Travel update

July 25 - After Ottawa we enjoyed our camp ground at Quebec City.  Definitely worth knowing about if you plan to camp close to Quebec City at any time.  Clean new bathroom and laundry facilitities, snack bar, swimming pool with lifeguards, water front.  All for 28 dollars a night.  The sites are wooded.  Free bus ride to downtown Quebec.

We enjoyed seeing the sites in Quebec City, did A LOT of walking, including some walking in the rain at the end of the day.  Maple syrup pie anyone?

Finding relief in Quebec City (National Assembly in background)

We arrived with great relief at our first destination in the Maritimes on July 18;  a resort in St. Andrews by-the-sea.  We were all ready for a little rest and relaxation and found a beautiful spot on the Bay of Fundy in which to do just that.  Lots of time by the pool, reading, and a bit of golf.  Sleeping in some real beds (and Fairmont beds at that) was another relief we enjoyed.  Not that our Thermarests are uncomfortable, but this was sure better!

Fun in the Sun at the Fairmont Algonquin, St Andrews NB 

After three nights at a resort, we went back to our tent.  This time we spent one night near Hopewell Rocks, NB and had our first major rain-camping experience.  It rained most of the night and in the morning we had to take down our camp in a pouring rain.  I remember rains like this from Manitoba, but in Alberta we don’t get these rains – steady, pouring rain, soaking everything and everyone who might be trying to take down a tent!  Thankfully our next day and night in Halifax was sunny, breezy and dry so that all our gear was quickly dried out.  We continued our tour of provincial parliament buildings and found Nova Scotia’s to be the most unique to this point – smaller, more intimate, less security (“random” in Luke’s words).  We enjoyed that.

Playing in the Bay of Fundy

Then it was off to catch a ferry for Newfoundland, with enough time to see a large chunk of the Cabot Trail in the Cape Breton Highlands.  Perhaps we are becoming jaded by all of our travels and experiences, but we were uniformly disappointed by this.  Again, perhaps we are spoiled  or were too tired…

We arrived in Newfoundland last night.  The 16 hour ferry ride it self was uneventful (although it is amazing how little rocking motion on a boat can turn a prairie family green).  The ferry was originally scheduled to leave port in North Sydney, Nova Scotia at 1:30 am but was by this time delayed until at least 3:45 am.  This works out okay if these are day time hours but become a challenge when it is the middle of the night.  So using John’s iPhone we found the nearest movie theatre, and went to see Toy Story 3 in 3D, then drove back to sit in the ferry line up for a few hours.  The kids and I slept in the car as we waited.   By 3:45 we were able to climb into our bunks on the ferry to sleep. 

Today we spent our first day exploring St. John’s and surrounding area and wow, this place really is amazing.  I’m sure we’ll have more comments about it in a few days but for now we are thrilled to be here.  We’re staying with some friends just north of St. John’s, literally looking right onto the ocean from their front yard.  Cheers.