A Quieter Week

This past week or so has been fairly quiet.  Mike had a really bad sunburn and that kept us pretty close to home for a few days.  Lots of Benadryl and lots of aloe and a few days later it was easing up.

We also ended up with a broken bedroom window.  While out one day; the maintenance guy came and used an electric weed eater on a rock bed.  You guessed it, rocks went flying everywhere… including through our window. 

Liz, the manager, got on it right away to have it replaced; but the promises of tomorrow never came.  After almost a week; she had it replaced herself.  We wanted to be here; so there was lots of sitting around time.

Some of you have asked how my foot is doing.  The x-rays that I had done in July showed that I had 2 plantar spurs, one on the bottom of my foot and the other on my Achilles tendon. 

After waiting almost 5 months to see a specialist, she told me that I had Achilles tendonitis and there wasn’t much that I could do.  Because we left shortly after seeing her, there wasn’t any time to pursue another opinion.  I will look into in this spring when we get home.

Despite my foot hurting most of the time; I don’t let it stop me much; and have walked up the mountain a couple of times already.  And lots of bike riding too.  The bike is great for my heel; but kills my knees when starting off.  And the walking is hard on my heel; but easy on my knees… oh this getting old sucks!

I also had an cervical ablation at the end of November; and all I can say on this subject is; that it’s worse than I thought it was going to be; but better than it was.  Will also be looking into the next step on that when we get home.

So, this past week of lots of down time worked well.

We met another Canadian, who is from London, Ontario, of all places.  And his house is out our back room.  His name is Phil; and he took us up to his friends place in the mountains the other day.  Really nice place, but I certainly wouldn’t want the responsibility.  Also just a tad out of the way.

And on Saturday afternoon, we got a cab and headed up the highway to Hermossa, where there’s a weekly surfing competition.  About 50 surfers strutting their stuff and hoping for the perfect wave.

The beach is really close to the surf and it made for a fun afternoon.  Had dinner at the Backyard (the restaurant that sponsors the competition).  They had some live music playing and it was a great way to spend a day.

We’ve also played in the waves quite a few times.  Apparently the ocean is pretty calm these days, but it’s perfect for us. 

And yesterday Mike and I went to the beach where Joey was fishing.  As we were setting up our chairs, 5 macaws flew by.  There were 2 pairs and a single.  They seemed a little confused and flew amongst the tall buildings like they had never seen them there.

Turning back, they met up with another pair of macaws and the 7 of them flew around, squawking up a storm and showing off their brilliant colours.  A little while later, I was walking along the shore; when I saw all 7 of the same macaws land in a tree just up from me!  How often does that happen to a Canadian girl?  Not very.

I headed on over and the 7 of them were in the tree, just a squawking away and having a feast on the almonds.  If you weren’t careful walking under the tree, you could have ended up with one or two being bounced off your head. 

Feel free to click here to look at our pictures.

A Busy Week in Jaco

It’s been a busy week.  Joey and his friend John picked us up around 6:00 am on Tuesday morning and off to the turtle sanctuary we went.  We were the only ones there; and there was a bucket of baby turtles waiting to be released to the ocean.

Out of a 100 eggs that are hatched, only 20 successfully make it to the ocean and only 1 out of those makes it back to the same beach to lay eggs.  Because of the sanctuary, their numbers are now 90% make it to the ocean.  The study hasn’t been going long enough to know how many make it back to the beach.

It was pretty cool to watch and learn.  And it was pretty cool to see all these baby turtles making it to the ocean.  Some would get pretty far and then a wave would come along and wash them back to the starting point.  And only 1 got snatched by a hawk. 

Back to the vehicle we went to get the guys surfboards and a belly board for Mike.  And for the next few hours, I watched the guys surfing and the waves and lots and lots of pelicans flying along the waves.  Great way to spend a morning.

On Wednesday we hopped on our bikes and drove to the South end of Jaco, locked the bikes at a gas station and started a climb up the mountain.  Wasn’t long before we came to a nice resting place and enjoyed the view of Jaco below.

Continued on up and up and up.  Finally near the top, we found a trail that lead us to an old hotel ruins.  The owners must have put a small fortune into this place.  There was a stone wall along the road, etched with lots of animals, etc.  And then the structure itself was pretty amazing.

Apparently the owners were going to bus people up to this fancy resort overlooking Jaco; but the idea never flew; and apparently the owner died a few years ago.  What a shame, but it was a nice find for us.

On Thursday with tired, aching muscles, we headed off to the grocery store.  Along the way stopped and said hello to Herman and asked if he knew of a good masseuse… what a surprise.. He did!  Herman is the “go to” guy.  He knows lots of people and has lots of friends.  And if you are looking for something, he’s the guy to go to.  Handy to have people like that down here.

We got our groceries, and got back to the condo to have lunch before our masseuse showed up.  Actually there was 2 of them and it turned out that we didn’t have to flip a coin to see who went first.  First time in 16 years that Mike and I enjoyed a massage side by side.  It was wonderful!

Friday, we headed off to the beach with chairs and towels.  We rode our bikes to the North end of the beach, locked the bikes together at the river and off we went.  Never had been to this end of the beach before; and it was pretty nice and quiet.

Found ourselves a nice place to swim and watch waves crashing over the rocks.  A few hours later, we had to cross the same river, but forgot about the incoming tide.  Ended up with water to our waists; but that why you wear bathing suits to the beach : ))

Later that afternoon, we headed to the extreme South end of the beach; Joey was heading out fishing, so we went along.  Had a nice long stroll on the beach and was again entertained by a beautiful sunset.

And last night; to round out a great week; we went Salsa dancing with Joey and Eida and their girls and their friends.  I know what a shocker!!!  And to be honest with you; we did a lot more watching of other people dancing then we actually danced.  But Joey and his persistence, actually got me and then Mike up on the dance floor.  We had a great time!

And because of all the sun we got the day before, we both fell into bed around 2:30 last night with our skin on fire.  Mike looks like he’s a lobster today.  And I’m sure that he’ll end up with a hive or two over this.

Feel free to click here to look at our pictures.

Happy New Year!

Since the last blog; we’ve seen a turtle laying eggs; bought a bike; and celebrated a new year.

Early this past week, we were at the beach and had just found a log to put our feet up on, when a man came up to us and told us that a turtle was laying eggs further up the beach. 

We hopped on our bikes and went over to have a look.  There were lots of people there to watch; and he told me about some of the process.  Apparently she can be hours, and hours laying  anywhere from 60 to 100 eggs. 

When she’s done, she covers up the eggs with sand, and heads on back to the ocean.  It’s up to the babies, once hatched, to make it to the ocean themselves. 

Mike and Joey got to help move some babies to the ocean on New Years Eve day, but no pictures as he didn’t have the camera.  They were heading to get wood for our fire and stopped at the turtle sanctuary.  We’re hoping to get there sometime this week.

Joe, our neighbour from Indiana, decided to head home early; and sold us his bike for $60; and is it ever nice to have a bike to get around this town.  We can get just about anywhere within a few minutes… the grocery store; the beach; restaurants… you name it, and it’s an easy ride.

The bikes that we have are called “beach” cruisers.  No gears… only go as fast as the user; and when you want to stop; pedal backwards.  They have wide tires, and are great for riding on the beach. 

We’ve only taken a cab a couple of times, usually from the grocery store.  It costs 570 colones which is $1.35 to open the door; and by the time we arrive at the condo a few blocks up, it’s still at 570 colones.  I usually give the driver 700 which is about $1.40... Pretty cheap!

We took our bikes up to our old neighbourhood one day this week.  Only got a short ways up the hill before we had to get off and walk the bikes up.  Don’t miss that hill… at all! 

The place looked the same and we stopped in to say hello to Michael.  He and a few guys developed the whole area; and he also helped to call a cab for us when I needed medical attention last year.  Very nice man, and he was really happy to see us. 

Then on New Years Eve, we headed over to Papas & Burgers for a late dinner, before heading over to the beach to meet up with Joey & Eida for New Years Eve celebrations.  We had been eating turkey since Christmas Day, turkey pieces at lunch, turkey sandwiches for supper, then when the meat was done, turkey soup.  And even though we both really like turkey, we both really wanted something different.

There were probably 40 in our group; their daughters and all of their friends; plus lots of Americans and Tico‘s.  Joey had a separate fire for a grill; and during the night; hot dogs, fish and corn were on the grill.

Of course, we just blended in to the 1000’s of other people that were out there.  First time in mine or Mike’s life to spend New Years on a beach; and it’s something that we won’t forget for a long time.

Some of you will remember me talking about the fireworks from last year.  Started shortly after 6pm and stopped somewhere around 5 in the morning.  At midnight there were so many fireworks going off that you didn’t know where to look… Well, it wasn’t quite as long, or as many this year; but boy oh boy, what a show!

Like I said, there were 1000’s of people on the beach; didn’t matter where you looked, there were groups of people.  Playing music, beach fires blazing… some of them were massive!  And of course at midnight the beach was just lit up in all directions.

People cheering, whistling, horns beeping… what a sight!  And yes, Mike and I even got a bottle of Malibu rum to sip on for the night… I know what a shocker eh?!

We finally gave up and headed home just before 2 and were in bed by 2:30.  What a night!  We hope that all of you had also had a memorable, New Years Eve.  And we want to wish all of our family, friends and followers a safe, healthy and happy 2012!

Feel free to click here to look at our pictures.

Christmas Week

Monday afternoon, we had a full house of teenagers over to help bake shortbread cookies.  Kayleen and Jessica are Joey and Eida’s teenage daughters and they and their friends, Diana and Joshua came over to help.

It was an interesting baking experience, as we don’t have a lot of tools to use here.  The batter takes about an hour to cool in the fridge before you can bake; and during this time, I gave the 3 girls French manicures.  They loved them!

I found out though; that with 4 teenagers helping you bake, there weren’t a lot of cookies at the end; but we all had a lot of fun.  In fact, Jessica wants to get together again real soon to bake cakes.

Unfortunately, because the butter and flour are so different here; the cookies were good; but not near as good as what we make at home.

We are located right behind the main park in Jaco; and there have been lots of activities going on there lately.  On Tuesday, we heard music and lots of voices; and walked over in the afternoon.

There was a very long, slow moving line of very well behaved children.  Figured they must have been waiting to see Santa, cause where else would that many children behave so well for so long.  I was right.

Because we are so close to the beach; we’ve headed over 3 or 4 times already for sunsets.  Much nicer to live this close to the main part of town than tucked away up on the mountain.

Thursday night, we headed over to Joey and Eida’s for a visit.  She made a delicious pork appetizer called chicirona’s and we shared a Christmas drink.  Along the way, we stopped and wished a few of our friends a Feliz Navidad and gave them maple candies and chocolate loonies… they were a big hit and I felt like Santa for a few minutes.

Before we left home; we bought a few “truly Canadian” presents.  A micky of Canadian Club; a bottle of 100% pure maple syrup; hard maple candies; chocolate loonies; a deck of cards with a map of Canada on the back; and a set of Canadian coins.  From the penny right up to the toonie; all made in 2011, so nice and shiny and new.

We gave Joey/Eida the bottle of Canadian Club the night they picked us up; and it turns out they liked it so much; that while in Panama earlier this week; they bought a bottle at the boarder.

And today, we cooked an old fashioned North American turkey dinner, complete with all the trimmings; and shared it with our new  friends Bob and Sherry from  B.C. and Joe from Indiana.

It was very tasty and the 5 of us enjoyed a nice evening together.  We bought the turkey a few days ago; and got the smallest one we could… turned out to be almost 20lbs.  Thank goodness we like turkey leftovers.

The past 4 days have seen little to no rain; and today was hot and sunny.  Glad that the turkey was being cooked at Joe’s place and not ours.  

We would like to take this time to wish all of our family and friends a very Merry Christmas!  It was great to talk to so many of you today.

Feel free to take a look at our pictures.

Now that we have a “home”; this past week has just flown past.

We live in a “gringo” area of our complex.  The first condo are Bob and Sherry from Salmon Arm, BC.  Behind them is Liz, a Canadian ex-pat from Alberta.  Then us; attached to us and to the left is Joe from Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Liz owns her unit; and manages the other 3.  The owner of our unit usually doesn't rent; but his health is not good; and he's not coming down this year; and since we're "friends" of Liz's, he agreed.  The cable was hooked up a few days ago; and is included in the rent.  We also have free wi-fi from the park that's in front of our condo.

We all get along really well; and it’s nice to have English speaking neighbours all around us.  On our 3rd day here; Liz got out her Ladder Golf game and Liz and I took on Joe and Mike. 

We had good old fashioned Christmas music playing; and Liz had her Santa hat on.  It was a lot of fun.  If it ever stops raining; we’ll play again I’m sure.

We have the most “equipped” condo out of the group.  And it’s quite nice.  And even came with a bike.  We’ve borrowed Joe’s a few time; and it’s great to be able to pedal around town.  A little wobbly at first; but I’ve got my bike legs back again.

We're getting used to only having hot water in the shower.  Most Tico homes do not have hot water; so dishes and hand washing is cool.  To get hot water in the showers; most Tico's have rigged up something called a "suicide shower".  There's an electrical heating element above the shower head, which the water passes through before coming out.  Most people don't mix water and electricity; but sometimes you do as the locals and don't ask too many questions.

We also really love living so close to the town.  Very convenient to get to the grocery store; go out for dinner; or down to the beach for a sunset.  We’ve only been to the beach twice; as it’s done an awful lot of raining here since arriving.  We’re still at the tail end of the rainy season; but still mid to high 20’s daily.  And very humid.

We had a couple of close calls relating to wallets.  Last Saturday after picking up all of our stuff from Joey/Eida’s we took a cab to our new place.  Since they didn’t know us at the gate; they wouldn’t let us in until we showed some I.D. 

I had taken my wallet out to pay the driver; and when I got out to go talk to the guard, I dropped it.  Thankfully he wanted to see my passport; and when it wasn’t in my purse, or pocket, I panicked, for just a bit… there it was lying on the road… phew!!! Needless to say I’ve been extra vigilant since.

A few days later, Joe left his wallet on the table at Rustico’s after his breakfast.  Didn’t notice until hours later.  Tore his place apart before panic set in.  Went to Rustico’s… just in case… and luckily for him; a worker cleared his table shortly after he left; and they had it for him; money intact; at the cash register.  Talk about both of us getting lucky.

We biked over to the clinic to say hi to Dr. Brenda; but she’s moved on and no longer works there.  Also our favorite pharmacist David (he helped us last year when we had the parasites) is no longer there; and Sadie, one of the sisters who owns Rustico’s; is now working in San Jose. 

But our friends Herman, Jose, Chris and Joey and Edia are still around.  Felt like old homecoming week around here the first few days.  Lots of smiles; hugs and handshakes from people who remembered us from the spring.

Mike has used the pool a couple of times; I’m waiting for a bit more.  But there hasn’t been too many hot sunny days yet.  Also not near as private as the last year’s but no stairs… yay!

Feel free to click here to look at our pictures.

A Catch Up

I know that it’s been forever since I last wrote a blog; so bare with me if this one is a little long.

We arrived back from our East coast trip middle of August; and the rest of the summer just seemed to fly by.  Lots of dinners; cards and campfires with family and friends.

Then some sadness settled in on Mike’s family.  We lost 3 of his beloved Aunts, Jeanette, Claire and Marie since the end of August.  All 3 were loving, caring, happy women; and all 3 will be missed.  Also in September, Mike’s brother Rob lost his battle.  We had a celebration of his life in October.  His life was way too short; but he’s in a better place now.

Amongst all the sadness though, was lots of laughter.  Sharing memories and stories.  And although the circumstances weren’t great, it was really nice to see so many family members and friends.

We both also had surgeries since my last posting.  Mike’s hernia surgery went off without a hitch in early October, and he’s completely healed from it.  Then I had a surgical procedure on November 29th and that caused our delay in leaving for the South.

This past week has been pretty caotic to say the least.  On Sunday we had a Christmas get together with Mike’s family; then busy packing on Monday; closed up and winterized the rig on Tuesday.  Had dinner with my folks in London; then off to Toronto early Wednesday morning (thanks again Dad, we really appreciated the ride!).

Wednesday was a very long travel day, but we arrived safely at the Best Western Irazu in San Jose around 10 pm.  Our friend Joey picked us up the next day and we drove through downtown San Jose to pick up his wife Eida and daughter.

There were literally 1000’s of people roaming the street complete with the crazy drivers.  Glad that I was a passenger.  We then stopped at Pricesmart (Costco) and picked up a few items that we knew we would be needing.  Ended up getting a double bag of cereal for free!  3 different people to check you out; and all 3 missed it sitting clearly in the cart… thanks!

We then took the scenic way home and stopped at a quaint little Soda (tico food) restaurant.  It was in the middle of nowhere; but the food was good and the ambience was amazing.

The owners family has had this property tucked away on a mountainside for over 100 years.  They run the Soda; and have livestock, orange trees and sugar cane out back.  She toured us around and it was very interesting.  Much more personal than Gray Line, thanks again Joey and Eida for picking us up.

We found a hostel to spend the night; and off to Papa’s & Burgers we went for yet another delicious burger.  The hostel was pretty bare bones, but cleanish and safe.

Friday and most of Saturday we spent walking up and down main street; talking to anybody that had a condo for rent sign.  We ended up back at the hostel for yet a 2nd night; and things were looking grim.  Off to Rustico’s we went for dinner, and it was just as good as we remembered.

By late Friday afternoon, we had met up with our old friend Herman; and he took us to see a couple of potentials; but nada.  Next day, we finally met Liz and she had a place, but only til the end of this month.  Well it was the most decent place we had seen and affordable to boot.  We grabbed it.

Found out just an hour or so ago; that the owner isn’t coming down this year; and if we want it; it’s ours til May… yay!  We’re a couple of blocks from the beach and right off main street.  Minutes from our friends business and restaurants. 

Glad to be settled.  The condo is cleaned and we’re all unpacked.  Even went and got a few groceries today; so we’re good to go.

Last night there was a horse parade down main street.  Started at 6 pm, only about 3 hours later than advertised… that’s tico time.  About 150-200 horses walked, danced and pranced down main street.
1000’s of people lining the side; Salsa music playing.  It was pretty cool to watch. 

And tonight, we had a first sunset at the beach… ahhh the life!

Feel free to click here to take a look at some pictures.

The Last Few Days in Nova Scotia

We’ve spent the past 2 days watching the tide go out; then come in; then go out; and then in again.  Aaah!  What a life.

We found a nice little campground and pitched our tent about 20 feet from the Tatamagouche Bay in Broule, Nova Scotia.  And since we had packed up a little on the damp side, the open space with lots of wind and a sunny sky was a welcome sight for us.

In short order we had the tent set up; but before we put the fly on; we used the poles to hang all our linens; to either dry them out or give things a chance to freshen up a bit.

And then we just sat back, relaxed and enjoyed the view in front of us.  We have been pleasantly surprised with amazing sunsets while out East.  We thought for sure that we would have to get up pretty early to see some spectacular sunrises; but that hasn’t been the case.

The first night there; once the tide had gone out; with the aid of binoculars, you could see all kinds of seals.  Playing and cavorting with each other.  The next morning; the tide had gone out again; and with just your eyes; you could see all kinds of seals sunning themselves on the exposed rocks.  As the tide came in, they would seek other places, or just start swimming around again.

There was also a family of 4 who went in swimming just in front of us; and they had a couple of seals swimming not far from them.  The water was pretty cold; but we did manage to wade around in it for a bit.  Not hearty enough to actually swim in it though.

When Mike went to the office to get wood; he asked where there was a nice place for seafood in town.  The workers response was the Chatter House.  A few hours later, when heading out; we stopped and checked with the fire guy to make sure that we were on his list (as they delivered the wood to your site); and asked him about this Chatter House; told us it was good; and about 10 minutes away.  So off to Tatamagouche we went.

Driving through the town, we often read out loud names of places, especially when we're looking for a particular place.  Within a few minutes, we passed the Chowder House.  Hmmm, could both of the workers meant the Chowder House and not the Chatter House?  Turns out that the accents here are a little strong; and yup, the Chowder House was what they meant; and it was very tasty.  No lobster; but scallops and a seafood bake instead.  I told our server the story; and she got a laugh out of it.

Also the past few nights; after being awed by incredible sunsets; within short order a yellow/orange moon can be seen on the low horizon… nice.

Today, we left Nova Scotia; with a little sadness.  I totally fell in love with this beautiful province; and if it wasn’t so darn cold in the winters and so far away from our families/friends; might even consider buying out here.

We are now in Miramichi, New Brunswick.  We followed the Acadian Coastal Trail for most of today, we can’t seem to get enough of the coast.  And are currently set up in a quiet little park, far off the highway.

Feel free to click here to take a look a some more of Nova Scotia’s beauty.

A Few Days at the Tip of the Cabot Trail

The past few days have been filled with lots more of Nova Scotia’s beauty.  We headed up the Cabot Trail on Thursday morning; and unfortunately it was very foggy and misty.  And we didn’t get to see very much of the breathtaking views that it’s known for world wide.

We did however, arrive at the Jumping Mouse campground right on the tip of the trail at Bay St. Lawrence.  Our sister-in-law Rosie, has 2 sisters who live on Cape Breton Island.  Marg and her husband Fred own the campground; and have a beautiful place to call home. 

Shortly after arriving and setting up; we headed down to the harbour to give Fred a hand preparing their sailboat.  Within a short time Fred, Ken and Mike had a lot of the gear set and ready to go.  The sailboat hadn’t been used in 7 years and there was a lot of prep work to be done; before Fred, Marg and Ken headed out for a sail.

We got an unexpected sail on Friday; Fred wanted to give the boat a “shake down” cruise; and we were quite happy to oblige.  The day was beautiful; and it felt good to have the wind from the Atlantic blowing you along… nice.

On Friday, we met Rosie’s other sister, Claudia and her partner Rejean.  Nice couple and we helped them pick berries for them to bring to the local market to sell on Saturday.

On Sunday, we took a drive over to Meat Cove and the end of the road; literally.  The day was clear; and we were awed by the amazing views.  There’s a campground with a great view of the ocean and just around the corner, you’re in some guys driveway. 

We also got treated to a couple of saunas while here; and both times the heat felt wonderful.  Also enjoyed a full moon and a few fires before it was time to head.

Last night was spent at Cheticamp; a nice place beside a cove; and we finally got to enjoy our first lobster dinner… and mmmm mmmm was it ever tasty. 

Today, was spent driving along the Northumberland coast and we are currently camped about 20 feet from the Tatamagouche Bay… WOW  what a beautiful place.  We plan on spending two days here before we starting slowly heading West.

Overall, we have really enjoyed this trip and are glad that we did it.  Feel free to click here to see some of the beauty we’ve been seeing.

A Beautiful Drive along Nova Scotia's Shore

We packed up and left Sunday from Five Island Provincial Park before the rains started. 

And although it continued to rain steadily for most of the day, we still thoroughly enjoyed driving along the coast of this beautiful province. 

We are both really impressed with how beautifully maintained homes and yards are.  I was under the impression that the East had been hit hard economically; but so far, we haven’t seen any signs of that.

The houses here all seem to be unique; and although most of them seem to be white or beige; once in awhile you come across some outlandish colour.  Fuscia greens, oranges and pinks.  My favourite so far was the pink with green/purple trims.

Some of these houses have absolutely spectacular views.  There are plenty of islands along the coast; and lots of coves.  Mike mentioned that he’s never seen so many names with “cove” as along this coast.  Makes for a very interesting ride.

And curves!  Holy smokes we’ve gone around countless curves.  And although I miss my big, stinky, noisy truck, can’t say that I miss it on this trip.  Much easier to zoom around some of these curves in our Escape than it ever was in the truck.  Also much easier to stop at the side of a road for a picture, or to take in yet another breathtaking view.

After spending 6 months in Costa Rica, I can’t believe how clean things are in Canada.  Don’t think we’ve seen enough garbage along any of the roads to fill a small bag yet; and we’ve come a long way so far. 

Because of the rains on Monday, we totally wuused out and stayed at a B&B.  It was very nice on a quiet road, with the ocean right out the back.  There was also a nice tub, which I totally took advantage of; what a nice way to soak away 5 days of driving.  Our hosts were very nice; and after a hearty continental breakfast, we were on our way.

Part of yesterdays stops included The Bluenose II, unfortunately it’s under re-construction, so other than seeing a whole bunch of scaffolding, there wasn’t much too see.  Next we stopped at the Swiss Air monument, and then on to Peggy’s Cove.  Lots of people at both.  And with Mike’s hernia and my foot, we’re both content to see things from the car.  We do get out and walk short distances to see the things that we need to see, but the emphasis is on short.

Last night we camped in a very quiet campground on Murphy’s Cove (about an hour East of Halifax).  We were at the end of the road, nestled up to the water; and not a another person in sight or hearing range… nice!  And although it’s right on the Atlantic Ocean, we were nicely protected within the cove.

Today's drive was pretty much of the same.  We've been following trail markers and today's was the Marine Trail; oddly we hardly even saw the water today.  We did have to take another short cable ferry and the drive reminded us both of Northern Ontario along Lake Superior.

And after a long day's drive, we are camped at the head of the Cabot Trailer in Baddeck.  We'll head out late tomorrow morning and head for the tip of the trail to the Jumping Mouse Campground, and where our sister-in-law Rosie is house sitting for a while.  Looking forward to it.

All in all it’s been a great tip so far.  Here’s some of the beauty that we've seen so far.  Feel free to take a look. 

Summer of 2011 and East Trip

I’m not sure where the summer of 2011 has gone, but snap your fingers and here it’s already the first week of August.  I don’t know if the time is going faster cause I’m getting older, or I’m getting older cause the time is going so darn fast.

Our busy summer has been spent visiting with family and friends.  We’ve had BBQ’s, get togethers, poker tourney’s and lots of cards nights with Ken and Rosie.  Rosie loves to cook; Ken, Mike and I love to eat whatever it is that she comes up with; and the 4 of us love to play pepper.  It’s a win win situation for all of us.

We’ve also had lots of campfires at our place, but oddly, we’ve only burnt one load of wood so far.  The summer has been so busy, that we decided that it was time for a good old fashioned camping vacation.

So this past Wednesday, after loading up our new escape, we left Strathroy shortly before noon and headed East.  We had pretty heavy rain through Toronto and it wasn’t until around Kingston that it finally eased up.  We spent a night just West of the Quebec boarder.  Within no time at all, we had our camp set up. 

Mike and I haven’t been on a camping trip since the summer of 2004 and it felt pretty good to be spending a night in a tent. 

Thursday we continued along and found our selves in old Quebec City.  There was some kind of festival going on and there were 10’s of 1000’s of people roaming the streets. 

We ended up driving around as much as we could, as there was also a fair amount of construction going on.  After spending a good couple of hours driving around, it was time to head on.  We drove for a few hours more and found a campground for the night. 

The next night we spent in New Brunswick; and arrived in Nova Scotia around noon on Saturday.  Roughly 1900 kilometers from leaving London.  And only 3 ½ tanks of gas. 

The weather has been wonderful so far.  Mid 20’s and today is the first day of rain since leaving on Wednesday. 

We are currently camped beside the Bay of Funday in a place called Parkers Cove.  And we are heading counter clockwise around the province of Nova Scotia; along the coast as much as possible. 

This is my first time here; and Mike hasn’t been here in 40ish years.  It’s absolutely beautiful.  Lush green rolling hills.  Well maintained houses on beautiful lots.  And hardly a piece of garbage anywhere.  Most of yesterday and today were spent driving through the country side and we passed one farmers field after another.  And going through one little quaint village/town after the next.  What a great way to spend the day while driving through a beautiful province. 

We also stopped in at Anne Murray’s center in her hometown of Springhill, NS.  I’ve been a big fan of hers since I was a young girl; and it was pretty neat to walk around, see her history and hear some songs. 

Please click here to see our pictures.