Home Sweet Home

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

We made it home!   It feels so good to be back in the Hoosier state!  We covered 492 miles today, and arrived home early in the afternoon.  It was good to see the Indianapolis skyline and I waved at my work friends at the OneAmerica building in the distance! 

The house did fine without us, but the weeds took over the flowerbeds…we have some catching up to do.   Now starts the task list of doing laundry, washing the vehicles, sorting mail, catching up on crossword puzzles, and trying to get back to a more normal routine.

We had a surprise visit from my oldest sister who was driving through Indy and stopped by in time to see our mountain of laundry and piles from unloading.  It was fun to see a face from the family after being gone so long.

We’ve been gone for 58 days.   During that period we have driven 4,362 miles, used 566 gallons of fuel, spent 90+ hours behind the wheel with an average moving speed of 48mph, while driving through 10 states, and 7 Canadian provinces!

We have also gathered countless memories, experienced so many awesome adventures and formed new friendships, many who we plan to connect with in the coming months.

It was a wonderful trip, but there’s no place like home!   And, to answer the question that a few have already asked:  We have not booked a new adventure…..yet!

One More Day…

Monday, August 3, 2015

We drove 500 miles today--just one more day til we’re home!   We got up early and stopped for a good breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  (I forced myself to bypass the shopping opportunities in the lobby area.)  Shortly after breakfast, our travel buddies had a small problem, so we pulled into the rest area and filled in as the tailgunner!  Everything turned out ok, and we made it to the next campground, Woodland Campground in Woodland, PA.  There was a lot of construction and a lot of traffic. The trip today, although shorter in mileage than yesterday’s, seemed longer because of the tough drive.  The Maritimes seem to keep following us….last night there was a family in the campground from Newfoundland.  And then today we went through Newfoundland, PA! 

The scenery here isn’t quite as pretty as the Maritimes, but we saw a nice skyline as we passed through Hartford, and then crossed over the Hudson River. 

We had a nice “grandchild fix” through face-time yesterday with Benjamin and today with Taylor!  They are growing up so quickly!   We are beginning to make our mental list of “things to do”, and are very much looking forward to getting home tomorrow.

Homeward Bound

Sunday August 2, 2015

Yippeee…we are headed home to civilization!!! 

The Confederation Bridge was just as amazing going the other way.  Also amazing was the toll to exit…$68.00-Yikes!  Guess they want to keep people on the island of PEI!

The signs continued to warn about moose crossing, and we kept looking for moose, but all we saw were a lot of moose fences along the highway to keep them off the roadways.

 

 

 

We thought we saw a moose, but it was just a statue in the back of a truck in front of us!  We couldn’t get close enough to see who it is—I’m sure it is someone famous—how funny! 

We saw more pretty bridges and scenery, and finally reached the border.

 

 

 

 

 

We made it through customs with little fanfare.  The border patrol officer came into the bus, did a walk through, and stayed long enough to pet Spot.  We were smart enough to dispose of our citrus and vegetables before we left.  (And, most of the alcohol is gone, so that wasn’t a problem either!)

After $20 more in tolls, we arrived at Black Bear Campground near Boston.  We drove 601 miles today…a very long day!  We changed our clocks to Eastern Time, got hooked into the internet and had dinner.  We will get a good nights sleep and get on the road early again tomorrow.  Our friends from Indy, the Herberts, who also went on the trip are parked right next to us!

As we reflect on the trip, we feel so fortunate to have been able to make a trip like this.  We were struck by the beauty of Canada, the warm, welcoming people, and were surprised at the remoteness of the lands we visited in the Maritimes.  There is so much land and so few people…all covered in a rich history.  We were impressed by what the country has done to preserve and promote the history and significant places.  The people of Canada have so much pride…everyone flies a Canadian flag.

We also realize how spoiled we are with connectivity and the “comforts of home”.  I did not make a phone call in 48 days—a record!  But, I was able to face-time and make two calls as soon as we hit the USA!  I already have a haircut appointment the day after we get home…hooray!

Final Farewell…

Saturday August 1, 2015 – Day 47

Today marks the final day of our Maritimes trip, as tomorrow morning we hit the road early to head back to Indy.  Everyone was packing up and reviewing the route for home.

We were able to do a little more exploring on the island and found some interesting things, like this rotating house.  It sits on high land, so there is a beautiful view of the water.  It rotates so that all of the rooms will eventually have a view of the water! What a creative way to take advantage of the view.  Wonder if it was designed by a Purdue engineer?

It was a gorgeous day…nice and sunny (which we haven’t seen very often) and temperatures close to 80 (which we haven’t felt very often).  There were lots of people enjoying the nice beach along the dunes. 

 

We also noticed a funny looking traffic light…the different lights are unique shapes—green is round, red is square, yellow is diamond.  We were told they are testing these lights on a trial basis…they are supposed to help color-blind people “see” the lights!  Hmmmm….

This is a long weekend for Canadians in this province.  The first Monday of each month is “Civic Day”--a day off, so they get a three day weekend once a month.  What a great idea!  The campground is full, and things in the area a very busy because of the three day weekend.

We had our farewell dinner tonight…a great dinner of PEI Mussels and Lobster.  What a great way to end a wonderful trip!

 

 

 

 

 

Everyone hugged and said goodbyes, and talked about the beautiful country we’ve seen, and the wonderful new friends we’ve made.  Another trip of a lifetime!

Final Friday

Friday July 31, 2015 – Day 46

After a busy few days, today we slept in and took it easy.  I finally was able to get the blog posted this morning, while Jim washed the Lundcruiser and the car…said it was probably as dirty as it has ever been!   We did a little shopping and sightseeing and came across some interesting things.  We saw a Mountie from the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police)!   We were driving down the street and saw him riding along the side of the road, so we pulled into a parking lot and got out the camera, and he came over for a picture.  The horse’s name was Goliath (wanted to ask if the Mounty was Dudley Dooright).

Then, we saw this HUGE dog.  I asked if I could take a picture, but didn’t stop to ask more details…like what kind of a dog is it?  It had the face of a lab, but the body of a Great Dane. 

Since this is a center for potatoes, it seems appropriate that we would find lobster flavored potato chips!!  Haven’t tried them, but don’t they sound delicious??  I bought a bag to bring home.

The entire group went to the Fisherman’s Wharf for a lobster dinner tonight.  It was really good…the meal began with a trip to the 60 ft. long salad bar (no kidding!) complete with mussels and plenty of other goodies.  We each had a lobster, and followed with dessert.   Since Spot couldn’t join us for the lobster meal, we brought him a stuffed lobster toy. He was so excited, he already pulled off a claw, and won’t let go of the rest of the lobster! 

Right outside the restaurant was another osprey nest, and it seemed as if the birds were waving to us.

The temperature reached 80 today!  Just yesterday was the first time we felt 60 degrees in quite a long time!  What a welcome change.  We finally got to wear shorts again!

Tomorrow is our last full day of this wonderful Maritimes adventure.  It’s hard to believe we’re on the last page of the travel book!  Will get a good night’s sleep and be ready to pack in as much as we can on our final day.

Dishing it up in Cavendish

July 30, 2015 – Day 45

You may recognize Cavendish as the home of Anne of Green Gables!   The book was published in 1908, but I hadn’t read it until this trip.  What a great story, and very neat to think we are in the spot that inspired the author.   Last night we went to the musical in Charlottetown, which told the story about Anne of Green Gables.  It was a delightful production, part of the Charlottetown Festival.  Today, we toured Green Gables, a National Historic Site of Canada.  This house and grounds are the places described in the novel.  We were able to see Anne’s room, and took a walk down the trail that Anne loved—Lover’s Lane!

Cavendish is a small community of a few hundred people, but gets almost a million visitors each year!  Prince Edward Island National Park is located here, and has a beautiful red rock shoreline, dunes and beaches.

 

We had lunch at the PEI Preserve Company (raspberry cheesecake pie for dessert) and watched them make preserves.  We also visited a cheese factory with trays of gouda cheese!  You can see that food continues to carry a priority with this group!

The countryside is beautiful.  There are rolling green hills right up to the water’s edge, another scene that could be a jigsaw puzzle picture.  And, we spotted an osprey nest along the side of the road.

After returning to the campground we had our last “drivers meeting” to review the schedule for the next few days.  It will be strange to drive out on Sunday morning without a trip log to tell us which way to turn when we exit the campground!

The weather was so great we grilled out and ended the evening with a campfire.  This is one of the few times its been dry enough and warm enough to be outside!  Lovin it!

PEI and BWW

July 28-29, 2015 – Day 43-44

My voice is back but the wi-fi is gone.  I’ve been trying to adjust to both!  It’s been a busy few days, but we have made it to the final destination for the last segment of the tour.  Can’t believe how quickly the time has passed. 

We are on Prince Edward Island but nobody calls it Prince Edward Island—it is just PEI.   Even though there were ferries for transportation, for years they wanted to establish a link from the island to the mainland, and finally in 1998, they opened the Confederation Bridge.The Confederation Bridge is the the longest bridge in the world over ice-covered water…8 miles long, running from New Brunswick to PEI!  Quite impressive.  There were a number of traffic lights along the span of the bridge. (I don’t think I’ve ever seen a traffic light on a bridge!)  It cost a billion dollars to build the bridge.   There is no toll coming over, but they charge a toll when you leave…a hefty toll at that! Nonetheless, it was a beautiful entry into a beautiful island. 

PEI is called the Garden of the Gulf or the Emerald Isle, because of the beautiful colors and green landscape.  They say there are 27 different shades of green on the island. It is so different than the rest of the Maritimes, because it has few rocks, mostly sandstone, and red soil.  The red soil is due to the iron oxide in the water and the ground.  (It reminds me of the red clay in Talladega!) 

The island is 140 miles long, 38 miles wide at the widest point, and 2 miles wide at the narrowest point.

There are so many interesting things about this place.  One of the more interesting facts is that PEI is known for its potatoes.  In fact, Wendy’s french fries come from PEI—who would have thought?   Also, 80% of blue mussels consumed in the US come from PEI.

Charlottetown is the capital of PEI.  It is a town of about 60,000 people.  The downtown area is filled with restaurants, shops, and historical buildings. There were lots of people out walking, and musicians playing in the street. And, there were herons wading in the water by the park.

 

 

 

 

There have been a few more trip “incidents”.  On the way to PEI, one of our  travelers pulled over because his “service engine soon” light came on.  As it turns out, his alternator was going out.  He turned on his generator to keep the batteries charged, and we followed him to the next exit where there was a Canadian Tire Store.  The tailgunner arrived and was able to take charge of the situation and they found a truck repair shop at the next exit.  Long story short, they were able to find an alternator and get it replaced, and arrived at the campground about 5 hours later…very lucky that the part was available.   Then, at the campground, one of the 5th wheels had a jack break, and the camper fell onto the truck bed.  Someone was underneath the trailer checking the level, and was hit by the edge of the camper as it came down--very scary.  But, everything turned out ok, except for a few bruises, and the repairman was on site today to get him going again. 

We are staying at the Marco Polo campground in Cavendish, PEI.  The Marco Polo was a huge sailing vessel that was stranded in this area in the 1800’s during a storm.  The campers here are also stranded because the wi-fi doesn’t extend to the camping spots—you have to go to the office to get a signal.  So, I am BWW in PEI –that’s Blogging Without Wi-fi in PEI.   I’ve received two notes asking “where is the blog?”  I’ve finally found a spot that will work, so hopefully can catch up on missed days!

Cape Breton instead of the Brickyard

July 26-27, 2015 – Day 41-42

Brickyard Sunday is not normally a day we’d be travelling, and this is only the second time in the history of the Brickyard that we haven’t been at the race. We missed the Brickyard for the first time two years ago while we were in Alaska, and we missed it again this year, day 41 of our 48 day tour.  But, at least someone we knew was there! 

Instead, we were travelling the Cabot Trail which is one of the most scenic drives in North America.  It is 185 miles of twisty roads in a loop around the island of Cape Breton, which is the eastern tip of Nova Scotia.  We did the whole loop, up mountains and down the other side, taking in the views across the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and then passing through Cape Breton National Park, to the other side of the island where the Atlantic Ocean greeted us with spectacular views.  We wished we could have hiked the Skyline Trail which runs along the top of French Mountain overlooking the Gulf.  (There are really people along the top of the ridge in this picture! )

We learned a lot about the area, which has relied on fishing, farming, forestry and tourism.  Fishing is mostly lobster and crab since the cod has been mostly fished out.  The fishermen are given a quota and can have no more than 275 lobster traps, for about a month-long period.  Farming is mostly root vegetables and sheep.  Forestry is the soft wood-spruce and fir for the paper mills, and birch and maple for hardwood floors.  They export 30 million Xmas trees each year!  There used to be mining in the area, but it is gone, so now, it’s mostly tourists, like us, getting to take in the beauty of these natural landscapes.  Moose hunting is allowed, but licenses are given by a lottery system.  200 licenses are issued for 1 week. It seems like it would be very difficult to make a good living here, but the payoff is the beauty and peacefulness of the area.

We stopped by St. Peter’s church…St. Peter is the the patron of fishermen, so it made sense this grand church was named after him!  you could see the spires from several viewpoints along the trail.  It was a beautiful church, and one of our group led a chorus of Amazing Grace so that we could hear the beautiful acoustics.  Jim finally made it inside the confessional—but no hope for him!

We also stopped by a museum which focuses on the work of Elizabeth LeFort, a ledgendary artist and rug maker from this area.  She did portraits in rugs and presented them to important world figures.  She hooked rugs until 6 months before she died at the age of 93.  There were some unbelievable rugs on display—including this amazing one featuring the presidents of the US.

The lighthouse was a big hit because there was an ice cream store inside!  We all were treated to an ice cream cone by the wagonmasters!

There is a large Gaelic population in the area (presumably from the days when miners and fishermen came over), and you can see the influence in the accent of the locals, the stores, hotels including The Keltic Lodge which had this welcome stone in the entryway. It says something about a hundred thousand welcomes!  Street signs had both english and gaelic names.  There is even a Gaelic college devoted to preserving the Gaelic language, arts and culture.

There were breathtaking views on both sides of the Cabot Trail.  The Gulf side featured sandy beaches, and sandstone rock while the ocean side had high cliffs of granite overlooking the sea.  …Just beautiful!

 

 

 

 

 

We were able to watch the race when we got home, and realized we should have been there to bring the #24 team some good luck…darn, what a day.  But, it was a fun race to watch with friends, and we got to see Tom a few times on tv. 

We are beginning to wind up our last week of the tour.  Today is our last day in Nova Scotia…a “free day” until dinner this evening.   I’ve decided to take it easy to try to get my voice back.  I have noise today, but not much volume, so am going to be quiet (ha ha!)