Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick and Truro, Nova Scotia

Once again, way behind on my blog, so I'm gonna post more pictures than narrative, I suspect that is of more interest to you anyway!!

May 29, 2018

Moved to the Desert of Maine Campground. In the middle of the campground is several hundred acres of sand dunes, the result of a glacier receding several thousands of years ago and leaving behind a very fine silt like sand. In Maine of all places!

While here, we walked through the LL Bean Store in Freeport, ME. One full block and two stories tall, lots to see, had lunch in their café. Plus they have a separate building for the home store and another for the outdoor toys like kayaks and paddle boats.

June 1, 2018

Drove to Trenton, ME to meet up with our Caravan Tail Gunners, Jim and Theda Collier and their friends, and caravanners, Randy & Stephanie Corbin. We have eight days to get everything ready for the Maritime Caravan which starts, officially, on June 8^th. A lot of our members will be arriving before then and we are looking forward to meeting everyone!!

June 8, 2018

Our official start date, most of our members are here and ready to go! One couple was delayed by a wedding they needed to go to and will hopefully be here on Monday. Another couple had their toad catch on fire and are on hold in West Point, NY. Things are never dull at a SMART event!!  

 Our site at Timberland Acres, Trenton, ME. Looks like the rig is terribly off level, but it really isn't

Chain saw art at the Rec Building at Timberland Acres 

 SMART flag on the road in front of the RV park

Phil smoked ribs for those that were there before the official start!!  Sooo Goood!!!






June 8, 2019

Our official start date, most of our members are here and ready to go! One couple was delayed by a wedding they needed to go to and will hopefully be here on Monday. Another couple had their toad catch on fire and are on hold in West Point, NY. Things are never dull at a SMART event!!  

We had a great day, welcome meeting this afternoon, followed by a great lobster dinner put on by the Timberland Acres RV Park ladies, and a wonderful job they did!!

June 9, 2018

Our first caravan event today. We carpooled to the Penobscot Observatory and Fort Knox on the Penobscot River. The Observatory Tower is taller than the Statue of Liberty, 42 stories tall. An elevator takes you most of the way up, then the last two floors are by steps, or individual lift if needed.

The views from the top were amazing and we were very lucky to have a clear beautiful day for this outing. Half of us went to the Observatory and half to the Fort Knox tour. We met for lunch after our tours, where the Wagon Master, Phil and Tail Gunner, Jim, made burgers for everyone. They were delicious!! After lunch we switched tours.

So, we went through the fort which was built for one of the wars against the British, but the war ended before the fort was finished, so it never saw a battle. It has been used off and on for training facilities, but was eventually handed over to the state, and is now overseen by the Friends of Fort Knox. They also oversee the Observatory.

June 12, 2018

Today we crossed the border into New Brunswick, Canada. Easiest border crossing we have ever done. Usually there are long lines and long waits. Today there was one person in front of us, so we were through the border in under 10 minutes. Amazing!

Our campground in St John, New Brunswick is Rockwood RV Park. The RV park is part of a huge city park that includes a large lake, a zoo, a public garden, golf course and extensive walking and bike trails.

June 13, 2018

Today we did a bus tour of the city of St John and the surrounding area, including a drive out to St Martin’s where we had lunch at the seashore.

From there we drove into Fundy National Park and visited one of the water falls. On our way back to St John, we passed by where we had lunch, at which time the famous Fundy Bay Tide was in, or at high tide. At the time of our trip back, the tide had gone out, far enough that the cave along the cove was now accessible by foot. The difference in the tide here is amazing, it fluctuates 40 to 60’ from low to high tides, twice a day. That’s a lot of water!!

Happy People!!

 St John, New Brunswick, not to be confused with St John's, Newfoundland!!

St John, famous Farmers Market, in door, covers nearly a full block. Everything from fruits, vegetables and meats to hand crafts

Lunch at St Martin's

When we were at this beach in St Martin's in 2012, the tide was out and we could walk into the cave in this picture.

 One of the many water falls in Fundy National Park in New Brunswick,







To get down to the falls, some of our brave soles hiked down these stairs, which were cut logs, tied together with rope.

  

 Back in St John, we drive past the site of the reversing falls, where the tide is coming back in.

June 16, 2018

Our next campground was Camper’s City in Moncton, NB. From here we traveled back down the road a little bit to visit Hopewell Rocks. One of the top things on everyone’s bucket list is to walk on the ocean floor at Hopewell Rocks in the Bay of Fundy. The tide shifts here are amazing and they shift up to 40-60 feet at each tidal change, making it possible to walk on the ocean floor.

Met up with some 'old' friends at the visitor's center.

Looking down at the ocean floor at the rocks or sometimes called the flower pots

Decision time, what goes down has to come back up...how badly do I really want to go down???

Down I went

Watch where you are walking, the mud on the rocks is very slippery, sometimes will suck you in like quick sand.

It was cold and raining, but we had a good time

Theda and I put our toes in the cold water of the Bay of Fundy!!

Then it was time for a nice cup of something warm at the snack bar.

June 19, 2018

A move to Scotia Pines Campground in Truro, Nova Scotia. While here some of our members got together for a rafting trip on the Tidal Bore as the tide for the Bay of Fundy comes in on the Nova Scotia side. Phil and I opted out of this adventure as part of the tour is getting splashed by the muddy waters of the tidal bore as it mixes with the shoreline along the way.

Camped in the trees at Scotia Pine, Truro, NS

Our campsite

The sunset at Scotia Pine

The viewing platform into the river at East Hants, NS where we went to see the tidal bore



The clean and dry rafters

The big tidal bore...look closely, see the wave?? That's it!!

Wet tired and dirty, our rafter's return

Slipping and sliding in the mud along the shore

Muddy waters of the 'bore'




What's a rafting trip without a man overboard? Yep, that's one of ours, Tom Pearcy.

May 27, 2018 Newburyport, MA

May 27, 2018

After a whole night of rain, and more rain, we woke to dark clouds and the threat of more rain. But, we decided to get out and see some sights anyway.

Not long ago, Phil had read an article somewhere about a memorial to the Coast Guard in Newburyport, MA. Our campground at Tuxbury Pond isn’t far from there, so we decided to visit.

Our Campsite at Tuxbury Pond Campground

At the last minute we decided to take our jackets as the breeze was cold.  LOL!! The breeze at the campground was nothing like the winds coming off the ocean at Newburyport!! Even Phil said he was glad he had brought his jacket!! Mark the calendar!

We found a lot to park the truck in and took off walking along the boardwalk next to the bay. Did I mention COLD wind?? Made my ears hurt!!

The town was having a food fest with food from around the world set up all over the square. So, there were people everywhere, in spite of the cold wind.

We spent some time in the big junktique store, which had some interesting stuff in it, the normal amount of junk and some real antiques.

Coast Guard Monument

Fishing Monument

Oldies Marketplace...Junktique

 MOOSE

 Inside the Oldies Marketplace

We walked most of the downtown main street and we were just amazed at the time and effort it must have taken to bring this town back from the brink of decay in the 70’s to a lovely town full of old renovated buildings that have nice shops and a variety of eateries. We spent a long time in the Old Custom House, which is now the Maritime Museum. They have done a good job renovating this building, but left the old tile floors that show where the traffic pattern was and are cracked from the heavy weights that went through the custom house. It made it more real.

The organization of the Coast Guard and how it became what it is today

Newburyport, MA

The Coast Guard Room at the Maritime Museum

USS Coast Guard Cutter "Eagle". She is a current ship in the fleet, students at the CG Academy spend part of their time learning how to sail it.

They had one room committed to the Coast Guard, it’s history and it’s current missions. It is very nicely done.

We finally started back to the truck, a couple of blocks away, and Phil found the other Coast Guard Memorial that brought us here, about 50 yards from where the truck was parked, in the opposite direction from the way we went. But, at least he found it!!

 

On the way out of town, we stopped at the old chain draw bridge, I found it amazing that it’s still there!

 

May 23rd - May 25th, 2018

May 23, 2018

We spent today in Topside, another community of Phil’s ancestor’s, the Boardman’s. Spent most of our time was spent at the library, which was much bigger than the one we were at the other day, and the lady in the research section was much more helpful!! Phil found a lot of information on the Boardman’s and I even found some information on immigration dates on some of my ancestor’s. So, it was a productive day.

After the library, we found Boardman Lane, and the big surprise of the day was that next door to the Boardman on Boardman Lane was Joseph Smith, Sr’s house. Joseph Smith, Jr is the one who married my many times great aunt, Emma Hale, and co-founded the Mormon Church. Joseph Jr was born in Topside, then shortly afterwards, the family moved to Vermont, then on to north Pennsylvania. On Boardman Lane where the Smith house used to be, there is a monument to Joseph Smith, Jr.

May 24, 2018

Today we took off to some sight-seeing that didn’t include family research. We headed for Salem, home of the famous Witch Trials. We visited the Salem Witch Museum, it was very interesting. They used mannequins to tell the story of why people we suspected of witchcraft, different tests were used on different people. One may was pressed to death under huge stones, some were hung. Most were just suspected, and lived to tell the tale of being kept in dark dungeons till they were nearly crazy. The victims of this Witch Hunt came from all over the area, not just Salem. We were both happy not to recognize any of the names of the accused. Walking through the historical district of Salem was an experience of a mixture of history and keeping up the theme of the Witch Trials. It was a fun afternoon.

There were ship's heads like this all up and down the old shopping area, they are done by local artist.

One of the older buildings, a mixture of archtitechture.

The site of the beginning of the National Guard.

One of the many fountains throughout the historic district

This is the Witch Museum. Could you get more Goth than this??

If you can make these pictures bigger, you can see the names of the accused, Hanged, pressed, etc. Will you find one of your ancestor's here??

May 25, 2018

Today we traveled to our stopover for the Memorial Day Weekend.  We are camped at Tuxbury Pond Campground, just over the border of New Hampshire. The place is packed and there are hundreds of kids running around. The season has caught up with us!! Up to this point, the campgrounds have been quiet and almost empty, but Memorial Day marks the beginning of the summer season. Suddenly spring is over, the high today was 84, and the campground is noisy.

Oh well, it had to happen sometime. Oh, and I almost forgot…it’s suppose to rain most of the weekend.