HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN, RIDITY JIG!

Yesterday was a very angry day - dark clouds, rain and wind that I thought would knock me off the road - and so it seemed fitting that last night I camped in a town called Milestone.  Indeed, it was.  Time to look forward but also a time to reflect on the past 10 weeks.

After 13,644.8 km; one amazing encounter with a humpback whale; 30 cemeteries; a carriage ride through old Lunenburg; 26 very high bridges - and the Confederation Bridge (13.1km) both ways; 9 ferry rides; 1 flat tire; 6 weeks of fun with my best friend; 2,650 new ancestors; too much lobster (well, not really); 10 border crossings; tea at Rita McNeill`s; getting to know my cousins much better; a trip on the Cabot Trail; a visit to Green Gables and a thousand other adventures, I`m home.  No traffic tickets; no major plumbing problems; 2 tornadoes; and heat that would melt tar.

Highlights were:

1. First and foremost, spending so much `quality` time with Ann.
2. Meeting my cousin, John for the first time and spending a day journeying back into the Bragg family history.
3. Green Gables
4. The whale
5. Rita`s Tea Room
6. KOA Kampgrounds
7. The Lobster Man
8. Outlet stores

Some disappointments were:

1. The Trapp Family Lodge
2. A seafood dinner one night in Amherst
3. Lavender scented kitty litter

The trip was really a feast for the senses:

• We saw magical golden sunsets over the Northumberland Strait; velvety, red sandy beaches on PEI; dark, cool pine forests of Maine and New Brunswick; Lupins and daisies and black eyed susans in the ditches; a fat little baby bear; tall ships; quaint little postcard villages; Peggy`s Cove and Digby Neck.

• We were treated to fresh cut clover and lobster steaming in sea water, soft ocean breezes.

• We heard bagpipes; scrappy little black birds; fiddles; and yes our ukuleles.

• Everywhere we turned was a new vista to  proclaim over and our language often failed us. 

The kitty`s survived - still riding under the bedclothes while we were rolling down the road, but quite at home in the motorhome when we stopped.

I discovered a lot about my family roots while I was away, as well.  Who knew we were Swedish.  Now I have to study up on the Salem Witch Trials, the Boston Tea Party, the Puritans and the Presbyterians.

A wonderful summer - the best ever.  Can`t wait to see what comes next!

The End!

ONE MORE RIVER TO CROSS (THANK GOODNESS IT'S NOT A BRIDGE)

So here I am in Minot, North Dakota. One final chance to hit the Target (so to speak) before crossing the border. It's been a naturey kind of day. I started out in Grand Forks this morning in a raging rain storm. The sky was black and there were streaks of lightening hurtling across the sky. But, as in Saskatchewan, just wait an hour and it could all be different – and it was. Within an hour I drove out of the storm and into clear blue prairie skies. The road from there to here is pretty flat, almost empty and an invitation to a wandering mind. Fortunately, North Dakota has some of the best rest stop areas I've come across. There seem to be an extraordinary number of very large dragonflies about. Itty bitty little helicopters flying in formation beside me as I roll down the road. The first part of the trip today was through vast – hundreds of miles of marshland teeming with waterfowl. Perky little ducks splashing away and having a great time. Later I drove through the most incredible fields of nodding, golden sunflowers. I wanted to stop and see if they all followed the sun across the sky. Finally I ran into a plague of little white butterflies. There were thousands of them over several miles, accompanied by Kamikaze barn swallows swooping down in front of me to catch them in mid air.

  

I drove through Rugby today, the geographical centre of North America and remembered that in Stewiake, Nova Scotia I had passed through the latitudinal centre of the continent.

 

Gas prices are all over the place in this state. From a high of $2.89 a gallon to the lovely little independent I bought gas from yesterday for $2.66 – I haven't seen better than that since.

 

Don't you just love cucumber sandwiches?

 

How do I know I'm getting close to home?

 

1. People have stopped saying “Boy you're a long way from home”.
2. People have actually heard of Saskatchewan.
3. I'm listening to CBC Regina on my computer in the evenings.
4. I saw my first flock of migrating Canada Geese this morning.
5. I'm almost out of American money.

 

 One nice thing about driving through North Dakota is that I don't have to argue with Miss Hathaway so much. She signs on in the morning with a “Drive 357 km” and then goes back to sleep for the rest of the trip.  Have you heard the song "Shut up and Drive"?

 

 

 

To be continued........

AC, SALEM AND MY BEGATS

The thermometer hit a glorious 97 degrees today, so it was a perfect day to be inside my lovely air conditioned bubble, rolling along the empty highways (and very good highways they are) and enjoying the scenery of northern Minnesota.  I'm back at the home of Paul Bunyan, Bemidji and after setting up, I took advantage of the cool and refreshing pool and then came back to the bubble for a little nap.  AC, I love you!

As you know, the original purpose for this trip was to dig further into my family roots  and that was why Ann and I tripped through all those cemeteries in Nova Scotia, swatting black flies and taking pictures of anything that vaguely resembled a tombstone.  In Pugwash, I found several thousand new family members at the Historical Society and then as I studied the material I found that my family tree really reads like an Edward Rutherford novel.  One of my ancestors was an Examiner at the Salem Witch Trials, another was on the scene during the Boston Tea Party and during the American Revolution the family was split down the middle with some members remaining loyal to the British Crown while others were staunch patriots.  I have always said we should count our toes because in those early days there was a lot of inter-marriage in the small populations.  I found Abigail Kendall Reed who had an extra finger on each hand and an extra toe on each foot - Uh Oh!

One little book I found in Nova Scotia is called The Valley of the Remsheg.  It chronicles the Loyalist families who left New York to settle in Cumberland County.  I call it my "book of begats" because it is a 350 page genealogy of theses families and because of the aforementioned inter-marriages, am descended from at least half the Remsheg Grantees.  The Remsheg, by the way, is a river on the Northumberland shore of Nova Scotia. Last summer, the town of Wallace celebrated the 250th anniversary of the arrival of the Loyalists and I'm sorry I missed it.   As I wade through this awesome book, I can't help but think of the lives lived by these early ancestors.  Each one of them has a story and I wish I knew more about them than just their vital statistics.

As I seem to be looking back on my trip - getting closer to home every day- I am remembering some of the people who made the trip such a great adventure.  Of course, there is Ann - who made me laugh 'til my sides split and who was the best travelling companion one could imagine.  There was the Lobster Man from Bar Harbor, who lives in Florida and comes back to Maine every summer to cook fresh lobster for the campers at the Bar Harbor KOA.  There was the young lady who took us for a carriage ride through the streets of old Lunenburg and her horse, Ricky.  She was a most entertaining guide!  There were the two sisters who were the guides on the whale watching boat near Digby and who were as excited about seeing the whale as we were.  There was my little friend, Helen, from Waterfalls Lodge at Blind River, who made me breakfast and packed me a little lunch the day I left.  There was the group of garage guys who fixed a flat tire for me - I wasn't aware it was a 4 man job - but, hey, they're the experts.  There was Brian from the service station in Lake Placid who cut himself badly trying to fix our step, and then insisted he was OK.  And there was my family - Charlotte who I've come to know so much better during our visits in Nova Scotia and John who let me ride in his Lexus convertible and who introduced me to more of the Bragg history.  Good people all - thanks guys!

To be continued........

OH NO, DOROTHY - NOT AGAIN!

Well wasn't that fun!  Last night just as it was getting dark it started to rain - and I mean RAIN!  Thunder and lightening, pounding hail - the works!

Next thing I knew there was a knock on my door and one of the staff from the campground informed me that there was a tornado warning issued for the area and that we were all to leave our campers and go to the campground office. We expected to see the Wicked Witch of the North fly by on her bicycle at any moment.  We were there until about 3 am when the weather bureau finally lifted the warning.  We spent the time drinking coffee and chatting, with everyone's eye on the windows.  Fortunately for us, the twister touched down elsewhere and ripped a farm apart.  No one was injured, but it was definitely a night to remember.  And so, there went my worst nightmare of ending it all in a trailer park in a tornado. (Again - we weathered a tornado at Goderich, Ontario last summer).  Needless to say, my cats were glad to see me when I waded back to the camper.

So, after a sleep-in I am spending the rest of the day doing a cleanup.  Since I'm in the "Martha" mood, I'd like to pass along some tips for those of you who may want to take a trip like this:

1. The perfect bath mat for a bathroom as tiny as mine, is a place mat.  They come in all sorts of colourful patterns, are easy to shake out and a snap to wash.
2. Swimming noodles are great for keeping things stored in the underneath compartments from rattling together and making a lot of noise on the road.
3. Velcro dots are a great way of hanging photos and other decorative wall art.
4. Rubber shelf liner has many uses:
1. They make a great bathtub mat - to keep from slipping.
2. They are great under the cat dishes to keep them from sliding around the floor.
3. Little squares between the dishes keep them from rattling.
4. Of course, lining the cupboards and drawers keeps things in place.
5. Velcro strips are great for keeping stuff from sliding around:
1. Put strips on the bottom of the radio so it can sit on the fridge without moving.
2. Put strips on the broom so it will sit against the wall without flying around
3. Strips on the bottom of plastic containers to hold books, CDs and tapes.
6. Plastic dish washing tubs are a great way to keep the sewer hose separate from everything else - just put a bit of bleach in the tub after each use.  I also use one for the clean water hose to keep it clean.

So now everything is ship shape and I am back on the road tomorrow.

To be continued......

WHAT IS FUNGUS FEST?

I tell you folks, as of today I have seen it all!!  I was driving through the lovely little city of Chrystal Falls on the north shore (or the UP (upper peninsula)) of Lake Michigan today and all of a sudden  I spotted a banner over the street welcoming me to Fungus Fest.  I couldn't resist - I had to find out what it is all about.  So...

What is a Humungus Fungus you ask? Several years ago a "humungus fungus" (a GIGANTIC mushroom) was discovered in the Crystal Falls area. It weighs roughly 11 tons and covers 37 acres. This makes it the largest mushroom (fungus) in the world - it's hard to believe this monster mushroom is growing in Michigan and not Texas! Based on the average rate of growth through the soil, the Humungus Fungus is probably more than 1,500 years old.

Now all I need is a REALLY bit steak!

Tonight I'm in Minnesota, just outside Duluth.  As I drove along today I was nostalgic for home when I saw thousands of Canada Geese in the parks, golf courses and, obviously cemeteries.  Only down here they call them Canadian Geese and I think it's because they need someone to blame for all that poop all over the place.

So how do you know when you're in America?  Here are some of the ways I know:

1. Today I saw a public rifle range right beside the highway.
2. My wallet is full of $1.00 bills
3. I'm tooling along the highway at 55 when I realize I should be reading the little numbers and am only going 30 miles an hour.
4. When I say I'm from Saskatchewan, many people give me that blank stare, as if I think they should know where I'm talking about.
5. There is no Tim Hortons and Dunkin Donuts' Ice Caps suck!
6. There is a John Deere dealership on every corner - just like Starbucks in Vancouver.
7. The fact that Proposition 8 is the top story on every newscast (as if it should even be an issue).

I've seen a lot of shut down businesses along this trip - mostly motels and it seems to me that they would be great for temporary shelter for those who need it.  What a shame that people are sleeping in the streets when all these buildings meant for sleeping in, lay empty.

Off to the pool for a pre-dinner swim.

To be continued.........

FAERIES???

Yesterday, my new friend from Waterfalls Lodge, Helen, made me a beautiful breakfast of bagels, cheese and fruit and coffee to start me on my way.  It was very thoughtful of her and was much appreciated.

I drove as far as Sault Ste. Marie and decided to stop for the day.  It was raining and I still haven't decided whether I'm going to head back through the states or continue on up over Lake Superior.  The KOA here is really pretty, set in a little glen surrounded by forest and alive with wildflowers and birds.  As I finished hooking up, it began to rain again - a soft quiet curtain falling gently through the already saturated air.  Can the humidity get higher than 100%?  I settled down with my coffee and set out to finish the Edward Rutherford book, The Forest, that I have been working my way through all summer. 

At some point, I realized the sun was breaking through and I looked out into this magical scene.  Tiny little rainbows arched over the puddles, like bouquets of  posies and the big fat drops of water in the grass sparkled as they fell to the ground.  It looked like a thousand faeries dancing on the wet lawn.  Maybe I'd fallen asleep while reading, but if so, it was a great dream sequence.  Oh, and the faeries were really gigantic mosquitoes.

My cats love to sit at the screen door and watch the birds and animals in the various campgrounds.  Yesterday, at Waterfalls Lodge they were riveted by Lake Gulls and Crows - black and white TV, you might say.  We bought some peanuts to feed the chipmunks at Lake Placid, so I put some out on the picnic table to see who might come along.  Over the next couple of hours, the kittys got to watch Bluejays, Cardinals, Yellow Finches, a few chipmunks and a chattery red squirrel - an upgrade to coloured TV.  Yay!

I have to say that the best deal so far on this trip is the propane.  We've showered, laundered, washed dishes, and kept warm with the furnace for a little over $30.00.  Can't beat that.

I'm going to take a look around the Sault today and than back on the road tomorrow - and into my next Edward Rutherford book.

To be continued.....

After my aqua-cycle lesson was rained out this morning (I don't get it, I would have gotten wet anyway), I decided to drive into Eliot Lake to take a look around.  After picking up a few groceries, I headed back and then FINALLY - after 9 weeks on the road, through forests and fields - I spotted a pudgy, little black bear on the side of the road.  He seemed to be trying to catch a butterfly and was totally oblivious to my approach until I was right beside him.  Knowing his Mom was nearby, I snapped this photo through the window and continued on my way.  As I drove off, I looked in my rear view mirror and saw that he had moved to the middle of the road and seemed to be waving me goodbye.  It reminded me of the many road trips we took as kids where our parents kept us occupied by watching for bears in the woods.

Every campground has its particular characters and this one is no exception.  Helen, a 70 something widow is tiny and looks a lot like a little dragonfly.  Like the busy bug, she flits from campsite to campsite, carrying stories, gossip and making sure everyone is OK.  She brought me a cup of coffee this morning (long before I was ready to get up, however).  She is a seasonal camper - all the way from Eliot Lake (33km away) who has been coming here every summer for 27 years.  If you need to know anything about this place, ask Helen.

CBC Radio has a tag line at it's station identification every hour that says "You're listening to CBC Radio One in (name the city).  Canada lives here!"   Having crossed this country twice, that line gets me every time, no matter where I am.  Canada lives in the silky soft red sand of a PEI beach.  Canada lives in the foaming, crazy waterfall beside the highway near Spanish, Ontario.  Canada lives in the Knuckle (pronounced K nuckle with a hard K) company's bright red sheds on the Lunenburg docks.  Canada lives in a sleepy little churchyard in Oxford Junction, Nova Scotia; and in Tim Horton Ice Caps; and gas prices that go from 93.9 to 1.11 in just a few miles; and in a breaching humpback whale on the Bay of Fundy; and in the lupin and daisy filled ditches of New Brunswick; and at Ann's house; and at Anne's house; and on ferries; and on bridges and on all those little twisty country roads.  As I've said many times, it is a feast for all the senses.

Off to the Sault tomorrow and getting closer to home every day.

To be  continued.........