Victoria County, Canada

I am camped just 8 km from Baddeck, Nova Scotia and I took a break from driving today to just tootle down the highway to explore Baddeck. It’s a great jumping off point for all that Cape Breton offers. It’s a pretty town perched on the shores of Bras d’Or Lakes. Bras d’Or Lakes is Canada’s largest inland sea and is unique in that it’s both fresh and salt water depending on which channel you’re in.

So naturally there is a government wharf, a lighthouse and a yacht club along with a boardwalk with picnic tables and benches. Along the main drag of town there are shops (in which there is a decided nautical theme) and restauants as well as the stores the locals frequent such as the local CO-OP and compulsory Home Hardware. I’m looking forward to the first Farmer’s Market of the year tomorrow.

At the edge of town is the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site. I stopped by to take some pictures while the sun was out, but saved going in for a rainy day, some of which are in the forecast. More on that and the historical significance of Baddeck later.

I stopped for afternoon tea in a coffee shop on the main street and had a cranberry scone and it was great, but I did miss out on warm-out-of-the-oven, rhubarb cake with a ginger bread crust. I think I might have to go back.

I’ve also spent a bunch of time today getting some chores done, such as laundry, sweeping out the trailer, organizing some of the cupboards better now that I’ve had a chance to use the trailer. Hard to believe actually that it’s 2 weeks tomorrow since I picked it up.

Enjoy a few pictures I took around Baddeck today.

Baddeck, Canada

You didn’t hear from me yesterday because I had an awesome day visiting with family and friends in the Greater Halifax area.

I spent some great time with my nephew Bruce, his wife Carolyn and their two kids, Kate and Mid.

They took me on an “adventure” as Mid called it, to two different beaches, the rock one and the sand one. They were on the eastern shore, north of Dartmouth. Although the weather was bright, it was chilly so there were no thoughts of swimming, but there was some great rock throwing and exploring. After lunch back at home the family participated in a community event at the community centre right outside their back gate. It was great to get to know the kids a little and reconnect with Bruce and Carolyn.

Then it was off to my friends Gerald and Judy in New Ross to catch up on news and for a fabulous supper of, you got it, lobster! First off, though, was a great fiddlehead cream soup which Judy had prepared. Oh my goodness, was it awesome. One of the lobsters Gerald cooked seemed large enough to haul Gerald in to the pot when he wasn’t looking. Topped off by rhubarb pie, it was a delightful treat.

It was a late night but a thoroughly enjoyable day.

Tonight, I’ve arrived to my campsite near Baddeck, Cape Breton Island. Not a lot of pics today since it was pretty much a travel day and I got a late start.

P.S. for those interesting in the logistics side of my adventure…………

Wandering the country side with a cute little travel trailer is mostly awesome fun. But if I’m being completely honest, there have been some issues to be worked through as well on this shake down trip. First there was the situation with the hitch where I couldn’t get the safety cable on without help from my neighbouring camper. A lock that holds the ball on the hitch on the RV was interfering with me getting the hooks through the holes in the hitch. And then I couldn’t get if off that night when I landed at the campsite. There is enough play in the cable to get the trailer off the hitch and set up but I couldn’t actually leave the thing behind. So the next day it was in to an RV place to get them to take a look at what could be done and they fashioned a solution that has worked wonderfully.

In the last few days before arriving in Halifax I had smelled some whiffs of propane when outside the trailer and near the tank. I checked all the connections with soapy water and wasn’t able to find anything leaking. So I turned off the propane tank and didn’t use it while I was in Halifax and made an appointment with the local RV dealer, Fraserway RV.

They took a look at it for me first thing this morning and discovered my propane regulator was not working and needed to be replaced. So, that’s what they did. They had me on my merry way, with the new regulator and the propane system tested again by just after noon. I haven’t smelled propane again and have used the system for both the stove and water heater and nothing exploded so I think I’m all good.

Tomorrow may be a catch up day for domestic duties like laundry, etc.

Upper Sackville, Canada

Wolfville, Canada

Today I ventured to the eastern end of the Annapolis Valley, specifically to the Wolfville area. And it’s here that I’m sitting on a patio in front of Joe’s Food Emporium using their wireless to write today’s blog. They have great food and a perfect location under the trees along the bustling main street.     Wolfville is a small university town (Acadia University) on the Minas Basin of the Bay of Fundy, which has the highest tides in the world. It is across the Bay of Fundy from New Brunswick and the famous Hopewell Rocks and tidal bores produced by the high and fast tide changes. It’s also just down the road from the town of Windsor, which is reported to be the first place in the world that hockey was played. The significance of Wolfville for me is that my daughter Gillian graduated from historic Acadia University in 2007. So as a result, we’ve been frequent visitors to the area and I have some great memories of our visits here and living the university life vicariously through Gill. Lots of tears involved along the way. Mostly happy. Three of Gill’s friends from here have continued to be an important part of her life and I expect always will. However, despite having a bias because of a connection to the area, I’d still say it’s a great place to visit if you’re in the neighbourhood. The town is a perfect size to have lots of choice for restaurants and accommodations (some great B&Bs) and there are hiking trails and a growing number of wineries and microbreweries to visit. There’s even a restored theatre on the main street for your evening entertainment. And the farmers markets, both permanent and weekly, are great to visit because the rich, red soil of the valley produces amazing fruits and vegetables and there is a plethera of artisans in the area. Lots of Canadian history played itself out nearby. It’s a great jumping off place for touring further along the valley to the south west and discovering the area’s rich history. Since it was raining when I started out this morning I stopped for breakfast at a tiny cafe, called the Tin Pan, that Gill introduced us to when we were out for convocation weekend. It’s in the small town of Port William, just north west of Wolfville. I had a “1/2 breakfast” which was still an amazing amount of the regular. The thickly sliced bread is baked on site and the spiced plum jelly to die for. The “regulars” made for interesting listening while waiting for the meal.     Then I drove to out-of-the-way Blomidin Provincial Park to see the rugged coastline and red cliffs meeting the Basin. The rain lessoned along the way and the very minute I arrived at the Park, the sun came out and has stayed out the rest of the day. You can see from some of the signs posted there how big and fast the tides changes are and what the potential consequences are of getting caught unaware.          Coming back into Wolfville I naturally wandered through Acadia and to my surprise discovered there was a small convocation happening. There were the grads lining up outside the historic auditorium building waiting their turn at the pomp and circumstance just as Gill had done 8 years earlier. Yeah, some more misty eyes.  The weekly farmers market was just winding down, but included some fabulous booths of produce, herbs, baking, and crafts. I might have indulged in a piece of short bread.  Next it was down the road to the Grand-Pre National Historic site in the heart of a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is the site of a 17th/18th century Acadian Village with a chapel memorializing the Acadian Deportation or Expulsion. A film presentation and museum pieces help to explain the plight of the Acadians and their proud heritage that I’ve seen on display throughout parts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. There are piles of websites explaining this part of our history. A statue of Longfellow’s Evangeline are set among beautifully landscaped grounds as this poem was inspired by the deportation. http://www.hwlongfellow.org/works_evang eline.shtml     The UNESCO designation is relevant to the method used by the Acadians in reclaiming land using this particular dyke system.   Sorry this has been a little more personal than most entries will be, but I hope you’re forgive my reminiscing.

Halifax, Canada

After some chores and shopping I had a lovely lunch with long time political friends in Bedford today. We got caught up on what’s going on in our personal and various political worlds and solved the world’s problems over lunch. It was great to see Chris in Canada since the last couple of times we’ve crossed paths was in Kiev, Ukraine on Election Observation Missions.

Then I spent a delightful afternoon along the waterfront in downtown Halifax and a lovely evening spent in my camping site. Given that it’s the weekend, the campground has filled up to overflowing and the voices of children riding bikes, playing sports and hide and seek are bringing back a flood of memories from my own youth.

It was the nicest day, weather-wise, since I left home – sunny and 25 and the Halifax waterfront was hopping this afternoon. How pleasant to stroll along and people watch, enjoy the various musicians, check out the shops and stop for an afternoon tea and cookie break in a perfect green space next to the ferry terminal. How could someone from Vancouver not feel an affinity for a city that has people ferries coming into the downtown core? And they have Beavertails in Halifax! Who knew?!

Ottawanians could learn something about the use of waterfront from many cities, and after visiting it again today, I’m reminded that Halifax should be at the top of the list to study. I know there are many tourist attractions in our Nation’s Capital related to it being the capital, but one of the things I’ve been quite vocal about (I know you find this shocking!) is that there needs to be more imagination put into the use of the multiple green and blue spaces. I wouldn’t want to see them all overcome by enterprise or even activity and many of the parkways along the rivers and canal are great for outdoor and exercise enthusiasts. But too many of the waterways are dead zones. Sorry, this is supposed to be a travel blog, not a soapbox. I’ll get down off it now.

I had not been in Halifax since Pier 21 (Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21) was opened so I headed there in time to take the last guided tour of the afternoon. I learned a lot about not only the facility, but about the evolution of our various government’s immigration policies. And even learned that, according to our guide, Halifax is the second deepest port in the world after Sydney, Australia. Over a million new Canadians arrived through the gates at Pier 21 from 1928 – 1971 and there was one fellow on the tour whose father had when he immigrated from England. For him it was a particularly emotional experience. They had a picture of the ship that his Dad came over on among those on the wall. It was a rather spartan museum compared to most, by design. As they explained, it’s all about the stories of the immigrants, before and after they arrived and their journey to get here. And they had various vignettes and recordings of some of the individual stories.

You can check it out at http://www.pier21.ca/

The sun has gone down and the mosquitos have found me, so I’m going to sign off now before I get eaten alive.

PS – the reference to “and around” in the title refers to the many wrong turns and circuitous routes I took to get places today. I find it a particularly confusing city to get around in.

Peggys Cove, Canada

I had a lazy start today.    In the “Lessons Learned” category, because I am staying put for a few days and the weather is good, I tried out my new Coleman stove. My recollection of Coleman stoves is from camping with my family as a youth, and my Dad having to be forever pumping the fuel tank of either the stove or the lantern to pressurize the gas. Thankfully the new models use the canisters and it’s just a question of screwing the tank on and firing it up. I was amazed at how fast everything cooked.  After breakfast and cleaning up I headed out to Peggys Cove. Unfortunately the sky was not conducive to great pics of this iconic piece of Canadiana but my attempts are included here.  I was going to carry on to Lunenburg, but I felt a nap coming on, so came back to my campsite. There is always tomorrow.   Best part of the day: 1) Trying a South Shore specialty, Solomon Gundy, as an appie at the restaurant at Peggys Cove and following that with my first lobster roll of this trip. I had never heard of Solomon Gundy before and it is fabulous! Here is an explanation of it that I found on line. http://www.merseypointfish.ca/index.php /about/a_bit_of_history/nova_scotian_so lomon_gundy/   2) Reminiscing by email with Gillian about the time spent in the restaurant right across from the Lighthouse. When she and I travelled to Nova Scotia to check out Acadia University, we stopped in there after our visit to campus to chat about what we’d seen. It was minus 20 and blowing so it’s amazing a Vancouver-born young lady chose to go there, but she did. As a result, we’ve been back frequently since that day. The restaurant website is below. You can’t miss it. And although I’ve always had good food there, it’s really the view that you go for. http://www.peggys-cove.com Worst part: 1) News that my brother-in-law’s mother, who I knew from my youth (there is a story in that for another time) had passed away in The Pas, Manitoba. My thoughts are with Leif and Charlene and the extended Wadelius and LaFontaine families. She was a special and giving person who will be missed by her family, friends and community.

Upper Sackville, Canada

When I arrived into Shediac on Monday, I was focused only on finding gas. When I remembered that this was the home of the world’s largest lobster, I couldn’t start the day without driving through Shediac to find it. And there it was.   This is the day I arrived in province number 3 – Nova Scotia. I’ve been a frequent visitor to this province due to politics and because daughter Gillian went to Acadia University. So being here triggers a plethora of memories for me.    Uneventful day of travel, really just getting from point A to point B. The weather improved as the day went on. Started with grey skies, wind and spitting rain, went through torrential downpours, and now the sun has come out and there is blue sky all around. I stopped at one point, to use the free wifi at the ubiquitous Tim Hortons, in the ancestral home of my Vancouver friend David Wood, Stewiacke, Nova Scotia. How it ever came up that this was where his family was from, I have no idea, but it stuck. My destination, Upper Sackville is just north of Halifax about 30 minutes and yet it feels like I’m a million miles away from a city. I’m at another KOA (the Holiday Inn of RV Parks – no surprises), and it’s on a beautiful little lake and I have a prime spot due to my early arrival. Today’s lesson learned was backing into a camping spot. Up until now I’ve managed to get a “pull through” which means I didn’t have to back the trailer up. Today, no such luck. It took me a while but I did it. The best part was that there was no one around watching.  Tomorrow is supposed to be nice weather and I’ll see if I can get in some sights. Then Friday and the weekend, visiting with family and friends and more sight seeing. Oh, and some naps.

Pointe-du-Chêne, Canada

I had seen pictures of Parlee Beach, but they didn’t do it justice, just like mine don’t. They get upwards of 16,000 daily visitors during the height of the summer season, and it boasts the warmest ocean waters north of Virginia. I walked for over an hour and still didn’t get from one of the beach to the other and back. As you can tell from my pics, it was overcast today and the odd drop of rain, but warm and pleasant for a walk.

Shediac, Canada

After the best sleep I’ve had on the road so far, I munched my breakfast sitting on a log on the Bay of Chaleur. It was overcast, but the sun broke through the clouds for a little while at least.

Reluctantly, I packed up and headed west on Hwy 132, and then south across the Interprovincial Bridge, which not surprisingly crosses over from Quebec to New Brunswick, arriving in Campbellton, New Brunswick.

Province number two on my trip.

I made my way down the east side of the province, mostly on secondary roads on a route recommended by the Tourism New Brunswick folks. Traveled through the Miramachi area, and city. And I finished tonight in Shediac, near Moncton in the south east corner of the province.

The highlights of today were:

1) Just south of Bathurst, almost immediately after a billboard sized sign warning about moose crossings, a cow moose (do you call it a cow if it’s a female moose?) and a calf ran across the road just far enough ahead of me that I didn’t have to slam on the breaks, but close enough to get a good look.

2) Kouchibouguac National Park – this park is gorgeous even on a cool, overcast day. Short and long hikes, long bicycle paths, hikes, a fabulous beach complete with sand dunes. Oh and really good hot dogs.

3) Making it to the gas station on fumes…….with only a range of 1 km showing on the odometer. Phew.

The lowlights of the today were:

1) Taking a route recommended by Tourism New Brunswick called the Acadia Coastal Route, where for 2 or more hours, I saw only glimpses of coast, only lots of trees and there were very few even basic services. (i.e. washrooms and gas stations)

It got better south of Kouchibouguac and the area around Bouctouche is awesome. The northern stretch from Miramachi to Kouchibouguac was dismal at best.

2) Almost running out of gas.

I may stay put here tomorrow. Not a great park aesthetically, but the facilities are well maintained, there is reportedly an awesome beach nearby, and I need to do some laundry.

Will sleep on it.

Escuminac, Canada

Today I awoke once again to beautiful blue skies and no wind. Cool, but just the way I like it.

I got assistance this morning from a lovely retired school teacher from Kincardine, ON. He helped direct me backing up to line the SUV up with the trailer hitch. Note to self, I have to get a back up camera. Although if I did I wouldn’t have had a chance to meet the lovely school teacher. He was full of great advice for a newbie camper.

The drive from the village of Gaspe to Perce was absolutely gorgeous. My first glimpse of Perce Rock was from the north and it was far across the bay. It disappeared from sight as I got closer and then, there is was, front and centre, as I came flying down a hill into town. Awesome view, unfortunately, not capturable by camera while driving! And no where safe to stop. I stopped for a short time in Perce to take some pics and wander along their boardwalk. Cool playground there. It was pretty empty except for a tour bus unloading and the passengers heading down to boats to be shuttled out to the rock. At low tide you can walk out there, but it was high tide and so boats is the only answer. It was bright, but really cool this morning and I was actually glad not to be going out and exposed to the elements. There are many, many shops and restaurants in Perce, but not really interesting at 9 am when you’ve already had breakie. So on I went.

The shoreline was quite different on the south drive. Not as rugged but beautiful still the same. Lovely red sand beaches. It is definitely more populated and there were more of the brightly coloured houses here too.

My target for today was Escuminac Flats, the home of my friend and former colleague, Daryl Gray. This is my second visit to Escuminac, and the first thing I said to Daryl was, “How the heck did I find this place the first time I was here?” And that was before GPS, Google Maps on my iPhone and texts from Daryl with directions! The last time we were here was for Daryl’s daughter Stacey, also a friend, to be married to another mutual friend, Jason Hatcher. One of those dynamo couples that I got to know through politics before they were married. It’s surprising how many two generation political friends I have. Sign I’m getting old I guess. Daryl is former Member of Parliament for this area, and more importantly today, the owner of an RV Park on the Bay of Chaleur which is the water between Quebec and New Brunswick, the discovery of which is attribute to Jacques Cartier. I couldn’t pass up an opportunity to spend some time with Daryl catching up on things. The last time I saw him was in Kiev on our mutual election observation mission to Ukraine for the spring Presidential Election. We had a great dinner of east coast seafood and great political talk.

One of the great things about politics is the number of friends I have across the country. I hope to visit Stacey and Jason later this summer in Calgary.

I have no clue where I’m going tomorrow. Maybe I’ll have time to walk on a beach. Stay tuned!

I can’t figure out how to integrate the pics into this blog using the iPad app but check them out below.