SEPT 17th - 19th Border to Elmira,New York

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Continuing from the border to Skowhegan, Maine was pretty country after we got off  Hwy. 95. The main thing we noticed was that Fall has come. I was sick so we stopped early and I slept all afternoon. The motel was a nice little Mom and Pop business, where the couple did everything from laundry to cooking breakfast. They heated up some soup for me that Steve had brought from a restaurant and asked after me the next morning.



Ferry Landing on East side of Lake Champlain



Sunday the 18th, was more lovely scenery and changing leaves. We stopped at a covered bridge that was built solely for agricultural use. IE: So the farmers could get to their fields. It is built very tall so a load of hay could pass through and have a cattle gate inside the bridge. Because of all the flooding in the area it is the only agricultural bridge that has survived. The ferry across Lake Champlain was short and very pretty with the colours of the changing leaves. We stayed the night in Lake Placid, and the next morning were disappointed to find that there is no public access to the lake itself. The nearby Mirror Lake was pretty though. How many more ways can I say 'beautiful scenery'. The Adirondack Mountains were yet again another gorgeous drive.  

Then in the Finger Lakes area we started to look for a place to sleep. We didn't realize that due to the severe flooding of the Susquehanna River, all the hotels in the area would be full. Not only were the families whose homes were flooded, in the hotels but all the FEMA responders, as well as the contractors come to fix the damages.  It took us over 3 hours and 60 miles of checking every hotel we passed to finally find a bed in Elmira, New York. All the damaged areas were covered in silt. We could see the water line on the trees along the highway and peoples possessions were piled up in front of their houses, waiting to be taken to the dump. 70% of the businesses in one town were shut down due to flood damage. It was very sad.
Anyway, it was our last night together for awhile, so we all went out for a nice Italian dinner. Richard and Linde were heading North for a family visit in Winnepeg, and Steve and I to Chicago to visit our dear friends,  Mike and Lanky.

Sept 13th - 16th Back through the Maritimes

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Bras d'Or



On to our next adventure - The Cabot Trail. More spectacular scenery, winding roads, forests, ocean bays, fishing villages etc. The Trail runs North along the East coast and up through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Though we have seen so many beautiful scenes we never tire of it. And the winding roads are what Driving the Dream is all about. 

 

Bras d'Or Channel

The area seems to be very Scottish, as indicated by the names of everything. Also there are a lot of little craft shops and such. We bought a lighthouse in one of them for our pond and I kept it under my legs for the next few days till we could mail it home.




Pleasant Bay on West Coast





We met this group at one of the lookouts; they were about 15 members from an Ontario car club who were dong a tour of the Maritimes.





The day ended up with a stop near Cheticamp, where a man had spent many years building scarecrows near his roadside diner. He used to hold great parties there, apparently. 





Our goal for the night was Baddeck, where we were told they had the best lobster dinner, and it was. The next morning we went to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum. I came out of there quite amazed at this man's genius, and that he was involved in much more than the telephone. He also devised a mechanical 'language' to teach to deaf to speak, as well as some airplanes and a hydrofoil to name a few.   



Just another beautiful lighthouse



 Then on to PEI, where we found a great little motel and decided to stay two days for a well needed rest. Richard and Linde went to see Ann of Green Gables cottage. The owner of the motel had a baby racoon that he had rescued and was interviewed by a local TV station. We were able to watch the news clip that night which was interesting as we had met the racoon that day. On Friday we left to drive over Confederation Bridge back to New Brunswick.The Confederation Bridge is one of the world's feats of construction because it has to be resistant to ice bergs. Because of the high winds in the area, the sides are very high so you can't see any view from the bridge. The sides deflect the wind upward, but even so, in high winds trucks and tall motor homes are restricted. This was the case today, so we could see them lined up everywhere on both ends, waiting for the wind to die down.                                       On the New Brunswick side of the bridge we hit 13000 miles, since we left home.   We stayed in Fredericton for the night and had dinner with Phil and Pam Ossinger(MG people) Next morning we went to Hartland, New Brunswick, to see the longest covered bridge in the world - 1282 feet.   We crossed the border into Maine near Houlton on the Sat. the 17th.

Sept 9th -11th Still in Newfoundland

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We left Grand Falls through a wild forested area with lots of lakes (here they are called lakes). When we stopped for lunch near Sandy Lake we were told that there were some large

 

ice bergs in White Bay near Hampdon. So we decided to take a short trip North to see them, but unfortunately they had been blown out of the harbour by the time we got there. We were told that you don't normally see ice bergs this early in the year, but a piece the size of Prince Edward Island had calved off Greenland and these bergs are pieces of that. A lucky and exciting sight for us, but not so good for the environment! Then we doubled back to Hwy 1 again, and off to Gros Morne National Park on the East coast. We stayed in some cabins right on the water at Rocky Harbour, and did some exploring of some of the places the local people suggested. Two of them were Norris Point and Neddy Harbour, which are beautiful tiny harbours on a fiord with towering cliffs around them.  

                                                                      





Neddy Harbour



                                                                           

 



 Saturday we decided that, since we wouldn't be back here for a while we needed to take a couple of extra days to explore the Northern Penninsula of Newfoundland. It's like a finger pointing North toward Labrador with only one highway. The part out of Gros Morne runs along the water and through a lot of little fishing villages. The land is less forested, very marshy, and mostly fairly flat and rocky, but green with grasses and yellow with golden rod.

The people have their gardens along the highway where the road building has scraped away the rocks and there is a bit of top soil. We think they were growing potatoes and rhubarb, as they were miles from any houses, so couldn't be tended very often. Other things we saw at the side of the highway were stacks and stacks of fire wood and lobster traps. No one touches things that belong to someone else. If you cut the wood it belongs to you, and that must be the main heating sourse, as there was so much of it. 

 We got to L'Anse aux Meadows late afternoon and found a very nice B&B, with enough time left to go to the site of the only known Viking settlement in North America. A replica village has been built, complete with inhabitants to answer questions and demonstrate how the people lived there in 1000 AD. And----- that is the only place we saw a moose!!!! After all the warnings and signs and assurances that we would see many moose, he was our only sighting. That evening in the restaurant one of the 'Vikings' from the village was the entertainer. He sang a lot of the same songs we'd heard in Rocky harbour, but not so loud so we could hear the words.



Cornerbrook



On Sunday, after a cooked to order breakfast at the B&B we started back along the highway to Gros Morne Park. Along the way we were very lucky to see a couple of caribou, which is also unusual to see this time of year. Even though we were repeating the route we took to get here it is so beautiful it was a wonderful day. Back trough Gros Morne again and on to Cornerbrook for the night.

 Monday we ambled down to Port aux Basques to catch the shorter ferry to the mainland (only 5 hours), and spent the night in Sydney. The singer on the ferry was so good we bought some of his CDs.

Sept 6th - 8th Newfoundland and Labrador

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Newfoundland - Wet, Wild, Wonderful and Windy!!!



I took my life in my hands for this pic-the wind was at it's worst



Okay, if you are out in the Atlantic Ocean it's going to be windy, especially given the unsettled conditions in this part of the world lately. But we're not sure how they tell hurricane conditions from normal conditions. At Signal Hill and Cape Spear in St. John, we had to hang on to the railings so the wind didn't blow us over the cliffs. It acually pushed us up the stairs and made coming down harder than going up. The sea was wild with huge rollers that crashed and thundered on the jagged rocks and wild rocky cliffs. The power of it all was overwhelming, wonderful and thrilling!



Cape Spear-Our furthest point East



Wet - because there is water everywhere, inlets, bays, fiords, rivers, marshes, swamps, and lakes. The lakes are called Ponds - Triangle Pond, Big Pond, Three Corner Pond, Dildo Pond etc. I guess a lake is not very impressive when you live in the Atlantic Ocean. And rocks - rocks everywhere: in the ponds, in the rivers, on the shore, in the marshes, on the hillsides, in the towns, along the roads. Some lakes looked as though someone had purposely put rocks all around the edges and then threw a few into the middle to finish off the 'landscaping'. That is why Newfoundland got it's nickname "The Rock".



Huge seas at Cape Spear





One of little villages



Newfoundland is wonderful of course, because of it's beauty, but mainly because of it's people. I can't presume to know a group of people in one week, but in our experience, Newfoundlanders are special. We found them very friendly and helpful and fiercely proud of their home. Not that this is so different from anywhere else, but we were astounded by the extent of their helpfulness. For instance, we were looking at an ice berg in one little harbour, when a man and his wife drove up and asked if we were local. When we said no, he said he could show us an ice berg that would put this one to shame. So he lead us to another little harbour in the next village about 5 miles away and told us to park in someone's yard, walk into someone else's front yard so we could see the big ice berg. The man whose yard we walked into came up on the hill with us as well, and though he was speaking English, it was like another language. We were amazed as much by these people as by the ice bergs. The other characteristics we liked about Newfie's was their sense of humour and love of music. We took in a show in Rocky Harbour by a band called Anchor's Aweigh, and a restaurant in Viking Village had a man with a guitar and an accordian, and the ferry back to the mainland also had a man with a guitar. All three shows were filled with humour and great Atlantic music.

 On Tuesday, after Signal Hill and cape Spear, we took our pictures at Mile Zero of the Trans-Canada Highway, and then made our way to Gander, through spectacular scenery of lakes, fiords, cliffs, rocks, and forest. The lakes are royal blue. The forests-short evergreens that are very wind blown and wild. Goldenrod grows everywhere as well as some white wildflowers. The scenes are breathtaking everywhere you look.



Twillingate



Twillingate Lighthouse



On Wednesday we headed up to Twillingate. We stopped at Boyd's Cove to go to the Beothuk Museum. These are a native people that have dissappeared because of hostilities with Europeans and the illnesses the Europeans brought. They are doing DNA testing to see if by some chance any of them remain. The guides in the museum were so knowledgable they made the people come to life. Some of the stories made me get all teary -eyed! A bit of serendipity - one of the guides told us about the iceberg in Moreton Harbour, which is where we met the man who led us to the village of Valley Pond, where we saw the biggest iceberg. We saw some more icebergs in Twillingate, which had been blown out of the harbour by the time we got there.

Then back down the penninsula to Grand Falls for the night.



Sept 3 to 6th Halifax to Newfoundland and Labrador Ferry

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 The Lighthouse Route along the South Shore of Nova Scotia runs along the water, as expected, but not expected was the condition of the so called 'highway'. The views were very pretty, lots of bays and inlets, with quaint churches overlooking the water, and old fishing villages along the way. Steve wanted to go to Canso "just because it's there" and that part of the 'highway' was the worst piece of paved road that we've been on, this trip. The cracks were so bad they had weeds growing in them, and the patches just made the bumps worse than the holes. Anyway we got there in one piece, but the drivers were too busy watching the road to see much of the views. And to add to his troubles, Steve's door kept flying open. We returned from the point by a different route and the road was a bit better.  Then we crossed the bridge into Cape Breton, and spent the night in Port Hawkesbury.

The next day we traveled up Cape Breton to Sydney along Bras d'Or Lake. It is a huge lake that runs up the centre of the island, but it can't be fresh water as it has openings to the ocean at both ends. We'll have to Google that.



Public Punishment for stealing a bottle of wine.



We still had plenty of time to go out to the Fortress of Louisbourg, as the ferry to Newfoundland didn't leave till 10:45PM. Now that is a worthwhile trip! It is one of the best presented historic sites we have seen. About a third of the fort area has been rebuilt exactly as the original was, before the British razed it and move on. The foundations were all that was left, and they used archeology, pictures and journals to fill in the rest. They even reused the precut stones that had been left. The characters did a public punishment and shot off some muskets and a cannon. They were also 'working and living' in the buildings and on the streets ready to tell their stories in character, which brought the whole thing to life. Some were different ranks of  French soldiers, others were different townspeople, and one was a British prisoner of war, who because of his rank was allowed to wander around the .street. We were very impressed with it all and glad we went. 



The Garrison





The Town



We then went back to North Sydney to catch the 10:45PM ferry. It was pretty late then so we found our cabins and went to bed. Steve and I were lucky enough to have a window so it was lovely to go to sleep with the starlight coming in. Next morning we woke to thick fog and could not see a thing until we landed in Argentia around 2PM. So we all just relaxed in our room or worked on the blog, pictures or crosswords.

Sept. 1st and 2nd - Truro to Bridewater to Halifax

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The drive from Truro to Bridgewater was uneventful, just lovely countryside and winding roads. Arrived at about 2.30 with Sheila not feeling well, so spent the afternoon sleeping and relaxing.

We followed the Lighthouse Route from Bridgewater to Lunenburg, it was great. All along the water, twisting and turning, with lots of photo ops. Lunenburg is very picturesque. It is a UNESCO world heritage site, with very brightly coloured houses, a beautiful little harbour, a maritime museum, a monument to lost sea men, and is the home of the Bluenose II.

Continuing to see more coastal views of the Lighthouse route, we stopped in Mahone Bay for lunch. There are 3 beautiful churches in a row on the waterfront, and though there are many lovely churches on the waterfront in this area, the three together make a postcard view.

Peggy's Cove was next on the list. It too, is as beautiful as advertised everywhere. Huge granite rocks are the main feature here, as is the Lighthouse. We also went to the memorial site of the Swissair flight 111 that crashed there. It is a very moving place and tastefully done. William E. deGarthe, a marine artist and sculpture lived and worked here, and his monument to Nova Scotia fishermen is carved on a solid granite outcropping behind his studio. Arrived in Halifax and settled into the  hotel. Richard and Linde showed up a few hours later.

Sat 3rd - Richard and Linde had missed Peggy's Cove on the way from Yarmouth, so they went back to see that area. Steve and Sheila decided to see some of the history of Halifax. We drove up around the Citidel and then took a walk through an inner city natural growth park to The Prince of Wales Tower. This 18th Century Fortress was built to protect the British gun batteries in Halifax.  After that we went to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic on the Waterfront. The Titanic display and the history of the Halifax Explosion were especially interesting, because of the personal stories and pictures that are not available in documentaries or on line. Tomorrow we are all hitting the road again, heading toward Sydney to catch the ferry to Newfoundland on Monday night.

This is what happened to Pirates in Halifax