Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all our friends and family. We're looking forward to the party tonight then taking down decorations during the football games on Saturday. I'm quoting Rachel here: Show me a day when the world wasn't new. Good thought, kid. Best wishes to everyone in 2011!

Officially tired of cold weather. Tallahassee record low of 19; Rachel saw frost; snow flurries in Tallahassee on Christmas. Nokomis record low of 32; it has warmed up but we have another cold night before it warms up to the 70's daytime and 50's at night. Positive thinking - it will be a warm winter! Looking forward to a wonderful New Year!

Christmas calls to our daughter and moms today. Busy day with breakfast at the clubhouse sponsored by one of our very active residents. Regina spent a few hours working on the resident directory update while Paul prepared the sweet potato casserole, our contribution to the Christmas Dinner; we enjoyed the company of Maine and South Dakota friends - and filled our plates with more food than we needed. After a site check around the park, we are relaxing and enjoying a warm evening before the cool wind brings cooler temperatures.
We would like to wish each and everyone of you a Merry and Joyous Christmas. This is the season, as long as we remember the reason for the season. I think all of us have much to be thankful for, especially ourselves in the warmer climates.
For those of you in the recent snow belt, it too shall pass. In the meantime, enjoy the scenery.

Merry Christmas to All!

BRR. It's cold. Woke up to 42 outside and 56 inside; forecast high today of 58 and low 35; not good; warm-up by Friday. Yes! Everyone is decorating for Christmas; looking beautiful out there; thanks to the volunteers at RCR.

John Prince Park Campground

Here we are at John Prince Campground in Lake Worth camped beside Lake Osborne for Thanksgiving week. We're lucky that our moms and siblings are with 25 miles of each other. Rachel has a long drive and Jenn a shorter drive for turkey day; this is our holiday to enjoy family. Weather is great. We all have so much to be thankful for this season.

Veteran's Day

Thursday will be busy with parades, free car wash, visit to warehouse, and more. We are enjoying the warm up after a few nights down to 48 degrees. Time change has made evenings short. Regina is enjoying Paul's new blue tooth hearing aids; he can hear the phone, TV, DVR, and conversation as we are driving. Tonight is first Pub Night at the Clubhouse; we'll go check it out. RCR activities are in full swing.

November already; time change already; cool nights already. Yep, we've had to turn on the heat when it gets to 48 degrees with daytime barely reaching 65; ah, but it will be in the 70's tomorrow. Friends are returning daily; this feels like home. Paul has completed necessary tasks and is working on his wish list; Regina is back in the office on weekends. I'll try to post once a week; let us hear from you all, too!

All Hallows' Eve; Happy Halloween

Sunday afternoon watching the Dolphins after a trip to Walmart and time on the treadmill. This is my last Sunday vacation day. No trick or treaters in the RV park. Paul has adjusted well to his schedule of "tasks" then exercise then preparing dinner. I'm not that organized and definitely not domestic; I like greeting guests in the office. Pine straw is down, plants are blooming, most everything is washed and cleaned; now it's a matter of up-keep. Marshall's are selling their fifth wheel; Paul helped complete a few repairs yesterday. Nights are cooler; we may actually have a comfortable autumn. This week we start the activities schedule; already into a routine.

Busy week. Visited periodontist on Monday; looks like we'll be busy for a few months. Thursday we'll have a hearing test and check out new hearing aids. Paul is planning meals and taking care of blue jobs. Regina is sorting and putting in a few volunteer hours at RCR before starting work on Nov. 1st. So nice to have space, DVR, and ice maker.

BBRRR. Woke up this morning to 60 degrees in fiver. We've had a busy week getting settled; Paul has washed the bugs off Cruiser; just a few more projects and Cruiser will be in storage - until Thanksgiving. On Friday Regina drove up to the CAF 75th Anniversary luncheon with Joe and Kathy. It was a wonderful gathering of Latin teachers although only 25 were at the in-service weekend. We really appreciate the sleuthing that Gerry Hodges and her committee did for the 50th anniversary booklet. It's been almost seven years since I've been to a meeting but some things never change. I'm going to try and keep this up once a week; I do write more often on facebook - easy little notes there. Enjoy life.

Tempus Fugit! Internet access was varied and I used the time to post pictures so be sure to check out myphotoalbum! We are at Royal Coachman now and getting settled. Picked up our DVR and signed up for hi speed internet today. Paul is sanitizing the water system in Fiver, checking the roof, basements, and all those blue jobs. Must say it sure is nice to have room to move around, ice maker, queen sized bed, cable TV, and other comforts of "home" for six months. It will take a few days to clean up Cruiser. Looking forward to more residents returning this month. Safe travels.

YUM! Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, Green Mountain Coffee, Cabot Cheese, Cold Hollow Cider, Lake Champlain Chocolates: we tried them all today. It was a cool and rainy day; a good day to drive up to Waterbury and check out the "factory" tours and tasting. Yesterday was sunny and warm as we toured the capitol building, history museum, and walked around Montpelier. Each day we see more and more color in the leaves...

In Bangor today; our first oriental chicken at Applebee's in a long time - yum. Then we thoroughly enjoyed a shopping experience at the new, large, brown brick, new logo WalMart Supercenter; we've been keeping a list of items we have missed for three months and it was so very, very exciting. We filled up at Irving but gas was $2.63/gallon instead of .99/liter equivalent to $3.78/gallon. On the down side, the traffic is crazy; we've seen more cars today than we have in total for several weeks. We are heading to Gorham and then Montpelier by week's end. Not sure what wifi will be like along the way.

On this fine sunny Sunday we drove up to Hartland, NB, and drove across the longest covered bridge in the world - 1282 feet, built in 1901, one lane, across the St. John River. Great little town, too; then we drove out to the Covered Bridge Potato Chip Company for a tour and a taste of hot kettle cooked chips right off the line. We're going to miss our waterfront campsites.

Here we are camped along the St. John River. Earl has passed through Nova Scotia and is nearing PEI and then into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. We've had rain on and off here in Woodstock since 6 am; this has been an ideal opportunity to get pictures onto myphotoalbum. We'll hang around the rest of Labour Day weekend before heading into Maine. Hope you are all safe and relaxing.

Enjoying our stay in Fredericton; nice provincial capital city. The college students are arriving; school starts for everyone on Tuesday. We're ready for our mail and phones so we plan to cross the border one day next week. The leaves are changing, too, although it has been 85 degrees and humid recently. Looking forward to a Walmart Supercenter, too; and a Vitamin Shoppe.

Hopewell Rocks today: our last look at the Bay of Fundy tides was spectacular. Finally saw a Bore Tide in downtown Moncton, too. Then we had a joy ride at Magnetic Hill; had to drive it several times 'cause it was so much fun. We are also enjoying the Cold Stone Creamery that is located within Tim Horton's.

Just a few of our pictures from PEI. The recycle bins are great. Anne of Green Gables National Historic Site is just one of many L. M. Montgomery sites in Cavendish. Beaconsfield Historic House is right on the waterfront in Charlottetown, down the road from Victoria Park and Fanningbrook, Government House. Paul is enjoying a lunch breakfast at Cora's; we've been to several in each province.

Enjoyed ten beautiful days in Cape Breton and now we ferry to PEI. The Cabot Trail offered 190 miles of outstanding vistas; we spent a day of workshops at The Gaelic College in St. Ann's; participated in several Ceilidhs; and the weather has cooperated.

We're camped in the Codroy Valley waiting for our ferry crossing tomorrow; seas are up, ferries are overcrowded, mechanical problems, scheduled times are delayed. It is beautiful here around the river; prices are a bit more reasonable; winds are high - this is the wreckhouse area. Saw another lighthouse today.

Our last day in St. John's as we head west to Port aux Basques for the ferry on Tues. Don't expect wifi until we reach NS again. We enjoyed a day at the Avalon archeological site one day. Today is the 192nd Regatta at Quidi Vidi Lake - they call it a pond; lots of action in town this week with George Street music, too. 100,000 of the 500,000 residents of NL live here so we have definitely enjoyed the amenities. Newfoundland and Labrador is a must place to visit; people are friendly and the weather hasn't been too rainy. The Irish brogue is definitely here, too. Hope you all are having a great summer. Later.

St. John's is the largest city in NL; pictures show the War Memorial near Harbourside Park, Cabot Tower on Signal Hill, and an amazing sculpture of the Veiled Virgin in the convent of the Basilica. Much more to come. Today is a sunny day after two days of rain.

Poor wifi is worse than no wifi at all because you expect something and mostly get nothing. Ah, well. FYI: May 1st to July 15th GiMyC drove 5625 miles pulling Cruiser and touring towns; Tallahassee to St. Andrews, NB, was 2084 miles; to Port aux Basques, NL, was 1550 miles; and north to St. Anthony and a trip to Labrador was 727 miles. We are heading east to St. John’s now.
Western Newfoundland: Two weeks was barely enough to take it all in; the drive is breath-taking all the way with rocks, green mountains, tablelands, coves, harbors, bays, straits, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Be sure to check out our pictures at myphotoalbum; they tell the story better than I’ve kept up with this blog.
A side trip to Woody Point and Trout River is WAY out of the way but a must do. The drive to Woody Point is through the Gros Morne Tablelands and is magnificent. Woody Point is a place you would want a summer cottage. Its location right on the water’s edge of Bonne Bay is stunning. Trout River is a small fishing village with three small but interesting museums that tell the fascinating history of the place. The wharf is busy but inviting. The hardworking fishermen and women have a friendly smile and a hearty hello! Did we mention that these Newfoundlanders are very friendly.
We’ve had a great history lesson all along the way: Maritime Archaic Indians, Vikings, British, French, Western Brook Pond formed by glaciers, Labrador current bringing icebergs from Greenland (just not this year…), Dorset Indians, Beothuk, American bases during WWII, NORAD and DEW bases, and on. Sorry that I haven’t kept up just writing even though we couldn’t get online. A general note though: Irving gas stations are about the only place Regina can get her diet dr. pepper; most villages/towns have populations of 200 to 1000; fishing is really important; fish is always cod unless it states salmon, trout, or something else. Cod earbones make great jewelry; puffins are on the east coast of Newfoundland; it’s easy to get on the ferry to Labrador but getting back to Newfoundland you better have reservations; this land is definitely The Rock. Will update more at St. John’s.

Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland and Labrador

The fog dispersed as we approached Western Brook Pond for the fjord boat cruise; it was an excellent 2 1/2 hours on the water but we also saw moose and beautiful flora as we walked the 3 km trail to the boat ramp. Pictures are posted on myphotoalbum. Yesterday we went to the Historical Train Museum in Corner Brook before we arrived in Rocky Harbour and went to the Bonne Bay Marine Station and Aquarium in Norris Point. Both days have been wonderful.

07.09.10 Our first full day in NL reminded us very much of traveling through the northern areas of the western Canadian provinces with the mountains, black spruce trees, no traffic for miles and miles, one main road and the side roads gravel (when they do appear), a restaurant/gas station every sixty miles or so, etc. We did stop in Port au Port West at the largest wooden building in NL, Our Lady of Mercy Church: standing 100 ft. at the steeple, stations made of carrara marble and framed with travertine marble then shipped from Italy, seats 1000, and took eleven years because of the volunteer builders so as not to incur a debt. The Church was built 1914-1925; the parish rectory next door was built in 1952 and is a museum, craft shop, and tea room: Paul and I had tea buns with partridgeberry jam – oh, so good. Then we went on to the Gravels Rest Stop where we could look back at the Abbott and Haliburton tin shop, the oldest firm on the west coast of NL begun in 1898, and today mostly in timber production but still owned by the same family. Our stop for the night was Corner Brook.

07.08.10 Arrived Newfoundland at 10:45 pm on MV Caribou; checked at the visitor center (open and friendly) and drove to the Provincial Park just down the road, also open and friendly and waiting for us – and several other campers – to arrive. The six hours across Cabot Strait was comfortable and relaxing; we highlighted “must see” in NL, ate, and listened to the three movies that played in the adjoining area. When we returned to Cruiser, the refrigerator had defrosted, too (I put that off as long as possible).

07.06.10 Cloudy all day but only a few drops of rain as we walked for five hours at the Fortress of Louisbourg. The French came to Louisbourg in 1717 and quickly became France’s most important stronghold and seaport. It was captured by the English in 1745, returned to the French three years later but once again captured in 1758 by Wolfe and subsequently demolished in 1760. About ¼ of colonial Louisbourg was reconstructed in the 1960’s to the 1744 period; the largest reconstructed 18th century town in North America. The costumed interpreters are very knowledgeable and friendly: www.pc.gc.ca/louisbourg We snacked on a soldier’s whole wheat biscuit made in the ovens of the military bakery; enjoyed stories of the fisherman, seamstress, gardener, and various soldiers. Another memorable day on the road.

Updates

Rain through the night but we headed to Glace Bay and the Marconi NHS, had lunch at The Miners’ Museum, and made an appt. for oil change and tire rotation at the only GMC service in Cape Breton. It’s still cloudy as I write this; hoping for better weather as we head to the Fortress of Louisbourg in the morning.
07.04.10 Independence Day! Arrived at Arm of Gold CG, made ferry reservations for Newfoundland, and drove into Sydney for a look at old houses, churches, and – found a Cold Stone Creamery that had just opened in May, so we celebrated the 4th with great ice cream on a sunny, warm day.
07.03.10 A day of driving to Antigonish, shopping at Sobeys.
07.02.10 Our last day in Halifax we tried to visit the BOI again but all the tours were filled for the day. It was easy to spend five hours at The Citadel: two museums, bagpipes, changing of the guard, cannon and rifle exhibitions, and a fantastic view of the harbor and Halifax www.pc.gc.ca/halifaxcitadel
07.01.10 Canada Day! Found a parking area just west of the Citadel, watched some of the parade, walked around the Public Gardens, toured St. Paul’s Church (built in 1750 on the Grand Parade, oldest building in Halifax, survived the 1917 Halifax Explosion with a piece of wood embedded in an interior wall), had lunch at the Wooden Monkey, and then – thoroughly enjoyed a 3 ½ hour Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo in the Metro Centre www.nstatoo.ca
6.30.10 Province House (c. 1819), a National Historic Site, the seat of the Nova Scotia Government, Canada’s oldest provincial legislative assembly, and the original home of Britain’s first overseas self-government is a “gem of Georgian architecture” according to Charles Dickens. Just down the street is Government House where the Queen and Duke resided during their stay. After a walk around the Old Burying Ground, the first in Halifax on land granted in 1749, we drove around the Armdale Rotary to spend the rest of the day sailing with Rose and Bill. The grounds are historic with two hundred Americans buried on an island cemetery. Our trip along the waters took us past Sir Sanford Fleming Park (donated in 1908), Point Pleasant Park (rented from the British Govt.), and Fort McNab NHS. Fleming is known for his work on Standard Time Zones. Paul especially enjoyed the afternoon as Bill let him take the helm for several hours; much more sailing room than the intracoastal waterway.
6.29.10 The Quaker House (c. 1785) is one of the oldest buildings in Dartmouth; the Nantucket whalers were here until 1792. We headed to the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO), Canada’s leading marine research center but were turned back at the entrance because of the Queen’s visit and the Fleet Review which we could see clearly in the harbor just north of the MacKay Bridge. It was cloudy but we decided to drive the 40 miles to Peggy’s Cove for a view of the craggy coast, the huge granite boulders, and the often-pictured lighthouse; we walked to the sea on the rocks and up to the lighthouse, watched the waves crashing, and huddled against the raging winds – well, okay, 25 mph, isn’t raging but it is plenty cold, and bought souvenirs. It was still a nice day.
6.28.10 Well, no; the wifi was never stronger than 11Mbps and kept tripping off – or is that what electric does. In either case, I’ll keep a record here and hope someday to publish. I hope this doesn’t get annoying going backward. Sigh. I am rambling; could be that it started raining during the night and didn’t stop all day so we didn’t leave the campground. We did go to Sobeys in Lower/Middle Sackville and tried to call our moms but we couldn’t hear each other for more than intermittent spots. Good thing we brought games along, although Paul did download several TV shows when we had good wifi.
6.27.10 Just arrived at our campground for the week near Halifax and Dartmouth – and wifi. Hope our updates are more timely for a few days anyway. We have lots to see so we drove into Halifax (20 miles) and spent several hours at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, especially for the Titanic exhibit and the Halifax explosion; then we walked along the boardwalk to see the ships in for fleet week www.canadiannavy100.forces.gc.ca Another gorgeous day.
6.26.10 Another day of ships and waterfront historic sites; Lunenburg is World Heritage Site; see more at www.explorelunenburg.ca and www.fisheries.museum.gov.ns.ca We even got to see the Bluenose II, a replica of the Bluenose that is on the Canadian dimes, a schooner, a trawler, a wonderful aquarium, and much more. Walking down the streets of Old Town we saw colorful shops, 1830’s homes, St. John’s Anglican 1754 Church, and garden plots stretching down to the waterfront (the hills reminded us of San Francisco). Just six miles along Hwy #3 is Mahone Bay, famous for its three churches which have stood along the bay since the mid-1800’s – a wedding was in progress at one. We spent some time observing the melting, pouring, and polishing of items at Amos Pewter, one of the many art, craft and antique shops along the shoreline www.amospewter.com Another wondrous day in Nova Scotia!
6.25.10 Our miles have been few these days because we stop along the way. Today we drove into Liverpool, NS, along the Mersey River; the visitor center has all day parking right in front; good thing, too, because there’s not much space at the museums and the roads are not wide; it was an easy walk to the Rossignol Cultural Center www.rossignolculturalcentre.com a collection of five museums in a former brick school house; then a quick walk to the Sherman Hines Photography Museum www.shermanhinesphotographymuseum.com and lunch at a café in town. Also check out Fort Point Lighthouse Park at www.queens.ca Another thirty miles and we reached Lunenburg Board of Trade Campground at the visitor center on Blockhouse Hill at the end of town. It was dinnertime and we were weary so we relaxed with a game of Mexican dominoes.6.24.10 At the Dory Museum and the Muir-Cox Shipbuilding Centre the guides were excellent and male so Paul heard everything they said; we spent the entire day in these two Shelburne museums along Dock Street. We drove into town with Cruiser and found free parking at the Yacht Center; they had a sailing race at 6 pm when we left town for The Islands Provincial Park. We survived the night without water or electric; the generator worked great for Paul’s morning coffee; we watched the large white rabbits stretch out and the red fox bark at the dog in the spot next to us – the red fox never did move in very close and as soon as a human appeared around the corner he ran into the woods. Our campsite had a wonderful view of Dock Street across the bay; the office lodge even has wifi; it was a pleasant evening.

Yarmouth, NS

Rain, rain. We left Cruiser in the campground and headed to the Yarmouth County Museum hoping that the day would clear up; after two wonderful hours looking at paintings of ships, shipbuilding tools, ship décor, First Nation relics, lighthouse relics, musical instruments, carriages, toys- you’ve got the idea: museum artifacts – it was still raining so we headed to the Cape Fourchu lighthouse anyway; did the inside memorabilia but really couldn’t walk outside on the slippery rocks; had tea and lobster roll at the café. Then drove to Stanley’s Lobster and received a wonderful tour of the area where the really, really hard-shelled lobster are kept, cleaned out (they aren’t fed for three months so as to clean out their innards), and shipped to Boston and internationally; these are really special lobsters! This tour also included a walk to the beach where they have gatherings and feasts. We had just eaten or we sure would have had Brian W. prepare us a feast; we also had a great conversation with him; love these Canadians! Now we are sitting in the library using a guest pass to do wifi. The rain is supposed to last a few more days so don’t know how much we’ll see along the way. ‘Til later…
6.22.10 notes
Left Digby and ½ hour later we reached St. Bernard and the granite church that seats 1,000; it was constructed between 1910 and 1942, one layer of granite each year; quite impressive; the stations are of pewter; the pews are magnificent wood. Just down the road in Church Point we toured the museum in St. Mary’s Church, constructed (between 1903 and 1905) of wood in the form of a cross 190’ long and 135’ wide with an impressive 185’ spire; the museum had exquisite chalices, ciboria, vestments, and such from the 1800’s; the stain glass windows are magnificent and many. Website http://www.baiesaintemarie.com/ste-marie The campus of Nova Scotia’s only French-language university, Universite’ Sainte-Anne, is adjoining and as a center of Acadian culture plans to open a new Rendez-vous de la Baie in the next month. It was just a few more miles to Yarmouth. Today we visited the Firefighters’ Museum of Nova Scotia exhibiting almost every type of fire engine used in NS from the 1800’s to the 1930’s.

The fog was so thick this morning we wore rain jackets walking along the Digby harbor. Lunch at O'Neils was excellent: scallop sampler, scallop spinach salad, sweet potato fries, and carrot cake. Right off the boat scallops - YUM! Yesterday we walked Annapolis Royal, Fort Anne, and Port Royal - also and excellent day with lunch of lobster roll and sweet potato fries at Ye Olde Towne Pub. Ferry from St. John, NB, to Nova Scotia was comfortable and we even saw a few whales. We're having way too much fun.

Happy Father’s Day – on Sunday 20th; that is the real thing! It has been raining since 1 am; thank heaven we are parked on gravel. We are at Rockwood Park Campground in St. John, NB, with great wifi and some antenna TV. We really enjoyed St. Martins with the caves, Fundy Trail, and walking on the ocean floor; Regina collected quite a few rocks and some driftwood. Pictures tell the story. On Wed, after we set up camp, we climbed the Carleton Martello Tower which also has a fine museum; the Walmart, as most north of MA are not supercenters, doesn’t really have the groceries we need so we went to Sobeys and found good food including organics. We spent the evening watching our videos of where we’ve been so far.

Fundy Trail Parkway today: we went at low tide and returned at high tide = 6 hours 13 min. What a difference - 35' This is truly a remarkable area - you gotta see it to believe it. We are back at our Century Farms campsite; the wind has been constant today - 30 mph gusting to 40 - we are rockin' and rollin' - Paul even put the front window awning down; we can still see the bay and the caves from our side windows. We are enjoying our travels because it is still early in the season; kids are still in school; sites are not crowded and a few don't even open until the 20th; campgrounds are not full; and we have much more to see.

St. Martins, NB

St. Martins has wonderful views of the Caves: note the change in water level. We are at Century Farm Family CG and can look across the bay and see the caves, as well as a lighthouse and the harbor. Tomorrow we do the Fundy Trail.

Happy Father’s Day! Paul’s gift was clean laundry and I made the tuna salad. We are busy during the day checking off the list of museums, tide changes, and all the sites mentioned in brochures; by nightfall we check email and do a bit on facebook (which is very easy to update). If you are coming here for updates, I’ll aim for at least once a week; wifi can be spotty also which is what this site needs. We can do facebook on the iPad and the 3G network; life with technology is so very easy. Myphotoalbum is easy to update also and the pictures are probably more interesting; be sure to do them as a slideshow because it is quicker and then you can go back to pictures of particular interest.
Currently I am sitting on my bench looking out over the Bay of Fundy and over into Maine. The Kiwanis Oceanfront Camping is at the point of the peninsula where St. Andrews is situated; we have truly been enjoying the view. Today we drove to the Fairmont Algonquin and checked out the lobby with pictures from 1915 to the present, dining area, pool, and gift shop; again – the views are magnificent. Also tried to see Katy’s Cove, the beach area but it was all gated; so we drove past the several cemeteries: St. Andrews Cemetery – nice drive through looking at headstones past and present, the Loyalist Burying Ground – all locked up, and the Historic RC Cemetery. Yesterday we walked through Kingsbrae Gardens at the head of King Street for a few hours; also saw the eleven sculptures vying for the $10,000 first prize. From there we walked to Downtown (five blocks) and walked the five blocks along the waterfront; St. Andrews First Annual Seafood Festival sported several canopied vendors and in the larger tent the chefs from the Kennedy Hotel and Fairmont Algonquin prepared salmon and lobster dishes – we were around to try two of them. We did buy some salmon jerky; now that’s different. Lunch was a lobster and swiss sandwich at Sweet Harvest. We walked out on the pier and looked back at town; yep, there is a 28’ tide here; high watermarks on the rocks and pilings and the floating docks make that very evident. At the end of town is St. Andrews Blockhouse National Historic Site built during the War of 1912 to protect the town from American privateers; Navy Island is about a mile away in the bay and Maine (don’t know what town, if any) is just about a mile further – yep, I can see the USA from here! On Friday we drove a few miles to the Atlantic Salmon Interpretive Centre; didn’t even know there were Atlantic salmon and Pacific salmon; but the Atlantic salmon must be smarter – they don’t die after spawning and can return several times if they survive the hazards of ocean migration. The website for more info is http://www.asf.ca It was time for lunch so we stopped at a roadside stand, the ClamDigger Seafood Take-out in Chamcook and ate at the picnic benches; cute little girl named Chloe and her brother Xavier kept us company while they played on the swing set. Fortified with fish and lobster, we drove to the Saint Croix Island Historic Site and looked across the bay at the island first settled in 1604 but then moved to Port Royal, NS, because of the terrible winter storms (very good presentation boards along the paths) and made plans to visit Annapolis Royal near Digby next week. We had to check out Ministers Island, which can only be reached by driving over the access bar road when the tide is low; we happened to arrive at low tide but decided against looking at another rich man’s estate that we can probably view online. The grocery didn’t have diet Dr. Pepper so we drove to the convenience store – yes, Regina is in luck. Well, I guess that about covers the last few days. Time for another meal. BTW, pictures are of sand bar to Ministers Island, St. Andrews downtown, and St. Croix in background.

5.29.10 Our visit with Carole and Jon included dinner with Donna and Larry, too. On our tour of Doylestown we saw the Moravian Pottery & Tile concrete building at Font Hill Pond, fieldstone houses, James Michener house, Peace Hill Park area, Delaware Valley College, and the former Burpee homestead. The drive through the area is beautiful with trees, hills, flowers; we saw turkey in driveways, deer along the wooded areas, and fieldstone houses everywhere. Our private campground was very comfortable for two days. We spent the Memorial Day Weekend at the Circle CG Farm in Bellingham, MA; we drove along 109 through MA towns to West Roxbury for a visit with Lisa & Dennis, former Tallahassee Latin students. Amazing how kids grow up; we exchanged news since Colleen’s wedding last year, had lunch, and got directions to the new Liberty Mall in Dedham hoping to find some small size shoes at LL Bean; no luck – we will head to Freeport next week; and heard all about the Boston Red Sox, a favorite pastime around here. FYI, Ellen’s spine operation has helped her leg pain and Rachel is back from Haiti.
6.5.10 We are having way too much fun. Paul found boat shoes and cargo pants. Highlights of our visit to Warren and Thomaston, ME, included the Owl's Head Transportation Museum, Pemaquid Lighthouse (which is on the Maine quarter) and steamed lobster with Harlean and Bob. Go to myphotos for visuals.

Updates

5.26.2010
Update: Since last report we have traveled US 301 through NC, VA (did take I-295 around Richmond!), MD, and DE. Jenny met us at a café in Hanover, MD, where we caught up on BPW (we were housemates at FSU) and life news; isn’t it amazing that it doesn’t matter how long it’s been we can just pick up as if saw each other just yesterday. Thanks to all our friends who allow us to pop into their lives during our travels. We enjoy the slower travel (averaging 33 mph) that allows us to take in the fields, farms, and little towns – that is, until we reached MD and DE where 301 is the alternate route for I-95; lots of traffic. Cruiser allows us to pull into almost any gas station and shopping area for a break; this is good. Lums Pond State Park offered a pleasant respite from the typical private campground; glad we at least had electricity, though. Looks like our travels north from here are going to be on interstates unless we have a month to get to the Maritimes…NOT!
5.29.10
Our visit with Carole and Jon included dinner with Donna and Larry, too. On our tour of Doylestown we saw the Moravian Pottery & Tile concrete building at Font Hill Pond, fieldstone houses, James Michener house, Peace Hill Park area, Delaware Valley College, and the former Burpee homestead. The drive through the area is beautiful with trees, hills, flowers; we saw turkey in driveways, deer along the wooded areas, and fieldstone houses everywhere. Our private campground was very comfortable for two days. We spent the Memorial Day Weekend at the Circle CG Farm in Bellingham, MA; we drove along 109 through MA towns to West Roxbury for a visit with Lisa & Dennis, former Tallahassee Latin students. Amazing how kids grow up; we exchanged news since Colleen’s wedding last year, had lunch, and got directions to the new Liberty Square Mall in Dedham hoping to find some small size shoes at LL Bean; no luck – we will head to Freeport next week; and heard all about the Boston Red Sox, a favorite pastime around here. FYI, Ellen’s spine operation has helped her leg pain and Rachel is back from Haiti.
6.1.10
Reached New Hampshire and the wonderful Barrington Shores campground of Gail and Don; even the Quebec fires smoke couldn't hide the beauty of the woods and water. Also had lunch with Angelynne and Ed (Ed was a student from the 1970's in Gainesville...)in Portsmouth. Paul, another G'ville student, was busy teaching Latin so his visit was a phone call.

We got a late start this morning (11:30) because we were watching CBS Sunday Morning. We’ve been on US 301 most of the last two days. It is much more interesting than an interstate and we don’t get as tired or bored with driving; yes, yes, we do slow down through the towns along the way but we also read the AAA book that points out highlights of the area. Today we stopped at South of the Border (You’ve gotta love that place just for its ability to stay open how many years!) http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2211, drove through the town with an Ava Gardner Museum http://www.avagardner.org/ , followed roads near Sherman’s march to the sea and read those highway plaques http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/shermans-march-to-the-sea.htm , didn’t get to stop at a Tobacco Museum or a Mill http://www.johnstoncountync.org/listings/?linkcode=2.5.E because it’s Sunday and they were closed, and passed old train depots in all states of repair – or disrepair. BTW, it has rained on us each day since Friday. BTW, stopped at a campground tonight so we can see Lost: The Final Transmission.

First day on the road: 240 miles, 7 hours, along US 319 through wonderful Georgia towns, along pecan farms and fields of sweet potatoes and Vidalia onions. Regina is really getting spoiled with the iPhone: checking email, facebook, weather, and finding the nearest Walmart, cheap gas, etc. We stop every few hours for gas, snacks, and walking breaks; it is not as convenient with Cruiser since we can’t stop and just walk to the back of a motorhome but it is MUCH more convenient to stop almost anywhere along the road or a shopping area or any gas station. What a great life.

Up at 6 am - that was a feat! Took Rachel to airport; doing laundry now; one more doctor today then we cross the border into Georgia tomorrow. Looking forward to five months in Cruiser - so much to see, so much to do!

At Tallahassee Elks for a week. Friends are forever. The two couples we saw in Winter Garden and Clermont are doing fine and enjoying life with children and grandchildren nearby; both have pools, boats, and are staying plenty active. In Tallahassee our first meal was a gathering of four retired Latin teachers and spouses; it is so great that one of them gathers us together when Paul and I show up in town. Everyone is keeping active and enjoying the good life. We will see several more friends in the next few days. Rachel is canoeing on the Ecofina River this weekend; she is almost ready for her “acupuncturists without borders” trip to Haiti. Paul has a few handyman jobs at her house; he’s already cleaned off the second load of those really annoying lovebugs and tar from road construction as we’ve traveled north. We’ll do our six-month visit to doctors during the week. Oh yes, it is warm in Florida; we keep checking the weather.com – do you know that it is consistently in the 60’s further north?

Clermont

Lovebugs! Driving up to Clermont from Palm Beach County those buggers covered not only the front of GiMmyC but also Cruiser. We kept washing them off at our gas, lunch, and rest stops but it still took a scrubbie and soap washing at our campground to get all the bugs and their acid. We are at the Clerbrook Golf and RV Resort, an Encore property that takes Passport America this time of year. Yes, it is still hot and humid – this is Florida after all.

We've just spent a wonderful week visiting and driving our moms around Palm Beach County - and a trip up to Stuart to visit our friends Patty and Tony. Mothers Day was a joy; we saw brother Dave and family, too. Paul's sister and her three girls and families get together for celebrations that are events to be remembered. It is difficult to get pictures of five kids under the age of ten, though.
We'll spend a few days here catching up with RV friends who have retired to this area; we may check out the RV resorts and see what they have to offer - but then again, it gets a bit colder here than Sarasota County.

Today Paul's mom drove down to my mom's (who doesn't drive and never has) and we went shopping at Kmart just down the road. Paul stayed at mom's and fixed the shower. The moms both use the shopping cart to steady them; after an hour everyone was finished (or tired) so I called Paul and he met us at IHOP for lunch. It was a good day. Paul's mom headed home; we left the moms to rest and put their feet up and then went to visit Ellen, my sister. She had some repairs that needed an extra hand so Paul helped out; I watched. She bought an inversion thing to help with her leg pain; it looks very, very interesting. Ellen and her late husband did a two week motorcycle trip to many of the places we are going this summer. I am SO glad we have time on our side to see all those places; life is good.

Today was the beginning of our 2010 Summer Travels. We are at John Prince CG in Lake Worth, our home base while we visit moms and siblings for the next week. It is warm and humid but we have a waterfront lot to enjoy. This was the last 200 miles of driving at 50 mph with GiMmyC pulling Cruiser; now our travels will go much quicker.

And so we begin

This is the beginning of our trip to the Canadian Maritimes. It all starts with packing up Cruiser.