I had planned on staying two nights in Manomet, MA but discovered a problem that I just could not ignore.  It started yesterday but I thought that with time, it would resolve itself.  It did not.  Tommy’s brother, Dan, has an albino rabbit which usually has the run of the house.  For our visit, Dan had erected a “wall” in the living room to create a “safe space” for the bunny rabbit.

We arrived yesterday, and Chloe immediately went over to the enclosure, sniffing and barking trying her best to figure out what was inside.  The only thing that seemed to calm Chloe down was my picking her up and taking her outside or holding her.  As I mentioned yesterday, we left for the beach and a drive and then, when we went to dinner, we just shut Chloe in our room.  When we returned, I walked Chloe and shortly thereafter, went to bed where Chloe was quiet, and I thought everything was fine.

Then, this morning, Chloe’s fixation with this bunny rabbit was in overdrive.  She was in the grip of an obsession she was powerless to resist.  To stop her either trying to get to this rabbit or barking at it, I either had to hold Chloe in my arms or go outside.  Unfortunately, I was starting to feel so stressed that I felt we had to leave.  Dan was trying to work in his home office upstairs and I just wasn’t comfortable having to constantly hold onto Chloe.  Apparently, bunny smells are too much for my baby.  Look at her looking over the enclosure trying to figure out what this thing is (and that was one moment when she looked calm!

So, I decided that I might as well head towards my next destination—Plainville, CT but first we decided to see Plymouth Rock, the traditional site credited as being the disembarkation point of the Mayflower pilgrims.  The whole area is just so incredibly charming and quaint with striking images of the ocean lapping at the coastline.  Chloe and I spent some time walking around the area marveling at the Pilgrims’ tenacity and what it possibly meant to us, specifically my Rogers family.

I do say “possibly” because I am not claiming a definite genealogical link to Joseph Rogers or his father, Thomas Rogers, both passengers on the Mayflower.  A few years ago, when I was heavily involved in researching our ancestry, I found a link (in the early 1800s) to this line but was unable to verify it.  Nice to think about and perhaps will give me the incentive to get back to this research…

So, we ended up today in Warwick, RI, home of the Providence airport.  I remember my last visit here in 1996 or 1997.  I and one of my bartenders in the French Quarter had met these two guys in our bar who invited us, at their expense, to fly up here to attend a Patriots game with them.  We took them up on their offer and landed in Providence in the middle of a snow storm.  Neither Jodi nor I had appropriate winter clothing, but the guys met us holding Patriots jackets for us to wear.  Wasn’t that nice… especially since they knew we were Eagles and Saints fans.  Warmth won out.

Anyway, my route here was uneventful and, for the most part, very enjoyable.  As usual, I had selected “Avoid Highways” as it seems that generally my GPS selects a pleasant drive through small towns and villages, parks, and quiet roadways.  That was true again today until I reached Providence.  I drove through parts of this city that no one would call scenic; street closures and construction, missing signs, and non-working lights created chaos for me until I finally pulled over and changed my preference.  At that point, the GPS took me directly to I-95 where, I exited in two miles and my hotel appeared one block later.  Okay, I’ll concede that sometimes highways can be beneficial other than being the fastest (and most boring) way to travel.

Had a great breakfast this morning in Camden, ME…homemade coffee cakes, fresh fruit and juices.  I was actually sorry to be leaving so soon as I greatly enjoyed this town.

I made the decision last night to skip my stop in Portsmouth, NH since circumstances made it so my friend Tommy Sullivan couldn’t be there on July 30^th, my originally planned visit to Manomet.  I had to change my preferences to NOT avoid highways and tolls so that my drive wasn’t much more than four hours and thankfully, on my way to the interstate, I got to drive on scenic US 1.  It did not disappoint but, unfortunately, eventually, I had to get into the interstate fray.  Traffic was extremely heavy and, as is usual on interstates, there were several impatient drivers weaving in and out of traffic, despite most of us already driving faster than the speed limit.

One idiot on a Japanese motorcycle seemed to relish darting in front of vehicles, driving in between lanes, then occasionally on the shoulder only to pop back onto the highway causing a bit of havoc on the roadway.  Both he and his rider were wearing shorts, neither was wearing a helmet, he had on sneakers and she wore flip-flops.  It’s amazing to me how stupid some people can be.

Anyway, I survived Boston traffic and finally found myself on scenic Route 3A where my GPS had difficulty finding the proper dirt road that the Sullivan abode is on.  Luckily, Tommy was standing out on his deck and eventually saw me and helped guide me to the proper driveway.  His brother, Dan, lives in this beautiful six-bedroom home; he and Tommy were my gracious hosts.  Look at that magnificent view from the deck!

After a while, Tommy, Chloe, and I took a walk around the property and down to the beach where I discovered that Chloe loves the beach.  She ran in and out of the waves, dug holes, played with other dogs and all while my camera was back in the house!  Later on, Tommy drove me around the area showing me some of the sights such as White Horse Beach.

After relaxing for a bit, Tommy, Dan, and I went to a restaurant called 42⁰ North where I enjoyed a glass of sauvignon blanc together with extremely delectable pan seared sea scallops over lobster and roasted corn risotto with julienned zucchini.  Yum!

We woke up this morning in Canada and tonight we will be going to bed in the United States of America!  And, I am back in the Eastern time zone.  YAY!  As much as I love traveling outside the country, I always get excited when I see the border to re-enter the USA.  Today was no different.

So, this morning, St. John lived up to its reputation of being one of the foggiest cities.  The pea soup was thick, cloying and, from my room, I couldn’t see but about a half block away.  I was up and ready to go at about 7:00 AM but waited two hours hoping the fog would lift.  It did not.  I want to tell you, it was scary.  Visibility was so bad I couldn’t see signs and you could barely see cars in front of you.  I made several wrong turns and was getting extremely frustrated just trying to get out of the city.  I knew that once I was on  Canada Route 1 West, it would be somewhat better as it was a straight shot to the US border, but it took me almost a half hour to find the correct road.

The extremely dense fog persisted for about thirty minutes but finally lifted enough that you didn’t feel as if you were driving into an abyss.  St. John is only a little more than an hour from the border and I had figured I would stop somewhere along the way and spend my remaining $21 Canadian dollars but all of a sudden, there is the border in front of me.  Luckily, there was also a duty-free store.  I already had two bottles of wine in the car (maximum allowable) so spent my wad on dark chocolate.  You can never have too much chocolate.

There were three lines to enter the U.S. and I picked the middle line.  Wrong decision.  I swear, I never pick the fast line no matter where I am.  By the way, I did NOT take this picture as it is illegal to do so (there are signs stating that fact).  I found this picture on the internet.

Anyway, I finally got through and let the GPS be my guide and what a beautiful ride it was!  ME Route 9 West then ME Route 46 South, then US Route 1 South.  Winding, dipping, turning, magnificent terrain almost the entire way.  This should be listed as a scenic route…mountains, lakes, rivers, quaint little towns, the ocean!  I have completely run out of unique adjectives to describe what I’ve seen.  Suffice it to say that I am impressed with the grandeur and gorgeousness of our country.  And, Maine is particularly spectacular.

I picked Camden, Maine as a stop purely because it was a four-hour drive from St. John but, oh my God!   I love it here!  This town is so cute and picturesque.  The population at the last census was only 4,850 but triples during the summer months with tourists primarily from Boston, New York, and Philadelphia.  Bordered by the Penobscot Bay and the Gulf of Maine (part of the Atlantic Ocean), the homes on its hills offer spectacular views.

Chloe and I checked into our hotel and we were both blown away.  The pet-friendly apartment with high, sloping ceilings and a skylight, reminiscent of the sea, is decorated with paintings depicting dogs on beaches or boats, the bed cover has dog pictures all over it, even the shower curtain has a dog on it.  There is a special dog bed (which Chloe has already used), baskets of doggy toys, dog bowls.  For me, there is a queen-sized bed, a full kitchen, television with Fox News (YAY)…I could live here.

We settled in then went for a walk to Camden Harbor where most of the shopping and restaurants are.  We found a little park with a waterfall and ducks (that was Chloe’s favorite).  The harbor is breathtakingly beautiful and we found a nice waterside restaurant to sit, have an ice-cold beer and fresh blackened haddock tacos, stuffed with Asian slaw and mango salsa.

Gorgeous place.  I wouldn’t mind coming back here.

I am beginning to think that the sun doesn’t shine very often here in St. John.  It was foggy when I drove through here on Friday, July 20th (when I was on my way to Moncton), foggy and raining yesterday when I got here, foggy today, fog and rain predicted tomorrow and the next day.  And, I am not talking about the foggy conditions like we get in Florida where we wake up to fog that burns off as the sun heats the air.  It lasts all day here!  I was reading up on this and found an article on point that states:

“The most conspicuous weather condition produced by the Bay of Fundy is fog. Thick, damp, murky fog that can chum and wisp across the shores to permeate the lands and forests for miles. The fog is formed when warm, moist air moves off the land and over the cold Fundy waters. As the air cools, it condenses to form millions of microscopic water droplets in the air. Indeed, Saint John, New Brunswick is officially Canada’s second-most foggy city (the dubious top honor going to St. John’s, Newfoundland).”

Despite the fog, Chloe and I set out to see the Reversing Falls.  I checked the tide times and found high tide to occur at 12:30 this afternoon so we drove over (it was only a seven minute drive but a 38 minute walk and I didn’t want to carry Chloe home).   The reversing falls are a unique phenomenon created by the collision of the Bay of Fundy and the Saint John River. At low tide the river empties into the bay causing a series of rapids and whirlpools. As tides rise they slow the river current for a brief period called slack tide. The Bay’s tides continue to rise, gradually reversing the flow of the river, and rapids form again, peaking at high tide. Tide cycles take about 12.5 hours.

It was amazing to see.  But, still pictures don’t do it justice so I found a beautiful video…

We explored the nearby park for almost two hours and then went back to the hotel for about an hour so Chloe could take a nap.  We then decided to explore “Centre St. John” and, since we are staying in this area, we walked.

The misty air was a crisp 62 degrees as we strolled along the promenade, stopping at one of the restaurants (under those blue canopies as seen above) for a New Brunswick white wine and P.E.I. mussels steamed in garlic, lemon, and white wine.  Chloe had a burger from the kid’s menu, no bun, but she did eat some of the cole slaw and fries that came with it.  (I ate the rest.)

So, we are leaving Canada tomorrow and are headed south back to Florida.  With still three weeks left in my road trip, for the most part, on the way back south, we will be driving along the coast and will be visiting friends and relatives along the way.  We’ve enjoyed these three Canadian provinces:  New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.  The spectacular scenery, unusual tidal phenomena, many, many pet-friendly parks, hotels, and restaurants, amazing country music stations, delectable seafood all made this piece of my trip not only worthwhile but made me discover other sites I would like to see.  But, I am happy to be returning to the good old U.S.A. tomorrow.  At least I’ll be able to watch Fox News on television instead of streaming it on my computer. 

Today started out pretty great even though the weather was not very good.  I’ve always  slept great hearing the patter of rain against my windows.  Then, “Come From Away” served us another fabulous, tasty breakfast; this time a savory quiche with crispy bacon, sausage, fresh strawberries, kiwi, and blueberries.  So, I felt alive and ready for my next stop.  But, I had to walk Chloe in the rain, pack the car in the rain, and that part wasn’t a whole lot of fun.  But, we had to drive very little as the vast majority of the trip was by ferry so we made it through and got to the ferry terminal early.

First off, despite the rain (which had calmed down to a light drizzle), everyone got out of their vehicles, wandered around, chatted, took pictures…very festive atmosphere, kind of like when you’re starting on a cruise.  This ship IS a cruise ship.  There were three restaurants (that I found), loads of seating, a television lounge, two movie lounges, a “trucker’s lounge”, a separate lounge with charging stations and computer desks, a children’s play area, a concierge, a gift shop, and viewing decks.  There were also members from the New Brunswick Museum who talked about the bay, its history and marine life.  This was an experience.

I couldn’t believe how many huge tractor trailers, motor homes, and cars they can fit on the “Fundy Rose”.  This thing was HUGE!  According to its statistics, it can hold 245 cars and holds 1,317 passengers.  The ship is 400 feet long by 62 feet wide,  with a draw of 4.9 meters, and has a cruising speed of 20 knots.  The crossing itself takes 2 hours and 15 minutes.

We drove onto the ship and were directed where to park and you had better not be too big or you’d have trouble getting out of your door.  The only bad thing was this ship required that dogs stay in the car…poor Chloe.  They parked us directly next to the door and, social being that she is, everyone walking by spoke to her so I know that she was completely baffled as to why she couldn’t get out.  But, I opened windows, gave her treats and water and then made my way up to the highest deck we were allowed on.

Luckily, the rain stopped so I pretty much stayed up on the outer deck watching for the whales everyone keeps saying are all over the Bay of Fundy.  Never saw one but it was pretty foggy so I doubt I could have seen one unless it surfaced directly below me.

We got to St. John and my GPS took me directly to my parking garage.  I had made reservations at The Pratt House in the center of the historic section of St. John.  It is a three story, brick, side-gabled, neo-classical residence with an off-centered entrance built in 1850.  It is designated as a local historic place for its architecture and for its survival  in two separate incidents of near loss.  (There was a great fire of 1877 which destroyed most buildings around here and then the urban renewal program where many buildings were destroyed.)

Anyway, my little apartment includes my own downtown parking space across the street in a secured garage.  That picture on the left is the stairway going up to our room.  The bed is almost waist high (see picture below where Chloe looking out the window from the bed), ceilings are at least 15 feet with incredible mouldings and I have my own little kitchenette.  Besides the fact that I love little quaint, old places like this, it is right smack in the middle of town, walkable to the marketplace and the water.  St. John has a lot to see and I’m excited to be here.

But, sadly, this afternoon, it was cold, windy, and raining.  I can deal with cold as I know how to layer but walking around in the rain is just not fun.  We did walk around for a while until the rain became unbearable.  Now it is so foggy outside, you can only see partly up the street but, what I can see, is that I am located directly across from the police station.

I woke this morning to a somewhat foggy, overcast-looking day and, once the time was 7:30 AM, I went outside and took pictures for the “mid-point” tide.  Shortly thereafter, I went to breakfast in this adorable room where, on china,  we were served waffles, sausage, bacon, fresh strawberries and melons, fresh juices and homemade breads with an assortment of jams.

I then went back to the room where I gathered my phone, Kindle, and Chloe and we sat by the Bay’s edge as we waited for the tide to come in.

I tried taking the low (yesterday at 4:14 PM), medium (this morning at 7:30 AM), and high tides (today at 10:54 AM) from approximately the same vantage point.  While I think that I took awesome pictures, they don’t necessarily do the phenomenon justice as the tidal change at this time of year is approximately twenty feet in six hours.  The pictures below are, from left to right, low tide, mid tide, high tide showing essentially the same direction.

Looking straight ahead… (The high tide photo shows the basin full of water but it is so calm that the cloud reflection almost diminishes the fact that it is water below my feet)

Looking left towards the wharf and marina…

Looking right towards Victoria Beach…

Located halfway between the equator and the north-pole on Canada’s stunning east coast, the Bay of Fundy is one of the seven wonders of North America. The highest tides on earth, the rarest whales in the world, semi-precious minerals and dinosaur fossils; all this convinced an international panel of experts in 2014 to choose the Bay of Fundy as one of the natural wonders of the world.

I was curious as to why this tidal change occurs so, did some research.  As we all know, tides are the periodic rise and fall of the sea caused by the gravitational pull of the moon and the sun on the Earth. The explanation on the site, www.bayoffundytourism.com is one even I could understand:

“Fundy’s tides are the highest in the world because of an unusual combination of factors: resonance and the shape of the bay. 

The water in the Bay of Fundy has a natural resonance or rocking motion called seiche. You could compare this to the movement of water in a bathtub. Although the water in a bathtub sloshes from one end to the other and back again in a few seconds, it takes about 13 hours for the water in the bay to rock from the mouth of the bay to the head of the bay and back again. As the ocean tide rises and floods into the bay every 12 hours and 25 minutes, it reinforces the rocking motion.

To imagine this, picture an adult giving a gentle push to a child on a swing. Just a very small push is required to keep the swing moving. Likewise, the seiche in the bay is sustained by the natural resonance of the ocean tides.

The bay’s shape and bottom topography are secondary factors contributing to Fundy’s high tides. The bay becomes narrower and shallower — from 130 m (426′) to 40 m (131′) — toward the upper bay, forcing the water higher up onto the shores.”

And, finally, I also found a fascinating time lapse photo of the Digby Marina during the tidal change.  Click on the arrow to see the change…

Digby is one of the places where I specifically planned to go and looked forward to.  I splurged and made a reservation at the only B&B directly on the Bay of Fundy so I could see first hand the changes of the tides.  Brother John called me yesterday to remind me to take pictures of this phenomenon and, to be honest, I think he wanted me to sit on the banks of the Fundy and take pictures every few minutes.  I wasn’t quite ready to commit to that but I will tell you I can see the entire Bay out of my window and from my balcony.  And, I have taken pictures at several different times.  I will not tantalize you with the results because high tide does not come again until 10:24 PM and, at that time, it will be too dark to take pictures.  So, I will wait until after the morning high tide at 10:54 AM.  I will then post the pictures at both low and high tide.

Putting the Digby tides aside, the ride here was spectacular through the interior mountains driving through farmland and small towns quaint with cottages.

We arrived in Digby at this bed and breakfast, “Come from Away”.  I had fallen in love with its name and location directly on the Bay of Fundy and, as I said, I got a room directly on the water.  I was not disappointed.  The B&B consists of two buildings.  The main house (pictured below on the left) was built in 1904 for a prominent, local businessman by the name of J.L Peters.  Retaining the rich detailing of the period, all four of its guest rooms are furnished in keeping with the period.  My room is in the other building (pictured on the right), a lovely Edwardian home on the harbor, with breathtaking views of the Annapolis Basin, and the World Famous Digby Scallop Fleet where approximately every six hours you can watch as the world-famous tides fill the Annapolis Basin, then recede.

Main House

Harbor View

Our room is lovely with period furnishings and a porch with a view that one would never tire of:

Chloe and I walked around town, taking in the sights, meeting shop owners (many allow dogs to enter), and found a lovely place on the water to partake Digby scallops, which I opted to have pan-seared.

We woke up early, ready to meet the day so packed up and headed to Wood Islands to catch the ferry to Nova Scotia.  Our reservation was for the 11:15 AM ferry but, since we got an early start, figured we’d see if we could get on the 9:30 ferry.  We were in luck!  They said yes, and, in fact, we were the tenth car in line.  Once we pulled into the loading ramp, everyone seemed to get out of their cars and mill around while waiting for the boat to arrive, so we did also.  Pretty grounds with picnic tables and benches surround the staging ramp as well as a small restaurant.  We also had a good view of the Wood Islands lighthouse.

We didn’t have long to wait and, efficient operation that it was, we were loaded onto “Holiday Island” and were ready to take off right on time.  You aren’t allowed to stay in your car, so Chloe and I made our way to the top deck where, to her immense delight, she was promptly surrounded by a bunch of little kids.  Settled next to me on the bench, Chloe had no problems whatsoever and seemed to enjoy the wind in her face.  It did get a bit chilly out on the Northumberland Strait but tolerable.  The schedule said the ride takes 75 minutes and about halfway through our crossing, passed the other ship, “Confederation”, on our way to Nova Scotia.

Driving off the ship in Pictou was pretty cool, but it takes you directly onto a highway and I had not entered anything into my GPS as it never occurred to me that I wouldn’t immediately have an opportunity to pull over and figure out where I wanted to go.  So, I took the first exit and looked for a gas station, so we could fill the car and empty ourselves. 😊  And, we could look at the map to decide how we wanted to get to Bedford.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know about Cape Breton (northeast corner of Nova Scotia) until various conversations with other travelers I’ve met along this trip.  Cape Breton, part of Nova Scotia, is supposed to be some of the most spectacular scenery anywhere but, after examining the map, I determined that detouring there just added way more hours than I was willing to drive so instead, I headed south and drove along the southern border of Nova Scotia (along the Atlantic Ocean) before bypassing Halifax and heading to Bedford.

I found out that the entire province of Nova Scotia is located within the Appalachian Mountains which accounts for the rolling hills I traversed on my way from Pictou to Bedford.  Much of the land is either forested or farmed until you arrive at the coast.  I have found throughout this past three weeks (yes, I reached three weeks as of 8:00 this morning), that I find the orderliness and symmetry of farmland to be comforting and calming.  Sometimes, as I’m driving, I play music and sing along or just listen but quite frequently, especially when my other senses are satiated, I just let my mind wander and soak in the sights.

Anyway, we reached Bedford and, after quickly checking in, drove a short distance to Hemlock Ravine Park.  There is a heart-shaped pond built by Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, for his mistress and numerous dog-friendly trails loop around the 200-acre park offering shade and welcome breezes to combat the unusually warm temperatures (predicted at 80 – 86 degrees).  The newscasters say the “humidex” value is 96; my take on what that means is the “feels like” temperature.  By the way, I don’t feel hot at all.

Bedford is not a city but rather is a town, suburb of Halifax, so walking into these woods made one feel they were far away from civilization.  Nearby traffic sounds disappeared as we traipsed up and down the winding trails as Chloe met many new friends along the way.

Bedford sits on Bedford Basin, an extension of Halifax Harbor.  Since I love water views, we had to go to DeWolf Park which includes a popular walkway along the basin.  We strolled along the waterfront, stopping occasionally to sit on a bench where I chose to read, and Chloe chose to bird watch.  A light breeze caressed my skin as my phone indicated the temperature was 82 degrees.  I thought it was wonderful, but I could hear people walking by complaining about the extreme heat.  I guess it’s all what you are used to.

Another good night’s sleep—YAY!  What to do today?  Charlottetown does have a lot more to see and do than we covered yesterday but, as cute and charming as the city is, I decided that I wanted to see more of Prince Edward Island, so, top down, we got in the car and just started driving away from the city.  Since we arrived from the west and tomorrow we head further east (to catch the ferry), we opted to drive north.  I had seen a park on the map with a scenic drive along the Gulf of St. Lawrence so that was our primary destination.

I had left my navigation preferences as “Avoid highways” but quickly found out that here in PEI, that meant leading me onto dirt roads instead of perfectly good paved, two lane roads.  I remedied my error and found myself whizzing along listening to a wonderful radio station playing classical music, the air fragrant with the perfume of flowers gradually giving way to the scent of crisp pine, and eventually the salty sea.  Somehow, it seemed fitting.

Despite it being Sunday, the scenic route was not well-traveled today, so I was able to meander to my heart’s content, pulling over to soak in the incredible views.  Chloe was not allowed on the beach so we had to view from overlooks and the road but that didn’t stop us from meeting fellow tourists.  Chloe is very social and manages to attract attention wherever we go.  I’ve even had people ask if they can take her picture as if she were a celebrity.

On our route, we encountered Cavendish, which is home to the Green Gables farmhouse, one of the most literary landmarks in Canada as it was the setting for the popular “Anne of Green Gables” novels by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  Designated a National Historic Site in 1985, it is one of the most visited tourist attractions in the country .  I vaguely remember reading some of these novels as a young girl.

Just realized that I am at the northernmost point on my road trip so, as of tomorrow, I am headed back south (except for one minor northern blip when I take the ferry to Saint John).  I have enjoyed PEI tremendously and have found some interesting and fun facts about this place:

1. The province of Prince Edward Island includes the main island of the same name as well as 231 minor islands for a total of 2,195 square miles.
2. The main PEI island is Canada’s 23^rd largest island and the world’s 104^th largest island.
3. The main PEI island is 2,170 square miles which is slightly larger than Delaware.
4. There are only two cities on PEI—Charlottetown and Summerside.  (I didn’t get to Summerside…it is north of Borden-Carleton where I entered Prince Edward Island).
5. Agriculture is PEI’s largest industry with nearly half the land dedicated to farming.
6. Despite its small size and rural nature, PEI is the most developed and most densely populated province in Canada.
7. Tourism is PEI’s second largest industry with fishing the third.
8. There are more than 33 golf courses and 90 sandy beaches.
9. Most of the island consists of gently rolling hills.  Springton, at 499 feet above sea level, is the highest point in PEI.

So, I have found another place that I will hold in my heart and tomorrow we head down to Wood Island where we will take a ferry across Northumberland Strait to Nova Scotia.  This ought to be interesting.  Chloe has been on several boats and hasn’t had a problem but lately, she has decided that she is afraid of elevators and refuses to get on unless I pick her up.  I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.

“Dear old world’, she murmured, ‘you are very lovely, and I am glad to be alive in you.” 
― L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

First of all, I don’t know whether it was the time change or the incredibly wonderful blackout drapes in my Moncton hotel, but I slept a good solid six and a half hours which, for me, is exactly what I need.  My plan this morning was to shower, drink my double cappuccino as I dressed, then wander Moncton a bit before checking out as Charlottetown is a mere two hours away, so I knew I had plenty of time to explore.    I had found that although the Moncton area was first settled in 1733, Moncton is considered to have been officially founded in 1766 with the arrival of Pennsylvania Dutch immigrants from Philadelphia. I kind of wanted to see how (or if) this influence could be seen today.

Unfortunately, we woke to a hotel without electricity.  We were told that we were not alone as thousands of people in Moncton and surrounding areas woke up without electricity Saturday morning and it could be several hours before it is restored.  The outages were a result of some sort of equipment failure in a remote location in the woods.

So, no cappuccino.  Chloe and I did walk the few short blocks to the Petitcodiac River since she needed the walk anyway.  It wasn’t particularly pretty; the river’s heavy sedimentation led to the nickname “Chocolate River”, due to the resulting brown tint.  But, despite Moncton seeming to be a vibrant and modern city, our heart wasn’t in Moncton.  So, after the walk, we packed up and left.  On our way to PEI, we stopped at a car wash as my poor little VW bug was covered with bugs and dirt and it wanted to be clean again!

I think my little car felt so much better after the wash and I, even without any coffee, felt light and ready for our next stop—Prince Edward Island.  We drove through miles and miles of farmland in eastern New Brunswick and finally were on the approach to the Confederation Bridge.  The Confederation Bridge is the longest bridge in the world crossing ice-covered water. The toll bridge spans a 12.9 km (which, for us Americans means 8.015688 miles) stretch of the Northumberland Strait connecting Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island, to Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick.

Obviously, in the summer, the water is not frozen.  Also, there is no place to stop and take pictures so these are both stock photos I found.  Amazing bridge that, to be honest, felt like it was much longer.

So, we are driving onto the bridge.  It was surreal.  Clouds moved in, the skies darkened; it appeared that we were climbing on a bridge to nowhere.  You couldn’t see land anywhere.  Then, we reached the summit and, as if by magic, the sun shone brightened the sky and a vast vision of greenery, dotted here and there by farmhouses, spread out before us.

ºnP

I then drove through some of the most beautiful farmland I’ve ever encountered.  Color everywhere!  They were growing flowers.  The smells were heavenly and visually, it was a delight.  At first, I couldn’t figure out what was causing the colors because I don’t think I ever encountered a “flower farm”.

So, Chloe and I finally checked in to our hotel…beautiful room and such lovely people.  I made myself a cappuccino (I hadn’t had any yet today) and, after resting up for a short bit, we were back outside exploring.  Charlottetown is beautiful!  Every single house seems to burst with flowers.

We were driving through town when all of a sudden we encountered a parade of trucks! Apparently, this is an annual event here in Charlottetown where they say “Come on out and check out the trucks that get all of our products to market and to the store shelf. There will be all types of trucks and trailers in attendance, from antique trucks, highway tractor trailers, local oil, dump, towing trucks and New heavy trucks, trailers and products in the exhibit area.”

After the show, they parade around town and I just happened to be stopped at one of the cross streets so saw the whole thing.  It was pretty impressive!

So, after a bit of exploration, we ate dinner where I was so hungry I never thought to take a picture but I ate every bit:  seafood chowder with lobster, haddock, shrimp, scallop, potato, and celery in a creamy base fish stock served with a freshly made biscuit followed by pan seared scallops cooked in an herb butter and served with a mango salsa served over arugula..  I cannot even tell you how good this was.

We finally retired to the room where Chloe made herself very comfortable amidst the many pillows provided while I tried without success to find something I wanted to watch on television since I lean towards politics or true crime.  Political channels in Canada are definitely out but I did find a channel that Gerry Foreman turned me on to when I visited him and Cindy in 2016:  Canada Border Patrol.