Aug 2008

Those of us in Fredricton headed into Cora's for breakfast. Cora's is a cafe that serves only breadfast with lots of fruit on the plate and several new dishes.

After breakfast we took a guided walking tour of downtown Fredricton. The historical building, built in the early 1700's are still being used as government buildings. At the close of the tour we were at the Parade Grounds and watched the changing of the guard with the RCMP (Mounties). This is a daily occurence sponsored by the New Brunswick government. We drove thru the section of town where the old houses were. These were very huge! All at least 3 stories, some 4. They are still single family homes for the most part.

Time to leave Charlottetown and head back towards the states. Three rigs headed for the CONFEDERATION BRIDGE, and the crossing to New Brunswick. The bridge is nearly nine miles long, finished in 1995, it is the only 'hard' link off the island. There was much opposition to building this, as they thought it would change island life to be able to go and come so easily.

We drove on to Fredericton, the capitol of New Brunswick. Our camp was right on the river with lots of activities taking place. At present we are planning to spend a day here.

Several of the rigs were pulling out to head home. Many hugs and handshakes and good-byes were said as they departed. Others of us are staying another day to explore the east end of the island. Taking the back roads thru the farm country was very scenic. We stopped at Georgetown, a small fishing and ship building village. Not much happening, except the rash of mosquitos. They were everywhere, first we have encounted on the trip. Drove on down to Montaque, a larger village, for lunch and then back to the camp.

Awoke to a bright sunny day on PEI. It was a free day to explore the city and prepare for the evening. Several had breakfast at Cora's, an outstanding cafe. Every dish is served with lots of fruit.

At 4pm the bus took us to a local Parish Hall where we were to be catered for out farewell dinner. Lobster, shrimp and clam chowder, ham and salads were all present.

After dinner we were bussed to the Confederation Theater. Here the musical presentaton of ANNE OF GREEN GABLES was presented. It told the story of Anne and how she came to the house of green gables. The show is the longest running musical in the world, some 44 years.

This is the last formal day of the Tracks Maritime Caravan. Tomorrow several of the people will be leaving PEI and Canada. Others will be staying one or more days. This is the official end of the Maritime Blog.except for photos to follow. However, I will be keeping the blog going with our travels for the next few months. Hopefully I can enter items daily, depending on the availability of wi-fi and internet.

Last official tour of the caravan. Left the campground and headed into the Capitol of Charlottetown. Founded in the early 1600's, this is the origin of the current Canada. Toured the Province House where the representatives of the Maritimes and then Canada (Ontario and Quebec) met to form a union in 1740. Parties, discussions and private talks were held here for over a week. At the end of that time it was agreed upon how and when the current Canada Union would be formed. They met later in Quebec City and then London to sign all the papers. The building in which all this was agreed to is still used by the current leaders when they meet.

A tour in the country to North Rustic and Cavendish showed us the rolling hills and large farms. The prevelant crop is potatoes, with rotation of wheat and hay. Large dairy farms and hog farms also dot the landscape. In Cavendish the house and farm building from which ANNE OF GREEN GABLES was written. These are now part of Parks Canada, with tours and excellent guides explaining all the details.

Last day for a real early get-up. On the road at 0530, heading to the ferry that will take us to Prince Edward island. It is a short drive, but we have to be inline to get a spot. The ferry to PEI is free, the charge is when you leave the island. They have two ferries leaving each side at the same time. About half our group made the first one, the rest, save one, made the second ferry. Once on the island, the drive to Charlottetown (the capitol) was very scenic with the water on one side and farms on the other side of the road.

Drive day from Louisbough to Pictou. This scenic drive took us along the east edge of Bras d'Or Lake, which is actually a sound off of the Atlantic Ocean. We left Cape Breton Island and re-entered the mainland of Nova Scotia, driving to the northern edge and the ferry dock of Pictou. This quaint village was founded by the Scottish back in the early 1700's. It was a fishing port, like all the other coastal towns we have visited. This is the ferry port to head to Prince Edward Island.

Some general information about items seen on the trip. There are many lakes, but they are called ponds. It is only called a lake if you cannot see across it or from one end to the other. French fries are a stable, as potatoes are grown by nearly everyone. Instead of catsup on them, the put gravy. This is actually quite good and very tasty.
All the liquor stores are government owned and operated. The tax on a bottle of spirits is extremely high, thus making the bottle very expensive. The roads are generally very rough, not with potholes but with dips. The road looks smooth and whammo, you hit bottom on the air bags and then remember to slow down.

Tour day in Louisbourg. The fortress at Louisbourg was built by the French, taken by the British a couple times and finally totally destroyed by the British. For the French it was a very important fortress for getting fish (cod) to send back to France. In its time, over 30,000,000 pounds were sent over the Atlantic for consumption by the French people. The area was totally destroyed and the building were torn down and used for construction other places in Nova Scotia. In the early 1900's it was decided by the Canadian government to restore the area as a make work project for the coal miners. When originally built, there were three copies of all the plans. These were found, along with personal notes and letters. About 20% of the original was built on the same exact sites. Tours are given explaining the houses and buildings. Some of the buildings, such as the bakery, are still producing bread products.
It is a very interesting site; you can imagine all the activites taking place and the harbour full of ships. The period year of 1740 was chosen as the active year.

In the evening we went to the local theater for a musical production of Cape Breton songs and folklore. Lots of hoots, hollering, and foot stomping, along with hand clapping took place. It was a great show!

Up at 0430 and ready to roll at 0515, as we head to the ferry dock at Port aux Basques. Schedule departure time was 0800, but that was greatly delayed until 1100. We boarded the ferry and headed for Sydney, Nova Scotia. The crossing was much rougher than the last because of weather. Not much to see as the fog was right on the deck for the first part of the trip. As we neared Sydney, the waters smoothed and the clouds lifted some. After leaving the ferry we drove to Louisbourg. By the time we arrived at the campground the sun was starting to shine.

Todays drive took us down the southwest coast of Newfoundland to Grand Codroy. The ocean views were spectacular, in between the rain showers. At the campground the group held a potluck. The food was outstanding, with several choices. It was an early bed night as the next day we had a 0430 alarm.