabel and Alexander Graham Bell!!!!!! The miracles of time travel…..lol. Not wanting to miss a photo opportunity, we stood behind them and had our photo taken.

For a Sunday it was relatively quiet and we enjoyed our leisurely walk. We stopped in at a gift shop that had various crafts and artwork from local artists. We browsed for a while and then continued on with our stroll. At the main pier, we saw the tour boat tied up. According to the billboard, their tours for 2 pm and 5 pm were sold out. We noticed that there was a Lion’s Club pontoon boat leaving the pier and heading to Kidson Island. The island is quite close and the boat ride would probably take 10 minutes at the most. The beach on the island which looked quite popular and there was a lighthouse on the tip of the island.

Kinston Island (beach is further to the right)

After the main pier, we went up to Main Street and went to browse in the old Baddeck Post Office that had been converted into a gift and home decor shop. After browsing about, Betty made a couple of purchases and we were off to the ice cream shop. The ice cream was tasty but not as tasty as Cow’s Creamery ice cream. Then it was time to pick up some groceries and head back to the campsite for cocktail hours…..

On Monday August 14th, we travelled to Glace Bay to visit the Miner’s Museum and the Marconi Museum. At the Marconi Museum, we watched a video on Marconi’s efforts to build his site at Table Head. It was at this site that Marconi proved it was possible to send messages across the Atlantic using electromagnetic waves. One of the interesting items on display was a copy of the hand written note from Alexander Graham Bell offering up his summer residence of Beinn Bhreagh at Baddeck for Marconi’s use while Marconi was searching Cape Breton for a suitable location to build his transmitter station and radio towers. As mentioned in previous articles, Google sure comes in handy when you want to get more details.

Model of the transmitter station, 200′ towers and the antenna in the centre.

Some of the concrete foundation remnants at Table Head

The Miner’s Museum was really interesting. There were the artifacts, displays etc that one would find in a museum. Outside there was a replicated Company Store, commonly referred to as the “Pluck me” store. The miners had little choice but to shop at the Company Store as it was the only place nearby to acquire your food stuffs, tobacco and alcohol. Naturally, the Company set the prices as there was no other competition. The majority of the time these goods were bought on credit. The miners were paid weekly and paid by the ton of coal produced. Most times, their pay enevelops did not contain any money but a note of how much they still owed the store. Also on site was a house that the miners rented from the Company. This particular displayed house was similar to a duplex. One side was set-up as life would be for the miners in the mid 1800s and the other half was for the turn of the century. Each house had 3 bedrooms: one for the parents and a room for the girls and one for the boys. If there were 12 kids in the family, it would be a bit of tight quarters…..lol

The best part of the museum was the mine tour. We were in a group of 21. All of the guides are retired coal miners. Our guide Eric, had us don ponchos and hard hats. He went around and found out where everyone was from and gladly took your picture with your camera if you so desired. Nice touch. Eric explained the mine and the safety rules that we need to follow, basically keep our hard hats on and stay within the group. We went into the mine and were able to walk erect for about 5 minutes. After that, the mine ceiling got a little lower and lower as we went along. I’m sure that at times the distance from the floor to the ceiling was only 48″. As the ceiling of the mine is covered by metal sheets and I-beams to prevent the ceiling from collapsing, the hard hats protected our noggins as there were a few times that our heads banged the ceiling. Throughout the tour, Eric would explain the various activities and concerns of the miners. Miners were scared of three things in a mine: fire, tunnel collapse and methane gas. The tour lasted about 30 minutes and was absolutely enjoyable. This is definitely worth it. However if you are claustrophobic, stay on the surface….lol and as mentioned previously, just Google for more info.

Tuesday August 15th saw us hit the road and travel the Cabot Trail. The weather was perfect: sunny, blue sky, a few clouds and a high of 23° C. Wow, what a journey; with the spectacular views, quaint little villages such as Ingonish, Cape North, Pleasant Bay and Cheticamp, artisan’s shops, road construction, bumpy roads, smooth roads, twisty curvy roads, hairpin turns, steep inclines, from being at 9 metres above sea level to 440 metres above sea level, and even a piper, we had it all….

On Wednesday August 16th, Betty and I met up with Carole and Tyler, our friends from Brighton Ontario for lunch in Inverness. They are vacationing in Cape Breton as well but are staying at a B & B in Cheticamp. It just so happened that the portion of their vacation that was in Cape Breton coincided with ours for a few days so we thought that a lunch date was in order. We actually passed them on the Cabot Trail yesterday while in one of the many construction zones…. They were doing the trail in a clockwise direction while we did ours counterclockwise…… After lunch, we said our goodbyes and proceeded south. Inverness has a boardwalk along a very long sandy beach with sand dunes that Betty and I took some time to stroll along. We should have brought our bathing suits and towels….. We had a leisurely trip back to the campsite. In the past few days, we sure have added to our truck’s odometer…..lol…..

John and Betty’s Travels Part 6

On August 10th, we left PEI. We were thinking about taking the Wood Island ferry but in the end we decided to take Confederation Bridge back to the Mainland. The vehicle toll was $46.50 and $8.00 per axle for the trailer. So for the grand total of $62.50, we were able to leave the Island. I guess that they have to pay for that billion dollar bridge somehow….lol…

A short time later, we crossed into our 8th province of this trip, Nova Scotia. Motoring along on highway 104, we pulled into the Nova Scotia Tourist Information Centre. It is one of the best ones we’ve ever encountered. As we were looking at the views, what did we see…..nope not people from Calgary but Fort Beausejour off in the distance.

Fort Beausejour (building on left is the museum, fort ramparts on the right)

Travelling south on Highway 104, we came across a sign that indicated that we were going to be on a toll highway for Cobequid Pass. Now we didn’t know if this was a short toll road or if Highway 104 was going to be toll for the entire length. So throwing caution to the wind and not wanting to take any side roads we kept going. Turns out that the toll is only for a 48 km stretch and cost us a whopping $5.25: $4.00 for the truck and $1.25 for the trailer. It didn’t break the bank…….lol

It was a long day for travel as we had left our PEI campsite at 0945 (9:45 am) and arrived at our Baddeck campsite on Cape Breton Island at 1700 (5 pm). Our neighbour is named George and is a retired RCR soldier. We had a relaxing evening with some adult beverages.

Friday August 11th, Betty and I drove into Baddeck to visit the Alexander Graham Bell museum. The exhibits were quite amazing. Not only was Bell a communication and transportation pioneer but his work with deaf was truly spectacular. As his mother and wife were deaf, he spent a lot of his time working on methods on teaching them to speak. As his father had worked on visible speech for the deaf and on a system of phonetics, A.G. Bell continued on with the work. There are various articles on-line that can be checked for more detailed information. He had 18 patents and 12 shared patents.

We walked along Baddeck’s main street, had lunch and drove along the waterfront. The waterfront was quite busy and finding a parking spot was impossible so we plan on walking along the waterfront later in the week.

Baddeck’s old Post Office. Now it’s a home decor and gift shop

Once we got back to the campsite, George invited us to share his campfire. Later in the evening, we went over and met up with George, his wife Heather and their friends Tracy & Kevin. It was a typical night around the fire: drinks and conversation….life doesn’t get much better.

On Saturday August 12th, we headed to the Fortress of Louisbourg which is the largest fort in North America. The construction of the fortress was started in 1713 by the French and developed over the next few decades and subsequently destroyed by the British. It lay in ruins for two centuries. One quarter of the National Site has been restored. One of most interesting facts that we discovered is that when the restoration project started in the 1960s, the main workforce were coal miners from Glace Bay. There was a bad recession on at the time and a lot of coal miners were out of work. It was the perfect time to retrain workers from being coal miners to being carpenters, stone masons, iron workers etc.

Walking through Fortress of Louisbourg, is like going back in time. There are so many people participating in the reenactment of mid 1700s life as soldiers, farmers, housewives, town folk etc. We witnessed a public punishment whereby a young man was found guilty of stealing a bottle of wine was sentenced to be fastened to the public punishment pole for a period of 2 hours per day for 3 days. It drew quite a crowd. We also watched a lady make lace. The strip of lace was about an inch wide and it takes about an hour to make a length of one inch…..

Just Google Fortress of Louisbourg and you can read all about it. We left the Fortress and were heading to the truck when it started to drizzle lightly. Eight kilometres down the road, we stopped and after filling the truck with gas, it started to pour down rain. We were indeed fortunate that the rain didn’t start while we were at the Fortress. It rained all the way back to the campsite, a journey of over an hour. No fire tonight….lol

John and Betty’s Travels Part 5

On August 6th, we went into Cavendish, took in some shops that were displaying wares from various artists such as pottery, soaps and paintings. Then we went to Cow’s Creamery which serves some absolutely fantastic ice cream. Betty a scoop of Moolalicious and PEI apple crisp and I had a scoop of PEI apple crisp and Wowsie Cowsie. It was very tasty. That was our pre-dinner dessert. Tonight was planned for our lobster supper. So at 5 o’clock we headed to New Glasgow to go to a place called….you guessed it…. New Glasgow Lobster Supper……lol. It was quite busy when we got there. While we waited in line, it became quite evident on the process. First you line up to determine what size lobster you want (1, 1.5, or 2 lb or if you want a larger one, that will depend on availibility). You can also get steak, chicken or other seafood if one desires. Betty ordered the 1 pound lobster while I ordered the 1.5 pound. Each size lobster comes with a coloured tag. This meal comes with large homemade dinner buns, seafood chowder, mussels, potato salad, coleslaw, tossed salad, dessert (assortment of pies) and coffee or tea or soft drink. Once we paid for dinner, we waited to be seated. In all, it was about 20 minutes from first arriving to being seated. Once seated the waitress explained the process. After ordering our beer, Betty opted for the chowder and I opted for the mussels. I only took a half bucket which was a good thing as there had to be at least 3 dozen mussels in the half bucket. The salads, mussels and chowder were unlimited…….. thankfully there wasn’t tons of salads on the plate: a large scoop of potato salad, a small container of cole slaw and a very small tossed salad. While we were enjoying our chowder and mussels, we started a conversation with people at the table next to us. There was the husband, his wife and their lady friend. We said that we were rookies at eating lobster so if they had any advice we would gladly listen. They explained what to do and as we continued with the conversation, it came out that they were from Calgary….imagine being informed how go eat lobster from fellow Albertans……whoda thunk…….lol… our lobster was delivered, the bibs were tied and then, Betty and I started….. It was oh so tasty…….. for dessert, Betty had the coconut cream pie and I had the lemon meringue pie. The meringue was like a mile high…. our waitress told us that typically they can get 850 diners on a daily basis. It seems that Wednesdays are their busiest time as that is when the majority of tour busses show up. On our way out, there was a picture posted of Pierre and Margaret Trudeau’ s visit in 1974.
On Monday August 7th, we went to do some sightseeing in Charlottetown. Firstly we went to Beaconsfield. Excert from the pamphlet: “Beaconsfield, with its mansard roof, elaborate gingerbread trim and crowning belvedere, stands as an enduring symbol of Victorian elegance. Built in 1877 for James Peake Jr, a shipbuilder, merchant and one of Charlottetown’s leading businessmen, Beaconsfield was a visible expression of Peake’s social and economic standing”. The house was very elegant with the period rooms. Go to http://www.peimuseum.com for more details.

A short walk and we were at the Lieutenant-Governor’s residence.We took a walk through the gardens and had a tour through parts of the residence that are open to the public. We were able to see the room where Queen Elizabeth II slept when she visited PEI. There was no mention if she went to New Glasgow for a lobster supper……lol….

Bedroom for Royalty and note the chamber pot in front of the bed

We then went to the Confederation of the Arts which is Canada’s National Memorial to the Fathers of Confederation. We watched a 20 minute video on Confederation and on display was the conference table. There were statues of five of the Fathers of Confederation.

Now it was time for lunch. Off we went and found The Churchill Arms. The main reason we chose this pub was that it was featured on the TV show, You Gotta Eat Here… one of the goals of being on this trip is to eat at a few of the locations featured on the show. The special was the Lobster Club and we each ordered one. It was delicious.

A bit of a walk around town and then it was off to the Milky Whey Theatre at Cows Creamery for a self-guided tour of their ice cream and cheese production facility. Our timing sucked….. We arrived in time for their daily cleanup…. oh well…..the lineup for ice cream was so long that we decided to refrain…..
As we needed to replenish our grocery supplies, we decided that a trip to Summerside would be done on Tuesday as the forecast was calling for rain and temps in the high teens. Once in Summerside, we found out that the movie theatre was open and that Dunkirk was playing at 4 pm. So we had lunch, looked around a bit, got our groceries and went to the movies… It was a great movie…..

Wednesday August 9th was a maintenance day with getting the laundry done, cleaned the trailer and organized the stuff in the truck and in the storage bay of the trailer. Relaxed for part of the day and then went out and took more pics of the surrounding area and off to Carr’s Oyster Bar for supper. I had some freshly shucked oysters but Betty declined. A couple of ladies were sitting besides us and we started up a conversation with them. One of the waitresses tried to convince them to try a raw oyster and after a bit, they tried them and they actually discovered that raw oysters are quite tasty. This waitress also convinced Betty to try one which she did. It definitely isn’t her favorite food item but give her credit for going through with it. As we waited for our supper, we talked some more with the ladies and found out that they were on a 2 week Maritime vacation……and guess where they’re from…yep, you guessed it, Calgary….lol…. tomorrow their next stop is Baddeck on Cape Breton as is ours….

The commercial growing of oysters and mussels

And another beautiful day comes to an end….

John and Betty’s Travels Part 3

On Monday July 31 Betty and I were on the move to Moncton. Once we were setup at our campsite at Stonehurst Golf Course and Trailer Campground, Betty and I went off to see the local attractions. Our first stop was Magnetic Hill. Once there, we were directed to where to drive the truck, put the vehicle in neutral and release the brake. It felt weird that the vehicle was going uphill but it is all an optical illusion. Google it and you can read all about it. Our next stop was Magnetic Hill Winery. After sampling the various flavours, we settled on buying a bottle of their very popular Sangria.

Tuesday August 1st saw us head south to Hopewell Rocks (Google it to read all about it). As Hopewell Rocks are located in the Bay of Fundy, the Bay is known for having the world’s highest tides. We arrived there in the morning around 11 and it was low tide. Their slogan is “TAKE A WALK ON THE OCEAN FLOOR” and we spent a couple of hours walking about the ocean floor. It was quite an interesting place. After having a picnic lunch, we were off to the quaint seaside village of Alma for a stroll and some browsing. The next up was a leisurely drive around Fundy National Park.

Wednesday August 2nd off we headed southeast to see Fort Beausejour. This star-shaped fort was built by the French in 1751 and captured by the British in 1755 and renamed Fort Cumberland. After browsing through the museum which had a wide variety of interesting artifacts, we explored the fort. We were quite amazed at the size of this fort as it was much smaller than other star-shaped forts that we have seen over the years. We stopped for lunch in Sackville, strolled down main street and then headed back to Moncton.

John and Betty’s Travels Part 2

Still having problems uploading photos but will continue to try….

So on July 25th, we travelled to Quebec City and set-up at the KOA. We ventured to Old Quebec after supper and toured Chateau Frontenac and part of the boardwalk and climbed up to the Citadel.

The next day, July 26th, we toured more of Old Quebec and found building walls painted with sceneries similar to a fresco. They were absolutely stunning. We walked all over Old Quebec, sightseeing. As this area is quite hilly, we definitely got a good workout….lol. After lunch, we went to the Citadel, did the tour, went through the R22eR museum and headed back to the campground….it was definitely a full day…

We decided that we needed a maintenance day, so this day was spent doing some shopping for groceries, etc and laundry. While Betty was doing the laundry at the campground laundromat, she met up with 2 American ladies, Viva and Kim, who hailed from Anacortes Wa. Viva had bought an Alto travel trailer from an RV dealer just down the road from the campground. She had been searching for a particular type of travel trailer and this one met her requirements. She had bought a while back and now was the time to pick it up. It is a very nice and different trailer. Just Google Alto and check them out. After laundry, supper and a severe thunderstorm with torrential rain, the sun came out, the rainbow was beautiful and a pleasant evening unfolded. We had a look at Viva’s trailer and were amazed at the ingenuity of the trailer. They came over to our trailer for drinks and Betty introduced them to Ceasars, which they thoroughly enjoyed. We reminisced about all of our travels. Between the 4 of us, we were extremely well travelled. We said our good-byes and the next day we headed east.

On July 28th we departed Quebec City for Saint Leonard NB, just an overnighter… We are now in our 6th province.

On July 29th saw us travel to Woolastook Campground in Kingsclear NB. Once checked-in, we went to our campsite only to find that it was occuppied and would be for another two days…..geez… This campground is located at an old provincial campground site and is over 2 km from the office. Steve, a friendly camper who has a seasonal site, stopped by and said that he wasn’t surprised about the double booking so I took the next site and phoned the office and notified them of the change….. After setting up, we went to Fredericton for our usual Walmart and Costco (gas) and went to find the Rusagonis River No. 2 (Patrick Owens) covered bridge. This bridge was built in 1909 and is 236 feet in length. This was the very first covered bridge that Betty and I ever saw so we were impressed. We were enjoying an adult beverage at the campsite when Steve dropped by and invited us to his site for later that evening to enjoy the fire. Betty and I went over later on and met Steve and his wife Gail, and loads of their family and friends.

July 30th saw us go to King’s Landing which is a historical settlement set-up as what life was like in the mid 1800s. Go to kingslanding.nb.ca to read all about this fabulous site. Betty and I were quite amazed at this attraction.

That’s it for now, but our next segment will include the Moncton area that’ll include Magnetic Hill and the winery, Hopewell Rocks, Fundy National park and all points in between.

John and Betty’s Travels Part 4

So here it is, Thursday August 3rd and we’re on the move. Heading down the highway to PEI, we’ll need to cross the Confederation Bridge. At 13 km or 9 miles long, the bridge holds the world record for longest span over ice covered waters. It sure was an experience to drive on this bridge. We are now in our 7th province during this trip. Through the centre of the province, we head north to Cavendish, the birthplace of Anne of Green Gables. Not only did we see fields and fields and fields of potatoes and fields of clover but the amount of canola was quite surprising to Betty and I. Once we arrived at Marco Polo Land, we setup the trailer, had a bit of a rest and then off to the Tourist Information we went. After receiving a whole bunch of info, off we went for a drive through Prince Edward Island National Park. As the roadway follows the coastline, we stopped at various lookouts and places of interest to take in the views and take pictures. Then it was off to drive along Highway 6 and take in the sights of Cavendish. Cavendish is quite the tourist destination as there are few campgrounds in the area as well as an abundance of cottages that can be rented. We must say though that the Vacancy signs that we saw all had the word NO in front of it…..

Friday August 4th, we’re off on a road trip to Skinner’s Pond (birth place of Stomping Tom Connors), North Cape which is the most northerly part of the Island. We travelled along the coastal drive from Cavendish towards Summerside and decided to stop for lunch at along the waterfront in Summerside. After a tasty appetizer of mussels cooked in white wine and garlic, we each had the fish & chips…..it was all very tasty… After lunch we headed north using parts of the North Cape Coastal Drive and major highways until we arrived at Skinner’s Pond. A very quaint place with a gift shop and a museum of Stomping Tom Connors paraphernalia. Off to North Cape and then back to Cavendish. Long long long day of travelling and sightseeing so it was pizza and beer for supper….

On Saturday August 5th, we visited Green Gables Heritage Place. Green Gables became famous around the world as the inspiration for the setting in Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic tale of fiction, Anne of Green Gables. Then it was off to Cow’s Creamery for some yummy ice cream. We’ve had some great ice cream over the years but must say that this ice cream is in the top 3…. Then it was back to trailer, pack for the beach and off we went to MacNeill’s Beach which is located in PEI National Park. We vegged for a few hours by soaking up the sun, wading in the cool water and collecting seashells. We saw about 10 jellyfish so had to be observant of them that we wouldn’t be stung…..didnt want to have to use the “pee” remedy……lol….

John and Betty’s Travels Part 1

Pictures will be posted once we have a reliable WiFi connection.

We left Medicine Hat on June 12th.
June 13th – 15th. Our first visit was with Betty’s brother & sister-in-law (Barry & Della) in Brandon . During the same time, we visited with Betty’s mom.

June 16th – 20th. In Winnipeg, we visited with Betty’s son (John’s step-son) Chris, his wife Paulette and grandsons, Colin & Brett.

Then we stopped to visit with John’s sister and brother-in-law (Reina & George) in Sundridge for a couple of weeks from June 23rd until July 12th. We visited an attraction known as Screaming Heads, near Burke’s Falls. Just Google it and it’ll explain it all. In between that, we visited with John’s brother and sister-in-law (Herb & Carolyn) in Waterloo from July 3rd – 8th. While there we also visited with our nephew Chris, his wife Hanna, son Caleb and daughter Addie along with our nephew Daniel and his girlfriend Claire. We had a very nice visit.

Onwards to Petawawa to meet up with our friends Bill & Linda. We stayed there from July 12th – 16th.

The next stop was visiting our good friends Carole & Tyler in Brighton from July 16th to 23rd. While there, we got the chance to go through the old Kingston Penitentiary and then a ferry ride to Wolfe Island for the rest of the day. We celebrated Betty’s birthday (July 21st) with a dinner cruise on the Otonabee River with Carole, Tyler, Colette & Casey (Carole’s sister & brother-in-law). Great entertainment on the boat. A good time had by all. We were fortunate to attend a neighbourhood BBQ that was hosted by neighbours of Carole and Tyler’s and were able to meet a great group of neighbours that Carole & Tyler fondly talk about. Sunday July 23rd, we furthered our trip to Morrisburg.