Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and revisiting New Brunswick.

A small confession here, we did spend the better part of  three days in Cape Breton before our journey to Newfoundland, and continued our travels through Cape Breton and the Cabot trail upon our return, but I thought I would do the whole of this part of Nova Scotia in one uninterrupted blog.

 So! We managed to get a fair amount done in those first three days before our break to Newfoundland. Spending our first evening at Battery provincial park, overlooking the Atlantic coastline and Bras d'Or lake, was a good way to relax before our business needs the next day.

Business needs , you say? In a manner of speaking, yes. We have, up to this point, traveled some rather rough roads, and in anticipation of Newfoundlands roads, ( they did not disappoint! )we decided to head off into Sydney for a much needed tire alignment, rotation, and oil change...

During this time while we awaited the completion of Sir Vanagons spa treatment, we took advantage of the loaner car the company gave  us and set off in search  of lunch and used book stores, both of which were aquired in short and satisfying order!

 Sir Vanagons spa day completed, we were off to do a trip through  Glace bay, and then off to Mira park for a few nights of camping and stray cat friend making, ( Rob had to restrain himself from smuggling him in the van with him, it made such an impression! ) before we were off on our 16 hour ferry ride to Newfoundland!

Returning from Newfoundland to Cape Breton was a much shorter affair, only a 6 hour ride, and at our 4am departure time, allowed us leave for a short nap and some dolphin watching  along the trip. Arriving once again in Sydney, we made our way to the nearest picnic park for a much needed 2 hour nap before starting our tour of the Cabot Trail.

We began our tour with a trip into the town of Ingonish, for groceries and various supplies before heading to Broad Cove for an evenings worth of camping, and continued on through the next morning, stopping in at Neils harbour, Pleasant bay, Cheticamp, and lastly Mabou, ( home of the Red Shoe pub, owned by the famous Rankin family. ) all along the way admiring the views and calm weather.

 Back out of the park, we camped out for an evening at Caribou - Munroes provincial park, before heading into Amherst for more supplies, and making our way back into New Brunswick and Kouchibouguac national park.Here, we found a most excellent, ( and cheap! ) campspot, nestled in the trees and right on the ocean, and being that we arrived on the first day of lobster season here... found myself wishing desperately for a big enough pot!!! Two glorious nights, two most excellent thunderstorms, ( there is something to be said for washing your hair in the rain... ) and we're off again. .. back to the Fundy coast to explore the Hopewell rocks. A beautiful hike, a sunshiney day, and a walk on the ocean floor... where once there was 46 meters of water, when the tide goes out, the island bases are exposed, and you are free to wander amongst them until the tide comes back to claim them 6 hours later. ( A very cool experience! )

Fredericton was our last big town stop in New Brunswick, a quaint university town full of culture, good  breakfast, scenic views, and good bookstores... and as I type this we are very near the Quebec border, at Sugarloaf provincial park. ( Mountain bikers take note... you should come to this park!!!!! Its defiinately catering to you... lifts up the mountain, killer trails and jumps... you know you wanna.... )

 And so, until the  next blog...

                     Carla, Rob, and Sir V.

On blogging, and Newfoundland

I have discovered, since beginning this travel blog of ours, that several things can make a blog difficult to write. One, is when  your computer battery is running low, with no means at that moment to remedy it, and instead of saving it and finishing it later, you blast through it to beat the battery. The other, is when the place of which  you are attempting to write about is so vast, so alien, you are rendered temporarily speechless, and rather inept at writing about the place in question. ...

Upon reflection of my last post, I felt that I had to write in a few more  details about Newfoundland, as this blog is as much for you to know what we are up to on our  trip, as it is for us to look back on and remember what it was that we did.

But how to put it into words?? As Rob likes to say, Newfoundland is " a rugged beauty. " And to be sure, it is. Giant ocean carved cliffs, low lying , wind swept barrens, stunted little pine trees, looking for all the world like mutated bonsai, only to be discovered that, in fact, some of these trees are indeed over 300 years old....

.. People out in the vast barrens and bogs, hunting for the tart cloudberry, ( also known as bakeapple, ) small vegetable patches on the side of the highway, miles from the nearest town, ( and lovingly tended to by people from miles around in the northern parts of the island, ....)

 Small villages and houses, haphazardly built up among the rocks and cliffs that dominate this island, seeming to sprout up from the ground itself, lakes and ponds, lined with rocks that almost look as though they have been placed by hand, forming a natural frame around the waters edges.

Gusting winds and fog, and if we were there at the right time of year, bergy bits and growlers.

I suppose, in essence, this short blog is more of a feel of Newfoundland, rather than descriptions of more of what we did there, but its really that part of it that I don't want to forget. And now that I have this small blurb committed to memories both mine, and the internets, I feel its safe to continue on the blogging journey.

 Thanks for reading, and continue on, for the marvelous adventure is not over yet. ...

               C & R.

Puffins, root cellars, and vikings! Oh my!

When last we left you, we were happily ensconced in the revelry that is St. Johns. A wonderfully colorful and busy city here in Newfoundland. From there, it was off to Tera Nova national park, and then onward to the Bonavista peninsula, and the village of Eliston, root cellar capital of Canada, and home to hundreds of Puffins!!!!  Puffins are very cute, small, ( 11 inches in height,) and look like tiny wind up toys when flying.  Well accustomed to tourists, the puffins did not dissapoint, flying back and forth from their nesting cliffs in the ocean, to our vantage point on the rocks only to land mere feet in front of us, and allowing for some excellent photo oppertunities.

 Having had our fill  of  puffin viewing, we ventured up to Twillingate for some most excellent coffee at the Crows nest cafe, viewed some minke whales in  the distance, and meandered our way up to Gros Morne national park for our first glimpses of this gorgeous place.

Gros Morne national park, is , in a word, Impressive. The landscape shifts and changes as you travel through the park, beginning with the Tablelands, golden yellow rocky mountains.. known as periodite rock, it lays deep in the earth and was pushed up to the surface by tectonic forces millions of years ago, to westernbrook pond, a huge glacier carved fjord with sides 2000 feet high. We took a 2 1/2 hour boat tour here, both informative and beautiful! We stayed at a couple of campsites in the park, Trout river, by the tablelands, and Shallow bay, near the other end of the park, and a personal favourite, with huge sanddune beaches and warm ocean waters.

Next up? pull out your battleaxe... its of to L'Anse aux Meadows, a tiny fishing village as north as you can get in Newfoundland. This place was amazing to visit, the first viking settlement in North America, ( 1000ad. ) and you can still see the grassy mounds in the earth where once there were sod  houses and a forge. They have reproduced replicas of what it would have looked like at the time near the actual site itself, complete with costumed and wild bearded actors who give you a thorough rundown on the history of the ancient greenlanders and icelanders led by Lief Erikson. ( My norse blood was singing a happy tune in this place... )

Last but not least, it was back down to Cornerbrook, and a happy night of camping with my aunt and uncle who happened to be visiting the rock at the same time as us, before we settled in  at Port au Basque for a couple nights of lazy camping before catching the 4am ferry back to Nova Scotia. ( Cape Breton bound! )

 We have seen so much on the rock during our three week exploration here... lighthouses, whales, moose in the fog, puffins, gorgeous senic views from lowgrounds to towering cliffs... its difficult to put it properly into words.....

 Thankyou again, to  Leisha, for making us feel at home, to the strangers at the Ship pub, for buying us a round and sharing in good conversation, to Big bear and Grey owl for making us laugh, to my Auntie Carol and Uncle Dave, for making us dinner and sharing a good night of camping, and to Newfoundland., for making this visit, I think, the first of several visits we will make to this awsome place.

Onward to the Cabot Trail, and a continuation of our Nova Scotian explorations....

 Until next time, C, R, & Sir Vanagon.

Newfoundland : Part 1.

We decided to break the Newfoundland post into a few different blogs, as we are planning to spend  about three weeks here, and figured that it would make one awfully long post if we did it all in  one go. So to begin....

 Lets start on the ferry!! We left Cape Breton on a sunny Friday evening, headed for Argentia, Newfoundland. Taking the long ferry, its about a 14 hour ferry ride.... and its amazing. The ferry is quite big, spacious, with cabins for sleeping , ( at $ 180 for a cabin, we decided against that one... ), lounge chairs for sleeping, a couple of restaurants and a snack bar, and a lounge and bar. ( for drinking, socializing, listening to live music, and also for sleeping on the couches. Which is exactly where we slept. ) While on the ferry, we met lots of locals, found out about some great free camping spots, listened to local bands, and even met Steve  from Surrey B.C. coming over to St. Johns for work, and who also knows a friend of ours, James Crape! ( Small world indeed!!! )  Watched the sun set and rise again over the ocean, and though sleepy in the morning, couldn't contain our excitement when we finally landed on the rock.

 Our first stop in Newfoundland, was at Cape Marys.( This is along the Avalon Peninsula. ) This is an ecological reserve, and home to thousands of Garnets and other sea birds that make their home all along the cliffs at the oceans edge. It's amazing to be able to get within meters of their nesting sites, watching them fly and dive amongst the rocks, and the landscape was hard to beat. Barren and craggy, high cliffs jutting out with the waves crashing thirty feet in the air... it feels like an interesting combination of B.C. and Scotland here.  Stopped for groceries in Conception Bay South, and then settled in for the night at ButterPot provincial park. 


The next night, we made our way out to one of the free campsites we were told about, out at Cape Race. A very long, somewhat harrowing drive up and down steep hills, over gravel roads and small bridges, but at the end of the drive, totally worth it. We spent the night beside a lighthouse, and watched a pod of humpback whales spouting water into the air and slapping their fins in the ocean. It was here as well, we got to watch the sunrise out of the Atlantic in the morning fog... coffee's in hand, we head out to La Manche provincial park.


This park is lovely. It has a great swimming pond, and tonnes of hiking you can do. One trail leads you up to a small falls area, and the other leads you up to the remains of a village that was destroyed in the late 60's by storm. The path to the village also has a suspension bridge, ( For those of you who know me, you know my fear of heights, but after some cajoling from Rob, I managed to make it across with assistance, and back, though running halfway, by myself. lol ) which gives quite the view of the river and bay below.

Next up? Cape Spear. The most Eastern point of Canada!!! , and from there we went up to Signal Hill in St. Johns, place of Cabbot tower, and the first wireless transmission across the Atlantic. St. Johns is a really great town. Good food, cool architecture, and great people. As I write this, I am sitting in the living room of my friend Leisha, who was very generous in lending us her apartment during our stay . A million thankyous to you, Leisha, for giving us a home base, making us feel so comfortable, and the marvelous snuggles of your cat. 


Tune in  next time for more adventures from the rock,

          Until then, C & R.   xoxo

P. E. I and all things Anne...

P.E.I.   Land of potatoes ( pronounced " B-day-does" in some parts of the province, ) and mead. ( Beware the mead... delicious, and dangerous when consumed in large quantities...) " Are  you from away? " they ask,  Yes, we reply, from away... and so our adventure begins.

 P.E.I. is small. A very small, but pretty island, full of farmlands, small towns, and more fantastic beaches than you can shake a stick at. From red sands to golden, its easy to catch some well deserved r & r away from the crowds...

We started our tour with a four day rest at the northern part of the island, at Jaque Cartier provincial park. The red sands there kind of make you feel as though you are visiting Mars...
Caught up on some reading and sleep, and then we made our way down to Stanhope for a two day stint of touristy looking about.

First up, was Charlottetown. A quaint university town, it has just the right amount of hustle and bustle that it keeps one occupied without getting too exhausting. Some really great architecture and beautiful heritage homes and churches, and as always good seafood. From there, we visited Cavendish to pay our respects to Lucy Maud Montgomery at her final resting place in Cavendish cemetary. We decided not to check out Ann of Green Gables village.... a bit too touristy, and we decided it wasn't really worth the price of admission. Instead, we took the time to explore some of the small towns along the coast, and discovering some really great used bookstores along the way.

Our last night spent on P.E.I, was perhaps one of our nicest and most fun. We ended up spending the night in Georgetown with our friend Andrew, who was there with his daughter visiting his family. Beers were shared,we got a great walking and history tour of the town, and finally got a chance to try the infamous P.E.I. mead. Thanks to Andrew, for allowing us to crash in your driveway, showing us a great time in Georgetown, and feeding us some much needed morning coffees.


  Tune in  next time for a taste of Newfoundland,

             Until then, with love, C, R, and Sir. V. 

Canada Day and the debut of Sexy Democratic.

Ah, Canada Day. A  bright sunny day, a sea of red and white, and an evening sky filled with the musical renderings of Mother Mother and fireworks. What better way to spend Canada's birthday?  Halifax, you throw a good party.  While we stayed in Halifax, we were camped out at the Shubie campground in Dartmouth. Close to transit and the five minute ferry across the water to Halifax, it makes it both easy to sightsee, and also lends the oppertunity to make new friends. Thanks to Nadeen, Julie and Tony for sharing in our Canada Day adventures, beers, and lots of laughs!!!, and to Mr. Cat, ( Nadeens awsome pet, ) for being the most chill and laid back camping cat in the world.

Post partying, we decided to give ourselves ( and livers) a rest, and headed off to Nimrod's campsite just outside of Sherbrook villiage. There, we ended up spending the evening with Lynn, Mike, Cori and Jamie, two couples camping with their kids from Antigonish. Needless to say... livers didn't get a break that night, and neither did our laughter. Thanks to you all, for sharing your fire, and for having us witness one of the most spectacular mustard fights of all time!

Post Nimrods... it's off to Taylor Bay provincial park for an afternoon of white sand and clear ocean laziness, before we made our way to Murphy's Bay to partake in mussel boils, community campfires, and catch up on  the weeks adventures with Nadeen and Mr. Cat. ( She was the person who told us about this little jem of a place, and with our campsite on a hill overlooking the ocean, we're very grateful she shared this location with us!!! ) We got to spend two very relaxing , lazy days here before heading back to Halifax for Rob's 15 minute gig.

The gig :   The band got their name, Sexy Democratic, in the same way the band itself was formed. Pull two words out of a hat, put them together, and there, you have  your name. Hence, Sexy Democratic was born. The whole night was high entertainment, and it was amazing to see what some of the bands came up with in the short time they had to jam together. Some good, some bad, all fun. Sexy Democratic practiced for all of 3  hours or so, and came up with three different songs for the nights set. Various and eclectic, it was a challenging mix, with three widly varied musicians, ( both in age and genre, ) but all in all a fun set. Lots of people met, and with parking right out front of the venue, it allowed us a night of free camping. ( Yay! )

From Halifax, we jumped our touring selves around Peggy's cove, Annapolis, ( Digby scallops....oh how I love thee..... ) spent two glorious scallop digesting nights with a beautiful view at Blomidon park, and then tucked in for  a night at the Five Islands provincial park, high on a hilltop, watching the sun go down on another day.

In so few words, how does one describe Nova Scotia?  Busy citys, quaint villages, colorful cottages aside, its the landscape that really blows us away. Maybe its the artist in me coming out here, but from electric green rolling fields, to windswept golden hills, terracotta red cliffs and deep blue ocean, the contrast is amazing. Words fail me here... the color speaks for itself. (As does the seafood..... )

Until the next blog, PEI and all things Anne....

C, R, and Sir. V.

New Brunswick... you sly little devil...

Who knew you were so nice? and French? ( at least parts of you. ) It should have been obvious, crossing the border from Quebec and all... but man. You are one pretty province. And friendly? You bet! We spent a night and part of the day on our first stretch of New Brunswick in Edmonston, just in time for their jazz festival. Our bumbling french gained smiles and assistance, ( Me: " Voulez vous parlez anglais? "  Woman : " Non"....  Me: " how do you say.... 353325? " The lady was very helpful, and when our food order came up she was quick to point out it was ours number. ) Jazz fest was great, ( Polk chop and the other white meat, great blues/jazz band from Maine ) and next we camped out in Grand Sault ( Free camping! Yay! ) for the evening to explore and check out the local culture.

 Thus far, we have slowly been meandering our way down the coast, checking out all the small towns, and generally taking it easy. Our six weeks thus far of nice weather have taken a turn for a few days of rain and thunderstorms, but rain be damned! We're from Vancouver!!! Its like our normal summer!  Had our first official foot dipping into the Atlantic ocean, ( Coast to coast, baby! ) and have discovered a few interesting micro-breweries along the way as well.

 Ensconced in the trees at Point Wolf park in the Bay of Fundy, we decided on a few days of rest before embarking on further explorations of the coast. ( a bit of r & r is a great way to finally rid oneself of a cold... ) Quiet, rainy, and full of enticing trails to meander and hike, we hunkered down with books and music for amusement and plotted out the next few days. ( Side note, there are alot of frogs here at our campsite. And something I increasingly love, is how they chirp merrily away, only to pause at passing cars, people, airplanes.. and then, inevitably, one will chirp, and pause, and chirp again, and then they all begin their chorus over. " Hey! Hey guys! Dangers passed, s' all good! " Rob and I have decided they are either crying out in fear of the dark and lack of flashlights, or they are really terrible first year violinists. )

In an effort to escape the rain/torrential downpours, we decided to escape New Brunswick for the time being, and head to Halifax, Nova Scotia early ( we will be back to New Brunswick to finish our tour there in the next few weeks, ) to beat the rush for the Canada day celebration campspots, as well as to familiarize ourselves with the city for a few days before said celebrations began. ( Free Mother Mother concert and pancake breakfast anyone? )  Needless to say... torrential downpours were not avoided... ( sideways rain and 70 km/hr winds... ) but our first official lobster dinner here was a roaring success.

 Halifax is a great city. Friendly, fun, and easy to find  your way around. One day spent in the city and I have discovered a couple of great little galleries to submit some artwork to, and Rob has managed to wrangle a gig for July 5th. Its this great thing where they have 24 random musicians, and they draw everyones name out of a hat to form 6 different bands. Then they have 24 hours to practice and jam together before the big night where each band performs a 15 minute set!

 Much more exploration to be done before the next blog... so stay tuned for our Canada Day celebrations, Rob's band debut, and any other trouble we can rustle up while we are on the road. ( p.s. - We haven't avoided Quebec, we're going to do that, along with Montreal and Ottowa on our way back through... Just in case you were wondering our agenda... ;)   )

 With love, C, R, and Sir Vanagon.