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Saturday July 16th on the road to Fredericton

Since we will only be staying in Fredericton overnight, we are attempting to leave early enough to spend some time in the New Brunswick capital. When I update this on the trip we will see how successful we were at leaving early. Our plan is to have eveything packed on Friday, but somehow that never happens.

Sunday July 17th In Fredericton - Midnight Atlantic time

By some miracle, we actually left Two-Mountains at 7:10. With a full tank of gas and after having breakfast at home we were on our way. One stop for gas at Irving before entering NB and then a quick lunch at Subway near St-Louis de Ha-Ha, we arrived at our hotel, the Hampton Inn in 8 and 1/2 hours. The Hampton Inn is only 6 months old and although situated on the outskirts of town it's a very nice place to stay.  We then called our friend Ray Lapointe who came and picked us up and he gave us a tour of the town. We started at his brother's place and then had dinner on the terrace of the Delta Fredericton to watch the sunset at 9:13. We followed with a few beer at Dolan's Pub downtown listening to a band called Merimac. A taxi back to the hotel at midnight. A great first day on the road! The sunset at the Delta was amazing and the band was very good. We will be off for a 5 hour drive tomorrow to Pictou Nova Scotia where we will be staying at a B&B.

Update 8:30am AT

Forgot to mention in the intro that we are using Airmiles for some of our hotel reservations. As I wrote about in January, Airmiles older than 7 years will start expiring on March 31, 2017. I had about 12,000 that would expire then so I had to use them. Cashing in Airmiles for hotels is a much better deal than for flights. There is a basic fee of $11.50 for each reservation and then all you have to pay is the tax. Tonight's stay is only costing $25.21 and 840 Airmiles. The regular price would be around $150 with tax. The free breakfast here at the Hampton was very good. You can't find many hotels on Airmiles but we have booked our Sydney, Halifax and Saint John NB stays using Airmiles. That's 8 nights of our 30 or so nights away. Off to Pictou NS in the next hour.

Sunday July 17th - Pictou Nova Scotia - 10:00pm AT

We left the Fredericton at around 10am. We stopped for gas and Gravol in Moncton. Did a little detour to see what has become of Magnetic Hill. The last time we were here in 1978, Magnetic hill was away form town. Urban sprawl has made it part of the city now and the development around it is crazy. There is a Water Park and a Zoo and lots of housing developments. Back in 1978, it seemed in the middle of nowhere. Now for $6, you can experience the thrill of the hill in your car. We didn't do it again because there was actually a line up.

Arrived in Pictou at 3:00pm which was the check-in time for the Willow House Inn in Pictou. If you come here, you better pronounce it as Pick Toe not Pick Two otherwise they will know you're from away. Drove here using the sunrise trail not to arrive too early. Had a hard time finding something to eat for lunch and had to settle for Pringles and a May West from Pugwash. Had we waited for the next town, we could have gotten real food. Pictou is a nice little town that used to be the port for the P.E.I. ferry. It now leaves Caribou which is on the other side of the peninsula. We had a snack at a Harbour House and eventually return there for a second snack as not many other places were open on a Sunday evening.

Monday July 18th - Ingonish Beach NS - Keltic Lodge - 7:15pm AT

Checked in to the historic Keltic Lodge around 4:30. Beautiful renovated room with things not even installed on the walls yet.  When hiked for 2 hours to the point. It's hot and we are sweating still and are going out for supper in a few minutes just across the road, We are here for 2 nights. so we will get a good visit around for sure. We bought bug spray in Moncton and we should have brought it on our little hike. Live and learn. We will update this and add pictures after supper.

Tuesday July 19th - Keltic Lodge - 6:30pm

Just getting ready to go to supper in 30 minutes or so. Today we visited Mary Ann Falls which was a short drive away with the last 7 kms on a gravel road. This is when I wish I was renting a car rather than use my brand new car. The other time I wish I was using a rented car was yesterday as we were trying to get past a truck repainting the lines on the 19 coming up to the Cabot Trail. I managed to pass him after following him from a distance for about 20 minutes. Even with that, my wheel wells were splattered with yellow paint. I would never have thought of being careful when passing that truck that was painting a white line to the right of me and a yellow one to the left, but I saw on someone's new car what kind of mess that can make. Thank you Tony.

Anyway, this is our last evening at the Keltic Lodge but I managed to get the first tee-off time (7:30) tomorrow morning at Highland Links which is a short walk from our room. I am playing with 2 members of the course that usually play in 3 hours so it will give me plenty of time to get back to the room to check out and be on our way to North Sydney for our overnight 15 hour sail to Placentia. The ferry terminal is less than 2 hours away but you have to check in to the ferry 2 hours before departure at 5:45pm. If you are not there 2 hours before, they say they will cancel your reservation and your berth. The last thing we want is to sit up all night in a seat.

Today we relaxed after a couple of hikes. The longer one was around Warren Lake. A good portion of the hike was muddy because of an overnight storm that passed. It was quite the storm but it made for a nice day. We went to check the water at Ingonish Beach and it was surprisingly warm. Not sure I would go for a dip, but I forgot to pack a bathing suit so there was no way I was going in.

Anyway, I have to get ready tonight for my early round of golf. I brought shoes, balls, a glove and a couple of tees but will have to rent clubs tomorrow. The slope rating on the course is 140 so I don't expect to play that well. I am playing it in case I never get around here again as it is rated in the top 10 courses in Canada and top 100 in the world. Being that close to a course and not playing it is hard for me but it's my only game for a month so I am in withdrawal.

Wednesday July 20th - In the North Sydney Ferry Parking Lot - 3:45pm AT

We are currently waiting for the 16 hour ferry ride to Argentia. I have been writing Placentia earlier but not sure why. Right now I am using the wi-fi from Myrna's phone through the tethering option. If you are technical, you know what that is but if you are not it just this PC going through the phone to get to the internet. You need a data plan to do that. It probably won't work on the boat, so we will be going 'dark' for the next 16 hours at least. If all goes well, we will be in St-John's in plenty of time to pick up Myrna's mother and nephew at the airport.

This morning I played golf at the Highland Links. As predicted, I didn't do so well. It was windy and the holes are not that wide so it's not a good combination. It's one of those courses that you would like to get another shot. I played with 2 local guys, Ken and Albert. We were also joined by another single from Brisbane Australia named Russ. He walked the course which has a few holes very far from each other. I gave him a lift on 2 of those stretches. Two guys passed us on the 4th hole. They were walking but they were young. One was 82 and the other a mere 78. Once they passed us, we never saw them again. I will try to post a few pictures.

Thursday July 21st - Still on the Ferry to NFLD - 8:30 Newfoundland Time NT

We have now been on the ferry for over 14 hours. Except for a little tour as we boarded and a coffee and muffin this morning, we stayed in our cabin most of the time. It's small but quite comfortable with two beds and a TV. It has a small bathroom with a decent shower. We are probably with a couple of hours of landing in Argentia but who knows how long the debarkation will take. It took over two hour to load all the cars and trucks. We have been able to see land for a while and the internet access from the shore is working through the phone. The ferry is actually very nice and it is big. Our cabin is on the 8th deck, just above the deck where most of the common areas are except for the movie theatre that is on the 6th deck. Dining facilities and the bar seem really nice also. There is also a buffet style dinner and breakfast. The line-up for the buffet was huge last night and that's why we didn't bother trying to eat supper. We brought our cooler in the room and had a few drinks and some chips. We will have lunch today after we pick up the people at the airport.

The family reunion only starts on Friday night with a meet and greet at the cousin's house in Logy Bay. Saturday is BBQ and games day including a softball game. Sunday night is the supper. Monday we leave for 3 days in Trinity Bight. Within all the reunion activity, we are trying to fit in some sightseeing and a puffin and whale watching tour in Bay Bulls. Since Patrick and Stephen have not visited before, we will have to do the 'regular' sites such as Signal Hill, Cape Spear and Petty Harbour and of course, George Street.

Don't know how much time I will have to update the blog, but I should be able to post some pictures. You may notice that some of the pictures are out of order. The software to upload pictures seems to be randomly ordering the pictures. I try to re-sort them but they sometimes get mixed up. Combine that with using 3 cameras and figuring out which go where and the pictures will be mixed up. At least between sections they won't be mixed.

As I was writing this, they announced that we would be arriving in one hour. This would mean docking around 9:45 NT time. That would have made our total time at sea about 15 hours give or take an hour. Too hard to figure out exactly.

Thursday July 21st - St-John's - Homefront Apartment Hotel - 7:30 NT

We arrived just on time for our airport pickup. Then we had to kill some time before checking in to the hotel. We had lunch downtown at the Celtic Hearth and went up to Signal Hill. The wind was something else. We tried to check-in at 4 but the apartment wasn't ready until close to 5:30. We were not impressed. Got some supplies at Sobey's and are taking a little bit of a rest. Not sure what we are doing for supper but we are snacking in the room. Tomorrow is a drive down the Irish Loop with the boat ride.

Saturday July 23rd - 30 minutes after Midnight

Wow! What a Day! It all started with the Puffin and Whale boat tour in Bay Bulls. We saw hundreds of thousand of birds including puffins the provincial bird. Then we followed 2 whales for over 30 minutes. At 11am, we were off on the rest of the Irish Loop around the Avalon peninsula. There was at least 25 more whale sightings including 2 about 50 feet from shore in St-Vincent. We got back around 5 and eventually made our way to the Meet and Greet at Chris and Lynn's. At least 100 family members we there. It was a little bit of a zoo but a great time. Tomorrow is the 4 team softball round robin and a bunch of other activities. Later on there is a bonfire on Middle Cove Beach.

Monday July 25th 8:00pm Dunfield on the Bonavista Peninsula

For you people actually reading this instead of just looking at pictures, you may have noticed that I haven't updated the blog for a few days. The main reason is that the Smith Family Reunion is like the Energizer bunny, it just keeps going and going. It was a great weekend with a great family.

Now we can relax and start the sightseeing part of our vacation. We drove about 3 and a half hours to the Spurrell Heritage House. It's just an amazing place in the middle of nowhere and right off the fishing wharf. The pictures won't do it justice. We have the house to ourselves for 3 nights. We're in the middle of the short cod season here. The boats are going out for about 30 minutes and coming back with their limit of 5 per fisherman per day. They filet them about 30 feet from our house so the smell is in the air. If there is a paradise, it must be really close to this. Of course, if the weather was not cooperating, this place would be close to hell.

Wednesday July 27th 10:00am NT

Yesterday we drove up to Cape Bonavista. We were fogged in in Dunfield but there was no fog in the town of Bonavista. Cape Bonavista was half fogged in. When we drove back around 4pm Our house was still in the fog. It was also the worst day of fishing for the season. No fish were caught in the morning but one boat came back at dusk. Josh and his 5 year old daughter had caught 8 small cod. I helped Josh bring his boat up the ramp. He asked if we wanted some fish and gave us a few fillets for tonight's supper.

This morning the fog is completely gone and Chip, an Virginian who is here for a week, came back in with a 30 pound cod. One of the locals said it was one of the biggest he has ever seen in these parts. Josh offered to take us out if he goes out fishing later on. He said that we could ask anybody and they would take us out. Everyone that goes out is in full rain suits so I don't know how we would dress. We will see if that happens. Today Stephen is going back to the mainland. His plane from St. John's is at 7pm so he will be heading out around 1. He really wishes he could stay but he will be back to the Rock for sure. Maybe for the next reunion in 4 years.

It is so clear today that you can see Grates Cove across the water. Grates Cove is 37km away and yesterday you couldn't Green Island which is only 1.6km away.

Wednesday July 27 - 7:00pm NT

Wow! After lunch, Dustin Spurrell, the owner of our house came over to give us a Keurig coffee machine because the Black and Decker coffee brewer broke down at lunch. He was also coming to get the old propane tank as we finished one cooking last night's chicken. Fortunately, Dustin is staying in town at his father's house as he is usually in Cornerbrook. He's actually staying in this house tomorrow because it's only rented out on Friday. He mentioned the Sherwink Trail which is about 15 minutes up the road in Trinity East. It's a 5.3km loop with unbelievable views and today's bonus was many whales frolicking in the bay. One in particular was flapping it's tail like it was in some kind of trouble. We think it was just putting on an amazing show for a few people in a fishing boat. Check out the video I took and you will see what I mean.

We just got a message from Stephen and he arrived at the airport safely. We are just about to prepare the cod that was given to us last night. It should be a great meal. Sadly, we have to leave this place tomorrow. Check out is at 11 and we will be staying until then for sure before heading west to Grand-Falls.

Thursday July 28 - 9:30am NT - Leaving Paradise

On our way to Grand Falls with the weather taking a turn for the worse. Not raining yet but there is rain is the forecast. Maybe we'll get lucky as we have been in the last 10 days.

Friday July 29th - 4:00pm NT

We arrived in Grand Falls and we are staying at Joanne and Colin's while Gertrude is staying with her sister Pat. Today we visited her other sister Joan. On the drive over to Grand Falls, we stopped at a few places including the Silent Memorial at the site of the 1985 plane crash of Arrow Air Flight 1285, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 jetliner that operated as an international charter flight carrying U.S. troops from Cairo, Egypt, to their home base in Fort Campbell, Kentucky, via Cologne, West Germany and Gander. Read more about it here. It's my 3rd or 4th time visiting the site and the eerie feeling there still lingers. There are a few places in the world where I get this feeling including the place where the USS Arizona sank in Pearl Harbour. The trees are starting to grow back where the crash happened but there is still a 'scar' in the ground.

Saturday July 30th, 11:00pm - Grand Falls

Went touring with the Aunts today. We drove up to Leading Tickles by way of Botwood, Point Leamington and Glover's Harbour. Glover's Harbour was busy as it was celebrating Giant Squid weekend. We eventually ended up in Northern Arm at Sheila and Rob's. We ate supper at the Botwood Airbase. Botwood is known for having the first scheduled cross Atlantic passenger air route to Ireland. Read more about Botwood here.

Sunday July 31st 6:00pm - Twillingate

Arrived at our Waterside Cabins in Twillingate at around 3pm after saying goodbye to family in Grand Falls. The Waterside Cabins are brand new and have a great view of the ocean. We are right beside the dinner theatre where we will be eating tomorrow evening as there is nothing on there tonight (Sunday). After we checked in, we immediately set off on a hike because it looked like it would rain. It didn't. We did the Nanny's Hole hike from the Long Point Lighthouse. It was short but down and then back up more than 200 steps. We are now relaxing on on nice balcony and we should enjoy the sunset.

Monday August 1st - Twillingate 10:30pm NT

July is over and so seems the warm weather here. Tomorrow we are off to Fogo Island and the high is supposed to be 14 degrees and rain. Today it only went up to 19 but it got warm on our hike to the Top of Twillingate. Tonight we went to a supper theatre only a hundred feet from our cabin. I had the lobster dinner which was good. The entertainment after supper was Newfoundland through and through. Music and some funny skits. Over 180 people in the place with full parking lot, 4 cars deep at some spots. The one minute walk to the cabin was appreciated but it was cold in shorts.

Tomorrow we have to leave early because the Fogo Island ferries are on a first come first served basis. They tell us to get there 2 hours in advance and apparently some people leave their cars in line the night before to make sure they get on the island. My real worry is getting off the island, but since we are only 2 kms from the ferry port on Fogo, we will be able to check it out earlier.

Tuesday August 2, 7:00pm - Stag Harbour on Fogo Island

Arrived on Fogo around 1:00pm on the 11:30 ferry. We dropped off our luggage at our house and immediately set up to see the island. With a high of 11 degrees and high wind it wasn't pleasant to get out of the car but we did manage to do 2 trails, one to the top of Brimstone Head, one of the flat earth society's 4 corners of the earth.

We were back at our house in Stag Harbour at 7:00 and we will be having bologna sandwiches (a newfie steak) for supper. We just lit the fire and hope to spend a few minutes outside even it it's only 10. We are trying to get the 10am ferry out of here tomorrow. Since Stag Harbour is the closest to 'village' to the ferry dock we should be able to see if it busy.

The internet in our house, the Oasis By The Sea, is by satellite therefore the upload speed is super slow therefore I won't be uploading pictures from today until we get to Deer Lake tomorrow night. We have about 5 hours to drive to Deer Lake including the ferry ride but not including the wait for the ferry.

Wednesday August 3rd - 8:00pm - Deer Lake

Arrived in Deer Lake at around 3:15. We took the 10am ferry off Fogo Island. TO make sure we were on that ferry, we got in line at around 8:30. We were around the 35th car therefore there was no problem getting on. The ferry filled up and there was a second smaller ferry that took the overflow but had to stop on the Change Islands on the way back to Farewell.

There not many choices to eat in Deer Lake so we ended up at a Pizza Delight. The food was OK but there was lots of stuff on the floor because of the children. It was the last supper for Patrick and Gertrude. Tomorrow morning, they are getting on a flight to Halifax and then onward to Montreal. Both had a great time on the Rock. Since it was Patrick's first trip anywhere, he will have a hard time topping it. Gertrude went into this trip thinking it could be her last trip home. She now says she wants to come back next year. Who knows what the future will hold.

On our side, we still have at least 9 days left on the road. We have 3 nights in Halifax and 3 more in Saint John New Brunswick. The voyage continues so keep reading and looking at our pictures. There should be more fun times coming.

Our plan for tomorrow is to drop off Patrick and Gertrude then come back to the hotel since we only have to check out at 11am. Then we have a short 3 hour drive to the hotel by the ferry port in Port-Aux-Basques. The weather is getting better.

Friday August 5th 8:00am - Port Aux Basques

Finally got the internet working in the ST. Christopher Hotel In Port-Aux-Basques. We arrived here just after 1pm and the check-in time here is 1pm. This is early for a hotel but I guess people check out here early for the 11:45 ferry as you have to be checked in 2 hours before. It seems some people with no reservations on the ferry are stranded. We made our reservations one of the first days the reservations we open in late January. We still have to get to the dock two hours before. That means we will have spent about 12 hours parked waiting for 4 ferries during our trip. If you do this trip bring lots of reading material.

Yesterday, as we arrived early, we went for a drive to the end of the road east of P-A-B. There is a old restored lighthouse in Rose Blanche. They call it Newfoundland's Peggy's Cove, but nicer. The lighthouse itself is not as picturesque but it is almost 200  years old but it sits on rocks just like Peggy's Cove but much higher from the sea. The 45 kilometres to get there from Port-Aux-Basques are very scenic. If the road conditions were better, as it needs repaving, this drive would be considered on of the most beautiful drives in Canada. Seashore, ponds, a waterfall and small villages make this drive way nicer that the Cabot Trail in my opinion. The villages along the way were celebrating Come Home Week so many of the houses were garnished with multicoloured flags and sign welcoming their people home. In Isle Aux Morts, there was a 3km trail called the Harvey Trail. It was to honour George Harvey who rescued and sheltered 163 people from a shipwrecks back in the early 1800's.

Port Aux-Basques itself is not that bad a place. There is a nice boardwalk in the harbour and there are lots of people around waiting for the next day's ferry. We are now getting ready to pack for the ferry and should arrive in our Sydney hotel around 6:30. When we got off the ferry in Argentia, we were the 3rd to last car off the ferry. That added about 30 minutes to the process. We hope to be a little luckier in North Sydney. We also hope to see part of the opening ceremonies of the Olympics when we get to Sydney.

Saturday August 6th - 8:30am AT - Sydney

We arrived last evening almost at the predicted time except that our car was on deck 1 on the ferry. The only way to get to deck 1 is to go through the floor of deck 3 and that means all the cars and trucks have to get off deck 3 and 5 before they even call us down to our cars on deck one. That means about 25 minutes after everyone else. Deck 1 wasn't full so I am not sure why people are stranded in Port-Aux-Basques.

When we arrived at the Hampton Inn in Membertou (not in Sydney itself), we immediately changed and headed to 'downtown' Sydney. It was a nice 30 minute walk that eventually bordered the waterfront. I think there is only one traffic light in the downtown area, at least that's all we saw. The crosswalks are rainbow colours at this intersection and there are lot of gay pride signs around. Not something you would expect in this small town but a good sign of acceptance.

We walked around for a while to see the big fiddle and then we needed a snack as the last time we ate was on the ferry. We stopped at a bar called the Old Triangle Irish Alehouse (one of 4 in a chain). It was packed and the service was awful. We sat at the bar because people at tables weren't getting served at all. Our drinks came fast but the appetizers we ordered were delivered one hour after we ordered them with a lot of apologies. There was a live band that was good (2 guys) so we stayed for a few drinks. We eventually took a cab back to the hotel as it was just past midnight and we had already walked 5kms around town.

Today we head off to St-Peter's on and staying at the Bras D'or Lakes Inn. There may also be a surprise there that I can only reveal in my next update. Stay tuned.

Sunday August 7th - 8:00am AT - St-Peter's

Yesterday was an easy drive from Sydney down to Saint Peter's where we are staying at the Bras D'or Lakes Inn. We couldn't check in so we had two things on our agenda. First we went down to Arichat on Ilse Madame. My father was born in Arichat and his parents are buried there. As you will see by the pictures of the headstone in graveyard, his father (my grandfather) died in 1908 at only 32 years old. He died at sea but the strange thing is that he died off the coast of B.C. not Nova Scotia. 1908 is the year my father was born so he never really had a father. Maude Theriault, my grandmother never really recovered from her husband's early death and she died less than 8 years later at 37 years old. My father was then cared for by his aunt Lil, a 'spinster' (never married). She sent him to boarding school in the later years. My paternal grandparents died over one hundred years ago which seems like so far away.

On the way back to St-Peter's from Arichat, we had planned a little surprise visit. Mike Fougere and Val (Sharpe) former Two Mountaineers have been living in Riviere Bourgeois since 1990. We haven't seen them since then so we dropped in unannounced. Val answered the door and didn't recognize Myrna for a few seconds until she said who she was. We spent a couple of hours catching up on 26 years.

St-Peters was a very busy place yesterday. There was the annual 'I Swam the Canal' event, there was a 50 year high school reunion and there was a wedding at our hotel. We were invited to join the reception at 9 but we were in bed by then after our Sydney Friday night. When we checked in, we got room 19 which as you know is my number. When we came back from supper as we couldn't eat in our own hotel, we couldn't get a parking spot. We squeezed the car in the back of the hotel on the grass which ended up right beside the back door of the Inn.

We are off to Halifax today in pretty crummy weather. It looks like rain and clouds for most of the day however Monday and Tuesday look really good. We will be relaxing for 3 nights in Halifax and then 3 nights in Saint John before heading home.

Monday August 8th 12:30am AT - Halifax

We arrived in Darmouth at 4:52 - 8 Minutes from the close of the one of the only NSLC (Nova Scotia Liquor Corp.) in the area. You can't buy wine or beer after 5 on a Sunday in NS and only a few of the NSLC outlets are open at all. It took us a long time to drive to Halifax from St-Peter's as we took Marine Drive for most of the way. Marine Drive is basically on the east coast of Nova Scotia. It has some great scenery but it not exactly a straight drive. At one point we ended at a ferry terminal but we couldn't see a ferry on the crossing so we turned back and detoured around.

When we arrived in Halifax we checked in to the Hollis Hotel. I used Airmiles to book this hotel and it only cost $104 for 3 nights. I had requested a harbour view and a high floor. We got the top floor (9) and a beautiful view of the harbour. We didn't stay in our room very long in our room because we were going to Myrna's cousin Gillian for a tasty lobster supper. She lives about 25 minutes away in Bedford in a beautiful apartment. We will probably get together again tomorrow and tour Halifax itself. The weather looks promising.

Wednesday August 10th, 9:00am AT - Leaving Halifax

Tuesday was another busy day visiting Halifax. We started with 3 hours at the Citadel, the fort that was too well built to ever have been attacked. When touring this magnificent structure, the guides almost regret that there was never an attempt to breach the wall of the fortress so there are no anecdotal accounts of any battle that involved the Halifax Citadel. There are more cannonball scars on the St-Eustache church than at the Citadel. We then went on to the Maritime Museum where there are many nautical items on display. There are also two exhibits that are interesting. The Halifax Explosion and Halifax's role in the Titanic recovery efforts. There are over 200 victims of the Titanic buried in various graveyards in Halifax. The Halifax explosion was 99 years ago on December 6th and there are many plans next year to commemorate this tragic event which took 2000 lives.

After those 2 visits, we decided to take the ferry to Darmouth. The short ride there and back costs only $2.50. When we got across, we decided to walk to the Woodside ferry terminal along the shore. There is a trail of about 3 kilometres between the terminals. We ended the evening at a restaurant called 2 Doors Down as it was one of the restaurants that was a walk-in establishment. Gill joined us for our last supper in Halifax. We then came back to the room to watch yet another medal for Michael Phelps and the American Gymnastics gold medal performance. I didn't make it to the end of Gymnastics as we walked quite a bit yesterday. According to our phone's pedometers, we did 14.75 kilometres which is over 20,000 steps, and over 22,000 in Myrna's case.

Today we are off to Saint John which is about a 5 hours drive as we will take it slowly. There are forest fires in the Annapolis Valley so we are not sure if that will affect our travel plans. We are in Saint John for 3 nights at the Delta Downtown. From there we will go see the Bay of Fundy and many of the interesting sites. It looks like we will be getting home some time on Saturday since I have a golf game early Sunday morning. After 4 weeks on the road, our bed will a welcome sight although some of the places we stayed at during this vacation will be hard to beat, especially this room in Halifax. Stay tuned for our last three sleeps in New Brunswick.

Thursday August 11th, 9:30am AT - Saint John, New Brunswick

Arrived in Saint John around 3pm and checked in the Delta Brunswick. It was quite a let down from our Halifax digs as our view is the dome of the indoor pool and other windows from the hotel looking at the same. I guess that what you get for $88 for 3 days (using Airmiles again). The room is alright but there is a letter explaining that the hotel will be spending 10 million dollars renovating the room and lobby. That project only starts in the fall so unless we come back here in 2 years it's all for naught.

We walked to Reversing Falls from downtown. Far enough to cost us $10 to come back by taxi. Myrna's disappointment in the sight of the 'falls' was palatable. We were there at 6:00pm which was high tide. In the lobby of our hotel it said this was the best time to view them. Well, there is no best time to view them in our opinion. At high tide, the water flows into the Saint John river. 3 hours later it stops and there is not visible flow in either direction. That's when boats can travel in the narrows. in the next 3 hours, the flow goes back in to the Bay of Fundy. Unless you are there for 6 hours, Reversing Falls is either a fast flowing river and a calm river. Here is Myrna's impression of Reversing Falls: Another Magnetic Hill...not so special. The walk was nice as I really like how they take advantage of their waterfront. We did see a seal so that was a bonus. Don't get me wrong, the water around the Falls is pretty, just not what is advertised to be.

 Friday August 12th, 10:30am AT - Last Day in Saint John, New Brunswick

Yesterday, we drove to the Hopewell Rocks which is a short drive from Moncton but not that short from Saint John. As soon as we were able to walk on the ocean floor at low tide, it started to rain. It rained until we got to the parking lot to leave. The Hopewell Rocks are a huge attraction here. We had to park in the overflow parking so I would say there was close to 1,000 people there maybe more. Fortunately, the rain dwindled down the crowd a bit. On March 16 of this year, one of the rocks here, the 'Elephant' collapsed. I am sure it won't be the last one to do that so the Rocks will change over time.

We got back to the hotel around 6 and eventually went out to the boardwalk and ate a couple of wings and had a few Mooseheads. Not going far today and preparing for the drive home early tomorrow.

Friday August 12 10:30pm AT - Saint John

We visited St-Martin and the Fundy Trail today. It was only an hour away so it was easy to get to. The rain spoiled some of our fun again but there were nice things to see. The Fundy Trail is only 19 kilometres right now but will be extended to the Fundy national park by 2018 which adds another 40kms to the current drive. It will make the Cabot Trail pale in comparison. The Fundy Trail is a private endeavour run by a not-for-profit corporation. I imagine that when the highway is complete, it will be a toll road but it will be spectacular.

We are taking it easy tonight as we have a 10 hour drive in the morning and we would like to get back before dark. Of course, the hour extra will help in doing that. Unless something unusual happens on the way home, this should be the last entry in the trip log. My new car which only had 4000kms when we left home, will probably have 11,000kms when we get home. We had a great time and except for the last 2 days, the weather was great. Hope you enjoyed our voyage. Stay tuned for our next trip.

Sunday August 14 7:00pm - Home Sweet Home

We arrived at home on Saturday just after 3:00pm Eastern time. We left just before 7:00am Atlantic time so the drive took just over 9 hours from Saint John to home. We were on divided highway throughout New Brunswick (except for a short stretch between Saint John and Fredericton), The only other time you are on a two way road is a stretch of 42.5 kilometres as you can see in the picture below. The last time we drove this in 1978 there was very little divided highway. Also New Brunswick highway's have a 110 km/h limit. The SQ was in force on the Quebec highways making sure the 100 km/h was respected.

As I said earlier, my 'new' car now has around 11,400 kms on it now which means I drove over 7,000 kms to 'break in' the car in 29 days.  Driving to Newfoundland is nice but calculate the wear and tear on your car, the gas and, of course, the ferry cost and it may not be the best option.

To sum up the trip in a few sentences: Except for 3 days, the weather was great. The Smith family reunion was outstanding and the one planned for 2020 promises to be even better. The torch has been passed to the younger generation and everyone is confident that they will keep the tradition going. Newfoundland is a must see destination for any Canadian but don't under estimate the time you need there. Book as much time as you can to be there. There are plenty of things to see and a lot to do. The two things we didn't see were moose and icebergs. The whales made up for the icebergs and my car is happy not to have met up with a moose. We did see one in New Brunswick as we left Saint John. She was merrily walking by the fence designed to keep them away from car.

The other part of the trip that made it special was meeting up with people that we hadn't seen in a while. Other than at the reunion, we got to spend a little time with cousins in Grand Falls, surprised the Fougere's in River Bourgeois NS, had a great evening with Ray on our first day in Fredericton and spent some quality time with Myrna's cousin Gillian, her maid of honour some 37 years ago.

All and all it was a great trip but as Simon and Garfunkel would sing, Gee, it's great to be back home. Home is where I want to be....At least until our next voyage...