June 29
It's Friday night and we're on vacation again...WOOHOO! This time around we've decided to go to Ottawa, ON. to experience Canada Day at our nation's Capital. Should be fun! Our plan is to cut through the State of Maine, because it's actually a shorter route for those of us that live in the southern part of New Brunswick. So we left the house around 6:30pm and drove as far as Bangor, ME. Sheila's two sisters are also starting vacation this weekend and they're planning on overnighting at the Bangor Wal-Mart with their RVs. We thought we'd join them. We spotted the Wal-Mart a mile away. It was easy, with the dozens of RVs that were in the parking. It was unbelievable! Just like a campground! We met up with everyone, and had a great time, just sitting around chatting all evening!
June 30
This morning we said our goodbyes to everyone and hit the road around 9:00. Eventually stopping for lunch at a little diner in Stratton, ME. Coincidentally it was called "The Stratton Diner". I had the meatball sub and Sheila had the fish and chips. We thought we would splurge and have some desert as well, so I ordered the Peanut Butter Pie and Sheila had the Pecan Pie. Everything was delicious. After our little feed we were back on the road. An hour later we crossed the border into Quebec. We stopped for a gas just outside Sherbrooke, QC. and continued on our merry way. By 7:00pm we rolled into the Ottawa Municipal Campground. This is a great campground! Roomy, wooded sites. Very nice. And even though we're in the city, this place has a very rural feel to it. I like it.July 1
WOW...here we are, in Ottawa on Canada Day! Didn't do a great deal this morning. Had some breakfast and watched some TV. Took puppies for a stroll. Basically just took it easy until about noon because we knew it could be a late night. Around 1:00 we headed out, but we didn't need to drive very far. Lucky for us, there was a 'Park and Ride' bus stop just a few minutes from the campground on Eagleson. Unfortunately we arrived at the bus stop to find quite a large crowd waiting... :( Oh well. I guess it was a good thing we weren't in a big hurry. We missed out on the first couple buses (the buses were about 15 minutes apart). Eventually we did get on one and were whisked off to Parliament Hill. We got off the bus at the Slater stop in downtown. The city streets didn't seem too busy at the time, but that would change!! The big show 'on the hill' wouldn't start until later in the day, so we thought we'd wander around the downtown area a bit. This is so cool! Several of the downtown streets were closed to traffic with only pedestrians allowed. There was even a ban on bicycles. Lots of vendors, selling just about every kind of souvenir or snack, and lots of street performers - everything from contortionists to circus acts. Very much a festival atmosphere. Neat!!July 2
We slept in a bit this morning...it was a late night last night. Toasted some bagels for breakfast, then watched some TV while we ate. After a bit, we decided to head into town and do a city tour. Came across The Trolley Tour Company. Bought two tickets and jumped on board. Wow, Ottawa is a neat place! This tour lasted 1 1/2 hours and we covered a lot of ground. The tour took us past the Parliament Buildings, The National Bank, Rideau Hall, the Royal Canadian Mint, the National Gallery of Canada, RCMP stables, and so on. Past all the Embassies, over to Hull and back again, then along the Rideau Canal and back to downtown.July 3
Woke up to a beautiful day, so we decided to drive to Ganonoque, ON. and do a 1000 Islands boat tour. It is such a cool place! "1000 Islands" is the name given to a section of the St. Lawrence River situated between Ontario and New York. The river widens at this point and contains many islands. There are actually well over 1000 islands in this region. Large, small and all sizes in between. Some barely big enough for a tree, others just big enough for a cottage while others are big enough for several homes. 1000 Islands is also home of the famous Boldt Castle - the setting of the saddest love story ever... At the turn of the century, George Boldt, owner of the world famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City purchased Heart Island in Alexandria Bay and laid out plans to build a magnificent Rhineland-style castle as a display of his love for his wife, Louise. Beginning in 1900, 300 workers, including stonemasons, carpenters and artists labored away on Boldt's dream castle - six stories, 120 rooms, complete with tunnels, an Italian garden and a drawbridge. No detail was overlooked. No expense was spared. Until 1904. Tragedy struck and Louise passed away. George Boldt telegraphed the island and ordered that all work be stopped immediately. A broken hearted Boldt could not imagine the castle without his beloved. He never returned to the island, leaving behind the partially completed monument of his love.July 4
We went back into town today because we've been wanting to visit the Museum of Civilization over in Hull and also the Byward Market in downtown Ottawa. The Museum of Civilization was pretty interesting. There were several sections to the museum spread across 3 floors and all were quite fascinating. The lowest level was filled with First Nation artifacts, the second level contained a Canada Post exhibit and the third level had "Canada Hall". All were very educational. After leaving the museum we headed back over to Ottawa and popped into the Elephant Castle pub for lunch. I had the Steak Pie while Sheila had the stuffed Yorkshire Pudding. Everything was quite good. Then onto The Byward Market. This place is unbelievable! A huge, open air market in the middle of Ottawa...it covers about 12 city blocks and you'll find just about everything you would ever want. From baked goods to restaurants to fresh produce to handmade jewelry. And then we discovered Zack's. Zack's is a 50's style diner, and we thought we'd pop in for some desert. We knew what we wanted as soon as we spotted it in the menu..."Deep Fried Mars Bars". Oh my God, they were good! Mars bars wrapped in phyllo pastry, deep fried, then served up, banana split style, with huge scoops of ice cream topped with chocolate and caramel sauces. Delicious!!!July 5
Not much on the agenda for today, this being our final day in Ottawa. Thought we might just take it easy. We needed some groceries though, so we ran over to a nearby shopping district called "The Centrum". This place is great...just about any kind of store, restaurant or pub a person might want. We stopped into the Loblaws to get some items for supper as we were expecting company that evening.Sheila's cousin Andrea and her husband Rahim arrived around 6:30. We barbequed steaks and grilled some veggies for supper, then relaxed as we sat around the campfire afterwards. Ahhhhh...what a life!
July 6
Moving day...time to hit the road! Today marked the beginning of a very interesting weekend - but more on that in a second... Our plan for today is to reach Bar Harbour, ME. and meet up with Sheila's two sisters who are still on the road with their RVs. We'll spend the weekend in the Bar Harbour area before heading back home to Saint John. It's been several years since we were last in Bar Harbour and we were really looking forward to it. It's a very quaint little fishing community on the South East shore of Maine. Very picturesque. We packed up and were on the road by 9:00am. Traveled back through Ontario and Quebec and into Northern Maine. We were enjoying the back roads of Maine with it's rivers and streams, and mountains and forests until, totally unannounced, there was this loud POP from under the hood, then the engine started making this awful noise! Oh great. Now what?? We were traveling a winding stretch of road and I couldn't pull off anywhere. Fortunately the engine was still making some power, so we were able to limp along for awhile until we got to the next little town. We needed gas at this point, so we rolled into a gas station. As I turned off the truck I mentioned to the guy on the other side of the pumps that something very strange had just happened, but I didn't have a clue what it was. "I do!" he said. "Pardon me?". "You just blew out a plug.". "What are you talking about?", I ask. "I work at a garage and we see it all the time in those trucks.". 'Great', I think to myself. I open the hood, and sure enough, there's a big hole where one of the spark plugs should have been. Crap. Buddy recommended we look for a dealer, because he didn't have the proper parts at his garage. We gassed up and crawled down the road. Not really sure where we were going. Got as far as the next town (Skowhegan) and decided to find a place for the night. Stumbled across 'Yonder Hill Campground'. Pulled in, got a site, and had some Hamburger Helper for supper.July 7
Okay, now what to do! Well, we packed up the trailer and thought we would at least try to get a bit closer to home. Obviously Bar Harbour was now out of the question. Somehow, we managed to get to Bangor...and found a Ford dealer. Finally! Of course, this being late on a Saturday, there was no way they could fit us in today. "We should be able to get you fixed up by Tuesday or Wednesday". Oh crap. I guess we have no choice in the matter. Leave the truck (and trailer) here, and try to find another way home. So we called several rental car companies. Unfortunately none of them would allow their cars into Canada. Great! I had no idea what their problem was, but I did know we were rapidly running out of options! Then it dawned on me...maybe we could get a U-Haul truck. You see them crossing the border all the time. I called them...sure enough...no problem. Excellent! One of the service guys took me over to the U-Haul depot so I could get the truck. I drove back to the dealer and then loaded up a few things that we needed to take home. And off we went. Needless to say, it was tight quarters...me, Sheila and two large dogs in a cab of a U-Haul!! 2 hours later we pull up to the Canada Customs booth in St. Stephen. Then it dawned on me - how am I going to explain this?? The typical questions begin... "WHEN DID YOU ENTER THE UNITED STATES?" "Last night" "VALUE OF GOODS PURCHASED IN U.S." "Nothing" He looks at me. "ALCOHOL?" "No" "TOBACCO?" "No" He looks at the truck. "YOU'VE GOT LOTS OF CARGO ROOM BACK THERE." "Uhhh...yup" "ANYTHING IN THE BACK?" "Dirty laundry" He gives me that look again. Then waves us through...I couldn't believe it!! PHEW! With that behind us, we head for home. Later on... Here we are, at home finally. That turned into quite an adventure! We unpack the few things we brought with us. Gave the interior of the rental a quick cleaning, then return it to the local depot. Ottawa was great! We had a blast, and I would love to do it again someday! I wouldn't hesitate to stay at the same campground, and I would probably eat at the same restaurants. We had a great time!!*Quick little footmark - The following Friday night we went back to Bangor to get our truck and trailer. We decided to make a weekend of it, so we stayed the weekend at the "Pleasant Hill Campground" in Bangor. The truck is working great now!!
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