Friday, September 14, 2007

Maritime Provinces

We left Story Land Monday morning in the rain and arrived at New Brunswick’s St. John that evening. Due to the rain and the cold we opted for a motel. While there, we saw “Reversing Falls.” It was between the river and the Bay of Fundy. The tide comes in and out there and the falls actually reverse their direction. Never seen that before. The next day, Tuesday, we went to see Hopewell Rocks. There is a 48-foot difference between high and low tide. Unfortunately, we could not be there at low tide but it was most interesting and picturesque anyway, even in the rain.




We crossed the extremely long bridge to Prince Edward Island, in the rain, and opted for yet another night in a motel. We checked out Charlottetown, their quaint homes and beautiful gardens. Wednesday morning, Ginger peaked through the blinds of the motel and was delighted to fine no rain. We finished our drive through Prince Edward Island and caught a ferry to Nova Scotia.

Waiting for the ferry were several horse trailers (with their precious cargo) and their harness carriages tied on the backs of the trailers. They were going to NS for a race.

The ferry ride was a long 6 hours, even with jet engins running at 55 MPH. The wind was strong and the motion was great, giving Ginger a difficult time.

During the ferry ride we noticed a Canada version of a Coast Guard Cutter chasing the ferry along with two rafts. It seems the Canadian police were doing a security rehearsal. The rafts took turns coming up to the ferry, tossing up a ladder and each of 8 men climbing up the ladder to board the ferry. Then the raft would leave and come back for the men to climb back down. They repeated this rehearsal for at least 10 times per raft. While Ginger was videotaping, the raft separated from the ferry while one of the men was climbing down. He went swing wildly, hanging on tightly, while those below him grabbed for the ladder and the pilot of the raft tried to bring the raft back in line. All turned out well. It showed they did need the practice.
We got to a Nova Scotia KOA campground (in the sun) and decided to upgrade to a cabin. Then off, before dark, to see Peggy’s Cove. Definitely a highlight of the trip. That night, we decided to change our itinerary and take the CAT home. Richard was tired of driving and we didn’t want to retrace our steps. With a 14% sales tax on everything and .20 per liter gas tax we decided we’d come out ahead to pay the ferry price, save time and gas and have a day at home to rest before returning to work. The ferry ride was quite rough due to the high winds and also long, 6 hours. We really enjoyed our trip but are glad to be “home.”

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