Albuquerque, New Mexico

This will be our last post for this blog.  We decided to individually write down our final thoughts about our trip from our own perspective.  Sorry no pictures or videos to post this time – just memories.

JUNE YVONNE

Well, we are almost home. We are in Albuquerque, New Mexico for the night. Flagstaff, Arizona is our next destination. We will be home on Thursday, 9/5. We know it will be hot, but we are so ready to be in our home which will seem quite spacious compared to our little trailer. We will get to see our family and friends who we have missed.

We felt a need to provide closure to this remarkable trip we have taken to eastern Canada. (There are plenty of pics of everything we have referred to in previous postings on our summer blog.) This is the “Reader’s Digest” version of our four-month journey.

How was the trip?

Almost indescribable, although we did our best to describe our experiences in this 4-month blog.

We loved Canada and not just because Peter a Canadian born in Ottawa, Ontario. We are sad to leave. Once we crossed the border into Canada, I felt a sense of relief and peacefulness. This was due in large part to the turmoil we were leaving in the US. Not to mention the beauty we encountered not only in the landscape, but in the diversity of Canadians.

How long were you gone?

We left Phoenix on May 11, 2017 which was our 15 year wedding anniversary.  We arrive home on 9/7. Altogether we will have been gone 4 days short of four months.

Where did you go?

We went to the provinces of Ontario, Quebec, and the Maritime provinces of New Brunswick,  Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland/Labrador. Newfoundland and Labrador are considered one province. We didn’t make it to Labrador on this trip.

How was the food?

We filled a 2.9 cubic foot freezer with food from home which we attempted to eat instead of going out too much. However, we ate out a lot especially when we reached the Maritime Provinces. There we ate a lot of seafood. As you may have read, Peter ate his fill of lobster which is a specialty of the Maritimes. He ate at least one in every province, except Newfoundland. Altogether he ate 8 and then lost his appetite for them. We boiled one of the lobsters ourselves. We did eat lots of seafood especially fish and chips, scallops and seafood chowder.

What was your favorite food?

• Probably the seafood chowder we had in Saint Martin, New Brunswick.
• I really enjoyed the lobster roll that Nancy made for us while we were in Glen Margaret, Nova Scotia. It was the best ever, not only because of the ingredients, but because it was made with love.
• The best pastrami sandwich I ever had was in Montreal at Schwartz’s Deli.

What were your favorite destinations?

• Newfoundland by far. We really did not know what to expect and were blown away by the wild, rugged beauty of the Atlantic coast.
• We also loved Nova Scotia. Peggy’s Cove was the most picturesque fishing village you can imagine. We also loved the couple we met at the RV Park we stayed in at Glen Margaret. We will always remember Nancy and Bill.
• We enjoyed Quebec, in particular Quebec City. Montreal was an interesting city but way too big for us. We preferred Quebec City which we thought was more charming. We could have spent at least two weeks there.

What were your favorite activities?

• Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick. We walked on the ocean floor in the morning around the rocks and arches.  At high tide (39 feet) in the afternoon we kayaked around the rocks and through the arches we had walked around in the morning.
• Picking wild strawberries on the side of the road in New Brunswick and having them in a salad for dinner. This was a new experience for me – they were small and so sweet.
• Quebec City – This is said to be one of the most beautiful cities in North America. There was so much to see here. I particularly enjoyed the Musée de la Civilisation. And the Québécoise meal we had at Aux Anciens Canadiens.
• The musical of Anne of Green Gables that we saw in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.
• Getting “screeched in” in St. Johns, Newfoundland – It was a lot of fun.
• The whale watching tour in Trinity, Newfoundland – magical.
• Gander, Newfoundland – learning the story of how this small town helped thousands of passengers and crew of the international flights that were diverted here on 9/11. I bought the book, “The day the World Came to Town” and read it to Peter when he was driving.  We enjoyed sharing this book and shed a few tears to read all the back stories of that day.
• We met Rose and Jim, an American couple, at Capitaine Homard’s in Quebec at the beginning of our trip. We met up with them later in another part of Quebec at another time. And again at Margaret Glen in Nova Scotia. We shared many an enjoyable conversation, outings and meals with them.
• Meeting Nancy and Bill (a Canadian couple) at the RV Park in Margaret Glen in Nova Scotia – we have a special place in our heart for them.
• Even though it was not in Canada, we were able to renew our friendship with Ken and June in Angel Fire, New Mexico. It was a sad parting as we will probably not be be returning to Angel Fire again in the near future. We hope they will come see us in Phoenix sometime soon as they are very special to us. (We plan to go to Western Canada next summer.)

I could go on and on as we loved our time in all the provinces of eastern Canada.

What were the people like?

• Canada has a very diverse population as they have a history of being very welcoming to immigrants of all countries. There are a few notable exceptions, but it is not their tradition to be exclusive.
• For the most part, Canadians from every province have been friendly, helpful and generous.
• I felt so much safer in Canada. Outside the city, few people lock their doors.

What would you do different?

• As previously indicated, we would spend more time in Quebec City.
• If we could do it again, we would spend at least a month in Newfoundland and two weeks in Labrador.
• I would have probably packed differently. The weather was so unpredictable, sometimes changing by the hour. I would have packed more shorts and lighter jackets.
• We would probably spend more time in Nova Scotia. Peter was in 7^th heaven in the small fishing villages of this province. We did fantasize about keeping a larger RV and spending summers here. Plus, we would get to see Nancy and Bill as their fifth wheel is there permanently. They use their RV as a cottage getaway.
• I would bring copies of my recipe for guacamole. I was asked several times for that recipe and others.
• I would buy more Smoked Salmon by Willie Krauch at Comeau’s Sea Foods Ltd in Saulnerville, Nova Scotia.  It was relatively inexpensive there. Apparently it can not be shipped across the border. I bought a cookbook in Newfoundland that has a killer recipe for smoked salmon dip. I tried it and it was great.

Did you get homesick?

• Yes, and it didn’t take long for me to start missing home as we lived such a vagabond existence. We did not remain in one place for long. I read a quote that somehow helped me appreciate our life style this summer. “The journey is my home.” Muriel Rukeyser
• Every time I started feeling homesick; I remembered how hot it is in Phoenix

How did you two get along living for almost four months in a small trailer?

• I won’t lie, it was often a challenge. The trailer seemed to get smaller as the trip went on. As my dear husband has indicated, we got through challenging times with humor and deliberate patience.
• The antidote to relationship challenges was gratitude. We were on a fantastic journey and I just had to look around to realize how blessed we are.   JY

 

PETER

Final thoughts!  After nearly 4 months of travel through the Maritime Provinces of Canada we are amazed by all the wonderful things we have done and seen.  We have been overwhelmed by the kindness, generosity and courteousness of 99% of the Canadians we have come in contact with.  In planning this trip we had some expectations of what we might see and do but everything that has happened in these past 4 months has wildly exceeded any expectations we may have had in the beginning.  We have made many new friends and enjoyed many campfires and conversations with so many others.

Reflecting back on our trip we’ve asked ourselves: “what would we do different”.  We would like to have spent longer in Quebec City – we were there for one week and could easily have spent two – so much to see and do.  We loved Newfoundland.  We spent 8 days in Newfoundland and of all the provinces we visited Newfoundland captured our hearts and we could easily spend six weeks there with no problem and are hoping to do just that at some time in the future.

What has this journey done for us?  We’ve spent 90% of our time living in this 26 foot trailer and have seldom said a cross word to each other.  Although we have been married 15 wonderful years this trip has truly increased the bond that we have between us.  When you live in a confined space like this trailer you almost have to choreograph your movements so you are not bumping into each other all the time.  You also become more tolerant and realize some things are less important or more important than they might seem at home.  Ample amounts of courtesy, tolerance and forgiveness are characteristics you need to bring with you on a trip like this.  We have also learned that we don’t necessarily need a lot of the “things” we have at home.  On the other hand there are some “things” at home that now have more value than we were aware of like an oven, a two person shower, a washer and dryer that don’t require coins to operate and dishwasher to list just a few.

We have lived for all these months with little or no TV and have not suffered at all for it.  We have wondered what is going on at home in the USA but haven’t really gone out of our way to watch TV.  We’ve rented or borrowed some moves – watched a few programs on cable when it was available – however we really don’t have too much to complain about.  Personally I’ve never been a big reader however I have been doing a lot of reading at nights before turning out the light and managed to read at least 9 or 10 books.  Without TV I’ve developed a reading habit.

We have eaten lots of food and unfortunately it shows.  We will have to work on losing the vacation weight we have accumulated over the last 4 months.  We have eaten lots of great food and lots of junk food when we were on the run – and we don’t regret it at all.  We have also experienced an interesting phenomenon – once you cross the border into Canada your clothes progressively become smaller and tighter …. who knew!!!

We have seen things we never thought we’d see or do – whales performing and feeding only 30 feet away from our zodiac – unrelenting swarms of mosquitoes – being 3 feet from 80 to 90 thousands large birds in one colony – deep sea fishing – boiling and eating our own lobster – touching some of the headstones from people who perished on the Titanic – drinking Newfie Screech and kissing a cod – picking wild strawberries on the roadside – touring a submarine – kayaking and then eating a hot lunch in our kayak – meeting a family of Coleridge’s I never knew existed – finding a headstone with my name on it – seeing two plays – walking on the sea floor at Hopewell Rocks and then kayaking around the same rocks after a 39 foot tide – witnessing a bore tide –  ice skating – visiting the elementary school I attended as a child – sampling Meade – putting our hands on twisted steel beams from the World Trade Center – fly fishing in mountain streams at 10,000 feet elevation – sitting around campfires with many new friends – seeing the RCMP musical ride – and so so so much more.  PRC

FROM BOTH OF US

Many thanks to all of you who have read our blog and have made comments.  We put a lot of work into each post and we are glad we could share this journey with you.  Comments from family and friends were always read with enthusiasm and delight every morning when we woke up and checked our email.  We texted many of you and chatted on the phone and enjoyed the sound of your voices.

We are two days from our home in Phoenix, Arizona.  We are anxious to be home once again.  We are looking forward to reuniting with our son Dan and beautiful granddaughters Maya and Lilia.  We are also looking forward to seeing our friends again and sharing our stories.  This has been an incredible journey – in a way we are sad to see it end but in another way we are looking forward to being home – as a friend of ours said; “Stories for a lifetime”.

Ironically we are already planning on touring western Canada next year – we’ll keep you posted!!

With much love we sign off with this last post on our Canadian Maritime Provinces blog

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