Saturday, July 26, 2014

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick

(The new hitch seems to work just fine and it is definitely a heavier duty Blue Ox than the Alpha.  If anyone is looking for a new 10,000 lb hitch, the Aventa LX seems like a good choice.  I would also recommend an "immobilizer" that reduces, or eliminates, any play in the receiver.)

Truro, NS was indeed a good camping spot, not easy to find via GPS as it is in Hinden, just outside of Truro on another Route 2.  Depending on which way you're traveling you can take either exit 15 or exit 12 from the 104 and my suggestion is to call Scotia Pine campground for specific directions.  Tall pine trees border each campsite and we got in fairly easily, a shaded spot and did not even need the awnings.  From Truro, you can venture forth according to your preferences whether to Cape Breton, Halifax or Digby on the north shore of the Bay of Fundy.   Our choices were to Lunenberg on the south shore and Digby, each on different days and an overnight to Digby leaving the big rig in Truro.

Side trips for the scenic routes worked well and those would have been tough with the coach so we left it parked and just took the truck on the back country and bay and ocean routes.  The tides and the tidal bore on the Bay of Fundy are among the world's highest tides, as much as 25 feet or more.  The small villages have a lot of charm and character as do many of the people who live there.  We did not do P.E.I. or Cape Breton this trip but those are both highly recommended and some people camp at the entrance to the Cabot Trail.

We went whale watching from Brier Island at the far end of Digby neck and Digby is one of those picturesque fishing villages so typical of the Nova Scotia coastline.  In Digby's case the main feature is scallops.  Lobstering season was over in July in most places but still available on the menus. 

From Nova Scotia, we traveled back to New Brunswick, rain all day Thursday, July 24, to St. Andrews, NB, off the new Highway 1, south on Route 127.  The campground is Kiwanis Ocean Front Campground on Water Street fronting on the bay. Delightful place, great weather and terrific view as we are parked pulled in head first, looking across the street to the bay.  It's the middle of the summer and not crowded in a great place. 

Sunday, July 20, 2014

Cleveland, Montreal, Quebec, New Brunswick

The past couple of weeks have rolled right along.  Had a great visit to the Rock n Roll museum and hall of fame in Cleveland.  Worth a stop if you get near. Then moved on east.  Stayed at KOA's respectively south of Montreal and then Quebec city for a few days  so we could visit the cities by simply crossing a bridge over the St. Lawrence River in each place and not have to drive through the city traffic.  Much to see and do in both of those areas, the usual tourist stuff and ate our way through both places.  Missed a great little place in St. Romuald as it was closed one night and the next night they were holding a private party.  Did have a great dinner at Intimiste in Levis, not far from the ferry.
Our French is poor, Susie's better than mine which is mostly non-existent but more and more Quebecois are speaking English.

On south from Quebec into New Brunswick and in looking for a campground, following a new GPS which I don't like much at all (Magellan 5120 LXT), we ended up on a small country road going nowhere.   I saw a couple of guys looking at us like we were crazy and when I pulled over by a bridge to make a U-Turn, one of them came up to the window and said, you must be lost.  Yep, I said, we are.  He said he had a farm there but lived about 6 miles away and we could camp in his driveway where he had a 30 amp plug in.  We thanked him and said we had reservations at a campground and he insisted on taking us there so we wouldn't get lost or try to go under too low clearance.  So, we took him and his wife out to dinner in Woodstock, NB, and he took us home to show us their new house, two of his three restored tractors (very big International Harvesters) and stories of the past winter and results of the "hurricane" Arthur that flooded his farm and cows.  You just never know where you might end up if you don't know where you're going.

We are currently just outside of Moncton and headed for Nova Scotia this week, will be staying at Scotia Pine RV Park near Truro, probably leave the rig parked there to explore Cape Breton and other parts of Nova Scotia including Halifax and other points of interest.  Will be close to the tidal bore in the Bay of Fundy and report on all of this and more later.

PS - The U-Turn was too sharp and bent a shaft on the tow bar which necessitated a replacement. Went with a heavier duty version of Blue Ox, Aventa LX.  The swivel ball looks cool!

Monday, July 7, 2014

MIAMI, OK and EASTWARD

This is the first leg one of a longer trip as we are headed for Nova Scotia and the Maritime Provinces but allow me to digress a bit for those interested.  We left Camp Newell last Wednesday, before the long 4th of July weekend, got out before Newell shut down on Thursday, a day ahead of Friday the 4th.  We headed for St. Louis as it was an easy drive across Missouri on I-44 and we put down north of St. Louis in Illinois at at KOA near Granite City.  Not the best place we ever stayed but convenient and OK for us.  Here are a few highlights, highly recommended for your consideration.

1 - Grant's Farm and the Budweiser Clydesdales.  I won't go into all the details but we definitely found it worth the time.  Those beautiful horses are so spoiled but they earn it, either by pulling the wagons or being in commercials or just being there for us tourists.  There are three "hitches" in different parts of the United States to take care of different regions of the country.  One is housed in St. Louis at the brewery, one in Merrimack, New Hampshire where the training facility is and one is in Ft. Collins, CO.  The breeding farm is in Boone, Missouri, west of St. Louis by a hundred miles.
Learned a lot about these gentle giants and Budweiser's investment in them.  Also got four small, complimentary bottles of beer!

2- Springfield, Illinois for Abraham Lincoln's home, museum and library and the Dana-Thomas house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.  For either you history buffs or friends of architecture and design, including furniture for one of Wright's early prairie houses (1902-04), don't miss a trip to Springfield if it's within your reach.

3- Dayton, Ohio.  This is close to my hometown so we stopped here for some more 4th of July celebrations including fireworks and family time.  And today, we're off to the Air Force museum at Wright-Patterson near Dayton.  Then we're headed to Cleveland and the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame.  Good stuff and I will catch you up on these two and more later.  Want to keep these posts within a reasonable length.

Note:  Miss I-70 through Indiana if you can.  The road was so bad that we bounced loose several things including a few drawers and the plug to our front TV and can't find were to put it back in!