We are mostly packed for a morning departure. It’s a beautiful Canada Day evening. We’re about to have supper on the patio, a few last-minute tasks, and in the morning we’ll hitch up and hit the road. Tomorrow’s destination - Napanee, ON, home of Avril Lavigne! (No, not Adam... Avril. \240Who remembers her?)

Stay tuned!

On the road. Starting km 42820. Had a great final pack-up and on-schedule departure. Now cruising up Wonderland Rd, to make a big northerly detour around the GTA.

Fuel stop in Newmarket. Stopping for fuel is double jeopardy. They need to have diesel. And we need a way in / way out with our monster trailer! \240

Now zooming south down Hwy 404 a short way, then we’ll head east again toward Peterborough.

Arrived at Walmart. Easy park. But it is HOT! Inside and outside, and no A/C when boondocking. Hopefully the night will cool down. There’s a Shoeless Joe’s across the parking lot. Dinner & WiFi...

Km 490. Setting off to Montreal, where we’ll stop for 2 nights at a KOA.

We slept quite well, despite the heat. All windows & vents open, by 2am it was comfortable. Gonna be another scorcher, but we’ll have A/C tonight.

Bienvenu à Québec!!

And here we are...

We’re sipping our coffee in our nice cool trailer. Day off today. Already it’s 27c outside and there’s a heat warning. I’m thinking to go for a hike shortly, then we’ll head off to a nearby Costco where, being in Quebec, we can stock up on low-priced beer and wine!

Another beautiful summer morning, already hot enough to need the air conditioner. Enjoying our coffee & croissants inside! We’ll hit the road later this morning, a 4-ish hour driive to just west of Rivière-du-Loup, QC.

Last night we had a lovely dinner and catch-up with a dear friend, and filled up with fuel on the way back, so we’re ready to roll today.

Km 943. On the road in perfect time.

Well, we have decided to re-award the prize for bumpiest roads in Canada. To Quebec. Autoroute 20 from Montreal to Rivière-du-Loup is awful. Poor Chris (our trailer)!! Even where they’ve thrown down a layer of new pavement, it still resembles the old “corduroy roads”.

Aside from that, a good, easy travel day. We are 15 minutes west of Rivière-du-Loup, where, tomorrow, we’ll turn south and head toward and through New Brunswick (a previous holder of the worst roads award...)

Camping le Rayon de Soleil seems pretty nice. A former KOA, it sports almost all pull-through sites, and full hookups. Packed in like sardines, but that’s commercial campgrounds.

Of course we needed to check out the local craft beers. A small side trip into the city of Rivière-du-Loup. It’s a beautiful town, the beers were interesting, and they also served a delightful local cider!

Km 1400. On the road. Taking a short detour along the old road, which is right on the south bank of the St. Laurence River. The ramp to Aut. 20 is closed for construction.

Just crossed into NB.

Arrived in the rain, but it very kindly stopped while we were parking. Now headed out to have dinner with friends - Beth’s college roommate and her husband

Beautiful morning, and the heat has abated. I actually turned on the fireplace this morning, for a bit.

km 1670. On the road again, on a gorgeous, sunny morning. 18c outside.

Fuel and pee stop near Gagetown.

And we’re in Nova Scotia!

Arrived in Debert. Staying in friends’ yard for 2 nights. Had dinner at Beth’s sister’s house in Truro, with all of the local family. A beautiful evening, and a really nice time.

Took Taffy for a walk down to the Debert River this morning...

Km 2293. On the road again, after a wonderful visit with Beth’s folks, and friends. Today we’re off to North Sydney, to board the midnight ferry to Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland.

Fuel and pee stop, just before the Canso Causeway onto Cape Breton. We’re going to have about 2-3 hours to kill before we can check in for the ferry.

A craft brewery stop. This is a truly awesome craft brewery. Wonderfully interesting beers, and really friendly, accommodating staff.

Having dinner before we board the ferry. All checked in, and in the lineup.

Our ferry is just coming into Port Aux Basques.

All settled at the Grand Codroy RV Park. Really nice facilities, a former provincial campground that was privatized. Had a nap, then went touring...

On a day trip south, heading past Port Aux Basques. This spot, with lighthouse, is just north of PAB, and is the southernmost tip of Newfoundland. It is also where the Muskrat Falls electrical cables go under the sea to Nova Scotia and beyond.

Rose Blanche is at the end of the road along the south shore, east from Port Aux Basques. It was a brilliant day, sunny and warm(ish). The road is recently paved, hilly and twisty; the perfect motorcycle road. We did the “truck slalom”.

A lovely, sunny evening back at our campsite. Having a campfire after a lovely dinner of grilled lamb chops. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the fish & seafood! \240

Tomorrow we hit the road again, to Deer Lake.

Km 2940 another lovely warm day. Packed up and rolling out. Destination Deer Lake.

Easy drive to Deer Lake, about 2.5 hours. Beautiful hilly scenery. Road was so-so; we awarded it third place for worst roads in Canada. Now set up and settled in at a more typical RV Park — good facilities & services, pull-thru sites, but the usual cheek-to-jowl layout. \240We’re here for two nights.

The temperature has warmed up, about 26c with a nice breeze. Perfect.

Decided to drive out to Lark Harbour, a 70km jaunt, and well worth it!!

Took a short side trip to Little Port. Yup, it’s little!

And back home to Chris. Stopped at a fish market along the way, hoping for some cod or other fish, but we had to settle for lobster! The freshest lobster I’ve had in a very long time.

It was supposed to rain today. Got overcast a while but never did rain. Now the evening sun is causing our air conditioning to run, with the thermostat set at 24c! Last rain we had was in New Brunswick - the weather gods sure are smiling on us!

Km 3382. Setting off from Deer Lake, after a tour of the Insectarium across the road. Destination - Port au Choix, about halfway up the Western Peninsula. We’ll pass through Gros Morne National Park, but plan to stop there later for a few nights, on the way back down the Peninsula.

Arrived at Port au Choix. Our first run-in with “ugly Americans”. We had booked a site at Oceanview Campground. Told when booking that \240they were mostly full with an RV caravan, but we could have a site with power & water behind the rec centre; no ocean view. I had accepted that. When we got there, someone else had given away our site! And the caravan director was really snippy with us. The park manager was actually quite apologetic, and sent us down the road to the local motel, which has a few RV sites.

So here we are:

This morning we hiked out to a Dorset Paleoeskimo archaeological site, which is the main attraction at Port au Choix National Historic Site. This was the view from Crow Head, the height of land on the point.

After a wonderful lunch at a local cafe, we visited the French Rooms bread oven.

Then we drove out to the lighthouse at Point Richie, part of the National Historic Site.

Km 3630. On the road again, to St. Anthony. We were awakened by fog horns this morning, after some showers last evening, but the fog has now cleared, and the sun has been trying to peek out.

Trucking along, SLOWLY. the road is horrible, mostly frost heaves, but potholes too. Poor Chris!! Landscape is getting really barren, but lots of fishing villages along the way. Still a bit foggy over the water, but dry.

Arrived. Set up took a while as we needed to move to a more level site. Blackflies galore! \240But all done now, drove in to St Anthony (we’re about 10km out), and booked seats st tonight’s Viking Feast, a dinner show. Way out on the point, at the end of the road.

Today we went to L’Anse aux Meadows National Historic Site. Just the location, on a barren but beautiful point of land was an attraction in itself.

We walked to the visitor centre, started to tie Taffy outside, but we’re invited to bring her in! Then, standing at the reception desk was “Olaf”, our server last night at the Viking Feast! His real name is Mark, and Parks Canada is his real job. He led the formal tour of the site, and was both informative and entertaining. We spent several hours, just soaking up the ambiance.

Saw our first iceberg, after a bit of hunting...

Lunch. Beth is having moose sliders, Bob is having fish cakes. Watching for whales out the window.

Checked out St. Anthony. Tried to visit a craft brewery, but they weee closed for renovations - a real shame at the height of tourist season here...

We did have a look st some awesome ceramic “carvings” in the lobby of the local hospital.

Today we took a day trip to Conche, a fishing outport famous for its tapestry depicting the history of the French Shore (a continuation of the French Bread Oven in Port au Choix).

We weren’t allowed to take photos of the tapestry, but you can learn all about it here: http://frenchshoretapestry.com/en/intro.asp

Km 4354. Off to Rocky Harbour and Gros Morne National Park. Taking the longer way round - drove part of it yesterday and seems in better condition than route 430. Only 16km longer - well worth it to save wear & tear on Chris.

Boy, were we wrong! Route 432 was not too bad for the first half, and the second half gets the award for the worst road in Canada. We crept along at 60km/hr most of the 50km stretch.

Arrived and set up for our 5 nights in Gros Morne National Park. Nice KOA, had an uneventful back-in and set up. Dinner is cooking. Good WiFi and cell service again!

It rained a little as we passed through the northern part of the park, but the sun was back out by the time we ckecked in. We have been so blessed with good weather!!

Having lunch at Java Jack’s Cafe

Spending today discovering the Tablelands, the feature that earned a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation for Gros Morne NP.

Today we’re going to cruise Wwstern Brook Pond, one of several land-locked, fresh water fjords in Gros Morne Park. A 3km hike along a lovely, wide , smooth gravel trail (better than some of the roads around here!) to the boat dock at one end of the pond, which is 16km long.

Just finished a 10km hike in to Bakers Brook Falls. Much of the path was boardwalk, with a bit of muckiness near the end of the trail.

Having dinner in the hotel dining room, prior to attending a theatre performance in Cow Head.

Along the way here we stopped at Broom Point, where the park has preserved a summer fishing cabin, abandoned in 1975.

Sad to hear the tale of how the cod and salmon fisheries may never recover, even after almost 30 years of closure. Too many foreign factory boats cleaning up the cod in international waters, where the cod spawn. And too many seals eating all of the fish around Newfoundland, thanks to Brigitte Bardot and her cronies...

Km 5158. Off to Gander. Goodbye Gris Morne and Western Peninsula. What a beautiful place, what friendly people.

Passing through Deer Lake again, now to head east on the Trans-Canada, most of the way across the island.

Arrived and set up just north of Gander. Beauty spot!

Just walked around the famous airport. The international arrivals lounge is untouched in its decor from the 60’s. We saw an exhibit about a Czech airliner crash that hapoened in 1967. The passenger plane was enroute to Cuba.

We also saw ihis most interesting sight...

Just toured this wonderful exhibit, chronicling the history of aviation in Gander, which is really Gander’s history.

Km 5614. Off to Holyrood / St. John’s. While it will be nice to have internet & phone again, we greatly enjoyed our lakefront campsite. It was beautiful and peaceful, and Taffy had TWO swims!

Passing through Terra Nova NP. Yet another gorgeous day. 27c outside.

Arrived and set up in the St. John’s area. Holyrood to be more exact. A very nice RV park on a lake, more open and cheek-to-jowl than the last place, but it will do fine.

We’ve even fit in a Costco run! \240The only Costco on the island.

Steaks on the barbie, another beautiful night. We have been so lucky with weather!!

Drove in to St John’s this morning. Parked at Signal Hill, and will take a shuttle bus downtown later.

Got on the Hop On Hop Off Bus. First stop Quidi Vidi Village, for the continuation (FINALLY!) of our craft brewery tour. Quidi Vidi is Newfoundland’s best known craft brewery. We found their bottled beer for sale in loads of little restaurants all over the province.

Bob & Taffy having a little game of ball hockey. They’ve never done this before!

Took the long way round to Cape Spear, and discovered the lovely village of Petty Harbour!

Another gorgeous day. Just leaving Cape Spear, where we saw two whales frolicking off the shore, too far away for a photo, though...

Heading off to Dildo this morning.

Lunch and craft beer stop

Stopped in Heart’s Content, where the first transatlantic telegraph cable landed. There is an excellent museum. \240

A stop at Newfoundland‘s craft distillery. All of these were excellent! And they are dog-friendly!

Number 32 on our craft beer tour. Again the day started off cool and foggy, and now we have hot sunshine with a pleasant breeze

One last stop for beer tasting on the Avalon Peninsula.

Km 6695. On the road again. Destination English Harbour, on the Bonavista peninsula, home if Bob’s college pal Gary and his wife Val. They claim there’s loads of space for our rig in their yard. We are slightly skeptical...

Arrived and set up in Gary’s yard. He lives on a hillside so it was challenging but we figured it out. We have power and water, so all is good.

We are literally at the end of the road. Gary took us out on ATVs this afternoon to Horse Chops point, where there is a fog horn station, and we saw about 6 whales feasting on capelin, in very close to shore. Bob took photos on the DSLR camera, which will get posted later.

Visiting the town of Bonavista today. Beautiful town (and day). So far we have toured a replica of The Matthew, John Cabot’s ship.

After a hard day of tourist information, stop #35 on our craft brewery tour. This place is just down the road from where we are staying.

Lunch out today. Lots of Newfoundland’s entertainment elite floating around town. Mark Critch got married here in Trinity yesterday. The hangover crowd are brunching here. Gordon Pinsent is sitting at a table out on the patio, with at least one person from This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

Hiked the trail to Fox Island, off Champney’s West. Lovely trail around the point, then across an isthmus to the actual island. A steep scramble on part of the trail, and Taffy managed it quite well, then just a steep climb to a lovely viewpoint.

Our first rainy day, really of the whole trip, and for sure since we landed on the island! Today we can barely see the water, and the foghorns are sounding all around us.

However, we’ve seen most of the local sights, so we’ll just take a day to relax. We hit the road again tomorrow; will go fill up Fergus’ fuel tank, and replenish some groceries.

Had a wonderful lobster dinner tonight with our friends Gary & Val, and also their neighbor Debbie, who was great fun, and a delightful person. After dinner Val screeched us in. They didn’t have a cod in the house, but Gary fished a salmon (locally caught) out of the freezer for us to kiss. It was quite a hoot. And we were presented with the official certificates!

Km 7125. Packed up and on the road to Bishop’s Falls, near Grand Falls. We had a very tricky back-up to get out of Gary’s driveway, but Bob is getting very good at that! We’ll stop for just one night, then on to the Stephenville area, where there are things to see, for 3 nights.

We have now turned toward home, although we’ll be on the island for several more days.

Arrived and set up at Brookdale Country Inn & RV Park. Pretty nice. Good level pull-thru site with all hookups. The weather has cleared, sunny & 23c.

Km 7433. Off to Kippens, just west of Stephenville. We had a good overnight. Brookdale campground isn’t particularly beautiful, but very functional. Close to the highway, but not noisy, with good hookups, although the WiFi was marginal.

We even acquired some Toller beer!

Arrived and set up just outside Stephenville. Beautiful, quiet campground, with good WiFi.

A great day of touring the Port-au-Port island / peninsula. (It is really an island - joined to the mainland by a sandbar and a man-made causeway)

What gorgeous scenery!

Last day on the island. We’re on the overnight ferry tonight. A somewhat leisurely pack-up, with a 1 pm checkout, a 2-hour drive to the ferry, and a 7:45 pm check-in. We have time to kill!

Last night we went to the Stephenville Arts Centre to see Green Day’s “American Idiot”. This was our compensation from the Thestre Festival for Wednesday’s fiasco of the dinner show that was in another town! \240We had the best seats in the house. Lovely theatre. The show itself was an excellent performance - of music that we couldn’t quite relate to, not being of that era. Educational, perhaps. That said, it was a nice evening out.

km 7975. On the road to the ferry. Another hot sunny day, after a very gray early morning.

At the Harbour Inn / 1 Ton Pub & Grill. Last meal on the island. We were able to walk here from the ferry terminal, where Fergus & Chris are now standing in line for boarding, at around 10pm. It’s a foggy night here, an appropriate send-off after a month of sunny weather!

We lost Basil, our beloved source of fresh basil, in the CFIA inspection everyone goes through when departing the island. Potatoes, root vegetables, burlap (!), and plants in or with soil may not leave the island, no matter where they originated.

Got a second upgraded seat last night, and we both had a good sleep. Now having breakfast in the restaurant on-board, watching a lovely sunrise.

On the road again. Paused here to pull out Fergus’ “ears”; the extendable mirrors for towing.

Enjoying our day in Truro. Visited Beth’s Dad, did laundry, stocked up on groceries and beverages, now having a pint at The Salty Dog. (Which we’ve already counted in our craft brewery tour!)

Km 8642. Off to Perth-Andover NB for tonight. Pouring rain, but expected to clear in NB.

Arrived and all set up at this very idyllic campground just outside Perth-Andover. Just one night here, enroute to Quebec City, where we’ll do a bit of sightseeing.

Beautiful day for traveling, although we had to pack up in some showers, but they cleared within minutes of setting out. And a gorgeous sunny, but not blazing hot afternoon here. There’ll be a campfire tonight.

Km 9146. On the road to Quebec City. Beautiful day.

Rolling along, nibbling charcuterie & cherries for lunch. And grimacing over Quebec’s bloody awful roads!

Arrived and all set up in Lévis, QC, for 3 nights. Beautiful wear all the way. This KOA runs a shuttle into Old Quebec to pick up the hop on hop off bus tour, so we are on that bright and early tomorrow. Lovely and peaceful here, for being so close to the city!

Another lovely sunny day. Awaiting the shuttle bus into the Old City for our hop-on-hop-off tour

Lunch, after an excellent tour in the open-air top of a double decker bus.

Having a pint before we catch our shuttle back to the KOA.

Today we’re visiting the Huron village of Wendake. Starting off with another set menu lunch, this time traditional Huron cuisine. Sunflower seed soup to start! We are seated family style at long tables.

Km 9610. Packed up and on the road. Stopping tonight at the Walmart in Cornwall ON. We’ve already sussed out a craft brewery within walking distance!

Back in Ontario! Trying to kill time so we’re not too, too early at Walmart!

Arrived and parked at Walmart. Bought some naan bread and dined on boil-in-bag curries with rice, an on-the-road favourite.

Then we wandered down the street about 4 blocks to Cornwall’s craft brewery, where we enjoyed a flight each - good, interesting beers! - and great conversation with the two women tending the bar.

Km 9966. (Wow, almost 10K!). On the road after a good night at Walmart Cornwall. We we one of 13 rigs parked overnight. Today we’re headed to Peterborough for 2 nights at Beavermead Park, a lovely campground at the eastern edge of the city. We stayed there last summer with the local Escapees chapter. This will be our last hurrah before arriving home. The neighbors tell us a family of skunks have taken up residence under our deck :-[

Arrived mid-afternoon, after a pretty easy drive from Cornwall. All set up, dinner done, sitting by the campfire. This is a really lovely campground. The view from my chair by the fire:

Km 10,350. Wow! On the road for the final leg to home.

We had a lovely stop in Peterborough. We really like Beavermead Park. Yesterday we walked downtown and finitup our craft brewery tour with #40, The Publican House Brewery, where we sat outside on a lovely shady patio, and enjoyed a really great selection of beers (and a cider!)

Home safe & sound!