On Monday morning, May 1 we drove north to central NJ to visit Shelley's sister Cathy, and her family.  We parked in the street ( a large cul-de-sac).  Shelley's sister, Cindy, and her mom came down to visit.  We drove to a nearby 15 acre farm where Shelley's folks, as well as her sister Cathy and her family will be moving during the next few months. It was really neat, with a barn and arena for the horses, but it just seems like so much work to maintain.  On Tuesday, our nephew Adam starred in a school play that was a spoof of Aida.  We all go a big kick out of being there.  We then drove up to Shelley's folks in New Brunswick NJ where we parked in the street. Its always fun spending time with family, as we socialized with Shelley's folks as well as her sister and family. [Cream Ridge, NJ - Steve and Cathy Fleischacker - 40.08 N / 74.32 W] and [Edison NJ - Ina and Alan Stull - 41.70 N / 74.26 W ]

Wednesday, May 3rd, we drove to CT.  We parked the motorhome at the Cummins facility in Rocky Hill where the engine and generator were both due for an oil change.  We put our stuff in the car in the pouring cold damp rain and drove to West Hartford, where our friends Wally and Ingrid live.  We'll be staying at their home for the next 2 1/2 weeks, so we'll pick up this story on May 22 when we plan to leave for our trip to the Canadian maritime provinces. [Rocky Hill, CT - Cummins Engine - 41.39 N / 72.41 W ]

On Monday, May 22, as scheduled, we packed the motorhome in the parking lot of Cummins Engine ready to begin our trip to Nova Scotia.  But we had a little excitement before we could leave, as the motorhome wouldn't start.  After a jump start from the Cummins staff, we were on our way.  We took a short drive up to Belmont, NH where we parked the motorhome on the front lawn of our friends, Joanie and Earl Bell.  With full electric, water and sewer hookups, we were quite comfortable.  We spent the next day and a half there, enjoying their wonderful hospitality.  They have a terrific cozy home on a cove of Lake Winnisquam.  Joanie and Earl have decorated the cottage with tons of funky items that were really interesting.  These included old skis and skates, old tins of tobacco, and books of S&H green stamps as well as models of various RVs.  It was really fun just wandering around and checking out the stuff.  They also have 2 huge dogs, Bouviers, called Rufus and Maggie.  Rufus was a full 100 pounds, and Maggie was 20 pounds lighter.  It was funny to watch Rags (all of 16 pounds) trying to socialize with these big animals.  We drove around the beautiful lake country and really enjoyed the sights there.  Joanie made some awesome meals, being the Jewish Mother that she is....and we enjoyed every mouthful. The area is beautiful, with lakes and mountains from every direction.  [Belmont NH - Earl & Joanie Bell - 43.30 N / 71.30 W ] 

On May 24, we left Joanie and Earl and headed northeast.  It took us almost 2 hours to reach I-95 as we drove through some beautiful Maine countryside.  As we drove along, there were many signs warning us to watch out for moose, however we didn't see any wildlife.  We made it all the way to Houlton (right at the Canadian border) that day, and we spent the night at a local Wal-mart. (our favorite campground!!)  This spot has dual significance.  We are now more then half way from the equator to the north pole, and we are currently the furthest east we have ever been. [Houlton, Maine - Wal-Mart - 46.09 N / 67.51 W]

On Thursday we drove across New Brunswick, Canada, driving almost due east.  For Shelley, being in New Brunswick, Canada was something she thought about every since she was a little girl....as she was born in New Brunswick, NJ.  When we crossed into New Brunswick, we changed to Atlantic time, one hour earlier then Eastern time. We had to get straightened out with kilometers vs. miles and Canadian currency.  We were amazed at how desolate the land was....there was virtually no traffic and only sporadic  signs of civilization.  Eventually we arrived at the city of Moncton, NB, population of about 60,000 with a metropolitan area of about twice that size.  After getting settled in our campground, we drove about 30 miles to the Hopewell Rocks.  The incredible tide, in some places about 50 feet, has created these by continuously eroding the bottom of these formations.  They are about 50 feet high, and the archway is about 15 feet high.  The area around the bottom of the Flower Pot Rocks is dry at low tide and under about 15 feet of water at high tide.  We decided to explore Moncton on Friday, so we'll delay our arrival in Nova Scotia.  [Moncton, New Brunswick - Stonehurst Campground - 46.08 N / 64.56 E ] 

The Chocolate River	View from above of the Flower Pots	Flower Pots at high tide

We got up early (at least early for us) on Friday and drove to downtown Moncton to view the tidal bore, scheduled for 10:13.  We guessed at where the right place is and parked our car and walked over to a river.  When we arrived, the river was flowing from right to left.  Just as 10:13 approached, we saw a small wave (it seemed as if it was maybe 6-9 inches high) approaching slowly from the west.  This was the incoming tide that was rushing up the river and overpowering the normal flow of the river to the sea.  When we arrived, the river occupied only a small portion of the riverbed, but once the tidal bore passed we saw the water level raising at a rapid rate.  It was not a dramatic visual sight, but it was so unusual that it was surely a worth while sight to see.  After that, we did some banking, Norm got a haircut, and we stopped at a local Starbucks where we tried without success to get on the Internet so we could get our e-mails.  We found our way to the Dieppe Public Library, hoping there would be a computer for us to use....unfortunately we got there just at noon as they closed for lunch.  (First time I ever heard of a library closing for lunch.  The librarian told us, in a very heavy French accent, "Librarians have to eat, you know....)  Anyway, we went back at 2 p.m. and got to use their internet connection.  The strange thing was that the apostrophe and the question mark keys were revised to type in the French accents...made typing very difficult!)  In the evening we went to the movies to see RV, a movie about RVing starring Robin Williams.  IT WAS TERRIBLE, even for RVers.

Here comes the Tidal Bore....	it's almost here!

On Saturday morning, May 27, we drove to Nova Scotia, passing by Halifax and driving to a campground right near Peggy's Cove.  For the first time since we began living on our RV, we pulled into our spot forward.  The water/sewer/electric hookups were set this way so that we could look out the front of our motorhome on a cove of the ocean.  After we got things organized, we drove toward Peggy's Cove.  Eight years ago a Swissair flight crashed just offshore, killing all 229 passengers.  Norm's cousin Nancy was aboard that flight on her way to France.  We stopped at a memorial park dedicated to both the passengers of the plane and also those who helped in the rescue and recovery efforts.  The park was really simple, with a small formal area and the rest just a pathway meandering among the rocky coastal area.  We then continued to the small village of Peggy's Cove, one of the most photographed villages in Canada.  The town has a population of about 40, with most of the men working on fishing boats.  The town was built on bedrock and a local women told us that (a) 2 corners of her house were built right on the bedrock and there was no question that it would be stable forever and (b) there were so many rocks [maybe we should call them boulders] in the ground that she ordered topsoil to build her small garden on raised beds.  Interestingly enough, she told us that there is usually not much snow there because of the moderating temperatures of the ocean.  [Glen Margaret, NS - Wayside RV Park - 44.35 N / 63.55 W].

View from the coach	Center of the Swissair Memorial	View from the side	Another part of the Memorial	View of the cove from the Memorial	Fishermen's Memorial at Peggy's Cove
View of the village of Peggy's Cove	Another View	Peggy's Cove	Boats in the cove	View of Peggy's Cove Lighthouse from the Swissair Memorial	Peggy's Cove Lighthouse

Sunday morning found us heading east towards Halifax.  Norm had been there about 35 years ago but he didn't recognize a lot of the city.  We parked downtown and then attempted to follow a walking tour that was detailed in one of the travel books.  We were successful for a while, but we made a wrong turn somewhere, so we gave up and walked down to the seaport area (which is really where we wanted to be anyhow!)  There were people hawking boat tours everywhere, including a ride on the Theodore Too, a tugboat gaily painted.  We decided not to take them up on their efforts to get tourists to go aboard because it was really chilly and windy.  The wind coming off the river was really brisk and there was a low fog, similar to what we often met up with while sailing to Block Island.  After lunch, Norm decided to go to the Maritime Museum while Shelley wandered around the seaport in search of a cup of coffee!  In addition to miscellaneous exhibits concerning sailing and other nautical matters, there was lots of information about the Halifax explosion.  In December of 1917, during World War I, two boats collided in Halifax Harbor.  One, carrying ammunition, exploded minutes afterward.  The explosion was the largest man made explosion prior to the A-bomb at Hiroshima and most of downtown Halifax was wiped out.  Fatalities were greater then those caused by the Chicago fire and the San Francisco earthquake combined.  There was also information about Halifax Harbor, the 2nd largest natural harbor in the world after Sydney Australia.  We had trouble getting going on Monday, but we again drove into Halifax.  We first visited the Citadel.  The first fort there was built in 1749 when the city was established and the fourth (and last) was completed in 1856.  It was intended to deter an overland assault on the city in the event of war with the U.S.  Instead of a moat filled with water, the fort was surrounded by a deep ditch, with walls and firing positions on both sides.  The ditch was obviously intended to slow down an enemy attack, since enemy could be fired upon from many angles while they tried to get out of the ditch. Apparently, ditches like these gave rise to the term "last ditch effort."  The fort is intended to replicate how it might have looked in 1869-71, with bagpipers and artillerymen there.  At noon, they shot off a huge artillery piece.  We then drove to Pier 21, where many of Canada's immigrants passed through.  Its a smaller version of Ellis Island (in NY harbor).  Most of the immigrants came through from 1929 until the late 1960s.  Most of the immigrants were either (a) war brides, (b) wartime evacuees, (c) displaced British children because of the war, (d) and refugees.  Possibly because of the financial support of the Bronfman family, special note was made of the Jewish refugees who came through Pier 21.   

Theodore Too	The Royal Guard Bagpipers at the Citadel	Drummer from the Royal Guard	Third Artillery shooting off the canyon at noon	Halifax Municipal Clock	Pier 21 Immigration Desk

On Tuesday we moved just a few miles west to the small seaport village of Lunenburg.  Our friends, Wally and Ingrid, had been to Lunenburg last year, and they said we HAD to visit there.  The trip was a short one, only about an hour and a half, but the fun began after we arrived.  First, we pulled into the campground and there was absolutely nobody else there!  Overwhelmed with this situation, it took us about 20 minutes to decide which campsite to choose...and after that agonizing decision, we choose a site in which it took us over 30 minutes to level the coach.  For the 2nd time in as many campsite, we again pulled in forward.  The view we had was incredible - looking over an inlet of the ocean with woods, meadows and houses.  In mid-afternoon we took a ride to a place recommended by the Visitor's Bureau as a perfect spot to take pictures of the town's waterfront.  After giving the camera a workout, we stopped at St. John's Anglican Church.  Work on the church began in 1754 and the original building was completed in 1763.  Additions were made from time to time and finally, near the end of the 20th century, the church was designated as a Provincial Heritage Property.  Halloween, 2001 the church caught fire and burned almost to the ground, and it was rebuilt during the following 4 years with only minimal changes from the original.  The cost for rebuilding was 6.7 million dollars and the congregation put up $400,000 - the rest came from insurance, the Provincial and Federal Canadian government and private donations.  Its amazing that a small congregation in this small village could afford this beautiful building.  The building is considered to be in the "Carpenter Gothic" style, with the interior almost all wood, giving the church a very unusual and very warm character.  [Lunenburg Board of Trade Campground - Lunenburg, N.S. - 44.23 N / 64.18 W]    

View from our coach	Lunenberg Harbor	Another view	Another view	St. John's Angelican Church	Interior of St. John's Angelican Church