Sunday, while the sun was out, we went to a Celtic Day celebration at the Mills Estate. There were Irish dancers and story tellers, Guinness and haggis (we indulged in neither). But, mostly, there were pipers: I’m a big fan of bagpipe music, especially the Uilleann pipes, the national bagpipe of Ireland, which derives its … Continue reading
We had intended to spend a little time in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, although we did need to get to Rhinebeck, New York, by Sunday, September 30th. Unfortunately, we encountered bad weather, so we decided to just drive the backroads without any significant sight-seeing. By the time we got to Rhinebeck on Friday, water … Continue reading
We’ve been traversing Maine via U.S. Highway 1, known to us in the Florida Keys as the “Overseas Highway,” but here along the North Atlantic coast, referred to as the “Atlantic Highway,” and also, occasionally, as “Maine Street” (those clever New Englanders). At any rate, as we left our Walmart camping site in Rockland, Maine, … Continue reading
Yesterday, as we began our travels south in Maine, we took a wrong turn out of Calais and – purely by accident – ended up at West Quoddy Head State Park. We continued driving, looking for somewhere to turn around, which isn’t as easy as it sounds when you’re on a rural road, driving an … Continue reading
It was a 3 hour drive across Nova Scotia from Lunenburg to Digby where we caught the ferry across the Bay of Fundy to St. John on New Brunswick. This was the biggest ferry we have been on with the RV in all of our travels so far. Here’s a photo of our RV at … Continue reading
While staying in Lunenburg, we spent a few hours driving along the Atlantic coast. I’ve never been anywhere as scenic as the Nova Scotia coast, south of Halifax. There’s a photograph waiting to be taken around every corner and most of them have boats in them. First though, here are two photos that I took … Continue reading
We were reluctant to spend much time at the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic because it was such a beautiful day, but we’re glad we did, after all. The museum is staffed by very well-informed docents and the exhibits are all very good. Our favorite was the exhibit describing the history of cod fishing on … Continue reading
I previously mentioned that after returning Louisbourg to the French at the end of hostilities in 1748, the British military established a fort and town about 250 miles to the southwest at present-day Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1749, the British government sent a governor to the new stronghold at Halifax, Gov. Edward Cornwallis, along with … Continue reading
We both caught cold in Halifax, so we had to take it a little easy during our stay in the Lunenburg area in order to recover. We did get out to walk and drive around the area, however. One of our excursions was out to the end of the peninsula to a little fishing village … Continue reading
Yesterday, we left Halifax and drove to Lunenburg. On the way, we detoured to Peggy’s Cove and its lighthouse, purportedly one of the most photographed sites in Nova Scotia. You can see why it has that reputation: We walked out on the rocks where the signs say you’re not supposed to go and I turned … Continue reading
We left clear blue skies behind when we departed Cape Breton and started our journey south. In Halifax, we had two days of rain, but during a break in the bad weather on Saturday, we drove downtown to visit the Citadel, the fort constructed by the British to protect the harbor at Halifax. You might … Continue reading
For our last day on Cape Breton Island, we decided to drive the 300 km (180 mile) Cabot Trail, a scenic drive around the Cape Breton Highlands, the northernmost part of Nova Scotia. It was a beautiful, clear day. This part of Cape Breton has a heavy Scottish Highland influence. Not only are some of … Continue reading
On Monday, we drove to the eastern shore of Cape Breton Island to visit the Fortress at Louisbourg, a National Historic Site of Canada. The town and fortress at Louisbourg were both destroyed in the mid-1700s, but the Canadian government located the plans to the fort and most of the important buildings in the archives … Continue reading
Sunday morning, we drove east from the campground, through Charlottetown to the Wood Islands ferry terminal, then took the 75-minute ferry across the Northumberland Strait to Nova Scotia. Landing at Caribou, we rounded a barrier island that was covered with seabirds. Nova Scotia was originally discovered in 1497 by an Italian adventurer (turned English) with … Continue reading
Before leaving Moncton, New Brunswick, on Friday, we drove up (down?) Magnetic Hill. Starting at the “top” of Magnetic Hill, you drive down the road to a post marking the “bottom” and then put your car into neutral and take your foot off the brake. . . and then your car starts to coast backwards … Continue reading
We left St. Andrews at noon and drove the brand new Highway 1 to Sussex, then turned south and took the scenic coastal road through Fundy (Canadian) National Park. The drive was beautiful, but nearing the end of the Park we came upon a sign that read “Danger Next 4km: Sharp Curves; Steep Grade.” The … Continue reading
When we stopped at the Canadian welcome center upon crossing the border from Maine to New Brunswick, the woman that we talked to inside about things to do and see in this part of Canada told us that there was lots to see on the New Brunswick side of the Bay of Fundy and that … Continue reading
We decided to leave Bangor and drive to Houlton ME which is located right at the Canadian border. From Houlton, we waited over night for Hurricane Leslie to continue on its way past Nova Scotia. Here’s the radar map from Monday evening showing the outer bands over Halifax, the capitol of Nova Scotia, about 300 … Continue reading
Our plan was to get to Maine (ME) in four days, and we succeeded. To continue the listing of our travels so far: Day 4 (Sunday) – Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, stopped in Bangor, 413 miles, overcast most of the day. The drive from Milford CT to Bangor ME was similar to the … Continue reading
We’ve been making pretty good time on our trip north to Nova Scotia: Day 1 (Thursday) – Florida, Georgia, stopped north of Savannah, 561 miles with rain about half the time; Day 2 (Friday) – South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, stopped north of Richmond, 475 miles, a few small showers; Day 3 (Saturday) – Maryland, … Continue reading
We started out this morning for a little drive up I-95…to Nova Scotia. Here we are, just getting on the Interstate at its southernmost terminus; that’s downtown Miami in the background. Say goodbye to Miami Beach and South Florida for a couple weeks… Last look from the top of the Golden Gate flyover in North … Continue reading
Tropical Storm Isaac decided not to visit Florida after all, veering southwest around Key West at the last minute late yesterday. The winds probably gusted to around 50 mph, continuing through today, and we had quite a lot of rain, but no damage to our home or the neighborhood. Today, we walked to the end … Continue reading
We spent yesterday and this morning preparing for Hurricane Isaac’s arrival. Here’s the current position: Isaac is projected to get to Hurricane Category 1 status about the time it hits us in the Florida Keys. This will be the first hurricane to make landfall in the Keys in 7 years. We’re expecting sustained winds of … Continue reading
Waikiki, in the heart of Honolulu, is the tourist mecca of Hawaii; an especially popular destination for Japanese and Koreans. Our hotel was on the western end of Waikiki Beach which gave us a nice view of the extinct volcano known as Diamond Head. Waikiki, like Galt Ocean Mile and Miami Beach in Florida, is … Continue reading
We’re in Honolulu for our 30th anniversary, starting our journey home in the morning Earlier in the day, we stopped at the Top of Waikiki restaurant to make reservations for dinner. The hostess wasn’t very amused when she asked me for a name for the reservation and I said, “Ulmer. Book ’em Danno.” Anyway, the … Continue reading
The Road Less Traveled 