Heading to P.E.I.

One thing I am finding difficult is, if I don’t do it every day, it is hard to go back and do the “catch up” on my entries. I don’t know if it’s because the excitement for that day has been replaced by the next, or I have CRS and it’s too hard to remember.  (Undoubtedly the latter).

I left Gaspe a day earlier than intended (I left yesterday) because the drive was about 550 miles to PEI, not a bad length, but because it was slow-going it would take about 12 hours and make my arrival after dark.  I have learned my lesson about arriving at a campground after dark, so now I avoid doing so.  As it turned out, it was a good decision as I had rain all of the second day (which would have been my first/only day) and it took longer than anticipated finding the campground,  I spent the night at the friendly Walmart in Miramichi, New Brunswick.  They had some WiFi and I was able to get some groceries.

The short drive through New Brunswick was pleasant and I look forward to going back in a couple of weeks. The scenery is still beautiful, with golf courses right on the water.  The roads are nice, the signs are in English and everyone speaks English, so it’s a little easier than Quebec.  Quebec was nice, but it just felt too crowded.  New Brunswick is the only dual-language Canadian province.

As I’m driving down Hwy 11, I look over and on top of the telephone poles there are huge nests (almost eagle size) sitting on top of the flat top bar.  I found out later that they were Osprey.  It was cool seeing them up there, one after another.

I have gotten use to the GPS constantly saying “right curve ahead” etc. but it startled me when it said “roll over warning ahead.”  For that one I paid attention!  You see those signs on curves where it shows the truck starting to turn on its side because of the angle of the curve … roll over warning.

Moose must have a large population here as there are warning signs very frequently along the road.  Not only your typical “animal crossing” signs, these have red block letters saying ATTENTION and flashing yellow caution lights.  I didn’t see any moose, but maybe they were hiding behind a tree.  My guide book says there are around 300 collisions involving moose on the roads each year; they are fatal for the moose and about 5 people die each year. Eighty-five percent happen between May and October.

I changed time zones again …. This time to one I haven’t been in before – Atlantic.  I’ve lost another hour …. Good thing I’m retired and don’t care.  LOL  It does make it easy to tell how long it’s been since I’ve worn a particular watch, though, by what time zone it is in.  The GPS and my phone change themselves, but the coach does not; and I have a clock on the microwave, a standalone and the bedroom clock that need to be manually changed, besides the watches.  My car adjusts its own as well.  I just leave the computer.

The drive over the Confederation Bridge is not to be missed.  For the first 7 meters you are driving up a slight incline … into the clouds.  You can’t see any land and it is a spooky feeling. I don’t know it gave that affect because it was raining and cloudy; or if it would feel differently in sunshine. When you level off and then start the decline to land, you can see the island in the distance and all this water you are driving over and it is kind of cool.

The first thing I did after I left the bridge was stop at a gas station.  It was raining and everyone else apparently had the same idea, so I was in line for a while (unfortunately with my Jeep hanging out and blocking the lane) and standing in the rain pumping diesel because the handle didn’t have one of those latches to keep it fueling without holding it.  Diesel & gas are cheaper here than in Quebec, which I found surprising.  They are $.95/liter.

As I headed for the campground on the other side of the island, I realized I didn’t need to stand in line for gas …. There were plenty of stations with clearance for the coach and no waiting.  As the gas prices are determined by the station owners so everyone charges the same price (cool, huh), you don’t need to shop around.  When I noticed this in Quebec I asked if the government set the price but was told it was the station owners that did it.

At first I thought I was in Ireland again.  The cold, rainy, breezy day, along with the green and the potatoes growing in the field …. I expected to see sheep but there were only herds of cows.  With towns like Kinkora and Shamrock and driving on Kelly road, Glengyle and Mackenzie, I thought I found a bit of the Irish …. But then everything else on the island became very British.

My GPS in the coach has never failed me …. Until now.  It took me to the wrong campground …. Actually I think it wanted me to drive through Stanhope to get to Cavendish on the other side, but the ranger said that was the long way.  As it turned out, I wish I had just done that … partly because it is one of the “scenic drives” I’m taking, and because I drove around for 2 hours trying to find the other campground!  I finally called the park service for the lat/long.  When I registered, the ranger was not surprised that I had difficulty finding the place. You would think they could put up a sign!  Ha.  There are no signs for the Canada parks except at the entrance.  Actually there are no signs for post offices, national campgrounds, etc.  There are regular road signs pointing to every commercial business, but nothing government.

The sites here are long and narrow.  I pulled into my site as forward as possible so that my Jeep would clear the road, only to find that the hookups were at the entrance end of the site.  In the rain I unhooked the Jeep and drove it around to the front, backed the coach back out of the site to move it over as close to hookup side as I could so that my slide would clear the tree on the other side.  As it turned out, my short slide barely cleared the hookups, but all was well and I could finish setting up.  I had wash to do so wanted the water and sewer ready.

I made the first cup of hot tea I’ve had in a while.  I tried a new Blueberry tea I purchased at the arboretum in Quebec …. Not my cup of tea.  I just don’t care for fruit flavored tea, no matter how many times I try it, or what fruit.  Oh well.

I’ve been on a mission to downsize because of weight and convenience since before I moved into the coach.  I’ve made some progress, but find it may have a drawback.  I find that now that things aren’t packed quite so tight in the cupboards, I have shifting when I travel. How long will it take before I get everything worked out?  Let’s see, 35 years in my house and I was still moving stuff around … I’ve started a list of what to take and what to leave when I visit my storage unit next year.

This is the beach at the campground ...