Travels with haRVy

Spectacular coastal views appeared at nearly every turn as we returned easterly along the Bay of Fundy.

After spending the night at The Old Shipyard Campground, we decided to learn more about the local shipbuilding history at the nearby “Age of Sail” museum. Our effort to do so was thwarted as they are closed on Tuesday and Wednesday. We did tour their outdoor displays and peered through the windows at what appeared to be a well-organized and quaint exhibit hall. This coastline was a major shipbuilding area in the days of wooden brigs and schooners in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

We took our lunch break at 5 Islands Lighthouse Park and also visited the nearby Provincial Park.

The woman clamming in the photo above this one claimed her rightful parking spot at this sign

Melanie and Charlie told us about “The Damn Dutchman” who makes farmstead Gouda cheese, so we ventured down a dirt driveway to check that out. My sister would have been very disappointed if if I did not, as she is quite proud of our Dutch heritage. They have a full on cheese making operation and tasting room as well as a menagerie of animals and birds around the property. The cheese is excellent and I purchased aged, cumin and smoked varieties.

This old sign used to hang out on the highway, but the neighbors protested due to the use of the swear word damn, so the new one just says The Dutchman…boring

Once we completed our tour of that area, we got on Highway 104 to head to our next destination – the northeast shore of New Brunswick. Heavy winds forced us on to smaller roads on which we could travel more slowly (and more safely with our tall rig). We reached the shore and found a parking spot near a fishing harbor at Petit Cap just before sunset.

Sunny, cool to warm. 163 miles

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We had another nice visit with our hosts Melanie and Charles last night after dinner. They are fellow travelers and former yacht cruisers, so we have a lot of similar experiences to discuss. Nice folks. We are glad we met them and grateful for their generosity.

This morning we drove through some very pretty farmland back to Amherst for provisions. Along the way we stopped to buy fresh eggs at a dairy farm. Then we headed to Joggins for lunch and a quick walk on the ocean floor at the fossil center there.

A fossilized tree in the cliffs at Joggins Fossil Center

We met a couple in another Sprinter RV conversion in the parking lot at Joggins. They lived in their 19-footer for TWO YEARS, including a 6 month trip to Alaska! We had a good time comparing our vehicles, but still feel ours is absolutely the best for us…even after 9 weeks aboard.

Our new acquaintances warned us of some very rough roads ahead, so we took an alternate inland route to get to the southern shore of this peninsula. That route provided what Al referred to as “Blueberry Fields Forever” as a takeoff on the Beatle’s song. There were acres and acres of blueberry fields in every direction for several miles. Unfortunately, they had been harvested some time ago. It was still beautiful as the foliage was bright red.

The coast road heading west from Parrsboro wound around and up and down with forested hills on one side and the Bay of Fundy on the other providing gorgeous views at every turn.

We drove out to Advocate Harbor and Big Beach at Advocate for a quick look around and then doubled back a few miles to a seaside campground we had spotted on the way in at Spencers Island (town named after a nearby uninhabited island). The site was a shipyard in the late 19th century and early 20th century and the lighthouse here serves as a tiny museum with some interesting artifacts and historical notations about the schooners and brigantines that were launched here.

Nice rig…cost more than the average home.

The setting is lovely and we enjoyed another beautiful sunset. Even though it actually set behind us the “backset” was nearly as vibrant and we enjoyed it as we dined in haRVy.

Sunny, cool to warm. 120 miles

Seals and a great blue heron enjoying a nearby cove now that most of the summer tourists are gone

Today we stayed pretty close to camp only venturing about 10 miles out to explore a bit more of this area. The skies cleared, the sun returned, and the temperature rose into the 70s around 11 o’clock.

After my usual morning walk around the neighborhood, Melanie and Charles invited us in along with their neighbors, Barb and Frank. We all had a good chat over coffee and delicious home-made breads. We then harvested bags of fresh veggies and apples from Melanie’s garden.

The neighborhood lighthouse, right down the road

We visited a local Provincial Park (an open one for a change) where we had lunch and ventured down a trail with an interesting history. In 1886 a grand project to bring ships across the 17 mile isthmus from the Northumberland Strait to the Bay of Fundy began. It was designed to be a double tracked railroad with two locomotives pulling the sailing ships on a large cradle. A dock at each end would allow the vessel to be floated onto the cradle and then a hydraulic crane would lift the cradle and the ship onto the rail cars. Three-quarters of the work was completed, including the docks at Fort Lawrence and Tidnish Bridge, 16 of the 17 miles of rail-bed, and 13 miles of track before the project was scrapped due to financial difficulties. Today all that remains is a good story, a hiking trail and a beautiful stone bridge.

We had hoped to paddle the Tidnish River this afternoon, but rain and wind threatened. We toured the local cooperative art gallery, of which Melanie and Charles are participating members, and visited another nearby park before heading back to camp.

Tide’s out

Sunny morning, cloudy afternoon, cool to warm and back again…must be autumn. 27 miles