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.