Coming Out of Hibernation

      Atlantic and Pacific (A&P), our travelling mascots, spent the winter tucked away under the middle console of our van. They were safe there. Now that winter is behind us, it is time for them to come out of hibernation and start back on the road travelling. We had spent the winter in Ontario so now we had to get back to our route in the Maritimes. Next stop on our journey is Nova Scotia.

A & P coming out of their winter cave ready for our
journey to Nova Scotia

Year 3 -- We will be spending a year in Nova Scotia

     Last fall we traded in our A-frame pop up trailer for a larger model that has a bathroom. Such luxury!

Here is the one we traded in. It was unique and always a conversation starter.
It was small and cozy. Sometimes too cozy especially when travelling with all
our stuff from province to province.

Here is our new trailer. Larger with more storage space and more importantly,
a toilet. It also has an retractable awning that we can sit under during sunny days.

     On May 23, 2018, we left Guelph and headed east. We took our time travelling to Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia where we have rented one side of a triplex (2 units attached at one wall with an apartment in the basement which goes across both units). The first day was trying. We spent 2 hours sitting on the 401. There was an accident and no one behind it was going to be moving for a while. Interestingly, we talked to fellow travellers. A car load of people asked about the trailer and where we were headed. We had a nice conversation. They were headed to Ottawa for a wedding which they knew they would not get there on time.

     Our first stop was Marmora where we were staying for two nights. We got to try out all the parts of the new trailer. The only bad thing was the black flies. My neck and hairline was bitten quite a lot.

Trailer parked at the KOA in Marmora

A & P got to stretch their legs and had a great view of the park while sitting on a rock

     While in Marmora we went to see the Mighty Marmoraton Mine. Magnetite ore was discovered in 1948 and by 1955, production was in full swing, 325 men were employed and in 1978, due to a variety of factors, it was closed. Today it is a lake but you can see the sheer cliffs of the pit. Very impressive body of water.

Caged in lookout to the Lake

     Continuing east, we stayed one night in Quebec and then on to Prince Edward Island. While in New Brunswick, we saw the aftermath of the terrible flooding they experienced in the spring. We stopped at a restaurant for lunch and because it was a lovely day, we sat outside on their patio to enjoy the sun. We kept hearing the pecking of a woodpecker but there were no trees nearby. Looking up, we saw a woodpecker pecking at a telephone/electrical pole. Well, he was not going to find much there but he was determined and was there for quite a while.

Silly bird!

     In PEI we stayed with our friend Sharon, whom we met last year, who lives just outside of Montague. Sharon was a lovely hostess and we had a great time. We visited many of our friends. Al  played tennis in Charlottetown with Toni and Paul, neighbours from down the road and whom we visited in Naples, Florida last winter.

     One day, we went for a walk with Sharon and one of her neighbours down a laneway to the house of her next door neighbour. It was a lovely walk through the fields and forest. Along the way, I saw an unusual tree that hung over a small stream. I thought that Al and I should walk out onto the trunk that hung over the stream and have our picture taken. We walked past the rustic house and all the way to the "back 40s". On the way back we stopped at the tree and Al climbed up first. I did not realize how difficult it was to walk out onto the horizontal trunk but I made it and we had our photo taken. Now, how do you get back onto solid ground? Al just jumped across to the other side of the stream. I was not willing to do that so I slowly turned around and started making my way back. Now you should know that I am not fond of heights and although this was not too high, it was a struggle. Al and Sharon were close by for moral support but that did not help. Making a run for it I turned the wrong way and to Al's delight, I fell in the stream. I only got wet up to my knees. We all had a great laugh! It was an experience I will always remember.

Walking down the lane. This is before the mishap

Old farm implements

Dinner time. Bell outside of house

The "back 40s". End of the property

      While in PEI, we went to the town and harbour of North Lake. Since seeing the documentary "Bluefin" in Guelph, we wanted to see the harbour for ourselves. It was a very busy place. We sat on the beach and had lunch while watching the boats go in and out of the harbour.

Entrance to the Harbour behind the rocks.

All of a sudden all these boats raced into the harbour.
Was it lunch time or was there a customer at the docks?

The harbour

     We had a wonderful time in PEI and we were so grateful for the hospitality shown to us throughout our 4-day visit. On June 1st, we caught the ferry over to Nova Scotia and arrived in Lower Sackville by dinner time.

     Here are some photos of our rental.

We have use of our driveway on the left and we can store our trailer on
the right driveway since the tenant on that side does not have a car.

Our side of the house

This is the shared backyard. The building on the left is a guest cottage.
In the back, just past the trees is the Little Sackville river, really a stream, but farther
 down,  it joins the Sackville River and empties into the Bedford Basin, which is the 
end of the bay that serves Halifax and Dartmouth.

      Well, we are here for a year and there is so much to explore!