This time change once again has us thrown off schedule and it will take a day or two to adjust to "losing" an hours sleep. Going to bed an hour later was fine, but the gittin' up was somewhat difficult! We'll have this time for awhile so I am sure we will adjust just fine!
Leaving Edmunston around 9:45 a.m., we drove south to St. Leonard and then turned north-east thru the interior, to Campbellton. We had been warned about crossing the mountain and climbing to the "summit" to the grand height of 820 meters. We assured the info centre lady that we were sure our bus could make such a climb! (relative to where your mountain experiences are I guess...a lovely little climb up and over!!!), passing thru Saint Quentin and on to Campbellton.
Stopped at Wal Mart hoping to pick up some printer ink but they didn't have what we needed. Found some other items that we didn't know we needed (!). Went through town and stopped at the Travel Information centre. These centres in NB are just phenomenal, BC could take some lessons. Well laid out, wealth of information and staff that are so very courteous and knowledgeable. Had a walk around the area and then went for lunch. First bowl of seafood chowder and was it ever good! Dale of course had fish & chips and pea soup. Needless to say we have some leftovers in the fridge.
From Campbellton, we took the coast tourist route to travel along the water and through all the small towns and villages looking over the Bay des Chaleurs. In many of the yards, lobster traps were piled high and also a lot of fishing boats, out of the water, assumingly for maintenance, but could also be because of fishing restrictions or limits. An interesting drive which eventually took us through Bathurst where we turned a bit north east to follow the peninsual. We stopped at Caraquet at the info centre at 5:00 p.m.; good timing too for they close at 5:00 p.m.. Asked if they knew where we could park for the night as the RV parks only had 30 amps and we really didn't want to pay for a night for services we couldn't use.
Bless their hearts, they pointed to the shopping centre next door and said to go down behind it and we would be overlooking the Bay and it would be quiet too. What a beautiful spot and after the parking lot emptied, it was just us and a few locals who were swimming in the waters just below us.
Dale got out a couple of chairs and a table and set them up on the grass; I wrapped some scallops in bacon and broiled them and sauteed some shrimp in garlic/butter and we feasted, with a glass of wine, in a most serene and beautiful spot. We sat out until the sun went down and the wind came up...it cooled off the night and made it so pleasant to sleep.
In the a.m., it was quite humid and promised to be another very hot day. We have been told that this heat wave is unusual for both New Brunswick and PEI and is due to Hurricane Earl. The storm is pushing the hot air north and relief probably won't arrive until Saturday, when it is supposed to rain. The bus actually felt quite damp and both Dale and I noticed that the high humidity was affecting our chest/congestion and sinus.
On the road around 9:00 a.m.; passed thru Tracadie-Shiela and on to Miramichi. We wanted to fuel and after much searching around and a U-turn and a missed turn we found an Iriving station. Oh..expensive prices @ $101.9 a litre. Most expensive so far. After fueling we wanted to be on Rte 117 but once again, no indications which way to turn, north or south. Of course, we took the wrong one but were fortunate we didn't have to unhook. Found a great turn around spot in a very wide intersection and got pointed in the right direction.
This drive was a bit of a dissapointment. We thought we would be following the coast more than we did and other than a couplf of small towns, and I mean small, it was a long drive on a bad road. We passed through Kouchibouguac National Park before we were able to join the main highway at Richibucto and headed on to Shediac. (there will be a spelling test at the end of this trip!) At this point we were following along the Northumberland Strait, which separates the mainland from Prince Edward Island.
We stopped in Shediac for a couple of hours. Had to have another bowl of that delicious seafood chowder and as luck would have it, there was a place selling fresh whole lobsters right there!! So, we bought three (already cooked), had them put them on ice and into our cooler and on to the bus for later eating. Had our chowder, a looksee around the town and then back on the road.
We had originally planned on overnighting in Shediac, but because it was still relatively early in the afternoon (about 2:00)decided to carry on. Had a bit of confusion getting out of town; once again the road signs were, at many intersections, non-existent and then when we turned onto the road indicated on the Streets & Trips program, it looked like a rural road. We perservered and in the end it was the access road to Hwy 15 that we needed to take us to Port Elgin. At this junction, we turned east again to TC # 16 and over the Confederation Bridge to PEI.
WOW, what a bridge...13 km long..absolutely awesome and an amazing feat of construction. You don't pay the toll until you leave PEI, whether it be by bridge or by ferry. Dale got a bunch of literature on it so will have to read up on all the construction details. This would work from Victoria to Vancouver....if the NIMBY's on the islands would only cooperate!
After stopping at an Info Centre, stocking up on maps and Island info, we continued on Hwy 1 into Charlottetown and then over the bridge in Stratford, where our RV park was. WOW again. What a spot we have. We are parked on a small cliff, overlooking the harbour, and directly across from Charlottetown. It is an amazing spot and bonus, power, water and sewer at the site. First time since northern Ontario (Marathon) that we have had all three amenities. Now I can do laundry to my hearts content!!!
Oh my goodness it has been hot and by the time we got things organized we were both drenched with persperation running down our faces and other places. (I was once told that horses sweat, gentlemen perspire, and ladies get awfully hot!) Got the air conditioners going and things started to cool down. We knew the temps would get a little better once the sun moved and sure enough, pleasant enough to sit out after 7:00.
Decided that would be a good time to enjoy some lobster so set up at the picnic table, heated some lemon/garlic butter and some napkins and a "shell" pail and we went at it. Have a great picture of Dale enjoying his feast. Eating whole lobster is definitely an outside job; juice and shell everywhere including all over us. We managed to almost get finished before the mosquitoes arrived and drove us inside.
Now we are cleaned up. dishes done and we are sitting inside enjoying the fabulous view of Charlottetown at night. All the sailboats are now gone and it is quiet on the water..Southport RV Park...we highly recommend it. Another reason is that when we arrived we told the gal we didn't know if we would be staying over Sunday night or not. She said not to worry, just let her know when we make the decision and we could pay when we were leaving. No deposit, no ID/DL, just good old PEI 'trust'. Rather refreshing.....
Haven't decided on tomorrows travels. Will spend some time reading all the info we picked up and plan our trips. Will leave the bus in the park and just take the car for daily travels. Should be a lot of fun and so much to see; plus some great beaches so we might even get some swimming in.
Till next time...
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