The Remaining Maritimes

8/09/2018 It was a long 310 mile, 6 hour drive from the Walmart in Cookville, NS to Sydney, NS on Cape Breton Island. I had been recommended to Cape Breton Island by several of Nova Scotia’s citizens. I arrived then made camp at the Mira River Provincial Park which is about 10 miles southeast of Sydney, NS and is halfway between that and the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site; one of Canada’s foremost historic sites that I will venture to tomorrow. 

8/10/2018 I drove the 16 miles to Louisbourg, NS with my objective to review the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site. Originally designated a National Historic Site in 1920 about 25% of the ruins have been reconstructed beginning in the 1960’s and are still a work in progress.

The Fort is a very good replica of the former installation albeit using modern tools for its reconstruction as opposed to others I have visited such as the Port-Royal National Historic Site. While on my exploration of this very impressive site the Cannon Brigade presented their visitors a two cannon salute. Of note, this reconstruction is the largest of any historical site in North America. I finished my day in Sydney, NS downing an ale at the Governor’s Pub & Eatery that is located across the street from and with a nice view of the Sydney harbor.

8/11/2018 A slow bright day so I decided to drive back into Sydney for its review. I started my Sydney visit by parking at the Port of Sydney to inspect the very prominent World's Largest Fiddle at the cruise ship terminal. I then walked down the waterfront walkway where, in a waterside restaurant, I listened as a group of folk musicians performed. I then walked up from the harbor to the Esplanade for the street fair that was occurring. The Esplanade is one street up from the harbor and is the main downtown street that was closed to traffic for the day. I then walked over to the Casino Nova Scotia which was smaller than most casinos but still capable of removing me of some of my money. The casino is located on George Street, a main thoroughfare, on which a “Hot August Nights” had a large nostalgic attendance with a good assortment of vintage automobiles. I then walked back over to the Esplanade to the El Jefe Mexican Food restaurant that I thought I would sample. Enthused by the sign inside stating, ” Mexican food so authentic Donald Trump would build a wall around it” I had to taste this notorious Nova Scotia Mexican food. Before I ordered from my waiter I mentioned that Donald Trump sent me then ordered the carnitas tacos. Well, our President does not need to build a wall anywhere in Sydney, NS as this is a poor excuse for Mexican food. I quickly returned to camp and brushed my teeth. 

8/12/2018 The trouble I had this morning lasted all day and it did not have anything to do with tacos. As usual I started out slow tidying up for my relocation to the Prince Edward Island or PEI. Ready to go, I had trouble with the slide-out sliding in. Checking the slide-out controller it was blinking an error that indicated I did not have sufficient voltage to operate the mechanism. So, I began troubleshooting and found a battery post was corroded so I cleaned and tightened it. Finally, all but four inches retracted, which was enough to slowly depart the campsite. On the way out of the campground, I replenished my fresh water then proceeded to and utilized the dump station. After several hours of being parked just outside the park entrance, I, along with help from the gracious campground Hosts, Edmund and Florence, was able to fully retract the slide out. Finally on my way, and jonesing for a taco, I stopped at one of very few Taco Bells in Nova Scotia for a taco facsimile. From Sydney it was over 190 miles to my next campsite at the Caribou Munroes Provincial Park near New Glasgow, NS, and after being misguided again by Sirius, required over five hours of driving on all quantities of highway surfaces. I will finish this day’s entry by disclosing that I slept with the slide-out slid in. 

8/13/2018 Most of my day was spent working on my trailer trying to get my slide-out working. I started by driving to the Canadian Tire Store in New Glasgow. Canadian Tire Stores are department stores that, of course sells tires, but also have sporting goods, paint, home products, hardware, clothing, etc., very similar to Sears. After securing what I desired, I drove around New Glasgow that with a population of 9,075 seems much larger when considering the amount of commercial businesses and the volume of traffic. After lunch in New Glasgow, I returned to the trailer to troubleshoot then perform the repairs necessary to get the slide-out functioning properly which alas I eventually accomplished. After my repair actions were accomplished, I drove over to Pictou, NS to review a village that is known as "The Birthplace of New Scotland" in Nova Scotia which means "New Scotland" in Latin. Let me digress by stating that the road signs in Cape Breton and this area are bilingual, the languages being English and, no, not French but, Gaelic. Pictou is a small, quiet seaside town with several tourist oriented stores and restaurants. I strolled through Pictou’s few streets stopping for ale in two pubs the last of which I included dinner. I returned to my campsite at the Caribou Munroes Provincial Park to ready myself and the mobile residence for my departure from Nova Scotia in the morning.

8/14/2018 Breaking camp this morning was finally uneventful, so I soon began the drive to my new site at the Cabot Beach Provincial Park located on Prince Edward Island (PEI). As I crossed the boundary into New Brunswick, I sadly thought farewell to Nova Scotia while fondly recalling all of the places and people that I encountered within that astonishing Canadian Province. My moment of melancholy was short lived replaced with the excitement of the possibilities that lay before me on PEI. As I crossed over the 8 mile long Confederation Bridge onto Prince Edward Island, the highways ceased, replaced with country roads, some gravel through farmland, similar to the back-roads of Iowa, I ultimately arrived then established my campsite at the Cabot Beach Provincial Park. 

8/15/2018 While researching nearby activities I found the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada and then reserved a seat at this night’s presentation of “Great Scot”. The College of Piping in Summerside, PEI is a school that teaches Highland bagpiping, Scottish-style snare drumming, Highland Dancing and Island step dancing. Tonight’s demonstration, in the College’s the newly constructed Celtic Performing Arts Centre, includes Scottish music and Scottish dancing expressed by students and volunteers. After all this hard work, I then decided to go out to breakfast so on the way out of the park I asked the Park Registrar where I could implement my consumption. Soon off I was to the Frosty Treat in Kensington, PEI about 8 miles away. The Frosty Treat has a well-priced, very good American style breakfast with rösti potatoes instead of hash browns. After breakfast, I stopped in the adjoining fascinating accouterments shop, How Bazaar, where I met Kim, the very knowledgeable, pleasant, and helpful cashier. After purchasing a hammock with tree strap, purchased separately, both on sale at 50% off, we discussed what to see and do on PEI. She was most helpful as she was raised on PEI having recently returned from the big city of Toronto. We discussed several options, golf included, and then off I was to implement some of her nearby suggestions. Since the College of Piping with tonight’s program is in Summerside, I spent the majority of the day exploring this seaside town. I thoroughly probed their County Fair Mall purchasing the much sought pencil sharpener in the Great Canadian Dollar store. I then drove to the waterfront where I walked around Spinnakers’ Landing which is a group of tourist shops overlooking the water. After having lunch at Uncle Mike’s on the Water, I walked down the Summerside harbor reading the signs describing the history of the once very busy wharf that had shipped potatoes worldwide. Continually walking along the seafront to a second, smaller pier I found lobster boats industriously unloading their numerous, heavily laden containers holding today’s catch. I then walked into the pier located Arsenault’s Fish Mart where cooked, freshly caught lobster could be purchased at $9.00CAD ($6.85USD) a pound. Leaving the harbor area, I arrived at the Celtic Performing Arts Centre with plenty of time for the show. Before showtime I walked throughout the Centre examining the curios available in the small souvenir shop setup to purchase mementos of attendance. Once concluded, I appreciated the “Great Scot” performance as a first-rate program utilizing the most prominent vestiges of Scottish music and dance. 

8/16/2018 I woke to a dark, drizzling day that had cooled considerably from the previous day. Not inspired by the weather, I began this day by updating and editing my Blog postings. As I got more enthused, I left the Cabot Beach Park for a sightseeing trip. I first drove to the Green Gables Heritage Place the inspiration for the popular Anne of Green Gables novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Seeing the small white house with, yes guessed it, green gables I decided not to enter with a quick U-turn in their small parking area. Onward I drove, always able to view the surrounding ocean, past several small fishing villages; I concluded my outward drive in Cavendish, PEI. Cavendish is the vacation destination for PEI locals and worldwide tourists that includes lodges, restaurants, golf courses, novelty stores and children oriented amusement areas. More crowded than I prefer, I launched my campsite return trip, pausing once to purchase a cooked fresh lobster in one of those small village ports. Back at camp, I enclosed that lobster in a fettuccine Alfredo that I consumed along with a previously obtained, very good Australian Cabernet Sauvignon. 

8/17/2018 I woke to a bright warm day so I decided to take the 40 mile drive to the Capital of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown. Sometimes referred to as the birthplace of Canada, Charlottetown’s Province House held the first conference on colonial union in 1864. Now designated the Province House National Historic Site, the Province House, completed in 1864, had continually housed Prince Edward Island's provincial legislature from 1847 until 2015 when its renovation commenced. After examining the exterior of the Province House, I walked the trendy Victoria Row which is lined with restaurants and coffee houses plus several stores selling locally made woolen goods. On the return to my campsite, I stopped for dinner just outside the campground entrance at the Malpeque (pronounced Mall · peck) Oyster Barn where I consumed a large bowl of famously delicious, world renown PEI mussels prior to my pan fried haddock. What a nice end to a long day. 

8/18/2018 It rained all night with varying degrees of measure. Slowly, I made this day’s plan to drive to the most Northern point of PEI as it would be this trip’s uppermost latitude and would coincide with my last day in Canada, thus crafting my Canadian dénouement. The North Cape Lighthouse is on the northernmost point of PEI and marks the dividing point between the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Northumberland Strait. As I stood there on the red sandstone bluffs of this promontory, I looked out over the wind-blown whitecaps passingly realizing the significance of this most indispensable North American passage. After browsing through the lighthouse associated gift shop, I initiated my return to the Cabot Beach Provincial Park. Traveling along this sparsely inhabited picturesque southern coastline I stopped at a vegetable stand near Summerside, PEI to purchase a bag of PEI potatoes. While in Summerside I also dined at an Italian restaurant before returning to my campsite on the Malpeque Bay. Once back at camp I commenced the organization required for tomorrow’s exodus from Canada.