Koo-she-boo-gwak

We spend a great day at Kouchibouguac National Park on the New Brunswick coast. Marsh, forest, bog, lagoon and white sand barrier island. We see herons, fat rodent thing, hummingbird and your usual woodland creatures. We crane our necks continually to catch a glimpse of a moose… but nowt. Second full day on the new tyres and I spot a massive nail in it. It seems at the time of writing to have only pierced the tread which is around an inch thicker than it was the previous morning. I think this is lucky and I’ll take it as a positive sign. Everything is getting a bit more frenchy as we approach Quebec. A fascinating, welcome and tasty change.

 

Pea Eee Eye

Prince Edward Island – known here as P.E.I. – is west of Cape Breton and north of the New Brunswick/Nova Scotia border. We reach it by ferry which sort of costs us nothing as you only pay when you leave the island which we do further along by massive bridge. Bad day getting here though. As we pull out from our site near the ferry terminal we catch the back corner of the trailer for the first time on a post. ‘Oh deary me. That’s a blow isn’t it dear.’

It is the windiest day in the world ever and when we crawl into our site on PEI the underbelly of our trailer is hanging off. We look into it and it looks as though we can just cut it off as it’s not essential unless you have insulation. So I cut it off… and find there’s insulation underneath. ‘ Oh dear.’

I then spend a day crawling around under the trailer attacking it with plastic sheets, cable ties and bits and pieces. As we arrive the battery light comes on in the truck.’Oh dear, that might be a tad inconvenient… Hmm, those tyres look a bit worse don’t they?’ Four new tyres for the truck even though we’re selling it in 6 weeks, and the battery??? But when things start going awry you just need to maintain attitude and things generally all work out just hunky dory. We get four new/used tyres and an oil change plus good news battery check etc for £200 – And PEI is just gorgeous. Incredibly rich red soil and red sand with lush rolling green grass everywhere and the sea is the most beautiful royal blue. We love it here and have an incredible day at the still closed national park where we see a coyote and walk on a fantastic floating boardwalk. After too short a time, we are shooting over the 7km bridge back to New Brunswick as we head northwest towards Quebec.

 

Great Breton

More rain. We hit Cape Breton Island which is the northernmost part of Nova Scotia and take in the Cabot Trail and the Bras d’Or Lake – the world’s largest inland sea no less. Stunning scenery and we spend a lot of time staring at the sea, desperate for a glimpse of a whale. Not here though. We also go to fortress Louisbourg, which is like a living museum of the first major settlement. But it was a lot more closed than it said it was on the website. ‘Well, all the buildings are closed… but hey, have you seen the animals? We have some sheep and some chickens!’ Canadians are lovely even when they are this naff.

Cape Breton was home to Alexander Graham Bell and we enjoyed a great day having the museum to ourselves (it wasn’t officially open till the day after) and learnt all about him and his amazing inventions including kites, planes, hydrofoils and work with the deaf. Can see why he came here as it is stunning and reminded him of Scotland.

 

Nouveau Ecosse

We round the Bay of Fundy and into Nova Scotia. Truck sounding very poorly. Looks like Scotland, feels like Scotland… they even sound a bit Scottish. Everywhere has a Scottish name and it rains a lot. We head to Halifax which is a lovely town with loads to do. We visit Pier 21 and the immigration history of the area. A complete contrast to Ellis Island, New York – which was dour and intimidating. Halifax is full of ‘Welcome to Canada’ signs. Things haven’t changed much there. A day of dressing up for the kids – we charge around the Citadel and an incredible modern library. Cool place.

Then a couple of days down the coast to take in the old wooden villages, Peggy’s Cove. Stunning place with inlets, lighthouses, lakes, beaches and beauty. Feels a bit like the prettiest bits of Scandinavia. Good news. Truck not terminal – just a crack in an exhausty bit that don’t matter but will get noisier. Just gotta last another 6 weeks or so.

Trying to sort out a proxy vote for the general election back home. Don’t want to get too political… but if the Tory Bastards get in again I might not come back.

 

Call that a tide?

Now, we normally live near the Bristol Channel. Second highest tide in the world and giver of great rockpools. But, Bay of Fundy, between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia is THE biggest tidal range in the world. Our first stop is St Andrews and our site is right on the ocean, deer munching all over the place. Lovely town. We visit the island via a tidal road, explore the beach and set out to Fundy National Park. Nothing seems to open here until May 19, but we have a pootle around in the truck (now making a worrying fluttering noise when I accelerate…) and we wander around as mist rolls in and out on beautiful if chilly days. It also rains fiercely, driven in by a constant hammering wind.

truck on tidal road

St Andrews-on-sea

Bye bye Miss American Pie

Strange feeling as we bid farewell to Trump’s USA. It feels like a different country to the one we arrived in, back in October under the other fella. We are entering the final phase of our trip, Eastern Canada. But first we have to tackle another immigration. We are dreading it. Justifying your trip, finances, life choices to some job’s worth. The crossing is a short bridge at Calais. Turns out we pronounce that wrong in the UK. We thought it was called ‘cal-ay’. But actually, our American friends call it ‘cal-iss’ or ‘cal-ass’. We roll up to the Canadian immigration official…

‘Hi guys. You heading back to Ontario, I’m from there. Sounds like an amazing trip. Have a great time!’

We leave, stunned, and delighted to be in a country that wants you there. Love the Canadians. Queen’s head is on the coins too.

Maine

Beaver lodge

Maine is our last chunk of USA, up in the top right corner. We visit Portland which is great. A lovely small city with hills, oldish houses, coastline and islands. We visit a fishmonger on the harbour who tells us everything you’ll ever need to know about lobsters and importantly, how to eat ‘em. Another campsite opens further north so we can edge up towards the border and the dreaded immigration. But first we have Acadia National Park, which is the only national park on the eastern seaboard. It is spectacular, with islands, inlets, mountains, boulders and the grumpiest, smarmiest park ranger in the service. His teeth were shocking. We go to complete our final junior ranger badge. Number 658. One lady is busy with a queue at one desk. Two others are sat doing nothing as they are there for passes – but it isn’t open fully, so it’s free anyway.

‘Hi, we’ve just completed our junior ranger booklets. Can you take a look please?’

‘What grade is he in?’

‘4^th. We have the kids in the park pass and have been getting in free all year.’

‘Are you a citizen of this country?’

‘No.’

‘Well you shouldn’t have that pass.’

Some people go to work just to try and show others how clever they are. Complete arse.

Live free or die

 

Each State has its own flag, tree, flower, depiction and motto. New Hampshire’s is Live free or Die! We love that. We wave goodbye to Massachusetts with a few days down in Cape Cod. We trek up to the tip and Provincetown which is great. First landing site of the pilgrims and now a very trendy right-on town. The town is dominated by a huge tower to commemorate this and we ascend the 100-odd steps and ramps to drink in the view. Out of breath though as we had to catch up with Hugo who ran up the lot!

Into New Hampshire, which only has a short coast, and we spend a week at a ‘not opened yet’ little campground as we are a week or two from the start of the season. Turns out to be lovely, with lovely people, and we enjoy the sunny days scooping out fat tadpoles and newts. Esme adopts the camp puppy and we catch up on bits and bobs and book our next raft of accommodation that pretty much takes us to hometime. Trying not to think about this despite kids wittering on about missing sausage rolls and hobnobs.

New Hampshire’s main claim to fame is White Mountain National Forest, and it is glorious. Snow still on the ground, lots of cool touristy gear. We are too early for the cog railway and top of Mount Washington though we take in some pretty villages, parks and covered bridges. First impressions of Maine are wonderful, lakes and forests. Lucky people to have all this.

 

And the lights all went out…

Shattered, we arrive in Massachusetts. Five states in one day to get here. NJ, NY, CT, RI and MA. Still with our pals from home in toe, we head to Boston, Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard. The place is stunning and olde worlde (for America). Parts are millionaire’s playgrounds though most is classic coast with whales, seals, ospreys, eagles and beautiful beaches. Boston is funky and has a lovely balance of class and a liberal streak. A beautiful city with history around every corner. We had a great time and the kids loved catching up with their friends. Sad to see ‘em go, but some people have to work for a living… so I’ve heard.

Guy in the bank shouts after us, ‘Hey! You from England?’

‘Yup.’

‘Wow, cool, I was there last month.’

‘…..hmmm.’

‘Place was called St. Peterburger!’

‘Peterborough?’

‘Yeah, that was it!’

‘Tool.’

Ba Ba Bahbabah!

We pick up our pals from home and drive/crawl through NY city. Manhattan is a tad busy. Our apartment in Jersey City is smart and we can shoot into the nice bits easily. Day one we take in Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty and the 9/11 memorial. The statue is incredible but we all wish we could have seen it when it was first erected, as it’s made of copper and would’ve been shiny like a 2p piece. People say it’s small… but I thought it was huge and would’ve dominated the skyline at the time. Shame we weren’t allowed inside but the kids loved the audio tour, the weather was awesome and the vistas iconic and mesmerising.

Next day we ascend the Empire State Building, and Top of the Rock, swing by Grand Union Terminal, Central Park and Time Square. Manhattan is physically incredible with so much character and bustle. But 18% tip already on the bill for a kids meal? Natural History Museum finished off an incredible three days that have exhausted us before a killer drive up to Massachusetts.