Our Trip Across Canada in the Summer of 2005

Across Canada 2005

Hello to our family and friends who wanted to receive our Journal. Yes we are on the road again and we keep our usual journal of the trip. This journal will serve two purposes by giving us a written account of the trip and every 7 to 10 days I will send out an e-mail of the journal to keep you informed of our progress. We will be on the road for 5 months traveling from Vancouver across Canada to Newfoundland then down the east coast and along the gulf coast of the USA arriving in Indio CA in late November. We will spend the winter in southern California. We do not have a problem if you write us an e-mail after receiving this first journal and asked to be taken off the list. Receiving these over 5 months can be a burden on your e-mail in basket. Well here goes…….….

Day 1 to 3 (July 4, 2005 to July 6 2005):
Our trip has got off to a good start. We left our Vancouver home at 7:45 and went to the Motor Home in which we loaded the final trip items and hooked up the Tracker. We left our Richmond storage at about 8:50 am. The trip up the Fraser Valley and over the Hope Princeton Highway went well. Weather was great and the views in the mountains gave us the feeling we were on the road again, a vacation. We quite like the Hope Princeton Highway although the winding road is slower, the traffic was light. We arrived at our friends Bob and Beth Thurston in Okanagan Falls on Skaha Lake at about 2.30 pm. We set up in good time but had to remember all the various set up procedures. We finished the day with a great dinner Beth had prepared and just relaxed overlooking the lake. It was off to bed early as you do not realize how getting organized for a 9 month trip can tire you out.

The next day started with cutting grass something I had not done in some time. Marilyn spent time putting the Motor Home in order. We had loaded the motor home quickly and now was the time to put items in their proper place. Mid morning we went to St Andrews by the Lake to play 9 holes of golf. This is a great little golf course located in the hills South West of Penticton. The play was slow but the atmosphere was super. We concluded with a lovely lunch. In the late afternoon I was able to install some rain covers over the main vents in the motor home. I did some repairs to make sure all was in order. We finished the day with a Buffalo burger BBQ,

The next day, Wednesday, started very early for Bob and I as we were picked up at 5.30 am for golf at Fairview Mountain in Oliver. This is Bob’s home course and a great track. I always enjoy playing this course but once or twice a year does not improve my score. We got home shortly after 11 am and spent the early afternoon installing a repaired water irrigation pump. This went well and the pump worked. Most years the two couples have toured the wineries in the area. About four years ago on one of the tours we purchased a special, more expensive bottle of wine and agreed to put it away until 2005 and drink it with a special meal. This was that time and we enjoyed a great rib dinner and the wine was lovely, a real treat. The three days we spent in Okanagan Falls were fun as usual and got us started on the right foot. Thanks Beth and Bob.

Day 4 and 5 (July 7, 2005 to July 8 2005):
We had a slower morning and left OK Falls after lunch. The drive to Kelowna BC was uneventful.
After parking the Motor Home at Westgate the RV Dealer we purchased our unit we arrived at Alan and Jen’s Mission Park Chiropractic clinic for a treatment. We also stopped and had a coffee. We went to Alan’s home where we spent time getting caught up on our e-mails. Alan and Jen arrived about 5 pm and we had a lovely salmon BBQ and spent a quiet evening with them both.

Early Friday morning Alan had arranged that we play 9 holes of golf which included a breakfast at Kelowna Springs GC. This was a great idea that even Marilyn got up early as we had a 6:50 tee off. A great morning we spent with Alan. After we dropped Alan off at the clinic we had coffee with friends Bruce and Jacquie Jones and did some errands around Kelowna in the afternoon. That evening we had dinner with Alan and Jen at the Kelowna Yacht Club. This was a TGIF occasion with their JC friends. We enjoyed ourselves.

Day 6 and 7 (July 9, 2005 to July 10, 2005):
Before leaving Kelowna we went to a Volleyball tournament Jen was playing. It was slow to get started so we went for coffee. While sitting on a wall overlooking Okanagan Lake the Kelowna main park we watched a small float plan crash. We were watching the plane land on the lake in front of us and as it landed on the water it tipped forward nose first into the water and went down quickly with only the pontoons showing. A boat was close and we learned later they were able to get the pilot and passenger out. The passenger had some injuries but was ok. After we got back to the Volleyball it was too late for us to stay and watch. We wanted to pick up the. Motor Home and get out of town before the traffic was too bad. We drove to Salmon Arm where we stopped for lunch and pick up groceries. We arrived at the Sportsman RV Resort in Blind Bay BC at about 3pm. We had a couple of hours to relax before we went out to dinner. We were invited to dinner at Jim and Jo Laughlin who live on the 12th green at Shuswap Lake Estates Golf Club. They had friends visiting from Victoria. The evening was great. Thanks Jim and Jo.

On Sunday we had a slow wake up where we had our coffee and read the paper. A pancake breakfast followed. At 10:30 we teed off on Shuswap Lake Estates Golf club with good friends Jim and Donna Allison. This game that is shared with Terry and Donnie Kehler we have tried to do each year. We were also joined by Jim and Donna’s neighbors. This picture is my picture of the week and shows the four couples getting ready for the big game. We had a fun day and enjoyed our golf. Jim always has a money game going on and of course I lost. We finished the day at the Allison’s home on the 2nd fairway with a BBQ. A great finish to our first week on the road. Thank you Jim and Donna and we hope we can continue to make this an annual event. I am now back in the Motor home writing this journal which I hope to get out in an e-mail in the next few days. Tomorrow we start to head north and east up Hwy 16 towards Alberta.

Day 8 July 11, 2005:
Believe it or not we left Blind Bay at 9.15 am. We or I should say Marilyn likes to relax in the morning with her coffee but not this day. On our way to Kamloops the Laughlin’s friends from Victoria passed us on their way home. We arrived at the Dutch Lake Resort in Clearwater BC at about 12.30 pm. We could have continued but for three years we have tried to stay at this RV park but because of fires and other delays we never got here. Marilyn’s brother Ron will remember this Resort because 30+ years ago we took him on a camping trip in BC and stayed at this campground. Ron was quite sick here and we are sure he will remember.

After lunch and a trip to the store for groceries spent a quiet afternoon reading our books. We finished the day with a lovely happy hour and a good BBQ. This is how life should be.
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Day 9 & 10 July 12 & 13, 2005:
We enjoyed our stay at Dutch Lake. We were able to relax and read a book. The owner of the campground had installed a wireless router in his home for internet both in his home and the camp office. I was able to pick up the signal on my laptop in the motor home. It was great to get the e-mails caught up and send out the first journal.

One thing I have not talked about is the weather. As most of you know the west has been blanketed in rain and the east hot muggy weather. We have had the rain off and on since we left Vancouver. Not enough to stop our activities. Today was a good example of the changes in weather. We went through sunny periods, cloudy gray skies and rain. Our drive up through the Rocky Mountains was great except just as we got to Mount Robson the clouds and grey covered the mountain. We stopped to look at Mount Terry Fox but could not see it at first. We had lunch in the rain then just as we finished the clouds opened so we could see Mount Terry Fox and the lower 2/3 of Mount Robson. We arrived at the Whistler Campsite in Jasper Alberta at about 3 pm Mountain Time. We set up the Motor Home in a lovely site with lots of trees. We took a tour of Jasper to get our bearings. After dinner we had a visit from a large number of female Elk and young and took some good pictures as they walked through the campsite. It has now decided to rain so I thought good time to write.

The one hour time change had me up a bit early. Made coffee and waited for Marilyn to get up so we could have our once a week bacon and eggs. We usually do this at stops for 2 days or more. On the days we travel we usually have an easy breakfast. It is a gorgeous morning with out a cloud in the sky with the sun starting to come over the Rockies. I spoke too soon because today we saw all types of weather; Sun, Cloud, Light Rain, Heavy Rain and Hail. After helping a fellow camper get his trailer hooked we left the campground at 9.45. We drove an hour to Maligne Lake in the mountains south of Jasper. On the way up the clouds started to arrive and although they remained high they covered the tops of the mountains. Maligne Lake is a great spot. A big glacier fed lake with the blue green color. We spent some time walking around looking at the various sights. On the way back down we went through a rain storm then saw sun over Medicine Lake so decided to stop for lunch. We just got stopped and set up with a great view up the lake with majestic mountains in the background when it started to rain lightly then it hailed. Finished lunch in the Tracker then headed to Maligne Canyon. By the time we got to the canyon it stopped raining and was quite pleasant. Maligne Canyon is quite the canyon and a great hike. We only walked to the third bridge anticipating rain. The hike was great with great views. After that we visited Jasper Park Lodge the place for the rich and famous and good looking golf course. Finished our day with a coffee in town and drove back to the Motor Home by 4 pm for happy hour. I will now go cook the steaks on the BBQ.

Day 11 & 12 July 13 & 14 2005:
We got up this morning to a beautiful sunny day. We did not have services in this National Park Campground so we had to go dump our tanks. (That may have been more info then you needed) This meant we did not leave Jasper until about 10 am. The sky was clear with few clouds so a short drive east of town I pulled over and took a picture of Mount Robson. This will be my picture of this journal as Mount Robson is the tallest of the Canadian Rockies and a majestic mountain. We stopped in Hinton to purchase gas. The gas in the National Parks is just as expensive as Vancouver. Hinton was better but still high at 91.5. We were told Alberta had cheaper gas but apparently only in the rural areas. The balance of today’s trip along highway 16 was uneventful. The country side is quite level which is an easy drive in the motor home. We arrived west of Edmonton near Spruce Grove. After getting set up, doing a wash, checking e-mail we were off to West Edmonton Mall a short 10 minute ride. Quite the mall ……. We did little shopping, had dinner and took a look at all the events going on like the wave pool, bungie jumping and a great amusement park all this and more inside the mall. Too big for us but I think Marilyn could have gone back for the shopping.

Today is Friday and we are off to visit one of Andrea’s friends, a gal she went to school with in Oakville ON. Kat was at Andrea’s wedding and Marilyn promised we would visit to see her son. We went to her home in NE Edmonton and took them out to Tim Horton’s where we used some of the gift certificates Andrea and Andrew gave me for father’s day. In the after noon we visited Fort Edmonton Park on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River. A recreation of what life was like in Edmonton from the mid 1850 until 1920 which was a good history lesson. This park is similar to parks we had visited before like Upper Canada Village but we enjoyed the afternoon. After doing our grocery shopping for the next few days we arrived back at the Motor Home at about 5.30 pm. The sun was out so we sat outside for happy hour but before long it started to sprinkle off and on all evening and right now it is out right raining.

Day 13 & 14 July 16 & 17 2005:

I guess I should not have talked about the weather a few days ago. It rained hard all night and it is raining as we leave this morning. I feel sorry for Edmonton because they have the Grand Prix running for the first time this weekend. Edmonton has a downtown airport. Part of the airport has been converted to a tack. As we drove by the airport on Hwy 16 we could see the spectators arriving in the rain. At least the drive today is on the flat prairie so we can see quite far in the rain. The rape seed (Canola Oil Seed) does not look quite a bright yellow in the rain and the wheat fields look dull. We made, other than lunch, only one stop today. We stopped in Vegreville, Alberta to have a look at the Pysanka (the world’s largest Easter egg). The area has lots of Ukrainian folks in the area. We also purchased some home made Perogies and Borscht soup. Both these purchases were delicious. We arrived late at a great campground in Saskatoon. The rain had stopped but a wind storm had arrived. We had a quick dinner and took a drive around Saskatoon. I have to make an observation on how busy and prosperous it looks in the prairies. The places we passed looked great with lots of service and activities happening.

We got up today to guess what? Rain. It is hard to believe we are starting our 14th day on the road and we are still talking. In the rain we head due north towards Waskesiu Lake in Prince Albert National park. We made a stop at Tim Horton’s in Prince Albert. Shortly after leaving Prince Albert we left the Prairies and entered the boreal forest (which is the forest above the prairies that rings the north part of the northern hemisphere). This forest reminds us of the forest we saw in the Yukon last year. The rain stopped just as we arrived at the Elk Ridge Golf and RV Resort. This Resort was a real surprise and is located just outside Prince Albert National Park and 5 km from Waskesiu SK. The course has three 9 hole courses with a conference centre. I believe this may be the course Rand MacNeill said the foxes will steal your ball of the green. The staff said this has happened and there is lots of wildlife.

Alan, Jen and the running group we saw the finish of a triathlon as we arrived. It is called the “boreal off-road triathlon”. You can take a look at www.triathlonsaskatoon.org/off-road2005

This part of the trip is the furthest north we will travel in Canada this trip and to be staying at such a great golf resort is great. We will play in the morning as the weather report is much better. After lunch we drove into Waskesiu a small town with lots of summer cottages. We visited the Nature Centre to learn about boreal forest in this area. We drove through parts of the park and as we arrived back at the motor home the sky started to clear. As I sit and write this just after 9 pm there are no clouds in the sky and it is still very light. Looks like we will be playing golf is on in the morning.

Day 15 July 18, 2005:
Guess what Marilyn is up early today. We are going to play golf and not a cloud in the sky. What a golf course. We enjoyed ourselves. We played the Tamarack nine as we did not have time for a full 18. A great track and I know some golfers who would enjoy this course. Have a look at http://www.elkridgeresort.com/ . We headed back to Prince Albert and stopped at John Diefenbaker’s modest home. It is now a town museum and a good one. We had lunch in the motor home just outside the house and left about 1pm for a long afternoon drive. This highway 3 continues to be flat with grain growing on either side of the road. The yellow flower of the Canola Seed and the Blue flower of Flax Seed added colour all along this route. We are staying at the Hudson Bay Regional Park in Hudson Bay SK. In fact we are the only ones in the campground.

Day 16, July 19, 2005:
It rained during the night and it is raining as we leave this morning. We are heading towards Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba. The scenery is similar with prairies and boreal forest. We kept seeing these tents and I mean lots of tents with an open end in the fields scattered through out the fields. They are protection for bee hives. I remember reading honey is a major crop through out the Prairie Provinces and with all the Canola and Flax flowers I can see where the bees help. The roads in Manitoba do not compare to those in Saskatchewan as we left hwy 3 and onto hwy 77 in Manitoba. The change in road conditions was noticeable. The weather started to get better as we approached Dauphin. We had a short stop in Dauphin and arrived in Riding Mountain National Park at about 2.30 pm. What we did not realize it was 3.30 pm. Saskatchewan stays on standard time so we forgot the time change. We went to visit Neil and Lorraine McTavish a couple that winter in our park in Indio CA. They own a Motel, Book/Video Store and Ice Cream Parlor. All located in the same location. Summer is their busy time with 12 to 18 hour days so they can’t spend much time with us. We had a tour of the operation and of course an ice cream. We have a great camp site although the national parks are no bargain. After dinner we took our bikes for a tour around Wasagaming the town located in the park. We also biked past McTavish’s Motel and could not believe the number of people sitting outside and eating ice cream. We passed on the ice cream this time. We are back in the motor home preparing this and e-mail tomorrow. We hope this finds you all well. Regards Dave and Marilyn. Hello Family and Friends. I bet you thought we got lost. The only thing that got lost was my journal file in my computer. I keep the journal writing up to date daily and went I went into my word files and could not find the file with all my writing. This is the first time I have ever lost a file and could not find it anywhere even by doing a search. I am starting to write these last days over. We arrived yesterday August 1st at Marilyn’s sister’s summer cottage on Lake Erie at Selkirk ON.

Day 17 to 29 July 20th to August 1st:
We woke to a cloudy day in Riding Mountain National Park but were assured by our friends the McTavish’s that this would burn off. We joined them for a breakfast of fresh muffins and coffee. The morning before they open the Motel and Ice Cream Parlor is their least busy time although they are still busy getting staff organized as they arrive to work. The clouds did clear after breakfast and it is a beautiful sunny day. We drove to the Buffalo area of the park where a wild heard of Buffalo roam. It took some searching but we did find part of the heard in their natural habitat and we were up close. We enjoyed this trip into the centre of this large park. After lunch we took our bikes and did a longer bike trip to town ending up in a protected lagoon with a riding floating board walk. A great spot to get close to nature and see may species of birds. We finished our ride back at the Motel with an ice cream. After dinner it was another bike trip around town where we spent some time down at the lake and dock. Some of you may have remembered the dinner cruise boat Martese in Kelowna that was purchased by a group who cut the boat in half then transported it through the US Highways to Clear Lake. This boat is very active in the summer with four cruises a day. We watched the dinner cruise come in and the Sunset cruise get ready to leave. Rode by the motel and boy were they busy selling ice cream and renting movies. We were given a movie to watch so went back to our home on wheels to watch the movie and relax.

The next morning we got up to cloud again but knew it would burn off. We had a muffin breakfast with the McTavish’s said goodbye. We had a great time in Riding Mountain Park and Clear Lake and although the McTavish’s were busy the morning visits were great and of course the Ice Cream break later in the day. We would return to this area of the country. We now drove south towards hwy 16 and eventually the Trans Canada hwy 1. Once on highway 1 heading towards Winnipeg we were surprised with the amount of water on either side of the highway. You may have seen the news reports of all the flooding but seeing it in reality was quite different. The highway was higher in height then the surrounding land so fields were filled with water but also businesses. We saw a large trailer manufacture with many trailers sitting in a field with water half way up the wheels and the manufacturing building in a couple of feet of water. We continued around Winnipeg going north east as we headed to Grand Beach. We arrived in time to park in the Provincial Park campground and spend some time visiting the area. Grand Beach is one of the 10 largest sand beaches in North America. We enjoyed this visit and finished the day with a BBQ.

The next morning which is Friday was sunny as we headed around Lake Winnipeg and followed the Winnipeg River down to Hwy 1 and into Ontario. We realized the next four days would be long as we crossed western Ontario and the great lakes. I will make an editorial comment after having finished the Prairies. We in BC are very fortunate to have the lovely roads and scenery we do have and we must not forget this. We enjoyed our trip through the Prairies but after a while it is all the same scenery. I am not going to take our BC drives for granted. We stopped in Kenora and decided to head south following Lake of the Woods. Campgrounds were few and far between so we did not know where we would end up. At a picnic site we stopped for lunch and I was talking to four people who were heading for the Canadian Bass Fishing Championship in Fort Frances. Guess where we ended up. Yes we stopped in Fort Frances at the Municipal Park, went to the local laundry spot and did wash then ended up at the Bass Championship for the fish fry. What a great time. The Bass Championship consists of 150 teams of 2. The teams can catch five fish, keep then alive in a special holding tank, the tank is weighed and then the fish are returned to the spots where they were caught and released. All this is monitored and points deducted if a fish dies. We saw the weights for day two of three being posted. It was then back to the Motor Home for some much needed sleep.

The next day it was on to Thunder Bay and Nipigon Ontario. The drive was through some lovely country with lots of lakes. As usual we woke to rain but the day got sunny. We stopped at the Terry Fox Memorial where he had to stop when cancer returned. This picture is of the memorial. We got to our campsite in Nipigon late. This campsite was not a good one as it was close to the road and had a bridge under repair requiring traffic, including many trucks, to stop for a light. We had a great BBQ and were tired so we had a good night’s sleep.

The next days ride was up and down windy road around the top of Lake Superior. We had a mix of sun and clouds and the odd rain. It is funny how the rain has followed us across the country. We noticed on the news that Vancouver is now in sunshine. We stopped at Wawa at the famous Canada goose. We arrived in Sault Ste. Marie at a campsite that was well advertised in the book but it was not up to standard. We did camp behind two couples from BC. We were 21 days to this point and they were 5 days from Nelson BC and could not believe we had been to all these places. I helped one of the fellows map his way to Quebec City as they were going to go past as it was a big city. I showed them a camp site where they could taxi boat across the river to the city.

The next morning we gassed up and went to visit the locks in Sault Ste Marie. These are the oldest locks in Canada and are a National Historic Monument. Used for pleasure craft only we arrived just in time to see 5 boats enter the lock at the upper Lake Superior side and be lowered to Lake Huron. It was a quick lunch at the mall and on to our friends Darwin and Pat Brunne in Whitefish ON part of greater Sudbury. They live on the west side and we found no trouble getting to their house. We parked at the side of their driveway. We started a great visit just sitting at the table during happy 3 hours followed by dinner that evening. Pat Thank you.

The next day we had a bit of a sleep in then we had our full breakfast. The Brunne’s prepared this before we went out for the day. It had rained all night and looked like it was stopping so Darwin and I started to wash the car and Motor Home. Boy were we dirty and with the rain following us and some road repairs the last week, we picked up lots of extra dirt. It started to rain as we washed but kept going. We got cleaned up went in our car to drop Darwin off an appointment while I took the car for a lube and oil at one of those fast lube places. After that we had a great fish lunch. We visited the mine display which gave us a good overview of nickel mining and other mining in the northern Ontario, all of which was a great tour and display. Once back a Brunne’s it was time to pack for a stay at their camp on the lake. They call it a Camp. I call it a cottage on a beautiful piece of property. It only took us 45 minutes including a boat ride to get to the camp. We got unpacked in a hurry as it was happy hour. Had a great dinner then after dinner we had a Sauna in a wood fired sauna. This was a great experience which set us up of one of our better nights sleep.

Up the next morning a lovely wild blue berry pancake breakfast. This area of Ontario is known for its wild blueberries. Pat had also baked muffins and blueberry pie. Darwin and I went out fishing for a few hours. I had a few bites. Darwin had one nice one in the boat which we released and also lost a couple of good Bass. A great time of day to be out fishing and it had been a year since I last fished on our Alaska trip so I enjoyed myself. After lunch we had a fast boat ride, a slow boat ride on the barge, steering as seen in the picture and played Bocce ball. We had dinner and then headed back to town about 7:20 and arrived the Brunne’s home at 8 pm. Marilyn did some wash and I discovered I had lost my journal file and spent the rest of the evening trying to find the file.

We were on the road again on our way to Manitoulin Island to stay at friends Don and June Barnes who also spend time down south in Indio. A few days ago I realized the August long weekend was coming. I had not considered this with getting a ferry reservation from Manitoulin to Tobermory. I booked a 9:10 ferry as this was one of the only times available. We had wanted to stay longer on Manitoulin but had to take the ferry tomorrow. Don and June were great hosts. We had one of our better parking spots in their large lot on the edge of Big Lake. They had lunch waiting and after we took a tour of the area. Don was BBQing a Venison/Pork roast for dinner so we could not tour too long. We enjoyed our stay on Manitoulin Island and would love to return some day.

We were up early the next morning as we had to be at the ferry dock 1 hour before sailing. June had fixed a lovely breakfast and gave us a box lunch. We arrived at the dock in plenty of time. We were greeted by the ferry attendants by name which surprised me but I guess the size of my rig gave me away and they checked us off the reservation list. Marilyn had to drive the car on separately as it was cheaper then keeping the car on as a tow. The Motor Home took premium space. The sailing was one and three quarter hours. The cost of passage for Marilyn and the car was about $42. The passage across was great leaving and arriving but in between it is like being on a big ocean. Our drive down the Bruce Peninsula was uneventful. We arrived at Inverhuron Provincial Park at about 2.30. Again with the long weekend I had got the last campsite when I booked a week ago. Our friends Brian and Shelia Mathewson are staying in Kincardine with their Motor Home. They are living in it full time and had come to Kincardine for a two week stay. We spent the balance of the day with them and enjoyed a lovely dinner.

We had a leisurely wake up this day as we leave to go and stay with my Uncle Vern VanBiskirk in Sarnia. The weather is getting hotter and a noticeable humidly in the air. We arrived about 2 pm at Uncle Vern’s and he was ready for us. My Aunt Gladys had passed away a year ago so Vern wanted us to stay in his place. He lives in a great complex in a lovely home. We were able to park the MH across the street from his home. He had all our meals planned and great meals they were. That evening we toured Sarnia a lovely city on the banks of the St. Clair River. We saw lots of activity on the river as the very large Lakers move back and forth between Lake St. Clair and Lake Huron.

On Sunday after a good night sleep we did a drive and visit I have always wanted to complete. We visited the southern most point in Canada at Point Pelee. Point Pelee National Park is a beautiful park. Just outside Leamington, the tomato capital of Canada, the park extends well into Lake Erie. We parked and took a shuttle to near the end and then walked the last kilometer or so to the tip. We were then a kilometer south of the 42 parallel which if you look at a map is south of the California/Oregon border and below Rome in Italy.
It took us 2 plus hours to drive to Point Pelee so we could not spend much time. This is a very interesting area with vegetation only found in this area of Canada. The forest had vines which gave it a unique look. The lake was busy with tankers and off in the distance you could see Pelee and Middle Islands, the real southern most points in Lake Erie. We got back for happy hour at about 5 pm.

It was sad to leave my Uncle Vern the next morning. We enjoyed our stay and I know he enjoyed the company. Our drive this morning was a gook one. We took the 402 from Sarnia towards London ON then went south over some very good side roads. We saw lots of agriculture including the tobacco belt. We arrived at Marilyn’s sister’s cottage about 2 pm. Brenda and Gary Wicklund. They have a lovely cottage on the shores of Lake Erie. We were able to park the MH in the driveway of the cottage next door and hook up to power. The weather is very hot 30c plus with humidity making it 40 plus. We now need our air conditioner. We spent a great afternoon and evening with Gary and Brenda. We had lots of laughs and maybe too much wine.

We are now going to spend a couple of days here leaving for Toronto on Thursday August 4th. I have a place to park the Motor Home in Oakville ON and we will spend until August 16th visiting family and friends in the Greater Toronto area. The next time you hear from me will be when we are driving through northern Quebec towards the end of August.

It is August 16, 2005 and we are on the road again heading east. We will be staying in Fenlon Falls with Marilyn’s brother Ron and his wife Mary for a few days then on to Ottawa and points east. On Sunday August 14, 2004 we moved the Motor Home to Fenlon Falls. The Sunday drive gave Marilyn’s mom and sister an opportunity to ride in the MH and get to see Ron’s new home. We had fun and lots of laughs on that trip and a great day at Ron’s.

Our 12 days in the Greater Toronto Area has been wonderful. The first day we just relaxed and got our bearings but after that we were extremely busy visiting family and friends. We wish to thank the following families for their hospitality: Racette, Coyle, Carr, Baxter, Greenwood, Rotary Club of Oakville, Clancy, Palmer, Newton, Sheahan, Wicklund, Lang, Sutherland, Langlois and Irlam. As you can see we have been taken care of by a number of people who made our stay so great. Thank you one and all.

We did not do any major sightseeing in Greater Toronto except the many rides on fast freeways. You forget about the great transport system (in non rush hours) and the speed people travel. We were back into the groove by the time we left. I did have one game of golf at Hidden Lake in Burlington with Brian Sheahan, Malcolm Wright and Phil Langlois. We also took the opportunity to have the MH serviced. The weather for the most part while in Toronto was good. We had a couple of humid days where we went down to the pool to cool off other that that most days were quite pleasant.


Day 44 to 46 August 16 to 18, 2005:
It is hard to believe we are on our 7th week on the road. The trip in the Tracker up to Fenlon Falls was uneventful. We drove the 407 ETR (express toll route) which made the trip quite pleasant as there is much less traffic on the toll route. It will be interesting to see what they charge me. A camera scans your license plate and sends a bill. We had used the express hwy when we returned from Fenlon Falls on Sunday evening and found it very easy to get across Toronto. Shortly after we arrived Marilyn’s brother Ron came home for lunch. We agreed we would cook supper as both he and Mary work. They have corn on the cob in the area called Super Sweet which entailed a ride up the road to Bobcaygeon so we could pick up the right corn. Well worth the drive because this is the best corn I have ever eaten. Ontario does have great corn on the cob.

Ron and Mary live on the Fenlon Falls River which is one of the waterways for the Trent-Severn water system from the St Lawrence to Georgian Bay. They have set their outside sitting area overlooking the river watching all the boats waiting for the locks at Fenlon Falls. We too enjoyed our time sitting and watching the boats. We were able to go on a boat ride to the middle of Sturgeon Lake and on Sunday Ron and I went fishing. No luck. Ron’s friend Mike lent Ron his boat so we thank Mike. Saturday night we visited their friends for a lovely dinner. Sunday morning we did a walk to pick up more of the corn to go with the great BBQ Ron prepared Sunday night. Ron and Mary have neighbors who have just purchased a Motor Home so they had interest in what we are doing so joined us for dinner Sunday evening. Again the weather was perfect although the forecast did not look good. Thank you Ron and Mary, your hospitality was wonderful.

Day 47 to 49 August 19 to 21,2005:
We are off to the Nations Capital Ottawa. A good ride today although as the day progressed we got some good rain storms. In fact Marilyn’s sister Brenda had call to see how we were doing as Toronto had some great thunder storms with twisters. We just had rain. I must say the freeways leading into Ottawa are wonderful, smooth highways and also the secondary roads are great thanks to all our tax dollars through the Capital Commission. We arrived at Nancy Deshaw’s brother Fred and his wife Linda about 4pm. They were still at work so we waited and looked over how we would park our MH in their driveway.

The great hosting started the minute they arrived home. Those that know Nancy know her love of a good bottle of wine. I now know partly where she gets it as we were introduced to Fred’s wine cellar right off the bat. I do not know when I have enjoyed wine more. We say the world in wine this weekend. Both Linda and Fred are great cooks and a grreat kitchen we would all love to have in our homes. The kitchen is one of the focal points of the home along with a great back yard and deck which includes hot tub and pool. We made good use of those facilities particularly the hot tub in the morning while we had our coffee. The food and wine this weekend was outstanding including Sunday night at a lovely local restaurant. We all finished the evening off back in the kitchen over port and fruit cheese plate. Not a bad way to live.

We also got great tours of Ottawa. Fred and Linda live in Manotick on Long Island which is an island in between the Rideau River and Rideau Canal just south of central Ottawa. Fred on Saturday was able to tour us to downtown Ottawa and Hull and through Sussex Drive and Rockcliffe Parkway and the homes in Rockcliffe. I looked for Parkers new town house but could not find my way. We stopped and did a tour of Rideau Hall the home of the Governor General and walked past the Prime Ministers home across the street (it now has lots of security so you can’t get too close. The Rideau Hall tour was wonderful. We learned a lot and it is great to see where our tax dollars are going. Fred thanked me for my tax dollars on a number of occasions. On our way home we stopped at the Long Island Mill in Manotick and I have shown the picture here. While we were away Linda stayed home and looked after their granddaughter who also had a sleep over. We enjoyed having her around, a real cutie!!

On Sunday we went and did a tour of the new Veterans Museum. This new Museum opened in May and what a tribute to all Canadian Veterans of all conflict over the years. We spent over 4 hours looking at the exhibits but did not do them justice. You need a number of days to visit this Museum and those days should be spread apart. Our minds were saturated but of course, now days, it does not take to much to saturate. We did not visit the Parliament Buildings and other well known Museums as we had visited them before. I did stop and take a picture of the Parliament Buildings and this is shown here. We also visited a park on the way home and did a walk along the Rideau River/Canal. We finished our day off with the meal out which also included the company of Fred and Linda’s son Michael who is an Ottawa Police Officer. Thanks Fred and Linda for a great weekend.

Day50 and 51 August 22 and 23, 2005:
This day took some time to get going. I had to take my car into get a new windshield. Last Friday night or early Saturday morning a drunk walking the street decided to pick up a big rock and put it through our windshield. Marilyn heard the drunk and heard what sounded like glass breaking but thought it was a beer bottle breaking in a ditch. Marilyn also had to see a doctor about an infection and so did I for a minor accident I had in the pool. Fred followed me down to the glass repair place in his car and drove me back to pick up Marilyn then off to the Doctors. He then waited for us to get through our appointment. Fred and Linda may not want to see us back. Fred we thank you for driving us to all those appointments. We left their house in the motor home about 11 am gassed up on the way to pick up the car which was on our route out of town. We went through central Ottawa and Hull and North on Highway 105. That was a bit of a mistake as Quebec roads are not as good as the roads we have seen so this took a little longer then expected. We arrived at a lovely campsite on a river in the town of Labelle just north of Mont Tremblant. This was a long stressful day and we were both tired. Once we had dinner and I started to write the journal my eyes started to shut so if was off to bed early.

We awoke this morning and both had a good nights sleep but after discussion about our route through Quebec and the Maritimes we realized we had put too much in too short a time. So we decided to stay here another day and go on to Quebec City tomorrow then do part of the Gaspe and the north coast of New Brunswick and skip PEI as we have done that before. We want to get to Cape Breton in a week so we can go to Newfoundland and be back by September 10 to pick up Alan and Jen. We have just started the eight week of our trip and thought we had given plenty of time but realize that this is a big country. This morning we cleaned up the MH and later visited Mont Tremblant a smaller version of Whistler. The town was busy with all sorts of activity. One thing I did like which is different from Whistler is the colour of the roofs on the buildings. We had a great crepe lunch; went and visited another town nearby and were home about 4 pm for a nap and late happy hour and dinner. We needed this break day.

Day52 and 53 August 24 and 25, 2005:
We had a good nights sleep and got on the road by our usual 9.30/10 am time (Marilyn’s Time). We headed down the freeway towards Montreal but turned east north of the city. Once back on the secondary road we felt better and were enjoying the Quebec countryside. A good surprise was a telephone call from our Vancouver Rotarian friends Francis and Ken Kolotyluk. They were calling from Bathurst NB to see where we were and if we can get together. We will try and get together tomorrow east of Quebec City on the north side of the St Lawrence. . The balance of today’s trip was finished on highway 40 north of the St Lawrence to Quebec City then a little east on highway 20 to a great campground in Levis QC. We were going to drive down to the ferry in Levis and go over to Quebec City but realized after the long drive we were tired so decided to have a BBQ and sit and relax this evening. We now realize we have not given enough time to spend needed time in various places. The trip at this stage seems rushed.

The weather continues to be great. This morning we left for a drive up the north coast of the St Lawrence. Our first stop was the Ste-Anne de-Beaupre area. We got carried away and stayed in this area for some time. We did visit the great church “Ste-Anne de-Beaupre” with its history of healing. My sore slightly stiff neck was still sore after my visit to the church. The area around Beaupre has many shops and interesting places to visit. We visited a sugar shack and tasted maple products and bought some interesting items. Later in the day we went to a bee museum which was interesting. We were also going to drive up to St-Simeon to see if we could meet with Frances and Ken but realized after driving for some time in dense forest that St-Simeon was too far to go today. We turned back to the Beaupre area and visited a farm which was started by the original explorers to Quebec. The farmhouse was still standing and housed a great display on the local history. We ended our day in Old Quebec City. We had been in Old Quebec before but realized how much we enjoyed walking around the streets, visiting shops and just people watching. To finish the evening off we had dinner in a café where we sat on the street watching the visitors go by. We were back in our home by 9pm having had a great day.

Day54 and 55 August 26 and 27, 2005:

We got on the road at our usual time. Our first mission was to get gas. When we planned the cost for this trip I used a gas price of $1.10 a liter. So when I give you these stats some will feel good some bad. Today we hit a price just east of Quebec City on Hwy 20 of 1.09.9. Those that like statistics our average price after this fill up is .94 cents. (Forget all this now I saw 1.56 in Newfoundland on September 4th we have not had to gas up the MH for a few days). Today’s drive up the south side of the St. Lawrence and east across the Gaspe Peninsula just north of Rimouski was great. I have to say, and some will disagree, Marilyn and I enjoy the Province of Quebec. The country side is wonderful and the views great. All the little villages with a church along the way give you a real feel for the character of the people. Everyone has been so friendly. I will say that since our last drive through Quebec when we went to Andrea’s graduation there are now more Canadian flags flying. Back then it was Quebec flags. I think this is a good thing.

Because we want to get on to Newfoundland earlier than later in September we are going to by pass the top of the Gaspe Peninsula and take in PEI later. Instead we headed across to NB but first we are going to take a detour to Carlton PQ in honor of a retired royal banker Garry Stowe and his wife Sharon. On September 11, 2001 (9/11) they got stranded in this campground that Garry said was “Quote: this was our favorite campground in terms of setting on our whole trip across Canada.” We arrived at Camping Carlton at about 4 pm and we agree with Garry and Sharon. What a campground located on a spit of land out in Chaleur Bay. The view was great and the sunset was wonderful. We had our happy hour overlooking the water in honor of Garry and Sharon. The 50km back track will be worth this campground.

We decided to stay an extra day in this wonderful place. We had a leisurely getting up with a poached egg breakfast. After clean up we headed out on a long walk around the spit. We stopped to climb to the top of the light house at the end of the spit. We took many pictures from the top of the light house. One thing I have not mentioned too often is the little fixing up chores that are required along the way. Today is a good example of what is needed. The Motor Home being as big as it is towing the Tracker bounces along the road and items come loose. You have to be a jack of all trades. When we took the car out for a drive the other day the bikes on the bike rack made a loud squeaking noise. This noise has never happened before but being on the back of the tracker 50 feet back from the front of the motor home they bounce around so we tightened the lines holding the bikes to the rack. It helped a little some but today when I took the bikes off the rack the rack fell apart. A weld had broken. The arm inside the motor home that you use to jack up the TV antenna fell off I suspect due to the bouncing. Also one of the tail lights did not work but the bulb is ok so I moved the socked around and it worked again but not for long. I was able to fix the TV antenna and the light socket but the bike rack needed welding. After lunch today we decided to go up to coast to some of the small towns. I took the bike rack with us and when getting gas at an Esso station I asked the gas attendant if he knew a welder. He did not speak English so I showed him our bike rack and the broken weld and he pointed to him and took the bike rack and broken piece and within 5 minutes came back with it repaired with a great weld. Who says we can’t communicate. These little repair jobs are always needed and part of traveling this way.

We went up the road and visited a number of small towns one of which had a Saturday farmers market so we stopped for produce, some maple products, baking and smoked mackerel. After the market we came across a historic village which represented the united empire loyalists in the area. The east coast of the Gaspe has quite an English population, many French and Acadians. This is an interesting cultural mix that seems to work well. We enjoyed our visit to this village and learning part of the local history. It was now late in the afternoon so we headed back for happy hour and a BBQ. We will miss this campground and the beautiful setting.

Day56 to 58 August 28 to 30, 2005:
These next 3 days will be our push to arrive in Cape Breton on Tuesday afternoon. We backtracked to Campbelton NB where we stopped for information. We decided to follow the coast line in both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The first part of today we followed the Loyalists Route which by lunch had changed to the Acadian Route. Lots of history and the display of the Acadian flag which is a red, white and blue striped flag with a star in the upper left corner. Many of the telephone poles in the towns we passed through were painted, in the lower section, red, white and blue. I have categorized all the roads in Canada as 1 to 5. One being the full freeway with on and off ramps and lots of pavement on the sides, two being a divided highway no off ramps but some pavement on the sides, three to five are the balance of the secondary roads. For the next three days we will experience the latter roads. Many of the roads are 4&5 type roads. I mention this because by the end of the day on the smaller roads you are quite tired and have traveled considerably less kilometers. Traveling these roads is worth it as the scenery and small villages are great. We enjoyed this day of coastal views. The first night we arrived in a campground just a few miles south of the Miramichi. The only other people were an Acadian couple from Nova Scotia traveling by motorcycle. They were tenting for the first time in their lives. We learned much about the Acadian history.

We got off the next day at our usual time. We will have a shorter day today. We were going to stop at an Acadian Village which is an National Historic Site but felt we were villaged out. We may regret that decision. We arrived in Shediac NB around noon with the main purpose to find a Lobster Pound. The welcome centre has the statue of the largest lobster. They gave us a few suggestions so we set off to the docks and found a fish shop with plenty of lobster. Armed with 4 lobsters we also had a lobster roll each for lunch. Shediac is a lovely town and we remember another motor home trip many years ago with our good friends the Mathiesons. We arrived a short time later at the Nova Scotia welcome centre which I believe is one of the nicest welcome centres we have come across. A bag piper was piping all the visitors into the centre. After getting as much information as we could handle we set off on coastal route 6 towards Cape Breton. At about 4.30 feeling tired we stopped at a campground in Seafoam NS. We then set up for our lobster feed. It was a great evening with Lobster, Caesar salad and good white wine. We took a walk on the beach after dinner.

We now have a short hop along the Trans Canada and across the Canso Causeway into Cape Breton then up the west coast to our friends Charlotte and Marcel on Lake Ainslie about 15 km on the west side of the lake near Inverness. Yes a way out in the country but we had no trouble finding the home. We arrived about 2.30pm. Charlotte and I worked 30 plus years ago in the Vancouver operations at Royal Bank. Shortly after my mother passed away I received a letter and card from Charlotte as she had seen the announcement of my mom’s passing in the Halifax Chronicle and we have kept in touch. We spent our first few hours touring her wonderful garden both flower and vegetable. A lovely place to stay on a beautiful lake (largest fresh water lake in Nova Scotia) so we set our motor home on a second drive way at the far end of the property. Marcel arrived home around 5 pm and he and I went for a swim. Although the lake felt cold at first you warmed up quickly. Marcel and I then took a lawn mower into town for repair. I love listening to Marcel talk with his Cape Breton accent. He was born in the area and is very knowledgeable of what is happening. We finished the day off with a great dinner and some great wine. We both slept well this night.

We had a leisurely wake up this morning with Charlotte joining us for coffee in the Motor Home. We decided to have a tour of the area conducted by Charlotte. She has lived in this area for sixteen years and believe me knows the history, its people and is a dedicated community supporter. Although it was now raining we traveled country roads and coastal roads and around each corner Charlotte gave us the history. We saw all of Mabou including the coast line and harbor and wherever we saw people, they knew Charlotte. We were on a road in the middle of know where to view a home built “by and away person” (a person who is not a Cape Bretoner). This home was quite the place. While looking at the home another car came along and recognized Charlotte’s car so stopped. He was out on his rounds delivering fresh chickens and ground beef. Guess what we now have a chicken and hamburger arriving when we return from Newfoundland. The chicken will be a great Sunday meal when Alan and Jen join us on the 11th (more on that later). We had a great lunch in Mabou where I had Cape Breton mussels and lots of them for such a reasonable price. We spent the afternoon visiting other villages and ended up in Inverness at the Art Centre where Charlotte volunteers. A great centre where we saw a special rock carving demonstration, artist displaying their paintings and they all knew Charlotte. What a great day but it was not finished as all four of us went out to dinner at an Inn about 3 or 4 km further up the road from their home. A great meal in a wonderful setting making this a day to remember except for an unfortunate incident. As we were getting ready to leave for dinner Marilyn slipped getting out of the MH (moss was slippery) and twisted her ankle. After we got home it was swollen and required ice.

Day59 to 63 September 1 to 5, 2005 Newfoundland:
We love Newfoundland! Our day started off early in the car without the motor home and a 1 ½ hour drive to the Newfoundland Ferry in North Sydney NS. Charlotte was going to Sydney for the day so we followed her car with a stop at Tim Hortons. We arrived at the dock about 8:45 am. We had a reservation and needed to be in line by 9am for the 10am Sailing. It was raining off and on and very foggy. The 6 hour crossing cost $130 but guess what because I was on time I got my $25 reservation fee refunded. The crossing went fast as we met a couple from White Rock who were in front of us in the line up. We had not seen a BC car for sometime so we started talking both in the line up and on the ferry. 6 hours crossing is long and not being able to see land for most or the trip can be boring. We talked and read. We arrived in Port aux Basque just after 4 pm but it was foggy and you could not see a thing. We went to the welcome centre and found a B&B and added to the material that Parker Knox had given me on Newfoundland. The couple we talked to on the boat arrived at the welcome centre looking for accommodation further up the highway but with the fog they decided to get a room in our B&B so we both stayed at the same place and had dinner together. The landlady at the B&B was a typical Newfoundlander accent and all. We got quite a kick out of her. The home was simple but adequate and our room was nice.

The next day we had breakfast that was waiting for us. We got introduced to Bake Apple Jelly, Partridge Berry Jam and Squash Berry Jam all berries found in Newfoundland. Tried on fresh home made bread and muffins the day started out great. The fog was lifting fast so I asked our land lady where we should go up north and she said I was not to go up north but to go east a short 1.5 hour return trip to the lighthouse at Rose Blanche. We did that and what a great place to go. The lighthouse was the oldest granite lighthouse that had been restored and was still working. The scenery and the town of Rose Blanche was typical Newfoundland. We drove through the small sea towns such as Isle aux Morts that were once big fishing towns. In the latter town they had an interpretative centre we visited and in the basement the fisherman were bating their fish hooks as they had a Cod opening for 3 days next week. All this was very interesting. We did not get on our way north until well after 1 pm. We headed north on the Trans Canada highway which follows an inland route. The topogrophy with such names as Table Mountain was quite different. On the map we saw the Port Au Port Peninsula out to sea so we decided to follow this road. We went through Stephenville and past wind swept coastlines with the trees bent over from the wind. As we got close to Cape St. George it was getting late so we knew there was only one B&B call called the Cape St. George B&B so we started to look. We did pass the Inn at the Cape but could not find what we were looking for but we did have a cell signal so called and they said they had changed the name to Inn at the Cape. We turned around and went back and what a find. This B&B was much more being in an isolated area they also served dinner (and what a dinner) and breakfast (and what a breakfast) all for $70. The room was terrific as it was an end suite on the top floor over looking the Cape and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. A great view to just sit on the balcony and look for whales. We had a great evening and good nights sleep and enjoyed the family that runs the Inn and the other Inn guests.

The next morning after a lovely breakfast we finished the drive around the cape and enjoyed the scenery. We made stop in Cornerbrook, Gros Morne National Park, Norris Point and Rocky Harbor finally ending our day at Cow Head. The Gros Morne Festival is in Cow Head and we had tickets to the 9.30 pm event. Towards the end of this day of driving I (Dave) started to not feel great. We were able to stop early so before dinner and the festival I was able to have small sleep. This made me feel better and I was able to enjoy our dinner and the Newfoundland Singing Troupe that evening. This was a great festival event and we sure had fun. Got home late and retired right away.

The landlady of the B&B was another Newfoundland character. We sure enjoyed her and of course the breakfast she served this morning. The other couple staying was from Rochester NY. He was going on a guided (with the son of the landlady who is a registered guide) hunting trip for a Moose using only a bow and arrow. He said he was leaving by plane sometime today but on Newfoundland time which could be any time that day. After breakfast we headed north. Long before we got to Newfoundland we had decided to only visit the west side of the island as trying to take it all in under 3 weeks would be too much so we would have to return to visit the area around St. John’s. Most people we talk to said we made a wise decision as Newfoundland is too big. It looks small when you look at the map but the distances between places are far with little civilization. I say all this because this morning we turned back and abandon the Newfoundland Trip. I started feeling not too good again but worse then yesterday. We had got a few km’s up the road and had stopped to look at a rock formation or ship wreck when I felt I could not drive. Marilyn took over the driving and a few more km up the road Marilyn realized I was not feeling at all well so we stopped and talked about the situation. We made the decision to turn back to Cornebrook and reassess the situation tomorrow. Cornerbrook is a larger community with motels which we checked into and I immediately went to bed and fell a sleep. I awoke a short time later feeling somewhat better but just wanted to rest. Later in the afternoon we toured Cornerbrook, visited a couple of stores, came back to the motel and just laid down. We had a very light dinner as we felt maybe it could have been too much food or the drinking water so we had now lots of bottled water. It was early to bed.

The next morning I was feeling quite a bit better so we decided to again go north but as I was loading the car I knew I was not 100% so said to Marilyn lets head back to Cape Breton (can’t image how I got so much sense in my old age) and Marilyn was relieved. We both said we would return to Newfoundland by plane and tour the east and northern west sections at that time. There was a 3.30 pm ferry so changed the Friday reservation to Monday. On the way down to the ferry we visited some of the other hamlets and enjoyed our ride. We had lunch over looking the water in Channel-Port aux Basques watching the ferry come in to the small harbor. BC ferries could take a lesson in landing at the dock. The six hour ferry ride was uneventful except the food was the worse dinner we had had in a long time. We in BC can be thankful for the reasonably good food on our ships. We arrived at Charlotte and Marcel’s and into our motor home about 10.45. This was a long and disappointing day but we will return.

Day64 to 67 September 6 to 9, 2005:

I should mention that Marilyn’s foot was still giving her trouble. We were able to keep ice on it for quite a bit of the time while in B&B but this is another reason for going back to Newfoundland so we can hike in Gros Morne. We spent the next few days just relaxing and enjoying this beautiful spot and home we are staying. I guess maybe we needed this break. The people and places in this part of Cape Breton are great. Yesterday we went to Port Hawkesbury as Charlotte had and appointment. We went all the back roads taking all morning to get there and in the afternoon after the appointment went to Isle Madame the southern most part of Cape Breton. We got home about 5.30 pm just in time for happy hour and we were taking Marcel and Charlotte out to dinner at another Inn in Mabou which it the home of the Rankin Family for you fiddler fans. It was a great dinner in a lovely setting and our way of saying thank you for putting up with us for all these extra days.

Today is Friday and we are using this day to get things in order to push off tomorrow. We will drive to north of Sidney on the north coast about 15 minutes from the Airport. Alan and Jen arrive at midnight tomorrow for a one week stay in Sidney. They are attending the JC Conference and for those that do not know Alan won the JC public speaking contest at the JC Conference in Prince George earlier this year. We hope to be able to hear his speak next Friday a week today. They will spend 4 days with us in the motor home before they check into the conference hotel late Wednesday. We will leave Cape Breton either mid afternoon Friday or early Saturday. We will bring you up to date in our next journal.

We are still watching the gas shortages in the USA and have not heard too much of late. I will check with the Canadian Automobile Association in Halifax the last week of the month and make a decision as to heading south or the long drive back to Vancouver. The price of gas has backed off a bit here but I think I might have mentioned we saw 1.569 in Newfoundland. I have paid as high for the car of 1.485 in Newfoundland and the gas around here is 1.36. My average in the Motor home for the 8600 km we have driven is .98 cents. I guess time will tell and we are going to take our time touring mainland Nova Scotia.

We are still in Nova Scotia. When I last sent a journal we were just leaving our friends Charlotte and Marcel. That Friday night we had the privilege of attending a rock carving showing at the Inverness County Centre for the Arts. Charlotte is quite involved in this art centre and we were invited to attend. The Rock Carving was great and the singing by a well known Nova Scotia singer Laura Smith and her singing was great. She was joined by a well know guitar player George Antoniak. Marcel and Charlotte thank you for putting us up for an extended stay.

Day 69 to 75 September 10 to September 16, 2005.

The day was dull but the setting next to West Lake Ainslie was great. We had a lovely late breakfast with Charlotte and Marcel. Marcel made some Cape Breton standbys being Oatcakes and Scones while I fixed bacon and eggs. We were able to get away about noon and arrived at the campground in New Waterford about 3 pm. Not a great campground but it is only 10 minutes from the Airport. We then did a large grocery shop knowing Alan and Jen would be joining us for 4 days. Alan and Jens plane arrived on time at 12 midnight and we were back in the motor home by 12:45.

The next morning we were all slow to rise. It will take Alan and Jen a few days for the time change. We had breakfast packed up and headed to a new campground more central to our sight seeing. The weather is still overcast but not raining yet. We were able to get set up at the Seal Island KOA in short order. We were then off to Baddeck to visit the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic sight. We all enjoyed this visit but realized we did not have time to do the Museum justice. The girls didn’t even get time to shop in the town of Baddeck so that will require a return visit.

During the night it rained and when we got up it was very overcast. After a group vote we decided not to go around the Cabot Trail today and hold off until tomorrow. Instead we had a leisurely breakfast. We then decided to go to Sydney to find the hotel Alan and Jen will be staying in as well as visit Glace Bay and the Miners Museum. In Sydney we found the hotel as well visited the largest Fiddle ever made. The Fiddle was made of steel and weighed quite a few tons and fiddle music was coming from inside. It was quite impressive as Cape Breton is in the fiddle place of Canada. After we drove downtown we headed out on the Colliery Trail up the side of Sydney harbor towards New Waterford, where we had spent one night waiting for Alan and Jen to arrive, and ending in Glace Bay. We stopped along the way at the WW1 and WW11 large gun sights on the coast. We did not realize we had that sort of War history but it all made sense considering the Germans did attempt to come up the St Lawrence. Before we arrived in Glace Bay we visited the Marconi National Historic Site. This is where Marconi made the first wireless transmission overseas. If only Bell and Marconi could see today’s society and what they started. At Glace Bay we visited the Miners Museum. This was a great museum. They took us underground to see how the coal mine operated back in the 1930’s. It was brutal and we experienced some of the toil today. There are no more operating mines in Cape Breton but there are still lots of coal under the ocean just off Cape Breton. The mine we visited would have had tunnels going out to sea. We finished our tour going through the mining exhibition which was well done. This is a great museum and tribute to the miners of Cape Breton. On our way back to the motor home I navigated Marilyn, who was driving, on one of the roads around part of Bras O’ Or Lake. We have found the secondary roads in Nova Scotia to be the worse we have experienced and today’s trip home was no different. The scenery was good when we could see the Bras O’ Or Lake but not too good through the trees. We maybe should not have done this trip but we did find our way back to the highway and home. The rain stayed away today but it remained quite overcast and windy.

The next morning was great with sunshine so it was off to the Cabot Trail. We were advised by locals to go clockwise as the views are better. The first part of the trail to Baddeck we had been over before and the section to Margaree Forks was through forest and valleys. We stopped at the Co Op in Margaree Forks to pick up some fruit and also view Marcel’s family home where he grew up across the street. Shortly after that we arrived at the ocean and stopped at the lobster pound. It was closed so I called a number and shortly someone showed up and we were able to purchase 6 -1lb Lobsters at $8.00 a lb. The fellow cooked them for us and we purchased ice to keep them cool until we got back this evening. All this took some time so it was after11 am when we left. The drive around is beautiful but requires more than one day. We all enjoyed the day and made the right decision to change as we had sunshine and clear skies all the way. The lobster feed topped off the evening once we got back to the motor home.

To day was clean up and wash day for Alan and Jen as they had to go to their hotel later this afternoon. Once laundry was done we pack their bags into the car and drove to Baddeck to shop and have lunch. We dropped them off at the hotel in downtown Sydney at about 3.30 pm. The Junior Achievement International conference starts that evening. Marilyn and I shopped on the way back to the MH. We finished the evening with a light dinner and a walk. I am also working on this journal.

Friday September 16, 2005 in the day we go to watch Alan give a public speaking speech at the JCI conference. He had won the BC contest and was now at the national conference and the national contest. We watched Alan with great pride as he delivered a speech on the subject of “what is wrong with the world today”. We were proud parents as his message rubbed off on the audience who cheered him. He also had to do an impromptu speech on the subject (which he did not know until he arrived in the room) “what do I want to be when I grow up” and this speech was close to home and brought back memories. Alan will call us and let us know when the winner is announced tonight. The phone just rang and I thought it might be Alan but it was Andrea calling to see how the speech turned out. We finally heard from Alan when he arrived home Sunday night and he came in second. I think he is a little disappointed but to get that far in a competition on public speaking is a great feather in his cap. Certainly does not get that trait from Marilyn or I. We finished the day off back at the MH basking in sunshine reading a couple of newspapers as we had not read for quite some time. We had happy hour out in the sunshine. After a dinner of BBQ sausage we went for a walk to drop off a business card to a couple from California. They are from Fresno but stay each winter at the hot spring called “Fountain of Youth” that is on the north side of the Salton Sea.

Day 76 to 77 September 17 to September 18, 2005.
Saturday is looking like not a bad start to our trip back to mainland Nova Scotia. We know we are going to hit rain because the storm is coming but how much rain will be how close it comes to the Nova Scotia coastline. They are saying it may come up the west coast which will bring high winds and 100mm of rain. We leave Cape Breton in quite nice weather. This did not last too long because as we got close to Antigonish it started to rain quite heavily. We are going to stay in Antigonish a couple of days so the timing to stop was just right. We found a good campground right downtown and spent the majority of our time in the MH as the rain came. It did let up and we went to the stores downtown. It is great being in a campground so close to town that you can walk. We have just learned from the TV Weather Network that storm Ophelia is going to be off the east coast of Nova Scotia so the high wind warning is off but we will still get lots of rain. Hopefully we can do some touring tomorrow.

Today is Sunday and the storm stayed out to sea. We did have some winds and lots of rain during the night but this morning looks quite peaceful. We started the day with a great breakfast. I will try and send this journal out this evening as we are starting another phase of our trip. I call this phase ancestors. I have been working on the family tree for some time so starting today I will be visiting sights and graveyards in Nova Scotia. We were on the road by 10 am heading to Isaacs Harbor NS. When I grew up I had heard of Isaacs Harbour where my Grandfather was born. We arrived in Isaacs Harbour at about 11 am. Not much there except a Baptist Church and grave yard. We drove through the town and returned to the church and grave yard. It was quite odd walking through the grave yard and seeing the Giffin name on head stones many times over. I took pictures of the head stones for later investigation to finish the family tree. We continued along the coast which is directly on the Atlantic Ocean and of course after a night of high winds the surf was up with typical Nova Scotia scenery of big waves breaking on the rocks. I got some good shots. We were able to go out to this light house at Point Bickerton and get right on the water. After that we ran into an historic town called Sherbrooke NS. Part of this town is an historic site which each day is opened to the public. People still live in some of the homes dated from 1840 to 1880. All the participants were in period costumes and lots of activity. At 5 pm the streets open up to the residents and traffic again. This is a unique town that had true history.

Starting tomorrow we will spend the next two weeks touring around Nova Scotia and visiting my relatives and of course my ancestors. If all goes well and see that the gas is not on the shortage list in the USA we will cross the border on or about October 1 at which time I will give you a journal update. Hope this finds you all well and getting ready for fall. Speaking of fall the trees are starting to turn and I would imagine in 2/3 weeks will be at their colorful peek.

Hello, when we left you last time we were just starting on our Nova Scotia Mainland adventure that I called meeting the Ancestors but I should also call it meeting relatives. We had a great time but unfortunately we are presently heading back to Vancouver and have cut the USA portion of our trip. I started feeling poorly again in Halifax. I had similar symptoms that I experienced in Newfoundland. It was a tough decision to turn back but I want to get this looked at a home and not risk crossing the border and having problems. As I write this I am feeling great and think have we made a mistake but still believe we have made the right decision.

I will not do my usual narrative but just give you a brief rundown by the place we visited.

Day 78 to 89 September 19 to September 30, 2005.
-Turo NS for 2 Days.
- Watched the tidal bore. This is interesting watching the tide from the Bay of Fundy rush up the Salmon River. It creates a tidal wave called a bore. I took some moving pictures which are incredible to watch.
- Drove the Gooscap Trail around Minus Basin. We stopped at a B&B called Taranita owned by June Duncanfield who worked at Royal Centre in Vancouver when I worked at the Branch. She and her husband have restored an 1825 home and have done a wonderful job. June was not home when we arrived but we left a note and she contacted us later and we met up the next day. The drive we had today was great with lots of low tide and light houses to see.
-Middleton NS for 2 days.
- My mother had kept in touch with a cousin who came from a family of 7 boys and 1 girl. Audrey lives in Middleton with her husband Cec Bateman. We had a great visit, had a wonderful dinner and toured the town and surrounding area. Audrey invited one of her brothers for the first evening along with another relative. The relative had done some good research on the Giffin side of the family and shared this with me.

Before the evening was over we also agreed to go and stay in Ron Giffin’s yard in Kentville and play a game of golf with him and his other brother Fred at the Ken Wo Golf Course (which is a first rate course and I had a great round). While in Kentville we visited Grand Pre which is a major monument to the Acadians. We sure got to know the Acadian story while in the Maritimes and it bothers us how different societies can do such things to other societies but I guess that is history.

-Kentville NS for 4 days.
- I mentioned the Golf Game we played on Saturday. It was fun being with relatives I was getting to know. Marilyn spent the day with Pat shopping. On Sunday we took the car and did a circle route counter clockwise around the southern part of the province. We stopped at Port Royal, Cornwallis, Digby, stayed at Yarmouth went on to Shelborne, Liverpool and finally Lunenburg. The Bluenose II was in port and we agreed to come back later in the week to take a cruise on the sailing ship. We got back to Ron and Pat’s late in the evening.

-Halifax NS for 3 days.
-It is now Tuesday September 27, 2005. We arrived at a good campground close to Halifax. This campground was recommended by Richard Ramey as it is close to his home in Bedford. When I called Richard to set up a time to get together I was sad to learn that his wife had just been diagnosed with Colon Cancer and she had an operation on the Monday.

Today it was raining so we went towards downtown and stopped at my Grandparents graves in a lovely graveyard in Halifax. I had a second mission to go visit the Old Burial Ground in downtown Halifax. It is the oldest graveyard in Canada and a National Historic Sight and from some of my Genealogy work I learned that my Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather was buried in this graveyard. He was born in 1711 arrived in North America in Boston Massachusetts in 1739/1740 and moved to Halifax in 1749. This was quite exciting to get this far in tracking the Giffin side of the family but guess what the graveyard was closed. We went to the information building and the gal phoned those in charge who said someone would phone me. The next morning I got a call from a fellow who said the grave yard was open. We did the visit and it was quite amazing to see these grave stones that are over 230 years old. Simon Giffin was buried with his two wives and his brother’s grave was next to him.

The day we went to the grave yard was a beautiful sunny day and was the day we were to go back to Lunenburg and sail the Bluenose but I was not feeling good with the same symptoms I had in Newfoundland. I rested in the morning and we went to downtown Halifax in the afternoon.

On Thursday I got up not feeling too bad but was still not 100%. Today was the day I was going to meet my Grandfather’s youngest brother. He is 98 years old and lives in a lovely care home. We had agreed to visit him at 11 am and see his room. I recognized him right off as he was waiting for us in the lobby. We spent the next hour in his room getting to know him. At 12 noon another Giffin relative a brother Wilf of the two fellows I played gold with picked us up and we went downtown to a lovely restaurant on the Harbour. After lunch they visited or motor home. The day spent with my Uncle John and Wilf and his wife was great and one we will soon not forget. After we dropped Uncle John back at his home we went to Richard Ramey’s home for a short visit. His wife was getting home later that evening so we had a brief meeting. Once back at the Motor Home I started feeling poor again and made the decision that we should head back to Vancouver and get things looked at. Heading to the USA and feeling that way was not a good idea and would not want to have problems down the road where Marilyn was stuck looking after the Motor Home.

We left Halifax on September 29, 2005 heading to the New Brunswick Quebec boarder the first night then to Ottawa and a longer stop in Sudbury ON with our friends Darwin and Pat where Darwin arranged for me to have the MH serviced the following morning. I am finishing writing this last journal in a campground in Sault Ste. Marie. Notwithstanding this turn of events we have had a great look at this great country of ours and we should all be very proud to be Canadians. I have enjoyed documenting our trip and hope you have enjoyed reading the Journals. I will send a final e-mail once we reach Vancouver.

We arrived in Vancouver on October 14, 2005 after having stayed in Nippigon ON, going through a snow storm for two days staying in Kenora ON and finally getting out of the snow in Moosemin SK. After that we drove to AL then to Golden BC arriving at Bob and Beth Thurston’s on Thanksgiving Sunday October 9, 2005 after driving 10 days from Halifax. The big wind and snowstorm in northern Ontario had dislodged the front windshields and the heater coil was not working again. We went to Kelowna to have it fixed and stayed with Alan andJen.