Sat. thru Thurs. 9-26 thru 10-1

Sat and Sun: Watched world cycling championship road races in downtown Richmond. Great fun. Sunday men's elite race we were right at the fence on critical climb and on last lap Peter Sagan, our favorite, made his winning move right in front of us. After Sunday's race drove to Williamsburg for the tandem rally (pre-rally), leaving trailer at Richmond. Rain threatened all the road races and Sat. rained off and on all day, but never hard

Monday 46 mile loop incl Jamestown. One light rain shower. We're way out of shape- not much riding on this summer's trip.

Tues- ferry across James R. and rode to Smithfield. Beautiful 46-mile ride and a pretty old town.

Wed- Rainy and we needed day off anyway, so drove to Yorktown Battlefield. Excellent ranger tour. Rode around battlefield.

Thur- Very rainy and chilly- no ride. Drove to Richmond. Forecast is 100% rain thru Sunday; decided the rally is a washout for us, esp. w possibility of category 4 hurricane Joaquin possibly threatening. So called Shaun to see if we could visit sooner- yes. Will head S tomorrow.
'

Tuesday through Friday, Sept. 22 through 25, at Richmond

We're at Richmond all this week to watch the cycling world championships.

Tuesday, 9-22 watched individual time trials. In the morning it was the Junior (<19) men, and in the afternoon it was the elite women's championship. We found a good parking place near the course downtown and rode our bike a few blocks to a point on the course where the riders came by us several times, then moved near the starting gate to see the  starts of the last portion of the juniors. In the afternoon we stayed near the finish line where there was  giant screen TV to keep us posted on the standings. The American woman Kristin Armstrong (no relation) was among the early starters and had the fastest time until near the end of the day, but the last few riders were the strongest. The top places were separated by only a few seconds.

Wednesday was the individual time trial championship for elite men (these are the guys you see in the Tour de France). We found the same parking place as yesterday and rode to the Convention Center where there was a BikeFest expo with lots of interesting booths and freebies. We had a good lunch and then watched the race, which was well underway. We've been travelling every summer for the last several years, so today's big names in the pro ranks are mostly unknown to us. An exception is Taylor Phinney, an American. He has good genes: his father is Davis Phinney, one of the top U.S. pros from the 1980's, and his mother is Connie Carpenter Phinney, olympic gold medal winner in the cycling road race in '84. Taylor may end up being even more successful as a pro cyclist than his parents. We shall see; but he didn't do at all well in today's time trial.

Thursday was a practice day for the racers on the road race circuit course downtown. We weren't interested in watching them practice, and we didn't want to get in their way by 'unofficially' riding on the course (though Ron and Cheryl did). So we drove to a few miles southeast of town and did a 40-mile ride on the new Capital Bicycle Trail. A real pleasure to ride on a bike trail which is so new the tree roots haven't buckled the pavement yet.

Friday: Road race for junior women in the morning and men under 23 in the afternoon. We again were lucky to find a parking place on the street near the course, and rode our bike the rest of the way. We'd intended to move around to different places on the course, but found ourselves by a steep cobblestone hill with a good view of the riders, and stayed all day. The American girl, Chloe Dygert, who had won the junior women's time trial the other day by a wide margin, also won today's road race decisively, and the time trial's runner-up, American Emma White, was second again in the road race. A very impressive performance. In the men under 23 race in the afternoon, it turned out we were standing by the parents of one of the leading riders, Davide Maretinelli from Italy. They didn't speak much English but it gave us someone to cheer for. Davide fell out of the lead group late in the race with mechanical problems, but came back to threaten again at the end. Didn't win, though.

Great fun to watch the best of the best in these races. I especially admire the women who show great talent and complete dedication even though there is no pot of gold in the pro ranks for them. They do it for love of the sport.

Fri thru Mon 9-18 thru 21

We're at Richmond to watch the cycling world championships.

Friday- nothing going on yet. We drove downtown, walked along start/finish area, chatted with Shimano support crew, scouted the area of the individual time trial for a good spot to watch from and a place to park. Then drove out of town a few miles south to scout the team time trial course for a good place to watch that tomorrow. Back at camp, Ron and Cheryl had tickets for us to the opening ceremony; we drove them downtown, found parking with some difficulty, walked to the ceremony venue park. Not much of a ceremony; mostly speeches by local officials, mayor, governor, senator, and UCI president. But they did have the Richmond Symphony there plus a pop singer. Wound up with 4th movement of Beethoven's 9th- rousing.

Saturday- No actual races today but team time trial practice in a.m. and individual time trial practice in the afternoon. We parked a couple of miles from the ttt course, rode the bike to the course, watched a while, rode a newly-built bike trail which parallels the course several miles to downtown, watched individual time trial practice a while (different course). Enjoyed the riding and spectating. Weather clear and warm.

Sunday- Stopped near downtown for church, then after a hearty breakfast drove around to our vantage point for the team time trial. For all the other races this week the riders will represent their countries, but for the ttt they will race for their regular professional teams. The course started north of town, passed through downtown, then made a loop and retraced its route back downtown to the finish. We chose the spot where the southern loop diverged and came back together, so we could see riders going both directions. It turned out to be a relatively popular spot; not crowded, but there was a video camera up on a platform and it was also an intermediate time check point. The spot was adjacent to a 7-11 and buildings with overhangs, so there were snacks and shade available. The elite women's team trial was in the late morning, and the men's in the afternoon. I had the start list from the newspaper, so I noted the times the teams passed and was able to keep track of who was ahead. During my racing days there were many instances of race officials messing up the timing and scoring of time trials, and I'd always griped that they made it too complicated. They just had to write down the times each one started and when they finished. Get two people doing that and you have a check against mistakes. That's all there is to it. Today I put myself to the test, with the added complications of having teams coming by in both directions. It worked out just as easily as I thought. The teams passing on the return from the loop only had about 4 miles left to the finish, so I knew pretty much what the results were before the last riders even finished. They supposedly had live video streaming on the internet but I was not able to get it, so my scoring was the only progress information we had there. A moment of excitement: one of the top contending men's teams, Tinkoff Saxo, got tangled up and crashed right in front of us. They got up and finished, but their race was history. At the time of their crash they were leading by about 10 seconds, and if they had not crashed they would have ended in the top five. A fun day for us, but S was very tired by the time we got home.

Monday- There was time trial racing today for junior women and men under 23, but we took a rest day and got some chores done. We were having trouble with one of the stove burners flaring up and were able to get a service man out to fix it. And the tire with the slow leak, which we have had fixed twice, was still leaking, so we went to a tire place and had the spare put on. if we get a flat the tire now in the spare position will not have much pressure in it, but we do have a little emergency compressor (thanks, Matt for the gift from a couple of years ago), so we should be OK. We'll get a new wheel for the leaky tire when we get home. Tomorrow there are more time trials including the elite women. There was some light rain this afternoon, which slowed down the late starters among the racers. Tomorrow's forecast includes 30% chance of showers. Note on today's results: an American girl, Chloe Dygert, won the junior women's time trial by a huge margin: over a minute in a 20-minute race. 2nd was also an American girl.

Thur. 9-17

About 2 hours today to get to our campground north of Richmond. I made reservations here last fall, as soon as we decided to make the trip. We'll be here for 2 weeks, so I was hoping the place would turn out to be at least clean and comfortable. Well, it is that and more. When registering, I told the manager we'd be away for four days next week, leaving the trailer here. I hoped they'd have somewhere we could park it, at a reduced cost. But she said we should just leave it in our site and wouldn't be charged at all for those four days. And while she was at it, she gave us a discount for the other days we'll be here, even though I thought their $30 rate was pretty reasonable. Our campsite is adjacent to the office/community room, which is good because they have free waffles there every morning, except Thursdays (like today) when they have free hot dogs and such stuff. The showers and laundry room are also in that HQ building. This is all true. We've been in over 70 campgrounds this summer, and none approach this for comfort, amenities, and freebies. Only negative is that the campground is right beside I-95, so we get traffic noise, but it isn't loud and I don't expect it will bother us.

Soon after we set up camp, we were surprised when old cycling friends from Florida, Ron and Cheryl Adams, pulled into the next site with their big new RV rig. If these bike races are anything like the Olympics in '96, we may see other people we know as well.

Don't know if I'll have anything of general interest to add to this blog for the next few days. Tomorrow night is the opening ceremony and the Adamses have extra tickets for us. Saturday is a practice day for time trial teams and individual racers. Sunday through Wednesday are time trials, and Thursday through next Sunday are road races over a mostly-downtown circuit. Should be fun to watch. Our general plan is to park where we can and then get around by bike. The weather forecast for the next ten days is for no rain and temperatures of 60-80. 

Wednesday, Sept. 16 to Cape Charles, Va.

Before leaving Assateague this morning, we spent an hour in the canoe paddling around tidal marshes and a small island out in the bay. By the time we came back and drove out of the park we had seen three bands of horses. Funny, an ordinary horse in a pasture would keep my attention for a few seconds, if that. But these little wild ones are something else. They don't do anything spectacular; they mostly graze on marsh grass or grass along the roads or campgrounds. What seems to make them different is that they take no notice of people at all. I'm sure they'd react if they were threatened in some way, but as far as I can see they show no fear of or interest in people. They just amble around in groups and mind their own business.

We have been having trouble with a slow leak in the right rear tire of the Suburban. We thought we'd gotten it fixed on Cape Cod but whatever they did had no effect. Today we found a tire shop in the little town of Berlin, Md. (BER lin, if you please). They found a crack in the wheel which was allowing air to seep out along the rim. I was ready to buy a new wheel, or at least have them mount the tire on the spare's rim. But they put a sealant around the leak and at least for the rest of the day it seems to be holding air. So far, so good. They recommend we get a new wheel when we get home, but in the meantime it is safe to drive on.

A couple of hours of driving took us down to near the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula, in Virginia now. We stopped at a large campground which is winding down for the end of the season. We got a campsite directly on the Chesapeake Bay. The view is beautiful. We can just barely see across the bay to the western shore. Some large ships are moving up and down the bay, and others are anchored in the distance. This evening I launched the canoe and paddled around the calm shallow water for a while by myself, and when the sun went down we got one of the most spectacular sunsets we've ever seen, blazing red.

Tomorrow we'll be at Richmond, where we'll stay for two weeks (except for a side trip to Williamsburg) while we see the cycling world championships and join in a tandem bike rally. So this is the last night of our "Seacoast Tour", which has taken us out the St. Lawrence and the Gaspe, along the coast of New Brunswick, over to Prince Edward Island, to Cape Breton, Newfoundland, and Labrador, finally reaching the easternmost point in mainland North America, back down to Southern Nova Scotia, along New Brunswick's southern coast, down the coast of New England, and along the shore all the way to the Virginia Capes. It has been a great tour, and we aren't tired of it. But we are tired. It will be good to stay in one place for a while and shift gears on our activities.

Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 14/15

Monday: Our campground was only a few minutes from the Cape May ferry across Delaware Bay to Lewes, Delaware. The morning was cool and clear, with a strong wind from the SW which made for a bouncy 15-mile ride, even for the relatively large ferry. Once ashore in Delaware, we took the shoreside highway and passed through numerous beach towns but continuous beach development. Passing into Maryland we continued south until after Ocean City an inlet forced us across the bay to the Eastern Shore mainland, then back out to Assateague Island, a National Seashore. We stopped at the visitor center and asked about camping. The woman replied, "There are two parks. For the Assateague State Park Campground you make reservations one year ahead. At the National Seashore campground you make reservations six months ahead". "But ma'am, the sign outside says both parks have vacancy." "Well, yes, they do, you can camp there, but not with reservations". "Huh?" Anyway, we got a good campsite, not on the beach but overlooking the inland bay. Assateague is a 37-mile barrier island famous for its wild horses. We thought we might be lucky and see one, but it turns out they are pretty much everywhere. The horses have been wild on the island for about 300 years, and have reverted to the social system of 'aboriginal' wild horses everywhere: small bands consisting of a harem of mares, one dominant stallion which protects and defends them, and a dominant mare which makes all the decisions about where they go and what they do. The horses are small and stocky, and pay little attention to people unless they are bothered. There are about 90 horses, and they keep the population in check by birth-control darts. There are also lots of white tail deer and a population of introduced Sitka deer. After setting up camp we took a nature walk on a marsh nearby, which was full of life: crabs, fish, birds, even a couple of deer and a horse. We drove into town for dinner, mediocre. During the evening we heard a whinney and found there was a lone horse wandering past our trailer. We'll stay here an extra day.

Tuesday: In the morning we took a leisurely bike ride around the park and back to the visitor center. On the way we could see a group of wild horses grazing on the marsh grass near the bay shore.  After lunch we took two more nature trail walks, one through a pine forest and another along the dunes.

It almost happended that Assateague was developed like barrier islands farther north. In the 1950's a paved road was built the length of the island and the land was subdivided into thousands of building sites, with a master plan that would have included hotels, marinas, everything. A storm in 1962 wiped the island clean- houses and all- and the National Park Service turned it into a park in 1965. We saw traces of the old road on the dunes walk this afternoon. Most of the island can now be reached only by boat, except that in the winter ATV's are allowed on the beach. A beautiful place. Said to be many mosquitos, no-see-ums, and horseflies, but we haven't been bothered by them at all.

Sunday, Sept. 13 to Cape May, NJ

The campground has canoe and kayak rentals, and carries people upriver to paddle back down. This morning the weather was clear, so we arranged with them to shuttle us with our canoe. By 10:30 we were on the river, Cedar Creek, which turned out to be clear, narrow, shallow, fast and winding. There were two groups kayaking who rode up to the put-in with us, but we launched ahead of them and never saw them afterward. The creek was great fun to paddle. Plenty of snags, logs and sharp turns, much like Juniper Run at home. No rocks; the creek runs through the Pine Barrens, which have sandy soil. The glaciers never got this far south to leave chunks of rock they'd picked up. The woods were thick with cedars, pines and red maples. And pines, too. The run was supposed to be three hours, but we reached the one-hour-to-go bridge after only one hour. So we changed gears and collected trash for the rest of the trip. Who would leave their trash beside a beautiful creek in the woods? Answer: many many people. One of the pieces of trash we picked up was a trash bag the canoe rental people give out. "What should we do with this trash bag, Helen? Whatever. Just throw it in the creek with the beer cans, I guess".

We drove to Cape May at the southern tip of the New Jersey shore, and we had plenty of time so we stuck to U.S. 9, which goes through all the little shore towns, instead of the Garden State Parkway. The Jersey shore is not especially picturesque, but once south of Barnegat there was increasing space between towns. Many are oriented toward boating and beaches. Down toward Cape May there are even some farms. Once we set up camp we drove around the historic center of Cape May, a good movie set for a 1900-era seaside resort. Lots of Victorian rooming houses and B&B's along the shore. Was here once before, by boat with the T's, but didn't see much of the town then.

Friday and Saturday, 9-12/13 Mystic Seaport and down to Jersey Shore

Friday- 9-11. I hope for Osama's sake there really is a Hell.
a.m. weather much better than yesterday. Misting rain which stopped by 9. Rest of the day was sunny in the 70's. Can't ask for more. Drove just a few miles to Mystic Seaport. My 4th visit, S's 3rd; neither of us has been there in a long while, though. Crowd was small and some evidence that the Seaport is quieting down their operation for the end of the season now that the summer-job college kids are gone, except for those in the still-active Williams Mystic Program. Was good to see the newly-restored Charles W. Morgan which took a cruise around New England last year, for the first time since the 1920's. Also enjoyed revisiting many of the same exhibits and boats we'd remembered. The small boat exhibit features catboats right now, and they did have some beauties. We took a harbor cruise in a launch operated by the Seaport, and the captain's commentary included the info that in an adjacent warehouse not open to the public they have about 500 boats stored. Imagine that- wouldn't it be wonderful to crawl through there? Mystic has a new exhibit hall with the theme of whaling. Very good stuff, but no match for New Bedford. The blacksmith in charge of the shipsmith exhibit doesn't remember son Peter, but he started there in 1990 which I think was after Pete was there. Several grand banks dories at dockside, and I would have enjoyed taking one out for a row but didn't have time or initiative to ask.

Saturday, 9-12 a travel day. We followed I-95 along the Conn. shore to New York, across the George Washington Bridge, and down the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Expressway to the campground we'd spotted online near Tom's River. Traffic wasn't too bad, and the driving was not exactly stressful, but the highways are no longer familiar to me so I had to stay alert, even with the help of GPS. Tolls on the NJ and Garden State were very high with the trailer, about $30. Consolation prize: we filled up the gas tank at Bayville, NJ for $1.94.9 per gallon, cheapest gas in many years. Worldwide economy must be really slow. Or maybe it's the supply effect of fracking in North Dakota. Arived at campground just in time for the rain and with just enough time to change clothes and go a few miles to a vigil Mass. Good to have that done.

Sign seen in a construction zone on the New Jersey Turnpike: "Put Bodies Down Before Moving". A sure sign of overregulation, if there ever was one. Imagine: Hey Vinney- Solly got a ticket on the Turnpike. Fix it, will ya? What they get him for? Throwing a stiff out of a moving vehicle. Ah- fagetaboudit.

The campground is near a good stream for canoeing. If the weather in the morning is better we may pay for a lift upstream to a put-in point and paddle back here. Not far to go tomorrow, just to Cape May. Next day we'll take the ferry across Delaware Bay and head further down the coast. Stay tuned.

Thursday, Sept. 10 Woods Hole MA to Mystic, CT

a.m. drove to New Bedford to see whaling museum there. On the way it began to rain. In New Bedford it took a few minutes to find a place to park our rig. Started to parallel park in two vacant spaces, but the man with the next parked car behind was so alarmed at the idea, I moved on. Did find a place only a block from the visitor center. Since I was there last (1960) the whole downtown area has become a National Historic Site. New Bedford was the #1 whaling port in the world in the period from about 1845 to 1890, and one of the wealthies cities in the world during that time. Evidence of that still shows. Also a major immigrant destination for Portuguese and Cape Verdeans and Azoreans, most of whom came to work the whaleships. We moved on to the New Bedford Whaling Museum, an old institution with a huge collection of whaling artifacts and a 1/2 size model of a whaleship. Fortunately it is all indoors, because by then it was raining with a will. Also of note in the museum is a huge collection of scrimshaw. The museum overall is a little bit of hodgepodge compared with new museums but all their displays are in good condition and the interpretive information is excellent. Spent about two hours there, and could have stayed much longer. When I was there in 1960 the tour guide was an old Indian man who had actually served as a crewman on a sailing whaleship. I remember his tales of his hard life did not make me wish I'd also been a whaler.

We moved on and followed the coast through Rhode Island to Mystic CT where we'll visit their seaport museum tomorrow. Raining buckets. The first really rainy day in a month; the forecast for tomorrow is not great but better.

Wed. 9-9 Martha's Vinyard

This morning we rode the bike 5 miles to Woods Hole, where we caught the 45 min. ferry to Martha's Vinyard. Sunny and warm, not much to see on the crossing except one small 3-masted schooner,  with the masts increasing in height from forward to aft. With the highest mast aft, what would you call the three masts? By the way, the 6-masted Wyoming named theirs fore, main, mizzen, jigger, driver and spanker. In the case of the one 7-master that was built, the second to last mast was the pusher. I'll bet they actually referred to them by number.

On Martha's Vinyard we rode around Oak Bluffs and Vinyard Haven towns for a little while, but the streets aren't good for cycling: narrow and full of boutiques and shoppers. We rode along the coast for a few miles, mostly on a paved bike trail, to Edgartown, a very pretty town. Strong wind on our nose getting there, however. Locked bike and walked a trail out to a little lighthouse. Edgartown's harbor has about six identical beautiful keelboats moored, about 30', no cabin trunk, long overhangs. Rode further south to Katama Beach, then looped back north. Stopped for lunch at a small private airstrip with a diner. S had an open faced roasted mushroom sandwich, and I had a fried oyster roll. Rode through a state park with paved bike trails and worked our way back to the ferry. Martha's Vinyard is larger than I expected, about the size of a county. To ride all the way around would be about 60 miles, too far for the time we were out there. Anyway, back at campground by 5:30 after 46 miles of riding. Had killed our appetites with ice cream while waiting for the return ferry, went to bed without any supper.

Monday and Tuesday, Sept. 7 and 8 at Sea Pines, Brewster MA

Monday: Labor Day.    And S's birthday.

a.m. took canoe to Long Pond, a 3-mile lake in the middle of Cape Cod peninsula. We'd checked out the lake 2 days ago, and found a small beach park where we could almost launch directly from the car top. Windy conditions, and we didn't want to get caught downwind of the take-out, so we paddled along shore to the windward end of the lake. Many vacation homes on the lakefront, some elaborate but some very simple. Most haven't been shut down for the season. A warm, sunny day, so lots of people swimming and boating. Once opposite our put-in we turned around and circled the windward end of the lake again. Total about 3 miles. A good workout, a very pretty lake. Clear and warm.

After lunch we drove just a couple of miles to Old Sea Pines Inn. S attended Sea Pines Camp in summers from age about 6 to 11, and boarding school at Sea Pines School for about 5th through 8th grade. The school closed, and the camp was sold off to developers in the 1970's. The school property has been a B&B since 1977. S has happy memories of her years there. Our room happened to be the one where a couple of lonely weeks quarantined for whooping cough. The inn has preserved most of the original architecture and dormitory areas although we weren't able to look into all the rooms. Of course, they are all upscale compared to kids' dorms in the 50's. There has been major expansion of dining and common areas, and the inn (1850's vintage) is in excellent repair. They have pictures and documents from the old days and S even found herself listed on the roster of 1956 campers. Some of her old friends have come back over the years and signed a guest book. Sometimes it is not good to go back to a place you remember fondly, but in this case S really enjoyed it.

Mike, Pete, Melissa and Alison all called to wish S a Happy Birthday, and it was fun to talk with them. We feel like we've been out of touch; more than we've needed to be. Also a welcome birthday message from friend Susie T.

Tuesday, Sept. 8

Matt called a.m. to wish S Happy Birthday, completing the brood of well-wishers.

We had lost some pressure in one of the Suburban's tires, so early in the morning we took it to a nearby gas station, left it to be checked out, and walked back to Old Sea Pines Inn for breakfast. A good breakfast it was, too. By noon the tire was fixed, so we retrieved the car and set off for Hyannis to visit the JFK Hyannis Museum. The town is very congested and we couldn't find parking space with the trailer, but we cruised by the museum and could see that it didn't amount to much. So we skipped the museum, had lunch in town (did find parking there), and drove to campground near Woods Hole. The plan for tomorrow is to bike to the Martha's Vinyard ferry, spend the day seeing that island by bike, and return to this campground at the end of the day. Then head for points west and south. Our only fixed goal is to be at Richmond by Sept. 17th.

Sunday, Sept. 6 at Cape Cod

Not as chilly as yesterday morning, temp in high 50's when we awoke, nearing 70 by the time we set off on the bike. Rode 2 miles on cross-cape rte 137, then got on the rail-trail and headed east. A few miles to Nickerson State Park where we picked up a trail map. Several paved bike trails go about 3/4 of the way around the large park. The trails are winding, sometimes steep, and great fun to ride. S remembers the park from her childhood. To complete the circuit we'd have had to ride several hundred yards on a hiking trail and another mile or two on a horse trail. We weren't anxious to go on those, and besides, bikes aren't allowed on them. So we made it an out-and-back. We were able to take a couple of alternative trails, and every route looks different from the other direction anyway, so we ended up with about eleven fun miles in the park. We stopped at a nearby restaurant for lunch, with a sign out front:"College kids gone, patio and bouncer closed for the season". Then back on the trail and rode to First Encounter Beach, where the Pilgrims first put a boat ashore. That beach was also a frequent excursion destination for S when she was at school here. Low tide, and people were as much as 1/2 mile out on the beach toward the ocean. We walked out there, and could see the tide start to rise, with the shoreline moving inland at a little slower than walking pace. No danger, since the beach grade is slow gradual. Back at the campsite after total 32 miles riding at 3:30. Wanted to visit the Kennedy museum at Hyannis, but too late; called it a day. Beautiful weather for us and for locals celebrating end of summer. School started last week around here. A few locust trees starting to show red foliage, also a few blackgums and sassafrass trees. But only a few. Mostly still summer-green.

Saturday, 9-5 to Cape Cod

a.m. temperature 52. Coolest morning in three weeks, but it soon warmed up to mid 70's.

Leaving our campsite this morning near the New Hampshire border north of Boston, I coded the TomTom GPS to get us around the city and out to Brewster on Cape Cod. The recommended route didn't follow the old Route 128 ring or the outer I 495 ring. It showed a route right through the middle of the city. That had to be wrong. I did the same exercise with Google Maps and got the same answer. What do I know? If I'm so smart, why ask? So we went witht the program. All I can report is that Boston got something for its billions spent on the Big Dig tunnel. We breezed through the city almost without slowing down at all.

Shortly after noon we were at the campground where we have reserved the next three days. Brewster is where S attended boarding school and also summer camp for several years. She's anxious to see the school, now a B&B, and a couple of other places she remembers enjoying.

After lunch we dressed out and got on the bike to explore the area. We'll leave visiting old haunts for the next two days. We checked out Long Pond in mid-cape, which has a good spot where we can launch the canoe, and we followed a paved rail-to-trail which crossed to the ocean side of the cape and NW to Chatham. Back the same way, total 30 miles. Good ride. That left us enough time to wash up and dress for church, a little chapel only 2 miles away. This is their last Sunday for the season, but there's a parent parish only 5 miles south.

After we leave Cape Cod we're hoping to visit the Adams (both) historical site south of Boston, but they have a parking garage which may not have the 9' clearance we need. Will have to check about that before we commit.

Thur. and Fri. Sept. 3 and 4 Boothbay Harbor, ME to Bath, ME and Salisbury, MA

Thursday, 9-3: Not many miles to cover today, so we kept alert for scenic or interesting sidelights. Drove from Boothbay Harbor back up the long peninsula to the coast, then back down the next peninsula to Popham Beach and Ft. Popham. Not many people get down there. Popham beach is just inside the mouth of the Kennebec River, a pretty, tiny fishing village. There was a lobster boat heading out with a steadying sail set. I've seen a few boats with steadying sails rigged, but this was the first one set. The fort was built in the Civil War to protect the river, which leads up to the important shipbuilding city of Bath. It was garrisoned again in the Spanish American War and WWI. Built of granite, well preserved in form of 2-story semicircle with gun ports facing out over the river mouth. Great accoustics inside the fort, and just enough room for a small concert. Don't know if they ever use it for that. Back up that peninsula to Bath, and stopped at Maine Maritime Museum, built on the grounds of Percy and Small Shipyard, 1895 to 1920, which built 40 large coasting schooners, including the 6-masted Wyoming, the largest wooden ship ever built in U.S. at about 325' and about 3500 tons. Many of the original shipyard buildings are still there, including the mold loft, blacksmith shop and lumber mill. Many old tools and machines. A full-size sculpture on the site of Wyoming's building way showing the shape of the stern and stem. Incredibly big. They finished it in 9 months and launched it fully rigged and equipped: raise the sails and sail away. Much to see, and we spent most of the afternoon there. Perhaps the best maritime museum we've ever seen, other than Mystic. Leaving the museum, passed Bath Iron Works where they build Navy ships. Went through our neighbor Jan's childhood hometown of Brunswick, Me. and snapped a few pictures for her. Drove past beautiful campus of Bowdoin College right in town of Brunswick. Circled around Portland and reached Kennebunkport. Too late to cook dinner so we went in to town, walked around to see it. Small town, full of boutiques and jewelry shops and very well dressed people. Too much money in any one place can at times not be a good thing. Pretty harbor. Had a very good dinner, not over the top.

While we were at the Maritime Museum, we had thunder and lightning and a little rain. First real rain in a couple of weeks.

Friday, 9-4: Air distinctly cool and fresh this morning, with a good breeze. Sign of season changing? Last few days we've seen a few branches of Red Maple trees with fall colors. Think we'll be too far south too soon to see much fall foliage. Another short mileage day. Drove a little out of our way to Ft. McClary at Kittery, Me. Various fort buildings from 1600's to Civil War. Lots and lots of sailboats moored in the river and coves of Kittery, across river from Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  Google tried to send us up a one-way street in downtown Portsmouth, which was exciting. In Portsmouth visited Strawbery Banke (original name of city of Portsmouth)Museum where an old neighborhood has been preserved of houses and shops dating back as far as 1670. Furnished to correspond with various times right up to 1950's. Interesting buildings and stories. Good display of old tools. Leaving Portsmouth, a very attractive center city with lots of 19th century houses and other buildings, we turned to our TomTom GPS. It did just as badly as Google, directing us to turn up a pedestrian street so narrow I think you could reach out and touch buildings on both sides. Didn't fall for that; not completely lacking in common sense. On to campground just over state line in Salisbury, Mass.

Saturday, 8-29 to Wednesday, 9-2 Deer Isle, Camden, and Boothbay Harbor, Me.

Been negligent about writing up the blog. I've kept notes, but that's no substitute: often overlooks the most interesting items. Anyway,

Saturday, 8-29. Drove from Mt. Desert Island to Deer Isle. Not more than 15 miles as the crow flies, but 1 1/2 hours of driving. Checked into Old Quarry Adventures campground near Stonington. The campground's main business is kayak rentals to people heading to offshore islands to camp. We launched the canoe and paddled for an hour and a half among rocks and inlets. Didn't venture far offshore because of a moderate chop and a headwind we'd face returning. Drove 2 miles into Stonington to check out the church so we'd know when and where to go in the morning.

Deer Isle is a chain of islands linked to the mainland by bridges and causeways. Stonington is at the south end, a picturesque seafaring town with little of the  glitz of Bar Harbor. Most of the boats in the harbor are lobster boats, nearing the end of the season. More remote offshore islands have lobster seasons which extend all winter, because lobsters move into deeper water. I get the impression that the lobster fishery isn't as closely regulated as it is in Canada.

Sunday, 8-30: Drove into Stonington for 8 o'clock Mass, then to a cafe in town for breakfast. Plan for the day was to rent a sailboat. The campground has several, including two pretty little O'Days. But there was little wind so we held off on that. We took a walk in the old granite quarry on top of the hill behind the campground. It operated from about 1895 to 1960's. They still quarry granite on one of the offshore islands and barge it in. Still waiting for wind to pick up, read John Grisham's Bleacher, which I'd picked up in town from a free book rack outside a shop. Finished off the whole book, but still no wind and now it's too late. Disappointing; looks like a great place for a day sail, gunkholing around many small islands. Also continued to read Saul Bellow's More Die of Heartbreak, and reread a slim book of the two Icelandic Vinland Sagas. The sagas themselves are easy and entertaining reading, and the book has a lot of background information. It turns out that L'Anse aux Meadows, the Norse site at the north end of Newfoundland, was definitely one of their camps during the three expeditions over the years 999 to 1009, but can not be the place they gave the name Vinland to. Vinland had grape vines, self-propogating grain, and butternut trees, none of which grow that far north. No other Norse site has been found in North America, so Vinland is yet to be found. The book's notes make a case that it might have been on Prince Edward Island or across the Northumberland Strait on the coast of New Brunswick. Wherever the site was it may have been destroyed by later settlement, so we may never know.

So- a lazy day, but not an unpleasant one.

Monday, 8-31: Drove to Camden. On the way, stopped at Bucksport on the Penobscot River, where there is a new cable-stayed bridge by the same engineers as the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. We took an elevator to the top of one of the towers and had a great view of the river, towns, and surrounding countryside. Right next door is Fort Knox which we also toured. The fort was built in the early 19th century following the War of 1812 when the British recaptured (and annexed!) eastern Maine. The fort was still not complete by the Civil War, at which time it was hurriedly "fortified" in reaction to a buildup of British troops and ships in Canada and the fear that the British might intervene on the side of the Confederacy. I had no idea of that. Afterward, the fort languished and spent most of its career with a garrison of just one man.

At Camden we took a short hike toward the top of the mountain behind Camden Hills State Park, where we camped years ago on our way to the Maritimes.

Tuesday, 9-1: Went into Camden, walked the waterfront, and signed up for a day sail on a schooner, the Surprise. A 48 footer built in 1918 as a yacht on the lines of a Gloucester fishing schooner. Very pretty boat and in pristine condition. Enjoyed the outing, but not enough wind to really sail. And when we did have a little wind, they didn't trim the sails accordingly; just kept them sheeted in even though we were on a light beam reach. Probably didn't want the booms moving around. Helped with halyards. Capt and mate made a big deal of my knowing how to coil and stow lines. After the cruise we did some grocery shopping and then drove to the top of Mt. Battie for a spectacular view of Camden harbor and Penobscot Bay. We could see across to Deer Isle.

Wednesday, 9-2 Moved on toward Boothbay Harbor, only a short distance. Stopped briefly at Rockland where there were two large charter schooners, including American Eagle, on which son Peter crewed one summer. After setting up camp we drove in to Boothbay Harbor but did not stay: hard to find parking and we could see what we wanted to from the car: a pretty town and fine natural harbor. Lots of lobsterboats but no schooners or other boats of note. Headed back to camp and set out on a good canoe paddle. Went 1 1/2 miles down a tidal river (high tide) too. Before dinner, S took advantage of the nearness of the campground's laundry.

Thursday and Friday, August 27/28 at Mt. Desert Island

Thursday:

In the morning we drove about 10 miles to the W side of Mt. Desert Island, and launched the canoe in Long Lake. Clear fresh water lake, warm water. Outside the Acadia Natl Park so surrounded by vacation cottages. Mostly small family cottages with floating docks. Many people out paddling on the lake, including rented and personally owned kayaks, and lots of canoes. Enjoyed the paddle along the E and W coast of the lake. Covered about 3 miles. Weather sunny and warm, light wind. Great canoeing conditions.

After lunch and a midday break we took the shuttle bus into the town of Bar Harbor, just to see what was there. Shops, restaurants, but also an interesting waterfront. A 2-masted wooden coasting schooner at the pier, and sailing out in the bay was a 4-masted schooner, the first one of those I've ever seen. Both are day charter boats. And they are hiring crew, full or part time, will train. Anyone interested?

We drove to the park visitor center and got on the bike for a circuit of the park's 22-mile scenic loop road. Had ridden the route by bus yesterday, but that was in the fog, so the view was new to us and made for a spectacularly beautiful ride. Some climbing, which slowed down our average speed, and that began to cause me concern: we'd waited until late in the day for the infamous traffic congestion to thin out. That worked as planned, but I was worried about losing daylight. We have a tail light, but the road is narrow and winding and I had no desire to ride in the dark. So while we were enjoying the view we were also racing the phantom opponent of darkness. I had already decided if we lost that race we'd just stop and try to flag down a lift. It was a vigorous ride. In the end, the last few miles were mostly a fast downhill, and we got back to the car six minutes before sunset. We gave each other a high five and headed for a pizza dinner out, feeling pretty pleased with ourselves. A good ride for a couple of old coots.

Friday:

This morning we took the bike on the park's carriage roads. John D. Rockefeller, Jr. wanted to ride horses and carriages on the island where he had a huge summer "cottage", so he paid to have built a 45-mile system of carriage roads from 1905 to 1940, designed by landscape architects to blend into the surroundings. The roads are now the beneficiaries of an $8 million endowment for maintenance, raised by Friends of Arcadia. There's a lot of money in this area. The roads are not paved, but are carefully groomed and compacted crushed gravel. We were hesitant to ride them on our road tandem bike with 28mm tires, but they turned out to be great riding. We rode at a liesurely pace for two hours through woods, up and down gentle hills, and around lakes. Thank you, Mr. Rockefeller.

Set out on a hike this afternoon but S's hip was acting up and we cut it short. Back to camp for some relaxation and laundry time.

Wed., 8-26 Back in the USA

It rained in the night, but fortunately I was awake dealing with an upset stomach- too good a dinner, I guess- so I was able to close the roof vent before it soaked the rug for the umpteenth time. It was raining off and on in the morning, temp in the low 60's, cooler than recently, while we packed up and headed for the bridge to Lubec, Maine.

Campobello Island is Canadian soil, but it takes most of a day to reach it from mainland New Brunswick, via two ferries. When you do get there, it's a beautiful island with seacoast scenery, but there's not much economy except a little fishing, a little tourism, and the Roosevelt Park complex. As a result, it is a backwater community, not at all prosperous. There are a few spectacular homes built on cliffs overlooking the sea, but otherwise it's trailers and little houses, and not many people. Most of the island is undeveloped. On the other hand, the island is easily accessed from the U.S. side by a bridge from Lubec, Maine, a decent sized town. The border crossing into the U.S. was quick and easy. The agent seemed glad to have someone to check through.

It's good to be back in the U.S. where the liquor is half as expensive and the gas is $2.40/gal vs. $3.20 equivalent in Canada. Also easier communications with loved ones. Also easier to post blog updates. The blog is worth doing so we'll remember the trip, though I doubt if anyone else- even S- suffers through reading it. If I'm wrong, I'll send ten dollars to anyone who asks for it.

Rainy driving over to U.S. 1 and turning SW. We didn't have any destination in mind for the day. We've roughly allowed 10 days for the Maine coast, but in bad weather there's no reason to gunkhole. By about 1 p.m., with the assistance of the hour gained by moving from Atlantic to Eastern Time, we reached Mt.
Desert Island and Acadia National Park. We set up camp in clearing weather, so when we set out for the visitor center, we were fooled into not wearing warm clothes. The area has an extensive system of free shuttle buses, thanks to a grant from L. L. Bean. We took a bus to the visitor center to get oriented and another bus around the park's 22-mile Loop Road. Spectacular rocky seacoast, with today's wind kicking up good-sized seas to break on the rocks. Old hat to us after 2 months of following the seacoast but still impressive and beautiful. It will make a good bike ride. Meanwhile, a steady rain returned, with fog and a light wind. We were not dressed for that so we skipped plans to wander around Bar Harbor and took the first bus back to the campground. Back at camp, my stomach is feeling enough better that I can risk an evening cocktail and a bland dinner.

We'll be at Mt. Desert Island for two more full days, and if the forecast fair weather eventuates, we'll get in some good cycling and canoeing, and maybe some hiking, too.

Tuesday, Aug. 25 at Campobello

After breakfast, and after the fog lifted, we set out on a bike ride around the island. We rode to the south end, Quoddy Point. The actual point and lighthouse are on a separate island. We could hear the lighthouse foghorn through the fog, and parts of its island, but that's all.  On the way back we took a road along the island's east side, which started fine but then turned to a rough gravel road for several miles. We only had to walk a short stretch but rode the rest. Nonetheless, I could hear constant sounds of unhappiness coming from behind me on the tandem bike.

We took a long break at mid day and then launched the canoe. The conditions were ideal for paddling in the ocean, calm sea and calm wind. The tide was rising from its low point. We paddled along the rocky shore in one direction until we could see a tidal current going the same way. So to be on the safe side we turned around and paddled the other direction. Clear, cold water, rocky cliffs, shore rocks covered with seaweed, and various seabirds whose noises carried a long way over the calm water. Fog visible offshore, so it was a constant concern.  Finished our canoe ride without incident.

Final dinner in Canada at a restaurant near the campground. Applied all our remaining Canadian money toward the bill.

Monday, Aug. 24 at Campobello

Our itinerary today was short (in miles), so we took a detour of a few miles south to Blacks Harbour. There are a few small fishing settlements along the road, and the town itself proclaims it's "Home of the World's Largest Sardine Cannery." We stopped in the small grocery store for a few items. You can't buy a can of sardines there, but you can buy a case of 18 cans, in any of a dozen varieties. Or, if you prefer, you can buy a whole pallet of cases, flavor of your choice.

We worked our way around a small bay to Letete, to catch the ferry to Deer Island. The small free ferry only holds about a dozen cars and trucks, and we made it to the "bubble", front of the line of boarding vehicles, but had to wait another half hour for the next ferry. Meanwhile, a 20' open boat pulled up to the quai, loaded so heavily with seaweed that it only had about 8" of freeboard. With the help of a mate up on the seawall who operated a small hydraulic crane, it loaded the seaweed up into huge containers, scoop by scoop. The seaweed is used as fertilizer. Don't know what technique they use to collect the seaweed; no special equipment in evidence on the boat.

By the time our ferry loaded us there was a dense but spotty fog. The ferry worked its way out past many small islands on the trip of a few miles to Deer Island. I can only guess how they managed it in the days before radar and GPS. We drove the length of Deer Island, maybe 8 miles, looking for a restaurant for lunch but not finding one. Deer Island could make itself into a cute tourist destination, but has not. It's downscale and somewhat junky- I mean real junk, not t-shirt shops. Some fishing settlements, but again, the tidal range is absurd, so any dockage is a major construction outlay. We reached the south end of Deer Island and ate our picnic lunch at a private campground on Deer Point, overlooking the "Old Sow," the largest tidal whirlpool in North America. Today it was just some disturbed water.

After lunch we moved nearby to line up for the second ferry, this one to Campobello Island. The Quebecois in the car in front of us came back to report that the ferry was broken down and it was unknown how long it would be out of service. I asked why, then, there was a line of cars waiting. "I am Catholic", he said, "so I believe in miracles". We pulled our chairs out and sat in the shade, thinking that in the worst case we would drive back up the hill to the campground, or maybe just stay in line and sleep there. In the end, we were only delayed about an hour. And the ferry crew said that in recognition of our patience, the trip was free. Never will know how much it would have cost; $30 would be my guess, with the trailer. The weather was clear and warm, and we could see Eastport, Maine only a few hundred yards across the bay. The ferry is just a barge, powered by a tugboat with a hinged attachment to its side. The ferry landing on Campobello Island, well, imagine a one-lane concrete boat launch ramp on an otherwise unobstructed beach. Once ashore, we drove a few miles to Herring Cove Provincial Park and set up camp. The park is almost empty. They are finally getting summer weather and the summer is already winding down.

We'd planned to spend only one night here, but by the time we set up camp it was 3:30 so we decided to sign up for two nights. We drove a few miles to visit the Franklin D. Roosevelt International Park, which occupies the area around FDR's family summer home. He was here every summer throughout his childhood and early adult life, but after he came down with polio here in 1920, he came back only a few times, and briefly. The "cottage" is large but not luxurious. Small rooms, no insulation, no electricity, but room for a large family and many guests and staff. The furniture is mostly original, including a huge megaphone Eleanor used to call the kids in for meals or bedtime.

After dinner, a neighboring camper named Jack, from Rutland, Vt., took out a banjo. So I brought out my dulcimer and we played a few tunes together. I've been practicing on the dulcimer this summer, and a couple of the CDs I've picked up on our travels will give me some raw material to learn more tunes to play on it- basically, fiddle tunes that aren't too fast.

Sunday, Aug. 23 Bay of Fundy

Lots of thunder and lightning last night, but never did rain.

First goal of the day was church at Sussex, 1  1/4 hours away. Left extra time because we'd been cautioned about construction in Fundy National Park, which we needed to drive through. Indeed the road was torn up but most of the delay was staying behind a couple of motorcycles which had a harder time of it. Anyway, we reached Sussex and found the church (look for steeple) plenty early. Just before Mass S was surprised by the woman sitting behind us saying "I know you." She thought to herself, "I doubt it," but turns out the woman winters at St. Pete Beach and recognized us from St. John's Church there. Amazing. If you are thinking of entering the Witness Protection Program, don't be too confident: someone will probably know you wherever you go. The church service included an infant baptism, which was enjoyable to watch.

After church we had a good brunch and then headed down the coast. Correction: "Down" is taken to mean toward the northeast, so I guess we were heading up, even though we were getting farther south. As we drove we could see the black wall of a storm ahead, and sure enough we ran into a torrential thunderstorm, nearly whiteout conditions. Many cars were pulled over to the side of the road, but I didn't want to get whacked by a driver who couldn't see where he was going, so I slowed way down and put on my flashers, as did everyone else still moving. Within 15 minutes, the storm was past and the road was dry.  I can't remember ever seeing it rain that hard anywhere except Florida. Another couple of hours took us to New River Beach, a provincial park with a campground in the woods and a big, popular beach. We set up camp and then went down to the beach. Tide was just past low, so the beach was several hundred yards wide. We set up in the shade of a cliff and I took a swim in the cold water. Think it is the farthest north I've ever been swimming. No, Sweden was farther north. I had left my towel and hat 40' up the beach, but by the time I took a quick dip and came back, the shore was within 6' of them. I stood at the shore and watched the tide come in; every little wave pushed higher on the beach. The tide range here is not as extreme as at the head of the bay, but still moves impressively. The sun on the brown sand beach made it uncomfortably hot so we headed back to camp. We went back down to the beach three hours later and it had risen at least 10-15', erasing most of the beach and drowning the spot we'd occupied by the cliff. Not a place you'd want to nap on the beach.

Tomorrow may be our last day in Canada, for this trip at least.

Saturday, 8-22

From our campsite, it was only 2 mi to Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park. After paying our entrance fee we walked down a 15-minute trail to a spot overlooking the beach. It was 1 1/2 hours before low tide, so people were allowed to descend a staircase to the beach and "walk on the bottom of the ocean." Not much of an exaggeration, since the tide difference here averages 46 feet. The cliffs by the beach are full of caves and arches. A lot of little electrons gave up their lives so that we and our fellow ocean-floor-walkers could take advantage of photo opportunities. Spent more time walking the beach than we expected, and we're glad we took time to visit the place. It turns out there is one place with higher tides. Cape Split, also in the Bay of Fundy, has recorded tides of about 55 feet.

Our destination for the day was Fundy National Park, on the shore of the Bay of Fundy. A short distance, so we took the scenic route along the coast. Stopped for a picnic lunch at by a lake close to a wide salt marsh by the ocean. Stopped at Cape Enrage, a high headland with a lighthouse and great view out over Bay of Fundy and the coast in both directions. Watched the leading edge of a fog bank move below us up the bay, extending all the way across to the Nova Scotia side. The sea was calm but the tidal current was breaking over the rocks below. On to Fundy National Park. Good campsite. No electric service, but not as hot a day. Thunder and lightning out on the bay but we headed off on a 4.4 km hike to an old copper mine and back along the top of the cliffs overlooking the bay. By that time the tide was high, so the sea level was right up against the cliffs. S did well on this hike.

A good day, topped off by steaks on the grill and a bottle of wine.

Not much between here and the Fundy Isles near the Maine border, but we haven't decided where our next stop will be.

Wed.-Fri. Aug. 19-21

Wednesday: A good day at Kejimkujik National Park. In the morning we got a good bike ride, covering all the paved roads in the park and a few miles outside the park as well. 27 miles, good conditions. Mostly flat, natural scenery, good roads, little traffic, good weather. In the afternoon we took a 5 km hike on a trail which had been closed for years but reopened a few weeks ago, through various forest habitats including a stand of old-growth hemlocks, some as much as 400 years old. Also younger but still impressive white pines, 2' thick and straight as an arrow. Safe from mast makers only for lack of demand. We would have liked to do more canoeing, but we were out of steam and out of time. warm. Evening weather not uncomfortably hot, as the day was mostly cloudy.

Thursday. We stayed for the 10:30 petroglyph tour because we remembered them so well from our last visit. The park was formed in 1968 and we were there in 1970, so the large crowds were just starting to get a look at the petroglyphs: centuries of carving on shore rocks by Mikmaqs, loggers, guides, and anthropologists. Great images of Indians fishing, hunting caribou, Indian clan hats, sailing ships, and you name it. Sadly on the rocks we were shown this time, maybe half of the carvings are by vandals since we were here last, and the good stuff is now off limits to the public. Tour would have been a disappointment if it were our first visit. The ranger was same one who gave the poor quality survival talk on Tues. p.m., but he did this one very well. Turns out, he's a Mikmaq himself. Leaving "Keji" we stayed on major highways and covered about 200 mi. to Moncton, New Brunswick, a long drive for us, and stayed in a parking-lot type RV park, but it did have electricity, so we ran the A/C for a few minutes to get the Casita inside temperature down below 80. Slept well and long.

Friday: Stayed most of the day in Moncton to see the tidal bore scheduled for 3:15 p.m. A good local lake for canoeing but windy and threatening rain, so nix that. Meanwhile, we took advantage of modern Moncton shopping: At Cabela's bought a 1 burner propane stove to give S a third cooking burner. At an outdoor store bought a replacement for my worn out drybag backpack, and also got S a new rain jacket. Then to Best Buy to face up to lost camera. Selected a Canon with 20X optical zoom. Went out to car to ck if we have a memory card and camera case. Looking in the storage bin both S and I had checked repeatedly, found the camera we thought was lost! S and I had always both had cameras before, so I went ahead and bought the new one. What a relief to find the camera, especially not to have lost all this trip's pictures. Headed downtown, lucky to find a good free parking place big enough for us with the trailer at a 1760-vintage building with a Tourist Visitor Center. Walked to restaurant lunch. S had fried cod, and swore off her lifetime hatred of cod, dating back to boarding-school days. I had chowder and good fritters: haddock plus corn. Moncton an attractive small city center; people enjoying the warm and sunny summer weather. A 30-person bicycle attraction, which moves along at traffic pace, and all the riders are equipped with tambourines.  Back to the riverside, we walked a long boardwalk and learned of Moncton's first settlers. After French and Indian War, England took over most French new world posessions and gave large land grants to colonials, including Benjamin Franklin. They contracted with 6 families (5 German, 1 Welsh) to come and settle this area as indentured servants. They eventually got land grants here of their own, and some of their descendants still live on some of that land here. While waiting for the tidal bore, a man from a local museum appeared and gave an animated and interesting talk about tides. Tide range here 20-30' because tide sloshes up the narrowing Bay of Fundy and up the river here. Now only at 1/4 moon so not extreme tide or bore, but still impressive: a wave about 3 feet rolled up the river, followed by a fast rushing rising tide. Leaving Moncton, we drove S to campground by Hopewell rocks, absolute highest tides in world. hi ;;5 pm, low tomorrow abt noon.

P.S. rained off and on from 5 p.m. through the night. Had to close up the trailer to stay dry so needed to run the air conditioner at least on lowest setting all night to stay cool enough. First time for that on the trip.

Tuesday, August 18

Today we said goodbye to the Atlantic Coast for a while and struck a route across Nova Scotia toward the Bay of Fundy side of Nova Scotia. But first, since the day's route was short, we continued south for a while, following the coast out three peninsulas and back, in and out of fog. Good scenery and many tiny fishing villages. There were also many pleasure boats, primarily sailing boats. We saw relatively few pleasure boats this whole trip until we got down to the Halifax area. The sailors in this area have a short boating season, of course, and there are many more traditional boats than at home.

Leaving the coast, we drove to Kejimkujik National Park, a popular destination, especially for canoeing, with a large lake filled with small islands. After setting up camp we launched the canoe and had a good paddle for an hour and a half. Clear sky, warm, calm lake, light wind. Good conditions. Best canoeing of the trip so far. And the lake water is even a good swimming temperature. Maybe I'll take a dip tomorrow.

After dinner we sat in on a ranger presentation on survival techniques. He demonstrated fire making using all the old boy scout tricks: fire by friction using an improvised bow, flint and steel, and lighting magnesium shavings with sparks. Also some tips on getting clean water. Not a great presentation, but still interesting. I learned a few things. Our canoe dry bag has a whole permanent kit of dry clothes, food, and other survival stuff including, for fire starting, a lighter and a can of Sterno. I'll continue to rely on that before fire by friction, for sure. We figure the contents of our dry bag would keep us going for at least a couple of days, and there actually was one time when it almost got pressed into service. We nearly missed our takeout point on the Stikine River in British Columbia, when there was no alternative all the way to the Pacific, 140 miles downriver.

Especially since I lost our camera, I'm glad I'm keeping this blog. Even if no one else reads it, it will remind us of all the places we've been and the wonderful things we've seen and done so far. And we're far from done.

9:30 and still 84 degrees in the Casita. Warmest evening of the whole trip. No electric hookup at this campground, or it would be the first use of our air conditioner on this trip. As we move toward Sept., though, I guess we're on the downslope of summer, even as we gradually move south.

Monday, August 17

We decided to splurge on a whale watching boat trip from Lunenburg out into the ocean, especially since it was another beautiful day, sunny with a temperature pushing 80 F. We were in the front of the line to board, so we grabbed seats aft where we'd get a good view. Big mistake. Once the boat (about 50', with about 35 passengers aboard) got into unprotected water, we began to be frequently spashed with bits of the North Atlantic. Not too cold, but not pleasant, either. By the time we'd pounded into seas for about an hour we were well out of sight of land, and in a 3-telephone-pole fog. Not much chance of seeing a whale or anything else. The boat slowed down and cruised around for a long while, and the passengers showed signs of 1. Disappointment, 2. Boredom, and 3. Queasiness. To put the best face on it, we were joking about the captain and the mate going through the motions of whale-spotting, as if they could see any. Finally, darned if a whale didn't blow close by. Suddenly, attitudes changed 180 degrees. The whale sounded and we waited patiently for it to surface again. When it did, the capt. and mate were excited to identify it as a blue whale, the largest species of all, and a rare sight. Only the second one for them this year. The whale surfaced repeatedly, but blue whales are too big to jump out of the water like right whales. But when it rolled above the surface and headed back down, its long back arched above the waves and the more of it's fore part that submerged, more and more of the after portion appeared. When it finally submerged, the water was clear enough that it was still visible for a while, looking like a green sandbar. A very very big whale, and exciting to see.

Lunenburg is due for a visit from Hermione, replica of a French frigate of the same name, circa 1800. The French built the ship over the course of about 15 years, and she was just launched last year. This year is her maiden cruise, and she has called at a number of U.S. ports already. Too bad we won't get to see her here.

Out of sequence, before the whale-watching trip, we spent a while going through a fishing museum on the waterfront. Still under development, but interesting nevertheless.

When we returned to shore from whale watching , I left S at camp for a while and prowled around the waterfront boatshops and shipyards. There is a boatshop which still builds banks dories in the traditional way, in various sizes. A local club races two-person dories, all the same size, about 16'. We could see one of them practicing in the harbor as we had dinner last night. I also spent some time talking with a boatbuilder who helped build two identical 50' schooners which were written up recently in Woodenboat magazine. One was completed and sold; the other is awaiting a buyer, so I was able to get a good look at the hull and quiz him about how it was built. Great fun.

Saturday and Sunday, Aug. 15 and 16

Saturday: On the way into Halifax we stopped at a mall and bought S a nice jacket to replace her old favorite warmup suit top which she lost; she probably took it off at a restaurant, thanks to the beautiful weather we've had for a few days, and left it on the chair back. The canoe was left back at camp so that we could fit into a parking garage. We found one with an advertised clearance of 6'4" and I have measured the Suburban at 6'5", but we gave it a try. Turned out we had almost a foot to spare. Anyway, we hiked uphill to the Halifax Citadel, 19th Century fortress, the last line of defense for the city, with a dozen or more forts out to the mouth of the harbor. Halifax, Canada's #1 Atlantic port, never has been attacked. All those forts may have been a deterrence to a naval attack, and the Atlantic Ocean's width helps against air attack. What did happen, though, was a 1917 explosion of a munitions ship after a collision in the harbor. The largest non-nuclear explosion in history; killed thousands and destroyed the waterfront area.

The citadel is manned by reinactors representing the Highland regiment who garrisoned the fort in the 1880's. Got a good guided tour, and they fired a cannon at noon, as they have done for decades. The story goes, in the mid 19th century they regularly sent one of the soldiers down into the city to check the correct time with the watchmaker so they knew when to fire the noon cannon. Only after a long while did they learn that the watchmaker set his timepieces by the cannon.

After lunch at a glitzy sports bar we had  couple of hours to kill before Mass at the cathedral basilica, which we spent at the city's park. Dates from 1870's and we enjoyed walking around, identifying trees and admiring flowers. Met a couple from Toronto; the woman had taken a fall on the waterfront boardwalk yesterday and had her broken arm in a sling. Game girl- they are continuing their trip. They strongly recommended we visit Petty's Cove, on the coast SW of Halifax. Pretty much on our route tomorrow, and I was inclined to go that way anyway.

The church is a very big mid-19th C neo-gothic, beautiful architecture if you can look beyond the Vitorian art.

We stopped for a glass of wine on the waterfront, and then we'd planned to take a ferry across the harbor and find dinner on the Dartmouth side. But S's back and hip have been giving her fits, and we were not hungry after the big lunch, so we fetched the car and drove back to camp. But on the way we stopped and had a very good ice cream dinner.

Sunday:

Drove to Peggy's Cove, a tiny fishing settlement harbor spectacularly located at a rocky promontory. Another beautiful day so there were hundreds of people climbing on the rocks and taking pictures of themselves. The little town knows what it has, and is making a good living on the tourists with art galleries and restaurants. It was at Peggy's Cove that I couldn't find our camera, an ageing Sony digital. Still haven't found it, and we really feel the loss, especially of the pictures on the card. With the help of an agent at the Peggy's Cove tourist office I was able to figure out the name of the restaurant where we had wine last night, where I took a picture of a schooner in the harbor. I must have left the camera on the table, but the restaurant says they don't have it.

Outside of Peggy's Cove is a little "Swissair 111 Memorial". 1998 a flight from NY to Zurich caught fire and tried to divert to Halifax, but crashed in Margaret's Bay with no survivors. Another memorial on the other side of the bay also has graves of some of the victims. Canada handled crash investigation at a cost of tens of millions, even though the plane just happened to be flying over Canada when it crashed. Who will investigate a crash in a poor country?

Following the coast around Margaret's Bay and Mahone Bay there are several small sand beaches, crowded today on what is probably the best beach weather Sunday of the year for them.

At Lunenburg, the city's campground is at the top of a steep hill only a few blocks from the waterfront. It was only about 4 p.m. so we walked the waterfront and saw the several large sailing vessels at the piers plus many traditional small craft moored offshore. Canada's icon, the Bluenose II, is out of town on its summer cruise. But just like her at the dock was the replica of Columbia, another 140' fishing/racing schooner. Built of steel and launched only last year, in Panama City, Fla. A gorgeous schooner in spit-and-polish condition. The original Columbia evidently never raced against Blulenose I, before she was wrecked on Sable Island off Nova Scotia about 1923. Also at the dock is an auxiliary salt banker schooner built in 1938, a type which succeeded the earlier all-sail Grand Banks schooners. Interestingly, I saw a virtually identical schooner at Triton in northern Newfoundland in 1970. At the time I assumed it had been converted to an auxiliary, but now realize it was built that way, probably about the same time. I can't remember the name of that schooner, but I know I have a picture of its nameboard at home.

Thurs. and Fri., Aug 13 and 14

Thursday: No rain in a.m. but foggy. Sherbrooke has restored many old buildings to 19th century status, including houses, churches, stores and workshops. Some of it is formally part of Sherbrooke Village, which you pay to visit, but there are people actually working and living in some of the places. A short distance from the village, but next to our campground, is a restored water-driven sawmill with an up-and-down saw blade. The circlular sawmill blade was invented about 1860, so this is old old technology, but it was very interesting to see all the belts and wheels powering the saw and the log handling. We spent a couple of enjoyable hours going through the Village and had a good lunch there. Then headed down the coast, aiming to get near Halifax. By this time weather had cleared and temp in mid 70's. Have had much better weather in the last week, overall. Found a campground at Bishop's Lake. Plenty to see in Halifax but can't stay here beyond tonight: fully booked for the weekend. Called around and found a campground on the SW side of town where we can spend Fri. and Sat. night, and called ahead and booked for the following two nights at a place at Lunenburg, which we particularly want to visit.

Friday: Clear and calm in the a.m., and the lake was calling. We launched the canoe and spent about an hour paddling around beautiful islands. Best canoeing lake so far this trip. Then made our way around Halifax to next campground, unhitched the trailer and had lunch before heading for town. Halifax is a pretty big city and we quickly regretted not taking the canoe off the top of the Suburban because we couldn't find outdoor parking near the waterfront and couldn't fit into parking garages. Finallly found on-street meter parking and visited the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. Some beautiful small boats and lots of artifacts from the city's long maritime history. Drove to the S end of town to visit a 1797 Martello Tower built to protect the harbor (from American ships, evidently). Had been outfitted with 68-pound carronades. How'd you like your boat to be hit by one of those? Found a more direct route from downtown back to the campground. Plan tomorrow is to see more sights, attend 4 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral Basilica, and take a ferry across the harbor to dinner at Dartmouth. All subj to change.

Wed. Aug 12

Forget the canoeing: rained off and on all last night and all day today.

Drove S along the east coast of Nova Scotia. At least that's what the map said. We were in a 3-telephone-pole fog all day, so got only glimpses of surroundings. Briefly cleared when we were stopped at a little fishing harbor for lunch, but quickly reverted. We aimed to stop at Sherbrooke which has a restored 19th Century village thing, but when we got here it was pouring rain. So ckd into a small campground and are waiting for morning. Campsite is on St. Mary's River- good canoeing if weather improves as forecast. Not much else to remark on today. S slept about 13 hrs yesterday and last night, feeling more human today. Me too.

No black flies. Maybe they can't swim.

Mon/Tues Aug. 12/13 Newfoundland to Nova Scotia

Rainy in the a.m., as forecast. We drove the 30 mi. or so to Port au Basques, from were the ferry leaves. Had lunch at a harborside restaurant, but still had all day to kill before we were due at 9:45 p.m. at the ferry. Did a bit of shopping, and the weather cleared enough for us to take a liesurely walk along the harbor boardwalk. PaB is a good sized port town with a short strip of modern fast food and retail; even a Walmart. The rest of the town is small houses, maritime oriented. The sky was clearing, so we drove a few miles to a provincial park with a beach, where we spent the rest of the afternoon. Long walk on the beach to the mouth of a small, but fast flowing, river emptying into the ocean. Interesting to see the sharp contrast between the brown river water outflow and the clear blue ocean water. Too windy to stay on the beach long, even though temp was in mid 60's.

The two Newfoundland/Nova Scotia ferries are huge: I figure about 600'. We called for ferry reservations as soon as we could see that far ahead, but even so we had to take a night ferry or wait a few days longer. And forget booking a cabin for sleeping; I think they are booked months ahead. Anyway, we settled into our comfortable reclining general-seating seats about 10 o'clock and worked on getting to sleep.

Here's the "I wish I'd said" quiz. Late in the night I was dimly aware of a child incessantly and loudly chattering, and S piping up, "Quiet!". A woman's voice responded from somewhere, "What am I going to do, put a cork in him"? Comeback? I was too sleepy to say anything. On reflection, my favorite would be, "I think I have a cork here somewhere.... Would a sock do? I'll take them both off for you. You might need the other later". A better suggestion?

Arrived at N. Sydney about 8 o'clock Tuesday a.m. after a good breakfast aboard the ship. Drove 25 mi. to the Alexander Graham Bell National Historical Site at Baddeck (BAD eck). Excellent museum about Bell's life, and a collection of artifacts, large and small. Turns out, we didn't know much about him. Born in Scotland, taken to Toronto as a boy. Mother was deaf. He took a job as a teacher at a school for deaf in Boston and started working on gadgets to help the deaf. At age 37, same year he patented telephone and became very wealthy, married deaf pupil Mabel, age 18. She turned out to have a good head for business and money, which he didn't. They built a large house on Bras D'Or Lake at Braddeck. Remained their summer home until they both died in 1922 (Washington, D.C. was primary home), while he worked on many inventions and projects: devices for the deaf, hydrofoil boats, tetrahetryl kites and structures (Buckminster Fuller ran into Bell patents when he was developing his domes), first Canadian airplane. House still there, private, part of family compound. They appear to have had a very happy life and particularly enjoyed their grandchildren visiting in the summer.

Good weather all afternoon. Provincial park campground at Boyleston on NS south coast has a good 1/2 hour lake, may try to get canoe out in a.m.

S back giving her fits after the all-nighter aboard ferry. To bed early.

Mon/Tues Aug. 12/13 Newfoundland to Nova Scotia

Rainy in the a.m., as forecast. We drove the 30 mi. or so to Port au Basques, from were the ferry leaves. Had lunch at a harborside restaurant, but still had all day to kill before we were due at 9:45 p.m. at the ferry. Did a bit of shopping, and the weather cleared enough for us to take a liesurely walk along the harbor boardwalk. PaB is a good sized port town with a short strip of modern fast food and retail; even a Walmart. The rest of the town is small houses, maritime oriented. The sky was clearing, so we drove a few miles to a provincial park with a beach, where we spent the rest of the afternoon. Long walk on the beach to the mouth of a small, but fast flowing, river emptying into the ocean. Interesting to see the sharp contrast between the brown river water outflow and the clear blue ocean water. Too windy to stay on the beach long, even though temp was in mid 60's.

The two Newfoundland/Nova Scotia ferries are huge: I figure about 600'. We called for ferry reservations as soon as we could see that far ahead, but even so we had to take a night ferry or wait a few days longer. And forget booking a cabin for sleeping; I think they are booked months ahead. Anyway, we settled into our comfortable reclining general-seating seats about 10 o'clock and worked on getting to sleep.

Here's the "I wish I'd said" quiz. Late in the night I was dimly aware of a child incessantly and loudly chattering, and S piping up, "Quiet!". A woman's voice responded from somewhere, "What am I going to do, put a cork in him"? Comeback? I was too sleepy to say anything. On reflection, my favorite would be, "I think I have a cork here somewhere.... Would a sock do? I'll take them both off for you. You might need the other later". A better suggestion?

Arrived at N. Sydney about 8 o'clock Tuesday a.m. after a good breakfast aboard the ship. Drove 25 mi. to the Alexander Graham Bell National Historical Site at Baddeck (BAD eck). Excellent museum about Bell's life, and a collection of artifacts, large and small. Turns out, we didn't know much about him. Born in Scotland, taken to Toronto as a boy. Mother was deaf. He took a job as a teacher at a school for deaf in Boston and started working on gadgets to help the deaf. At age 37, same year he patented telephone and became very wealthy, married deaf pupil Mabel, age 18. She turned out to have a good head for business and money, which he didn't. They built a large house on Bras D'Or Lake at Braddeck. Remained their summer home until they both died in 1922 (Washington, D.C. was primary home), while he worked on many inventions and projects: devices for the deaf, hydrofoil boats, tetrahetryl kites and structures (Buckminster Fuller ran into Bell patents when he was developing his domes), first Canadian airplane. House still there, private, part of family compound. They appear to have had a very happy life and particularly enjoyed their grandchildren visiting in the summer.

Good weather all afternoon. Provincial park campground at Boyleston on NS south coast has a good 1/2 hour lake, may try to get canoe out in a.m.

S back giving her fits after the all-nighter aboard ferry. To bed early.

Sunday, Aug. 9 Stephenville to Grand Codroy, Nfld

Killed time before 10:30 Mass at nearby Stephenville. A surprise- a fairly big town and the church was larger and more modern than any we've visited in the Maritimes before. They had a baptism of two baby girls, one of whom was awake and alert, seeming to enjoy the whole event. After church we found a "family restaurant" to get breakfast, but it was already lunchtime so we had burgers for breakfast. Only about 2 hours to Grand Codroy campground, same one we stayed at our first night in Nfld. We're dragging our feet. Would have taken the ferry to Nova Scotia tonight but couldn't get reservations until Monday night.

It was the third good weather day in a row, but tomorrow is expected to be rainy. So after setting up camp we took a bike ride along the Codroy River to its mouth and back the other side, just 17 miles. This river valley is the only place in Newfoundland where there has been extensive agriculture, but even here there is little now; a few hayfields and one dairy we saw. Good to get on the bike. Been a while, though there haven't been any good opportunities until today.

Raining this evening.

21 giant motor homes in an organized caravan pulled in to this campground about 7 p.m., presumably having arrived on the ferry this afternoon. Not my style, but I'm no one to denigrate someone else's fun.

This region looked wild when we arrived two weeks ago, but after what we've seen in the meantime, it looks pretty tame now. Newfoundland is still a sleepy province. Oil, hydro, road construction, and until recently iron ore, provide economic stimulus, but the jobs are far away. The surprise is that the little fishing towns have mostly survived. Cod fishing has been dead for over twenty years, but the fishermen have switched to other fisheries, and I think government welfare also helps them.

Fri. Aug. 7 and Sat. Aug 8

Finally a good weather day, and it couldn't have been better timed. We had reservations for a boat tour of a fjord lake in Gros Morne National Park. To reach the lake we had a 2 km walk on an improved trail through a bog, which was interesting in itself. Western Brook Pond is a lake formed by a glacier which carved a valley to the ocean. It was an actual salt water fjord until the sea level dropped below the shallow mouth of the fjord and it was cut off from the ocean. Now it's a fresh water lake. (Technical note: In addition to sea level dropping, the land rose because the weight of the glaciers had squeezed magma out under the ocean. When the glaciers melted, the magma flowed back, raising the level of the land. This isostatic rebound is still going on, especially at high latitudes, and complicates the calculation of rising sea level). Anyway, by this point in the trip we are hard to impress with scenery, but the valley goes back for several miles into the mountains, with sheer 1000-2000' cliffs on both sides. Absolutely astounding and beautiful. And to think that on our previous visit to the area many years ago the lake was inaccessible and barely known to exist. How did they get the 80' tour boat to the lake? They pulled partial assemblies on giant sledges over the frozen bog in winter, and built the boat at the lake. We sat outside on the top deck for the whole trip, and with a temp of about 58 F it was chilly and windy, but we were bundled and ready for that. A wonderful experience. We went out to dinner at the town of Rocky Harbour. S had good pan fried shrimp. D had moose pie, and for dessert bakeapple pie. When in Rome.

Walking in to the lake at the same time we were was a man with his wife and teenaged daughter who spent his career as a teacher at Resolution Bay, way up north. An Inuit town of 120 people; second closest town in the world to the north pole. 3 months of winter darkness and 3 months of summer perpetual light. They loved it there. Retired now, they live in Labrador City. Wow.

Saturday, Aug 8: Not much to report. A travel day; headed S out of Gros Morne Park, scored a propane refill, and camped near Stephentown, on an isthmus connecting the island to a peninsula with people of mainly French descent. What was special about today was bright sun and temperature in the 60's all day. A welcome relief for us, and for the Newfies, too.

Thur., Aug 6 to Green Point, Nfld

The day started in high 60's, sunny. Rainy by the time we got back down to Gros Morne park and Green Pt. campground. Forecast rain until noon Friday. Did rain hard, some lightning. Cleared about 3, we took a beachcombing walk on rocky beach. Found a driftwood plank to cut up to replace the trailer-levelling shim planks I left behind this morning. Cyclist Terry arrived later at campground having ridden through fog and rain most of day. Spoke with a young woman who took Western Brook Pond boat ride today with husband and toddler. Rain and fog; couldn't see much. Very disappointed. Late day cloudy, cooler, onshore breeze picked up. No rain. Hope for good weather for our boat trip tomorrow. Campsite is one of most beautiful we've ever had: top of cliff with ocean view through trees. Path leads halfway down cliff to a level spot with two Adirondack chairs and a table, with shade but no view obstruction from a fir tree. To sleep with sound of surf on rocky beach below.

Wed. Aug. 5 Labrador back to Newfoundland

Thunderstorm came through at 5 a.m., first time for us in Maritimes. 47 F a.m. Newfies say they have a new month: Junuary. When we woke up there was an iceberg offshore offshore. Can't tell how far but it's obviously big. Yesterday's iceberg at Red Bay didn't look very big but it was aground in 100' of water. Iceberg moving at ship-speed to NE. I thought Labrador current moved SW down into Straits of Belle Isle? Also a boat-sized chunk of ice about 1/2 mile offshore. Once underway, we stopped at L'Anse d'Amour, anglicized from L'Anse d'Morts. We like amour better. Speaking of anglicization, the Newfie favorite berry, bakeapple got its name by anglicizing the French "What's this berry called?" At Point d'Amour learned of HMS Raleigh, heavy cruiser flagship of British Atlantic Fleet in 1922 was heading for a spot where the officers could go salmon fishing when it ran aground at Pt. d'Amour. Capt. was below, nursing a hangover. The bottom was ripped out but the ship sat upright there for 4 years when the British blew it up out of embarassment. Debris said to still be all over the area. Also pieces of cordite fuse still found on beach. Our young guide had one. She's a nursing student at Memorial Univ in St. John's, lived nearby in Labrador all her life. Boyfriend is Inuit from far N Labrador town of 130 who graduated HS in a class of one. He's also at univ. She visited there and whole town knew she was coming, turned out. No chance they're going there to live. Took ferry back to Nfld 1 1/2 hours, seas from TS in night, 47 F a.m. iceberg offshore dk how far but obviously big. yest aground in 100'. foggy. stopped at l'anse amour (morts). read on the way that bakeapple is anglicized fr what's that berry called. Pt amour HMS raleigh wrecked '22 on way to ofcrs salmon fishing. flagship of br atl fleet. stuck for 4 yrs, embarassment, blown up, debris still on beach, pcs of cordite fuse. guide nursing student at memorial univ st john's. boyfriend inuit extreme n of lab, grad class hs of 1. she visited, town of 130 all expecting her. She was at Red Bay a few days ago when our iceberg there broke off from a larger one with a loud crash and rolled over. Must have been something to see. Took ferry back to Nfld, 1 1/2 hours, confused sea: wind and waves from S, ocean swells from N. Ferry Alpollo rusty and old. Bet it's on it's last assignment. Once off the ferry weather cleared and warmed to high 60's. Saw sun, maybe 1st time in a week. At Torrent River campground met touring cyclist Terry who just completed ride across Labrador Highway. 1100 km, almost all unpaved, with no svcs. Crazy. Maybe we should go ahead with our Can-you-top-that trip: Northwest Passage. By canoe. In winter. No supplies- living off the land.

Blackflies- You don't feel the bites but they bleed, and the next day you have an extremely itchy lump which persists for a week or two. Or longer. Putting the best face on it, a quote from labradorcoastaldrive.com: "Biologists tell us that the presence of these insects is a sign of an unpolluted environment. Plan for these flies and arrange your outdoor activities accordingly, and they do not have to be a nuisance. The flies are only a problem when the air is warm and calm. Along the coast there is nearly always a breeze. In addition, most types of insect repellent work and should provide enough protection". It's true that the coast is windy. The rest is all lies. Topical benedryl helps. Also alcohol, taken internally.

Monday and Tuesday, August 3 and 4 at Labrador

Monday:
on road 7:00 to Mary's hbr, foggy and mountainous to pinware, then barren, ponds, rivers, tuckamore, rolling hills. pavement ends red bay, good gravel road 50 mi to Mary's hbr, plenty of time for 11 ferry. girl at ferry  one of 4 rumbolt families, there since ;;1800. in 60's perm res of offshore island fishing towns resettled in new Mary's Cove 1930. now seasonal fishing and locals use their old fishing homes for vac homes. pass ferry, only others a mother and son, rock and roll, foggy, rocks and islands. capt says this summer worst ever for fog and cold because usu prevailing w wind but this year from E. iceberg in distance. Battle hbr ;;20 bldgs on narrow cut between 2 islands. greeted, to room descr, lunch fish cakes, tour old fisherman been on battle hbr every yr all his life. bldgs and hist. 1770 english merchant firm established a "room" for cod: fishing, drying, salting, ship salt cod on schooners, 100 yrs sold to another merchand firm, 1955 to a 3rd. were other rooms, battle hbr considered the cap of labrador. yr round res left 1967 when province wouldn't subsidize a teacher. "room" closed 1992when cod banned, donated to hist tr. Always same: fishing from sm rowboats within a mi or 2 of lBattle hbr, some co ees and boats, some indep. merchant only mkt, pd in cr at co store. woman 60 born and never left report stimulated anglican mission church and grenfell hospital. school 10-20. 300 pop usu. some bldgs date from 1770 incl pork bldg near pier. many artifacts, boats, bldgs. jean claude roy fr and newfie ux. hike, views, marconi, plane wreck, cemeteries, drinks and dinner good company. vocab: skiff= rodney or punt, room, oar= paddle. one yr 1880's there were 1300 schooners on coast of lab

Tues:
had rained in night. 50 and foggy. ferry back at 9. 50 mi to red bay, hist site basque whaling station 1540 to ;;1600. discovery started w woman learning spanish and rsch in sp archives. led search of lab coast, found evidence, ;;10 seasons of arch, rendering pots, forge, cooperage, graveyard 130 pop, evidence that basques and indians there same time.divers found wreck of san juan as documented in archives, on top of shallop, preserved,  brought up: dead ringer for boat at battle hbr in hull form, const and size. 28'. artifacts clothes from graves, ship parts incl hourglass and binnacle, bilge pump. boat ;;1/2 mi to island with arch sites, walk, view of iceberg, rtn boat pd boatman to take us to iceberg. cold, bundled. 20 mi to pinware, camp on beach, laundry, 47, misty rain, foggy, windy: not a beach day.

Sunday, August 2 to Labrador

Our fellow-Casita-traveler Katherine was able to book onto the same 10:30 ferry to Labrador which we took. She and S kept each other company on the 1 1/2 hour crossing of the Strait of Belle Isle, which started very calm and ended in dense fog with a slight swell which made toddlers revert to crawling. The ferry lands at ______ Blanche, just over the border from Labrador into Quebec. We drove the few K into Labrador and checked into the only RV park in eastern Labrador, to make sure we got a site. After lunch we went to the visitor center and got oriented for our 3 days here. Our plan is to go north to Battle Harbour tomorrow, back down to Red Bay Tuesday, and back for the return ferry on Wednesday.

This afternoon we drove SW along the Quebec coast as far as St. Paul and back. The N side of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec has a coastal road from Montreal as far east as Baie Comeau, but then there is 300 Km of coast serviced only by boats or planes, and then the road we drove today picks up at Vieux Fort, one town beyond where we got, 50 Km to here in Labrador. Today's drive (what we could see of it in the intervals between fog banks) was beautiful but stark. A few fishing villages of 300 people or so, a mostly mountainous coast with either low gorse vegetation or stunted trees. One stretch of dunes and sand beach. We stopped at one village which had a sign for a Fishing Interpretive Center, and were greeted by an old fisherman who told us great stories and a lot about fishing. We were slow to realize he wasn't any kind of guide, he was just an old fisherman who happened to be there. He told us that this year, for the first time in memory, they got none of their beloved Bakeapple berries- apparently too cold and wet.

Back at the campground, the fine ocean view was replaced by a fine misty fog view. Campground quickly filled up with arrivals on a later ferry, but struck up a conversation with fellow in next site who arrived from the other direction. Just in the last year or two the last stretches of the Trans-Labrador Highway have been built, from Quebec through central Labrador to the East Coast, and he had driven it in his truck camper: over 1000 miles of poor gravel road with huge stretches of nothing. Lots of construction continues on the highway, which together with Hydroelectric construction is a boom for employment for young people in the region. Barracks living, no alcohol, no women of good or ill repute, but median income $170,000. Canadian $, but still. He has driven all the way across Canada from the Pacific, and reports that he had the same weather all the way: cold and rainy. His home in famously-rainy Seattle, on the other hand, has had practically no rain for four months. And they are still talking around the Maritimes about record snow and storms last winter. Strange weather.

Have made it to church each Sunday of the trip, but not today. God made Newfoundland, Labrador and the Cote Nord, so he will understand.

The Newfoundland accent is alive and well but some people can turn it on an off. We'll hear two people speaking unintelligibly, but when one of them talks with us they are relatively clear by our standards. Others speak whatever you call our plain English. Others speak their Newfie dialect only and don't understand us well either. Today's fisherman, for example. He and I kept having to repeat ourselves

Saturday, August 1 to St. Barbe, Nfld

A few things we have noticed on the northern peninsula of Newfoundland:

Roadside gardens- Many people have planted small gardens in the right-of-way of roads, surrounded by 2-rail fences which apparently keep the moose out. Looks like they plant lettuce, squash, beans. Very small gardens, maybe 20x20'.

Also by the roadside, people have large woodpiles stacked. Some are marked, most not. A guide at L'Anse au Meadows told us they are private piles, honest-john basis: Everybody knows everybody, and if they see someone taking your wood, they'll probably stop and definitely will report to owner who took it.

Also by the roadside: large stacks of lobster traps. Don't know why they are stacked there. Maybe the lobstermen don't have a good place of their own?

Today- Had reservations for a 9 o'clock whale watching boat. a.m. 48 degrees, showers, misty, foggy, windy. We didn't cancel but the tour boat did: capt. reported by telephone to base that there are lots of whales offshore but conditions are too rough to take people out. Went back to campground to dump our holding tanks; another camper told us he'd taken his family on the same boat tour yesterday and 8 people were vomiting the whole time, incl. his wife and 2 kids. The whales were gregarious, however; came up right alongside. Oh well, we've seen whales before and hope to again, but not this time.

While I was dumping the holding tanks, S made Plan B: head south along the E coast of Nfld northern peninsula, the "French Shore". Long unpaved road through dense fog to little fishing port of Conche (no road at all before 1969). Turned out to be a very interesting stop. French Shore: from 1500's through early 1900's French fishermen came every summer from Brittany (St. Malo and Granville, where we were last summer) and fished near shore. To keep their summer cabins and equipment safe from English fishermen, they paid Irish families to be "guardians". French lost fishing rights in 1904, except for St. Pierre and Miquelon, French territory islands off the S Nfld coast. People in Conche now are mostly descendants of the Irish guardians. Town had a one-room schoolhouse from 1941 until 1971. Built a larger school, but now only 15-18 kids, 2 teachers. We killed time until the French Shore Interpretive Center opened at 1 p.m.  Besides info about local history and artifacts (they have a WWII bayonet identical to the one I keep aboard Casita to fend off intruders) they have a tapestry a la Bayeux Tapestry chronicling the history of the French Shore and Conche. Designed by a French artist and his Newfie wife, done by local women incl our guide  '97 to '00, beautifully done. From creation to present, incl animals, aborigines, Norse, French, English, Irish. As appropriate, captions are in each of those languages. A battle was fought in the harbor in 1715: French scuttled their ships and escaped overland across a narrow isthmus to another harbor where other French ships awaited them. English later caught those, too, however. Wrecks are still in the harbor, protected from looting. Interpretation Center has a cannon, though. Wish we could get a book illustrating the tapestry, but they don't have one. Great visit.

One other thing re Conche: in 1942 a Canadian plane got lost over Nfld in the fog while on a ferrying mission to England, and was running out of fuel. One crew member bailed out, but the other two stayed aboard and crashed at Conche. All survived. The plane's remains are said to still be in the middle of town where it crashed, but we couldn't spot it. Had to take their word for it.

As we left to drive across N peninsula, weather cleared somewhat. Got up to 66, but didn't last.

Reached St. Barbe, RV park by terminal for ferry to Labrador, for which we have reservations tomorrow. Another Casita came in right behind us, a woman from Texas (Catherine?) travelling by herself.

Maybe we'll see whales or even icebergs from ferry tomorrow in Straits of Belle Isle.