On Our Way

Well at long last, after more than a year of planning and preparation and 2 extra days' delay, we finally hit the road on May 26.  What a relief it was to finally put all that behind us and get going!  We didn't take everything that we wanted to, such as our winter tires, and probably took a bunch of stuff that we didn't need, but over the next year, we will cull things further until we only have what we truly need.

Our first stop was a pleasant visit with relatives in Grafton, Ont., which is a bit east of Cobourg. Then we headed for our first destination, the 100 Islands Campground in Lansdowne, Ontario, which is midway between Gananoque and the 1000 Islands bridge to the U.S.

The next day, we visited Rockport, a beautiful town right on the St. Lawrence River where busloads of tourists were embarking on river cruises. A bus load of people from India were very intrigued with Pippin and many asked if they could take a photo of the dog. So now Pippin is a star!

  

Pippin in the van

Pippin: a curiosity

After crossing into Quebec, we were mindful of a friend's advice to avoid the part of the Trans-Canada highway that goes through Montreal and take the toll highway that bypasses it.  But our GPS seemed to be taking us into downtown Montreal.  It was only when we were crawling along on a highway similar to the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto did we realize that the GPS had been set to "Avoid Tolls".  By the time we corrected this, the toll road was no longer an option for us.  But we finally made it out of Montreal and ended up in Levis, Quebec, which is just across the river from Quebec City.

This was a relatively luxurious campground with huge trailers and motorhomes, many of which would have cost several hundred thousand dollars to purchase.  The campground even offered a daily shuttle service for people to get to and from Quebec City.

The next day, we crossed into New Brunswick.  Their controlled-access highways have a 110 km/h speed limit - something that Ontario needs too.  We stayed near Oromocto, N.B., which is a bit east of Fredericton.

On Sunday, May 29, we crossed into Nova Scotia.  We saw 3 deer along the highway and a tractor-trailer on its side.  Was the driver trying to avoid hitting a moose or deer?  Both New Brunswick and Nova Scotia have extensive moose fencing along the highways.  We reached North Sydney, from where the ferry to Newfoundland departs and camped at a KOA campground which had been constructed out of an old quarry.  There were signs warning of falling rock from the old hill face. Red flags were going up in my mind. A person trained in risk management is now sleeping beside a wall of rock and earth that has a warning sign notifying you of the danger. Well, we lived to see another day.

Warning sign

Wall of rock and earth right beside camp ground

The next day began with a steady rain.  We joined the lineup of cars and trucks at the ferry terminal 2 hours before the scheduled departure time and it seemed impossible that they could load all of these vehicles before then.  But in the last 30 minutes, all of a sudden the line began to move.  Everyone got on and the ferry departed on time.

Driving onto the ferry

Through the rain looking at the back of ferry

Driving out of the ferry 6-7 hours later...

...into the rain

The ferry was more like a small cruise ship with comfortable lounges and a decent cafeteria.  No wifi on board though.  A crew member said there had been so many complaints about the wifi service that they discontinued it for passengers.  Despite the wind, continuous rain and choppy sea, the trip was smooth and the ferry arrived in Port aux Basques on schedule, about 6 or 7 hours after we departed. We had already planned to stay at a nearby campground, which meant setting up the trailer in the rain. Fortunately, it sets up quickly, so we didn't get too wet.

Bev in the rain directly Al into camp spot

In the rain, Al is putting up the camper