Blog – Bridge the Travel Gap

Travelling the Maritimes in Autumn

We were lucky to visit three of the Martime provinces on our trip in Canada.

What are the Maritime’s

The Maritime’s are three Eastern provinces in Canada on the Atlantic coast. They are Prince Edward Island (PEI), New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. We arrived in New Brunswick after leaving Quebec on October 27th and spent 10 days exploring them. The scenery and seafood in the Maritime’s is famous through Canada and during the summer months they get lots of visitors from all over the world.

New Brunswick

Our first stop was Cap Pele where we stayed at the only RV resort still open, Silver Sands. We were the only visitors there and the owner was closing up at the end of the week so were fortunate the resort was still open. The cost per night for the four of us was $35 and we stayed 3 nights. We visited the famous Moncton tidal bore and were lucky to see a surfer on it.

Afterwards we visited a local museum about the Arcadians. In the 1700’s Nova Scotia was first settled by the French and called Arcadia. When the British took over many French settlers were deported unless they signed an oath of allegiance to England. In recent years there has been a resurgence of Arcadian culture. After Moncton we briefly visited Sheliac where I had my photo taken with the largest lobster in Canada.

: Meeting a giant lobster

: Our campground in NB with a view of the sea

Prince Edward Island (PEI)

The next day we visited PEI via the 15 km 1997 Confederation Bridge an impressive bit of engineering kit. There is a toll for cars coming back of C$45. We were extremely lucky with a beautiful autumn day of sunshine. As we had limited time we only visited capital Charlottetown and were lucky to visit Founders Hall on the last day it was open for the season and learnt about how Canada came into being.

The first meeting to discuss confederation could have gone either way with no confederation. However, all the politicians hit it off with lots of parties and agreement that led eventually to the creation of Canada. It was by no means a smooth ride with PEI not joining till they got into financial trouble building a railway several years later. The house where they met, Province House is still there and was open to the public. It is due to close later this year for five years of renovation so we were lucky to see where the Confederation of Canada was born. I also enjoyed a PEI lobster lunch.

: 1864 when Confederacy meeting was held

: 150 year anniversary of Canada

: Province house where the Confederation began

: Even can afford the occasional lobster

Nova Scotia

The next day we left for Nova Scotia and drove to a campground just out of Truro which is the centre of Nova Scotia. We left Debbie’s folks and took the car to explore the South shore of the island heading for Lunenburg. The drive was lovely along the coast in autumnal sunshine. Lunenburg was a bit of a disappointment and we both preferred Malone Bay. Eventually we ended up staying at a Days Inn in Bridgewater for C$105. The next day was pouring with rain so we ended up driving through to Yarmouth with a few stops along the way to enjoy the scenery. Stayed at the Lake lawn motel in Yarmouth ($C100) and enjoyed the best breakfast I have had so far in Canada. The second day there was still rain with not many photo opportunities of the Bay of Fundy where the highest tides in the world take place. We ended up staying at a wonderful Bed and Breakfast in Middleton for C$65.

: A bit of kiwi in Nova Scotia

: Windy Yarmouth Nova Scotia

The third day we drove back to the campground with a stop to visit the Grand Pre site where French settlers lived. Grand Pre was where an early example of ethnic cleansing took place. The British took control of Arcadia and renamed the island Nova Scotia. The majority of french settlers were deported unless they signed an oath of allegiance to the British. The visitor centre was closed but it was nice to walk around and see the statutes and gardens.

: Grand Pre

: Grand Pre statute of Evangaline

A big disappointment was visiting the Home of Ice Hockey in Windsor which was closed and looked decrepit. Surprised as it looks like no financial support is given to the attraction by any of the franchises or national hockey organisation.

On our last day in the Maritime’s we visited Halifax and Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse. The lighthouse was excellent with some great views. It was a great drive along the coast back to Halifax where we enjoyed a walk along the waterfront and visited the citadel overlooking the city. I again had lobster but it was not as delicious as the one on PEI. All in all we had a great time exploring the maritime’s and would like to come back and see it again in warmer weather.

: Halifax waterfront

: Peggy Cove Lighthouse

: Crazy boat in Halifax Harbour

: Colorful lobster

Debbie BridgeNovember 12, 2014May 27, 2021 Canada, North America, Travel 3 Comments

What does 93 days travelling in North America cost?

We are a bit lucky

This trip is unique in that we are travelling with Debbie’s folks in their RV so not paying for RV rental or car rental. We also do not stay often at motels, hotels or hostels. Another bonus is staying with friends and relatives at no cost as well as a few weeks at Debbie’s parents place in Canada. Her parents also have several memberships which allow them to stay for free in some campgrounds. For instance we spent several nights in a South Dakota campground for no cost. Other campgrounds range from a low $20 to $50 depending on if it is privately owned or not competing with anyone else.

Grub, costs and the journey

Food also has been relatively inexpensive as we usually cook our own meals and rarely go out for dinner or breakfast. The biggest cost is fuel and the RV is a thirsty beast. Rather than break down costs into different categories I am just going to tell you what the average cost per day has been for 93 days of travelling. We started in Vancouver and drove up to Kelowna, Banff then down into Montana,Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan then across Ontario, Quebec to the Maritime’s before heading down the East Coast of the USA to Chesapeake Bay, Virginia. We are here a few days before heading down South and then later over to the West Coast.

Our average daily costs

On average the daily cost per day works out at $US 100. This includes fuel, accommodation, visiting attractions, food and the occasional splurge at a winery or restaurant. It has been a pleasant surprise that our costs have been so low as I had budgeted for a minimum of US$150 a day. We also have had some unexpected expenses with BA losing my baggage and buying some replacement clothes and toiletries, amazingly two months into our trip BA found and returned my bag.

One tip to remember when travelling in America without planned accommodation

During our trip we have stayed at motels a few times when we took the car and drove around some of Nova Scotia and down the East coast of the USA. One tip for people driving around the US in a car is to pick up at Visitor Centres the hotel discount voucher books. Visitor centres are usually located off the freeway when you enter a new state. We stayed at a lovely four star hotel in Fairfax, Virginia with breakfast for US$90. Nowhere have I seen these sort of bargains on the web. On average when we stay at a motel it ranges between US$80-100.

If people have any specific questions about costs I would be happy to answer them.

Even can afford the occassional lobster

Debbie BridgeNovember 11, 2014August 29, 2015 North America, Travel, USA No Comments

The Maritime Provinces of Canada!

‘A ship in port is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.’

Acadian Monument

Hello from the Maritimes! This last week has seen a dream come true! I’ve, finally, made it to New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

Happy ‘belated’ Halloween! I even made my own miniature pumpkin!

This is the miniature pumpkin I made!

The week started with us leaving Quebec and the Gaspesie Peninsula,

Town along Gaspesie Peninsula

but not before seeing a very picturesque village – Perce.

Perce, Quebec

Our first maritime province was New Brunswick.

New Brunswick

I would say it’s the largest of these eastern provinces. Our main stop here was in Moncton,

Moncton Art with a very Maritime feel

where we learned a lot about the Acadians.

They had settled in the Maritimes in the 1600’s, but then were removed in the 1700’s by the British, only to return again in the

1700 – 1800’s. They are a huge part of the culture of this region, along with the British. It was good to get a better understanding of this big part of Canadian history.

Grand Pre Acadian Settlement

I, also, have now seen my first bore – like a baby tidal wave that happens with the tide – there are places in the UK you can see this phenomenon.

Tidal Bore, Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

Then, it was a day in Charlottetown, PEI.

My Dad in front of confederation bridge – bridge across from New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island.

This was the birthplace of Canada, where a bunch of politicians got together at a big party and decided to create a confederation.

Confederation Museum in Charlottetown, we there on the last day before it closed!

It’s, also, the home of ‘Anne of Green Gables’, but she was all closed up for the year. Still, I’m glad I made it to confederation house, as its closing for the next five years for repairs.

Confederation House, Charlottetown, PEI

Next day, we were on the move to Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia Lighthouse

and John and I ran off for a few days to drive around it on our own. We saw light houses, historic forts, more Acadian history and some excellent food.

My first ever Poutine, this is Italian style. A new Canadian favourite food.

John as a very happy man, having some lobster in PEI.

I love the people here; they are so open and friendly – even more than us westerners!

Hope you are well! Who are the friendliest nation you have met with? Think there is a top 10 list in the making here….hmm? Will Canada make it?

Love
Debx

Debbie BridgeNovember 3, 2014October 25, 2023 Canada, North America, Travel No Comments

En Francais and one last rellie! – Ontatrio and Quebec

‘Only as high as I reach can I grow. Only as far as I seek can I go. Only as deep as I look can I see. Only as much as I dream can I be.’

Art on the peninsula

Just cruising down the Gaspesie peninsula – beautiful area, but we have hit rain and wind. This week started with John returning from a weekend visit with a friend in Niagara Falls and me coming back from a short stint in Arkansas – you can read more about this in last week’s letter.

Rellies Halloween Photo

We had one more ‘rellie’ meal with my Uncle Jim and his family – excellent as usual and lots of good laughs and catch up.

Uncle Jim and Dad

So, the next day, we headed off to ‘la belle Provence’ – Quebec (by the way, Quebec City is actually said like this: Quebec, Quebec en Francais!). This took 2 days, our first night was at a lovely campsite on Lake Ontario, but with a very grumpy Dutchman – quite amusing.

Sunrise at grumpy Dutchman’s campsite

Our second day, found me dusting off my cobwebs of my pigeon French to start the great hunt of finding campsites open at this time of year – we are past the shoulder season. There’s one thing I’ve learned that, both in France and Quebec; a little French goes a long way to getting help. They really appreciate the effort. One even said, I had very good French!

We had a few nights outside Quebec City, one of my favourite cities for its beauty and historical significance.

Chateau Frontinac

A lot of Canada’s beginnings started here. Even our written history started with a French historian. This was where the English beat the French which is why we are a dominantly an English-speaking country and we beat the Americans – a little known fact that the Canadians have been, one, if not the first nation, to beat them in a battle/war, but they tend to forget that part of their history.

City Hall, Quebec

From Quebec City, we decided to go around the Gaspesie Peninsula onto our main destination – the Maritimes. This area is rich in culture, food and fun. I can highly recommend it, if you have the time to drive it. They even make the ancient alcohol – mead – which I sampled! One thing I’m sad I missed is a sugar cabin, best to plan ahead for going to one of these, but worth the effort.

What are your experiences of trying to speaking in another language? Has it helped or just wasn’t worth the effort?

Love
Debx

Debbie BridgeOctober 29, 2014January 18, 2016 Canada, North America, Travel No Comments

Mud, Bathhouse, Fungi and Sunrises – Point Pelee & Little Rock

‘Rise above the storm and you will find sunshine.’ – Mario Fernandez

Nothing like a motor-home in mud, good thing the tow truck knew what to do!

Right now, I am sitting in our motor home as we get towed out of our campsite. We got stuck in the mud. As with all plans, there are these ‘little detours’ and we wait to see how long until we move further east into the Maritime Provinces of Canada.

Marshlands, Point Pelee

So, that’s the now, but this week past I started at Point Pelee

Southern most point in Canada

– the southernmost point in Canada. It’s on the 42nd parallel, so, most people in Canada live on a lower parallel than those in the UK. A fact I love to quote!

42 second parallel

It’s a beautiful park with its own unique vegetation and animal life due to its southern position. (more photos below of fungi and our canoe ride in Marshlands)

Beaver Home – in marshlands

Then, I took a holiday from my holiday and went to Little Rock, Arkansas to meet with a pack of female friends. I knew little about this state, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

Nina and Pinta replicas in Little Rock, Arkansas – Columbus’ ships!

It was, also, very warm, so, once again, in one week I went from autumn to summer back to autumn. It’s a very lush, green and hilly area. On my first day in Little Rock, I saw 2 replica ships of the Nina and Pinta – Columbus’ ships, which was part of a walk along the river that includes a sculpture garden with all sorts of beautiful vistas.

Then, it was lunch together with the ladies and shopping.

At one point in the week, we made it to a bath house where I was bathed in mineral waters, hot towelled, steamed, tried a sits bath, massaged and had a hand paraffin wax treatment – joy!

Bath House in Hot Springs, Arkansas

Another day, we did a short hike up part of Pinnacle Mountain, which was beautiful.

Walk on Pinnacle Mountain

Forgot to mention about the beautiful sunrises I saw at dawn – just gorgeous. (photos below of sunrises) All and all a really great ‘find’: the state of Arkansas – it’s, also, Bill Clinton’s home state.

President Clinton’s hometown – Hot Springs, Arkansas

After all this, I went back to London, Ontario for a great meal with ‘rellies’ – I’m all pampered like a pussy cat in cream.
Much Love
Debx

Fungi and Canoe Photos from Point Pelee:

Sunrises in Little Rock, Arkansas and Point Pelee, Ontario:

Debbie BridgeOctober 26, 2014December 22, 2023 Canada, North America, Travel, USA No Comments

Back to Canada and the ‘rellies’ – Canadian Thanksgiving!

‘A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.’ – Lao Tsu

Wow, is it fall/autumn here – beautiful weather!

Autumn Leaves

It’s been just gorgeous this week. It’s, also, our return to Canada, just in time for a huge family meal for the Canadian Thanksgiving.

Firstly, this week we left the gorgeous state of Wisconsin to then end up in Michigan. Our first night was at a campsite right next to Lake Michigan,

Lake Michigan

which made it easy for us to head over to Mackinac Island – an island in Lake Huron where they have no cars and the only highway, of its kind, in the U.S.!

Horse and Buggy

It was gorgeous and worth the one hour bike ride round the island on this highway. It was my first tandem ride

Tandem Bike Ride

– we hit sun, wind, rain and hail – all within the span of an hour – reminding us of the time of year!

We didn’t stay long in Michigan and quickly headed off back into Canada. We are now in the land of my rellies – both sides of the family, as this is where my parents grew up, met, got married and had their first child, my brother, Tim. (I’m the only ‘real’ B.C.’er in our family.) We are still feeling the repercussions of our delays and this week it showed up in a last minute change, on the day, to head to Windsor,

John checked out a gun from one of the ‘rellies’ – we don’t use guns like the Americans do!

then, to London, Ontario.

Mom and the cousins

Which worked out brilliantly! We were able to join in our various family gatherings, as it’s our Canadian Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving Dinner

– John’s first Thanksgiving. So, it’s been too much food, but lots of great catch up and introductions for John with my large extended family in the east.

Just a post note, I’ve seen some cool vegetables here – purple and orange cauliflower and it tastes delicious! For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving or Harvest Festivals, what is your favourite Fall/Autumn food?

The orange one tastes better to me than the purple!

Happy (post) Thanksgiving! ( some extra notes of interest below)

Thanksgiving Dinner

Love

Debx

Extra Notes I forgot to include in the letter:

Talbot Trail – this is a beautiful drive from Point Pelee we did to London, Ontario. Winds along the lake and has a bit of history to it too! We found some really nice veggies and such, from the off road sellers.

Also, a part of the Talbot Trail is, the Underground Railway – I never knew that this very historical and important route for Africans escaping the slavery in the Southern States, came all the way up into Canada.

Debbie BridgeOctober 26, 2014September 19, 2022 Canada, North America, Travel No Comments

Wild West to Cultured East

‘Live the life you love. Love the life you live.’

We are on the move again! 3 more states down – South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. We are now in Michigan for a few days. Our long RV repair stay in South Dakota ended this week – we are thankful – all seems to be running well again. Before we left this state, we made a day trip to Deadwood where Bill Hickok was shot in the back by a drunk.

Bill Hickok’s Grave

We saw his and Calamity Jane’s graves.

Calamity Jane’s Grave

John joined in the re-enactment of Hickok’s death which was very funny and I hope to include in this month’s video blog. Also, the night before we left, we went and saw a country band playing on the old movie set for ‘Dances with wolves’, got to stand on the same place that Kevin Costner did while filming and, even, had a cowboy meal.

Cowboy Meal

Then, it was straight through Minnesota, only stopping to sleep and eat. I am finding that casinos have some pretty good campsites, plus, at one, we were able to use the hotel pool and hot tube – very nice.

Nearly forgot to mention the Badlands of South Dakota – beautiful – wished we could have stayed longer to do a few hikes, but the repairs have put us behind on our travels.

Badlands South Dakota

On the weekend, we took a short stop of a few nights at Turtle Lake, near St. Croix. At St. Croix, we took a paddle wheeler boat trip

Taylor Falls Paddle Wheeler goes down St. Croix River

on the river and went through the Wisconsin side of the inter-state park

Glacier pot hole

to learn about how the glaciers formed all the beautiful rocks and lakes of this gorgeous state. Wisconsin has the most lakes of any state and they are everywhere! Great fishing. Plus, the leaves are really starting to change and fall is in the air. Pumpkins are everywhere – including the RV

Halloween in the RV

and I’ve had my first piece of pumpkin pie – a favourite of mine – yummy!

Pumpkin Pie

Debx

Debbie BridgeOctober 10, 2014June 20, 2016 North America, Travel, USA No Comments

Why I love South Dakota

We ended up staying 8 nights in South Dakota due mainly to alternator problems on the RV. Happily we arrived at an ideal time and were able to see the Buffalo Roundup at Custer Park, the Crazy Horse Memorial walk held just twice a year, visit Mount Rushmore and do several scenic drives on the Needles Highway. These are just a few of the reasons of why I love South Dakota and would go again.

Buffalo Roundup at Custer Park

Each year at Custer Park the park officials do a buffalo round-up. The buffalo are vaccinated and checked for illness as well as culling out a few to make sure the Park can sustain an appropriate number of buffalo. The herd numbers around 1300. We heard about the roundup at the Rushmore Shadows Campground where we stayed the entire time. Around 15000 people attend the roundup and you have to get up at the crack of dawn or in our case 5am to drive to the site. We were glad we got up early as we got a great viewing point. There are two places you can view the buffalo and we were at the one where the buffalo come over the hill and are then rounded up towards the corals. It was a great time with our $6 pancake breakfast.

I found it amusing that politicians are the same all over the world. The South Dakota governor or senator not sure which attended with a huge entourage separated from the common folk. They were on a hill opposite us which strangely was a bad viewing point. Given the conversation around us I suspect that the governor lost a lot of votes from South Dakota voters because of his separateness from the commoners on the hills. That aside it was amazing to see the buffalo come over the hill with the cowboys and cowgirls herding them. It must have been breathtaking 150 years ago to see them on the plains when they numbered in the millions all over the midwest.

: Lots of buffalo

: Cowboys rounding up the buffalo

: Buffalo Round Up news story

: Pancake tent

Crazy Horse Memorial Walk

Twice a year people are given the opportunity to walk through a Volksmarch to the top of the Crazy Horse Memorial. You either make a donation of a few cans of food and pay a $3 per person cost. The day we did it was in glorious sunshine and along with a few thousand other people we enjoyed the walk up to the memorial. Afterwards we returned to the visitor centre which I highly recommend a visit. I never knew that the memorial being carved out of granite was a private undertaking with no government funding and being done by one family. The sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski started the memorial in 1948 and after his death in 1982 his wife and 10 children carried on the work. When it is finished it will dwarf Mount Rushmore.

: 1/34th scale model

: Lots of buffalo

: Information on the walk

: How big it is

: The walk

: At the top

Mount Rushmore

Any visit to South Dakota has to include Mount Rushmore. We went twice during our time in South Dakota. There is no entry charge to visit the site but you do have to pay $11 for car parking valid for one year. The layout of the complex is from the car park you walk up through a corridor of flags from each state and to a viewing platform overlooking the amphitheatre where you go for the evening show. Below the platform are a couple of theatres showing a short film about the history of the site as well as an exhibition you can walk through. The night show is a movie about Mount Rushmore and how Washington, Roosevelt, Jefferson and Lincoln, all Republicans, were chosen. It is quite amazing given the equipment they used that no one was killed in the 15 years sculpturing the faces. Mount Rushmore is well worth a visit and it gets 3 million visitors a year although when we were there it did not feel that busy.

: Corridor of flags

: Mt Rushmore

I loved South Dakota because the people were friendly and for a New Zealander there are a lot of interesting sites to visit. We also drove the Needles Highway and enjoyed the amazing scenery, attended a musical show, visited Deadwood and did some wine and beer tasting during our stay. All in all I would love to return to South Dakota in the summer to do some hikes and explore it more.

Debbie BridgeOctober 5, 2014November 28, 2024 North America, Travel, USA No Comments

Weird toilet doors on your travels

Last nights campground toilet door or shower curtain got me wondering about strange toilet doors. Anyone else had experience with odd toilet doors?

Debbie BridgeOctober 3, 2014August 29, 2015 North America, USA 1 Comment

Finally leaving Rapid City in South Dakota

Unreliable wi-fi has meant few blogs and mechanical delays with the motor home have delayed the progress of our trip. Hopefully today the problem is resolved after a couple of days work by mechanics on the alternator.

There are worse places to be stuck than South Dakota. There has been so much to do here visiting Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse Memorial Walk, Buffalo Round Up at Custer Park, Needles Highway and enjoying a few days relaxation. Today we are heading for Minnesota and then on to Detroit over the next week or so.

: Needles Highway

: Buffalo Round Up news story

Debbie BridgeOctober 2, 2014August 29, 2015 North America, Travel, USA No Comments