It all started with a few days off. My daughter was still away at camp and I was humming and hawing over what to do with our week. Do we drive out to visit with my sister in BC? Do we go up north and explore Lake Superior, camping at Pukaskwa looked absolutely amazing. Or do we do a North Dakota, South Dakota Loop. Visiting Mount Rushmore is definitely on my bucket list.

British Columbia would have been an incredible option. Not only for the sights but also for the family visit. But my sister and her family were going to be away the long weekend and, for various reasons, I didn’t want to shift my week to start earlier. And then it all became clear … East Coast!! We’d never been to the East Coast and so many of my coworkers keep talking about the rugged beauty, small townships and the people. So, about a week before we left, I came up with a plan for a drive that would take us around most of the East Coast.

The route was quickly decided on, next came the campgrounds and the sightseeing stops. I figured out quite quickly that there would be certain places we would simply have to drive past on this trip as they warranted longer stops. Parc National de la Gaspesie was crossed off (we will camp there for multiple days on another adventure) and a site was booked at Forillon National Park instead. Thursday couldn’t come quickly enough.

Thursday, August 3^rd – Burlington, ON to Morrisburg, ON – 458.7 km

I had planned to work from home so that Aydn and I could leave right after I was done work. Of course, the computer wouldn’t cooperate so I drove into the office for the morning and took the afternoon off. Aydn and I packed the car, picked up a couple of last minute things on the way to the gas station, filled up and were on t

he road by 6 pm. Our goal was to reach Cornwall that night. Get as far past the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) as possible. I knew it would be busy, what I didn’t account for is the amount of construction on the 401. At one point, we were moving at less than 5 km/h. Nothing left to do but blast the music and sing along at the top of our lungs. It being warm outside, the windows were rolled all the way down to give us more room to wave our arms to the music. We weren’t moving at all anymore at this time so that was a perfect excuse for dancing in one’s seat 😉

By midnight, we had barely reached the Morrisburg OnRoute. We had driven less than 500 km in 6 hours! Being too tired to keep going to Cornwall, we stopped here for the night.

Friday, August 4^th – Morrisburg, ON to Rivière-du-Loup, QC – 604.7 km

We woke at 5.30 am and went inside to grab some coffee and brush our teeth. Aydn absolutely loved the communal feel of seeing the others, who had stopped for a rest the night before, standing in small huddles near the cars, coddling their warm beverages.

We followed the 30 around Montreal and enjoyed our drive along Autoroute Jean-Lesage (HWY 20) until we were close to Beaumont. After fueling up, we decided that it was time to get closer to the river and we turned down Route de Beaumont to get to Route 132 which closely followed the shores of the Saint Laurent all the way to Rivière-du-Loup. The scenery was incredible, past beautiful views of the vast river, through sleepy townships, we made our way closer to our destination.

We drove into Rivière-du-Loup just after 2 pm and stopped to pick up groceries and ice at the local Walmart. I hadn’t brought anything more than snacks on the trip with us because I knew we’d be spending the first night in the car. Less ice to purchase and the food was one day fresher this way. Instead of going straight to the campsite, we decided to go and have lunch at Parc des Chutes just a few minutes drive from where we were. We stopped at the parking lot near the bridge first and realized there were covered picnic benches and an almost empty parking lot just below us. How much better could it get! We made ourselves some wraps and enjoyed our meal near the base of the waterfall. The cliffs rose a reddish grey across the water and you could clearly see all the layering in the rock. We were thoroughly enjoying the serenity of our lunch spot, the sound of the water and chirping birds … the sudden loud thunder boom and darkening skies …. Woah! Time to pack up and hopefully get to the campsite and set up our tent before what looked like it would be quite the storm, caught up with us.

Our site for the night was at Camping Municipal de la Pointe. We were there in no time at all and checked in with the super friendly staff as the first rain drops wet my shoulders. I had no idea what our spot would be like, booking as late as I had. We were pleasantly surprised when we got to our site. Towering trees rose skyward as we walked up the steps to our spot which was nicely isolated amid a busy RV Campground. We set up our tent and, as the rain, which never amounted to more than about 10 drops, dissipated, Aydn asked if we could go back to parc des chutes and go for a hike.

The trails were wonderful! The warm smell of the forest, still wet from the rains combined with the sing song of the birds was exactly what we needed after our drive. The sunlight filtered through the dense branches of the cedars as we walked along the soft forest trail and enjoyed the fresh air. Aydn picked a trail that would loop back around and bring us atop the cliffs and eventually onto a bridge above the falls themselves. The views were stunning and we discovered this to be a prime area for rock climbers!

Eventually, we did make our way back to camp. We had picked up a roasted chicken at Walmart, made some rice and, after filling our bellies, took a stroll down to the shores of the Saint Lawrence River. The tide was out exposing the incredible rock formations. A little slick with algae, we still managed to wander a little ways out. We never did get close enough to see what was plopping around in the water a short distance from a rock jetty as it started getting dark. On the way back, we made new friends and received a campfire invite. The evening was spent chatting with a French couple from Montreal on a motorbike tour and a Swedish-Quebecois family who were on their way to PEI. There is nothing quite like spending the evening at a fire, sharing stories with a group of strangers. We finally bid our farewell and made our way back down to our tent site for some much-needed rest.

Saturday, August 5^th – Rivière-du-Loup, QC to Cap du Bon Ami, Forillon National Park, QC – 501.4km

I woke Aydn with scrambled eggs, toast, and instant coffee … definitely a camping must 😉 and we were ready to leave by shortly after 8 am. We decided to stay on the 132 for more of a scenic drive.

Our first planned stop was at Pointe-au-Père to see the lighthouse and submarine and it was definitely a stop I would recommend to anyone. Pointe-au-Père is home to the Onondaga Submarine which spent 33 years traveling through the waters of the North Atlantic. The submarine was retired in 2000 and has become Canada’s first publicly accessible submarine. The self-guided audio tour is engaging and informative as you follow the voices through the submarine past living quarters, motors, the galley, living quarters, control rooms, sonars and finally into the torpedo room. It was well worth the price of admission.

 

Once we completed our journey aboard the Onondaga, we climbed the 128 steps to the top of Canada’s second tallest lighthouse. Seeing the Fresnel lens up close, and learning more about the operations of these structures, was truly a unique experience. I peered between the different pieces of glass to spy the lightbulb which would have signaled passing boats. We had already spent close to 2 hours here which meant we had to leave the Empress of Ireland Exhibit for another time.

The drive along the 132 was breathtaking. The road climbing over hills and slithering its way back down closer to water level. Each ridge giving view to another small town nestled into a quiet bay, boats peacefully rocking in its harbour. We stopped for a lunch in Sainte-Anne-des-Monts and enjoyed our poutine with a view of the water in front of us and the mountains rising in the distance at our backs. Aydn even spotted a seal playing at the mouth of a river.

We made it to the campground Cap-Bon-Ami around 5.30 pm. The tent went up in no time and we quickly made a couple of sandwiches and packed some snacks. If everything went according to plan, we should be getting to the lookout tower just about the time the skies start turning that liquid honey colour as the sun continues its path to the other side of the world. We left the car parked and walked down to the trailhead. My first glimpse of Land’s End was indescribable … my second glimpse brought tears to my ears but first we hike! There were a couple of rather steep sections and I was blown away by those relentless flip flop warriors battling their way across the roots and rocky trail. We stopped at the lookout to breathe in the beauty of Land’s End and continued upward. The forest was absolutely beautiful and the chirping of the birds accompanied us as we made our way toward the tower.

As we got to the bottom of the tower, fog started to roll in. Slowly the stairs above us disappeared, swallowed up by the milky dampness. Step by step we scurried to the top hoping to outsmart the hungry brume just to catch a glimpse of the view. Alas, the misty beast beat us to it. We managed to get one last look at our tent waaaay down there and then we were floating… on our platform… in a sea of fog. The pinecones danced in the breeze at the top of the trees while we ate our sandwiches, still optimistic that this was just a fleeting haze. Finally, we had to concede. Taking one last look in the direction of Newfoundland, thanks to an arrow which pointed us to the right spot in the fog, we slowly made our way back down to the base of the trees.

                

The light was fading fast as we neared the parking lot at the trail head. The fog had now lifted again and I got my second glimpse of Land’s End… The silvery light of the almost full moon draping everything in an eerily serene glow. And this is where I cried. The light, the scenery, the entire reality of where we were! We were actually HERE!! … Okay, enough. Aydn and I took the staircase down to the beach which was covered in smoothed rocks and built our own inukshuk while the sky got darker and the moon grew brighter. We sat for a while watching the waves, glistening from the glow of the moon, until our grumbling stomachs grew louder than the surf. Back to camp in the dark. Dinner and then bed. We happily entered dreamland where we would have stayed a little while longer had we not been awoken by the unmistakable sound of scattered rain drops splattering against the side of the tent.

Sunday, August 6^th – Cap du Bon Ami, Forillon National Park, QC to Shediac, NB – 707.9 km

Plop, plop … SPLAT! There was no denying it, if we stayed any longer, we would end up in a downpour that would turn you pruny in a matter of minutes! I nudged my sleeping pre-teen out of the tent and into the car as the skies fully opened. The tent itself was stuffed into a garbage bag to keep the rest of our stuff from getting soaked and, still in pjs, we drove down to the trail head parking lot where we had been the night before. There was a nice bathroom there and we could get ourselves organized without waking up the entire campsite. It was after all only 5.30 am. Come to think of it though, they would never have been able to hear us over the sound of the rain.

No longer in pjs, we left the National Park and got back on the 132 making a quick stop to check out Fort Péninsule.  Another unplanned stop which was definitely worthwhile making. The rain had abated at that point and the air was fresh with the scent of pine. As we wandered out of one tunnel to admire the cannon, a big eagle swooped down and flew over our heads, disappearing across the quiet inlet.

 

We reached Percé before 9 am. There is a Halte Municipale just as you come down into Percé which I would highly recommend stopping at. The view is worth while the short delay on your drive. So, back to Percé. We paid our $9 for the parking and looked out the windows which were teaming with rain. It was three kinds of nasty outside! With lots of grumbling coming from the passenger seat, rain pants and rain jackets were pulled out and donned in the comfort of the front seat of the car. You just couldn’t go outside in anything less than full typhoon garb! I could possibly be exaggerating here a little but … well, ask my daughter! We made our way up the two hills to get to the lookout. At this point, I was being cursed at by my child, the wind was whipping us sideways and the rain was never-ending. And there it was, Rocher Percé, standing fierce amid the onslaught! We took $9 worth of pictures and made our quick descent to the safety of our car.

 

By this point, the tourist information had opened and we thought we’d go and ask for some help in finding a breakfast place. As we stood dripping onto the carpet inside the door, we got an annoyed look and then a back turned toward us. Hmm … definitely not the friendliest tourist info we’ve ever been to… at all!! And I spoke to her in fluent French.

We found our own breakfast place and, dashing between raindrops, grabbed a cozy seat inside to indulge in some delicious scrambled eggs and toast. I recommend Café Champetre 2002 for food and atmosphere and would stop there again.

Roughly 2 hours later, we ended up on a 12 km detour as the bridge on the 132 was closed due to construction near New Richmond West. There was a tourist information right at the junction and, seeing as how we were hungry, we stopped and made lunch right in our mobile restaurant/motel/carriage.

We made it to our campsite just after 8 pm. What a change from the peace and quiet of Forillon the night before! I’m sure it didn’t help that it was the Civic Holiday weekend and everyone had Monday off but still a bit of a shock sitting quietly in your campsite at night sipping on your tea when 6 police cars go whizzing by! Luckily the site they were after was in a different area of the campground. Good night tea, good night moon, good night squad cars …

Monday, August 7 – Shediac, NB to Cavendish Beach, PEI – 276.3 km

I woke up at 6 am to a stunning sunrise and refreshing 10 degrees. This is what camping is all about! I had checked the tide charts the night before and discovered that, although we would be driving in the opposite direction from our destination, Hopewell Rocks was a mere 50 minutes away and low tide was going to be at 7am! After a nice breakfast, we packed up and got on the road just after 8 am. Our first stop … a giant lobster! We had been told about this size of this lobster and, admittedly, were not in the least bit disappointed by it’s gigantic stature. We parked the car and wandered over to the behemoth crustacean where we patiently waited to have our picture taking by one of the countless tourists which had piled out of one of three tour busses parked nearby.

We had a beautiful drive out to the Hopewell Rocks Park and arrived at the top of the stairs at 9.44 am. Knowing the timing here is crucial … you’ll see 😉 The rock formations were simply stunning! We wandered along the beach trying to capture at least one or two pictures without throngs of people in them and oohed and aahed along the way. Were we really here? We were more than two thirds of the way to the end of the walking beach when we started to get turned around. The tide was coming in and people were being shepherded back toward the stairs. We left the beach at 10.34 am and decided to have an ice cream cone at the little restaurant at the top of the stairs. This was probably one of the best ice creams I had had in a long time! Not only was it enormous and DELICIOUS … we also got 2 for the price of 1! Yep … Happy New Brunswick Day to us! And did I mention that we did not pay admission to be able to experience this beautiful spot? That’s right! Free admission on New Brunswick Day.

At around 11.10 am, 36 minutes after we had made our way up the stairs, we returned to the beach, or what was left of it! It was truly impressive to see how quickly the water had come in a swallowed up the areas where, not so long before, people had been milling about capturing lasting memories on their electronic devices. And the water was still coming in!

On the way back to the car, Aydn and I stopped at the different lookouts along the trail so we could keep an eye on how much the water had risen since we were down there. After a little over 2 hours, we bid our adieu and made our way in direction of Prince Edward Island.

Our drive would take us across the Confederation Bridge, 12.9 kilometres of concrete spanning the Northumberland Straight. This was by far the longest bridge I have ever been on and I am still impressed by the sheer length and ingenious design of this concrete structure snaking its way across the water from New Brunswick to PEI.  At some point it started feeling a bit long but then, in the distance, we saw the red shores of PEI grow larger in front of us. Once back on land, we made a quick stop to get a map at the tourist information centre, which looks more like a tiny village with many shops where one can purchase various local items. (mud shirts, honey, Anne of Green Gables merchandise, and much more).

We took the more direct route to our campground as we had hopes of making it to Green Gables still today. The sheer beauty of the PEI countryside was mesmerizing. Past fields of potatoes and the picturesque town of Stanley Bridge. We caught a glimpse of the Cavendish Boardwalk before turning onto the road taking us to the Provincial Park. Our tent site was in the trees a hop, skip, and jump from the beautiful reddish beach. The trees smelled intoxicating and the sun shone its warming rays on us while we quickly pitched the tent.

Our visit to Green Gables was everything we’d hoped for. We toured the house, took a stroll down Lover’s Lane and got to meet Anne and her friend Diana. We enjoyed the beauty of the gardens while listening to Anne tell one of her delightful stories.

For dinner we stopped at Cavendish Boardwalk and enjoyed some of the best Fish and Chips we have ever had. Captain Scott’s Seafood Restaurant has been added to the list of places we want to return to. The owners are lovely and the fish and chips are mouth-wateringly yummy! Some Cows ice cream for dessert and we were ready to head to the beach.

Cavendish Beach stretches as far as the eye can see. The beautiful colour becoming an even richer red with the fading light of the setting sun. We went for a walk along the beach, admired the beautiful stones we found and watched the sun dip lower and lower on the horizon. We enjoyed our tea while staring dreamily into the flickering flames of our campfire.

Tuesday, August 8^th – Cavendish Beach PEI to Linwood, NS – 337 km

We packed up and left the campsite at 8 am and headed over to Avonlea Village for breakfast. Samuel’s Coffee House provided us with a delightful morning java and pastries. We wandered around the deserted village for a little and found Anne’s Old School House before we got back on the road.

Being geocachers, we wanted to make sure to find at least one cache while in the area. A cemetery always proves to keep some hidden treasure. This time though, there was much more than just a cache. We found the headstone for Lucy Maud Montgomery as well as that of her parents.

The next stop was Greenwich, Prince Edward Island National Park. This was one of the stops that was planned before we got to PEI. Forest, sand dunes and floating boardwalks. This park was everything the website promised. A bald eagle flew over head once we got out onto the trail. Finches flitted across the path and the sing song of a variety of birds filled our ears. The park is home to the endangered piping plovers and rare vegetation. The scenery was ever changing, from forests, to wetlands and into the fragile coastal dunes. The floating boardwalk snaked its way across the pond and we crossed the dunes onto a beautiful beach. A little further along the beach was the trail that took us up to a lookout across the magnificent parabolic sand dunes. We left the beach and made our way back across the boardwalk as the first rain drop started to fall. On our way back into the forest, a small grouse ran across our path.

The drizzle kept up until we reached the Wood Island ferry terminal and started into a full blown down pour. We watched a bald eagle fishing beside the ferry as it left the dock and even saw some sort of porpoise on our crossing. Unfortunately, it was raining far too hard by this time to properly see what kind of porpoise or whale we could have seen.

We spent the crossing peeking out into the grey and chatting with our new friends. It’s always a blast meeting others along your travels and sharing stories of places you both may have been to. At one point, I did manage to get my daughter to brave a tour of the deck. I am so grateful our rain jackets had been packed in such an accessible manner.

We were the first to drive off the ferry and made our steep descent down the slippery ramp. The rain was relentless as we continued our drive toward Linwood, Nova Scotia where we had a campsite booked for the night. Yes … a campsite. We pulled into Linwood Harbour Campground and made a dash through the deluge straight into the dry shelter of the main office. As we stood there dripping, the owner of the campground took one look and asked “You’re not the two that are camping, are you?” … ummm …. Yup that’s us! Immediately concerned for our wellbeing, we received offers of a tarp being strung for us so we could pitch the tent without drowning. Another option we entertained was sleeping in the car. We’re not very big people and again we were offered help. Did we want to store our luggage in the office so we could have more space? Did we want to pick a nice dark spit to park the car? …. In the end, I pitched the tent in a mad marathon style dance getting soaked within 3.9 nanoseconds of leaving the car. It took 2 towels to dry the inside but, once set up, we had the driest shelter ever. There was no way I was going to cook in this weather and, taking advantage of the free WiFi, we discovered there was a sandwich shop 15 minutes down the road in Aulds.

Our bellies full and I’m bright spirits we drove back to the campground. With the help of our one umbrella, we managed to get our sleeping bags and pillows inside of the tent without getting them too wet. We curled up and did the only thing you could do when you’re tent bound in a mad rainstorm and have Wi-Fi … we watched Guardians of the Galaxy on Netflix. Snuggled close together we peered at the tiny screen of my phone and watched the galactic superstars battle for what’s right as the rain drops kept up their onslaught. The rain never did let up that night.

Wednesday, August 9^th – Cape Breton Highlands and the Cabot Trail, NS – 472.1 km by car and 18 km by foot

I woke to a stunning sunrise. The owner of the campground wandered by as I was starting to make my coffee and offered the use of the coffee maker in the office. Happy with my camp coffee, I followed him to the office a few minutes later with a mug of steaming morning comfort in my hands. I got some great recommendations on which way to drive and things to stop at for our day trip. I wandered back over to our site, woke my sleeping pre-teen and we were on the road by 7.30 am.

Our lovely campground host recommended we drive counter clockwise along the Cabot Trail and I am ever grateful that is the route we took. We followed HWY 105 to the 312 and took the cable ferry across at Englishtown. What a blast! With the great recommendation we had received, the ocean was to our right the entire time. Not only were the views that much more spectacular this also meant that we could easily pull into any lookouts/viewpoints along the way.

We stopped at Smokey Mountain Picnic Area for a bit of a walk. From the point you have a beautiful view across the incredible deep blue of the ocean. The sun was making up for its lack of appearance yesterday and we were gifted with the most brilliant blue sky. The never-ending water glistening like diamonds. An awe-inspiring sight! We found a geocache and stuffed ourselves with the sweetest blueberries on the way back up to the car.

      

The ever-changing landscape along the Cabot Trail is truly magnificent. Our stop at the Lakies Head viewpoint quickly turned into a lunch stop. We made our salad sitting on the beautiful rose-coloured rocks, watching the waves crash at our feet and enjoying the view that much longer. Breathtaking!

 

At the recommendation of the lady at the Parks Canada visitor centre, we hopped off the Cabot Trail to drive down to White Pointe.  Here we came across an idyllic little bay with colourful fishing boats snoozing in the warming rays of the sun. I can’t remember when I happened upon a more picturesque scene.

Once we returned to the car we made our way back onto the Cabot Trail and back into the construction along the scenic route. Our next stop was the Skyline Trail. We pulled into the very busy parking lot just after 2.30 in the afternoon. Twenty minutes later we left the trail head and opted to take the longer loop to the right with hopes that it would be less busy. It was stunning … and yes … less busy. We kept our eyes peeled for moose having heard that people had spotted some along this trail early that same morning. The sing song of the birds accompanied us along the sort path through the pines. Slowly the landscape opened up a little more and then …. That’s when I thought I spotted something… up in that meadow over there! Not wanting to lose the little brown speck out of my sight, I asked Aydn to grab our binoculars from the backpack I was carrying. She says to me “Mummy, there’s a moose!” … umm yes, hence the binoculars. She repeats “Mummy there’s a moose!” this time she giggles. I know!! “Aydn grab the binoculars before it disappears!” At this point she’s giggling quite hard … “No mummy, there’s a moose … right … there!” as she points just a few metres off the trail. Ummm… no comment. A beautiful female was happily feeding along the trail not minding our presence one bit. In fact, she kept moving closer to where we stood. She knew we were there as she would pause every so often and look up at us, peacefully chewing her food. The sheer size of her was incredible! To be able to be this close to such a magnificent creature… a dream.

We eventually left her to her feeding and continued along the path. The trail crested another little rise and there was the ocean in all its sparkling splendor. The views were magnificent. The trail snaked its way along the side of the hill. At one point we thought we’d spotted waterspouts in the deep blue below. And then we reached the top of the oh so famous boardwalk. If ever I felt like I was on top of the world … this was it! Yes, we’ve been to much higher places (including over 14,000 ft in Colorado) but this was something else. The boardwalk followed the too of the ridge down, every so often a nice big platform with benches offered visitors a place to spread out and enjoy the view. We left here just after 4 and were back at the car in under an hour.

There was one more hike planned along the way and we left the salmon pools trailhead just before 6. This time, we were hoping to spot a bear. We didn’t spot a bear but thoroughly enjoyed the hike through the forest and along the beautiful river and natural pools. The loop we did took us roughly 2 hours and the only wildlife we saw was a daring chipmunk that yelled insults at us from the safety of a giant boulder.

It was after 10 pm by the time we were back at camp and curled into our sleeping bags smiling after a full day of adventuring.

Thursday, August 10 – Linwood, NS to Peggy’s Cove, NS – 437.8 km

After a well-deserved rest, we said goodbye to our new friends at Linwood campground and got back on the road at 9.30 in the morning. Before we left, I had asked our friend at Linwood Campground about any sights or special stops we shouldn’t miss on our way to Peggy’s Cove. The one thing we were not to miss was having an ambrotype photo done of ourselves at Sherbrooke Village.

We decided to take the windy, bumpy coastal road and the sights were absolutely spectacular. We passed many quiet little coves, each one home to a magnificent bald eagle fishing in the early morning serenity. We stopped at the Guysboro Courthouse Info Centre for a few minutes and received wonderful help there. Next time we are here, we will definitely spend more time in this historic town.

 

We made our way along the 211 to take the cable car ferry across to Bickerton. Here, we made a small detour and drove out to the Bickerton Lighthouse for a quick pit and photo stop. We pulled into the Sherbrooke Village parking lot just before 2pm. As we were going into the village for the sole purpose of having our picture taken in the traditional ambrotype method, we were not charged admission and, directions in hand, wandered back in time to the local drugstore.

Ambrotype photography is done with a liquid collodion mixture onto a plate of glass. We went up into the attic of the drug store and could smell the ingredients for the collodion. The 112-year-old camera prominently occupied one corner of the room. We were taken into a smaller room to get changed into period clothing and, once dressed for the occasion, we were given an introduction to how this all works. The collodion, a rather smelly concoction of ethyl alcohol, cadmium bromide, cadmium iodide, ammonium and more, oozed onto the glass plate from a small glass bottle. The glass was taken into the dark room to set for a few minutes until it was ready. Aydn and I were then placed in position. As the exposure itself is quite lengthy, we were sat in chairs and our heads were placed into a brace, similar to a doll stand, to keep us from moving. We were allowed to blink and breathe, we could smile but not show our teeth. It’s no wonder people back then always looked so miserable in photos!

We couldn’t watch the developing process as it is quite toxic, involving things such as cyanide … ummm … no thanks! While our photo was being developed, we wandered the village for a little bit. This is definitely a place for spending an entire day. The houses all still on their original foundation. And then it was time … we got to see our finished photo and I couldn’t be happier with how this turned out. Once again grateful for the recommendations from Linwood campground. We wrapped our new treasure in a soft blanket and places it into a smaller Rubbermaid container that was carrying some of our dry goods.

Having left the village just after 3, we continued our beautiful drive pulling into the campground just outside of Peggy’s Cove by 3.5 hours later. We were in for a treat when we got to Wayside … Debbie handed us a map and sent us to pick our own site. We took the road all the way to the top and set up camp in the stargazer’s loop!! We had the entire place to ourselves up there which we would be able to enjoy a lot more later as we were now on a mission to get to Peggy’s Cove for the sunset.

We made a stop at the Swiss Air Flight 111 memorial before driving into the picturesque village.  Peggy’s Cove was everything I had imagined. The fishing boats rocking beside the pier, colourful buildings everywhere you look, and then the lighthouse. Perched atop the smooth rock, throngs of people swarming around the base, the lighthouse stood proud against the darkening sky. The setting sun shooting tendrils of pink and red, reaching across the water to where we sat in the cool air, taking it all in.

 

We stayed until the damp air cooled down too much for us and headed back to camp to discover how aptly our loop had been named! Without a cloud in the sky or interference from man-made light, we were treated to a sky brimming with stars, planets and galaxies … and on the night of the meteor shower to boot! After a nice cup of tea in the dark, we curled up in the sleeping bags, the fly of the tent pulled back as far as possible, so we could still see any meteors going by.

Friday, August 11^th – Peggy’s Cove, NS to Freeport, Maine – 955.4 km

I woke up to Aydn shivering beside me. At some point during the night, she had put on her sweater. The thermometre on my phone telling me it was a mere 6 degrees celcius outside.  I ushered her into the warmth of the car while I packed up camp. Seeing as how it was only twenty past six in the morning, we decided to drive back into Peggy’s Cove to catch the sunrise. And what a treat that was!

In search of a bathroom as we left the lighthouse, we discovered that the outdoor bathrooms by the visitor centre are locked. We stopped at a small baseball diamond a few minutes down the road, complete with porta-potty. I looked over at the risers and we decided to have our morning coffee and some Nutella sandwiches right here at the top of the stands.

 

My 20-year-old featherlite boiling the water in no time at all, we enjoyed our beverages listening to the early morning song of the birds.

We left the baseball diamond at 7.30 in the morning and didn’t stop again until we reached Hampton, New Brunswick. Another beautiful town we would have spent more time in. The tourist info centre is inside of an old train station. A lot of history here to explore. After a quick visit inside, we continued on to St. Andrews, NB, a town which had been recommended by one of my managers.

 

 

We visited the Block House National Historic Site. The Blockhouse itself having been built during the War of 1812 by townspeople wishing to defend themselves against American privateers and military. The town was beautiful with its buildings and murals. We wandered along the pier to look at the boats before finding a nice little sandwich shop for a late lunch.

                  

On our way to the Maine border crossing, we made a stop at Ile Ste. Croix, one of the few International Historic Sites, shared by Canada and the U.S. we took a moment to read up on the history but the quickly blackening sky made is scurry back to the car before the first giant rain drops fell. Back in the car and on towards the border at St. Stephen’s.  The crossing took quite a long time and, by the time we made it to the small pullout near Crawford to find our first ever Maine geocache, dire needs made us brave enough to use the most questionable outhouse ever!! Thankfully we stock lots of disinfectant wipes … yikes.

By 6 pm, it was clear that we wouldn’t be getting near enough any of the interstate rest areas that evening so we pulled into the next rest stop and called the first campground that came in up when we searched near Freeport. They were fill but referred us to another one who was able to accommodate us and, according to our GPS, we would arrive there about 5 minutes before the office closed at 8 pm.

We were checked in and given a choice of two campsites as well as some stickers that would serve as our entry tokens into the desert tomorrow morning. … hang on! What was that? A desert in Maine? It seems I had managed to find the one and only desert in this beautiful forested state. We pitched our tent in the middle of the most incredible stand of trees. I had to crane my neck so far I almost toppled over backwards.

We set up our tent in the pitch black and headed into town for dinner. By this time, I was too tired to cook and we didn’t have much in the form of fresh food due to crossing the border earlier that morning. We drove into the beautiful little town of Freeport. We didn’t get much further than the tourist info building which also houses the local McDonald’s. I had heard this area is picturesque and cannot wait to come back here to spend a few days.

The drive back to camp along a road lined with tall trees was eerily beautiful in the dark. It had started to drizzle again and we were happy to curl into our sleeping bags one last time. Falling asleep almost instantly, we would have slept right through until morning had it not been for our night time visitor.

It was just before 4 am when I was awakened by a cacophony right outside the tent. … or was it inside the tent? At first it sounded like we had woken up in a jungle, monkeys! Wait! Do they have monkeys here? Slowly I became more lucid. No, couldn’t be monkeys … we’re in Maine! Then I heard the answering call from somewhere else in the forest. Owls!! I looked over and saw the white of Aydn’s eyes shining in the dark. We listened until the calling stopped. The ruckus interrupted by the intermittent sound of raindrops heavily plopping onto the tent.

Saturday, August 12^th  – Freeport, Maine to Skaneateles, NY – 736.7 km

We were all packed up by 7 am and decided to have a stroll through this desert that we had been told about. We parked near the front office and headed past the fence. Despite the rain, we spent some time walking along the sand dunes. A heron flew overhead and Aydn asked to have her picture taken walking through a desert in the rain with her umbrella. Unfortunately, we had to get on the road, but I know where we are camping next time we are out this way!

 

It rained off and on for most of the drive. We stopped for gas in Seabrook, New Hampshire, nipped into a corner of Massachusetts and continued into New York State.  Not without getting stuck in some of the most horrendous traffic jams ever.

We finally made it into Skaneateles just before 5pm and were ecstatic to see our family. We had a nice light dinner and were surprised with an evening of Mozart under the Stars at a Vineyard on Skaneateles Lake. What a magical experience!

Back at our family’s house, we had a late-night tea before retiring for the night. This was the first time in 10 days that we were going to be sleeping in an actual bed again! The location of the house and the dark room made for a sound sleep. I was in dream land long before my head settled onto the pillow.

Sunday, August 13^th – Skaneateles, NY to Burlington, ON – 320.1 km

We went for a nice breakfast with our hosts before heading down to watch the 40^th Skaneateles Triathlon. Running, biking and canoeing a whole lot of spirit and a whole lot of fun. After a light lunch and some more catching up with family, Aydn and I were ready for the home stretch. The last leg of the journey was uneventful and the border crossing went smoothly.

After 11 days and 5,914 km, we were now home. It was with mixed emotions that I pulled into our parking spot. Although it felt great to curl up in my own bed, I was already missing the road.

Can’t wait for the next one!