Saturday 7/09/2022 - Day 28 of 31 on our 2022 Canadian Maritime #2 Caravan with Yankee RV Tour

We had a leisurely morning today. Some went to breakfast, others slept in or did laundry … what did I do you ask? Of course, I took a walk! The great thing about the KOA in Charlottetown is the road into the campground is paved and almost a mile long! Great place to walk and not too busy this time of the day! I even walked closer to the waterfront on a paved road.

We had to rally in our cars, just before noon so we could drive into Charlottetown. We have tickets to a 1pm matinee to see Anne of Green Gables the musical. We carpooled together to see Anne of Green Gables, the musical in Charlottetown at Confederation Center of the Arts. Saturdays are free parking days in the car park, just a few blocks from the theater.

No pictures of video allowed, so we have a group shot before it started.

Since 1965, Anne of Green Gables – The Musical has been delighting audiences at the Charlottetown Festival. Anne of Green Gables – The Musical is the theatrical adaptation of the novel Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Originally published in 1908, the novel radiates warmth and color because Montgomery had a genius for perceiving and recreating drama in everyday life. It was an awesome show and a spectacular way to work toward the end an excellent adventure!

A free afternoon in Charlottetown. Many of the caravanners went to a late lunch and toured the downtown and learned some history. Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in 1855. It was the site of the famous Charlottetown Conference in 1864, the first gathering of Canadian and Maritime statesmen to discuss the proposed Maritime Union. This conference led, instead, to the union of British North American colonies in 1867, which was the beginning of the Canadian confederation. PEI, however, did not join Confederation until 1873. From this, the city adopted as its motto Cunabula Foederis, "Birthplace of Confederation".

The Yankee staff took the 45-mile run back to the Borden-Carelton toll area at the Confederation Bridge to talk to a "real person" and determine how we can get all the rigs across and pay for them with our credit card in one transaction. This has never been an issue before, because in past years the caravan ended on Prince Edward Island. The 2^nd group is going onto Moncton for our grand finale!

After we got that figured out, we enjoyed some late lunch or early dinner at the Abbey at the Lone Oak Brewing company. Charlie had chicken wings & fries, Gary had apple pecan salad and fries, Sheryl had these amazing sweet potato tacos and I had the apple pecan salad. After tasting Sheryl's tacos ... I wished I had gotten them.

We enjoyed another fire at the campground.

We wanted to make sure we got everyone's pictures!

    

Charlie & Gary were helping another guest in the campground when the pictures were taken and they "whined" about not being in the pictures. So, they got their one separate pictures!

        

            

Even our four-legged caravanners!

The sky was just as beautiful as the time spent with this group of people!

Friday 7/08/2022 - Day 27 of 31 on our 2022 Canadian Maritime #2 Caravan with Yankee RV Tour

Did I walk this morning? That is a silly question. As long as I wake up and it is not raining, I am walking! This campground offered some paved roadways, so it was a pleasure to walk on them!

We departed our overnight stop at Scotia Pines. The sole purpose of our stop here was to see the tidal bore … boy oh boy, was it worth it! The campground provided us all pull thru sites and a restful night.

We traveled on Route 104, again but this time heading west. We also crossed from Nova Scotia back into New Brunswick. Route 104 takes you past the Cobequid Interpretive Center and part of the road is called the Cobequid Pass. The name Cobequid was derived from the Mi'kmaq word "Wagobagitk" meaning "the bay runs far up", in reference to the area surrounding the easternmost inlet of the Minas Basin, a body of water called Cobequid Bay. Cobequid was granted in 1689 to Mathieu Martin. He was said to be the first Acadian born in Acadia. In 1705, the Acadians first settled in this area near Cobequid Bay. The Acadian culture consisted primarily of farming. Their advanced farming systems of dykes, permitted them to recuperate valuable farmland from the marshlands that cover the entire coast of the community. The community, which is now called Masstown, is located 10 minutes west of Truro. In 1714 many inhabitants of Minas, signed to a resolution, dated 9 September 1714, to go to Cape Breton. 

The Cobequid Acadians were close to an Indian mission located where the Stewiacke meets the Shubenacadie; and which had been run, for many years, by Le Loutre. In January 1750, Le Loutre made an ever closer alliance with his native friends (the sworn allies of the French crown). This meant that the Acadians of Cobequid did not want to get too friendly with the English. On the second day of September, 1755, the French inhabitants of Cobequid Village, lying on the north side of the bay, were working in their fields because it was harvest time. Three British vessels came into the Bay. Two of them anchored, one opposite the Village, and the other at Lower Cobequid; while the third went further up the shore. On September 4, they placed a notice on the church, that read that all their belonging now belong to His Majesty. However, this order had been given by William Shirley, Governor of Massachusetts and commander-in-chief of North American forces, and not by the British government in London. This was William Shirley's revenge for the death of his son during Edward Braddock campaign against the Canadians in the Ohio Valley. This was the beginning of the Acadian deportation.

The Cliffs of Fundy Geopark span over 100 miles of scenic shoreline from the Portaupique River to Apple River, an area known as the Parrsboro Shore. It boasts over 40 Geosites – stunning examples of earth’s history like Wasson Bluff fossils and minerals, Cape d’Or basalt, the Five Islands fault, and more. The area is an aspiring UNESCO Global Geopark, a designation awarded to an area of international geological significance. Interspersed with impressive geology shaped by the Bay of Fundy tides are historical sites and cultural sites.

We passed Joggins Fossil Center and Cliffs, which is another UNESCO World Heritage Site. This sight has been preserved in nature, uncovered by force. It is here that the highest tides in the world reveal the most complete fossil record of the “Coal Age,” 100 million years before the dinosaurs. Every rock holds the possibility of discovery, and our guided tours may lead you to finding a missing piece of time’s puzzle. The Joggins Fossil Centre is situated on the reclaimed site of the Old Joggins No. 7 Coal Mine overlooking the Joggins Fossil Cliffs. The Centre provides an exceptional learning experience, featuring an extensive fossil specimen collection, exhibits, and displays depicting

We traveled east on Route 116, also known as Acadian Coastal Drive. This area is as renowned for its spirited Acadian culture as it is for its beautiful destinations. The Acadian coastal Drive is a total of 466 miles. Port Elgin is conveniently located at the intersections of Highway 15 and 16, and Provincial Route 970, just minutes from the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island and the border of Nova Scotia. The historic, picturesque village of Port Elgin, New Brunswick, is on the Northumblerland Strait near Fort Gaspereaux National Historic Site. From the summer encampment of the Mi’kmaq on the banks of the Gaspereau River to the arrival of the Acadians and the building of Fort Gaspareaux, and from the building of the Intercolonial Railroad and the construction of the Trans Canada, Port Elgin has been at the crossroads of commerce.

We saw more “Watch for Moose Signs” on our way to the Confederation Bridge. They have "moose" whistles on the edge of the bridge, to keep the moose off the bridge.

We crossed the Confederation Bridge. The Confederation Bridge joins the eastern Canadian provinces of Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, making travel throughout the Maritimes easy and convenient. The curved, 8 mile long bridge is the longest in the world crossing ice-covered water, and continues to endure as one of Canada’s top engineering achievements of the 20th century. The decision to replace the existing ferry service with a fixed link followed a heated debate throughout the 1980’s. Farmers, fishermen, tourism operators, and residents of Prince Edward Island had sharply contrasting opinions about how year-round access to the mainland would affect their way of life and livelihood. Eventually, it was decided that the debate would be settled at the polls. The federal department of Public Works and Government Services selected its favorite bridge design out of several proposals from the private sector, and on January 18, 1988, Premier Joseph Ghiz asked Prince Edward Islanders to make the final decision in a vote. At the polls, 59.4% of Islanders voted “Yes” to a fixed link. After four years of construction using crews of more than five thousand local workers, the Confederation Bridge opened to traffic on May 31, 1997.

There is a live bridge cam on the eastbound side of the bridge, into Prince Edward Island. We prepared our friends and family to watch us cross the bridge on their phones, computers or tablets by giving them advance notice. 

I think many of them were ready! We wanted to be sure that they could see us … we put a sign in the passenger side of the front window. 

The New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island border is the Northumberland Strait.

As we drove further into PEI, we learned the fact that there are no rivers in PEI, only estuaries. The sea water flows in and out.

PEI also has many farms, most of them are potato farms. There were also fields of what we thought was mustard, but learned it was canola. Still a beautiful yellow color!

We arrived at Cornwall KOA, our home for the next few nights. We had time to relax and tend to personal matters. Before our entertainment and dinner!

We were treated to music by the Vagabond Minstrel, Gordon Belsher. He has been a friend of Rod’s for more than 30 years! He is based in Prince Edward Island on Canada's east coast. 

Gordon Belsher has been entertaining audiences in Canada and around the world for more than 40 years performing at concerts, ceilidhs, conventions, and pubs. He played classic PEI tunes, some John Denver and introduced us to his unique style. 

After our private ceilidh with Gordon, we enjoyed a lasagna dinner provided by Yankee RV Tours, prepared by our Yankee Staff and a couple special caravanners! 

Yankee encourages people to sit with different couples at each meal, ride with different people to events. You mark off the people on the back of your name badge, to be sure you cover everyone. Well, with this smaller group, we had the opportunity to cover all the caravanners multiple times. We only had one couple left to check off the list... so on day 27 of our 31-day caravan, we eat with the wagonmasters!

This KOA is beautiful with so many amenities!

Thursday 7/07/2022 - Day 26 of 31 on our 2022 Canadian Maritime #2 Caravan with Yankee RV Tour

Yes I walked this morning ... my hashtag is "Starting Over 4 The Last Time" and the only way I can do that is continue with my new healthy choices in my life! I am learning to live the life I love! The sky was a unique and ominous looking during my walk!

The dawn patrol went out first and then the rest of us caravanned from Halifax West KOA to Scotia Pines Campground. It was a short caravan. The most interesting thing we saw along the route was this unique manikin holding the mailbox. He was decked out in true Canadian colors!

Scotia Pines is just an overnight stop, just so we have a great place to see the tidal bore!

  

We had time for lunch and some work time on our signs for the bridge crossing! Then we rallied for our car caravan to Wide Open Wilderness Campground, no it has a new name now ... Eagle Ridge RV Park. We can't stay there, because they are 99 44/100% seasonal. We car caravan there to view the tidal bore. 

As we passed over the Schubenacadie Canal, there were shouts of joy from the wagonmasters and tailenders vehicles … because the tide was still out! We made it! There are several observation points along the river that provide panoramic views. But Yankee has been going to this campground for years and it is much more private than the public viewing areas.

We knew we were going to be early, but it's not an event you want to be late for. It ruins the whole experience, if you come halfway through!

What is the Tidal Bore? With the world’s highest recorded tides, the Bay of Fundy is witness to one of Nature’s unique shows found on the Shubenacadie River. The bore of “first tidal wave” will gather height and strength as it nears the head of the bay and enters the river. There’s nothing quite like the moment when immense force of the incoming tide will reverse the outgoing river and send it backwards, it makes your heart skip a beat. The Shubenacadie River is the longest in Nova Scotia at almost 45 miles from Grand Lake to Maitland.

The campground offers us use of their Tidal Bore Lookout. The mighty tidal bore occurs twice daily, as the tide comes in. 

The park's lookout provides the perfect vantage point to watch as the wall of incoming tidal waters creates whitewater of up to 12 feet!

The park's lookout area is peaceful and quiet and offers the perfect for viewing Bald eagles that nest along the river. 

I was able to use my Canon SX740HS on continuous shot to capture some great pics of the eagles! 

  

You may not be able to see it, but this Eagle snagged a fish in it's talons. That is why the Eagles are flying during the tidal bore, because it is easy fishing for them!

I really can’t describe it … but we watched the almost dry river bed change from a place people could stand to four feet of water, with rapids, in 22 minutes.

More water 

and more water

and yet even more water.

A few rapids have started.

The Adventure company brings people out into the river, before the tidal bore starts and they can walk around on the river bed.

As the tidal bore comes in, the rafts race up and down the river!

Rapids big enough to raft on!

The tides come in so fast that is leaves the river bed rippled!

We enjoyed HUGE scoops of ice cream at the campground, where they let us watch the tidal bore. Can you believe I did not get any pictures? It was delicious and thanks to Yankee for purchasing it for us!

We headed back to the campground for a social hour or two.