September, 2004
The summer certainly has gone fast for us.  The first of the new month found us back in the sunshine.  Starting out at the Ocean View Campground in Pocologan, New Brunswick we drove the car to St. George where we caught the free ferry to Deer Island.  We drove across the island - about 10 miles - to the Deer Island Point Park where we could see the Old Sow Tide Whirlpool.  At about three hours before high tide the opposing currents meet and form a whirlpool which is visible from the shore.  There were seals playing in the water, which made the watch even more fun.  Next we rode another ferry ($20 per car for this one) over to Campobello Island.  The governments of both the US and Canada have worked together to create and operate the International Park at the grounds of the estate of former US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.  We toured the Visitor Center's exhibits and watched a film and then toured FDR's "cottage."  The guide said it was termed a "cottage" because it was originally built on stilts.  The "cottage" has 18 bedrooms, formal dining room and living room, library, classrooms for tutoring the children, several pantries, a huge kitchen, laundry room, porches and a gorgeous view overlooking the Bay of Fundy.  When the Roosevelts used the house regularly it had no electricity or telephones, but it did have a full compliment of servants.  From the exhibits it seems that the family thoroughly enjoyed their stays and spending time as a family at the place.  It took them two days to get there from New York by train and boat.  The property is actually in Canada, but there is now a bridge to the Island from Maine as well as the ferry from New Brunswick.  The Roosevelt property is but a small portion of the Island.
Former President Franklin D. Roosevelt's "cottage" on Campobello Island on the Bay of Fundy.
On Thursday, September 2, we drove the car back to the city of St. John.  It is the oldest incorporated city in Canada and seems to be a thriving and busy place.   We made several stops during the day at The Reversing Falls.  This is another place that is greatly effected by the tides.  The St. John River flows through a narrow point as it nears the Bay of Fundy.  As the Bay's tides rise they meet the river level and cause a "slack tide."  Then as the tide becomes higher than the river, the river reverses its direction.  As low tide approaches, the process happens in reverse.  We went to observe the falls and river at different times during the process.  While in St. John we also visited the Carleton Martello Tower which is a circular stone fort originally started during the War of 1812, but not finished till it was over, so never used as intended.  It was used during WWII as the command post for a defense observation program.  Since it was right near the Reversing Falls, we also stopped at the Moosehead Brewery for a short tour.  But there were no free samples!  Our last stop in St. John was at an Irving gas station where we counted out all our remaining Canadian cash and put just that amount in the gas tank.
The Carleton Martello Tower
The Reversing Falls area of the St. John River in St. John, New Brunswick as the tide is heading upstream (to the left).
Friday morning found our view of the bay enhanced by fog once again.  But it was a travel day, so we hooked up the car and drove the rig to the west.  It was about an hour drive to the US border at St. Stephen, New Brunswick.  There was somewhat of a line going through US Customs, but it was moving fairly well.  We were surprised that the only questions we were asked were "Are you US Citizens?" and "What are you bringing back?"  We said, "Yes, we're US citizens." and "We have T-shirts and a few odds and ends for the grandkids."  He told us to go on through.  Our travel buddy, Jacques was asked if he had any gifts made of ivory or other animal products. That was all!    When we arrived at the campground near Bangor, ME we talked with several people who had made the same trip recently and the experiences at the border were all different.  Some rigs had been searched, a lot more questions had been asked, and people had to hand over various meat and egg products.  Others, like us, went right through.  We got settled at the Pumpkin Patch Campground.   The management remembered us from July and made us feel like family coming home.  They delivered Jacques' box of dog food that he'd left here for safe-keeping.  And we made a trip to the local Super Wal-Mart to restock on supplies with US labels and measured in pounds, not kilograms and quarts, not litres.   Saturday was our housekeeping day..time to catch up on laundry and get out the rags and vacuum. 
Sunday, September 5 we were back on the road...south through Maine and New Hampshire and into Massachusetts.  On Labor Day Monday we continued on into the State of New York where we stopped at Fishkill.  This would be our last evening together with Jacques and Aly, as on Tuesday we would "go our separate ways" for the time being.  We went out to dinner together and reminisced over the past 8 weeks.  It's been a fantastic trip!
For a few final thoughts on our Canadian trip, go to page 2 of our September journal by clicking on "Forward" above.

Motoring the Maritimes.......final thoughts

                               

We had a great trip to the Atlantic and Maritime Provinces of Canada, with a few adventures in other places along the route.  We had started our trip, with our travel buddy Jacques Everhart and his dog Alyeska,  when we met near Ashtabula, OH on July 11, 2004.  We parted with Jacques and Aly on September 7 in New York State as he headed to New Jersey to visit with family and we headed to Ohio to do the same.  We were "on the road" together 58 nights.  Of that number, 25 were spent in campgrounds and the rest we "boondocked" in various places...for an average cost of $8.10 a night.  In that time, we put 4705 miles on the Dutch Star and another 2000+ on the Olds tow car doing side trips.  We used the generator for about 45 hours.
We couldn't come up with a "favorite" place or event.  Each of the provinces is a unique experience and each of them was an interesting adventure.  Each has its own "look" and "feel."  There were times when it might have been much more convenient to not have the RV with us.  To park a rig this size with tow car attached we need a lot of space.  But we still believe this is the only way to travel!!  Each of the provinces spends a lot of time and effort putting out tourist publications and maps and it would take months to see all of the attractions listed, so we definitely did not "see it all."  We generally had good weather...rarely ran the heat or air conditioning.  It seemed like the only time we had poor weather was on days we'd planned a big outing!  We never felt like we were in crowds of people.  We're not sure if tourism was down this year, but fewer people made it more pleasant for us.  The locals were always very friendly and accommodating which made us feel very welcome (even the "on strike" park workers.)  We would enjoy making a return trip some time in the future but think it would be more interesting to go at a time of year that the fishing industry is in full swing.  On this trip we found most of the fishing boats were in dry dock or merely tied the docks with little activity on the waterfronts.

Observations:   As mentioned above...little activity at most of the waterfronts....lots of beautiful water and rocks...small, but neat and brightly painted houses...few grassy lawns or yards, but plenty of flowers...small businesses located in the same buildings as the owners' home...many, many "Bed and Breakfast" places rather than motels...lots of Tim Horton's....lots of moose signs - and few moose...malls with anchor stores like Wal-Mart, a drug store and a grocery...many galleries and craft shops...very little selection of frozen or prepared foods in supermarkets...lots of wonderful bakeries...fairly decent roads...a lack of junky looking vehicles...expensive fuel ($2.62/gal was our highest)...15% to 17% sales tax on everything...lots of friendly people...plenty of opportunity to "boondock"

Most of the moose we saw in Canada this trip looked just like this...nailed to the sign post.
Because there is still so much of North America that we haven't seen, returning to the Atlantic and Maritime Provinces isn't at the top of our list of "Things to Do."  But, we would definitely like to return some day and take the time to go down a lot of the roads we passed by on this trip. 
Continue reading about our September adventures by clicking on "Forward" above.
It felt strange driving across New York State and into Pennsylvania on Tuesday, Sept. 7th without frequent conversations on the 2-way radio.  We stopped at a campground off I-80 but found that they no longer accept the Passport America discount program, so we moved on to the Flying J in Brookville, PA.  We found that it was not busy, so we were able to fuel up, dump our holding tanks and buy propane.  Our "low fuel" light had come on for the first time and we put 130 gallons back in...and VISA didn't even turn off our credit this time.   On Wednesday we continued on into Ohio.  We stopped in Wadsworth for a visit with Mary's Aunt Nina and then moved on to Mount Vernon where we parked in our friends, the Sims', back yard for the night.  We enjoyed a dinner out and great visit with Ed and Sue that evening.  Thursday morning Tom went for a ride with Ed to have repairs made on their Bounder and then we were treated to Sue's homemade soup for lunch.  By dinnertime we had moved on to Marysville and some hugs and kisses from the three granddaughters.    Over the weekend we had plenty of time to see how proficient the girls have become at playing the card game Skip-Bo!!!  We attended the first flag football game of the season...Coffey and Close both play on the same team.  After the game we went to the Marysville Festa Fair where the girls had the fun of spraying the fire hose and climbing into the Life-Flight helicopter.
September, 2004
page 3
Another Monday travel day...on the 13th we drove the rig to Monroe, Michigan and parked in our "same old spot" at Harbortown RV Resort.  We spent the rest of the week in the Toledo area running many errands, visiting with friends and family, catching up on mail and paperwork neglected during our trip to Canada, and having a few doctor's appointments.  The time flew by quickly.   On Saturday, September 18 we drove the car back to Marysville for an overnight stay.  We attended the "Buckeye Bash" at Pottsie's BBQ Restaurant where our daughter and son-in-law are part-owners.  We and the granddaughters went home a little earlier than the rest.  Our second week at Harbortown was just as busy, making the rounds for the last time till Christmas and getting service done on the Olds. 
Coffey Ann on the offensive team....
Close Ann on the defensive team.
Ann giving Merrick a little help with the fire hose
It was back, once again, to Marysville with the rig on Thursday, September 23.  Early Friday morning Mary got a reminder of what she's missing as a teacher when she went with the Edgewood School Kindergarten classes on a field trip to the Marmon Valley Farm. It was a great trip.  The kids all got to ride ponies, visit various animals, go on a hayride and have a picnic with fresh "S'mores" for desert.  Meanwhile, Tom found a service center for our on-board Power-Tech generator and got the yearly maintenance taken care of there.  Saturday, of course, meant another football game-highlighted by Coffey making a touchdown for her team.  And on Sunday we celebrated Merrick's 4th birthday.
Pottsie's BBQ Restaurant  in Marysville, OH  ready for an OSU Tailgate Party
Grandma and Close Ann ready for a ride.
Merrick in her best "tea party hat" with her "tea party cake and candles"
Where did the summer go????  Suddenly it was September 27th.  And as Tom was saying...the leaves are turning, the farmers are harvesting all their crops, and most importantly its getting colder at night (even though we've had a beautiful warm September!)...so its time to head for warm winter places.  We left Marysville and drove west to Elkhart, IN where we spent two nights at All-Brand RV Service and Elkhart Cummins/Onan where we had service done on the Dutch Star...yearly maintenance and oil change and they replaced the motor on our slide out which had been acting strangely.   It only seems like a few days, but we've been living in the Dutch Star for 13 months now!
By the time we were ready to leave Elkhart, Tom felt an ear infection coming on, so after stopping in LaPaz to fill up with diesel fuel, we stopped in Plymouth, IN where he visited an Urgent Care Center and got loaded up on medications.  From there we headed west on Route 30 into Illinois, to I-80 and on to Iowa...ending September with a sunny but long driving day.
For more of our September adventures click on "back" above.