Loving Canada!

It’s been a bit since I updated (again). We have had minimal internet the last few nights, and minimal time the few nights before that!

So, we found out that Canada also has Labor Day, and campsites fill up fast for that weekend! But we found a spot to stay at the South Montreal KOA. It had a fun playground, nice bathrooms, and good access to Montreal. Upon arrival (Friday of Labor Day weekend), there was a festive and fall feel in the air. The next morning it was raining and we took it slow. We eventually went into Montreal and hiked in the Mount Royal Park (or Parc du Mont-Royal in French). It was drizzling for the first half of the hike and downpouring for the second half. We were grateful for rain jackets and umbrella but were dripping wet upon arriving back at the van!

And we were grateful for art! The signs had great pictures, especially since we don’t speak French.

We then got warm beverages at a small café (and I include small, because it was probably about the size of our bathroom) and wandered around for a few blocks since the rain had stopped. We saw beautiful buildings, a church with 2 limos pulling up and a wedding party getting out, and some beautiful flowers. Definitely a tiny, but wonderful, taste of the city.

Upon the recommendation of our neighbor, Jason, at the KOA, we headed to Quebec City next. Since we had gone to Montreal, we had thought about skipping Quebec City, but we are so glad we didn’t! We got a campsite in Beaumont and then took the ferry over to Quebec City. So cool. When you get off the ferry you are at the base of the old town and just go up – streets, staircases, etc. It was Sunday of Labor Day weekend, and it was packed! We walked up to the Fairmont Hotel, to the Citadel, by parliament, and through a pedestrian road/shopping/food place. The terrain was anything but flat and so, so cool! It felt very European. One of our favorite places so far.

Campsite Photos in Beaumont – Camping Guilmette

From there we continued north and east to Riviere-du-Loup along the St. Lawrence River – which we found out turns to salt water just east of Quebec City. We found a lovely park to walk/play and narrow scenic roads to drive our large camper down. No pedestrians were injured in this excursion. This was the furthest north we have been on our trip.

We then set sights southward to Nova Scotia. That meant travelling south away from the St. Lawrence corridor to head over the Canadian section of the Appalachian Mountains. Our van did great hauling over the hills which was a relief. And we think we’ve finally named the van and the camper – Van = Moby, Camper = Richard (Dick for short). It stemmed from the idea that the van looks a bit like a great white whale. It has stuck.

It was Labor Day as we were driving, and we saw a number of hot air balloons in the sky as we drove. Reminded us of Labor Day in Colorado Springs!

We stopped in Great Falls, New Brunswick to check out some great falls and then continued to Woodstock, New Brunswick where we parked in a Walmart parking lot for the evening. Amazingly enough, the Walmart was closed – for Labor Day! When we pulled into the parking lot there was one other van there, but within an hour there were a total of 8 of us!

We also tried to see the northern lights that night, but with the lights of the parking lot, we didn’t see anything with the naked eye. I took a zoomed-in picture on my phone, and you can see a tinge of pink/purple, but it’s not impressive – but still sort of cool.

The next morning, we drove to Amherst Shore, Nova Scotia. We stayed here 3 nights on a nice, wooded campsite. Wednesday, we did school (not on the go), and then went to Pugwash, N.S. Yes, Pugwash. It was recommended by a campground employee, and we were skeptical with that name, but it was really impressive. We visited the Thinker’s Lodge (a national historic site). It was the site of the first conference of scientists for peace called for in the Russell-Einstein Manifesto in 1955 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%E2%80%93Einstein_Manifesto). It was hosted by Cyrus (and Anne) Eaton and became known as the Pugwash conference which is still held today. The conference won a Nobel Peace Prize with Joseph Rotblat in 1995. The actual Nobel Peace Prize is on display in the house. The house is still used today for conferences, weddings, etc.

We also found out that there are salt mines in Pugwash – like mines that go down 1000-1500 feet and then out under the harbor where they harvest industrial salt. Matt really wanted a tour, but they stopped giving them a few years back…

After that we went over to the ‘beach’ area where they had docks as well. We met another family there who was catching sea creatures. We caught/saw crabs (including hermit crabs), starfish, schools of little fish, and other random treasures. We need to get our own nets for catching things!

A stop for ice cream rounded out the day. Another good one.

On Thursday we went to Prince Edward Island National Park. We went to the Green Gables Visitor Center where we learned so much about Lucy Maud Montgomery and got to see the life she lived and created for her fictional ‘Anne-girl’. An experience complete with dress up clothes, walks through the woods, and raspberry cordial. (I put a lot of quotes from from here on our quote page. Feel free to check them out!) Then we took a drive through the park and around the island. A stop at the beach and then for fish and chips and poutine rounded out the day before heading ‘home’ to Nova Scotia. Prince Edward Island was one of the places I was most looking forward to going as we were planning this trip- so glad it was able to happen. We are tired, but grateful for this experience.