RV Moments in Moncton New Brunswick

6:30 Thursday morning the alarms went off and we dragged ourselves out of bed. The tranquil night we had hoped for had been disturbed by trucks coming and going—the shop was open until midnight, the occasional jet departing the nearby Moncton Airport, the flight path almost directly over head and the occasional idiot that had to respond to the red traffic lights turning green with long squeal of tires.

The dogs fed, slides in, stuff moved from the car to the motorhome to make room for the dogs, Art went in to the service counter with the keys and to talk some more with the service rep. Then we went looking for breakfast.

McDonalds, Subway, Tim Hortons, all close by but none of these appeal to us. A few blocks away was a Holliday Inn Express and Suites—maybe they have a restaurant! So off we went. On inquiry at the desk we were told no, but there was an all you can eat buffet for guests that we could partake of at a cost of $7.95 each.

We paid our money and in we went; cornflakes and bran flakes, raisins, cranberries, prunes, a toaster for white and whole wheat bread, bagels and English muffins, scrambled eggs (nicely done, still soft), sausage patties, orange, grapefruit and cranberry juice, milk, coffee and tea. This was very good value for the money and we made good use of it.

Following breakfast we walked the dogs around the grass then proceeded into City Centre. As we drove down main street we noticed several large @ signs showing where the free City provided wireless hot spots were located. Most of main street was covered.

At a downtown mall we went in for a look around, Art quickly deciding there was nothing there of interest to him and he returned to the car. Gillian continued to browse while Art read and kept the dogs company. After a bit he thought to try the laptop which we had with us and was surprised to find that he had a strong connection so checked the e-mails and began working on the blog. The connection may have been strong but it was very slow, uploading photos just about impossible so he gave that up and turned to some of the RV sites that we use. Here too things were pretty slow so he put the computer away and following the dogs example he took a nap awaiting Gillian's return. He later realised that it was lunch time and the system was probably seeing heavy use.

Where to go for lunch? One of the fliers we had picked up from the hotel was for a winery not far away. Maybe they have a restaurant! Well, they don't but we tasted a few of their berry and fruit wines and ended up buying a bottle of rhubarb wine and one of cranberry.

The old house is as old as Canada —built in 1867. The new owners are in the process of restoring it and the equally old barn. The winery itself in located in the basement, the original home having been raised up to make room for it.

Leaving the winery we saw a motel with an attached restaurant and stopped off to check it out. We were getting pretty hungry by this time as it was well after 2:00 PM so were prepared not to be too fussy! The selection was pretty usual, but the food was fine and we left contented.

Back to the shop to check things out. Still working on things. The day shift mechanic was almost ready to go home for the day. The air bag valve had been replaced and he had traced the engine hesitation to a fuel problem but no further than that. The mechanic strongly suspected the fuel pump, which they didn't have in stock. Phoning around, the nearest was at a Cummins dealer in Ontario! IF, and it was a very big IF, they could get it shipped this evening it might, again MIGHT, get here tomorrow—Friday. Otherwise it would be Monday. The fuel pump was very expensive, but they agreed that it could be returned to Cummins if not used. With the weekend in between Art said order it!

Meanwhile the evening crew was about to do the tire rotation we had requested so Art and the laptop went up to the driver's lounge to wait while Gillian and the dogs went off in search of a dog walking park, trail or area.

While in the lounge the mechanic came in to ask Art if the hydraulic stabilizers would hold the back wheels off the ground as he was having trouble getting a floor jack to lift the rig high enough! Art said that they would, and at his request went with him into the shop to operate the HWH jacks.

Imagine Art's reaction when he noticed that the rear airbags were still fully inflated, and that the air did not dump from the rear bags as it should when the HWH panel was turned on. The airbags were supposed to deflate before extending the jacks. The front bags deflated properly, it was the rear that weren't working. This was exactly the situation we had when we came in! This was a result of the mechanic in Montreal replacing the faulty valve with one that almost worked—it had no provision for the air dump function but at least it wasn't leaking and allowed the bags to fill.

Back to the service counter to relate the latest to the evening service rep. He said the same mechanic would be in tomorrow and he would look into it.

The work for the day was finally done so Art moved the rig back out to the parking lot and we settled in for one more night here. In the morning we rose when we woke up—no alarm required as the absolute earliest the fuel pump would arrive would be 10:30. Unfortunately the arriving staff and customers didn't allow us to sleep too late!

Friday 24th

After a leisurely breakfast and dog walking Art went in to the service counter. Nothing happening; we booked in for 7:30 Monday morning and went through the listings in search of an RV Park. We found Stonehurst RV Park and Golf Course about 20 kilometers away. It was a “Passport America” park, our discount was 50% with free wireless at the site. We called and were told to come in, if there was no one in the office to go to space 143, she would be back by 11:30

Meanwhile Art was in search of his Tilley hat! Last seen yesterday at the restaurant where we had lunch. This restaurant wasn't too far from the RV Park so Art said he would go and check later that afternoon.

We set off, Art in the motorhome and Gillian and the dogs following in the car. Turning off the highway onto the road to the park Art realised that Gillian was no longer behind him. He wasn't too worried, she knew where the park was.

Art parked the rig in the previously mentioned spot and walked into the office where the manager had just arrived. He had just completed the registration process when Gillian walked in wearing a grin and Art's hat! As Art had guessed, she had made the 2 block detour to check the restaurant. Now Art's a little worried-- the hat suits her!

We had lunch then Gillian and the dogs took off for town looking for a little grooming. Art stayed behind for a nap and to work on the blog a little. Some hours later they returned, the dogs with their nails trimmed and Gillian with a lash tint. Art feeling left out spent a few minutes that evening trimming his beard.

Saturday 25th

The weather forecast we had seen last night indicated sunny with cloudy periods to be expected for Saturday so Saturday morning we set off down the Fundy coast for a day of sight seeing. We were all wrong timewise for seeing the ocean floor at low tide which had occurred some hours before but were contented to see what we could see. We started from our campground roughly near the number 3 on the map and proceeded across Moncton to highway 114 with a loop along 915, then back on 114 through Fundy Park to Transcanada highway 1 then 2 and back to the RV.

The tidal range in the Bay of Fundy is sometimes as much as 46 feet and changes twice a day. Yesterday was a full moon; they say the greatest changes occur a few days after a full moon.It would have been interesting to sit and watch half a cycle (6 hours!) but neither we nor the weather were up to that.

The weather was not as promised! Very low cloud frequently dropping to ground level and becoming fog. In some instances the visibility was less than a quarter mile, vertical visibility often under a few hundred fee. Glad we weren't flying! We did get to see some of the scenery but for the most part this scenic part of this drive was hidden in the mist.

We turned off to visit a light house that had a long stairway down to the beach. Some of the direction signs made us smile but we got there without difficulty. When we arrived at the entrance we couldn't see the lighthouse but could certainly hear the fog horn! We were not about to pay a fee to look at fog, though a lighthouse tour would have been interesting (though we don't know that they offer one) Art certainly wasn't up to climbing a bunch of stairs so we turned around and made our way back through the fog to the highway.

As we arrived back at highway 915 and turned left to continue our tour to Fundy National Park between bouts of dense fog a few opportunities for photos presented themselves.



A few kilometers along we came across a nice property sporting a sign directing passers-by to "Sales and Tastings" at the Waterside Winery. Of course we couldn't pass that up and turned in. There were no customers as you can see by the vacant parking area. If you click the pic you will see part of one vehicle, the truck belonging to a gentleman who had come down to keep his grand daughter company while she was minding the store. We tasted several--all blueberry, having sold out of their rhubarb, and bought one.





There was not a lot to see through Fundy Park, cloud and fog obscured everything in the distance. Up along the Transcanada at least we could see a few of the trees staring to sport their fall colours.



Back at the park Gillian took the long suffering dogs out for a walk and threw Trekker's ball for a game of fetch while we took turns getting a couple of loads of laundry through the machines.


Sunday morning dawned bright and sunny! Another unexpected sunny day. The wind however was fairly brisk and cool. T shirts were fine while in the sunshine or in the car but out of direct sunlight a jacket was needed.

We lazed around, did a bit of cleaning up, Art visited with a fellow ham radio operator across from us and discovered that they too have spent time in Zihuatanejo Mexico and had also taken part in sailfest. Perhaps we'll run into them down there this year.


About 4:00 pm we pulled out and returned to the truck shop for the night. We would have to be up by 6:30 to get things ready for the shop at 7:30: Everything had to be removed from the storage area under the bed and all the bedding including the mattress had to be moved out as well to allow access to the engine, strategically located under the bed! Where to put it? Pic of work in progress to follow soon.

Monday--up as mentioned above, dogs fed, their dinner packed into the car as there was a possibility we couldn't get back into the motorhome until late. Then again to the Holiday Inn for breakfast and later to town to look around. Upon our return to the car we discovered that the bag containing the dogs' dishes and food had been opened and there was not a sign of their supper! There are usually very good about things in bags but they knew this was theirs.


We stopped at the visitors' centre and got some info about the tidal bore http://www.bayoffundytourism.com/faqs/ that comes up the river twice a day. To give you an idea of the amount of water that moves in and out of the Bay of Fundy each tide (and there are two complete cycles per day): The volume of each tide equals the total flow of fresh water into the oceans from every river in the world each day--100 billion tonnes of water!


The rising tide causes the outflow of the rivers to back up, and the incoming water causes the rivers to flow in the opposite direction. The interface between the outflowing river and the inflowing tide is the tidal bore. In some places it can be 10 feet high. The tidal bore here is pretty tame, only a foot or so but interesting to watch it flow upstream just the same.

After this interesting but rather ho hum experience we went for lunch at a near by restaurant. We remember that the food was excellent and we each had selected a "wine by the glass" that perfectly matched the food. Gillian went for the crab cakes and a sauvignon blanc, Art choosing the haddock with an unoaked chardonnay. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

We then got a phone call about the rig, so back there to see what was going on.

Faulty fuel pump confirmed, they began to tell Art that it was quite expensive and may take a few days to get one in. Art was to say the least a little annoyed--he had known the cost on Thursday evening and had told them to order it which they did then and there! It had been expected today, Monday! They would check into it.

They had pulled the rig back into the lot where we would stay again. Now we had to move the mattress and bedding back into the bedroom but the dinette and couch were still fairly well covered with "stuff" so we went out for pizza for dinner!

We tried a new-to-us chain, Papa John's, which was close by. Besides the regular run of the mill pizza toppings they offered a few specials. We had no trouble selecting the chicken spinach something that was absolutely delicious. The crust too was thin, tender and tasty. Only thing against this place was that they don't have a liquor licence. A beer would have been great. Back at the rig we resolved that problem, walked the dogs and went to bed.

10:30 next morning as we had just finished breakfast the mechanic knocked at the door--the fuel pump had arrived! Ten minutes later the dogs were in the car and Art backed the rig into the bay, the rig looking like the pic above once again. Nestled amongst the big trucks for most of the day we think it may have felt better when another motorhome came into the next bay.

We headed into town, Art looking for the accessories for the wireless. We had been sold the wrong thing in Edmonon and had also purchased a high gain antenna. Now he was looking for the right bit to go between the antenna and the computer. We tried several places, fortuitously getting lost once and in the driving around Art spotted an old worn out house with a sign on the front: "Computer Repairs". We pulled into a nearby private parking lot, Gillian staying with the car while Art went into the shop. Ten minutes and forty dollars later he returned with a USB wireless modem with a removable antenna. The high gain antenna will attach to this.

Soon lunch time arrived so we tried a restaurant close to the truck shop that had been recommended. It prove to have been a good choice. "Cora's" specialised in breakfast and lunch, closing at 3:00 PM. Our meals were superb, the service excellent. Art felt that his smokes Atlantic salmon bagel was worth a pic. He made short work of it.

Back at the shop, Art found the dayshift mechanic getting ready to go home, the job still not complete. The afternoon shift would soon be starting. Art spoke again with the service manager--the air bag issue still not sorted. Art had spent some time on the internet looking for information and had found service manuals for the HWH leveling jacks which also controlled the airbags. The service rep looked up the site and printed the appropriate pages for the mechanic in the morning.

We had had enough for late nights and early mornings so we went into the rig, packed clothes, bathing suits, dog food and dog beds and went around the corner to the Super 8 Motel. Pool and hot tub! Great to relax--even the dogs seemed to settle in and made themselves at home.

In the morning we had a relaxing breakfast at the hotel--nothing special but great for the price--included with the room! The day before Gillian had pointed out to Art a hair salon across from the truck shop--hint hint--and Art had made an appointment for this morning. As we were leaving she pointed out to Art that there was a Massage Therapist in the next office. An appointment was made here too for tomorrow afternoon! So immediately after breakfast Art walked over for his haircut and beard trim then returned to the hotel to pack up.

We checked out of the motel and returned to the shop to see how the bus was faring. All done! Fuel pump in and road tested, air bags done--they said that the service info Art had located had done the trick. Art suspects that perhaps they had not originally replaced all of the faulty valve. It was in fact two parts and we noticed on the bill an item called a "pilot valve" which the first mechanic in Ottawa had noted needed to be replaced.

Art need not have been concerned that we would miss his massage! Gillian reassured him that we were no where near ready to go, we would still be here come his appointment time. As a reminder here is what we were facing in the rig:

Art's massage, mostly on the shoulder (still working on the frozen shoulder problem) and a few minutes on his lower back was very much what he needed, he returned to the rig feeling much better and ready to go.

Eventually we pulled out of the shop lot at 4:00 PM; one hour short of a full week since our arrival. It had been cloudy but warm most of the day with a few periods of sun, but the rain was not far away and soon joined us on out trip south.

The fall colours were coming in. The odd periods of sunshine allowed a few pics, but on the whole, it was a dreary drive.

Fortunately it was also a short drive to St John were we overnighted at Walmart. There were three other rigs here--two from BC and the third from Washington State!

Across the parking lot was a Future Shop which in the morning could just be seen through the fog. From here though we were able to access the wireless connection at Starbucks 400 meters (1/4 mile) away! Thanks to the new toys.

Nova Scotia

In the morning we woke to pouring rain and delayed our departure hoping it would clear. While waiting and hoping we took advantage of the internet to get the blog updated. We planned to leave Pictou for Halifax, pick up our mail from DHL there then go north to Cape Breton Island. We were ready to leave about noon in the pouring rain.

At the office, where we stopped to pay, there was no one about, just a phone number to call which no one answered. We left a message, waited 15 minutes then called gain to leave a message that they should call us to advise what we owed and we would send them a cheque and set off.

Southbound on the Trans Canada to Halifax, it didn't take very long for us to realise that we had set ourselves an impossible task. There was no way we would reach Halifax, get our mail and be able get to our friend's home in East Bay in time for dinner. At the next exit we turned around and headed north.

A long hour and a half drive in the pouring rain we crossed the causeway into Cape Breton Island and another forty five minutes (at 2:45) or so stopped for a delicious lunch at a cafe/bakery in the small town of Whycocomagh.

Nearing Sidney we pulled off to call Fred for directions but still managed to leave the highway at the wrong exit. We knew we had a bit of gravel to drive on but didn't think there should have been this much. The GPS didn't agree with Fred, because there was road construction in the area. Fortunately the GPS knew roughly where the house was so we could see that we were getting closer, just the long way around. The GPS couldn't find the right house number, it was out by several hundred even though it has been there for decades!

Finally at 5:30 we pulled up in front of our friends house. Fred walked out to meet us then returned for his car and led us to a place to park for the night, in front of the East Bay Volunteer Fire Department Fire Hall.

The rain continued to pour down, we parked trying to miss the worst of the puddles, unhooked the car, walked and fed the dogs and set off in the Tracker for Fred and Jean who had a cold beer waiting and dinner almost ready.

We spent a great evening, we had last visited them about 16 years ago so had a lot of catching up to do. Art and Fred spent some time reminiscing about the two summers they had both been in Kelowna, 42 and 43 years ago!

We woke in the morning to a sparkling clear blue sky! An absolutely beautiful day. As soon as we were ready we moved to the Ben Eoin Campground across East Bay. This was a very nice park, still a lot of water around but we found a nice space by the bay, plugged in, set up the satellite dish and checked the free wireless. We were watching the Global BC TV Morning News from home before noon thanks to the four hour time difference.

Fred and Jean drove down after lunch for a visit and to share our enjoyment of the weather. Trekker was delighted with the near by water and spent a considerable time playing with a new-found friend, two year old yellow lab/terrier cross Jenny.

We also added another sticker to our map; Nova Scotia. This as as far as we will likely get in covering our own country. Visiting Newfoundland, Labrador or Nunavut in the motorhome is unlikely.

Later we returned to their home for more visiting and another great dinner prepared by Fred. This time we took a "short cut" suggested by Fred over the spit, a sand bar/bridge combination over the southern end of the Bra d'Or lake. Beyond the point in the first photo is our campground.

When we arrived at the house, Fred, ever the perfect host made sure that Art didn't have to wait long for a cold one. Gillian was meanwhile occupied with the dogs in their yard.

Dinner tonight centered around Atlantic Salmon from the local fishmonger and pickerel delivered only moments before by a neighbour who had just caught more than he could use.

During dinner our laundry was swishing away in the washing machine downstairs then into the dryer. By the time we left it was almost dry. Fred and Jean had a 50th birthday party to attend so soon after dinner we headed back to the RV Park. We had been invited to the party as well but doubting we could stay awake long enough to really enjoy it--though the 50's theme would have suited Art to a T. Back in the park, Gillian put some of the clothes into the park's dryer for a short while to finish them off while Art posted the days doings to the blog.

For next morning we have been invited back to the house for possibly blueberry pancakes and real honest to goodness maple syrup! We plan to head towards Halifax tomorrow to pickup our mail Monday morning. We want to see a bit of the Annapolis Valley and we need to be back in Monton NB by Wednesday night. We'll see what happens.

Well we woke up, as a very elderly friend used to say "well that's a good sign!" and as soon as the dogs were walked and fed we called Fred to ask "What time is breakfast?" to which he replied "When can you get here?" We were there in 20 minutes!

Pineapple, blueberry and banana smoothies, blueberry pancakes, blueberry pancakes, blueberry . . .' Oh I said that. And coffee of course!

Finally we couldn't put it off any longer and set off. Back at the park we hooked up the car to the hitch and set off south for Halifax. The trip down was very enjoyable, the weather for the most part very good, the roads not so much for parts of it but we have been on much worse.

Here are a few pics we snapped along the way.

We noticed that many signs gave place names in Galic as well as in English. Some unfortunately defaced by idiots.

Approaching Halifax we punched into the GPS the address for Walmart in Dartmouth where we planned to stop for the night before picking up our mail from DHL in the morning. We arrived at the address but there was no Walmart! We pulled into the parking lot of the Sobeys located there and Art went in to speak with the manager. He was told that there used to be a Walmart there a few years ago. She said we were welcome to stay the night so we got parked and set up, Gillian went in to buy the few necessities for the larder and we settled in for the night.

Next morning Art went into the next door "Marks Work Wear" and bought a couple of pair of jeans: a blue pair to replace the ones that he had been wearing when he checked and cleaned the batteries a few weeks ago, and a black pair to replace a pair that disappeared somewhere between Ottawa and here! Probably in a dryer in some campground!




We first needed a quick stop at DHL for the mail. The mail contained the insurance documents for the motorhome. Not a lot before the deadline. Today was the 24th. Note the date on the plate!

Once the decal was affixed we set off towards the Bay of Fundy coast and the Annapolis Valley area which we had not seen before.




Our first stop was in the picturesque town of Windsor where we found a city parking area fortuitously next to a pet supply store where we were able to get some more grain free dog food for Trekker.





Here too there was a nice park along the Avon River where we walked the dogs and a small railway display set up on a disused siding.

Moving on the weather stayed kind of "iffy", threatening rain but still a nice drive. We continue to enjoy many of the well preserved and maintained period homes that are seen everywhere in the maritimes. Eventually at the town of Aylsford around 3:30 we called it a day and pulled into an RV park for a couple of nights. A couple of the storage compartments had got water inside, the sky was clearing and the wind was blowing so we took this opportunity to try to dry them out a bit.

Tuesday morning we set off by car to explore further south planning to go as far as Yarmouth on the coast road and returning on highway 101, a freeway for most of the distance. It was a good day for a sightseeing drive, we enjoyed watching the scenery go and just looking around. Some times the scenery looked back. Mostly sunny, no sign of rain--it was like Paradise. And we have the photo to prove it.

We even took time to stop and smell the flowers. Or at least photograph them.

Our first port of call was Digby where we planned to stop for lunch. We wandered around the shore side and finally selected a restaurant where we dined on Digby scallops; what else?

Following lunch we strolled around town. We spotted a bookshop located in an old house which Art didn't go into and a shoe shop that Gillian did. Meanwhile Trekker had fallen asleep while watching for our return.

Moving south we continued as before taking photos of some of the places that caught our interest. This stone church might be more at home in Europe or at least a large city. Most churches we have seen here are wooden structures, though very nicely designed and built.

Along the way we encountered a detour near the town of Meteghan as a bridge was out. Along the detour route Art spotted an FMCA sign with an arrow pointing straight ahead. “There must be a rally!” Sure enough a bit later along the road another sign directed us left where we encountered a collection of motorhomes.

We pulled in and introduced ourselves as members of the Vancouver Islanders chapter of FMCA, this group was from the Scotian Roamers and guests. We were invited to go and return with the motorhome and join their group, which they expected to grow to over 30 rigs the next day. We stayed and chatted but had to decline the offer as we were already well behind our non-schedule. We also took a pic of AbqL the travelling rock who is part of an FMCA contest.

As we hit the road we realised that going further south to Yarmouth would put us very late so we continued along the detour, through Meteghan snapping an AbqL pic in front of the firehall as proof our location.

We soon came to a road that led us to the freeway north where we just sat back and resigned ourselves to a mostly boring drive back to the rig.

Next morning we were off to Moncton New Brunswick to Universal Truck, a Freightliner shop to get the air suspension valve installed.We had been in in ordered it last week before going to PEI. The weather was still reasonably good, a nice driving day.Of course there was the ever-present construction.

Today an increasingly frequent recurring problem has surfaced once again. The engine hesitates just for a split second, the "check engine" light flickers once then all is normal for a while. Today it began to occur more often, usually while pulling up a hill in a lower gear. Something more for the list at Freightliner.



We had been watching for the town of Stewiacke, situated almost on the 45th parallel North Latitude, half way between the North Pole and the Equator. Here we pulled off to make a sandwich, pee breaks all round and of course to exercise the camera once again.

As the day progressed the weather began to deteriorate somewhat, to the point where the wipers were needed. Nearing the New Brunswick border we pulled off for fuel and noticed this RCMP building across the street with a large wind generator alongside.

Almost directly over the border the line of cloud began to giveway to blue. Along side the highway was the huge “antenna farm” of Radio Canada International, the CBC's international shortwave broadcasting station. The photos only show a small part of the array. Gillian told Art that even a scaled down version would not go well with our neighbours back at home!

We arrived at the shop without incident, checked in, completed the paperwork and were told the dayshift starts at 7:30.

The inverter got the satellite up and running, there was an excellent Thai and Vietnamese restaurant across the street so that took care of our evening. The full moon set the stage for a peacefull night. Morning would be a bit hectic.