The drive along route 2 through Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine was not as hilly as expected and we had some beautiful scenery along the way. By mid day on Sunday, June 27th we arrived at the Pumpkin Patch RV Resort just northwest of Bangor Maine. The sites are large and easy access. The cg is located fairly conveniently to Bangor and points of interest further east. We spent a few fun hours (when it wasn’t raining) playing ladder golf with Mackenzie.

On June 29th, we toured Bangor Maine and stopped to take some pictures of Stephen King’s residence. Quite beautiful as expected but his gates were really neat. Note the picture of us in front of the house!

June 30th we head for Charlie and Norma’s home in Fredericton, NB. After a discussion with some locals in Bangor and were advised that route 1 would only take us an hour or so out of our way, we decide to take the scenic route! We traveled the ‘costal drive’ along route 1 through Maine to St Stephen, NB. We expected to see lots of ocean vistas and small coastal villages – wrong! The road was extremely rough with road patches, weeds growing through the pavement and broken road – not expected for a major tourist route!

We arrived at the border crossing at St Stephen, NB later than expected due to the road conditions and proceeded to be searched, again! Now we are really late for our arrival at Charlie and Norma’s and they were holding dinner for us! After a very warm reception and a short discussion, we get parked in their driveway and settled for the next few days.

Canada Day Charlie and Norma took us to the 1900 era train station in the throws of restoration in McAdam NB. Charlie and Norma as kids took the train from this station. The beautiful façade that greeted us was magnificent! The tour guide took us through the train station, dinning rooms, lunch counter and hotel. There was even a jail for the bad guys. Of course, we had to stop for an ice cream before we headed back and toured Fredericton and then back for dinner and games.

On July 2 we went golfing where Charlie and I continued our long time match and Barb and Mackenzie played alternate shot! A great day was capped off by meeting some of Charlie and Norma’s dinner club friends over dinner at the downtown Delta. We had dinner on the patio, overlooking the Saint John River. The weather was perfect and the company was fun.

July 3rd, we headed off to Saint John to view the Reversing Falls. We arrived just before low tide and watched the river flowing into the bay. We waited around to see the gorge at slack tide where there was no water movement – kinda erie! High tide was 6 hours later so we retreated back to the rig for lunch and a game of Wizard while we waited. About an hour before high tide, we returned to the viewing platform and experienced the difference! Now the water was flowing hard up river and the rapids were running backwards. The whole experience was a little disappointing as we were actually expecting a waterfall, not rapids but all in all, it was interesting to see the water running hard one way then running hard the other way. So really it should be called the Reversing River. One point of interest is the abundance of shore birds and seals when the tide is coming in as they follow the fish coming in with the tide! We stayed the night in the WalMArt there and headed for Hopewell Rocks in the morning.

Our trek over to Hopewell Rocks took us through the Fundy National Park. This is someplace that we will have to return to! There was a descent that made me thankful that the brakes were working!

We arrived at the Ponderosa Campground early. We got a site where the back window looked out over a lake to the bay. Our neighbors were just breaking camp and we stood and talked for awhile.
They suggested we see the Rocks at high tide then low tide for a more dramatic affect. By the time we were set up and sat out back watching the world go by, we headed over to see the Rocks at high tide. Ooppssss, our clocks were still on EDT and we almost missed the event as the park closes at 8 PM and we rolled in there at 7:15 PM! So a quick walk down to the Rocks viewing platform to see them at almost high tide then back to the truck before they lock the parking lots and we have to sleep in the truck!

We made it and we’re back to see the Rocks at low tide and walk on the ocean floor around the Rocks that were flooded yesterday! Wow, so much water! After this we drove into Moncton to try out Magnetic Hill! It pulled us up the hill and our speed increased as we went up! The only give away that it is an optical illusion is the water in the ditch was also going up hill!

We needed to do some shopping and found an Atlantic Super Store. Wow, I know we need to help the Canadian farmer make a living but why are the fresh fruit and vegetables so much more expensive here than what we experienced a couple hundred miles south in Maine? Ok, I’m off the soap box!

Today (July 6) is rain and more rain. So we’re going to have a day of games and kick back. July 7, we’ll be heading to PEI so our blog will pick up then.

Thanks for reading about our adventures…

Well, I know I said we wouldn’t be updating our blog but we’ve been tricked to travel! A friend asked us to join them on a Habitat for Humanity build on PEI at the end of June. After some consideration and waffling, we decided to do it. Our 13 year old grandson – Mackenzie, is interested in woodworking and we asked him to join us on the HFH build and he excitedly accepted. With the decision made and the plans tentative, we then get an email from the HFH coordinator to say the build was full and we were #2 on the wait list – crap! So not to disappoint, we continued with our plans.

To bring you up to date since our arrival back in Ontario, we stayed at our usual cg in the London area to visit family and friends and attend dental appointments. After, we spent a few days in the Goderich area to see our cousins new park model then off to my brothers yard to utilize his very well equipped wood working shop to do our bathroom reno. We completely removed the vanity cabinet and sink and rebuilt it from the floor up. We also had to take up the new laminate flooring we completed in September to lay down an underlay then re-lay the laminate! We had to go 120 miles north to Midland’s Restore and buy back our flooring. Thank goodness it was still there, $10.00 is cheap storage for five months. Whew…. What a job that was.
Now onto the new cabinet, drawers, top, vessel sink and a new faucet! We’ve learned not to fool with RV plumbing. No matter what you do, it will leak after you’re done!

All work and no play is not fun and one of our new adages is ‘if it’s not fun, why do it’! So we played some too. We accompanied Larry and Doreen to the local dinner theatre and also spent a day on Larry’s cruiser on Georgian Bay.

Since we decided to go to PEI and put down some tentative plans with friends, the first priority was to complete the bathroom reno, easier said than done! We wanted to leave on June 23rd and we finally resolved all the issues by June 21st! Wow, now that’s taking it down to the 11th hour! As we were getting packed up to head east, our ‘new’ plumbing sprung a leak – actually it had been leaking for a few days, we just didn’t know it until I pulled something out of the basement! This will have to be fixed when we get on the road – no time now or we’ll get away late. And it was a good thing too as there was a 5.5 quake in Ontario just after we left. Here is a picture of the devastation it left behind!

The border crossing was no issue and we made it to the Wal-Mart in Malone, NY for our first night. We didn’t see a Home Depot on the way so no hot water at the new bathroom sink! We should be at the Apple Island Resort near Burlington, VT by mid day on June 24th so we should be able to make repairs there. We arrived at the resort around the expected time but had to set up in the rain! It’s a great resort, lots to do and lots of conveniences. We would recommend it to anyone visiting Lake Champlain.

The next day we decided to find a Home Depot and tour the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory just south of Stowe, VT. All was good, the ice cream was delicious and the Home Depot was not far. We took out the RV PEX valve and replaced it with a Shark Bite PEX valve. The fix was very easy and wished we had used this product at the get go and will probably use it when ever we need to ‘touch’ the plumbing in the rig again.

We left Apple Island Saturday AM, heading toward the Wal-Mart in Berlin City, NH. We took Route 2 from Montpelier, VT and had a great drive. The route was very scenic and not busy. Lots of little burbs and some hills but nothing like some of our treks in the west!

This Wal-Mart provided entertainment! After the store closed, cops show up (3 locals and 2 state troopers) and talked down a drunken individual that was being obnoxious. Apparently, the Wal-Mart staff saw the ruckus on their security cameras and dialed 911!

The next day, we lunch at a turn off beside the Kennebec River, just outside Skowhegan Maine. These types of rest areas with a view are few and far between so it makes it a special stop. We arrived at the Pumpkin Patch RV Resort early enough to set up and sit and relax under a beautiful sky and warm temps.

The next entry should put us in New Brunswick. Until next time, be well.

John and Kay decided to stay another day so we could continue our 'catch up'! They departed on Saturday but we thought we would stay another day due to the forecasted weather along our route. Well, it didn't matter, we got lots of rain anyway. We pushed through to the east side of St Louis Missouri so we would not have to deal with their rush hour! We picked a WalMart in Vandalia Illiniois and it was really noisy. Not too much sleep but sleep none the less! The next day (Monday, Apr 26th) we arrived at Mansfield Ohio for the night. So far the drive was good with not too much traffic. As we were leaving the WalMart in Mansfield, we could hear a squealing sound emanating from the trailer wheels! The noise had stopped by the time we pulled up to the stop light so we carried on. At our first rest area stop I felt the hub to find it incredibly hot and it was the same hub that we had the brake problems coming down. What in the world is happening now? Did the RV rip off guy screw something up? We were in the boonies and decided we would get it checked in Pennsylvania!

We arrive at the campground which is under new management and needs a lot of work! We settle on a site (not a lot to choose from that we could easily fit into) and unhook to set up. The ground is so uneven that we could not detach the truck and broke the hitch release handle trying. Finally, we pulled the pins on the 5th wheel head and raised the trailer up on the landing gear to get the trailer off the truck. Once clear, we could manually level the hitch head and pull the broken release handle to drop the head back onto the truck! Wow, what else can go wrong? Well, let me tell you – we woke up Wednesday morning to snow flurries!! Yikes! Snow flurries!

On Wednesday, Barb & I toured around the area including the Kinzua Dam and reservoir and the towns of Warren and Sheffield (Sheffield took 2 minutes). On our way to Warren, we found an RV place (Hoffman Coaches customizes the large bus type RVs) and he agreed to look at our problems when we pass by with the trailer on Thursday. We left him our hitch head so he could do some welding to repair the release handle.

Thursday morning the the water had frozen and we were lucky we had some in our fresh tank! After thawing out the water hose so I could roll it up and broke camp, we head over to Hoffman Coaches for repairs. He did an excellent job on the release handle. Now for the brake! The bolts that hold the assembly onto he axle would not come off easily so he decided to cut hem with a torch! The brake assembly was seized up tight and would not release! It's a good thing we planned to fix that wheel when we got back and had a new brake assembly with us! All in all, we were in and out in 90 minutes and excellent service at a fair price. I would recommend Hoffman Coaches to anyone!

We arrived at Terri and Mark's cabin and set up the trailer in the farmers field at the end of their road. Wow, when thanking him, he stated that we had a need and he had the space! We had a great time visiting and chatting with them. We decided to stay in the rig Sunday night and the farmer said we had to be out by labor day! So.... plans always don't quite work out – we woke up Monday morning to rain and had to put the dish away and connect the truck in the rain! Yuck!

As we approach the border, we were a little anxious as we had spent more than our allowable but the border was not busy and the guard waved us on after we had admitted our over spending! Whew.... that was a lot easier than expected! We arrived at our 'spring time' campground and are ready for what life brings us here in Canada. It is a culture shock to come back. Our dollars might be the same but our costs in Ontario are tripled! It is great though to be back home with family and friends.

This blog will not be updated regularly since we don't travel as much while at 'home'. Keep well and maybe we'll see you down the road.

We arrived at the State Park to see Patti standing the in the middle of the road waving to us like a mad woman! It was a great reception! The check in was pretty simple as Sean and Patti had put our name on the site right next to them – of course I gave Sean a hard time about that and suggested he should have put us on a site at the other end of the camp ground ;)

It's been a wonderful time here with Sean & Patti. It was good to kick back and hear stories and travels of each others adventures. The last time we met up with them was at the Escapee Gillette Wyoming Escapade in 2008. We had lots to talk about and there was not a dull moment. We parted on Thursday, looking forward to the next time we are in close proximity to meet up again.

The weather did not cooperate with us during our stay parked by the seashore! Winds and waves made it difficult to get out in the boat but we dared it on Wednesday for a short tour up and down the shore. The temps were good though and it has been great to be able to look out the window at the Copano Bay, watch the gulls, pelicans and other fishermen. The other neighbor caught a sting ray but not sure they ate it. Apparently, there is a portion of the 'wing' that is quite delicious when cut out of the ray – I won't be trying it real soon!

Before we left on Thursday morning, we managed to take time to get a few casts in but the water was real murky due to the wave action and extremely windy for casting but we did it anyway! No fish action but at least we got the lines wet!

Our drive up to Chanute Kansas was pretty quiet until we got to Austin Tx. It's the first major city that has traffic lights on the bypass route – kinda defeats the purpose of a bypass isn't it! The traffic was horrendous on the bypass and north of Austin to Georgetown which was our first night at a WalMart. Unfortunately, I had to set up the TV dish in the rain – not fun! Our next night was in Guthrie Oklahoma. Moocho construction to improve the highways through this state – and they desperately need it! Again, setting up in the rain! Saturday was a beautiful day of sunshine into Kansas and we arrived in Chanute around lunch time and set up was not in the rain – yaaaah!

Lots of other NuWa units in the park here – some going in for service and some going on the plant tour and some just passing through. Great city park, first 48 hours free and then $10 per night after that for electricity and water hook ups. The dump station is on the way out. Can't beat it!

Long time Rving friends John & Kay arrived on Tuesday – again lots to talk about and listening to each others adventures. After a full day of chatting, no one wanted to cook and being LEOs (Let Eat Out) we went looking for a restaurant! Not many here in Chanute but we found the Main Street Family restaurant (a smoke free restaurant) downtown and had a great dinner.

Wednesday we took our home in for service along with two other units that were parked on either side of us, for our 7AM appointment – yes, 7AM! We were back at the park by lunch and the bill was less than estimate – even with additional work done! Again, we are pleased with the service of NuWa. The rest of our week is just sitting anticipating our trip north to Ontario. We plan to be in Ingersol by May 3 and this will be our last blog update until we get set up there.

Until then, be well and safe....

Well, as always, when we stay for long periods, sometimes we are not happy to be leaving, like this Monday. This week has us doing a lot of clean up of crafts and outside chores to get us ready to start our journey north. Barb finished off her sewing, beading and pine needle weaving projects and put all her stuff away. So this is what our livingroom is suppose to look like, not a craft centre. I continued with the washing and waxing of the rig so it will travel smoother through the wind! We still managed time for our 2 miles walks and a boat rides. The pelicans were very busy catching dinner and gliding inches above the water as they fish!

Thursday, we took the day off from the 'put away' chores and traveled down the coast to the National Seashore on Padre Island. Lots of sand and thundering waves as they crashed on the shore. The Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle comes to shore on Padre Island to lay their eggs and we were about a week too early! The park had volunteers riding up and down the beach in ATVs on turtle watch. Be sure to read the links on the Nation Seashore for more information, it is quite interesting. Except for the wildlife, there's not too much difference between here and the Outer Banks in North Carolina – lots of sand and sea!

Back to the routine on Friday but during our errands, we found out about the Sandfest celebrations happening in Port Aransas so we had to go there on Saturday! We waited for the ferry for almost 90 minutes and were 2 miles back from the ferry docks! The next challenge on the island was to find a parking spot! It took us an hour to drive through the beach area where Sandfest was occurring and we found a spot that was about ¾ mile away! Cars, trucks and trailers were double and triple parked on the beach, people and kids everywhere! This goes against our personal rules regarding crowds but hey, it's an opportunity we're not likely to see again. There were several sand sculptures and some were really good. It was interesting to see how the craftsmen and women worked with the sand to form their sculpture – lots of pails and paint brushes and I'm sure patience! At every sculpture, someone was walking around with a spray bottle or lawn fertilizer sprayer soaking the sand so it would hold. All in all, it was a neat experience.

Today (Sunday) is put stuff away day – pack up the boat, the lawn chairs, outdoor carpet, solar lights and grill. One last bike ride over to Rockport Beach and we're ready to head out Monday morning. Our next destination is just up the road to Goose Island State Park. We're parking right on Copano Bay, 20 feet away from the shore! Here is a map and we will be in one of the Bay Front sites. Barb is itchin' to put on her hip waders and get her fish'n line wet!

Hope all is good out there, we'll be back north soon.....

Hello again and we hope y'all had a happy Easter. March went out like a lamb here and Aprils fools day did not go by unnoticed! Barb loves to try to play an April Fool on me and she exclaimed that there was a flat tire on the truck! Of course, I was expecting something since she hasn't missed a year yet, so I didn't believe her! The stories on Barb's April fools day tricks is for another time and after a couple of 'pops'!

Well, we finally finished the varnishing and both the stool tops and the table look great. Being a weekend, we did not go kayaking – we leave the bay for the working plebes so they can buzz around in their jet skis and speedboats, don't like getting swamped! We also finished caulking the rig and it looks pretty good even if we do say so ourselves! Now to let it cure a couple of days and then wash and wax the beast!

The campground owners, Dawn & David invited us to their family Easter egg hunt on Sunday morning and a BBQ lunch after. The kids are the same here as at home – all excited to get at the hunt but not patient enough to find all the treats. Soon some of the adults – or maybe that was their plan – were out in the yard helping find more hidden gems! The burgers were excellent and the occasion a good time! We have rated this CG a 4 of 5 but sometimes it touches on 4.5! Now if they had a free laundry service and someone to come in and clean the rig – now we're talking a 5!

Monday is a 2 mile walk day then Barb got busy and made 4 new quilted place mats for the table! I started the washing and waxing and got the front and bedroom slide done – yes, washed and waxed! We plan on taking a trip to Padre Island this week so the truck needed a good cleaning too!

Until next time, keep well out there....

Mar 24 – We did our walk today but the weather was threatening but according to the weatherman, rain was not expected until late afternoon. On our way out, the smart one in the group – and you all know who that is – suggested we take our rain ponchos just in case. Boy, was she right on! Half way around our route, the rain came in from the gulf and started to soak us. Thank goodness one of us can see the future!

Barb continues to work on her quilting project, her Shirett rug crocheting, beading and now the graphics on the stools! Every time I feel like getting something started, I sit down until the feeling goes away! It's a good thing one of us is energetic! I finally started re-caulking the seams on the rig. The tough job is the cleaning off of the old caulk and prepping the seam for the new. Once that is done and the tape applied, the actual caulking takes no time at all! I had instruction from a friend/RV tech (that's you Robbie) on how to apply the silicone but I'm not good enough so we use painters tape to help make smooth edges! On Friday, Barb didn't have enough to do so she came out and helped me apply some of the tape.

Saturday was a day off for both of us. We traveled over to Goliad for the 1836 Battle of Coleto Re-enactment during the Texas Revolution against Santa Ana and Mexico. Have I mentioned how flat it is here? Well, let me mention it again – the highest point around here is an overpass!

On our way up highway 77 toward Goliad, we stopped to get a few pictures of another Caracara. We showed them in our Feb 15th posting but did not provide an information link. We saw these on our way to Goliad the last time but didn't stop. They are apparently the raptors of the vulture family. When they approach a carcass, the other vultures leave quickly!

It was an awesome day starting with a tour of the Presidio with the Spanish troups camping out within the walls of the fort and the Texan army camped out in the fields outside the fort. The tents, equipment and the uniforms and dress of all the re-enactors were all authentic to the era. An army of 60 soldiers came down from Alabama to 'play' in the re-enactment. Their 'costumes' were hand made and the reds were dyed from the redness of the Tennessee River. We took our picnic lunch and sat alongside the battle field and watched exchanges of muscat fire, cannons and sword fighting. It sure was worth the one hour drive.

On Sunday we continued with our projects of caulking and quilting and spent a quiet day. We took our 2 mile (3.2Kms) walk on Monday then decided it was time to refinish the dining table since I had to varnish the new stool tops! So out doors with the table and get the portable sander primed up and scratch off the old finish - which was not too difficult as the table top finish was in bad shape anyway! We're utilizing this great weather and able to put two coats of varnish on each day and we're almost finished the trailer caulking. In all this, we even got another boat ride in through the canals of Key Allegro.

I hope you noticed that some text is highlighted as it is a click-able link for more information on that topic. Your comments are welcome too.

Hope all is well with you out there....