Canadian Maritimes 2019

I have been blessed with good weather for most of my trip but the rain began coming down hard the morning I was only a day's drive from home. I had told Brenda, my sitter, that I would not be back until Thursday the 8th so I couldn't very well show up a day early. I crossed back into Canada at the 1000 Islands bridge and again the Canadian border officials were so friendly and just asked where I was from, how long had I been gone and did I purchase anything. Easy peasy. The weather continued to rain on and off for an hour or so. I kept looking for campgrounds but didn't see any. I have to admit that I didn't look too hard. My GPS said I'd be home by 6:00 pm and yet I couldn't go home. I called Jim Burns and asked him how he felt about me "camping" in his driveway. I knew he'd be fine with the idea so I redirected my route to his place. They were making some tasty homemade pizzas. Penny did a simple salad. The weather in Bracebridge was dry, su...

Every time I go away, I reach a point in the last few days of the trip when all I care about is being home. I woke to what seems like endless sunshine. The site they had me in did not have a sewer hookup so I had to stop by their "dump station" to empty my black and grey tanks. For the uninitiated, the black tank holds waste from the toilet and the grey tank is shower and kitchen/bathroom sink waste. If it's left too long, it does begin to smell. I decided last night that I would be home by dinner this Thursday. My destination target today was the same one I stayed at my first night on the road, the 1000 Islands KOA near Henderson, New York. Most of the day was gorgeous sunshine but mid-afternoon I did get a few sprinkles and it looks like Wednesday could be rainy as well. Here is my route map today. I have already notified my house sitter that I will be arriving home a week earlier than planned. Tomorrow I will cross back into Canada and from there I don't k...

For the first time on this journey, I left my campground without really having a clear cut idea where I wanted to go today. According to Google Maps, I could be home in 8 1/2 hours. Well that's not going to happen but I do plan to be home earlier than projected, probably two or three days from now. I had never seen Lake Champlain which forms a natural border between Vermont and New York states. If I were going to fast track it home I would drive to Burlington, VY and take a ferry across the lake. I set my GPS to Burlington and headed down the road. It was another gorgeous sunny day, lots of motorcyclists out on the road. One thing I noticed when I entered Maine, nobody wears motorcycle helmets. The same goes for New Hampshire and Vermont. I jokingly refer to these riders as "organ donors". By comparison, I was out riding my mountain bike one day in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and a cop motioned me over to the curb and asked me where I was from. I told him Ontario. He explai...

This morning I decided I'd seen enough ocean and enough lobster, so it was time to start pushing west and ultimately home. I really enjoyed the Duck Pond Campground and all their well-chosen activities. After crossing over into New Hampshire I headed straight for the White Mountains. It was a long slog up and over but the speed limit ranged between 40 and 50 mph which I could easily handle and not worry about holding up traffic. I was looking for a scenic pull-off for some nice photographs when I came upon one near the summit. I pulled on in only to discover that there was nothing of consequence to photograph and to make matters worse, there was no exit and no room to turn around. The only choice I had was to back out onto the shoulder of the highway. It was pretty nerve-wracking but I did it in style none the less. Around 1:00 pm I found a nice spot to pull off right next to a very rocky river. I needed a snack and a nice quiet spot by the water and this was perfect. Bein...

My plan today was to unhitch the truck and do some exploring. I already have wood for tonight's campfire and I have my ticket for the big Lobster feast so I can just goof off and enjoy the day. I did a run into Rockland, about 22miles east of Nobleboro, where the campground is located. I had been told that they had a big Lobsterfest thing going on with parades and such. It was pretty disappointing and I would have been better off just hanging out at the campsite. I got to thinking that if an alien were to land in New England they would have to assume that these earthlings worshipped the mighty lobster because everywhere you look there's something going on involving lobsters. There are stuffed toy lobsters, giant metal sculptures of lobsters, and every restaurant has lobster something on their menu. By the time I was back in camp, I saw that the Duck Puddle Crew was preparing the site for the big lobster feast tonight. They had cut an oil tank in half and they became the...

The weather in the Maritimes and down here in New England has really been exceptionally good on this trip. The last time I did this it rained every other day. Sticking to the coast makes for slightly cooler temps. during the day but still very warm. As I was leaving the Bar Harbor area I had to fill up and I'm loving the gas prices down here. At $2.58 per gallon, it's so much cheaper than back in Canada even when you consider the currency difference. I didn't establish a target destination today and decided to just follow the scenic Hwy. 1 which winds it's way down the coast and stop when I see an interesting campground. Not too far down the road, I crossed the Penobscot Narrows Bridge which I thought a thing of great architectural beauty and an engineering masterpiece. Because it was a Friday afternoon and the start of the weekend I knew that finding a suitable campground could be a challenge. I noticed a tiny little sign for the Duck Pond Campgro...

Because I chose to stay another night I wanted to make the most of the day. The skies were blue. The sun was hot and Bar Harbor was calling me back. I was so fortunate to have found this campsite. I took a photo before leaving for town so you could see how nice it is. On my way into town I passed this picture postcard scene at the side of the road. It reminded me of Monet's painting of a bridge that inspired me to name my island home, Chez Monet. The town has metered parking everywhere so like most people you look for somewhere along a side street. ALL residential streets only have parking by permit with no instructions anywhere on how to get a permit. Eventually, I found a metered spot for a couple of hours, long enough to do a little exploration and grab a bite of lunch. In Muskoka, the woodcarvers do bears. In Bar Harbor, they do lobsters holding ice cream cones. As I wandered around town I was just snapping pictures of shops and restaurants that give you a s...