There’s a Ship Lying Waiting in the Harbour……..

July 5 – 7, 2006

So long! Farewell! Goodbye Newfoundland – forever in our hearts.The ferry left right on time at 8am and we immediately adjusted our watches that silly half hour. Sunny when we left, the fog descended so we stayed inside most of the journey, snoozing and reading.

We were on the road by 1:30 wanting to make a bit of distance. It’s amazing what a difference two weeks makes when summer holidays start in the middle of it. The RV traffic had increased ten fold heading north as we aimed south. It reinforced that we made the right decision in timing. Not able to find a rest area or pullout for over a hundred miles, we finally pulled in to a trucking company lot with the intention of a little lunch and a rest. But Fernie was exhausted and I took a walk back through the gravel yard full of tractors and trailers, up to the work bays where I could see some workmen tinkering with truck tires.

It was very difficult for me to encroach on to such an area and I felt nervous and out of my realm but fought it and confidently said “Hi guys!” (I tossed up using Hi fellas – nah, too old-fashioned; or Hello gentlemen but that was ludicrous) They looked up at me blankly, dirty and sweaty in their big blue overalls and skullcaps.
“Do you think it would be ok if we parked our motorhome in your lot overnight?” I croaked.
The older of the two answered “Can’t say there’d be a problem, but we’d better ask the boss man”. He beckoned me to follow him through the shop and into the office where he called over the owner and said “The lady has a question for you”.
Once more I nervously choked out the request.
“Sure, why not. You can pull in anywhere you want but around the back of the building, you could even plug in to electricity”. I was overwhelmed and thanked him profusely, excited to tell Fernie that he didn’t have to move on. But Fernie wasn’t happy. He said it wasn’t’ safe with all the gravel and trucks in and out all night. They’d spin gravel up and chip Maggie. He appeared to have found some new energy because he said “We’re moving out of here”. I was a trifle aggravated to say the least.

I phoned the Walmart in Amherst, Nova Scotia near the New Brunswick border and they said it was ok to park overnight. It turned out to be a five star Walmart – large, level lot with grassy verges, trees and a herd of llama across the road.

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We’d picked up another chip in our windshield along the way, so the first order of the day was to get that fixed. Speedy Glass took us in right away and only charged $40. While it was being repaired, we looked around Amherst, a Victorian town with many heritage buildings and some of the most beautiful old mansions restored to their original beauty.

Fernie discovered that his gas cap was missing when we fuelled up. Déjà vu! That meant a stop at the local Ford dealer. They didn’t have the part in stock, but they called Moncton (40 miles down the road) and asked them to hold one for us. I was a bit ‘cranky’ that he’d left the cap behind and compounded things by dropping my Visa card at the gas pump – that’s what happens when you let your emotions loose. It was 24 hours later that I discovered it missing and luckily, a stranger picked it up and phoned Visa who immediately cancelled the card.

Hopewell Rocks, are tide eroded cliffs situated at the top end of the Bay of Fundy. Over time, they’ve been fashioned into strange shapes and when the tide is out you can ‘walk on the ocean floor’. It is eerie with the seaweed-encrusted rocks, the red mud of the tidal basin and the fairy story shapes of the towering rocks. It was low tide and I asked a young park ranger if we could walk the length of the beach and not have to retrace our steps. She said ‘It’s possible but there’s a piece in the middle with a lot of rocks. When you get past them it’s just beach until you reach another trail back up to the top. We’d left Caesar in the motorhome, which left us free to really explore the area. We ambled along, picking up stones and inspecting little crabs passing through rocks that were fashioned into tunnels.

When we started, there were hordes of people, but it got quieter further on. We reached the rocky area the ranger had mentioned and there was what looked like an impassable mass of boulders but we thought we’d try and get over them. There was a lot of huffing and puffing and hanging on as we clambered over the immense rocks and I got quite afraid that I’d never make it. We were surprised that nobody else was climbing over the boulders but figured we’d see a bunch of people the other side but we saw no one the remaining hike along the beach or along the long trail back up to the top. I guess not too many try it. Exhaustion set in half way up the hill and we were so relieved to get back to Maggie and Caesar.

The Walmart in St. John turned us down when I phoned them, so we headed for Fredericton – they said ‘Sure thing’. It wasn’t the best though because the lot was full of paving equipment and where they suggested we park was right beside the main road. It was extremely noisy overnight with trucks using their engine brakes all night long.

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We awoke to bedlam! The construction crew had started and it was noisy and dusty. We had intended on staying an extra night but Fernie found a notice on our windshield from the shopping centre management asking that we not stay overnight again – a direct contradiction from the Walmart staff. However, we were quite happy to vacate – it wasn’t up to our five star standards.

We mooched around Fredericton in the morning. It’s the capital of New Brunswick, a historical area, and there was seemingly no industry, which made for an attractive city. Then we tootled on down to St. John – an hour south on the Bay of Fundy. We parked Maggie in an abandoned gas station on the outskirts so we could have a look around in the Honda. It’s famous for the ‘Reversing Falls’ caused by the sudden high tide that swoops up the narrow channel but it’s now become a paying tourist attraction. When I was there in 1970, it was free and I was totally unimpressed. We stopped at a shady park in the centre of town and lounged and strolled around with Caesar who totally enjoyed meeting the local dogs in person or in scent. A statue of Samuel Champlain puzzled us – it was inscribed with the dates 1604 – 1904. He really lived to be an old chap!

This was it – the last day of our Cross Canada sojourn. Sixty-nine days packed with culture, history, geography, wildlife, family visits, bad weather and good weather. We were always stimulated and never bored. We found we could live together 24/7 in a small area without killing each other – actually seldom aggravating each other. We love our country more than ever before. In its vastness, Canada is still full of patriotism, bonding us from Newfoundland to British Columbia and almost all in between.