NL July 13

Hiked 7 km
We woke up in Newfoundland and I am so happy! It was sunny (though buggy) and we felt great to really start the trip.
After three days of being inside vehicles on land and on sea, we spent the entire day outside today.
First stop was the Codroy Provincial Day Use Park. It has been the first (and often last) place we have stopped on all our four other trips here. So I it’s a must.
We walked the beach and were rewarded by sightings of the endangered Piping Plovers we have seen here in the past. AND we saw two chicks. Oh my!


There were a few other shorebirds and swallows (but not a lot):


There was lots of interesting flotsam and jetsam:

And we didn’t look for the foot:

We drove around to the Codroy Wetland Interpretation Centre and were welcomed by two very chatty and sweet young women. We hiked the trail they recommended:

and then decided to head back to a spot just outside the park boundaries to see about camping for free beachside. And we got an amazing spot. Locals dropped by the parking lot to fish, play on the beach, OR this:

The wedding party came in this:

This is the spectacular view from my chair:

NL July 12

We were up early and heading towards North Sydney.

Alas, another standstill for construction, but we had plenty of time. We passed Rita’s Tea Room, and felt a little sad that the great Cape Breton singer died this year.

We scoped out the Walmart in Sydney for future free camping near the ferry. We arrived around 9:00 and hung around in line until we started to board around 11:30. There was a 30 minute delay (of course), then we set sail on the Blue Puttees.

There was a lot of this:

and only a little of that (it was cold on deck):

We had a great five hour sail and finally got on shore in Newfoundland around 6:30 (that’s two time changes in three days as well!).

We decided to hit J.T. Cheeseman Provincial Park for a night and bought our seasonal pass ($13) and camping fee ($9.75). I love my Senior Citizen and Newfoundland for these camping bargains.

Here’s our campsite:

and the view from my chair:

NL July 11

Another day of driving!

We were passed by three sets of two big Prevost Class A Motorhomes with Tennessee license plates and were wondering if a Nashville band was on tour? Or, by the third set, we wondered if it were a Tennessee invasion!

No moose sightings, though plenty of Moose Caution signs. We did see a doe and fawn, though.

Then we hit another standstill for more than an hour near Antigonish, NS. When we finally got going, we saw the remnants of a terrible accident (which we later discovered was fatal). We were subdued for the rest of the drive. So sad.

But we moved on and got our first sight of the ocean near Tracadie. We made it through the Canso Causeway and decided to stay at St. Peter’s. We had seen the small locks across the canal from the Battery Provincial Park the last time we were here, and decided to try for a free camping spot there.

Loads of locals were out seemingly fishing, so we found a spot and decided it was safe to stay. We also learned that they were Squid Jiggin’ (David thought the bucket of yucky, inky, white squid was bait until we learned it was the catch of the day!).

It was a lovely spot to stop after a long day.

Here’s the view from my chair:

Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) July 10

We’re finally returning to our favourite place in the world. It’s so exciting. This is our fifth trip, and I know it will be a great one.

We got away early (7:30) and began two days of detours and delays in Cobourg, only about 45 minutes in to our trip. It took us about 30 minutes to get going again.

It was a great day for driving, a little overcast. AND it was a great day to try the new toll bridge to highway 30, thus avoiding driving through Montreal. It was worth every penny of the $2.30 (cheaper for cars). There were a couple of short construction delays in Quebec, as usual!

David was a trooper and drove and drove and we spent the night at an Irving Truck Stop just before the New Brunswick border. Wow.

Here’s us, the little fish in the big pond:

Vermont and New Hampshire, June 3-7, 2013

Oops, forgot to write about this trip. But I will soon. Right now, we’re enjoying Newfoundland and Labrador (which I AM writing about).

May 2013: Presqu’ile Provincial Park

 

May 6 to May 8

Biked and hiked 40.5 KM

We like to take advantage of “off season” stays in Ontario Provincial Parks (cheaper, way fewer people), so a two-nighter at Presqu’ile, was in order.

Presqu’ile is only 1 1/2 hours or so from home in Brighton, but I almost feel like we’re somewhere on the ocean. The High Bluffs loop has sites on the cliff overlooking Lake Ontario. They’re booked solid after Victoria Day, but there were lots of sites, so we were happy.

We rode our bikes a LOT (Presqu’ile has an excellent paved bike path alongside the road which circles the park). We had hoped to see a lot of migrating Warblers since the upcoming weekend was the Warblers and Whimbrels Weekend. We only saw a Yellow Warbler, but we did have three new Life Birds: a Swamp Sparrow, an American Bittern (officially with a photo) and a Marsh Wren.

Though a short trip, it was beautiful and sunny and filled with biking and birding.

Here are some pictures:

https://picasaweb.google.com/113390676240612869195/PresquileProvincialParkMay2013?authkey=Gv1sRgCKyez4jX3-ul5AE

BBB Days 30, 31 and 32

March 25, 26, and 27

You know what THAT means. Driving, driving, driving!

March 25

We were up early, crossed in to Mississippi and decided to take the quicker route towards Nashville (we WERE going to take the Natchez Trace again, but it was cold and rainy, so it was better to move on).

The only “interesting” sign was for “Fun Shoots for Combat Rifles”. Fun and combat don’t often go together.

We winterized today, so we had to count on Rest Stops!

We stayed in a grotty Super 8 in Athens (last room available) and watched TV! No view from THIS chair.

March 26

We were up and out early.

Dogwood trees were in bloom through Tennessee and Kentucky. There were patches of snow on the ground, so we must have missed the worst again.

In to Ohio, we saw more snow and these interesting things:

• Quaker Steak and Lube (yum!)
• a building that looks like a radio in…you guessed it…Cincinnati!
• Troy Christian Wrestling (too many interpretations for me!)

We slept in a Days Inn in Sydney, Ohio, No view.

March 27

Almost home. We were up and out by 7:30 and headed north through Ohio and Michigan.

We had no problems at the border and it was smooth sailing until Milton, Ontario, where we hit sleet AND stop and go traffic all the way to Whitby. Jeesh.

But we were home safely and soundly by 6:00.

It was another amazing trip. Now, time to plan the NEXT adventure!

Here’s our route (via an app David found for the iPad):