Oct 22, 2019

We woke up to a foggy morning.  Our set up in the Caldwell’s Campground was “interesting”. When we pulled in, there was no one in the office or in sight, so after waiting for a few minutes we decided to leave. At that time a man appeared from around a building.  It was obvious that he did not speak English but through hand gestures and the occasional French/English words we determined, that we could hook up for electricity, no water, but the showers have hot water.  We were assigned a spot near the showers and hooked up.  Debbie gave him the 30 dollars that he asked for in cash and we never saw him again.  (We later laughed and wondered if he even worked there!). The showers were warm and clean.  The place was quiet and secluded and we had a good sleep. Overall it appeared that they had survived a rough summer, as there were a lot of broken lights, chairs and doors. It was supposed to look like a “coco cabana” theme however, it was pretty cheesy and it appeared that a hurricane had hit. Oh well we were simply parked here for the evening so it would do.  Since all of the provincial and federal campgrounds are now closed for the season, we are left to our imagination as to where we will boondock.  This is all part of the experience.

Our trek westward is going to be quite different from our journey east.  We want to be home before 1 Nov. and we also have to be cognizant of potential winter conditions.  We therefore would be travelling the main highways and would also be going over some areas that we had already explored.  

Debbie navigated us along the St. Lawrence, around Quebec and Montreal and into Ontario. We drove from Cabano, Quebec to about 60 kms east of Ottawa, near Vankleek Hill.  Debbie had located Herb’s 24 hr Truck Stop and we decided to stay there for the night.  I picked a level spot away from the transport trucks.  We ate a light supper in the restaurant and checked out the showers. They were probably the cleanest showers that we have had on the trip. We were both tired and it did not take us long to go to sleep.

Oct 21, 2019

It was an early start today.  We snuck into the house to shower and as Debbie made breakfast, I prepared our rig for our journey west.  Jerry and Lynn got up with us and we visited until after breakfast.  We said our tearful goodbyes and left two good friends standing on their doorstep.

Debbie had researched our trip to plot secondary roads that would take us out of the province.  We enjoy taking these roads because often we see things that normally are not found on main arterial roads.  Our first secondary road, that Jerry suggested, leaves St. George and cuts through the New Brunswick forests to Fredericton. It was a pleasant drive with large blueberry patches scattered along the way.  The strong winds that we had experienced the past week had blown away many of the red fall maple leaves leaving the forest colored more in green pines with yellow tamarack and birch leaves and grey barren maple trees scattered in the color palette. 

After stopping in Fredericton for fuel, Debbie plotted our course along the St. John’s River. Three roads lead north along the USA(Maine), Canada border.  The Trans Canada highway #2 is the main highway, and two secondary roads parallel each other on either side of the river.  We enjoyed driving along the side of the river, cruising through small hamlets and towns sprinkled along its banks.  We especially enjoyed driving through the longest covered bridge in the world in Hartland.  It is 1282 feet in length and crosses over the St. John’s River.  We would not have found this bridge if we had travelled on the main highway.  

We decided to camp overnight in Cabona, Quebec.  We had driven our first 430 kms. west towards home. We decided to stay here for the evening. I wanted to catch up on the blog and also see the results of the federal election.               

Oct 20, 2019

Another frosty night and when we woke up, we both talked about getting used to this brisk morning weather.  We have experienced many different temperature changes since we left Nanaimo in May.  We will soon be experiencing winter in our trailer.  It seems that it is arriving far too soon.

As we ate breakfast together, be made plans for today. I expressed an interest in seeing the famous historic covered bridges of New Brunswick. Lynn did some research and located several within driving distance of their home.  We left the house shortly after noon.  

Jerry and Lynn drove us around the quaint town of St. George.  St. George is known as the Granite Town. For many years, red and black granite was mined in the region.  This red granite can be found in many famous buildings around the world.  The granite columns found in Canada’s parliament building originate from St. George.  

We then drove the secondary roads in the region.  Lynn practiced using her GPS in the new car to locate three historical covered bridges in the region.  Of the three bridges that we found two are still in use. The other was closed to traffic. Folklore tells us that these bridges are called “kissing bridges” as couples often used these bridges to find privacy during their time together. These bridges date back to the early 1900’s and are no longer being maintained due to the high maintenance costs. It is truly unfortunate, as these iconic structures represent a culture of the province that will soon be lost.  I took this time to take some photos.  

As the sun was setting we stopped in at a Chinese restaurant that Jerry and Lynn frequent and enjoyed a delicious meal.  When we returned to the house we had a short nightcap and then it was off to bed.  Tomorrow, Debbie and I will finally be turning our rig west and will be starting our journey back to our home.

Oct 19, 2019

We slept in this morning.  It was 1 degree outside and the furnace had kicked in several times in the night.  We were also snuggled in under our electric blanket.  We quietly tiptoed into the house to use the shower, but Jerry and Lynn were already up.  

Jerry had fed the resident blue jays and they were busy snatching the peanuts that he had put out on the deck, and taking them into the trees to hide for the winter.  Several crows were also sitting in the trees watching to see where they were hiding them. 

Jerry and Lynn are driving us to Sussex today.  We are visiting a Liqueur distillery in Sussex that Jerry’s cousin is a part owner of. We are also going to visit their friends Gail and Fred.  Gail is a very accomplished quilter and Lynn knows that Debbie will love to see her projects.   

The hour and a half drive to Sussex was pleasant and they gave us a running commentary of the various points of interest along the way. We noticed a small cruise ship in the St. John’s harbor as we passed through the city.  Jerry grew up in Sussex and has many relatives in the area. Sussex is known as the Dairy Capital of New Brunswick. 

We enjoyed sampling the many liqueurs that the Sussex Distillery produces and we bought several bottles that the distillery will ship to our home. Our visit to Fred and Gail was fun.  Fred is also a retired police officer so we connected easily and enjoyed each other’s twisted humor.  Debbie and Gail disappeared into Gail’s quilt room and finally reappeared about an hour and half later.  She is very impressed with Gail’s quilts.  

We said goodbye and headed back to St. George, but then decided to stop at the Reversing Falls Restaurant in St. John’s. This restaurant is built on the banks of the St. John’s River.  There is a skywalk built outside of the restaurant that patrons can walk out over the river and look at the phenomenon directly below.  Directly below the restaurant, the St. John’s River pours through a narrow gorge into a basin. The tides of the Bay of Fundy travel upstream into the river and when it meets the river at the narrow gorge it creates a huge set of rapids and whirlpools.  We arrived just as the tides reached their highest 22 ft peak and forced the current upstream.  While we were eating we watched as the tide started to ebb and the water started to flow downstream again, picking up speed and creating a new set of rapids.  I watched a short video presentation in the restaurant and learned that the enormous tides of the Bay of Fundy effect water levels of the St. John’s river as far away as the City of Fredericton about 90 miles upstream!  We enjoyed a wonderful meal with our friends.  

It was then time for us to return to St. George.  When we returned Jerry and I watched the final ALCS game of the Major League Baseball, while Debbie and Lynn visited and told stories in the living room.  The game was being played in Houston so we only watched the first 5 innings. It was then time for bed.

Oct 18, 2019

The sun is shining and the winds are down, a perfect day to hit the road and do some exploring into New Brunswick.  After a quick breakfast, we broke camp and prepared for our journey. 

Before I went to bed last night, I stopped in at the Canadian Tire Store near us to see if I could buy tire chains and a small snow shovel. We have been tracking the weather and various places in Manitoba, and the other prairie-provinces had already received snow.  I thought I would get a jump on that and buy tire chains.  I am not planning to use them but they are a requirement to go over the mountain passes, so I thought I would buy a set in an area that wasn’t snowed on yet.  No such luck, they do not sell tire chains in Halifax, and I later found out that they don’t sell them at all in New Brunswick!  I did buy a small fold down shovel.

So off we went.  We drove directly to Truro and then decided to take the secondary highways to Amherst.  We had driven the cape road from Amherst to Parrsboro and back, some weeks ago,however this road would take us from Truro along the shores of the Bay of Fundy to Parrsboro and then north to Amherst.  It was a great drive, no traffic, blueberry fields and lovely farms on one side and the Bay on Fundy on the other.

One highlight was that we stopped in at That Dutchman Cheese Farm.  They produce authentic Dutch Gouda cheese and many other different types of cheeses. The place is also a children’s petting farm with goats, and ducks and other entertaining things. They were basically trimmed down now for the fall season but they still had the cheese store open.  We sampled several types of cheeses, and bought a small wheel of Gouda and their famous Dragon Breath spreadable cheese.  

Then we were off again.  We stopped in Amherst for a bowl of soup.  Debbie also had to buy some wool from Dianne Fitzpatrick’s Hooked Rug Studio.  We then trucked on to St. George to visit our friends Jerry and Lynn.  Jerry worked with me in Prince George.  Jerry, Lynn and family became close friends.  We arrived at their home around 6:30.  They live on a 7 acre idyllic parcel of wooded land right on the banks of the Bay of Fundy.  The channel behind their home is reportedly the second deepest in the world, second only to the Corinth in Greece. After plugging in the trailer and getting it set up, we sat and visited and talked until I could hardly keep my eyes open. Jerry and Lynn are also close friends of Ann, and wanted the full update on Ann and her condition.  It was fun to reminisce and catch up on each other’s lives.

Oct 17, 2019

Our plans to travel to New Brunswick were solidly changed by the weather this morning.  At about 3:00 in the morning the wind picked up and steadily increased.  By 8:00 it was gale force and howling and rocking the trailer.  By 9:00 the rains came and it became a torrential downpour.  The wind was literally blowing the rain horizontally. Travelling on the highways would be dangerous so we made the decision to stay and wait it out.  

I decided to renew my drug prescription as I was running low and went to the Wal-Mart pharmacy.  Due to the time difference, the pharmacies in Nova Scotia and British Columbia could not communicate with each other until after 12:00 noon.  My doctor had to be consulted to renew the prescription, so eventually by the time I had the drugs in my hands it was 9:30 at night.

In the meantime, Debbie and I bought some vegetables and then we went to Micheal’s nearby to buy some wool supplies.  Since she had finished the afghan, she is now going to learn to knit socks! We returned to the trailer and she prepared a stew to let it slowly simmer on the stove this afternoon.  I was getting restless and decided to drive into the city and visit Ann in the hospital. 

She was sleeping soundly when I got there.  Shortly after my arrival, the nurses wanted to give Ann some medication and woke her up.  She was surprised to see me again, but we enjoyed visiting for the rest of the afternoon. At about 6:00 she was getting tired so I said goodbye to her and left.  It was nice to see that she was alert, and her pain seemed to be under control. When I left her she was texting some friends and bringing some of them up to date. 

Debbie’s stew was delicious and perfect for a shut in type day as we had today.  The wind and the rain had stopped late in the afternoon, but the weatherman warned us that there would be more rain tonight.  I checked my kayak and noticed that the wind had lifted my cockpit cover and my kayak was full of water.  I spent the next hour pumping water and drying it out. I went inside and worked on the blog, Debbie watched a movie and we went to bed.  

Hopefully tomorrow we can start our exploration into New Brunswick. We plan to visit our friends Jerry and Lynn in St. George for a couple of days and are looking forward to seeing them.     

Oct 16, 2019

Today will be our last day in Halifax.  We need to get heading west.  We received a knock on our trailer door this morning and the manageress told us that they are closing the campground totally today.  The forecast calls for extreme rain and wind conditions starting late tonight.   They don’t want anyone in the campground for fear of toppling trees that may have been compromised by hurricane Dorian late last month.  That meant we had to take our trailer out one day earlier than planned. We made the decision that Debbie can go and visit Ann while I return back to the campground, hitch up the trailer and find us a place to boondock for the night.  Our closest option is the Wal-Mart parking lot close to this campground. It is also a short distance from the hospital.  The nearest campground still open is the KOA where we had previously stayed, but it is a 40-minute drive one way.  I had told myself that we would never need to stay in a Wal-Mart parking lot. I guess you never say never…..

So off to the hospital we went, and Debbie went to see Ann. I hitched up the trailer and went to see our next boondocking site.  I was surprised to see that there were folks in similar situations as us.  I spoke to one man, who was setting up his mid size motorhome.  He explained that they had just unloaded their motorhome off of a freighter that they had come across the Atlantic on! They were re-equipping it and were heading out on a one and half year adventure of North America.  They are from Switzerland.  There are also several other motorhomes, three other trailers and a fifth wheel trailer. Some of the trailers appeared to have been here for some time. There are also three vehicles that the occupants were obviously living out of.

Before going into the hospital, I made a phone call to my dear friend Ken in Nanaimo.  Ken is turning 100 years old today.  I had wanted to be at his birthday party however, things being what they are, I opted to call him instead.  I had set my alarm to call him first thing this morning, and the alarm went off at 9:00. Debbie reminded me that we are four hours ahead of Nanaimo, and our centenarian would not appreciate a man singing happy birthday to him at 5:00 AM!!  I reset my alarm for 1:00.  Ken and I had a great talk and I congratulated him on his birthday. In our neighborhood it is a tradition to sing Happy Birthday to any neighbor who is celebrating a milestone birthday.  We all gather at the home of the person and sing Happy Birthday and then leave. Later in the day I received an e-mailed photo of the neighbors with Ken. I look forward to seeing him again and wishing him a happy birthday to his smiling face.        

I then returned to the hospital and spent the remainder of the afternoon with Ann and Debbie.  Ann had been napping throughout the day and was in good spirits. She is still waiting for the results of pathology tests.  We talked between her naps and just visited. During our journey across Canada, Debbie had spent the time during our drives, knitting a wool afghan. She had just completed it and was pleased with the results.  She remarked that it would be a perfect and special gift to Ann. Prior to us leaving she gave it to Ann.  We then said goodbye to our friend and left at around 7:00. 

We decided because of the late hour to have supper out and found a restaurant near us.  We then returned to our trailer and got ready for a forecasted stormy night. 

Oct 15, 2019

It’s weird waking up in a campground that is totally empty. We have seen the direct opposite in our travels – campgrounds totally full.  We are so grateful to the management of this campground to let us stay beyond the closing day.  I spoke to the manager this morning and he is busy blowing out the water lines and shutting down the electrical systems today.

After breakfast, we drove to the hospital.  Debbie went in to see Ann and I went on the search for Ann’s favorite thirst quenching drink – orange G Zero.  After visiting a Sobeys, and two Atlantic Superstores I was successful! 

Driving around downtown Halifax, I learned that Halifax drivers speed a lot, and they are very discourteous.  The city was very busy as there are two large cruise ships in town with a total combined capacity of 7500 passengers.  There were over twenty tour buses lined up at the Pier.  Maybe that’s why the local drivers are cranky.

I returned to the hospital and spent the rest of the day with Ann and Debbie.  Ann had a difficult night last night.  She slept for periods of time today and was in much better spirits after lunch.  

Ann also managed to vote!  Two federal Elections Canada representatives were going floor to floor in the hospital to allow the patients and hospital personnel an opportunity to advance vote. 

After Ann’s supper we said goodbye to her. We will see her again tomorrow. We left the hospital and walked through the Public Gardens a block away.  These Victorian Gardens are 140 year old!  They feature vegetables, trees and flowers and walkways meander throughout the two-block area.  Unfortunately we came too late to see the entire grounds, as the gates close at 6:00, so we decided that we will be going back before we leave Halifax.  On our way back to our vehicle, parked at the hospital, we stopped in to see the progress of the removal of the collapsed crane.  There is still a large portion of the crane lying on top of the building.  Crews are working steadily, and a small crowd of spectators, including us, is hanging around the site to watch the activity.  

We drove back to our lonesome trailer and settled down for the night.  We hope that Ann will continue to improve. 

Oct 14, 2019

Today is Thanksgiving.  Last night we called Rina and Jeff and the kids and talked to them on face time as they ate their Thanksgiving meal.  It was our way of enjoying a Thanksgiving meal with family.  

The campground is closing for the season today, so I was able to arrange with the manager to stay in the campground even though the water and electricity is now turned off.  We can boondock for a while here, and the campground is a convenient distance to drive to the hospital.

Today we called Myra, who is presently in the Middle East and wished her a happy Thanksgiving also.  She wanted to have some face time with Ann so when Ann was awake and lucid, they had a short chat.  Ann and Myra have always had a unique bond. 

The day was spent with Ann.  Debbie stayed with her throughout the day. Earlier in the day, I had broken a lid on the grey water tank and wanted to replace it.  I found all of the RV outlets including Canadian Tire closed for the day. I also drove around Halifax looking for a drink that Ann had requested.  Unfortunately, all the major grocery stores were closed and the only stores that had anything close to what Ann wanted was Shopper Drug Mart.  It turned out the flavors I bought were not what she wanted. Oh well, I will buy what she wants tomorrow.  

Ann slept most of the day and when she was awake we talked, however, she was not really too conversant.  She had received blood transfusions overnight so she needed to rest. The hospital staff was caring her for quite well.  In the late afternoon we said goodbye for the day and left. 

I had called around and found that the Delta Hotel was serving Thanksgiving supper with brussels sprouts and pumpkin pie!  We enjoyed our second attempt at a thanksgiving meal. It was time to return to the campground. It is empty but it is quiet and private. We will stay here for the next couple of days.    

Oct 13, 2019

We wanted to see how Ann is doing so we went to the hospital right after breakfast.  When we arrived, she was sleeping soundly and her friend Marilyn had been with her since early this morning.  

Ann had been transported to another hospital nearby during the night, for an ultra sound.  She has a blot clot in her leg and is being administered a heavy blood thinner and the swelling appears to be going down.  Ann’s brothers Robert and James had arrived and we let them be with Ann. She had woken up and wanted to talk to her brothers in private.  Her surgeon had met with Ann this morning and had told her that she had ovarian cancer. There is still more tests to do before they can decide what the next course of action is going to be.

Ann needed to sleep so we left the hospital in search for a Thanksgiving dinner.  We drove a short distance to the Lord Nelson Hotel where they were serving a turkey dinner. We enjoyed the turkey dinner, however, they did not serve pumpkin pie!  As I was talking to Debbie, at one point, I noticed a tiny mouse scurry across the carpet.  I quietly called over the bartender and told him.  He was surprised, as he told me that they had an exterminator in earlier in the week.  To say the least, the Thanksgiving turkey dinner was far from what we expected and what we paid for. (I thnk we paid extra for the mouse!)  We will do another search tomorrow.  

Across the street, work crews were working on the massive crane that had collapsed onto a building.  Hurricane Dorian had blown the crane onto the new building under construction. There are three cranes working on the project.  Because of the inherent danger in its removal, the neighboring business tower has been shut down.  Local businesses are upset about the length of time this clean up work is taking. We walked along Spring Garden Street for a few blocks looking in some of the stores and just enjoying the exercise. 

We returned to the hospital and found Ann awake and in better spirits.  Her leg was not as sore and swollen.  Ann is facing a major fight for her life.  We talked to her for about an hour.  She was getting tired and we said goodnight and left.  We returned to the trailer and I worked on the blog.