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SUNDAY 1 JULY 2007 – It’s Canada Day and we wear the new maple leaf flag pins that we were given at the tourist office.  Around 10am we have breakfast at the cottage.  It’s a cooked breakfast and includes French toast topped off with homemade maple syrup.  Cory also introduces me to coffee sweetened with maple syrup.  Steve potters down at the waterfront with George & Adam and enjoys a ride on their small sailing boat.  Cory cracks on with sewing some of the hammocks that he sells at markets.  There’s one strung high in a tree and Steve climbs up the ladder then entertains us with his antics trying to get himself into it.  Diana has invited lots of friends and relatives round to celebrate Canada Day with a “pot luck” lunch.  I do a roast vegetable tray bake and top it off with a slice of pumpkin cut into the shape of a maple leaf.  There are too many people for us to get to know them all but we have a lot of interesting conversations and enjoy the food, especially the “skor cake”, a soft chocolate sponge filled with cream and crushed “Dime” bars.   By evening there are just Diana, George, Cory and ourselves left and after a dip in the hot tub we sit down by the lakeside watching the fireworks.  George has a boxful and impresses us with his pyrotechnic skills.  A nice finale to the day is sitting round the bonfire chatting.

WASHADEMOAK LAKE 2

MONDAY 2 JULY – It’s a cool start to the day after a very cold night.  After joining the family for breakfast we return to show George and Diana the van and for George to look at a rattle over the cab.  It turns out that most of the screws are missing or lose where the motorhome is joined above the vehicle cab.  He helps us to fix them up but we leave the plastic cover off to see if they stay in.  Return to the house for a tour-planning meeting with us receiving lots of tips for the Mexico leg of our trip.  Late afternoon George takes us out for a ride on the trailer behind the tractor.    Opposite their property his brother John has 600 acres and this is where they collect the maple syrup.  We see how a permanent network of pipes drains the sap into a huge tank after a hollow peg is tapped into each tree.  Further into the property is a large lake stocked with trout and they are really jumping.  On the edge is a beaver’s lodge and after the others have walked past I stop to take a photo and then notice a snake sitting on top.  Turns out it is the rarely seen “guarda snake” but luckily all the ones in Canada are harmless.  In the pond George points out some “Polly wogs”, a sort of enormous tadpole, and a few recently hatched frogs.  Cory’s girlfriends Donna arrives and joins us all for an evening meal after which George & Diana return to Saint John.  We join Cory and Donna for a soak in the tub before a relatively early night.

WASHADEMOAK LAKE 3

TUESDAY 3 JULY – Our last breakfast down at the cottage after a wonderful long weekend.  We’ve felt privileged to share such an experience with the family and can’t believe how much the Hospitality Club has changed our travels.  Driving through Sussex we spot many of the new murals on the walls.  Just north is the entrance to Fundy National Park.  It’s $6.90 pp for the day but we know we are going to visit many more Parks and Historic sites whilst in Canada so opt for the 1-year family pass at $155.50 (£75) as this will get us and up to 6 other people into both types throughout the whole of the country.  It’s very pleasant driving through the park and we make a lunch stop by Lake Wolfe.  Out at Point Wolfe we must park before the covered bridge as only vehicles less than 25’ are allowed beyond.  By walking the Ship Haven trail we reach the Coppermine and Point Wolfe Beach walks and do a total of almost 7km without any problems from my ankle.  The walks are pleasant and the views are good but not outstanding.  Out of the park we take the coastal road and find an overnight stop at the beach by Cape Enrage.  This area has the highest tides in the world, up to 55’, so we should see some variation to the beach during our stay.  Steve walks up to the lighthouse area, again pleasant but not quite the attraction it is billed up to be as the best scenic spot in Canada. 

CAPE ENRAGE

WEDNESDAY 4 JULY – Our first stop is at Hopewell Rocks, $8 (£3.90) pp and the ticket gives you unlimited admission over 2 days.  We’ve arrived just before low tide and once we have done the coastal walk we descend the steps to the beach where we walk on the seabed.  Tree topped flowerpot rocks abound and we can see how the rocks were formed with conglomerate rock.  The high tide mark is many metres above us and to view them then you must be in a kayak.  It’s very interesting and unusual and even the mud flats hold a certain appeal.  Cross the Chocolate River to Monkton where we visit a couple of RV dealers to learn that the problem with our over cab creaking is common and that we must put self tapping screws in at 1” intervals and secure them with caulking.  In Sackville we have seen a free walking tour of the Waterfowl Park advertised for Wednesdays at 2pm and we time our visit to coincide with this.  Staff at the visitor centre were not told about it but are happy to take us once we have shown them the brochure.  There are many inter connecting boardwalks and we cover a small area of the wetlands with our guide and see a few birds including the ring necked duck.  Nearby Fort Beausejour, $3.95pp  (a National Historic Site of Canada so free with our pass) has an interesting museum, remains of the fort and superb views over the bay.  It’s at the village of Aulac where we park up at the 24-hour Irving fuel station. 

AULAC – IRVING BIG STOP

THURSDAY 5 JULY – Just as we are leaving we find that there is free wi-fi so put in time on the Internet before finally leaving.  As soon as we cross into NOVA SCOTIA we find a huge tourist info centre complete with a piper in Scottish kilt playing the bagpipes outside. Near Stewiacke we see a sign advising us that we are exactly half way between the North Pole and the equator.  Stop for lunch at a shopping centre giving me chance to check out a Canadian supermarket and purchase the elusive custard powder.  By the time we get to the capital of Halifax it is pouring with rain but we have good directions to reach our host Ruth’s house.  She invites us into the house and we spend the afternoon chatting about her recent trip to Crete, a tourist guide she has just had published and other travel related subjects.  Return to the van for tea and find rather unsurprisingly that we have a leak in the shower.  We were pretty sure that there was a leak in the roof but Moturis assured us this was not the case.  Having had this problem with Charlie we at least know how to deal with it, initially with cloths on the floor to deaden the dripping!   Ruth’s partner Bill arrives home just after 9pm.  He’s a pharmacist and in great demand so often does relief work in more than one place.  We are invited into the house and chat until after midnight.

HALIFAX

FRIDAY 6 JULY – Bill is out at work but Ruth is staying home and offers us use of her car.  First we call at the RV dealer to pick up the special tape and silicone for the roof repair.  We continue for a drive out anti clockwise around the nearby peninsula.  First stop near Tantallon to enjoy “Fredies Fantastic Fish House” fish & chips and it’s good.  It’s a drizzly misty day and very atmospheric traversing the coast.  We pass dozens of picture perfect coves with the road often right on the waters edge.  The scenes are just beautiful and we can’t stop ourselves from commenting on how nice it all is.  Just outside Indian Harbour we visit the memorial site for when a Swiss Air plane crashed near here in 1998 killing all aboard.  Peggy’s Cove exceeds our expectations and is the only place in the world where the working village Post Office is located inside a lighthouse.  It’s the prettiest little arbour village that we have ever seen and we spend time walking to the lighthouse, past the harbour and out to admire a Fisherman’s Sculptured mural.    By far the nicest thing we have seen so far on this trip.  Even the journey back to Halifax scores superb views with many families of Canadian Geese on the waters.  It has stopped raining when we get back and also getting a bit warmer, that figures as we have just invested in more warm clothing.  I invite Ruth & Bill to dine at Harry’s restaurant.  It’s the first time I’ve used the oven to cook a roast dinner and the amount of pre dinner drinks and nibbles consumed testifies to the fact that the oven cooks slower than anticipated.  However the roast pork dinner comes out a treat and is enjoyed by all. 

HALIFAX 2

SATURDAY 7 JULY – Ruth again kindly lends us her car so that we can explore Halifax.  It’s very easy to drive into the city centre and the parking meters are free for street parking at the weekend.  There’s a comprehensive walking tour in the tourist brochure so we join it at the nearest point to our parking spot and venture to the Public Gardens, which are very nice.  In the ground of the nearby citadel they are holding the “highland games” and we had thought of attending but soon realise a/ all the bagpipes would drive us crazy and b/ we can see it all for free from the citadel.  Another National Historical site we save the $10.90 admission and immediately join one of the free-guided tours inside.  It takes us over 3-hours to visit the many museums, watch a couple of movies and the live re enactments and it’s all good stuff.  The rest of the day is spent on the trail where we really enjoy the free tour inside “Providence House” mainly because we have an excellent guide who keeps telling us about funny things that have happened there.  It’s very busy but pleasant down at the waterfront and we enjoy almost everything we see and finally get back to the car after a 7-hour visit.  Back at Ruth’s she has her friend Linda visiting and we join them on the deck making the most of the sun. 

HALIFAX 3

SUNDAY 8 JULY – By the time we get up Bill has already set out on a 25km walk but Ruth is there to see us off.  We are heading to our next host Wayne in Dartmouth and feel confident enough to take the short cut through town.  All goes well until we approach the Angus MacDonald Bridge and find we are way over their weight limit.  Make a quick turn and head out to the ring road to cross on the Murray MacKay bridge, $1.75 (85p) toll.  Reach our pre-arranged rendezvous where Wayne is parked up to escort us to his home just a street back from the waterfront.  Along with his dog Missy we are made welcome.  He’s now retired from the Navy and has been working in the book trade and flea markets so his house is crammed full of stock.  Every wall of every room is lined with bookshelves with each room dedicated to a different subject and there’s more in the sheds in the garden, approx 40,000 in total.  Wayne was out in Margaret’s Bay on a Navy ship when the Swiss Air plane went down and was involved in the salvage operation so is able to tell us more and show us pictures in some of his many books.  He’s also a “jack of all trades” and offers to help with the leaking van roof problem.  In no time at all he is on the roof with a hosepipe whilst Steve watches inside. It doesn’t take too long to trace the fault and put more caulking around to seal it.  I cook up stir-fry for a late lunch in the van.  Wayne drives us down to Fisherman’s Cove where Steve can’t resist the lobster on sale at $7.99 (£4) lb.  The vendor says he will cook them for us so we order one each for Steve and Wayne and the total cost is £16 (£8).  I’m not thrilled with lobster so am happy to settle for a local homemade ice cream.  Whilst the lobster is being cooked we stroll the boardwalk then collect the lobster to take back to eat at Wayne’s.  Steve says it’s a very tasty and certainly good value.  Again I pick up wi-fi Internet and just as I “skype” Claire she is on the phone to David so we have a 4-way family chat.  Down in the basement Wayne has a lounge with huge colour TV and pellet burning fire (wood chippings forced into a pellet shape).  It’s really cosy and we are happy to while away the evening watching videos and DVD’s from his huge collection.  

DARTMOUTH

MONDAY 9 JULY – Wayne invites us in for bacon and eggs after which we head off to the beach.  He’s a fellow naturist and Crystal Crescent Beach has a nude section.  Its a pleasant drive past lots of small fishing coves and even the walk along the boardwalk to the beach is nice.  Manage a couple of hours of warm sun before clouds stop play.  Call in to sample another variety of ice cream on the way back, may have to stay here longer to work my way through the different flavours.  Wayne cooks us moose steaks for our evening meal, brought back from his home province of New Foundland.  Great to try something different and we found them tasty but a little dry.  Not only does he collect books and things for the flea market but seems to attract anything and everything that other people are throwing out.  He fixes us up with lots of bedding for when we have visitors plus numerous other items, brilliant.  Another evening in the basement lounge watching movies.

DARTMOUTH 2

TUESDAY 10 JULY – Wayne would have us stay longer but we really must press on and leave after a bacon and egg breakfast sends off.   The Titanic went down off the coast of Nova Scotia and most of the victims are buried here.  We visit Fair View Lawn cemetery with informative plaques and headstones lined up to form the shape of the bow of a ship.  Heading south on the “lighthouse route” the weather is pool with drizzle and mist.  In Chester we can’t find anywhere to park so press on to the pretty Mahone Bay and after our lunch break the weather has improved.  A stroll around takes us to the Settlers Museum (free) with quite a few items of interest about the original immigrants, mainly from Germany.  Next stop is Lunenburg with some outstanding architecture in it’s old buildings many with unusual bull nose style windows.  After wandering the steep streets we drop down to the harbour where we go on board the “Bluenose 11” to look around.  One of its claims to fame is that it is depicted on the back of the Canadian 10c coin.  Also in port is “Picton Castle” recently used in the reality TV series “Pirate Master”.  In Bridgewater we stop at the Irving truck stop to check it out for a possible overnight stop.  We could stay overnight but it will probably be noisy but we stay long enough to make use of the free dump station.  Cutting across country we keep an eagle eye out for tracks into the forest large enough for Harry to get in.  Near Colpton we find just the think and drive far enough in not to be noticeable from the road.  Having just manoeuvred into a good position a truck comes past and pulls up.  Think the driver thought we were in trouble because once we explain what we were doing he tells us we will be just fine here overnight.  There’s been a big change in the weather and it’s now so hot that I need the fan on in the evening.

NR COLPTON

WEDNESDAY 11 JULY – We have a very quiet night and wake to the seemingly normal dull damp drizzly morning.  It’s not far to Kejimkujik National Park and National Historic Site of Canada   The pass saves us the $4.75pp admission and we stop at the visitor centre to view a brief film about the area and to look at a few displays.  There’s a very short walk to the nearby falls on the River Mersey and we’ve time to do it before catching the 10am talk at the Mi’kmaw encampment.  This involves a 10km drive through the park passing many viewpoints alongside the river.  The informative talk is given by Cathy, a member of the Mi’kmaw first nations tribe, and she tells us all about how they used to live in this area.   There are 4 car parks in the area and we move to the one behind the beach but then find that although the water is warmer than the air temperature it is still to cold at 18C.  At 2pm we join the Petroglyph Tour and Donna spends 1 ½ hours taking us back over 5,000 years of history and takes us to rocks on the lakeside where we can see ancient carvings.  Cathy is also there and we manage to chat to her about how the first nations are treated in Canada and it’s quite an insight.  Leaving the park we pick up the main road toward Annapolis Royal and our eagle eyes spot an interesting logging track.  This one is even better than last night as it comes to a dead end by a lake.  We opt to stay above the lake as there are lots of bugs down there and we only want and overnight stop.  Early evening a caravan arrives with a family who have come to camp for a few nights.  Neither the muddy lake edge nor the water temperature deters their grandchildren. 

BY A LAKE JUST WEST OF KEJIMKUJIK

THURSDAY 12 JULY – We get heavy rain in the night and again the van is tilted so the drips are by Steve’s head.  He pops out and puts a towel underneath but eventually moves into the lounge.  At least the shower roof repair seems to be holding.  Approaching Annapolis Royal we see loads of RV’s coming towards us and find out they are on a touring rally and heading for Halifax.  Glad we are not going in their direction, as parking must be a nightmare.  We visit Fort Anne (£3.95 without a pass) and find the locally sewn tapestry amazing.  Over 200 locals spent 4 years depicting the history of the area and whilst visiting the area Queen Elizabeth sewed a few stitches into the part depicting Queen Victoria.  Our tour around the fort is curtailed by rain but after a drink in the van it is dry enough for a stroll through town to admire the historical buildings.  Further up the coast we visit Le Pre ($7.15 without pass) and finally get a very good insight into the history of the Arcadians.  Basically immigrants from France who established the Arcadian community here but were run out by the British.  This is the exact spot where they used to live and a memorial church has been built with more info inside.  In the grounds they are now excavating for the original church and its fascinating talking to them and learning that thermal imaging now plans the digging locations.  Head on back into NEW BRUNSWICK to the truck stop just over the border where fuel is cheaper than Nova Scotia.

AULAC – IRVING BIG STOP

FRIDAY 13 JULY – Wake to a foggy morning but by the time we have had breakfast and checked our E-mail it has burnt off.  Pick up the Trans Canada highway heading west on our journey to Vancouver, a mere 6000km to go!  It’s lunchtime when we reach Fredericton and 26C.  Enjoy an interesting buffet lunch at the “Delta Fredericton Hotel” sat by the swimming pool on the banks of the river.  $10.95 buys you a soft drink, soup, salad including mussels, pasta where you choose the ingredients and sauce plus lots of desserts.   Walk some of it off doing the town trail including catching the unimpressive 4pm changing of the guard.  Our journey follows the St John River and is very pleasant.  We’ve been invited to visit Cory’s brother Adam in Woodstock and soon find his house.  It’s on a bit of a slope but a neighbour gives permission for us to park on her spare driveway.  The neighbour is a sister in the McCain family as in the McCain food products that make all the chips for MacDonalds.  Adam has invited Monique and their friends Wendy & Laurie round.  Wendy & Laurie work on the 3 over 4 programme sacrificing 25% of their wages in order to have 1 year off in every 4 with the same income.  Their last trip was around North America, Nepal and Thailand.  Needless to say we find plenty to chat about.

WOODSTOCK

SATURDAY 14 JULY – Join Adam for a cooked breakfast in the house.  Adam spends the morning working with Steve fixing up Harry’s problems.  Adam comes up with the brilliant idea of using rivets to hold the luton onto the cab and it seems to work really well.  He goes out to play golf in the afternoon so we head off to USA, Maine just a few miles away for a booze-shopping trip and to buy fuel, as both are much cheaper there.  We are questioned about beef and certain fresh fruits that cannot be taken from Canada into America.  I conveniently forget the big juicy steaks sitting in the freezer but we bought them in America anyway.  Re-entering CANADA border security notice that our passports we not stamped on our first entry but once we have been checked out on the computer we are stamped up ready to go.  Adam has left the house open for us so I make us of the computer and Steve the TV.  Stay chatting for a while after he returns.

WOODSTOCK 2

SUNDAY 15 JULY – After breakfasting with Adam he and Steve put the final touches to replacing the shower dome and fixing down the TV.  Couldn’t have done it without Adam’s expertise and tools so it’s a real bonus.  Pick up the main highway heading north but leave at Hartland to admire the longest covered bridge in the world.  It was built in 1901 and is 390m long so quite a feat of engineering and really impressive.  At Florenceville we are disappointed not to see the famous Hunter Brothers corn maize but we do see photos of ones from previous years. Each year they plant the crop in a fancy design, this years is “Cat in the hat” but it’s only recently been planted and won’t be ready for viewing until September.  Chat to the brother who does the design and he tells us we can see more on their web site www.hunterbrothers.ca.   Florenceville is also famous as the hometown of McCain.  There’s a museum called “Potato World” $5.  We thought the museum would be free and that there may also be factory tours with samples of the various products and maybe a shop selling them.  Instead there is an expensive café, art gallery and souvenir sales.  We don’t stop long.  By the time we reach the town of Grand Falls we are having some of our own whilst driving through torrential rain.  The front of the van is like Niagara.  We park by the falls and gorge for lunch and take a peak once the rain has eased off, nothing spectacular as the water is held back by a dam.  Just north of Edmunston we check out the Botanical Gardens and take a picture of a hand sculpture covered in plants and flowers.  Pass into QUEBEC province and it’s like arriving in France with all the signs in French and no one at the petrol station able, or willing, to speak English!      Get another real downpour with traffic either pulling over or slowed to less than 30mph.  It’s made for a tiring driving day so we call a halt early at the Irving Truck Stop, Saint Antonin then realise just how early we have stopped as our watches say 5pm but with it’s really now 4pm as Quebec is on a different time.  No sooner have we settled in than the sun comes out. 

ST ANTONIN IRVING BIG STOP

SATURDAY 16 JUNE - We manage a reasonable amount of sleep but are awake in plenty of time for the taxi that we have booked with Wayne. Tina gets up to see us off and by 7.30am we are winging our way across Boston to the Four Points Sheraton at Revere. We are being picked up here by Moturis motorhome rental company and find a German couple also waiting for them. Marco arrives just before 8.30am and we head north to their depot near Rowley. The German couple are renting a van but using the Internet (www.moturis.com) we have arranged to buy an ex rental model. We are shown to our 2005, model J29, Four Winds 5000 29’ “C” class motorhome and left to check it over whilst he sees to his rental customers. II guess this is the moment “When Harry meets Swatty” as this is the name we are giving this van, continuing with the royal theme. The layout is exactly as expected with a bed over the cab and a sofa and dinette directly behind it. Next comes the kitchen then the bathroom with shower on one side and toilet and sink cubicle opposite but the piesta resistance is the full queen sized bedroom with walk around bed at the back. It looks shabby but this is reflected in the $24,200 (£12,200) price that we negotiated, the next nearest van I found on the Internet was with Cruise America and for the same year but with 40,000 more miles on the clock it was $10,000 dearer. This vehicle was sold “as-is” but we were assured it would be clean and with everything in working order. This is not so as it is very dirty and even has urine stains around the toilet. Spend the next hour or so doing a snagging list before Marco arrives. As expected he puts most of the things down to wear and tear and part of the sold “as is” deal but does agree to replace 2 tyres, repair the chip on the windscreen and one or two other bits. He previously also said we could take it away for a few days then go back to them with anything else we found wrong so we are happy to complete the deal at his urging. Pay the balance on my debit card and within 1 hour the temporary 1-month registration papers have arrived by fax. I have already arranged insurance with Progressive ($646, £323) so we are now legal. The depot is open until 12.00pm so they deal with as many of our problems as possible whilst I begin to settle us in. There’s heaps of cupboard space everywhere except in the kitchen but I can store tinned food etc in the lounge / dining area. End up with no structured plan as we keep seeing other things to do and do them before we forget and then forget what we were doing! It’s all progress and before we know it the depot is closing and it’s after 1pm. Marco wants us to return on Wednesday, as they are very busy early in the week. By then the original title for the vehicle will have arrived from Switzerland enabling us to proceed to the next stage of registering it in our name. I walk to a nearby café and pick up some breakfast muffins to put us on whilst we continue doing enough cleaning to enable us to unpack. A short drive away is a small shopping centre with a “Market Basket” supermarket. Steve remains in the van whilst I head off to do our first grocery shop. It’s a nightmare and I feel like turning round a walking out. The store is huge, the brands unfamiliar and I don’t know where to start. It’s impossible to work off my shopping list so I end up slowly cruising up and down each isle and settling for a limited first shop. There are a number of things I cannot find and when I hear a lady with an English accent I ask for advice. Stephanie moved here 5 years ago and gives me lots of info and then her phone number so that we can meet up later. Marco says we can park at the depot for a night or two so we return, hook up to the electric and run the air conditioner whilst cleaning up inside. Steve starts to potter round outside and finds that with a bit of elbow crease most of the scuffs on the body work come off but he does find evidence of more bumps than just the one we were told about. Inside I begin tackling a small section at a time, one of the worst things seems to be the upholstery. There are 2 fabrics used and one type seems to have gone hard and crusty and no amount of sponging over will change this. A couple of sarongs thrown over it will have to do for now. Fresh fish was on offer at the supermarket so using the pans and crockery from the convenience kit that Marco included I cook us a fish stew for tea. There’s still lots to do but we call it a day and settle down to bed at 10pm.

ROWLEY

SUNDAY 17 JUNE – I’m awake and restless by 4am and get up at 5am to begin some tasks. Once Steve is up and we have had our breakfast we return to the Market Basket shopping centre and manage to find a phone card that will work for calls within the States as well as overseas. I do another grocery shop and just about manage to complete my starter list. We are quite near the Cape Ann peninsula so set out to explore and give Harry a bit of a test drive. Make a couple of unscheduled scenic detours en route but with leafy lanes and picture perfect wooden houses it’s rather pleasant. At Rockport we seek out the “Paper House”. The outside walls are made of 215 thickness of paper with varnish on the top. Most of the newsprint can still be read and this has been used to good effect. The make the furniture papers were rolled up and just the ends glued down before a varnish was applied enabling the headlines to be pieced together and still read. Admission on an honesty system $1.50 (75p) pp and well worth it. Rockport is a busy little harbour town with narrow streets so we make use of the park and ride with free parking and $1 (50p) to take the trolley bus to the town centre. Explore Bearskin Neck with quaint waterside houses now converted into shops selling local crafts. The town itself is filled with Disney style buildings and could easily be the blue print for “Main Street”. Check out the two beaches before walking back to the car park. Complete our tour of the peninsula by following the coast round to Gloucester then back via Essex with its most unusual gothic style town hall. Tonight I cook our meal in the microwave to test it out. We both start doing a few more jobs but find we are too tired to continue so settle down for an early night.

ROWLEY 2

MONDAY 18 JUNE – We’ve arranged to meet Stephanie at the shopping centre where she arrives after dropping Molly at school. 2-year old Henry is with her and keeps us all entertained during coffee at Dunkin Donuts. We leave to drive up to New Hampshire for non-food shopping at the Wal Mart in Seabrook just over the border. Unlike Massachusetts they don’t have sales tax so things will be cheaper. The store is huge but I resign myself to traipsing up and down every single aisle. Once my first trolley is full, and I’m relieved of just over $200 (£100), I head back to the van for Steve to begin unpacking. After a quick lunch I return for more of the same and again fill another trolley for a similar figure. Steve’s spotted a dollar store nearby and there I find a few other things to almost complete my list. Retail therapy – pah, after 5 hours hard at it I am not impressed. Whilst driving the van Steve has decided there is a problem with the brakes and thinks we should return to Moturis tomorrow to give them chance to check it out. We drive back into Massachusetts to Salisbury Beach Recreation Park with a campground directly behind the estuary and beach. It’s full of motorhomes but still very pleasant. Steve spots another van just like ours and goes over to chat to the owner, Larry. I finished unpacking and storing the packing and feel very satisfied with the results. Take a walk to the beach and enjoy a cool paddle in the water. Each campsite has it’s own picnic bench so having cooked pizza, to test the oven, we sit out to eat. Problems with the new $50 (£25) colour TV, the set works but our aerial seems to be faulty. At least we can watch it using the rabbit ears and find a channel showing English programmes. After showering I get to use my new hairdryer and hair iron then relax sat on the new seat throws before heading to bed on our new sheets. With the new beige, light blue and navy colour scheme Harry is starting to look like home.

SALISBURY BEACH RECREATION PARK

$22 (£11)

TUESDAY 19 JUNE – I pop over with a question for Larry and end up getting the full guided tour of all the additions made to their van and come away with a wooden framework to go over the hob as he says he can easily make another one. Passing through Salisbury we see a tyre place and out of interest Steve decides to verify that ours are legal. It turns out there is a nail in one of them and most of the others are wearing badly as the wheels need aligning. Marco assured us that the tyres would all have at least half wear left on them but we were expecting this to be across the tyre tread as opposed to meaning half the width! Just south of Kingston is an area known as “RV mile” with many dealers close together. At Campers Inn we manage to buy, amongst other things, matching fablon to cover scratches on the cupboard framework. We had hoped to sort out an awning and solar panels but not only are they more expensive than we thought but all the dealers are fully booked up with work for the next two weeks. Back at Moturis Yannick the mechanic does a test drive and agrees that there is a problem with the brakes and he will investigate further tomorrow. He does a few other odd jobs for us before closing time. Marco has stayed on late in the office chatting to his girlfriend in Italy. I invite him into the van for a drink and he is amazed at the transformation and says it feels very homely.

ROWLEY

WEDNESDAY 20 JUNE – We’ve given the tyre problem a lot of thought and put it to Marco that we swap the tyres with ones on other vehicles meaning he just has labour costs. The title deed for the vehicle arrives and our friend Ricky in Florida faxes us the application form to transfer the title to us. He says that if we FedEx him the original title, application form and passports photos then he will register it on our behalf. A man arrives to repair the crack in the glass and it’s better than before but still visible, Moturis pay the $40 (£20) charge. The front tyres are soon in place but when they take the back ones off they can see that the brake pads are worn down to bare metal and the discs badly scuffed. New parts are ordered for tomorrow. Marco goes home sick, think he is sick of us more than anything but we feel that having been told that everything in the vehicle would be working then we should have things put right at their expense. Yannick tackles the problem of a leak under the floor of the shower and finds two leaks and fixes them but we can’t test it until tomorrow. I offer him a cool drink and he comments on how cold the fridge is. I realise just how cold when I come to cook eggs for tea and find them frozen in their shells! It’s ironic to think that in Australia we complained we could not get the fridge cold enough. Yannick has stayed on working late to help us so we take him over to the Sports Pub for a drink

ROWLEY 2

THURSDAY 21 JUNE – During the night we suffer Japanese water torture with water dripping off the roof right by our heads. Steve discovers that condensation from the air conditioner is pooling on the roof before draining off and a pinprick hole in the roof top rubber sheeting may explain the damp we first spotted on the shower ceiling. I take a morning shower and find we still we still have a leak underneath it and another from the hot water heater. Talk about 2 steps forwards and 1 step back. Will we make to Alaska before winter sets in? Yannick attempts another repair on the shower but can’t do anything about the water pooling on the roof and insists that the leak from the hot water boiler is normal even though we have not had this in other vans. We tackle the fridge problem and find that the trouble shooting section of the manual only covers problems relating to the fridge not being cool enough. When Steve phones up the manufacturer he is told that the thermostat must be broken but it is under warranty. Now we must find a dealer on route and contact them to order the part in advance. The microwave starts to play up and this is the last straw. Having been assured by Marco that he would check that everything in the van was working before we arrived we are very disillusioned. He called in to work for an hour this morning but has now gone home again so we cannot even speak to him. Instead we compose a long E-mail to head office in Switzerland. Early afternoon the parts for the brakes arrive but they are the wrong ones and for a 2005 truck. It seems that Yannick ordered the wrong ones. Whilst the caravan part of the vehicle is a 2005 model the engine and truck are 2004 and these parts are a different size. I get good and bad news from our friend Ricky, he has received the paperwork and dealt with registering the vehicle in our name and even has the new number plates on their way back to us but in order to do this he had to pay the 6% Florida state tax based on the purchase price of the vehicle. The brake parts arrive and this time the drums are correct but the pads are wrong. Yannick starts to get the wheels from the other van and finds that the inside rear one is stuck and cannot be removed. It’s late afternoon when the correct brake shoes arrive and work can begin. By 8am we are ready for a test drive and things are looking good so we call in to the liquor store for a case of beer to help us celebrate.

ROWLEY 3

FRIDAY 22 JUNE – Success, the shower is no longer leaking and the registration plate arrives from Florida so we are ready to roll. Speak to Marco about the fact that we were dissatisfied with the situation in that the vehicle was not as described and not ready for us when we arrived but he doesn’t want to know and just whinges about us staying on their lot for 5 nights – as if we wanted to be there! In Topsfield we get the wheel alignment checked and find that both front tyres have a camber so we pay extra to have special brushes fitted before alignment to prevent this problem in the future, $250 (£125). Early afternoon the “Nu Drovers” set out on tour. Using I95 to get up into NEW HAMPSHIRE we then avoid the tolls and drop on to highway 1. Big mistake as it is neither fast nor scenic and we should have gone further over onto the 1A to follow the coast. Into MAINE where there are free motorways again. We’ve arranged to visit another Travelhoo host out at Boothbay Harbour. The drive along the peninsula is lovely as this area is full of inlets and coves and the scenery spectacular. Wooden homes line the shore and the architecture is varied and interesting. We easily find Kriss’s place on Lobster Cove Road and yes she does have a space behind her house for us to park our 29’ motorhome but we can’t get to it, as the driveway is too steep. There’s no one home so we begin walking around the area to check out the alternatives. Steve finds a flat piece of land down the road with nothing but lobster pots stored on it. Kriss’s neighbour Helen directs us to the owner of the land Dan who says it is fine for us to park there for a couple of days. Helen also says she thinks Kriss is home but sleeping as she works nights either taxi driving or in a home for handicapped children. We knock a bit louder on the door and Kriss emerges apologising profusely. She invites us in and we meet Pico and Rocco her miniature poodles. Conversation flows easily and it’s time to eat before we know it. We invite Kriss down to the van for a meal and she is well impressed with the whole set up. She leaves for work and we settle down for the night.

BOOTHBAY HARBOUR

SATURDAY 22 JUNE – We are parked beside a row of mailboxes and have to laugh when the postman arrives in a car then inches past each box to deliver the mail rather than get out and walk. No wonder there are scratches all down the door or the car! Take a walk around the local area where everyone calls out a greeting and seems very friendly. Many houses go directly down to the waterfront and one of the owners shows us her private beach, as they own the land right down to the waters edge. Once Kriss wakes up she takes us out for a drive around Ocean Point where narrow winding roads weave around miles of interesting coastline where islets abound complete with small houses. Pass a very artistic house with a cabinet in the garden displaying miniature quirky house sculptures. For lunch we get take away fish and chips from “Bet’s Fish Fry” shack and they are superb, $7 (£3.50) half fish and chips. There’s plenty of haddock and the chips consist of conventional ones and potato slices. Kriss drops us in town by the homemade ice cream shop where the single scoop “Baileys & Kahlua” flavour is huge. Stroll the streets with lots of artisans’ shops, including one where Kriss’s neighbour Helen Farnham has work displayed, before crossing the bay on the old wooden footbridge to make our way back to Harry.

BOOTHBAY HARBOUR 2

SUNDAY 23 JUNE – We have a bit of a lie in and find Kriss up and about when we go up to the house. She drops us at the Botanical Gardens, $10 (£5), for an hour. There are lots of trails to walk down to the waterfront but the flora is poor as it is a new garden and not established. Once Kriss picks us up we pick up the makings of a picnic at the grocery store whilst she swaps her private car for the taxi. She has a fare and we sit in the back whilst she picks him up and takes him out to East Boothbay. Once we’ve dropped him off we enjoy our picnic at the edge of Mill Pond Lake. Spend the later afternoon and evening at Kriss’s house with her popping out to do the taxi service.

BOOTHBAY HARBOUR 2

MONDAY 25 JUNE – When we call it to say farewell to Kriss we find her on the computer researching motorhomes as we have given her the bug. As we are leaving her neighbour Helen comes out and presents us with some cards depicting scenes she has painted. We’re heading off to a rendezvous with Robbie who saw our request in a forum for places to stay between Boston and Alaska. We take a shortcut on the 90 and pass an RV dealer and call in on spec to see about the fridge. He thinks there is adjustment where the thermostat is connected to the cooling fins and he slides the control downwards in the hope that this is the problem – strange that neither Moturis nor the Dometic fridge dealer mentioned this. He looks over the van and reckons it would be worth somewhere between $45,000 and $55,000 so it looks like we got a good deal. We meet up with Robbie and he gives us directions to his property in the country near the small town of Appleton. He settles us in and introduces us to his dog Frodo before heading back to work. He returns to join us in the evening and chats about his jobs; he has just come from the prison where he works in the mental health sector. He rarely surfs the Internet and found our request by chance and seems very pleased to make our acquaintance.

NR APPLETON

TUESDAY 26 JUNE – We’ve been invited to stay on and with the forecast for hot weather we are happy to chill (or hot) out for the day. There’s no phone reception here and we need to contact the RV dealer who is trying to get us a fridge part, the problem not as bad but still evident. Steve walks to a nearby property to see if he can use the phone with our phone card. He returns having met a lovely lady called Laurie who is married to an Englishman. After using the phone, and establishing that the fridge thermostat can be fitted tomorrow, she expressed an interest in our lifestyle. Steve said where we were staying and threw out and invite to visit. Spend a most enjoyable afternoon sunbathing with Robbie popping home for 1/2 hour. We do a bit of a trip plan to Vancouver via Alaska and without any detours it is over 8,000 miles and would involve us driving every other day. We need to be out of Alaska by September and down in Vancouver by mid September when they stop running the inside passage cruises that we want to do. With cities such as Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Winnipeg to explore en route we begin to think we don’t have enough time. Maybe it would be better to scrap Alaska by land enabling us to have a more leisurely journey. Hugo, Laurie and their daughter Audrey do call round in the evening and with Robbie joining us the van is almost full and definitely christened as we hit the beer.

NR APPLETON 2

WEDNESDAY 27 JUNE – We make a 6.30am start to be at the RV dealers when they open at 8.30am. Again we pass many lakes whilst traversing the attractive countryside. Arrive sooner than expected and park up at Rec Tech to have breakfast. Owner Jeff arrives and soon has Dave fitting the new thermostat. Dave hears us chatting about having our Inverters fitted and says that he can fit them as he also fits solar panels as a sideline. By chance this is something else we want to buy and he gives us a rough price but will phone his wife and get her to confirm it. There are a number of awnings in the yard and I ask Jeff about having one fitted but they are much too busy. With the fridge thermostat fitted we head to Wal Mart to shop for groceries, as they are much cheaper in America than Canada. As usual this takes much longer than anticipated and this enables us to conclude that the new thermostat is not working. When we get back to Rec Tech Dave admits that he was unhappy in finding the new one a different colour to the original and has contacted Dometic and found that they sent an air conditioner thermostat by mistake. He also tells us he has an 80w solar panel on order and he can fit it on Friday along with the replacement thermostat. Jeff says that he will sell us an awning and Dave can fit it for us on Friday, in his own time after he has finished his work for the company. It’s now late afternoon and we drive to Brewer and pick up free wi-fi outside the library to do Internet whilst Steve goes into the library and buys 10 books for $1 (50p). I’m very pleased about this, as we have been sharing our one and only book! It’s very hot, almost 100F but a storm is brewing. We’ve just settled onto the Wal Mart car park in Bangor when we get a torrential downpour followed by hailstones. At least it is short lived, unlike the rains we understand that have been causing the worst floods in England for over 50 years.

BANGOR, WAL MART

THURSDAY 28 JULY – I leave Steve in bed and do an early shop, it’s hard to believe there are still things we need! Parking is easy on the waterfront in Bangor on the banks of the Penobscot River. Bangor’s claim to fame is as the home of author Stephen King but they discourage visits to his home as he still lives there. Pet Cemetery was filled in the graveyard here, as were other parts of his films. We walk into the main town centre and admire a few statues and take in the general ambiance. It’s very quiet and before you reach the edge of the footpath the cross the road the cars have stopped for you. Sauntering up Main Street we get a waft of curry and this tempts us into “Taste of India” for their tasty $6.95 (£3.50) buffet lunch including a delicious rice pudding with cinnamon and almonds. It’s owned by the Kumar’s but this time at no 68! Get back to the van before an afternoon downpour. Throughout the summer they have craft and food market stalls along the Kenduskeag Stream early evening and a free music concert in Pickering Square. There are few stalls but we enjoy the free food samples topped up with the free popcorn at the concert. It’s blues music and not quite our scene so we make our way back to the van to re locate to Hanifords car park in Brewer. There’s a laundrette and I get a load washed for $2 (£1) and dried for 25c (13p) each 6 minutes. Meanwhile Steve watches softball at the adjoining stadium. A beautiful sunset rounds off the day.

BREWER, HANIFORDS CAR PARK

FRIDAY 29 JUNE – An early shop bags us the new weekly specials at Hanifords with beefsteak reduced by $2.50 to $1.99 (£1) lb. Late afternoon we are back at Rec Tech and Steve potters round fitting some scrap carpet to the front of the van whilst we wait. He shouts out when he cuts himself quite badly with the Stanley knife. Once we have stopped the bleeding I assess the damage and reckon it will be OK with the butterfly stitches that I apply. Jeff sells us an awning for $500 (£250) then Dave sets about fitting it. Next he does the solar panel with controller and connects our 2 inverters (one 240v and one 110v). He works for around 3-hours and the total bill is $850 (£425) with only $100 (£50) of that for his labour. Overall a huge saving as we had been quoted $1300 for just a solar panel by another company. Retire to the Wal Mart for the night.

BREWER, WAL MART

SATURDAY 30 JUNE – When we set out at 5.30am we are surprised to find 11 other motorhomes and 5 cars parked up. It’s already daylight and the sun is out creating atmospheric swirling mists over the lakes. We arrive in Calais (pronounced callous) and cross International Bridge in CANADA, New Brunswick province. Customs formalities and brief and in minutes we are free to drive into St Stephens. We pull up by the waterfront for breakfast, to use the ATM ($2.10 - £1) and gather info from the tourist office when it opens at 9am. Our clocks have gone forward 1-hour so we are now 4 hours behind BST. We follow the Fundy Coastal Drive along highway 1 with lovely scenery. Lots of sea views, forests and wild lupins. Arrive in Saint John and easily find the home of our host Cory. He lives with his parents and his Mum Diana also makes us welcome. We quickly discuss plans and as we are to join them at their holiday cottage later in the day we decide to make a start on the tourist attractions of Saint John. Cory hops in the van and directs us to the natural phenomena of the “Reversing Falls”. With the highest tides in the country the out going river changes direction as the tide comes in and for a short period of time this creates rapids until the flow of the river is reversed and it flow upstream until high tide is reached at which point the process reverses. Just coming up to high tide we can see the river flow beginning to reverse but it is not quite as spectacular as the books describe. On a Saturday afternoon parking is easy in Saint John and we explore the indoor market where the ceiling design is based on the hull of a ship. Pedestrian crossings are an unusual design with the road marked out with imitation stone and circular patterns. There’s an attractive waterfront with statues of the loyalists, Saint John being the oldest town in Canada. Return to Cory’s place for us all to have a nap before setting out to the cottage. There are numerous covered bridges in the area due to the heavy winter snowfalls. We just managed to fit under one to cross in Harry. The cottage is on the banks of Lake Washademoak and we just manage to make it down the narrow lane with low tree branches and park in a cleaning. The cottage itself is at the end of the land and a really attractive design built by Cory’s Dad George. Cory’s brother Adam and his ex wife Monique have already arrived and Adam suggests that the weather is perfect for a paddle on the lake. Steve & I share a canoe, as do Adam and Monique with Cory in a kayak. We paddle around and just about get the hang of the steering when it’s time to return. George and Diana have arrived and we spend a long time chatting then enjoying a BBQ. Round off the evening with time out on the deck in the hot tub. We’re most surprised to find it’s 1am when we return to bed.

LAKE WASHADEMOAK