Jim's Place

Hello to you all,
I am parked at the Twisted Horseshoe; Jim's place. It is by the RD airport.....I can watch the small planes and helicopters take off. Jim hooked me up to water and sewer and that is all I need.

I have been just resting the last few days. I went through 3 time changes going east and again going west and that really seemed to take the wind out of my sails.

It is difficult to think that my adventure is about done. I could go on for a long time yet. All things worked out well and I met some wonderful people and saw many different things.

The weather has been warm and sunny, but the weatherman is predicting rain/snow tomorrow and a high of 9C, which I can live with.

I have to look for work and get back into the world of sleep, eat and work.

Home

5:53 PM 10/04/2009
I am now in North Bay, Ontario. I am rather glad to be out of Quebec. Although it is a beautiful historic province, it is nice to get news in English and to be able to read signs; any signs. I found the people there to be very friendly and helpful. It was also cold there. My old roommate, Pascal, told me it was very cold there and he is correct. I drove right through Montreal, keeping my eyes glued to the highway so didn't see much of any thing there. I also drove right through Ottawa. I would have liked to see the Parliament Building, but being Easter weekend everything is closed.

I got here on hwy 17, which in these parts is the Trans-Canada. It gives a whole new meaning to the term "shake, rattle and roll". I hope it improves as I continue.

6:05 PM 12/04/2009
The road did improve. I drove as far as I could yesterday, finally spending the night at a truck stop in Wawa (so called because of all the geese). It was a very scenic route. I saw both Lake Huron and Lake Superior. They are the bluest blue! I would call them royal blue. There were watch for moose signs all along the route. I didn't see any moose, but I saw a huge black bear on a rocky ledge by the highway. Today I drove as far as Dryden. I have been quite taken since re-entering Canada at how much forested area there is in our country.

I drove through Manitoba, stopping in Winnipeg. The one tire on my car Kaddie went flat and I was thankful that it happened in a city and not on the hwy. There was a lot of water in the ditches and some fields looked like lakes. I stayed at a truck stop for the night and it was a big mud hole, but I was tired from traveling and happy to park.

The next day I drove as far as Moose Jaw, Sask. and parked at WalMart. I had a great visit with my Uncle Mike and his wife Doreen. I drove through blizzard conditions from Moose Jaw to Swift Current. The radio was giving snow warnings for Maple Creek and I was undecided on whether to continue on or wait it out. I spoke to a couple who suggested I continue on as the snow was to last for 2 days. Presently the highway was warm and the snow was melting as it hit, but by tomorrow the roads could be iced up making travel impossible. I took their suggestion and arrived in Strathmore, which is where I sit to add to my blog.

It has been a wonderful experience and I hope I will get to do this once again, although for a shorter period of time. Thank you to all who have sent encouraging emails and comments to my blog. I will write again once I am settled.

Quebec City

Hi Everyone,

If you want to get really, really lost, go to Quebec City. I did a self tour of the old historic district. After awhile, I couldn't find my way back to where I had parked. I stopped and asked several people and showed them the map and where I was parked, but the streets run at an angle to the main street and the buildings all start to look the same.

However, it is a beautiful city. It is of course, very, very old. People have compared it to Europe and I can see the comparison.

It is still chilly here and has been raining all day without a break. I dressed warm as I found I was cold yesterday. We had some sleet last evening, but my propane is full and I was toasty warm. Tomorrow I will be heading west.

It is difficult to find your way in Quebec as all the signs are in French only. I have "cereal-box French" and can decipher some signs, but certainly not all of them. It can be rather dangerous on the highway when there is a warning sign and I don't have a clue what it says!

Peggy's Cove

Yesterday I had lunch at Peggy's Cove. It was very windy and cold there, but the place was very busy with tourists. The waves were crashing into the rocks and I thought that I certainly wouldn't want to live there in the winter months. It must be extremely harsh. It was a very scenic drive, lots of small fishing villages off curving roads.

I have been learning that one could spend a month or more just seeing the Maritimes. I have been doing a lot of driving and decided to head back to N.B. as N.S. was predicting freezing rain for their area and I didn't want to get caught in that. I am taking a day to get organized and tomorrow I will be heading to Quebec.

Amherst, N.S.

This is as far as I made it this evening. It is a town and I am staying overnight in the old part of the district. I have no desire to be in the new part as they have the same new stores that we have in Alberta.

It was a beautiful day....15 C. The grass is turning green and the snow is almost gone.

I wish to continue on to Halifax tomorrow. The tourist info place was closed by the time I arrived, so tomorrow I will need to get a map so as to find my way around.

Charlottetown, P.E.I.

Hello to you all,

I crossed from N.B. to P.E.I. on a 13 km. bridge.

Here I am enjoying the old part of the city. The first photo is the Confederation Chamber where it all began for us Canadians. There was a peace rally in front of the building while I was there. The second photo is what many of the downtown streets look like here in Charlottetown.

I took the Fundy Drive to get here, but it was so foggy that I couldn't see much. Also, once you get off the main highway the roads are in poor condition. I left my MH at my nephews and just drove down in my car. I am thankful I did that due to the road conditions.

It has been raining off and on all day, but it is warm. I am still appalled by Cdn. prices, as all was so cheap in S. Texas. Restaurant food is double the price! Tomorrow I will leave for Nova Scotia. The Anne of Green Gables property is closed for renovations.

Fredericton, N.B.

Hello fellow Canadians and American friends,

Today I went into Fredericton, to the old part of the city. The first photo was taken at the Legislative Building. It is a stove. I didn't realize that until I walked by and felt the heat. The second building is a museum and one of the very old buildings here. I spent a couple of hours just walking and taking photos. It is a nice day here today and I rather enjoy the cool, fresh air. On the way back I drove into Gagetown to see the army base.

It seems strange to be back in Canada. I now have to watch my speedometer in km., not miles. Also, after 7 months in the U.S. the Cdn. money looks foreign. I converted my Am. dollars today so that I am not losing 20 cents on the dollar. I saved some ones so that I can do my origami dollar bills as tips.

Some of the places I would like to visit are closed until May. I will go to P.E.I. and Nova Scotia and see what is there.

This is a sign I saw on a door:

"This is a push door. You can have it your way and pull, but this door is pretty stubborn."

New Brunswick, Canada

Klip, klop past my MH while parked at WalMart in Lancaster, Penn. This is a sight that you don't see at most WalMarts. At night they rode by with their headlamps aglow and their reflectors shining. I would be fairly nervous if I was an Amish on the highway with cars passing at high speed. I got behind a buggy a few times and had to go really slow until safe to pass.

I was getting nervous about my time in the U.S. as it seems every Canadian had a story to tell about people who over-stayed their welcome and got into hot water. I asked one older couple how the Americans knew you were late getting home. They said a red light goes off at the border and they pull you over and then you are in real trouble. I was already a month overdue. So, I flew through many states until I finally reached northern Maine.

Once I was north I saw (excuse the 4-letter word), SNOW! I only had to go through the Canadian border crossing and saw no American crossing guard at all. The Canadian asked me how long I was in the U.S. and I said, "about 6 months". He asked me if I had anything to declare and I didn't. He then asked me if I was traveling alone and I said yes. He looked at my passport and waved me through. SO MUCH FOR ALL THE HORROR STORIES.

I arrived in Oromocto, N.B. where my nephew, Chris, and his family live. Chris is in the armed forces and stationed at Gagetown. I called their number at about 2 pm. and left a message that I was at Cdn. Tire. When they got home from work they didn't check for messages until almost 10 pm. when Chris saw the light flashing on his phone. He then rushed to Cdn. Tire and so I am now parked at their place. His wife, Patti is a real sweetheart and their two children are a joy.

I am not sure how long I will be here. The week-end is supposed to be extremely warm, so let's hope that transpires.