Day 23 (Aug. 24) - Franconia, New Hampshire to Home

Despite our Covid situation, we slept well during the night. The hotel we chose - rather, the motel - was very quiet. That's because it was mostly derelict and only one other couple was staying there at the other end. Without exaggeration the decor had not been updated since the 1950s. It was clean, but so terribly old and outdated. 

Today we had 11 hours of driving ahead of us to get home, nearly 640 miles. We drove a short way north on I-93 to catch I-91 south. The morning was very foggy in the mountains that cleared the few times we got above the clouds in elevation or below them. 

We had periods of rain, sometimes heavy. Soon we passed into Vermont. 

We stopped at a rest stop, did a quick stretch, and kept motoring. We continued on I-91 into Connecticut where we turned west onto I-84.

Traffic picked up near Hartford, CT.

Before Noon we stopped in Southbury, CT to fuel up the car and pick up lunch at Panera. Hoping the vitamins would do her good, Michele got a salad full of fresh fruit and a tomato soup. She said it would have been nice if she could taste any of it and imagined she could. We ate in the car in the parking lot, then kept going. After lunch, we had about 380 miles left, over 6 hours, to our day. 

The skies stayed cloudy and we had more periods of rain during the day. Michele kept Rob up to date on his sudafed doses. Soon we were in New York and then Pennsylvania. The traffic was fairly decent during the day, although heavy at times, it kept to highway speed. 

We turned on to I-81 South and then to US15 South. As we entered Leesburg we noticed how dry everything looks. Some of the Newfoundland rain would be welcome at home.

Our day was uneventful and went smoothly. We picked up Chick-Fil-A for dinner and arrived home at 6:30pm. All was fine at the house. Michele made up a batch of hummingbird nectar to attract them back, and ignored the weeds that appeared in her weed-free garden before the trip. 

Total mileage for the trip including cutting it short was 5,600 driving miles. We visited three Canadian provinces, Newfoundland being the new one for us, and were on the road 23 days. Newfoundland and Keji National Park were the trip highlights. Had we made it to Cape Breton we know it would be also.

Newfoundland could easily be done by flying in and renting a car. Since it's so large and remote, we recommend spending 10 days there or even more. The must list is Gros Morne, and we only scratched the surface. We would have liked to do much more hiking there. Our day trip way up to St. Anthony's was worth it to see a huge portion of the island, but we sacrificed one entire day for it. Twillingate is beautiful, and earlier in the season (late-May to late-June) is a place to see whales and icebergs. Elliston on the Bonavista peninsula for the puffins is a must see. On a nice day we could have set up chairs and watched them for hours. There are other beautiful peninsulas we didn't get to see. The extreme southern portion of the island is accessible by only two roads through the interior and is even more remote than where we visited. 

Rob was a driving warrior and did 100% of the driving, preferring to do so. We definitely will take the car on long road trips again. For this trip it was the right choice and a blessing, especially for the unexpected and unplanned issues: large amounts of rain, bad roads, and getting Covid. We think our next big trip might be Big Bend National Park with add-ons like Joshua Tree and Saguaro. Rob wants to see the famous bats at Carlsbad Caverns and Michele wants to see the Albuquerque Balloon Festival. We might be able to combine all of that into a fall vacation. Next year we likely won't take a big trip, so it may be a 2025 destination. 

Day 22 (Aug. 23) - Moncton, New Brunswick to Franconia, New Hampshire

We woke at 7am. Rob said he felt like he was constantly waking up in the night from fever. He ate two apples for breakfast and declared that he felt better. 

We were out the door at 8am and had 170 miles to the U.S. border crossing at Houlton, Maine on I95.  There wasn't a lot of scenery and it took awhile for traffic to pick up.

We arrived at the Houlton border crossing at 10am eastern time and our wait was 10-15 minutes with about six cars ahead of us. Rob chose this crossing because it has a historically short wait time. There were many devices in the lane, perhaps cameras, sniffing machines, infrared cameras (to be sure nobody was hiding in the trunk, Rob said). We got through our interview quickly and without issue, letting the officer know of a few items we purchased when asked. 

 

Michele wondered if the border officers often wish for something exciting to happen as it seems so mundane asking people the same questions all day. 

We scoped out a lunch spot for takeout at a popular family restaurant at the intersection of I95 and US 2. As we ate in the car, we enjoyed the sunny blue skies. Rob said he wanted this weather the whole time while in Newfoundland. Michele said we wouldn’t have experienced the true Newfoundland if so. Rob sarcastically said that she was right, he loved the fog that obscured the entire view. 

 

During lunch we talked about what surprised each of us most about Newfoundland. Rob said he liked the culture and people with so much Irish influence. He wonders if Labrador is similar? He also said the sunsets were amazing. Michele was surprised by Tablelands and the geology. We had no idea of the significance of the island and the current prevailing theory of plate tectonics. What we learned in school about plate tectonics was a newer theory at the time and completely changed the former theory that the continents were static. Rob said he was looking forward to hiking in Cape Breton Highlands, feeling a bit disappointed we could not go. We’ll plan a trip back there. 

 

After lunch we continued south on I95, then picked up US Highway 2 making our way west over to Highway 93. 

We stayed on that route for the rest of the day, passing through rural areas, mountains and towns. Some houses had distinctive architecture. 

These two fluffy pups needed a much larger car!

The landscape featured mountains and ski resorts.

We passed into New Hampshire with about 45 minutes to go. At 5:15pm we arrived at our hotel. We quickly unloaded our bags, then headed 9 miles north on the highway to Littleton for dinner. The restaurant we chose said they were so busy they could not accommodate takeout. So we went to a pizza place and ordered takeout there. Littleton looks like a destination town with a nice river walk, small waterfall, shops and restaurants. 

On the way back, we stopped at Walgreens and a local grocery store for a few items.  

Today we were on the road for eight hours and drove 510 miles. Tonight Rob said, “ Just three days ago we were in Newfoundland. We drove the Avalon peninsula southern coastline, sailed across the Cabot Straight, crossed the provinces of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, plus a state and an half. Now we’re in New Hampshire.” It’s been a bit of a culture shock in a short timeframe! 

Today was also our niece Annabelle's first day of school at her new school. Her sister Amelia starts on Monday. We are so proud of them!

Day 21 (Aug. 22) - North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Moncton, New Brunswick

During the night, the ship rocked more than Michele preferred. This ship is dramatically smaller than the mega cruise ships we've experienced, so the rocking is faster. Rob slept well the whole night, Michele did not. She felt ok, but just did not sleep because of the rocking. She got maybe 4-5 hours in spurts when the wind or seas were calmer. At 5am the crossing was much smoother and she slept well until the 7:30am wake up call that we'd be in port in an hour.

We got dressed and packed up the room, then sat around waiting for the call that we could go to our car. At 8:30am the announcement said we were in port and to wait for our car deck level to be called. The kid who won the coloring contest was also announced. Soon after, we were allowed to go to our car on deck 5. We walked from our room at the front of the ship to aft ship to catch the stairs near the car. Most everyone seemed to already be out of their rooms and the rooms were being stripped down for cleaning. Everybody was in the stairwells. It didn't take long to get to our car. We waited not even 10 minutes and were the first group out!

Back in Nova Scotia, we needed to do laundry but the place didn’t open until 9am. The car was filthy so we headed over to the gas station with the car wash we used just before leaving for Newfoundland. Michele was hungry so we stopped at a Tim Horton's for a breakfast sandwich and green hot tea.

 

With the car fueled up and washed, we went over to the laundromat and did a small load of clothes to get us home. Another lady doing her wash just found $25 in her machine. Lucky gal! While we waited for our clothes to wash, Michele wanted to take a COVID antigen test even though her symptoms were improving. It had been three days since she started feeling bad, so it was within the timeframe of when the test results are more accurate. The test came back positive! Looks like the decision to come home early was a good one. So, she masked up. She felt really bad about having walked around with COVID cooties for a few days unknowingly. Rob said that's how she got it to begin with, other people doing the same.

With that verdict in and a fresh supply of clothes, we hit the road towards New Brunswick. Our total mileage today was 300. The weather was sunny and agreeable.

The GPS routed us off the TransCanadian highway onto a scenic back road to avoid road closures. 

We found construction anyway!

We also had another ferry crossing unexpectedly. This one was quite a bit smaller than the one we got off earlier. It would go back and forth about every 5 minutes so we didn't have to wait long.

Similar to Whites Ferry at home, this one uses a cable to pull it back and forth. The cable system used on this one is a much more modern version than Whites Ferry, though.

The ferry ride was free of charge. We headed towards Antigonish for a late lunch takeout at Justamere Cafe. The fried chicken sandwich was amazing. We ate lunch in the nearby Shell Station parking lot since Michele did not want to eat inside. 

After lunch we were back on the TransCanadian Highway for a few hours into New Brunswick.

This 70+ mile section was similar to the four lane divided highways we are accustomed to in the U.S. It was probably completed in the last few years as our Garmin GPS didn't have this section in it's maps. The road surface was nice and smooth. A welcomed change over the last 10 days of roads we've driven. 

We arrived at our hotel, the Fairfield Marriott in Moncton, at 5pm. After we were settled and worked on the blog a bit, we drove a few miles to get pizza and salad takeout. Rob said he felt like he could be coming on with symptoms himself, so we stopped at the drug store to pick up more cough lozenges and sudafed just in case. We still have about 1,100 miles in front of us to cover in two days.

Tomorrow we will cross back over into the U.S. several days before we originally planned, but we are so grateful for the amazing experiences we've had so far!

Day 20 (Aug. 21) - St. John’s, Newfoundland to North Sydney, Nova Scotia

Change of plans. Michele was hoping she just had allergies from all the hiking amongst plants and trees, but has not been feeling well. She has a fever and is very congested. Our next portion of the trip will be in Cape Breton where we plan on doing four days of hiking. She is unsure if she will improve in two days and we're on the last day to cancel our future reservations without penalty. Michele wanted Rob to go hiking and she'd just stay in the room if she felt bad, but he didn't think it would be a fun option for either of us. Besides, if she isn't feeling well, it is possible he may get sick also. So, we decided to cut the trip short and head home.  

We cancelled all of our future hotel reservations that took us through August 29, and made two hotel reservations for our return trip: one in Moncton, New Brunswick and the other in Franconia, NH. We'd be home this Thursday.
 
We woke at 6am, packed and were on the road at 7am. Michele was feeling better since the night before, but still had congestion today. The morning temps were in the low 60’s and the low clouds were still around though there were more breaks in the cover and we could see pockets of blue sky. We headed south out of St. John’s on highway 10. Today we would drive the scenic Irish Loop, the longer drive following the coastline over to our ferry destination, in the Avalon peninsula. 

 

The coastline of eastern Newfoundland is covered with high cliffs, some of which jut out into the sea in skinny peninsulas. We could see the cliffs and crashing waves this morning though the sky was cloudy and gray for a good portion of the day. 

At Trepassey, the highway turns west and moves inland. Here the terrain changed to flat grassy plains with low brush. Small lakes dotted the landscape. Quite the change from the dramatic cliffs on the eastern shore. 

At St. Vincent’s we crossed a narrow causeway and stopped to look at the rocky beach. The wind was blowing and signs cautioned visitors against going in the water due to strong underwater currents. The waves were pretty intense as they crashed against the beach.
 

We stopped for a break to walk the beach and look at the waves. The sand of this beach was similar to stone dust versus the fine sand we are accustomed to seeing in the U.S. It was a little windy (or maybe there are other side effects Michele is feeling from being under the weather?).

It was 10am and we were about halfway to our destination. We turned north and followed highway 90 north first along the bank of Holyrood Pond and then along the coast of St. Mary’s Bay. Just short of town of St. Mary’s, we turned off the highway to investigate the Gulch. At the end of Gulch Road we found a small park that overlooked St. Mary’s Bay. The wind was blowing at a constant speed of about 20mph but the temps were comfortable in the upper 60’s. There were a few picnic tables and a modern fully automated "lighthouse". We say lighthouse in quotes because it was a trellis structure with a modern optical lens at the top of the structure. So it was really more of a lightstand than a house.

 
We drove a few miles north to St. Mary’s to visit the St. Mary’s Battery. This battery was used to protect the harbour and ultimately the fertile fishing grounds of this area. The British wanted it all for themselves. 

Here you can see from the flags that the wind was blowing strong here as well.

According to this sign pole, we were closer to the North Pole than we were to Mexico by a few hundred kilometers.

There was a charming Kindness Garden nearby.

 
It was only 11am at this point. We were running an hour ahead of schedule and it was a bit early for lunch so we decided to add a detour down towards Cape St. Mary’s. This would take us an additional hour so we were good on time and we would get in more scenic driving. 
 
We turned off onto Highway 91 and then south on Highway 92. This road had a mix of coastline views and high flat plains. At Branch we turned onto highway 100 and headed west and then north along the Placentia bay coast towards Placentia. The road on this 50-mile detour was some of the roughest we had experienced while on the island. Fortunately the roads were dry and we only had to dodge extensive broken pavement and potholes, instead of standing water that collects in the road ruts.

If this road was in good condition, as well as all the other coastal roads in Newfoundland, this place would be an epic motorcycling destination. Sadly, the roads are so bad it really isn’t a good place to ride. The roads are also bad enough that taking an RV would not be advisable. The TransCanadian Highway is in good condition but that only connects Port Aux Basque to St. John's. Once you get off that, road conditions are a bit of a gamble. 

 
We thought there would be scenic overlooks or pull offs where we could stop for a lunch picnic but there weren't any since leaving St. Mary’s. We should have had our lunch at the Kindness Garden! Michele declared she had to eat soon, so we found a gravel pull off near Cape St. Mary’s and had a quick lunch in the car. It was far too windy to setup the table and chairs to eat outside. It was about 1:15pm.

After lunch, we drove the remaining 30 miles to the ferry in Placentia-Argentia, Newfoundland. These bikers were going in the same direction.

We talked about how much of Newfoundland we saw, driving on parts of every coastline: south, west, north, and east. This is an island in a world of its own, with weather extremes and intense beauty. The people are very friendly and form strong communities. As we drove through small villages, people would wave hello to us. Michele always wanted to come to this wild place since reading The Shipping News, one of her favorite books. Newfoundland charmed us and exceeded our expectations.

Our mileage to the ferry today was 240 miles. We arrived at the ferry and were parked in line by 2:15pm. They started boarding the ferry at 4pm. Large trucks, buses, and RVs went first into the lower decks and then the cars. We lucked out and were among the first cars to go in.

We drove up an internal ramp on the ship to deck 5 and parked the near the rear of the ship.

We grabbed out bags (we had combined the items we would need for just a single night into one bag to reduce luggage we needed to carry onboard) and walked up to deck 8 to find our room. We were on board and in our room by 4:30pm. 
 

We settled into our 4 berth unit (basically a two person room with bunk beds) and headed down to deck 7 for dinner. Michele was a bit tired to stand in line at the buffet, and the sit-down restaurant looked comfortable and appealing. Flowers was the name of the restaurant and they did not open until 5:30pm. We had been advised by Amber and Matt (the British couple in the canoe from Keji National Park) to go early and get in line. Great advice! We arrived at the restaurant and got in line at 4:45pm. The restaurant only immediately sits the first six tables and then you go on a waitlist. They stagger sittings every 30 or so minutes so as not to overwhelm the kitchen. We got the fourth of the first six tables. If we had waited until 5:30pm we would not have been seated until 7pm. 

Dinner was very good, a maple chicken with potatoes and vegetables with ceasar salad. When we finished we went back to our hidey-hole room for the remainder of the voyage. Rob named it the hidey-hole because it was an interior room with mirrors in place of an outside window.

Perhaps we should have called in advance to request an outside room? We don't know if it works that way since the online reservation didn't indicate. It was very cozy but we were thankful to have a mostly comfortable room with beds, fluffy pillows and our own bathroom with a real shower.

Our room had no TV though the TV programming we saw on the passage over to Newfoundland was limited, so no big loss there. We planned for this possibility and had loaded shows and movies on our iPads for entertainment. This ship passage did not offer WiFi in the rooms. We watched our respective shows until bedtime.

Tomorrow morning we will arrive back in Nova Scotia.