Category Archives: Northeast 2016

The Boothbay Harbor Region is located in the most picturesque part of coastal Maine, with deep coves and small villages dotting the area.  Fishing is still the main industry and cute seafood restaurants seem to be in every small harbor.  Artists have now discovered the area and so along with the good food there are hundreds of various types of galleries to visit.  The 9 days that we spent there gave us a good idea of the region but there was still lots of unexplored territory and beautiful galleries to visit.   Continue reading →

The view from Beech Mt

We spent a week on Mt Desert Island enjoying the trails, carriage roads and scenic drives that wind along the shore and in and out of Acadia NP, which is the heart of the island.  We chose to stay in a campground on the ‘quiet side’ of the island – Southwest Harbor, away from the crowds of Bar Harbor, especially since we were there during the Labor Day long week-end.   To our delight most of the crowds left after the week-end and we enjoyed the beauty of the area without having to fight for a place to park.     Continue reading →

We left the wild rocky shores of Nova Scotia behind and discovered the bucolic beauty of red soil, endless green potato fields and the red sandstone cliffs and beaches of PEI. So incredibly different from anything we had seen in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.

We spent 2 wonderful weeks on PEI, the first 6 days at the best campground in PEI – the backyard of our friends Walt and Lorraine.  They took us around their part of the island, we met family, Walt helped Leonard put a new starter in the Jeep (it crapped out as we were hooking up to get on the ferry-how lucky is that) and Lorraine gave me one on one painting lessons.  I learned from a master who has her own gallery and took home one of my creations.  We laughed and joked, ate local seafood and learned a lot about PEI and Newfoundland where Walt is from.  We had to force ourselves to leave and go to another part of the island for the rest of the stay, but only after agreeing that we would meet again somewhere during the week.   Continue reading →

The fiddles were playing and the chowder was hot and delicious all over the small towns of Cape Breton Island.  Unfortunately the WiFi and our cell service was very sporadic, hence the lack of blog updates.  So we spent about 2 weeks just enjoying the people and some of what this beautiful island had to offer.   The island, which is on the far eastern part of Nova Scotia, has a shared very strong Celtic and Acadian influence.   One can stay in an Acadian village where French is the first language and travel just down the road to be greeted with signs in English and Gaelic.   Continue reading →

Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse

When we first decided to make a journey to Nova Scotia and began talking with people who had already traveled there, everybody mentioned two places we must see, Peggy’s Cove and the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island.    As can be seen from all my earlier photos we have already seen a lot of lighthouses and thought this would be similar.   It is located in a particularly barren rocky environment and the winds are so fierce that the trees are stunted and scraggly, similar to the tundra.   We rounded a curve and there was the lighthouse atop a huge granite outcrop with waves crashing onto the rocks.  The colors were really amazing. Continue reading →

Lunenburg, NS

Picturesque Lunenburg, which has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site,  lies nestled  on the southern shore of Nova Scotia.  Begun in 1752 it is the best example of a planned British colonial settlement in Canada.  Originally settled by farmers who could not farm this rocky terrain they learned fishing and became excellent shipbuilders and over the years the town prospered.   This is reflected in the fine architecture that has been completely preserved in the historic center of the town,  albeit it is certainly much more colorful now than it had been originally.   Crayola colors have been applied to some of the houses that give the town a jewel like appearance.   Continue reading →

Beautiful architecture in the historic old town of Annapolis Royal

Our travels took us around the Bay of Fundy from the New Brunswick side to the Nova Scotia side and to a beautiful campground overlooking the water just outside the historic town of Annapolis Royal.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time in this beautiful little town that has so much to offer, gorgeous Victorian houses which we now realize are everywhere in the Maritimes, fabulous seafood chowder and world-famous scallops for which the region is famous.   The wild roses are in bloom everywhere and their scent fills the air,  fog banks roll in unpredictably even during the middle of the day only to disappear a few hours later.  We attended the largest outdoor farmer’s market in Nova Scotia, went to a botanical garden and even saw a tidal energy plant.   Continue reading →

Hopewell Rocks at high tide

We’re deep into Bay of Fundy territory and the tides here are dramatic and measured not just vertically with distances of up to 50 feet but also horizontally where the tides can go out up to 3 miles in some cases. These tides rule! The fishing boats are high and dry when the tide is out and they scurry out when the tide comes in and there is enough water to set them free. If you’re caught unprepared you may have to wait until the next tide change to get where you want to go. Continue reading →

Picking your way through seaweed encrusted rocks to Head Harbour Lightstation built in 1829

Campobello Island, NB is accessed via mainland Maine and after crossing over a small bridge you encounter Canadian border control and suddenly you are in New Brunswick. There was no line when we went through, we were asked a couple of questions and before we knew it we were on our way and even had a dog biscuit for Laia. If only all border crossings could be this easy.  Our exit turned out to be just as easy with an even bigger dog biscuit from the American border agent.

We knew the weather was supposed to turn bad so we decided to go and visit a nearby lighthouse during sunset. Little did we know it is situated on a rocky outcrop that is only accessible during low tide and even viewing it involves climbing down several sets of seaweed coated ladders and walking across seaweed encrusted boulders on the ocean floor. It turned out to be our lucky day because it was low tide when we got there and off we went, Laia in tow, not knowing what to expect. Laia had to be carried on the ladders because her paws were too small for the large grates and we picked our way across slippery rocks until finally we could see the lighthouse in the evening light.  We were thrilled with the experience and felt very fortunate that we had been able to accomplish it on the first try. A couple we spoke to the next day had tried 3 times to get out to see it but had been denied by bad weather or the tides. Continue reading →

Bayley’s Camping Resort

After spending a couple of days in the Adirondacks we made our way over to coastal Maine and the place we would call home for the next week.  We didn’t want to be on the road during the busy July 4th/Canada Day long week-end so the only reservations we made prior to leaving home were for a week at Bayley’s Camping Resort just south of Portland, ME.  It’s an amazing park with everything you could ever want, 4 pools, 6 hot tubs, shuttles to the nearby beach, mini-golf, tennis, etc, plus nice roomy sites.   Continue reading →

Shore Forest Campground in Hop Bottom, PA

Five days of traveling and we’ve made very good time.  The route north on I-81 is an easy drive bypassing all the big cities of the NE.  It took us right through Chambersburg, PA where an old childhood friend of Leonard’s now lives.  We were able to meet up the Wayne and Theresa for breakfast and they took turns riding north with us in the RV  and now have the RV bug bad.  We’re eagerly awaiting the day they do get one so we can travel together.   We are now in the general vicinity of our destination and have decided to take a small detour and a break and explore the Adirondacks for a couple of days. Continue reading →

Gosh, we’re heading north just in time because the heat has hit the southeast hard.  The temps as we roll along are reading consistently 95 -98 degrees and we’re desperate to get into cooler temperatures.  So we headed up into the Blue Ridge Mountains and crossed over into VA where we discovered a gem of an RV park on the Blue Ridge Parkway called Fancy Gap Cabins and Campground.  What a beautiful place, recently purchased by a couple from Pennsylvania who have worked tirelessly to bring the place to it’s current gorgeous condition. Continue reading →

It’s been almost a year since our last big trip and we’re frothing at the bit to hit the road again.  We sold our beloved ‘Trixie’ the intrepid Born Free who went where few RV’s have gone before.  She was showing her age and we worried about her, so with mixed emotions we sold her and acquired an Allegro Open Road that at 32 ft is only 6 ft longer than Trixie but with slides and basement storage, she seems huge.  Her name is ‘Bella’ and I’m sure there will be many pictures of her in the blog. Continue reading →