After six weeks and a little over 13 000 kilometres, we arrived home yesterday.  We put in some long days on the way back across the continent but we also enjoyed a day with Buck and Chrissy (our “other daughter”) in Winnipeg and a weekend with my brother and his family at their new home in Irvine, just east of Medicine Hat.

When we went to bed the night before the trailer’s second lift cable broke, I’m glad I didn’t know that it was the last time I’d sleep in it.  I’d probably have been overcome by nostalgia.  The gypsy wagon, as I’ve always called it, is an integral part of so many of our family’s memories. Purchased brand new, it replaced the old second hand one that had taken us on our first few long trips and was literally falling apart.  

It’s maiden voyage in 1993 took us to California.  Camped at the KOA campground in Anaheim, the children could watch Disneyland’s nightly fireworks from their beds!  Nathan, our youngest, was born on July 24th and many of his birthdays have been celebrated in campgrounds.  Most of our meals were eaten outside at picnic tables but that year, in a crowded Santa Barbara campground, he decided that he wanted his birthday dinner indoors around the trailer table.  It was there that we dug into a rich and delicious chocolate cake.  No, it wasn’t homemade.  The trailer doesn’t have an oven so finding a suitable store bought cake was always a challenge!

The following year, we went in the opposite direction and Nathan celebrated his tenth birthday in Dawson City, Yukon with his cousin, Martin, who is one day older than him.  It was on that trip that Richard’s mother joined us for a weekend of camping, the only time in her life that she ever camped. Little did we know that she would be taken from us very suddenly just a few months later and that that would be one of our last memories of time spent with her.

In 1995, we spent our summer vacation on the BC coast.  We woke up on the morning of Nathan’s 11th birthday in Powell River where the beachfront campground is just down the street from my childhood home.

The next year, Colorado was our destination.  On the way, while passing through Wyoming, we spent one night camped at the foot of Devil’s Tower, a pillar of stone over 1200 feet high that appeared in the movie “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”.  Though some of our earlier trips had lasted six or seven weeks, this one was shorter.  It was about this time that spending the third week of July at church camp became a highlight of Melaina and Nathan’s summers.  

Before we knew it, the kids were graduating, going off to college and taking summer jobs.  Family vacations came to an end but the trailer didn’t go into retirement.  Richard and I began traveling on our own.  Our first solo trip was to Ottawa in 2001 where we set up camp on the outskirts of the city so that we could spend some time with Matthew and his girlfriend, Robin, who both attended Carleton University there and were both working on Parliament Hill for the summer.  Robin is now Matthew’s beautiful wife and soon to be the mother of our next grandchild.  

The last time a child slept in the trailer was the summer before last when our little friend, Sebastian, who lives in Hong Kong, joined us for a sleepover.  We were visiting his family at their summer retreat at Fintry on BC’s Okanagan Lake.

The trailer has a heavy duty axle that enabled us to travel some pretty rough roads like the Yukon’s Dempster Highway and the logging road to Bamfield on Vancouver Island.  It’s also lightweight and easy to pull up even the steepest of hills like the one over Independence Pass to Aspen, Colorado which crosses the Continental Divide at an elevation of 12 095 feet!

Yes, there are many memories in that old trailer.  The lift cables can be fixed but the estimated cost is $700 to $800.  If we were planning to continue using it, we wouldn’t hesitate to put the money into it. The body, canvas and appliances (fridge, stove and furnace) are all in good condition but it lacks one thing that would making camping at our age much more comfortable; a bathroom.  I also think that, after putting a tent trailer up and down literally hundreds of times, Richard deserves something a little easier.  So it is that we’ve decided that the time has come to replace it with a somewhat larger, hard sided one. We’ve also decided that, if someone wants to bear the cost of having it repaired, we’ll give them the gypsy wagon. I would love to see it resurrected and used to help another family create beautiful summer memories.

Some people love baths while others prefer showers.  Personally, I’m a bath person. When we arrived at our hotel, the tub was calling my name and I’ve just climbed out after a wonderful soak, the first in several weeks.

I’m really glad that, in this day and age, most campgrounds offer free showers.  Over the past month, we’ve used a lot of them.  Some were spacious while others were claustrophobic.  Sometimes the water temperature was difficult to control.  There was one with enough pressure to send me into the next county while another had so little that I was really glad I’d had my hair cut short recently.  A woman with a lot of hair could never have rinsed it sufficiently.  Then there’s my pet shower peeve; the ones designed for midgets!  I know I’m a bit taller than average but I really should be able to stand under a shower without hitting my head on the shower head!

I know some shower people say that they don’t like baths because they don’t like to sit or lie in their own dirt.  If that’s the case, do what the Japanese do.  Shower first, then soak in a nice warm tub and let it soothe your cares away.

Yes, I’m definitely a bath person.  What about you?

We said farewell to Nova Scotia yesterday and headed through New Brunswick toward the United States. We pulled into a lovely oceanfront campground at St. Andrew’s, a picturesque little town just short of the border. That’s when disaster struck.  A second cable broke leaving the trailer unusable!

With the help of a couple of other campers, we managed to get the things we’d need on the way home and most of the perishable food out of the trailer and fasten it down again.  We found an inexpensive motel, went out for supper, discussed our options and then settled in for the night.

I’ve always been a person who planned ahead and lived for the future. One of the things that I’ve been learning since retiring is to live in the moment. Today definitely put that to the test!  We woke up this morning with no idea what the day would hold.  Would we be able to get the trailer repaired and continue on or would we have to change our plans entirely?  

We started the morning by checking with a small RV place in the St. Andrew’s area but, as we anticipated, he only does minor repairs and wasn’t able to help us.  Since we were going in that direction, however, he recommended a larger sales and service place in Bangor, Maine.  We were there by noon. The two fellows who looked at the trailer told us that it would likely take a full day to repair and that, in their opinion, it really isn’t worth fixing. We’re not sure that we agree but we definitely weren’t willing to put the amount of money that they were speaking of into it. With the exception of the cable/pulley system, which is usually the first thing to go on a tent trailer, it’s in pretty good shape but it is 16 years old and has served us very well.

We made the decision to abort the Boston portion of our trip and head for home as quickly as possible. We consulted our maps, chose the most direct route and headed west. We soon discovered that most direct doesn’t necessarily mean quickest as many sections of the highway were under construction but, in spite of that, we made our way through Maine, over the green hills and mountains of northern New Hampshire and Vermont, and north into Quebec! We navigated our way through Montreal shortly after dark and are now relaxing in a hotel just west of the city.

They say that every cloud has a silver lining and I see two good things in what has happened.  First of all, we’ve been considering for some time whether or not we should replace the tent trailer with a small hard sided one and if so, when.  Obviously, that decision has been made for us! We’re already discussing what features the new trailer should have and will begin shopping for one as soon as we’re back in Alberta.  

Secondly, since I still want to see Boston and we have more reason than ever to want to visit the Maritimes again, I’m already dreaming of another trip across the continent and this time, we won’t be waiting 18 years!  Well, there I go, living in the future again!  Instead, I guess I should get some sleep so we can hit the road again in the morning.

I woke up at 6 o’clock this morning to the sound of thunder.  For almost two hours, the lightning flashed, the thunder crashed and the rain poured. I could feel our whale watching excursion slipping away.  Then, shortly before 8 o’clock, the rain stopped and the sky began to clear.  We got up and got ready to go.  

The sun began to shine as we drove down the long, narrow peninsula known as Digby Neck.  We arrived a bit early at Tiverton, home of Ocean Explorations Zodiac Whale Cruises, so we walked to nearby Boar’s Head lighthouse.  On our way, the fog rolled in.  When we got back, cruise operator, Tom Goodwin, told us that the conditions were “challenging”, that he couldn’t guarantee that we’d see any whales and that we could cancel if we wanted to.    

We had chosen Ocean Explorations because it was recommended by my sister and because we’d be riding in a zodiac that would allow us to see the whales from water level.  If I had to do it over again, I’d choose a different company.  Some of them offer a money back guarantee if no whales are spotted. I’m betting that none of those ones went out today.  I really think that the operator, with his knowledge of local conditions, should make the decision whether or not to go out rather than leaving it to the tourists who have little or no experience to base such a decision on.  A few people, who live close enough to come again another day, chose not to go out today but the rest of us decided to take our chances.  We weren’t out on the water very long when it became clear that the chance of seeing a whale was slim to nil.  If we’d been told this up front, we wouldn’t have gone.  The zodiac ride was fun but it certainly wasn’t worth what we paid for it.

Most of the time, we couldn’t see anymore than 100 feet in any direction. With the exception of a few seals and a variety of seabirds, including some young puffins, we saw nothing but water and fog. Once, when we stopped to listen for whales, we heard another boat pass by so close to us that we were rocked by the waves of its wake but we never even saw it!  The rest of the time, we heard nothing but the water slapping on the bottom of our boat.

After searching for whales for three hours, we returned to Tiverton.  Before coming back to camp, we did a short hike to Balancing Rock.  The hiking trail is a combination of gravel trail, boardwalks across areas of bog and a flight of 235 stairs.  That’s a lot of stairs all at once but not as many as we did on an average day in Japan!  Balancing Rock is an interesting formation; a huge basalt pillar that appears ready to topple from its base at any moment.

Today’s good news is that Richard’s antibiotic has clearly started to take effect.  After peaking late last night, his pain has started to subside.

The toothache that Richard has been enduring for the past few days has reached the point where it could no longer be ignored.  Until last night, he was convinced that it wasn’t an abscess and that he would probably be able to handle the discomfort until we got home.  Not so!  It kept him awake most of the night last night and by this morning, it was obvious that finding a dentist had become priority #1.  

We had a whale watching cruise booked for today but I called and they kindly agreed to allow us to postpone until tomorrow.  We’re camped at Smith’s Cove, just outside Digby, Nova Scotia.  The campground host recommended a dentist in Digby and when Richard called, they told him to come right in.  He does indeed have an abscessed tooth and is now on antibiotics and painkillers.  In spite of the fact that x-rays were taken and the dentist took the time to prepare a letter to Richard’s dentist back in Camrose, there was no charge!  

Rich will be on the antibiotics for ten days and then, according to the dentist, he has a two week window during which he should have a root canal done.  He’ll call his dentist back home to set up an appointment toward the end of that time.  That should give us enough time to do all that we had hoped before heading for home.  We’ll be here for two more nights and then on the road again.

We said good-bye to Myrna and her family last night and are moving on today.  The weather hasn’t been as nice as we hoped it would be so we didn’t do the golfing and hiking that we might have done while we were here but life is about people, not weather.  It’s about making memories and oh, have we made some good ones this week!  Meeting Myrna has been so much more than we could ever have imagined or hoped for.  Not only did we meet a long term pen friend but we found ourselves wholeheartedly accepted by an entire family.

We enjoyed a quiet dinner with Ronnie and Myrna last night followed by a family gathering around the giant fire pit in their back yard.  The evening wrapped up with another feast of steamed mussels!  

Saying good-bye was difficult.  We often talk about how small the world has become but driving across this enormous nation of ours has once again made us realize how great the distances are that separate us.  I don’t know when we’ll see one another again but I certainly hope we do!  

Ronnie and Myrna

After meeting with the newspaper reporter in the nearby town of Bridgewater yesterday, we made a quick trip back to Indian Point and spent about an hour and a half out on Lindy’s boat!  The sun wasn’t shining but visibility was good.  There are a total of 365 islands in the twin bays of St. Margaret’s Bay and Mahone Bay, one for every day of the year.  We explored around a few of them and into some quiet coves.  It was great to get out on the water and to see some of the places we’ve been walking and driving from an entirely different perspective.  I was even able to get a much better photo of the three famous churches of Mahone Bay than I’d been able to get from land.  

The crackling of a campfire, the sound of water flowing, good wine and great company – all the makings of a delightful evening! Ron, Myrna and Lindy joined us at the campground last night where we enjoyed a wonderful visit around the fire.  Richard and Lindy shared many hilarious stories of their boyhood adventures. We continue to marvel at the many similarities between the two families, one living on the Alberta prairie and the other on the Maritime coast.  It’s no wonder that mother and Myrna enjoyed corresponding with one another for so many years.  

This afternoon, we’re meeting with a reporter from the local newspaper. When Myrna’s daughter, Patsy, heard the reason for our visit and learned more about the long term penpal relationship between her mom and Richard’s, she decided it would make a good human interest story. With our permission, she contacted the local paper.

On a completely different note, as of this morning, there have been 9 999 visits to my blog, not counting my own!  Unless people leave comments, I can’t tell who’s been here but I do see how many visit each day.  I know that many are regular readers while others are strangers who come across it in a variety of ways.  I hope they find it interesting. I love writing it and like any writer, I enjoy the fact that someone reads it!

It looks like we’ll be staying around Mahone Bay a little longer than we’d originally planned.  Not only are we having a wonderful time but we’ve also decided that delaying our entry into the States until after July 4th might make finding campgrounds easier.  

We spent several hours on Friday browsing through the many little shops in Mahone Bay.  Most interesting was Amos Pewter where we not only saw the beautiful finished products but were also shown how the molten pewter is cast into jewelry, sculptures and other collectibles. That evening, Ronnie and Myrna took us to their favourite seaside restaurant for a delicious seafood supper. After dinner, we enjoyed a leisurely drive to the end of Second Peninsula which lies between Mahone Bay and Lunenburg.  

Yesterday, we went to Lunenburg where we toured the very interesting Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic.  Downtown Lunenburg has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site and we enjoyed strolling it’s streets and visiting a few shops. We were also able to walk around the deck of the Bluenose II which is in Lunenburg harbour until July 1. The Bluenose II is an exact replica of the famous racing schooner that is pictured on the back of the Canadian dime.  I’m glad we hadn’t planned on going out on one of her cruises yesterday as fog at sea prevented her from leaving the harbour. Unfortunately, it’s also prevented us from going out on Lindy’s boat. Perhaps by staying a little longer, we’ll still have an opportunity.  

This morning, we met Myrna for church.  Later in the day, we were back at the house for a fantastic dinner of seafood chowder.  Myrna had gathered as much of the family as possible together so, in addition to those we’d already met, we had the opportunity to get to know her son, Ian, and daughers, Roxanne and Patsy.  What fun we had as ten of us gathered around the table together.

Late this morning, the clouds rolled away and the fog burned off leaving us in beautiful sunshine. We decided to take the scenic coastal drive to Peggy’s Cove. When we arrived, the famous lighthouse and the rocky point were shrouded in mist but the scene was, nevertheless, quite awesome.  We stood on the point and watched the waves emerge from the fog and thunder onto the rocks below us. Breathtaking!

As much as we enjoyed watching the crashing of the waves, we were angered by the foolishness of some of the people around us.  In spite of warnings posted everywhere, including on the lighthouse itself, many people fail to recognize the ocean’s power and every year some are swept into the water by rogue waves.  As recently as the day before yesterday, a 30-year-old woman from Montreal was rescued from the water. Many are not so fortunate.  We could easily have witnessed a disaster today. One young woman, who sat far too close to the water’s edge, was doused by an unexpected wave and walked away laughing.  I doubt she even realized how close she came to being washed away. We also watched a young man walking over rock that was obviously wet. Minutes later a powerful wave swept over the very spot where he had been.

As well as being one of Canada’s most photographed tourist destinations, Peggy’s Cove is also a small fishing village.  Here’s my favourite photo of the day, taken after we left the rocky point.