Final statistics

The total on our odometer was about 6600 miles.  This includes all the miles sightseeing as well as the travel from place to place.  The rv again behaved very well.

We stayed thirty-four nights in private campgrounds, eight nights in state or municipal campgrounds, one night sleeping on a ferry
 ( fortunately in a cabin), one night in Walmart.  There were three nights in campgrounds attached to motels, three in Lion's club/Kiwanis campgrounds, one night on a parking lot in a small town and one night in a house with a relative.  The cost of most campgrounds was in the $30- $35 range.  In Canada, diesel fuel was always quite a bit lower in price than regular gas.  Probably about 75 cents a gallon lower.  We have no idea what we paid for fuel in Canada as they sell it by the liter and then there is the exchange rate.

We ate a lot of foods foreign to us as we wanted to try to local fare. Some of these dishes were: fish and brewis, cod tongues, pea soup with dumplings, Jiggs Dinner, and puddings that were not like anything we have ever called a pudding. We met lots of folks in campgrounds, restaurants, social events and in stores.  For those we met, who asked about the blog address:  it was lovely being with you and sharing.  Safe travels to all the campers and especially to the young lady we met at Neil's in Bonavista who is traveling by herself from Vancouver and plans to cover all the coast of Newfoundland.

Newfoundland is a special place.  The people are the greatest asset of the province.  They were wonderful to us.  Life is modest: modest homes, modest cars and modest lives.  It is like the US in the 50s.... a very good time.  The province is quite beautiful in a rustic and rocky way.  The coastline is very craggy. There are many inlets and coves.  It seems that at the inside of almost every cove is a small village and of course, it is a fishing village.  The history of the province is most interesting.  We learned that Newfoundland was an independent country until it joined the Canadian Confederation in 1949.  We learned the effect the Cod Moratorium had on over 80% of the  population, when it took affect in 1992.  It was supposed to last a few years at most, but is still in effect.

There were three movies that we decided we must see.  One is Shipping News.  We both read the book while we were in the province and are anxious to see how the movie compares.  Another is Random Passage.  This was a Canadian television series from the book of the same name.  And the third one, The Great Seduction, can now be checked off our list as we saw it this week.  The story takes place in Newfoundland though that is not stressed in the film.  It was a cute movie, but, if not filmed in Newfoundland, it certainly got the flavor of the area.

We had a wonderful adventure.  I would recommend a trip there.  It is not easy to get there, but if flying, it is like flying to anywhere else.  The difference would be that you have to do a lot of driving to know the province.  And that takes time.  We felt that four weeks was a good amount of time.  Only St. John had large hotels and only a few other larger  towns had  motels.  Most stays would be in cottages or B & Bs ( unless you are rv-ing).

 And we are still talking to one another and are willing to continue traveling in our little button.

Across many states in the northeast

It has been several weeks since my last post.  As I mentioned, we were heading back in the US and it would mostly be just a trip home.  It was a bit more than that, but only a bit.  After four nights in Acadia, we drove through Maine, New Hampshire ( all twelve miles of it on route 95), and Massachusetts.  We were going to stay overnight at the Connecticut Welcome Center.  But it wasn't very welcoming to us as it was closed for renovation.  There were a few campgrounds along route 84 in Connecticut.  We found one, though it was not very inviting.  We see again why Walmart is popular for just an overnight stop near the highway.

The next morning it was through Connecticut, New Jersey and on to our daughter's house for a visit and overnight.  The RV slept on the street and we slept inside.  The next morning we left early, stopped to visit a granddaughter in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  We got a chance to see her lovely new house, walk around her special places in town and have lunch together.  Thanks to everyone for the nice visits.

Then it was along route 81 which exits Pennsylvania and goes through about ten miles of West Virginia and about the same of Maryland and we entered Virginia.  We stayed at a lovely campground connected with Endless Caverns.  We arrived too late to visit the caverns.

Next morning had us back on route 81 and we ended the day at another favorite place, Hendersonville, North Carolina.  This is a nice campground that is a haven for Floridians in the summer.  We stayed for three nights.  Then it was Sunday, August 2 and we drove to home.  Our radio/GPS system developed a memory loss just as we were leaving for that final drive to South Carolina.  Fortunately, we knew the routes very well.  The system is now back at the factory for tests and repair.

Not so very exciting, eh?  But we got back safely, relatively healthy and ready to face the rest of South Carolina summer.

Crossing the Border

One of the best things about staying at Walmart is that it  is so  easy to get out in the morning.  Just close up the slide and turn  the ignition key.  In about five minutes we were on  the highway and moving toward New Brunswick.

Our original plan was to stop in St.Andrews, New Brunswick at a nice campground that we have stayed at before.  It is oceanfront, right on the Bay of Fundy.  But along the way we thought it better to cross the border and stay in Calais, Maine.  Our choice there was a small campground beside a large motor inn.  We can't really call it a campground.  It was a small parking lot across the street from the main part of the motel and they had put in electric hook up posts.  But it was convenient.

From there we drove to Bar Harbor to a campground that we have used before and we are near Acadia National Park, which we like very much.  We stayed four nights and lobster has been our dinner every night.

Our trip is nearing its end as is this blog.  I don't think there will be much more excitement to this trip.  The excitement of the last few days, for those who know us personally, has been about all we can take.

I shall post travel statistics as I did last year as well as some thoughts about Newfoundland.

Out of Order

Sorry, the last three posts are out of order. ( if that matters).  First we did the  Vikings, then Western Brook Pond and then off to the ferry and Nova Scotia.

We visited the Vikings and we were the Vikings

L'Anse Aux Meadows is a World Heritage Site.  Through excavations done  late in the last century (not so long ago), it was definitely determined that Vikings were in the area around the year 1,000. That would make them the first Europeans in North America. They were only there for three to five years.  They came from Greenland.  They came for the natural resources, timber, to repair boats.  It is felt that they left because of problems with the native peoples that were already there.  The name Vikings connotes marauders.

This point is very far north in Newfoundland.
There are two parts to the visit.  A Parks Canada guide tours us through the areas that were excavated.  They don't look like excavations.  The guide said that the mounds were returned to the state in which they were found, ready for further excavation in the future.

Then there is the recreated area.  There are several buildings.

The buildings are made of peat blocks with earthen roofs.

Inside, the rooms are recreated, with eating, sleeping and work areas.











It was extremely cold and blustery that day, probably 35 degrees with the wind chill. This is Newfoundland and northern Newfoundland as well. It was a good walk from the visitor center to the site.  We felt like Vikings, braving the elements.

Off the island and on to Nova Scotia

Today was  travel day.  We had a reservation on the ferry... this time the short ferry, about six hours.

We stayed last night at a campground about one-half hour away from the ferry.  So a quick stop for one more Iceberg Beer and off we go.  We are trying to find out how much alcohol we can bring into the US and ....what the heck?  We arrived at Port Aux Basques and got in the line with lots of other RVs and cars.

Our boat was waiting.














As we waited in line, a man came to  each vehicle.  He came over to us and said he needed to look inside our vehicle.  We opened the door and he asked if we had any potatoes or other root vegetables.  We did not.  He noticed the box of Iceberg Beer that was sitting on the floor. He said, I cannot let you take that.  We need it   for Friday night!  Then he laughed saying to Les:  You should have seen your face!  The beer stayed in our possession.


Finally time to board.
                                                               

The trip was about six hours.  There are comfortable lounge chairs.  You can also rent a cabin, but for a trip that starts about noon and ends at six, it didn't make sense.  All that is in the cabin are beds, not even a place to sit.  We read for a while, ate lunch in the restaurant, napped a bit in the area that said No Sleeping, and so it passed.
We arrived in Sydney, Nova Scotia at about 6 PM, after moving our watches back one-half hour.  Newfoundland is so special that it has its own time zone.

We decided to drive about two hours and we stopped a bit before 9 at a Walmart. We, or should I say, I, have never been driving that late.  But it was still light out and we had been sitting on the ferry all day.   There were three other RVs in the lot.  We were parked together, like circling the wagons.  Well, it wasn't "like" circling the wagons, it WAS circling the wagons.  This Walmart even had wifi in the lot .  It was some of the best we have had.  And our satellite TV is working again.

Western Brook Pond in Gros Morne

We are traveling back south in the province.  We go back through Gros Morne National Park and it is time to take the boat ride on Western Brook Pond.  This is probably the number one popular activity in the park.

The pond is an inland pond.  It is like a fjord, though technically not a real fjord.  First you must walk 3 km. to get to the boat dock.  It is an easy walk through some woods and bog.

The boat ride gives a lot of information about the geology of the area.

We now know why this is such a popular attraction.  Liked it.