Saturday - July 21, 2007

Today was another wet, rainy day but at least it was warm. It rained most of the night and continued off and on all day, not much of a day for touring or doing outdoor things.

We drove to Baddeck and toured the Alexander Graham Bell Museum which was very interesting, I hadn’t realized how much he had done and in so many varied areas – a very interesting person.

We took the scenic route back but it was only scenic if you like fog, trees and bad roads!! When we got back we stopped and picked up a few groceries then came home and had dinner. It wasn’t raining when we had finished dinner so we went for a nice walk around the park and down to the river then came back and did dishes. It has now started to rain again!

A couple of business signs we have seen in North Sydney – Curl Up and Dye (wonder how much business they do!) and Lick-A-Chick (I am leaving that one alone!!).


Wannabee Tall Ship


Directing Pride of Baltimore II into Dock


Pride of Baltimore II


Looked Like Hard Work


Tying Up


Bluenose II

Friday - July 20, 2007

Well, our luck ran out and did we get rain this morning, it poured all morning! It finally stopped shortly after noon so I went over and did some laundry, managed to sneak in between other people so I didn’t have to wait at all. It has also been very windy today, the river here is quite rough looking.


When I got through with the laundry we decided to take a drive into North Sydney and check the ferry dock out, there were two ferries in dock and lots of cars, trucks and RV’s waiting to board. We drove around North Sydney for a bit then drove over to Sydney and bonus – we got to see the Bluenose II. We were just driving along the waterfront and saw what at first we thought were two of the Tall Ships coming into the harbour but it turned out the first one in was the Bluenose II and the other was a tall ship - the Pride of Baltimore II. We got parked right where they tied up and got a good look at both of them, I was really happy as I had been quite disappointed when the Bluenose wasn’t at Lunenburg as I have always wanted to see it.


We took the back roads back to North Sydney and one of the ferries was gone and the parking lot was empty. We had no rain all the time we were gone so that was good as it looked like it had rained here again when we got back. I’m not sure but I think the barbequer could get wet tonight as well as having a challenge with the wind, I’m glad it was his decision to do a barbecue.


It sure is nice to have internet again and have e-mail, I have “talked” to all our children which is a bonus.

Thursday - July 19, 2007

John was glad he had hooked up last night as it started to rain about the time we went to bed and rained on and off all night. It finally quit about 7:30 and the rest of the day has been much better than was forecasted. We didn’t have any more rain and have had sun off and on all day so we can’t complain.


We left about 9 this morning and are now at Arm of Gold RV Park at Sydney, it is about 5 minutes to the ferry so will be a short run on Monday morning. We have to be there by 8:30 so will probably leave here about 7:45 just to give us lots of extra time and be there a bit earlier than suggested. I guess we can sit in the trailer and wait so it shouldn’t be too bad. There was some lovely scenery on the drive here and we are hoping the weather won’t be too bad the next couple of days so we can do Fortress Louisburg, some of the Cabot Trail etc.


We finally have wi-fi so I have been getting caught up while John has been getting us set-up and now he is washing off the front of the trailer as it is absolutely filthy. You aren’t supposed to wash trailers here but the car/trailer wash isn’t working so I guess it won’t be too big a problem to wash it on our site as he is only using a bucket, not the hose.


When we checked in I wanted to pay with Visa and the fellow was having trouble putting it through so told me to come back in a while when the owners were there and would be able to do it, so back I went and it still wouldn’t go through. I used their phone as visa is an 800 number and called to see what the problem was. After answering numerous questions to identify myself they said there had been a number of fuel charges on our bill and they had been trying to call us to see if our card had been lost or stolen. To make a long story short I told them where we are, where we are going and approximately how long we would be away and the fellow said he would make a note on our account of that. I also gave him our cell phone number in case they want to get in touch with us again. It is nice to know that they check up on unusual items and put a stop on the card in case there is anything wrong. I told him that there would be many fuel bills as we are doing a lot of traveling and pulling a 35’ trailer to boot!!


Shoreline at Peggy's Cove


Peggy's Cove Lighthouse & Post Office


Looking out to Sea


Fishing Tug in Harbour


Peggy's Cove


Fishing Shack at Peggy's Cove


Memorial at Peggy's Cover for Swissair Flight 111


Looking Up at Lunenberg from Harbour


Lunenberg Harbour

Wednesday, - July 18, 2007

Well, another day without wi-fi, sure do hope we can get connected tomorrow night at our new park, they say they have free wi-fi so here’s hoping.

We woke up to a gorgeous sunny morning so headed out to Lunenburg, it was about a 1-1/4 hour drive but all through the country so not too busy. We drove through Mahone Bay which is very pretty, I can see why Jane has a home here as well as at Whipporwill! Lunenberg was very busy, there were 3 Tall Ships there so not a parking spot to be found and I had visions of walking 3 or 4 blocks down to the harbour then having to walk back up, but fortunately we found the information centre and the gal there said to park at the community centre and there was a free shuttle bus to the harbour front, sounded good to us. We took the shuttle bus in and wandered around for a while then stopped for lunch at a restaurant overlooking the harbour.


From there we went to Peggy’s Cove but by the time we got there it was quite overcast, still it is very pretty. We stopped at the memorial to Swiss Air 111, it is a very nice memorial and very sad to think of all those people (229) losing their lives. We walked around the harbour at Peggy’s Cove then out to the lighthouse, I mailed a couple of post cards from there so the recipients should have a special cancellation stamp on their postcards.


We came back and John got us hooked up as it is supposed to be raining in the morning, so better to hook up when it is dry. I had put a pot roast in the slow cooker this morning so dinner was ready when we got back – nice and easy.


We are on the 45th parallel here, the same as Lions Head, which surprised me. John seems to think Bannister Hill is the 45th parallel but if not it is right around there, I know the sign at Clark’s Corners says half way to the North Pole so we are definitely on the same latitude.


Sailing Ships


Another Part of the Waterfront


Waterfront from Citadel with St. George Island


Bagpipers at Citadel


Halifax Harbour

Tuesday - July 17, 2007

Today is our grandson Brent’s 15th birthday – Happy Birthday Brent, it was good to talk to you a while ago.

Today was a gorgeous day, very sunny and hot. We drove into Dartmouth and took the ferry over to Halifax, a nice ferry ride with a good view of the Halifax waterfront going over and Dartmouth coming back, and no hassle with having to drive into Halifax and try to find a place to park.

We walked up to the Citadel, oh my aching hip, and got there in plenty of time to hear them fire the noon canon and watch the display in the courtyard with the bagpipes and drums – very nice. We visited the military museum there, wandered around then headed back down to the harbour area. We stopped at an old cemetery on the way back down to the harbour – it had a lot of very old, fancy stones in it. There was a large cruise ship in the harbour so lots of people off the cruise boat wandering around. I chatted for a couple of minutes with a couple off the ship and it is a Carnival Cruise out of New York – 5 days with stops at St. John’s and Halifax. We just took our time walking along the harbour enjoying the view and all the boats and stopped at a restaurant and had a lobster sandwich and salad for lunch – very good!

On the way home we hit a couple of hotels hoping to get onto the internet but no luck so I am way behind with my blog – hopefully tomorrow we will find a hot spot so I can check my e-mail, post my blog etc.

We are now all closed up for the evening in the hopes of avoiding all those nasty little critters!!


Our Trailer at Riverland Campground, Elmsdale, NS

Monday - July 16, 2007

Well, I didn’t get lucky – no wif-fi again. Today was quite a nice day, mostly sunny and at one point the temperature on the truck was 81, so quite warm. The drive was good but not much in the way of scenery, mostly trees, but we must say the Trans Canada is a good highway and we sure by-passed Fredericton, Moncton etc, without seeing a thing. The traffic was quite light today so all in all a good drive.

We are now at Elmsdale, NS which is about 40 minutes from Halifax, a nice park and Passport America so quite cheap, but no wi-fi. We are here until Thursday so plan on doing Halifax tomorrow and then on Wednesday doing Peggy’s Cove etc. so we hope the weather continues to co-operate. It is supposed to rain tonight but tomorrow it is supposed to be sunny with some clouds, so here’s hoping. The fellow in the trailer beside us, who is a local, said that there are black flies and no-seeums here so we are making sure that we are closed up tight before dark!

When we got here I made reservations at Arms of Gold Park near the ferry for 4 nights, then we can tour out from there, so we are now all set for camping spots until we get on the ferry next Monday morning.


View of the River from our Front Yard


Our Trailer Along the St. John River

Sunday - July 15, 2007

Well, yesterday’s internet was short lived – I couldn’t get my pictures posted last night so thought I would try to do it this morning before we left and no internet again – very frustrating.


It rained pretty well all night last night but thankfully stopped about 7 this morning so we were able to get away without getting wet. It was cloudy all morning driving but we didn’t get rain until we crossed into New Brunswick and just when we stopped at the Welcome Centre it started to pour, but by the time we had lunch it had stopped again so we didn’t get wet going into the Welcome Centre. Today’s drive was pretty, very hilly and nice scenery, just too bad it wasn’t sunny. We stopped for the night at Woodstock, NB and are at a park right on the St. John River and it is a Passport America Park so only cost $16.50. After we got set up we took our chairs down by the water and sat for a while before dinner, it was very pretty and relaxing. Of course there is no wi-fi here so I won’t be doing any posting tonight. Could I be lucky and get it tomorrow night?


An Interesting Sky Behind Us While we are Looking at the River


Montmorency Falls


Sailboat on St. Lawrence