Merry Christmas

For Christmas dinner I cooked a turkey breast in my crockpot & it was so moist. This was my 2nd crockpot turkey breast & it won't be my last.

Today's weather felt as though we were in South Florida with the temperatures being in the 70's. Just last weekend we had near freezing temperatures.

After dinner we went to The Willows owner's house (W.T. & Glenda) for Irish coffee & dessert. We always have a good time visiting with them.

Update for December

We got the DTVPal converter box that we ordered last month on Dec. 2 & hooked it up. We were happy to see how clear the reception of the local channels was - it worked fine for about 20 minutes & then nothing. The power light was on but we had no reception - we couldn't even turn it off with the remote. I called the phone # on my order & was told they would send out a new converter box. I was given a RA# & was told they probably wouldn't want the defective box back (we're keeping it anyway). We're still waiting for the replacement - after 2 more calls I'm told that it is on backorder.

We went out to eat for Thanksgiving & was seated next to Al (a friend & flight instructor that Mike had worked with) & his family. We had a good time catching up on each other's news.

On Dec. 15 we ordered & downloaded the e-book "RVing Alaska" by Joe & Vicki Kieva & ordered their DVDs "RVing Alaska: What to Expect: How to Prepare" & "Alaska: RV Adventure of a Lifetime" - since we're planning our trip to Alaska in 2009.

Instead of going out for Christmas dinner, I've decided to cook a turkey breast in the crockpot - I did one earlier this year & it turned out great.

Update for November

We're still in Dothan, AL & will be here at least through January 2009. In the last month we've had our regular medical & dental checkups - good reports for both of us. We were finally able to get Tinker's vaccinations for Lyme disease. Since Lyme disease doesn't occur here in this area our vet doesn't have the vaccinations. He was able to get it from the local PetSmart (who do carry it) & gave it to Tinker.

We've taken almost 2600 photos this year - so I'm working on organizing them better. New resolution for 2009 (I know it's a little early for New Year's resolutions) - organize & label photos as soon as we've taken them.

Today I ordered the DTVPal digital converter box from DishNetwork using one of the government $40 coupons. We have DishNetwork satellite service & get the networks from San Francisco & Atlanta, but we got the converter box for receiving the local networks since our TVs don't have digital receivers built in.

Helena, AL to Dothan, AL

After leaving Cherokee Campground this morning, we stopped at a Texaco in Prattville to get gas & paid $2.759 a gallon.

We were getting hungry & I checked the Next Exit book & found that there was a McAllister's Deli at the next exit. We had this sudden craving for their Broccoli & Cheese soup. So we pulled off of I-65 at the exit for our Broccoli & Cheese soup fix.

Since we're going to be parked for a while at The Willows in Dothan, we stopped at Sam's Club to fill up the RV. There we paid $2.709 a gallon for gas. We noticed that the further south we drove that the gas prices were getting lower.

We're here in Dothan to have our regular medical & dental checkups. Tinker also needs to see the vet & get vaccinated for Lyme Disease. We also ran out of his heartworm medicine last month & he'll need to be tested so we can start it up again.

We don't know how long we'll be staying here in Dothan (it could be all winter), so we won't be traveling for a while.

Collinsville, AL to Helena, AL

We said goodbye to Symphony & Al this morning. We then drove 110 miles south to Cherokee Campground in Helena, AL.

Our friends, Dale & his wife Steffie, came over from Birmingham tonight for a visit. We had a great time catching up on each other's news.

We're only staying here at Cherokee Campground just the one night.

Nessa's restaurant

Here is a photo of Mike & Symphony just before she left for work at Nessa's restaurant.

From Collinsville, AL

Tonight Mike, Al & I went into Collinsville to eat dinner at Nessa's.

From Collinsville, AL

Nessa started out with a catering business & this year has opened a restaurant in downtown Collinsville. Symphony was already at Nessa's - she works there as a waitress (she also works in Nessa's catering business). We had a wonderful dinner - the food was excellent. Mike had the Greek Spaghetti, I had the Chicken Picata & Al had Lasagna. We all had Baklava for dessert.

From Collinsville, AL

So if you are ever near Collinsville, AL, stop by Nessa's for lunch or dinner - we can't recommend it highly enough. Also, her desserts are terrific.

Collinsville, AL

We're having a nice visit with Symphony & Al - and Tinker & Chrissie are having a great visit, too.

From Collinsville, AL

Here is Al walking Chrissie -

From Collinsville, AL

Dayton, TN to Collinsville, AL

We left Dayton, TN this morning about our usual departure time of 10:30. We stayed on US-27 until we picked up I-24 west of Chattanooga, TN & then onto I-59. The first thing we noticed when we crossed into Alabama were the wildflowers that were in the median - how pretty.

From Collinsville, AL

We stopped at the rest area on I-59 just inside the Alabama state line for lunch.

We arrived at our friends', Symphony & Al, in the early afternoon. We'll be staying here until Saturday.

From Collinsville, AL

Lexington, KY to Dayton, TN

We got up earlier than our usual time this morning. After getting the RV ready to leave this morning, I drove the Saturn into Lexington to the post office to pick up our mail. While I was doing that, Mike was dumping our holding tanks at the dump station. Mike then drove over to the Fayette Mall on the south side of Lexington where we met. After hitching up the Saturn we headed south on US-27. We stopped for gas at an Exxon in Wartburg, TN where we paid $2.93 a gallon.

We stayed on US-27 until we reached the Wal-Mart Supercenter south of Dayton, TN where we are spending the night.

Kentucky Horse Park

The office here at the campground sells tickets for the The Kentucky Horse Park. The ticket for the American Saddlebred Museum is included in with the price for the Kentucky Horse Park.

The American Saddlebred Museum is located inside the Kentucky Horse Park (they share the same parking lot). At the American Saddlebred Museum we learned about this special breed of horse. They were ridden by the frontiersmen & farmers in the cavalry in the American Revolution. They accompanied the pioneers west into Kentucky & into the Western Frontier. They served in all the wars & battles up to the Civil War. General Robert E. Lee's Traveller, General Grant's Cincinnati, General Sherman's Lexington, & General Stonewall Jackson's Little Sorrell, were all American Saddle horses. The American Saddle Horse also served on the Confederate side in the commands of Generals John Hunt Morgan and Nathan Bedford Forrest.

From Lexington, KY

After entering through the Main Gate of the Kentucky Horse Park complex, you pass by the statue of Secretariat.

From Lexington, KY

A pathway to our left lead to the Man O' War Memorial. Along the pathway we came upon a blue post marked "Start" & farther on down 3 more posts. These posts show the various length of strides of past racing champions. The left orange pole shows Secretariats 24 ft. stride. The center orange pole shows John Henry's 25½ ft. stride. The orange pole on the right shows Man O' War's 28 ft. stride.

From Lexington, KY

In the International Museum of the Horse we learned about the evolution of the horse through the ages. There were displays of various saddles, bridles, wagons, transportation vehicles through history.

We attended the Parade of Breeds show that highlights some of the different breeds at the Kentucky Horse Park. Among the breeds we saw during the show, were the Nokota (descended from North Dakota wild horses), Marwari (India), Spanish Mustang, Arabian, & the Friesian (Friesland in northern Finland).

From Lexington, KY

From Lexington, KY

We then visited the draft horses in their barn, viewed horse farm equipment & various horse-drawn carriages. We really enjoyed our visit to the museums - the horses were beautiful & the displays were great.

I have more photos from both museums in our Lexington, KY album.

Thoroughbred Park, Lexington, KY

This afternoon we drove into Lexington to locate the downtown post office & visit the Thoroughbred Park. When we were returning to our cousins' house after visiting the Lexington Cemetery yesterday, our route took us by the Thoroughbred Park. Since we're staying another day, we decided to visit the Thoroughbred Park today & go to the Kentucky Horse Park tomorrow.

The Thoroughbred Park covers 2.5 acres and is dedicated to the Thoroughbred industry. The first thing you see are 7 life-size bronze racehorses racing for the finish line. "Grazing" nearby are bronze sculptures of mares, foals & and the stallion, Lexington.

From Lexington, KY

From Lexington, KY

There is a walkway that winds through the park with bronze plaques at various places on the path. There is a plaque for Queen Elizabeth and one for Bing Crosby & many others for people who were influential in the history of the thoroughbred horse & Lexington.

Visit with Nancy & Ben

We spent this afternoon & evening visiting with Mike's cousin Nancy and her husband Ben.

Nancy & Ben took us to the Lexington Cemetery to see the grave marker of Mike's great granduncle, Richard J. Foley. He was a Sergeant in the Union Army in Company A, 6th KY Cavalry. He was captured & sent to Andersonville & Cahaba prisons. Toward the end of the Civil War the prisoners were sent to Vicksburg in preparation to being returned home. In April 1865 Richard & 1800-2000 prisoners boarded the steamship Sultana & headed north up the Mississippi River. On April 27 south of Memphis the boilers ruptured & the Sultana sank. Richard was among the dead & his body was never found. The Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War were instrumental in having the grave marker done & held a memorial service with military honors in September. Nancy was the coordinator with them & read copies of letters Richard had written home while waiting in Vicksburg. We had hoped to attend, but weren't able. For more information on the Sultana disaster, go to The Sultana: Death on the Dark River.

We then returned to Nancy & Ben's house to visit & catch up on each other's news. We enjoyed meeting their three cats which they didn't have the last time we saw Nancy & Ben. We had had three cats before we started full-timing; they are now living with our son in Big Pine Key, FL. We swapped cat stories all the way through dinner & dessert.

Kentucky Horse Park Campground

We left Lakewood Village RV Resort in Wapakoneta, Ohio this morning at our usual departure time of 10:30. We had planned on stopping at a rest area on I-75 near Monroe, Ohio for lunch, but the rest area was closed because of highway construction. We found a Wal-Mart Supercenter just down the road at West Chester where we parked & made lunch. Then we're back on the road to Lexington, KY.


We got into the campground at the Kentucky Horse Park a little after 3 p.m. (185 miles from Wapakoneta). We had made reservations some time ago, so check-in was quick. This is our first visit to the Kentucky Horse Park. We had driven through the campground several years ago when we had been in Lexington on vacation, so we were somewhat familiar with it.

From Lexington, KY

We went to the post office closest to the campground to pick up our mail from General Delivery. Well, they don't take General Delivery at that post office - it goes to the one downtown & it is closed on Saturday. We had tried calling the post office before we had the mail sent, but you could only listen to a recording. We are scheduled to leave Lexington on Monday & it is a holiday. When we got back to the campground, Mike went to the office & extended our stay another day.

Celina, OH to Wapakoneta, OH

We had a great time here at the Eastern Gypsy Journal Gathering at the Mercer County Fairgrounds. Today we’re heading over to Lakewood Village RV Resort at Wapakoneta, OH. Since Wapakoneta is only about 24 miles east of here, we’re not in any hurry to get on the road.

This morning before we started getting ready to leave Celina, we went for a walk to find Nick & Terry Russell to tell them how much we enjoyed our first Gypsy Gathering. We took Tinker with us & he enjoyed the walk & getting to see (smell) parts of the fairgrounds he hadn’t been in. We located Nick & Terry at the Hospitality Room & told them how much we had enjoyed the Gathering & what a terrific job they had done. We had hoped to pick up a bundle of the current Gypsy Journal paper to hand out at the campgrounds that we would be going to, but Nick & Terry had given out all of their extra copies.

From Gypsy Journal Gathering

About 10:30 we started getting the RV ready to leave & pulled out of our spot about noon. We had to stop at the dump station & dump our tanks before leaving the fairgrounds. We decided since we only had about 24 miles to our next destination, that Mike would drive the RV & I would drive the Vue.

We stopped at Kroger's at St. Mary's for gas & groceries. The price for gas at Kroger's was $3.77. We filled the tanks on both vehicles & got $.10 a gallon off on $136 worth of gas. We have a Kroger customer card & we get credit for our purchases, which gives us a discount on our gas purchases at a Kroger gas station. We then pulled over into the parking lot & ate lunch. Then I went grocery shopping in Kroger. Mike hooked up the Vue to the RV while I was in shopping. We checked the gas price when we left & it had gone up $.20 in an hour and a half - $3.97! We actually got gas at the right time for a change.

We got in here at Lakewood Village a little after 3 pm. We got a site this time near the clubhouse facing one of the lakes, so we have a better view than the one we had when we were here in August.

Last day of Gypsy Gathering

Since we're not going to any of the 9 a.m. seminars – we slept in this morning until 8:00 - nice!

We both went to Nick Russell's "The Frugal Rver" at 10:30 - 12 - another seminar of his that we had attended at Life on Wheels Conferences. Nick is always informative & an enjoyable speaker.

From Gypsy Journal Gathering

Then back to the RV for lunch break & quality time with Tinker.

After lunch Mike decided he & Tinker needed to take a nap, so I went to Cheryl Green's "Digital Scrap Booking Made Easy" seminar from 1:30 - 3. She is a Creative Memories agent & it's a very impressive program & concept. I was curious to learn about Creative Memories since I had won a door prize from Cheryl. I really liked what you can do with the software - I'm keeping it in mind for the future. Remember, I’ve a blog & web albums to put together.

Mike joined me for the 3:30 - 5 seminar for "Google Earth" by Jim & Chris Guld. We were both familiar with Google Earth & had downloaded it a long time ago, but only used it occasionally.

I had used Google Earth when we were planning to catch the subway into Boston for some sightseeing. I checked our route from Hanscom Famcamp to the parking garage for the subway station & was able to see what the route looked like at street level. After today's class I'll be using Google Earth more - it just hasn't always been my first choice when I wanted to check out something on our route.

Then back to the RV for dinner & some more time with Tinker.

This is the final night for the Gypsy Gathering & we had door prizes at 7 p.m. Nick & Terry had planned the door prize giveaway really well. All the tickets that won on Monday were held out of the Tuesday drawing. Then tonight the rest of the tickets that hadn't been drawn on Monday & Tuesday were drawn for the door prizes. Then all of the tickets were put back in for the remaining door prizes & the grand prizes.

We won again at tonight's door prize drawing. We won a year's subscription to the Gypsy Journal - we already subscribe so we get a year's extension. So between the Creative Memories album & materials we won Monday & tonight’s prize, we did pretty well in the prize department.

Second day of Seminars

We were up again this morning at 7 a.m. We looked over the seminar schedules for today & decided to go to only 2 of them.

We went to "Hosting in State Parks" at 9 - 10:30 by Ron & Brenda Speidel. We had been to seminars on hosting at the Life on Wheels conferences, so this was a refresher course for us. They discussed the different types of duties, hours required & situations that happen as campground hosts. They also covered the questions to ask before accepting a campground host position (duties, hours, etc).

Afterwards we decided to drive out to Grand Lake St Mary's State Park to check out the campground there. We took Tinker with us since he’s been staying in the RV by himself while we’ve been attending seminars. St. Mary’s State Park is a Passport America campground, so the rates are 1/2 price Sunday thru Wednesday. We drove around checking the size & how level the sites were in case we were back this way & wanted to stay there.

While we were out we stopped at the Celina post office & picked up our mail from General Delivery.

After lunch we attended another of Chris & Jim Guld's seminars today called "Managing Digital Photos with Picasa". Picasa is a photo management software from Google & we can create web albums with Picasa & Google. I downloaded Picasa tonight & look forward to working with it on organizing our photos better. We've tried other web photo albums & they were so limited in the size of albums that we weren't pleased with them. We'll be able to share our photos with family & friends through our blog & the web albums - instead of waiting until we can get together for a visit.

Tonight was the pizza dinner. We had Domino's pizza - they had cheese, sausage & pepperoni pizzas. There were 112 pizzas ordered & the delivery pickup had to make 2 trips since it couldn't hold all the pizzas. We all took our chairs & beverages & had a great time.

So I am “officially” starting our blog tonight, but I will be making entries that go back to when we started fulltiming & adding our photos to albums. Looks like we’re going to be very busy this winter!!

First day of seminars at Gypsy Gathering

It was 50° this morning at 7:00 when we got up - does it ever feel good after the heat we had at Camp Atterbury. The seminars start at 9:00 this morning. We're taking a couple of folding chairs to sit on during the seminars. Since the seminars are being held in the fairground buildings, there may not be enough chairs for everyone & we all were advised to bring our own chairs.

Mike went to the 9-10 am seminar on "Electrical Management Systems" & I went to "Boondocking Basics". We both attended Nick Russell's 10:30 - 12 seminar "Highway History & Back Road Mystery" (always an enjoyable time). Then back to the RV for lunch 12 - 1:30 & to give Tinker lunch & some quality time.

We split up again for the 1:30 - 2:30 seminars; Mike went to "Appearance Care for Your RV" & I attended "The First 48 Hours After a Death" (not a real cheerful subject, but really informative & thought provoking).

Mike & I both went to "Every RVer Needs a Blog" at 3 - 4:30 given by Chris & Jim Guld - Geeks on Tour. We've talked about having a website to chronicle our travels since we started fulltiming in May 2006, but never really found anything that we were happy with - until now. We have friends & family all over the country & we're not always the best e-mail writers - so a blog is perfect for us.

One of the items in our seminar packet were discount coupons for Bella's Italian Grille in Celina (http://www.bellasitaliangrille.com/), so we decided to go there for dinner. We both had spaghetti & dessert (both very good) & had a scenic view of Grand Lake St. Mary's.

Then back to the fairgrounds to attend the door prize drawing at 7 p.m. & afterwards back to the RV & look over our seminar schedules for tomorrow.

First day of Gypsy Gathering

This is the official first day of the Gypsy Gathering. This morning we walked down to the registration building where we picked up our name tags & seminar packets. Wednesday will be pizza night & we paid $5 each for the pizza dinner.

After we got back from registration, Mike hooked a water hose up to the water spigot near us & washed the RV & car. There are still RV's arriving for the Gathering and we're parked where we can see most of them coming in.

We each have a seminar schedule. We spent this afternoon looking it over & deciding which ones we wanted to go to. If there are 2 seminars that we want to go that are scheduled at the same time, we each take 1 seminar. Mike usually goes to the technical one & I go to the other seminar.

This afternoon we attended the opening of the Gypsy Gathering where Nick Russell introduced the instructors for the seminars and vendors. After dinner they had drawings for door prizes and we won a package from Cheryl Green of Creative Memories that contained a photo album & supplies. She really put together a nice package for the door prize.

Camp Atterbury, IN to Cellina, OH

We got up at 6:30 this mornng & were on the road at 8:50 - much earlier than our usual 10:30 departure time.

We had crosswinds most of the drive to Celina, except for the stretch of I-75 where we had a tail wind & got up to 9.9 mpg. After we turned off of I-75 on to US-33 we had crosswinds again. We pulled off the road a couple of times to check the slide topper for the living room slide to make sure that it wasn't going to unroll & rip. We slowed down to about 45 mph & that helped some.

We got in here at the Mercer County Fairgrounds about 2:30 pm. & got in line to fill our fresh water tank prior to parking. There were volunteers directing the new arrivals where to fill up on water & where to park. The wind was getting stronger & it started to rain. Since we run the water through our filter system, it takes a while to fill the fresh water tank; so we sat inside the RV instead of standing outside in the rain. We ended up parking near the water spigot where we filled our tank. We leveled the RV, put out the slides, made coffee & waited out the weather. Ike had arrived!

Did it ever rain & the wind was something else! Even though we had our jacks down, our RV was still rocking with some of the gusts. We heard later that the wind gusts were around 50 mph in the area near Celina. The RV & car were a mess from the blowing dirt & then the rain! Mike's planning on washing the RV & car tomorrow since we're close enough to a water spigot to run a hose.

We've decided to register tomorrow morning for the seminars for the Gypsy Gathering instead of this afternoon.

Tropical Storm Ike

We've been watching the path of Ike & it appears he's heading this way. We've decided to get up tomorrow morning at 6:30 & get an early start leaving Camp Atterbury. Hopefully we'll be able to stay ahead of the bad weather.

We're excited & looking forward to attending the Gypsy Gathering in Celina, OH this coming week. The Gypsy Gathering is a rally put on by Nick & Terry Russell who publish a newspaper for RV'ers, The Gypsy Journal. We've been subscribers & have met Nick & Terry at the Life on Wheels seminars in previous years.

Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska to Granby, Québec

We left Camping le Rayon de Soliel this morning at 9:15. We continued on TC-20 still following the St. Lawrence River.

One of the road signs we saw along the way was this one warning of a rough road ahead and they were right.

From Quebec

After about 150 miles we stopped at a rest area at the Villeroy Halte    Routière (Villeroy Rest Area) at 12:30 p.m. for a 30 minute lunch break.

From Quebec

Then back on TC-20 until we reach Exit 141 were we take Rte 116 north of Sainte-Rosalie for about 4 miles. We then took Rte 224 at Sainte-Rosalie for about 2 miles to Rte 137 south of Sainte-Hyacinthe,

From Quebec

then Rte 137 for 18 miles to Rte 112 west of Granby and another 1½ miles to Camping Tropicana. We arrived here around 3 p.m.

Camping Tropicana is a Passport America campground. We're paying $19 for our 1 night stay here. We are in site #714. Yes, you read that correctly - site #714 - this place is HUGE! There are 880 RV sites here. There are a lot (I mean a LOT) of permanent RVs here. There is a lake with a nice beach, paddle boats for rent, mini golf and much more. This is definitely a destination campground for families with a lot of activities and planned events.

Site #714 is one of 25 pull-through sites. We have full hook-ups (30 amp); the electric voltage and water pressure is low. We were guided to our campsite and didn't plan on disconnecting the Vue since we're only staying for tonight. When we pulled into the site, we ended up with the Vue sticking out in the roadway. When we tried to disconnect the car, we couldn't because the hitch was at such an angle that it was impossible to get the pins out. Mike wanted to pull forward so we could straighten the hitch out, but our guide was hesitant for us to do that.

Fortunately the owner, Gilles Savoie, came by on his bicycle. He had Mike pull the RV forward so we could disconnect the car. Then Mike backed the RV into the site so it was in there at a better angle. We then hitched the car back up and it wasn't sticking out in the road. Gilles was extremely helpful and knowledgeable about straightening out (no pun intended) our situation. He was also about the only person we've met here that speaks English. Maybe I should have taken French in high school instead of Spanish!

We found out why Gilles knew so much about RVs and spoke such good English - he is a motorhome owner. Mike asked him about the amount of snow that Granby has during the winter (the campground is closed then) and Gilles said he didn't know! He said he takes his motorhome and travels south to the US during the Canadian winter. He said he not only doesn't know how much snow is there in Granby, he doesn't care since he's enjoying the warmer weather in the south. He keeps his motorhome at the north end of Lake Champlain when he's not out traveling during the winter.

Woodstock, New Brunswick to Saint-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, Quebec

We departed Cosy Cabins Campground at 10 a.m. still driving north on Trans Canada Hwy-2. We stopped at an Ultramar gas station at Perth-Andover to get gas for the RV. We got 210.523 liters for $1.406 a liter (55.631 gallons for $5.321 a gallon US).

From Quebec

TC-2 became Trans Canada Hwy-185 when we entered Québec and we entered the Eastern Time Zone.

From Quebec

We stopped at a rest area near Dégelis, Québec for lunch. After about a 30 minute lunch break, we continued west to the St. Lawrence River and drove south on Trans Canada Hwy-20.

From Quebec

After about 8 miles we took exit 488 to Camping le Rayon de Soliel. We drove a total of 193 miles today.

Camping le Rayon de Soliel gives a 10% discount for Good Sam. We are in site #27 with full hook-ups (30 amp). The water pressure is low and the electric voltage is low also. Site 27 is a grassy pull-through site with lots of trees and the roads in the campground are narrow. We do have wifi, but no satellite TV reception. We are able to pick up local TV stations on the antenna, but they are all in French - of course! Looks like another DVD movie night.

Amherst, Nova Scotia to Woodstock, New Brunswick

We left Gateway Parklands Campground about 10:15 this morning. Just down the road from the campground we saw this firewood stacked near a house.

From Leaving the Maritimes

We crossed the border into New Brunswick less than a mile after leaving the campground. Hwy-104 becomes Trans Canada Hwy-2 in New Brunswick. We drove back through Moncton and on to Woodstock, New Brunswick on Trans Canada Hwy-2. TC-2 followed the course of the St. John River through New Brunswick. We had some great views of the St. John River at various places along the highway.

From Leaving the Maritimes

We exited TC-2 at Exit 191 and drove east to Hwy-165 and there was Cosy Cabins Campground. Cosy Cabins is a Passport America campground. We are on site #3. It is a pull-through and we have full hook-ups with 50 amp service and wifi. These are gravel sites with some grass and are pretty level. The regular fee is $30 a night and with tax we're paying $16.39 with Passport America.

From Leaving the Maritimes

But the view alone is worth staying here! We are facing the St. John River with nothing to obstruct our view. This afternoon while I was walking Tinker we startled a beaver that had come up near the campground.

From Leaving the Maritimes

Now we wish that we had allowed more time to stay here at Cosy Cabins. We've learned that Woodstock is New Brunswick's first town and was incorporated in 1856 and has many Victorian properties on a local historic register. We won't have time to see them before we leave tomorrow - another reason to come back this way another time.

Badddeck to Amherst, Nova Scotia

We left Adventures East Campground this morning around 10:15. We retraced our route along Hwy-105 to Hwy-104. We paid another $5.25 toll at the Cobequid Pass Toll Plaza. We stopped at an Irving gas station in Antigonish to fill the RV tank. We bought 208.1 liters for $1.431 a liter (54.99 gallons at $5.416 a gallon). While we were there we found a place to park the RV and fix lunch.

We continued north on Hwy-104 to Amherst. We stopped at a Sobey's grocery store there to stock up on groceries before going on to Gateway Parklands Campground which is just 5 miles north of there. The distance from Adventures East Campground to Gateway Parklands Campground was 219 miles.

We arrived here at Gateway Parklands Campground a little after 4 p.m. Gateway Parklands is a Passport America campground, but the discount is good for a minimum and maximum of a 2 night stay and we're only staying tonight. The manager gave us a discount for paying in cash which came to $25 - the discount price for Passport America would have been $14 (cash) a night. If we hadn't already made reservations up the road in New Brunswick and Quebec, we could have stayed for 2 nights.

We are on site #W5, a pull-through, with full hook-ups (30 amp). We have good electric voltage, but the water pressure is low. Some of the sites have concrete pads, but we are on a grass site and it is fairly level. We have satellite TV reception finally.

June 26

We drove into Baddeck this morning to make our last trip to the library. We exchanged US currency into Canadian at the Royal Bank of Canada while we were in town.

We stopped to buy a few groceries at the Victoria Farmers Co-Op that we need for today and tomorrow.

Tomorrow we are leaving Baddeck and will be heading into Quebec. There is a lot to see on Cape Breton Island and we really should have allowed 2 weeks for our stay here. We'll have to save the eastern portion of Cape Breton and sites like the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site for another trip.

Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada

We visited the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site at the east end of Baddeck. The entrance fee for seniors was $6.55 each.

The museum is divided into several exhibit areas. The first one we saw was "Sound & Silence" which tells of his life from birth in Scotland in 1847 up to his arrival in Baddeck in 1885. Bell's mother was deaf and his father taught the deaf to speak. Mabel Hubbard Bell developed scarlet fever at the age of five and spread to her inner ears and she became totally deaf. We learned of Alexander Graham Bell's work teaching deaf people and saw photos of him with Helen Keller and Annie Sullivan.

From Alexander Graham Bell Museum

Our next stop was to the Mr. Bell theater where we watched an 18 minute showing films, photographs and artifacts to see the ideas that led Bell to create man-carrying kites, airplanes and a marine record-setting hydrofoil boat.

We then went into the "Water" exhibit which tells the story of Bell's and Casey Baldwin's experiments with hydrofoil craft. There we saw the remains of the successful HD-4 hydrofoil. There was also a full-size recreation of the hydrofoil. On September 9, 1919 his hydrofoil boat HD-4 (his fourth hydrofoil boat) set a world's marine speed record of 70.86 mph - the record stood for 10 years.

From Alexander Graham Bell Museum

Our next stop was at the "Air" exhibit told of Bell's work with man-carrying kites and airplanes. We saw some original parts from his "Silver Dart" airplane. On February 23, 1909 his "Silver Dart" made the first controlled, powered flight in Canada and the British Empire. It's engine was supplied by Glenn Curtiss. The "Silver Dart' crashed on its fifth flight and never flew again.

In the "Ideas" exhibit we saw the wide range of experiments and interest of Bell and his associates. Bell was fascinated with tetrahedral shapes and used them as the basis for his kites. He used the design for his beach cabana which was on the grounds of the museum.

From Alexander Graham Bell Museum

In the "Home" exhibit we learned the story of Bell's estate, Beinn Bhreagh; it means "beautiful mountain" in Scottish Gaelic. We saw photos of Bell and his family. We learned of their family life while living in Baddeck. The Bell home is still in possession of the Bell family and is maintained as a private residence. Alexander Graham Bell died August 2, 1922 at his home in Baddeck. Mabel Hubbard Bell was born November 25, 1857 (10 years younger than Bell) and died at home in Baddeck on January 3, 1923. They are both buried at Beinn Bhreagh.

From Alexander Graham Bell Museum

June 23

Today we went into Baddeck to the library to wifi. We caught up on our e-mails, did some online banking and researched some areas we'll be visiting.

In addition to the great view out the library's picture window, the Baddeck library also has some antique items on display in the reading room.

From Baddeck, NS

After returning to the RV I loaded up our laundry and drove up the hill to the laundromat. They have 4 washers - 3 washers that cost $2 (hot water) & 1 for $1.75 (cold water). The 4 dryers cost 75¢ for 20 minute cycles. It took 3-4 cycles to get our bath towels dry. The laundry was clean and all the machines did work. The laundry is housed in the same building as the showers and baths and they were also clean.

In the photo below you can see the building housing the laundry and showers in the background with the playground next to it.

From Baddeck, NS

The Cabot Trail

We were up early this morning and treated ourselves to breakfast at the Red Barn Restaurant  which is owned by Adventures East Campground and is only about 1 minute down Hwy-105 from the campground entrance. We practically had the restaurant to ourselves except for another couple having an early Sunday breakfast.

Before heading out on the Cabot Trail drive, we went back to the RV to pack a picnic lunch and pick up Tinker. The Cabot Trail is named after the explorer John Cabot who landed at Aspy Bay in 1497.

There are 2 different theories on the best way to drive the Cabot Trail. Some say to go north through Baddeck and drive around the island (counterclockwise) with the coast on the passenger side where you have a good view of the change in the landscape. Others say to start at the Red Barn Restaurant (which is at southern entrance) and travel around the island (clockwise) with the coast on the driver's side with a view of the changing coastline. We opted  to drive the Cabot Trail in the clockwise direction.

We drove inland to Margaree Forks and then followed the Margaree River to Margaree Harbour and crossed the bridge to Belle Côte. We followed the coast up to Cap Le Moine.

From The Cabot Trail

We drove through the scenic villages of Grand Étang, Chéticamp, and Petit Étang where we entered Cape Breton Highlands National Park.

From The Cabot Trail

From The Cabot Trail

We drove inland through the Highlands to the eastern coast and stopped for a picnic lunch at Black Brook Beach.

From The Cabot Trail

After lunch we continued south going through the villages of Ingonish, Ingonish Beach, Wreck Cove, St. Ann's Bay and back into Baddeck. This is truly a beautiful drive and the weather couldn't have been better for our drive. The total distance around the Cabot Trail was 289 kilometers, or 179 miles.

June 21

We drove into Baddeck today to go to the Baddeck Library to wifi. Baddeck is a picturesque village on Bras d'Or Lake. We stopped at the Baddeck Visitor Center to get brochures on the area.

Baddeck was home to Alexander Graham Bell for many years and The Cabot Trail, a scenic drive, which follows the coast around the northern part of Cape Breton Island. The Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada and The Cabot Trail are on our list of sites to see while we're here.

After stopping to shop at a couple of gift shops, we went on to the Baddeck Library. The view from the library's windows have to be the best we've seen to date.

From Baddeck, NS

After leaving the library we stopped at the Victoria Farmers Co-op for groceries. On the way back to the campground we stopped at an Ultramar gas station to fill the tank in the Vue. We bought 19.3 liters of gas for $1.466 a liter. After converting into U.S. figures it works out to 5.1 gallons for $5.549 a gallon - Ouch!

When we got back to the RV we found out we had some new neighbors next to us in a Dutch Star. After dinner we got together and build a campfire and swapped travel stories.

From Baddeck, NS

One subject was the border crossing into Canada. We told them that after answering the standard questions, we were on our way into Canada. It was a different story when they crossed the border. There were 2 new Canadian Customs Officers who wanted to practice searching a RV and they were the lucky couple!

After about 2-3 hours of emptying the compartments and cabinets and searching everywhere and putting everything back, they were on their way into Canada. They did say that the Customs Officers were very polite and had explained that the only reason they were being searched was for training and practice. I guess it's all in your timing when you cross the border - that is one reason we were up early the morning and crossed into New Brunswick so early. We wanted to allow extra time just in case we were searched.

Glen Margaret to Baddeck, Nova Scotia

We left Wayside RV Park this morning around 9:00 to go up to Cape Breton Island. We drove back up to Hwy-102 to Hwy-104 and took it east. We found a place to pull off the highway near Westville to fix lunch. We crossed the Strait of Canso on to Cape Breton Island where Hwy-104 changed to Hwy-105. We arrived here at Adventures East Campground in mid-afternoon - it was 236 miles from Glen Margaret to the campground here.

We're staying here at Adventures East Campground which is a Coast to Coast campground. We are on site #25 which is a back-in site. We have full hookups (30 amp), but no satellite TV reception. We've tried placing our portable satellite dish in several spots - still no reception. We'll be here for a week, so we can watch some of the movie DVDs we have. We usually buy the movies and then wait to watch them when we're in an area where we have no sat reception.

From Baddeck, NS

Maritime Museum of the Atlantic and Halifax Citadel

We left early this morning to drive into Halifax to visit the Maritime Museum and the Halifax Citadel. We took Hwy 333 south to Peggy’s Cove and continued on Hwy 333 as it wound around the different bays and coves before it turned inland and took us into the city of Halifax.
We found a place to park just off of Sackville Street. We stopped at a Visitor Center a couple of blocks away to get information on the Maritime Museum and the Citadel. We walked on down Sackville St. to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

From Halifax

At the Maritime Museum we paid for our senior tickets ($7.75 each) and started looking at the exhibits. On the first floor we saw the Small Craft Gallery, Model Ship builders, Navy Gallery, Convoy Gallery, Lifesaving Exhibit and the Halifax Explosion.

We entered a small theater and watched a slide presentation of the Halifax Explosion. On December 6, 1917 the French ship Mont-Blanc (loaded with 2,300 tons of wet and dry picric acid, 200 tons of TNT, 10 tons of gun cotton and 35 tons of benzol) was struck by the Norwegian vessel Imo and a fire broke out on the Mont-Blanc. Fearing an immediate explosion, the crew abandoned ship and the ship eventually drifted to the north end of Halifax where it exploded. Over 1600 homes were destroyed, 12,000 homes damaged and 6,000 people were left homeless. Over 1900 people died and over 4,000 people were injured. This was the largest man-made explosion before the atomic age.

We then went up to the second floor to see the Age of Steam, Shipwreck Treasures, Days of Sail and the Titanic exhibits. In the Titanic exhibit we saw pieces of carved panels, shoes of an unknown child, and the only intact deck chair.

From Halifax

We then walked back up the hill to where we had parked the car and drove up Sackville Street to the Halifax Citadel National Historic Site. The Halifax Citadel is part of the Halifax Defense Complex and consists of the Citadel, York Redoubt, Prince of Wales Tower, Georges Island and Fort McNab that the British built in the 18th and 19th centuries. The current Citadel, completed in 1856, is the 4th fort built on the hill since 1749.

From Halifax

We paid $3.25 to park at the Citadel and $10.50 each for senior tickets to enter the fort. Since it was lunch time, we located the Coffee Shop inside the Cavalier Building where we bought a couple of sandwiches. We found an empty table and had a very good lunch. Then we started on our tour of the Citadel.

Out on the parade grounds some of the 78th Highlanders were practicing marching in formation. We saw the soldiers’ barracks, guard room, Citadels exhibit, and Army museum before walking around the upper walls.

From Halifax

From the upper walls we had a terrific view of Halifax and Halifax harbor. While we were on the upper walls a fog started moving in from the Atlantic Ocean toward Halifax.

From Halifax

We had a great time visiting this fort and learning about the history of Halifax. The photo below is one of our favorites and we just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

From Halifax

Peggy's Cove Drive

Today we drove south on Hwy-333, also known as the Lighthouse Route, to Peggy's Cove. The Lighthouse Route follows the scenic shoreline along St. Margaret's Bay. This is a rugged and barren coastline made up of large granite boulders.


About a mile north of Peggy's Cove we saw a sign for the Swissair Flight 111 Memorial. We pulled into the parking lot and took the path out to the memorial.

From Nova Scotia

Swissair Flight 111 departed JFK Airport in New York City enroute to Geneva, Switzerland on September 2, 1998 with 215 passengers, 2 pilots and 12 flight attendants. Swissair Flight 111 was known as the "U.N. shuttle" because of its popularity with U.N. officials. About 2 hours after takeoff, the crew first noticed an odor in the cockpit and eventually started seeing smoke. The pilot reported an urgent problem and was routed to Halifax airport. About 14 minutes later the pilot reported an emergency and 7 minutes after that Flight 111 crashed into the ocean. This is one of two memorials for Flight 111 - the other one is across St. Margaret's Bay at Bayswater.


After visiting the memorial we continued on into Peggy's Cove. Peggy's Cove was founded in 1811 when a land grant was issued to six families of German descent. There are several theories regarding the origin of the name for Peggy's Cove. Some say it's named after St. Margaret's Bay (Peggy being a nickname for Margaret). Some people say Peggy was an early settler and others say Peggy was a young shipwreck survivor with no memory of her earlier life and was given the name Peggy by the family who took her in.

From Nova Scotia

Peggy's Point Lighthouse is one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world. The original lighthouse was erected in 1868 to mark the point of land, not the cove. The current lighthouse dates to 1915. In 1969 the lantern was painted red and in 1990 an electric lantern was installed. It is still an active lighthouse and has a small Canada Post office in the lower lever. During the summer months it is the village post office where visitors can send postcard and letters. Each piece of mail is stamped with a special cancellation mark in the shape of the lighthouse.

From Nova Scotia