Beginning of the End

Today I visited Cape Spear, the most easterly point in North America and therefore, Canada. This is it! Tomorrow I take a ferry away from Newfoundland and I begin my journey home. I am sure it will be filled with as much adventure as the way here.

I am skipping ahead from where I last left off, so I will rewind a bit.

Tuesday I caught the ferry from North Sydney, NS to Port aux Basques, NL. It departed at 3:00 pm, but I had to be there to check in by 1:00 pm. I was the first in the row I was in and the first to board. Being first to board meant I didn’t have any one to follow and I didn’t know where to go. The boarding crew were so lackadaisical, waving their hands in the air like they just didn’t care. So following their vague hand waves I parked, but no one else followed. I got out of my car and asked the nearest crew member where I was supposed to be and he just casually said, “Not there.” Gee, thanks! No one cared that I was in the wrong spot! After I got the parking situation figured out, I found a place to sit ... and sat. By the time the 2 hours until departure passed, I figured we should already be there. There was a guy behind me with sleep apnea, a man with a monotone voice reading very loudly to his son, a whiney kid, etc. Besides the wonderful selection of people, it was a very rough trip, apparently it can take up to 3 days after a storm for the water to calm and a few days previous there had been some strong winds.

We arrived in Newfoundland at 8:00 pm local time and by the time I pulled off the ferry it was 9:00 pm. I got about 20 minutes away from the ferry, heading towards a Walmart that was a 2 hour drive away, and I turned around. It was incredibly dark, I felt like I was missing fabulous scenery and all I hear about Newfoundland is not to ever drive in the dark as there are so many moose on the road. So I found myself a hotel for the night and started the trek across the island the next morning. It only took 10 hours, not the 13 Google Maps predicted. 

I pulled into St. John's, or what I assumed was St. John's through the thick fog, at 8:00 pm. It was only 9 degrees Celsius, and because it was the end of the line, I was going to treat myself to a hotel. Or not. The first place I went to was completely booked, so I borrowed their phone book and called every other hotel and B & B and there was no vacancy to be had. I even tried the only family in the Mennonite Your Way directory that lived in Newfoundland, no answer. I found the Walmart, and bundled up for a cold night.

The next morning by 8:30 am I was on my way to find coffee when I spotted the Holiday Inn and on a whim I decided to pull in and see if they had anything. They didn't have anything for that night, but there were 2 rooms left for Friday night. I told her I'd take one, I had called every hotel the night before and they were all full and it was a cold night to spend in the car. Next thing I knew, she had the room available for me immediately even though check in wasn't until 3:00 pm and for both nights! She told me to go right away and rest up a bit. I took her advice, had a hot bath and then was ready to start my day fresh!

Bathed and rested up, I decided to take an ocean tour with the company Iceberg Quest. It was cold and though I didn't see any icebergs or whales, I got a real ocean experience bobbing up and down in that dinky little boat, being blown and tossed by the waves. I even "dipped my toes" in to the Atlantic when the waves came crashing on board.

Cold and wet, I went back to the hotel, and had another hot bath. This time my phone joined me in the tub! It thankfully, was eventually as refreshed as I was and is as good as new! 

I tried to go for a nice lobster dinner last night, but apparently though lobster season just started in PEI, it has already ended here in Newfoundland. Hopefully I will be able to find someone serving in on my way back through Nova Scotia or New Brunswick!

Today, finally not foggy and MUCH warmer, it got up to 23 degrees, a huge improvement from the high of 11 yesterday. I wandered around the downtown waterfront area, saw the monument for Mile 0 of Terry Fox's journey from there I went to Cape Spear.
That brings me to where I started off, Cape Spear the farthest east I can get on this continent. I am so proud of myself for having come all this way on my own.
Tomorrow, west.

PEI and Nova Scotia

 
When I left off I had been in New Brunswick and about to enjoy the tides of the Bay of Fundy. Well, as amazing and beautiful as it was, I tell ya, there is something wrong with paying $9 to get into a park to look at some rocks (Hopewell Rocks). It is even wronger (not a word, I know) to pay $2 per trip to take a golf cart to said rocks when it only takes about 15 minutes to walk! As beautiful as these flowerpot rocks were, I wasn't enjoying myself sandwiched between people going up and down the crowded stairs to get to them. Tourism has ruined travel. I used a travel quote by Paul Theroux in one of my earlier blogs, but that is a quote by me. Next time you find yourself paying a ridiculous amount of money to be herded with a swarm of other tourists you can quote me, "Tourism has ruined travel."
Not to say I am not enjoying myself, I am!
My next stop was PEI. There I stayed with a fabulous couple, Jack & Shirley, that friends from Vernon connected me to. They were most welcoming and hospitable. The first day I took in Anne of Green Gables, a PEI must see. Though crowded with tourists, there were walking paths, "The Haunted Woods" and such that made for a peaceful walk and a nice afternoon.
As I was leaving Green Gables, I noticed that an indicator light on my dash had come on letting me know that a light was out. I sent a text to my dad asking him what to do. He called me back while I was driving to my next destination so I pulled over at what I thought was a random attraction. My dad talked me through taking the burned out bulb out and gave me instructions on putting a new one in after I had a chance to buy one.
When I hung up from the call, I thought I would take a few pictures of the cows before I moved on and when I first pulled on to the yard I had noticed a cat, and missing mine terribly, I figured this feline needed some squeezing. When I had finished enjoying the cows, I turned around to look for that cat only to realize that there were kittens, lots of kittens! As soon as I sat down one of them crawled right onto my lap! In the barn there were even more kittens, a pile. Tell me, what is better than a pile of kittens? There had to be dozens! It completely made my day.


As hard as it was, I eventually left the cat farm... I mean cow farm, and toured around the island. I covered a lot of the south shore stopping at many waterfront areas including Cabot Beach Provincial Park where I saw a fox! A thrill as I haven't seen much wildlife at all, except the copious amounts of lifeless raccoon on the side of the highway.
I eventually, after a very full day, made my way back to Charlottetown where I found a Canadian Tire and purchased a new bulb for my car. In the parking lot I popped the hood and put it in all by myself! Careful, of course, not to touch the new bulb. It feels really good to be able to do things on your own! With a little over the phone coaching from dad of course!
Jack & Shirley took me touring the East side of the island the next day, they were great fun. We stopped for fish and chips for lunch and they took me to this place called Basin Head where we jumped off a wall into a canal sort of thing and then rode the current down to a sand bar in the ocean! It was very cold at first, but it was great fun! A highlight for sure. In the evening they invited me along with them to friends of theirs for a nice home cooked roast beef dinner.
I hadn't seen a provincial sign on my way into PEI, it was raining so I didn't look to hard, so on the way out I stopped at an info booth and asked where it was. I was told they were doing some landscaping so the sign had been temporarily removed. I told them I hadn't missed a provincial sign yet, so they suggested across the street there was a sign that might do.

Crossing the Confederation Bridge again, I continued on to Nova Scotia.

My first day in Nova Scotia I didn't see or enjoy much as I had picked up some sort of bug and I was feverish with a very upset stomach. I spent quite a bit of the afternoon snoozing in my car.
Feeling much better the next day (yesterday) I explored Nova Scotia. From my home base at the Walmart in Dartmouth, I visited Cow Bay thinking of my dear friend Vashti, who loves cows. I then moved on to the more touristy attractions such as Peggy's Cove where I did an ocean boat tour, I unfortunately didn't see any whales. I also went to Mahone Bay, but didn't see too much there as it was Sunday and already almost 6 pm so most shops were closed.
Today I am going to have a relaxing day as it is a bit rainy. After I finish this blog I am going to make my way over to the Chatters and see about getting my hair cut and then do a little shopping, maybe find a Pearl Vision and see about getting my glasses adjusted. In the evening I will get to visit with Maria, a friend who used to live in Vernon, who I just discovered a couple weeks ago via Facebook, is living in Halifax and has an internship at the Halifax Regional Library.
Only one more province left to go...

New Brunswick

I arrived in Fredericton, NB on Friday afternoon. I checked into the local hostel and because it was so close to downtown I went for a walk and ended up strolling along the walking/biking path beside river with an ice cream cone. It was very peaceful and relaxing. The next day being Sunday left me with little to do but relax some more as 90% of the town is closed on a Sunday and the few stores that actually open only do so from 12-5 pm. I sat and read in a park and then rented a bike and rode along the same path I had walked the night before, this time getting to explore a little further.
This morning I made my way to Saint John, NB not to be mistaken with St. John's, NL. I drove right to the city centre where I spotted a market. I found a parking lot right away and a wonderful surprise, parking was free because of New Brunswick Day! A welcome relief after paying $3/hour the past few places I have been. It turns out I arrived at the same time as a big cruise ship which, while crowded, ended up being a good thing because the vendors set up on cruise days and as they are on Sundays, most shops were closed for the holiday. Along the side walks for blocks and blocks were flea market type vendors with wonderful goodies! I usually associate flea markets with junk, but this one had treasures! Wonderful items that reminded me of childhood. I even purchased a Game Genie for my Nintendo! After I had exhausted the flea market I toured the streets enjoying the architecture. I had seen some signs coming in from the highway for the reversing falls, a kind of waterfall that reverses directions depending on the tide so I drove there to observe this phenomenon, but of course only saw one of the directions because I didn't feel like staying around for 6 hours for the next change. Maybe I will stop by in the morning to see what direction they are going then.
After the falls I used the GPS to find a Starbucks and it brought me to the middle of a bridge. The GPS's error ended up being a pleasant surprise. At the other end of the bridge when I went to turn around I found myself at a park with a little beach, so I abandoned my Starbucks hunt and went for a swim and sat and read enjoying the sun for awhile. As it has now cooled off I am in Starbucks one of the few places still open despite the holiday.
Tomorrow I enjoy the tides of the Bay of Fundy. I will stop by Hopewll Rocks, Fundy National Park and Cape Enrage and hopefully catch them at the right cycles of the tide.
Today is one month since I began my journey and I am almost ready to turn around and begin my trek back. Only 3 more provinces to go!