New England States

We crossed over to the United States on September 4, 2007. The next day we were enjoying Acadia National Park on the southern shores of Maine. Acadia is actually on an island, and is one of the most-visited parks in the US. We started our visit getting the background of the park in the Visitor Center. It was a favorite retreat for the wealthy, like the Rockefellers. We drove the Loop Road, first ascending Cadillac Mountain, which at 1530 feet in elevation is the highest mountain along the America eastern coast. Imagine the views from there....ocean and islands all around. We continued our tour at Sand Beach, which is the only sandy beach in the park. The kids attest that the water was too cold to actually go swimming, but they had lots of fun jumping in the waves. Morgan also collected crabs. Thunder Hole is where the in-coming tide makes a roaring sound in an alcove in the rocks. We didn't get the full effect of this as the tide was low. We continued around the loop seeing Otter Cove and Jordan Pond. The scenery was beautiful. We also went to two ranger programs while we were in the park: one slide show about the history of the national parks service, and one called a 'hawk watch' where we sat on Cadillac Mountain with binoculars and identified the birds in the air. We learned a lot at both programs.

Morgan, Elise, and Mason were ready for some "fun" after the last weeks driving and site-seeing. So, they spent some time in the pool, which they loved. We also had lots of fun playing a few rounds of mini-golf at the "Pirate's Cove". That was probably the coolest mini-golf course we've ever been on. :)

From Maine, we moved west into New Hampshire, and camped along the Kancamagus Highway which is famous for its colorful fall foliage. We were abit early, but the leaves were actually starting to change color. And what a beautiful location. The biggest thrill for the kids was when we stopped at a river where swimming was allowed. It was a hot, hot day, and you can imagine that we didn't get any farther for hours to come. The waterfall was fun to sit under, and the kids jumped off the rocks into the water. I'm sure they would have been happy to stay there for weeks. :)

The next morning, we explored our first covered bridge of the trip. It was really neat. We also hiked to some gorgeous waterfalls in rock gorges. We took in the views from the summit of Mount Kancamagus before descending and leaving the White Mountain National Forest. We recommend this area to anyone travelling in Hew Hampshire.

Our next major stop was just as we entered the state of Vermont. Queche (pronounce Kwee-chee) Gorge, in over a mile long and 165 feet deep. The hike down to the river accentuated the heat of the day, but well-worth it.

Another highlight in Vermont was the New England Maple Museum. We sure learned a lot about maple syrup. For example, it takes about 40 gallons of maple sap to make one gallon of syrup. Also, one tree can yield about 16 quarts of sap in one day. At the 'free sample' room we tasted a variety of maple products: syrups, jams, salsa, cookies, candy. A person can sure gain weight there. :) It was also the funnest gift shop we've come across on the trip so far. It's fun to have fun. :)

New Brunswick

Since we already spent some time in New Brunswick (including going to Murray Corner where my grandfather came from), we didn’t spend much more time in that province, after leaving Nova Scotia. However, what we experienced in those short days was wonderful.

We spent a couple of days along the shores of the Bay of Fundy. This bay is world-famous for its tremendous difference between high and low tide. We saw a

fantastic demonstration of this at the mushroom-shaped ‘flower pot’ formations of Hopewell Rocks. First we strolled along the ocean floor while the tide was out. The way that the ocean has eroded the rocks there is very picturesque, but one doesn’t get the full effect of it unless the tide is low. We took several photos of the neat formation. Then, to understand the significance of the tide, we returned at high tide. We discovered that while we were there, for some reason, the tide was even more extreme than usual, raising an astounding 44 feet!

Why are there such extreme tidal differences in the Bay of Fundy? Well, apparently it is because of the gradual funneling of the shorelines from the bay’s mouth to its end, and also due to the bay becoming gradually shallower at the same time. It is somewhat like the high water one can make when sloshing water from one end of the bathtub to the other.

We drove through Fundy National Park and then headed toward Fredericton. We camped at Mactaquac Provincial Park, near a dammed lake. The next day we drove a few more miles to a place called Kings Landing. It is a town made up of many of the old homes that were relocated before the dam flooded them. The resulting historic settlement is wonderful. We strolled through the homes, and listened to the historical interpreters explain the history of the houses. They also gave us many demonstrations of weaving, spinning, dying wool, grinding grain at the grist mill, and sawing logs with a water-powered saw. One thing that also made the day special was meeting a very friendly and encouraging family from Maine. Special people are a real blessing on this trip.

Nova Scotia

Once we returned from Newfoundland, we stayed on Cape Breton Island (Nova Scotia) for several days and went touring on day trips. One of our excursions took us to the Fortress of Louisbourg, which was France’s capital settlement in the colony of Atlantic Canada in 1744. I was surprised to discover that Canada was much more desirable to France as a source for cod than it was for furs. At the fortress, costumed interpreters described life in the colony. I wouldn’t have enjoyed being a soldier, although the firing of the long rifles was interesting for Morgan and Mason. Elise was thrilled with the opportunity to knit a few rounds for one of the interpreters, while the lady explained how to weave a willow basket to Allan and me. We also saw some wonderful examples of historic costumes.

Next we toured around the Cabot Trail, with beautiful ocean scenes from the cliffs of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. The boys had fun scaling the rocks on either side of Mary Ann Falls, but probably enjoyed Black Sand Beach the best, where we stopped for a picnic. Farther around the Trail we strolled through the 350-year old hardwood forest at the Lone Shieling (a crofter’s cottage). It truly was a fantastic day.

One of the stops I appreciated the most on Cape Breton was going to the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site. Sure, he was the man who invented the telephone. But did you know that Alexander Graham Bell also invented the hearing aid, desalination systems to help stranded sailors make fresh water from sea-water, a metal detector, new wing designs for the up-and-coming airplanes of the time, and also a high-speed hydrofoil boat? He also worked with Helen Keller and her teacher Annie Sullivan. He was an amazing man.

From Cape Breton, we headed to Halifax, where we toured the Citadel of the city. The fortress was truly impenetrable in its day, due in part to its star shape. The soldiers in kilts displayed their marching capabilities for us, and we witnessed the firing of the noon canon, as well as a bagpipe and drum concert. We saw where the dreaded Halifax Explosion took place during World War I, and also saw Theodore Tugboat (from the CBC’s children’s program) plying the waters of the harbor.

We found the scenery of Nova Scotia to be awe-inspiring, and would love to return one day.

Newfoundland

From Prince Edward Island we drove directly through Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island to get to the Newfoundland ferry. The kids and I found the 6-hour crossing to be abit hard on the constitution, but Allan had fun acting like the drunken sailor, weaving from one side of the aisle to the other.

We took a rest day in Corner Brook, and did a day-trip out along the Captain Cook Trail, that borders the Bay of Islands. Captain James Cook surveyed the area in 1767. The scenery was beautiful, with the many islands in the water.

Next, we drove up the Viking Trail to the north, on the western side of the island. We drove through the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Gros Morne National Park, and after 4 or 5 more hours of driving, we found ourselves at the northern tip of Newfoundland. We stayed at Viking RV Park, which got us in the mood for another UNESCO World Heritage Site: L'Anse Aux Meadows. This is the where Norsemen established a settlement in North America around the year 1000 A.D. It was a fabulous site, and the National Park rangers were wonderful at giving us the background of the place: how it was discovered, details about the archaeological dig, and the items discovered that prooved that this was a genuine Norse site.

Later we drove for a half hour to St. Anthony and sat on the cliff for an hour. We managed to see a far-off iceberg (although it was past their season), and a couple of whales swimming by, as well as a couple of pods of porpoises. A real thrill.

On our way back south down the peninsula, we stopped at a provincial park called the Arches. Here we saw how the ocean carved out holes in the rocks, and formed archways. The boys loved climbing all over the rocks.

We returned to the main body of Newfoundland and took a few days to drive along the Trans Canada Highway to St. Johns (first exploring around Twillingate Peninsula). At St. Johns, the colorful houses are a site to see. We learned the history of Signal Hill, and its importance during the World Wars, and also as the point where Marconi received the first trans-Atlantic radio-wave transmissions in 1901.

No trip to St. Johns is complete without a stop at Cape Spear, the eastern-most point of land in the Western Hemisphere. We took the appropriate tourist photos, and also toured the historic lighthouse on the cape.

It was time to leave Newfoundland, so we drove across the island again, stopping at the Joey Smallwood view point at Gambo. (Joey Smallwood was the man who brought Newfoundland into Confederation in 1949.) The ferry-crossing back to Nova Scotia was much calmer, and I enjoyed standing at the bow and trying to catch photos of the many pods of porpoises that crossed our path. Alas, they were all too fast, but it was a fun way to end our trip to the wonderful province of Newfoundland. :)