Aug 15 - 19 1000 Islands, Ontario

Weather:  Cloudy, but warm about 78.

Cute Cottage Country sign on a rock to Grandma's House!

 From St. Andrews we moved all the way up north to the St. Lawrence River and stayed in Levis which is just outside of Quebec City at Camping Transit.  They had a good size nice park with plenty of pull thrus.  The next day we continued along the St. Lawrence and stayed south of Montreal to avoid the construction mess on hwy 20 that takes you right smack in the city!  We went that way at the beginning of the trip and Billy was determined to find a way better on the way home.  :)
There is a way; you have to stay on hwy 30 then continue on to Salaberry-de- Valleyfield and cross north on the causeway.  From there you are just short mileage from Ontario.

1000 Islands cottage on a rock

 We thought we would finish our trip by staying over the weekend in the 1000 Islands at the KOA Mallorytown.   This was one of the nicest KOA's we have stayed at.  The owners have been doing this for 28 years and they took great pride in the campground and had a lot of nice amenities and detail.  We took the bike out to the Thousand Island Parkway which was only about 7 miles away to see the cottages on the rocks in the seaway.

There are actually about 1200 islands!

This was the perfect way to end a great trip in our beautiful country of Canada!  This is the first time either of us had ever experienced the other provinces in depth and we were not disappointed.......... and the best thing is we had no problems too big to solve :)

Aug 10 -14 St. Andrews by the Sea, New Brunswick

Weather  the day we moved was beautiful sunny and warm then it rained overnight and we were socked in fog for 2 days!!! The last 2 were about high 70's and sunny.

This is our last stop for our Atlantic Canada trip and it even has a cool name "St. Andrews by the Sea".  It really is as nice as it sounds.   The location is right next to the Maine, USA border and this town is a resort area, lots of Inns, B&B's, boat trips, boutiques and restaurants.  Best thing is they have a campground with a knockout location right on the water and it is a short walk to the downtown, Kiwanis Oceanfront Campground.   Funny part is that for the first two days we couldn't see it cause of the fog, ha ha.   So thick you almost get claustrophobic from it.   We took advantage of the walk to downtown and explored it for two afternoons.

Third day looked foggy but we ventured out to nearby St. George to take the ferry to Deer Island and then another ferry to Campobello Island.  It is a great motorcycle ride and takes all day to go and come back.  

On Campobello Island there is a cottage built by Franklin Delano Roosevelt that is now a park and viewing is free to the public.   It was so well kept and all the belongings are still on site from the Roosevelt family.    The ferry rides are good and we found the on and off ramp from Deer Island to Campobello quite "basic".  Billy wasn't too thrilled to get on it was very loose gravel and some pot holes and then the on ramp at Campobello was a strip of cement that was very slippery from seaweed - set in the middle of the beach. 

The last day we decided to do a touristy thing and go whale watching in a Zodiac.  We went out and right away saw a Minke whale which is about 15 to 20 feet.  Then there was a call come in from another whale watcher that way off about half hour away there were 2 Humpbacks spotted, first of the season.  We voted to go and went through rough water and fog.  Sure enough we watched them for quite a while and then headed back and ran into some birds which we slowed down for and then a Fin Back Whale crowned up in front of us!  The whole experience was so much fun and we just got real lucky to see the Humpbacks!!!

Aug 8, 9 Moncton, New Brunswick

Weather Hotter today almost 90?!  Still using the A/C.
Have you ever seen a Harley Davidson dealership that sells Honda's too???  Isn't that some kind of oxymoron?  Don't the Honda Goldwing guys and the Harley guys poke fun at each other?  Ha Ha.  Anyways out in the East Coast I guess you need to cover all your bases.

Toy's for Big Boys

We also found out there was a big HOG rally coming into town for the weekend so it was bringing out all kinds of bikers.... take a look at this one!

In Moncton people come downtown to a park call the Bore Park where you can watch the tidal bore come in.  We were downtown at about noon and the bore was not coming in till about 4pm, when it comes in there are rolls of water about 2 feet rolling over themselves.  The picture below shows when the tide is still out.

One thing that surprised us today was this low clearance bridge in Moncton...... very low only 11 feet.  The other day when we were coming into our campground we had to cross the river in Moncton and our GPS "Lola" wanted us to go downtown and use the Gunningsville Bridge but to get to it on Main street you had to pass through this.  The instructions to the campground said to use the Causeway.  Just before we got to Moncton Billy decided that we were not going downtown, it didn't feel right and it was a very good call!  Maybe we should call her "Bad Lola"?

Aug 7 Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick

Weather Hot? Yes the hottest out here yet 85+ We had to put the A/C on in the motorhome.

We moved to Hopewell area to a waterfront campground called Ponderosa Pines, we have to pull into the waterfront site then back out when we are ready to leave.  We actually have the best sites in the campground!
This area is known for the largest tides in the world,  it can be up to 46 feet.  Currently the day we visited Hopewell Rocks the tide was about 39 feet.  When the tide goes out it leaves rock formations visible which you can walk around and under - 3 hours before and after low tide.   This was the busiest tourist place we have been out here!  Kind of amazing - actually it is truly amazing!!!  The Flower Pot formation has trees growing on top, and when the tide is high it looks like a little island.

Flower Pot

Aug 4 - 6 Annapolis Royal, Digby, Nova Scotia

Weather  10 degrees cooler at our campsite which was right on the Bay of Fundy - 85 down to 75, cool at night and foggy in the a.m.

Our campground Ocean Cove at Parker's Cove had the nicest view right on the edge of the water.  The sites were tiered so each row had an unobstructed view.  Only negative was the price was so much more than we have ever paid anywhere in the last year, $74 a night.... but what a view.  We sat a couple of days just in our lawn chairs and watched the tide go in and out and enjoyed the sunset.

There was a wharf right next to us and the tide would actually drop about 25 feet and put the boats right on bottom and then in 6 hours the water would be back up, simply amazing to watch.

Low tide

Low tide

High tide

We took a ride down to Digby which has the largest scallop fleet anywhere,  nice little fishing town and we did try the local seafood which has been great everywhere on the east coast.

Scallop boats along the far pier, lots of sailboats in the centre docks.

July 30 - Aug 3 Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

Weather Warm about 80 and cool at night 65, two rain days
Trying to find Big Rig friendly campgrounds in the Lunenburg area is a hard one, but we did find a spot called Little Lake Campground that fixed us up with a couple of spots; the owners were the sweetest people you have ever met.
Your surrounded by water out here and we had a storm move in from Boston that stayed in the area for a couple of days.  We did some reading and baking and R&R.   The first day out we were in Lunenburg when we spotted this license plate.  Isn't it the best!
No Boss, No Mortgage, No Worries, No Paycheck.  "Retired".  We laughed about it for the rest of the day.

There is a beautiful coastline scenic road from Lunenburg to Peggy's Cove.  It weaves in and out of the small little fishing harbours and stays right on the waters edge most of the way.  Everything is rolling and green and then a couple of miles before you get to Peggy's Cove the terrain changes drastically to large rock formations and boulders all of granite.  The Cove is still a very sparse old fishing town with a bit of touristy stuff thrown in, but not too much. 

Just a few miles down the coastline is the memorial for the Swissair flight that went down out in the water and 229 people lost their lives - no survivors.  It had every name engraved on two stone markers that pointed out to the trajectory of where the plane went down.  From the rocky outcrop where I am standing you can see Peggy's Cove in the distance.

One thing that amazes us is how "fat" the seagulls are!!!!   Look at this guy.

July 26 -29 Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island

Weather: We waited out another rain day and then had two nice days, the day we did the Cabot Trail was beautiful 80 and sunny.

In Cheticamp we saw many fishing boats and whale watching boats, I just happened to spot one with A.J.'s name.... and I just had to snap a picture.

Sir A.J.

The Cabot Trail is considered to be one of the most scenic drives in Canada, it travels around the edges of Cape Breton Island and is about 186 miles/310 kilometers.  Views are breathtaking, roads are challenging and you will want to take the whole day to see it.  We left from Baddeck at 9 am and returned about 6 pm at night.   We stopped so many times that we lost count but you simply have to see it all !

July 24, 25 Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Weather  One rain day then next day 75, still cool at night 60's
The good thing is we planned an extra day or so every location we moved to and that allowed us a rain day here and there.  With the motorcycle you don't have as much fun out in the wet so we usually lay low and wait out the weather, so far it has worked out good.
Baddeck is a beautiful little town on Bras d'Or Lake, famous for Alexander Graham Bell who had his summer home here. 

The harbour was filled with sailboats and was picture perfect.

There are several scenic drives here and one is called the Ceilidh Trail.   If you follow Celtic music you might know the Rankin Family who are from a tiny village along this roadway.  We stopped for coffee that their restaurant The Red Shoe Inn.

Just a few kilometers down the road is the only Canadian Single Malt Whiskey Distillery ~ Glenora.  

We had a delicious lunch with Whiskey sauce ribs and tried a shot of their scotch.  Here is a picture after the drink, ha ha.

July 23 Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Weather  70's, cool at night
The topography changes when you enter Cape Breton Island, the Welcome Centre tells us that it is similar to the Highlands in Scotland; we will have to get over to see our in-laws and then we would know if it is true.

The land has rocky shorelines, rolling farmland, with valleys and many lakes, rivers and streams.  Lots of green and trees and apparently moose are seen often; but we didn't see any!

A good part of the island has all its road signs in two languages; Gaelic and English now that is a different bilingualism than we are used to!   There is also a Gaelic College the only one in North America.   They teach the Gaelic language, kilt making, weaving, step dancing, music, bag piping and so forth.  It's kind of cool that they are maintaining their heritage from when the land was settled by the Scottish in the late 1700's.

We were constantly thinking of our son-in-law Kevin and his Mom and Dad knowing they feel right at home here. 
Rug hooking is also a popular old craft here, some of the rugs go for thousands of dollars.  One small rug of 2' x 3' from an artisan could take them 2 or 3 months to complete.   Instead I bought a little kit to make a hot pad :)

 The other thing out in the East Coast is that you seldom see regular grocery store chains except in the big cities.  You have to watch for markets or Co-ops.  Most little towns still have bakeries too which smell so wonderful when you drive past you just have to stop.

Can't say we have noticed many butcher shops but there fish markets in every village and cove and harbour.  We went into one the other day when they were closing and the fellow had 2 whole lobsters that he cooked and did not sell so he made us a deal to  for $20, the two weighed in at close to 3 lbs total.   Boy were they good!!!   One went on the BBQ that night to warm up and dip in butter and the other one made a Lobster sandwich the next day - to bad Billy doesn't like lobster:)

This week our home campground will be near Baddeck at the Cabot Trail Campground.
The entrance was on a gravel road and through a bush but once inside it was a nice quiet spot to stay.