Friday, July 11th
After a rainy night, everyone was up early and was out of the park by 8:30. It was a pretty uneventful ride today. We bit the bullet and did stop for fuel at the ridiculous price of $1.619 a liter ($6.12 a gallon). Ouch! We made a slight detour along the way to go to Shediac, home of the world’s biggest lobster and the self-proclaimed lobster capitol of the world.
Our first real stop was at the New Brunswick Visitor Center and the beginning of the bridge to Prince Edward Island (PEI). We just guided the people in and out of the facility and didn’t go in. I did have a great maple walnut and wild blueberry ice cream cone while we waited though. I was bored and the ice cream stand was right there so I did it! It was a spur of the moment decision. Luckily, Claudia helped me eat it so I didn’t feel too bad and the pangs of guilt soon passed. When we finished there, we took off and went over the nine-mile long Confederation Bridge and stopped again at the PEI Visitor’s Center on the other side. I passed on a second ice cream cone and only collected brochures and pamphlets for our guests.
Continuing on, we drove the rest of the way and, after 240 miles, pulled into the Cavendish KOA rv park. It is a huge park and was almost full. One of the guests had a problem with his slideout so I checked that and scheduled it to be fixed Sunday morning. We then all left to go to a buffet at a local restaurant and just now got back. Tonight will be a kick-back night. Claudia is already fully involved in that activity. I think I’ll give Valentino a worm or two and do a little kickin’ myself. Tomorrow is a bus tour which should be a no-brainer for us.
We had a GREAT day! The tour guide was the best. She was totally funny and a bundle of knowledge. We first went to a beach overlook and then to Green Gables, the location of the 1908 novel “Annie of Green Gables”.
It was an old farm that was spectacularly restored and is now a part of Parks Canada. We then took a side trip to a seaport village where we saw a whale skull flower garden
After a rainy night, everyone was up early and was out of the park by 8:30. It was a pretty uneventful ride today. We bit the bullet and did stop for fuel at the ridiculous price of $1.619 a liter ($6.12 a gallon). Ouch! We made a slight detour along the way to go to Shediac, home of the world’s biggest lobster and the self-proclaimed lobster capitol of the world.
Our first real stop was at the New Brunswick Visitor Center and the beginning of the bridge to Prince Edward Island (PEI). We just guided the people in and out of the facility and didn’t go in. I did have a great maple walnut and wild blueberry ice cream cone while we waited though. I was bored and the ice cream stand was right there so I did it! It was a spur of the moment decision. Luckily, Claudia helped me eat it so I didn’t feel too bad and the pangs of guilt soon passed. When we finished there, we took off and went over the nine-mile long Confederation Bridge and stopped again at the PEI Visitor’s Center on the other side. I passed on a second ice cream cone and only collected brochures and pamphlets for our guests.
Continuing on, we drove the rest of the way and, after 240 miles, pulled into the Cavendish KOA rv park. It is a huge park and was almost full. One of the guests had a problem with his slideout so I checked that and scheduled it to be fixed Sunday morning. We then all left to go to a buffet at a local restaurant and just now got back. Tonight will be a kick-back night. Claudia is already fully involved in that activity. I think I’ll give Valentino a worm or two and do a little kickin’ myself. Tomorrow is a bus tour which should be a no-brainer for us.
We had a GREAT day! The tour guide was the best. She was totally funny and a bundle of knowledge. We first went to a beach overlook and then to Green Gables, the location of the 1908 novel “Annie of Green Gables”.
It was an old farm that was spectacularly restored and is now a part of Parks Canada. We then took a side trip to a seaport village where we saw a whale skull flower garden
and an old lighthouse taken care of by an old Scotsman who was the star of an Old Spice tv deodorant commercial. He was wearing dark pants and shirt with wide suspenders and sported a full white beard and oilskin sou’easter hat. He looked to be the epitome of the old Glouster seafaring man and was a real character.
Since it was getting near noonish, we headed for the Prince Edward Island Preserve Co.
Next was a great art gallery. The owner was a friend of the tour guide and the gallery is not on the “normal” bus tour. They had art, jewelry, furniture, wooden utensils and lots of other stuff. It was a great stop. I bought Claudia some earrings for her upcoming birthday. I will probably get yelled at because she will probably do the on-line bank account in a few days and see the charge and wonder what it was and I won’t tell her and she will yell at me again for not telling her and being a butt-head. I may have to fess up and give them to her early. Such is life!
Since it was getting near noonish, we headed for the Prince Edward Island Preserve Co.
and an outstanding lunch. I had potato pie. PEI is known for its potatoes. Most potato fields are under contract to McDonalds and will be made into french fries. Claudia had a chicken and broccoli crepe. Both were delicious. After lunch, we perused the gift shop where there were many, many varieties of super delicious jellies, etc. I grabbed a wild blueberry and raspberry with champagne and some orange marmalade with Chivas Regal. We then visited a golf course and a small mussel fishing operation
The first order of business was to fix the broken slideout. I “volunteered” a piece of a drill to use a shear pin and the gear mechanism was fixed in short order. We then started to get ready for dinner. Barry, Terry, Claudia and I had scored on two big bags of mussels and some oysters. I broke out the Barbie and the steamer pot. I made up some “Mulege Oysters”
Today was another “kickin’” day. We had to make coffee for the group so I reluctantly crawled out of bed at 7:00 and plugged in the pot which we set up the night before. When the coffee finished brewing, we set it outside on the picnic table for the vultures to dive into. We got caught up on company and personal stuff. Claudia made a sickening discovery that our insurance had lapsed due to the insurance company deciding to no longer do auto-debits of credit cards. A quick phone call fixed everything and we are now back in business. We then headed down to the waterfront where we found absolutely nothing but pure crap. Tourist junk! We came home and took a nap prior to our 6:00 pm lobster dinner. Yes, sad but true, we have another lobster dinner to choke down. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.
We carpooled to Fisherman’s Wharf at 5:45 and were seated in the 500-person dining room. After ordering our lobster, we headed for the 60-foot long salad bar. They had every condiment and salad known to mankind and then some. I started with iceberg lettuce and added tomatoes, bacon and onion. I then threw on carrots, mussels, corn and I forget what else. Then I saw the Waldorf salad and added it to my plate. Then I saw the potato salad and added that to my plate. When I finished, it was a masterpiece! I juggled the salad plate and a cup of clam chowder back to our table and proceeded to devour it. Yum!
I finished Course #1 when the guests of honor arrived. Now, for the past week, we have been eating bugs that were between 2.5 and 3.5 pounds. I looked at what the waitress put in front of me and blinked. At first I thought it was a big crawdad! It was about a one-pounder…edible but pretty damn small. I suffered through it. It was very tasty but I was glad to have eaten a big salad first. A piece of blueberry pie a-la-mode finished the dining experience. We returned to the rv park and settled in for a semi-blustery night.
Today is Monday, July 14th and we again did coffee at 8:00 am. Being semi-smart but slow to learn (Claudia calls it being anal), I used the timer to start the coffee this morning. Unfortunately, something started Claudia about 6:55 and she got up. Going to the coffee pot at 7:05, she called in to me, asking what time I set the timer for. Now awake, my plans for sleeping in ruined, I replied that it was set for 7:00. I was then informed it was 7:05 and the pot was not on. I started to tell her to just unplug the timer, plug the pot in directly and that I would check it later when, “CLICK”…”The timer just came on!”. Thanks! Now, can I go back to sleep? Yeah, RIGHT! I slid into my shorts and semi-official Adventure Caravans chambray short sleeve shirt, put on my shoes and got up. After giving Valentino his breakfast, I set up the coffee pot and the fixin’s and sat down for my first cup of coffee. Several guests showed up and we discussed what was on everyone’s plans for the day. Barry, who washed his rig yesterday, decided to finish up by doing the rims and tires of his rig. Since several guests had also washed their rigs and the wind was blowing and a rain storm was hitting Maine and a tropical storm was hitting Bermuda and the forecast for tomorrow was for light rain, the subject turned to the weather. The consensus was to expect light rain for tomorrow, a travel day. That’s OK…today is a Free Day until tonight when we go to a play about Green Gables. Claudia and Terry announced that “the girls” are going to a Gouda cheese joint and back to the PEI Preserve Co. The key words in their announcement were “the girls”. OK, I guess that means that I ain’t goin’. That’s OK. I had something very important to do anyway, like clean up the coffee stuff and wash the bugs off the windshield. I can do that! In fact, I did it! I then came inside to try to figure out how to put a slideshow on this blog but it’s beyond me for right now. Son Alex, a computer genius and programmer extrordinaire, told me last week that it was “easy” and I already had the capability to do just that. I can either continue to try to figure it out or kick back with a beer and relax. I think you can guess which option won out! I am now kickin’ it with a beer while tomorrow’s rain is now beating a steady pitter-patter on my newly-washed front windshield and Barry’s newly-washed rig. Tomorrow is a 153-mile travel day (as I mentioned earlier) and our intended destination is the Scotia Pine Campground in Hilden, Nova Scotia. For now…”Cheer’s”.
where many of the guests bought lobster, mussels, oysters, etc for dinner tonight. Thoroughly whipped, we returned to the park.
The first order of business was to fix the broken slideout. I “volunteered” a piece of a drill to use a shear pin and the gear mechanism was fixed in short order. We then started to get ready for dinner. Barry, Terry, Claudia and I had scored on two big bags of mussels and some oysters. I broke out the Barbie and the steamer pot. I made up some “Mulege Oysters”
and Barry steamed the clams. A salad completed our dinner. We stuffed ourselves. It was not pretty! After dinner, we cleaned up and retired to our rig for after-dinner drinks and coffee. Today was a good day! My bedtime snack was three tablets of Tums.
Today was another “kickin’” day. We had to make coffee for the group so I reluctantly crawled out of bed at 7:00 and plugged in the pot which we set up the night before. When the coffee finished brewing, we set it outside on the picnic table for the vultures to dive into. We got caught up on company and personal stuff. Claudia made a sickening discovery that our insurance had lapsed due to the insurance company deciding to no longer do auto-debits of credit cards. A quick phone call fixed everything and we are now back in business. We then headed down to the waterfront where we found absolutely nothing but pure crap. Tourist junk! We came home and took a nap prior to our 6:00 pm lobster dinner. Yes, sad but true, we have another lobster dinner to choke down. I don’t know how much more of this I can take.
We carpooled to Fisherman’s Wharf at 5:45 and were seated in the 500-person dining room. After ordering our lobster, we headed for the 60-foot long salad bar. They had every condiment and salad known to mankind and then some. I started with iceberg lettuce and added tomatoes, bacon and onion. I then threw on carrots, mussels, corn and I forget what else. Then I saw the Waldorf salad and added it to my plate. Then I saw the potato salad and added that to my plate. When I finished, it was a masterpiece! I juggled the salad plate and a cup of clam chowder back to our table and proceeded to devour it. Yum!
I finished Course #1 when the guests of honor arrived. Now, for the past week, we have been eating bugs that were between 2.5 and 3.5 pounds. I looked at what the waitress put in front of me and blinked. At first I thought it was a big crawdad! It was about a one-pounder…edible but pretty damn small. I suffered through it. It was very tasty but I was glad to have eaten a big salad first. A piece of blueberry pie a-la-mode finished the dining experience. We returned to the rv park and settled in for a semi-blustery night.
Today is Monday, July 14th and we again did coffee at 8:00 am. Being semi-smart but slow to learn (Claudia calls it being anal), I used the timer to start the coffee this morning. Unfortunately, something started Claudia about 6:55 and she got up. Going to the coffee pot at 7:05, she called in to me, asking what time I set the timer for. Now awake, my plans for sleeping in ruined, I replied that it was set for 7:00. I was then informed it was 7:05 and the pot was not on. I started to tell her to just unplug the timer, plug the pot in directly and that I would check it later when, “CLICK”…”The timer just came on!”. Thanks! Now, can I go back to sleep? Yeah, RIGHT! I slid into my shorts and semi-official Adventure Caravans chambray short sleeve shirt, put on my shoes and got up. After giving Valentino his breakfast, I set up the coffee pot and the fixin’s and sat down for my first cup of coffee. Several guests showed up and we discussed what was on everyone’s plans for the day. Barry, who washed his rig yesterday, decided to finish up by doing the rims and tires of his rig. Since several guests had also washed their rigs and the wind was blowing and a rain storm was hitting Maine and a tropical storm was hitting Bermuda and the forecast for tomorrow was for light rain, the subject turned to the weather. The consensus was to expect light rain for tomorrow, a travel day. That’s OK…today is a Free Day until tonight when we go to a play about Green Gables. Claudia and Terry announced that “the girls” are going to a Gouda cheese joint and back to the PEI Preserve Co. The key words in their announcement were “the girls”. OK, I guess that means that I ain’t goin’. That’s OK. I had something very important to do anyway, like clean up the coffee stuff and wash the bugs off the windshield. I can do that! In fact, I did it! I then came inside to try to figure out how to put a slideshow on this blog but it’s beyond me for right now. Son Alex, a computer genius and programmer extrordinaire, told me last week that it was “easy” and I already had the capability to do just that. I can either continue to try to figure it out or kick back with a beer and relax. I think you can guess which option won out! I am now kickin’ it with a beer while tomorrow’s rain is now beating a steady pitter-patter on my newly-washed front windshield and Barry’s newly-washed rig. Tomorrow is a 153-mile travel day (as I mentioned earlier) and our intended destination is the Scotia Pine Campground in Hilden, Nova Scotia. For now…”Cheer’s”.
1 comment:
I am neither of those things, but then, I am your son, and that should be enough...
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