Our overnight ferry from Newfoundland was uneventful and delivered us back to the North Sydney, Nova Scotia, area the next morning. Rumor had it that the ferry crew would be giving our rigs an under-carriage wash before we boarded the ferry (there is great concern about contaminated soil being brought back to Nova Scotia), but to our disappointment it didn't happen. RVer are always happy to get a free wash!
 |
| The biggest Adirondack chair we saw at first campground back in Nova Scotia |
 |
| What you do when you find a huge picture frame in a field |
Anyhow, our final Canadian province is Prince Edward Island, but we had a few more stops in Nova Scotia on the way there, starting with the Cape Breton's North Sydney area we hadn't toured before taking the ferry over 3 weeks earlier. The next day a bus collected us all and took us over to the Fortress of Louisbourg (French fishing and trade settlement founded in 1713 and fortified against British invasion before being destroyed in the 1760s). It was in foundation-only ruins but has been restored and opened for public viewing, complete with period-costumed staff and activities to give you a real idea what life was like there. As part of the experience we enjoyed a wonderful lunch of the typical fare for this culture -- beef, salmon, hardy vegetable soup, rice, and an apple tart for dessert.
 |
| Fortress of Louisbourg |
Our next RV park was less than 40 miles away near the town of Baddeck. Besides being a lovely town with a strong Scottish Celtic community, it is the home of the Alexander Graham Bell Historical Site. There was a neat museum that highlighted many of his inventions -- and he was quite prolific in his interests! He dabbled in everything from communications to flight to sea travel and this site has wonderful exhibits and programs that highlight his work.
Our group also attended a local fiddle/piano performance and we learned about jigs and reels -- along with the difference between a fiddle and a violin. You can apparently spill whiskey on a fiddle! I also doubt a violinist would be stomping their feet to the beat at the same time they are playing :-) Another big draw to this area is the famous Cabot Trail. It is a 4+ hour drive if you don't stop along the way and the road is currently undergoing a lot of construction, so we opted to just drive the first third, see some of the pretty Cape Breton coastline, and have a nice lunch.
On our final transit to Prince Edward Island the group (minus Jeffrey who worried about the strong smells) parked the rigs at a Walmart, unhooked half the cars, and drove for a special tour at a Lavender farm in Seafoam. The owner gave us a very educational presentation about the lavender varieties he grows, how they harvest the lavender, and how it is used in various products. We were also treated to lavender infused lemonade, ice cream, and shortbread. YUM! We then attacked their gift shop :-) I held myself back from buying anything as we live in a small space and Jeffrey doesn't tolerate perfumy smells. We lead an "unscented" life!
 |
| Field of Lavendar |
The 8-mile long, 130-to-190 foot high Confederation Bridge is the official entry onto Prince Edward Island. Jeffrey isn't fond of heights so he couldn't appreciate the wonder of this bridge span like I could. We were glad there wasn't much wind or he would have been even more "white knuckled" getting across it. Once settled in the RV park in Cavendish, we stuffed ourselves at the buffet at the Fisherman's Wharf restaurant. You pick a main entree item like lobster or steak -- and pair it with 60 feet of salad bar and dessert items. If you like mussels, you can also eat as many buckets of them as you want.
After a night of digesting this huge meal, we boarded a bus with a tour guide and saw the lovely red seaside cliffs, famous nearby sandy beach, a lobster fishing trap demonstration, and a quick bus spin through Charlottetown, the largest city on the island. We also made a stop at the Anne of Green Gables Village, a recreation of the home and farm Anne lived in. Though she was a fictional character, she is much beloved by the readers of the books. The author, Lucy Maud Montgomery, actually lived in Cavendish and modeled her books after the lovely local area.
 |
| Red Cliffs in Prince Edward Island |
 |
| Reproduction of the fictional House of Green Gables |
To keep us well fed, we were treated to lunch at the PEI Preserve Company. The meal was spectacular and we enjoyed a live performance from another talented local musician. Even though we ended the meal with a healthy slice of delicious blueberry pie it didn't stop us from wrapping up the day with a stop at Cow's, a PEI-famous ice cream establishment. Unfortunately/Fortunately there are Cow's shops all over the province so YOU CAN'T AVOID THEM! Our tour leaders treated us all to a our first experience with their yummy product. I loved that their "standard" cone is a waffle version (which I love) -- and you can watch them make the cones fresh right at the counter. I will definitely need to sugar "detox" once this trip ends.
 |
| Us enjoying normal-sized Adirondack chairs at the Preserve Company |
Most of the next day was ours to explore (or just be lazy) until another bus pickup and delivery to the Confederation Centre of the Arts musical theater to see the Anne of Green Gables show. The show was great, even for those of us who hadn't read the books. This show has been running for over 50 years and is recognized as the longest running annual musical theater production in the world.
Our final trip events were a "farewell" dinner and "goodbye" breakfast. Both were catered in our RV park's private restaurant space and greatly enjoyed. The park gifted us each Tshirt and beer glass souvenirs -- and our tour leaders gifted us the pass that would let us leave the island. It was over $60 Canadian dollars for our rig towing the car. It was bittersweet when we all said our goodbyes to each other -- such a wonderful trip and we'll have many fond memories of both the places and the people, especially our tour-mates. In fact, half a dozen of us have already signed up to do another Fantasy RV tour together in the summer of 2020!
 |
| A pair of wild foxes near Canvendish PEI |
With the official tour over, Jeffrey and I hung out a few extra days and returned to the theater to see a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Most of the cast was the same as the Anne of Green Gables show and they were terrific in these roles too. We finally left P.E.I. and drove back across the big bridge and made our way back into the U.S., settling Max in Bangor, Maine, for a few weeks. We had appointments there to get Jeffrey allergy shots and get Max's chassis inspected. Lucky for us, the chassis was fine, but they pressure-tested our radiator due to some recent "low coolant" alarms and discovered that our radiator cap wasn't holding the pressure it should. This causes coolant to bubble up in the reservoir when things heat up and then exit out an overflow drain (thus making our operating coolant level lower and lower).At a cost of $9.50, it might have been one of the cheapest RV replacement parts we've ever bought.
As I finish this post, Max is taking a nice break in Maine while Jeffrey and I flew across the country to Washington to spend a week visiting with my Dad and Sheila. Hopefully the hot weather covering most of the U.S. will start to cool off a little before we return to Maine and start driving south!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If you aren't notified by email when we post new blog updates but would like to be in the future, click this link:
