Day 41 Sept 13 2014 Kincardine

ISABEL AND JEN MAKING CANDY

HIGH MAINTENANCE BRAKES

Day 41   Sept 13 2014   Kincardine

Today was spent working again.   I replaced the rear pads and rotors on the van as well as changed the oil.  I changed the oil and did a general inspection of the truck.   A few minor repairs and it will be ready for the trip to the west coast in June 2015.  The van is almost packed for the trip to Kenora.  We had supper at the Holla’s.  David and Isabel spent the day playing with friends.

Day 40 Sept 12 2014 Kincardine

A COUPLE OF PRINCESSES

Day 40   Sept 12 2014   Kincardine

We spent the day empting the camper and draining the water plus lots of other little jobs to get caught up on.  The kids were desperately waiting to see their friends when school got out.  Isabel went to a friends for a sleep over and David had a friend over.  

Day 39 Sept 11 2014 Kincardine

Day 39 Sept 11 2014   Kincardine

It was another day of driving.  We arrived in Kincardine at midnight.  It was fun trying to find our water shut off at the end of the driveway as it was under a puddle.  

Day 38 Sept 10 2014 Rest Area on I 295

Day 38  Sept 10 2014   Rest Area on I 295

We started driving around 10:30 am today.  When we stopped at a gas station to fill up some guy came  and told me that he had followed us out of the camp ground and it looked like we had a problem with our running gear.  On examination it appeares that we have a bent rear axle.  We drove till approximately 11 pm and slept in a rest area a hour past Portland MA.

Day 37 Sept 9 2014 Truro NS

Fortress of Louisburg

NEED ON OF THESE AT HOME

Day 37   Sept 9 2014    Truro NS

We got off the ferry from Argentia at 9:00 atlantic time this morning.   Having a cabin made the crossing very comfortable.  The only place we visited today was the Fortress of Louisburg in Nova Scotia. Only a portion of the site was open with very few people in period costumes.  The reason for this is we are already into September and a lot of the parks and sights are shutting down or running at reduced levels for the rest of the season.  This was also the first day we drove into the night.  It is getting obvious that the hours of daylight are getting less.

Day 36 Sept 8 2014 Argentia NFLD to North Sydney NS

Day 36       Sept 8 2014     Argentia NFLD to North Sydney NS

The camp ground that we were staying at in Argentia used to be a US military base.  The base was built between 1940 and 1941 and was apparently in use up till the 1990’s.  I went for a walk up an old gravel road and found 6 underground storage bunkers.  The kids and I went for a walk together to an abandoned underground hospital.  On the recommendation of the person that told us about it, we were armed with flashlights as the structure is as dark as a mine.  The hospital was full of graffiti with one message in the first room written in pink saying “there is another floor that you don’t know about.  I will see you there”.  I think it freaked David out a little as he seemed to be in a hurry to leave.  I made everybody turn the flashlights off so we could see how dark it was.  We boarded the Atlantic Vision to North Sydney at 4 PM with an expected arrival time of 9:30 am.  

Day 35 Sept 7 2014 Argentia NFLD

Day 35    Sept 7 2014     Argentia NFLD

We moved from Tors Cove to Argentia today.  Once we got set up we went for a ride to Gooseberry Cove Provincial Park.  The problem was there was no park, it seems that a farmer had taken over the park and turned it into a pasture.  We also stopped at Castle Hill historical site.  The site was closed for the season so we walked past the barrier and into the site. All of the info signs had been removed for the winter so we were not really sure what we were looking at.    It was a really nice walk and we got a few good pictures of the old fort and Placentia at the bottom of the hill.  

Day 34 Sept 6 2014 Tors Cove NFLD

Day 34      Sept 6 2014     Tors Cove NFLD

The morning found us at Cape Spears which is the most easterly point in Canada.  There was a light house there as well as some old concrete bunkers and the barrels of 2 disappearing guns  from world war 2.  After we left the Cape we took the ferry to Bell Island so we could go on a tour of the Bell Island #2 mine.  It was an interesting tour which descended 650 feet into the mine.  The reason for the 650 foot mark is that the mine is flooded.  The tour guide explained a bit of the history of the mine as well as some of the various mining techniques used over the life of the mine.  

Day 33 Sept 5 2014 Tors Cove NFLD

Day 33    Sept 5 2014     Tors Cove NFLD

The first place we went today was Signal Hill where the first radio transmission was received from England.  The transmissions consist of the letter “S” in morse code.  We then proceeded down the hill to the Johnson Geo Center.    It was a very interesting look at the rocks of Newfoundland, evolution of life, the history of the earth, plate tectonics and the Hibernia Oil Fields.  We managed to spend quite a few hours in the building looking at the exhibits and watching movies.   On the way back to the camper we stopped for our fourth feed of Beaver Tails, they were as messy and tasty as ever.

Day 32 Sept 4 2014 Tors Cove NFLD

Day 32    Sept 4 2014     Tors Cove NFLD

We were on our way to Bonavista by 8 AM today.  The first stop was at the Cape Bonavista lighthouse where there is a monument to John Cabot.  We also saw puffins flying around a rock just off shore. The second stop was at the Dungeon Provincial Park which has a “blow hole or Gloup”.  The third stop was at museum dedicated to Cabot. The museum contains a replica of the Matthew which was the that John Cabot sailed to NFLD on.  It must have been an incredibly tough life for the sailors on those ships.  Comfort was not in the design of them.  The rest of the day was driving from Bonavista to our new camp ground at Tors Cove.  We have a beautiful view of the ocean from our kitchen table and no neighbors on the ocean side so we do not have to close the curtains at night.

Day 31 Sept 3 2014 Trinity NFLD

Day 31   Sept 3 2014     Trinity NFLD

We drove from Twillingate to Trinity with a stop in Gander to shop at Walmart.  Isabel had lost another pair of earring and needed some new ones.  We arrived at the camp ground to find that it was the worst site I have ever had to get into.  I had to back in from the road to the site as there was not enough room to turn around in the camp ground.  Once we were set up we went to see the light house at Fort Point.  The area where the light house used to be was an old English Fort that was capture or taken over by the French in mid 1700’s.  There were some old foundations of building and some recovered cannons that were destroyed by the French when they left the fort.

Day 30 Sept 2 2014 Twillingate NFLD

Day 30    Sept 2 2014     Twillingate NFLD

The whale watching tour turned out to be a no whales to be seen coastal tour.  Apparently the best time to see the whales is during the early part of July.  In the afternoon we went to the fishing museum in Twillingate, the highlight of the museum was looking in the ocean at all of the jelly fish, fish and crabs.  The plan for the rest of the day was to hike some local trails.  The hike turned into a feeding frenzy of blue berries and raspberries.  There were and incredible number of blueberries along the path we were walking.  We would walk a few steps and then stop for a handful of berries.  Even though there was no lack of berries, the kids had to fight for the same ones.  We stopped at Auk Island Winery and purchased 7 small bottles of wine that I thought that Evy would share with me.  After looking at the picture of her with the bottles I am not so sure there will be much sharing. 

Day 29 Sept 1 2014 Twillingate NFLD

Day 29             Sept 1 2014     Twillingate NFLD

Today we drove 429 km from Rocky Harbour to Twillingate.  In Twillingate went for a short hike at Devils Cove.  Evy following in the practical fashions of her kids decided to up the level of hiking fashion footware by wearing  high healed mountain climbing flip flops.  They were an excellent choice for a muddy, hilly, rocky, hiking trail especially when coupled with a long dress that does not allow for much leg movement.  After our hike we went for a ride around Twillingate and decide to book a whale watching tour for tomorrow.  We finished the day off with a late supper of snow crab.