It has been rainy and cold all day. Was a good day to kick back. Veronica and Brandon left early this morning and we just relaxed after that. They wore us out. Guess we are not as spry as we once were. Oh, well.

We spent yesterday morning at the Anne Arundel Youth Football Associations' 2008 Championships. Why you ask? Well, one of our grandsons, Shane, was playing in one of the championship playoff games. He plays in the 80 Pound League and is an offensive tackle. These kids were awesome. The parents were going wild. Closing my eyes, I could see ourselves at a high school or college football game. And to top it all off, they played at the U.S. Naval Academy Stadium in Annapolis. It was a clear, crisp day and the excitement was everywhere. Quite the event. They lost though. But they played one heck of a game to try and beat their opponents. As they grow older and if they keep up their training, they will be awesome in high school and college. What was more amazing was how their coaches talked to them. I can see why they are a championship team. Great kids and terrific coaches.

We now have a match to the name Guinness and a puppy. This is a picture of him at 4 weeks old. He was 5 weeks old yesterday. We made the decision today and, at present, we pick him up at 11 AM on December 13th. The excitement mounts.

Today marks the official beginning of this years Christmas Season. OK, call me politically incorrect, insensitive, whatever, but I refuse to use the term Holiday Season. To me it has, and will always be, the Christmas Season. Since today is Black Friday(click here to see the origin of the term), and we live near a large shopping mall, we will make sure we stay off the main roads today. Hopefully, we will have no need to go out at all.

Our Thanksgiving, yesterday, was very quiet for the two of us. We spent the morning preparing the turkey breast and other fixin's, ate an early meal, then relaxed with some reading, soothing music, some internet research and James Bond movies. Today and the rest of the weekend, however, will be a bit livelier when Veronica and Brandon show up this afternoon. Just gonna hang out and do some cooking.

Our excitement, being generated by the upcoming arrival of Guinness, has brightened up our Christmas spirit quite a bit. He will be five weeks old tomorrow and we will take him home with us two weeks from that. Our house looks like a pet store with all the toys, wire and travel kennels, and other puppy items about. We have also been watching every episode of Victoria Stillwell's It's Me or the Dog airing on the Animal Planet channel. This woman is amazing with her knowledge of training dogs. We'll make sure we post how Guinness' training proceeds. Did I mention we are excited?

We are making final preparations for our annual trip south next week. Most items have been gathered. Just need to wash and prepare the truck, load it and hit the road. Not going to be a camping trip like Maine/Canada was. It will be more comfortable this time. We'll pick up the fifth wheel where it is stored in Georgia, stay there for two weeks, head to Jacksonville for two weeks, back to Georgia for a few days, then back to Maryland. That is always the hardest part. Maybe we can get there permanently by next spring.

Puppy Video

Mountain Creek Doodles are the most awesome family we have seen when it comes to breeders of Labradoodles. They have posted a new video of Lucy's litter and Guinness is in there somewhere. Aren't they the cutest? Can't wait to pick him up. They are growing so fast.

We have decided to increase the size of our family by one. One puppy that is. We had been putting off getting a dog until we have settled on to Berry Oaks, but we did not want to wait any longer. Once we had decided on a Labradoodle, Joyce scoured the breeders list and picked one, the Mountain Creek Doodles, in Simpsonville, SC, just outside of Greenville.

In case you are not familiar with a Labradoodle, it is a mix of a Poodle and a Labrador Retriever. For more information on a Labradoodle, click here. This particular litter is an F1b with a caramel female Standard Poodle, Lucy, and a chocolate male F1 mini-Labradoodle, Wonka.

Lucy's litter was born October 25th. Four boys and five girls. These puppies are expected to be between 25 and 40 pounds. Not much taller than two feet. Just the right size to travel with. We are sure it will love the Fifth Wheel. They are now 3 1/2 weeks old and are growing like weeds in a wet spring. They are adorable. Check out the new pictures and video: (Click here)

We have named the puppy Guinness, for obvious reasons, and are supposed to pick it up the second week in December. We can't wait. They'll be a lot more about Guinness as this blog progresses.

Happy Halloween

...........................BOO !!!!!!!!!..........................

2008 October Trip Days 11-12=Race Weekend

Early up. Early out. We were on the road long before dawn and made good time in our trek back to Maryland. Most traffic was of the big 18-wheel truck type and we tried to stay in the right lane as they, very often, passed us upwards to 100 MPH. Crazy!!!!

By the time the sun came up, we were well on our way out of Nova Scotia’s mountains and back onto the coastal plains it shares with New Brunswick. Once crossing into New Brunswick our highway became NB Rt. 2. These roads are comparable to the U.S. Interstate system. High speed, divided, four lanes with limited access. Speed limit was 110KPH or about 68 MP. We set the speed control for 70 MPH and still was the slowest vehicle on the road. No matter. The scenery was beautiful.

Once past Moncton, the coastal plains turn to rolling hills then become more mountainous, but not like Nova Scotia’s Highlands. It was a sunny, very clear and crisp day. The traffic was very light and we enjoyed the drive.

At this point, I would like to make an analogy of this trip back home to a NASCAR race weekend. Usually on Saturday the racecars get out on the track and practice for the big race on Sunday. Not much traffic on the track and they can be more at ease than they would be on race day. On Sunday, they are in a pack of cars where every driver wants to go faster than the other driver, sometimes with disastrous results. I considered this trip like one of those weekends.

On Saturday we drove from Whycocomagh, Nova Scotia, Canada to Brunswick, Maine, U.S.A in about 12 hours (650 miles). The part of the trip was practice day. Not much traffic and we could take our time making decisions with out panicking. Our passage through U.S. Customs was easy and the Border Agent said to us, “Welcome back home”. We stayed at the Brunswick Naval Air Station lodging for the night and were able to get an early start again the next morning. Felt good to sleep in a real bed.

The next portion of the trip, taking about 10 hours (520 miles), was race day. Interstate 95 from Brunswick, Maine to Baltimore, Maryland is a virtual racetrack I call “the Highway of Death”. The traffic, increasingly” got worse as did the drivers. Arrogance and aggression was the theme for, it seemed, everyone behind the wheel. We did make it home, however, without incident. Thank God.

We unpacked the minimal, meaning the cooler and some clothing, and went in, kicked back and took a deep sigh of relief. Home Sweet Home. It would take us two days to unpack and put things away, not to mention catching up on our rest. We were vegetables for those two days.

Looking back on the trip, we made a few observations:


1. We enjoyed ourselves immensely

2. We planned and packed just the right things for the colder weather we experienced.

3. We measured our time OK, but we could have taken more time to sightsee rather than going from point A to point B.

4. The people in Maine and Canada were awesome. Everyone was so very helpful and cordial in every way you could imagine.

5. The Canadians drive too fast and are generally not attentive when they do.

6. There are a lot of hard working people in those areas that eek out a comfortable living without all the necessities most of us rely on.

7. We should have taken more pictures and video.

8. We are not as young as we once were. Gr-r-r-r

9. We underestimated the cost of being in Canada even for the barest essentials.

10. We would do it again, the same way, different part of the country.

11. Finally, it is GREAT to be home. Where ever that may be.

2008 October Trip Day 10

Our morning started early, the sky overcast, and the wind blowing very strongly. No rain though. Our plan was to take the Cabot Trail around the northern end of the island. This road is 185miles long and we expected it to be a whole day’s journey. We were hoping the dreary, blustery day would not prevent us from seeing the beautiful sights the trip would offer.

The first part of the trek was through the mountainous Highlands that form most of the northern part of the island. Once over the mountains we descended towards the coast and it became evident that we were in for a wonderful day of eye candy. This is an area where the mountains come down to the ocean. Amazing.

Our first stop was in St. Joseph du Moine for coffee and a roll. The store was a small co-op grocery store and the owner had just made a fresh pot. Most everyone was speaking French, but the clerk switched to perfect English (with a Scottish accent) when we checked out. Nova Scotia (New Scotland) was re-settled by the Scots after England took over the rule of this part of Canada in 1713. To this day, most native Nova Scotians speak with a Scottish accent. In addition, their Scot heritage is evident throughout the province. All road signs are in English and Gaelic. Many Celtic heritage events are held throughout the year. The majority of the surnames are typically Scottish. Was like being there, almost.

Once we had our strong coffee fix, we entered the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. We were not able to go fast, nor did we want to, for around every turn was another awesome sight and photo opportunity. There were so many places to stop and explore we had to judge our time very carefully for we wanted to be back on the main road to camp before sundown.

We saw many eagles, deer and other small wildlife, but we did not see any bear or moose. We had been looking for both of them since we started the trip. No luck. We did see signs of moose at one of our stops, though. About half way around the trail the road climbs up onto the Highland Plateau. This area is high, flat, windswept, foggy (you are in the clouds) and wet (meaning bogs). The bogs are the main feature of the inland Highlands. For more information on the bogs, click here. The one bog we stopped at had an interpretive boardwalk though it. Pitcher plants were all over the place. On each side of the boardwalk were moose prints. Also, there were areas were the moose made their beds at night. No moose sighted though.

Continuing on the trail we came back down to seashore level and found many small fishing villages where the boats were moored right at the owners homes. Besides fishing, the lobster industry also thrives.

Once on the northeastern shore, the sights dwindled. We had one more climb up the mountains to get back to our camp. This part of the trail is quite uneventful except for the many tourist shops along the way. Most were closed for the season.

As we made were about to make our descent down to the valley road and back to camp, we came across some an area that was mining for something. Many 18-wheel gravel haulers were racing back and forth on this narrow, two-lane road. And did I forget to mention that the Canadian drivers are AWEFUL!!! Multiply that by 4 fold with regards to the truck drivers. To make matters worse, the road down the mountain was long, very winding and under construction. Most areas did not have a guardrail to prevent one from careening off the mountainside to the valley some 500 feet below. This was insane!!!! We were so glad to get past this area.

This day really took its toll on our strength. By the time we got close to camp we pulled into a restaurant for a beer. We then decided to have a Fish-and-Chip dinner that was very reasonable. No need to cook tonight. Yay!

Over dinner we discussed our plan for the next day. When we had decided early on in our trip planning to travel into Canada, we did not realize the prices on EVERYTHING was so high. Even taking into account the differences in the Canadian dollar and the US dollar (92 cents US for one Canadian dollar at the time of our trip) the prices were extraordinary. A gallon of milk=4.50 US dollars, a dozen eggs=3.75 US dollars, a gallon gasoline=5.10 US dollars, a fifteen pack of beer=25 US dollars-----that is outrageous!!!!!!! But, they are taxed on everything. That being the case and the fact we were drained from the trip thus far, we decided to call it a trip and head home. Tomorrow we would get an early start and beat feet back to Maryland.

See Day 10 Album: Click here

2008 October Trip-Days 8 thru 9

Oh-Dark-Thirty and we are up, packed away, showered and on the road again. We left the camp just as daylight was breaking and pulled into Alma, New Brunswick just after dawn. This small fishing village is at the entrance of the Fundy National Park and is a bustling community of about 300. We stopped at the town’s general store and got a good strong coffee to go with our Poptart breakfast. Several locals were there and greeted us very cordially. It’s always good to feel “at home” when away. After taking a few pictures, we were on our way again following the coast whenever possible. Our destination was the Hopewell Rocks, some 26M/42Km from Alma. These rocks are a natural phenomena caused by time and the tides of Fundy Bay. They are awesome and we spent more time there than we had intended to, but, when can one be in this sort of environment, at awe with nature, and just pass it off as another “place” you have been. We took our time.

Our focus was to make our next camp before nightfall. We had decided to stay at the Caribou/Munroes Island Provincial Park in Nova Scotia, so we had to gauge or time to make that destination before dark. The route we took was just as before, hugging the coastline. This part of New Brunswick and into Nova Scotia was not the mountainous terrain we had been in the past few days. Once past Hopewell Rocks, the land turned into very flat and marshy. Much of the area was used for cattle ranching and more than several times we encountered cattle ranches farther than we could see. Literally, there were thousands of cattle grazing in these lowlands. In most places, an abnormal tide or a large surge from the Atlantic would inundate this whole area. No record of this happening in the past, so I guess they are safe here.

Our route took us through Moncton, New Brunswick lying at the head of Fundy Bay and on the Peticodiac River, the main tributary of the bay. Because this area is so flat, the river is tidal for many miles. This causes the river through Moncton to almost drain twice a day.

Once past Moncton, we traveled the coastal villages constantly amazed of the tidal influences on the area. The streams and small rivers flowing into the bay drain up to 30 feet before filling again on the tidal change. All life revolves around these tidal changes. Eventually, we ended up in Sackville, New Brunswick, a busy place as well as a college town. Although very busy, we liked the town because of its laid back atmosphere.

Continuing on into Nova Scotia, we followed NS Rt. 6 along the coast of the Northumberland Strait. This coastline gradually rose from marshy plains to higher cliff terrain of 20-30 feet above the sea. Most was farmland and fairly non-descript. A few fishing villages dotted this path, but none too interesting.

We arrived at our campground on time (before sundown) and we set up for the night. As before, the facilities were spotless and the campsites were very large. The weather was supposed to be a bit warmer than the nights before and the wind had died down substantially. This made for a very nice evening with a hot meal, a strong hot buttered rum and an early turn in. Once the pack of coyotes stopped howling, we were off to la-la land.

The next morning we were up early and off through Pictou and New Glasgow, Nova Scotia where we picked up NS Rt.4. This is the main highway to Cape Breton Island. Our destination was the Cape Breton National Park. We decided to make this our central operating camp while in the Highlands. The drive into the Highlands was absolutely stunning.

Once we crossed over the Straight of Canso onto Cape Breton Island, we took the high road (I love saying that) along the west coast. This took us along high cliff roads and through more fishing villages. The day was blustery and overcast accentuating the power of the North Atlantic. It was obvious we were in for a soaking soon.

We arrived early at the Whycocomagh Provincial Park campground. This park is located at the base of a mountain range and overlooks the Skye River Valley and the Bras d' Or Lake. Since this was the last few days of their season, we were the only ones in the park and we were given pick of any campsite. Of course we picked one close to the facilities, but also next to a cooking shelter. We figured if it rained it would come in handy.

Once we checked in we took off for Sydney, Nova Scotia, located on the eastern side of the island. We wanted to tour that area first and save the Highlands for last. The drive was quite nice up until we came into the Sydney area. It seems this area of Cape Breton Island is devoted to coal mining. It was very depressed. Many low income housing and there were times we were not comfortable in the areas we drove through. After a few hours we decided we had seen enough. Nothing spectacular. Anyway, it was beginning to rain and we were several hours from our camp.

By the time we arrived at the park it was a wind driven downpour. We assessed the situation and decided, since we were the only ones in the park, to set up our beds in the cooking shelter. We pulled up under the shelter’s overhang and unloaded our gear. The shelter had solar powered lights and with our Coleman lantern, we had plenty of light. Additionally, the shelter had sliding barn doors that closed the entire shelter off from the elements. How cozy. We cooked some hot dogs and beans and washed them down with some good Canadian beer. They do have good beer, but it is so expensive. Again, we turned in early for we wanted to get an early start for our Highlands tour.

See Day 8 Album: Click here.

See Day 9 Album : Click here.

2008 October Trip-Day 7

Our day started at 5 AM and, boy, was it ever cold. The temperature was 34F/1C and neither of us wanted to crawl out of our toasty sleeping bags. Our bags are cold weather, mummy-type and, along with sweats, keeps us very comfortable. We knew we had to get an early start, though, so we braved the cold and packed up. Took only a few minutes to make the conversion and head to the shower facility. If you remember from our last post, the shower facilities are not heated so we were dreading that necessary task.

Now, completely awake, we headed for Calais, Maine. Calais (local pronunciation of Calais rhymes with palace) is located on U.S. Route 1 and on the Canadian border. Just across the border is the city of St. Stephen, New Brunswick, Canada. The U.S.-Canadian crossing point is on each side of the St. Croix River, which splits the two cities. We have crossed into Canada several times before, but that was prior to 9-11. When we pulled up to the Canadian Customs/Border check point we were asked a multitude of questions that seemed more intense than they previously had been. I am not sure the young guard was convinced we were entering Canada on a camping/sightseeing expedition for she directed us to pull into an inspection lane. After a twenty minute wait a Canadian Customs agent began going through our truck looking for weapons, contraband and who knows what else. She went through everything including our laundry bag and cooler. Nothing. So, with a disappointed gesture, we were told that we were free to proceed. Hope it isn’t that bad when we return to the U.S.

Our plan this day was to hug the shoreline. We wanted to see, up close, the Bay of Fundy and the tide phenomena it is so well known for. There are many locations along this route to experience that phenomena and St. Andrews, New Brunswick, is one of them.

St. Andrews is a quiet seacoast town steeped in history. As with its U.S. sister towns, they too have had a re-vitalization drawing the tourist trade. There were many shops to visit in the many old building that line its streets. All in all though, it is a tourist town preparing for the end of the season.

We continued along the coast taking side road excursions whenever possible. This part of the country relies on the fishing and lumbering industries. There are many small villages, but very few large towns. We immediately noticed the lack of basic shopping facilities. The very small general store was the norm for daily shopping. Most people made long trips into the distant cities once or twice a month to stock up on provisions. Another fact we took immediate notice of was the price of everything. Even taking into account the difference in the U.S. dollar and the Canadian dollar, the prices were out of sight. We pondered the whole time while in Canada how these people existed on their income. Example: a gallon of milk was close to five Canadian dollars. Even taking the dollar difference into consideration, that is high! Oh, well. Maybe we will not be staying as long as we had planned.

Since we entered Canada, we found that our driving plans followed the Fundy Bay Coastal Drive. One of the more beautiful stops on this first day was the Funday Trail Parkway located near St. Martins, New Brunswick. This 6-mile drive had some of the most beautiful coastal scenery we had seen to date and we took advantage of every place that offered a panoramic view. Breathtaking.

Once we completed the drive we noticed we were a bit behind our time schedule. We wanted to camp in the Funday National Park for the night and we were quite a ways from there. I set the GPS for the shortest route hoping we would get there before dark. The GPS plotted the route and we took off. After a few miles, we noticed the road narrowing a bit and then becoming unpaved. Figuring this was only temporary, we continued. Take note: I should have turned back at this point. As we proceeded, the dirt roads became narrower and rougher. By this time we were too far along to return for our destination was “only a few miles away”. HA!!!!

It was obvious we were on a mountain logging road and, basically, in the wilderness. Thankfully, we did not meet any vehicles coming from the opposite direction for there was no place to pass or turn around. Some of the roads were barely passable. We could just see ourselves finding a field to pull into and staying there for the night. We could have done that, but preferred not too. We finally drove onto a more improved dirt road eventually leading to the main, paved road of the park just as it got dark. The “shortcut” was only 22mi/36km, but it took us over two hours to traverse the several mountains and rough trails. Lesson learned: do not completely trust your GPS for the best route.

We stayed the night in the park campground and were pleasantly surprised with the facilities. The campsite was very nice and the shower/restrooms were beautiful and impeccably clean. But, that is the norm for all of Canada’s public parks that we have stayed in over the years. A hot meal and a hot drink and we were off to bed. Not supposed to be as cold as the previous nights.

Tomorrow, into Nova Scotia.

Check out our Day 7 pictures: Click here