Walton, Nova Scotia (Road Trip Day 53)

Woke up to 38 degree temperatures and winds of 20 miles per hour at 6:30am in Saint John New Brunswick. The wildflowers at our campsite seemed to enjoy the weather.

This afternoon I am sitting in Walton, Nova Scotia where it is 64 degrees. There is a slight breeze at our camp site. It is glorious.

Our drive today was filled with beauty and we were blessed with very little traffic. Once we hit the Nova Scotia border we began to see fields of dandelions everywhere. 

We stopped at a Fundy Bay Interpretive area where Joe walked out to an overlook area and visited a museum. 

Due to technical difficulties I cannot share with you his photo.

I took this from my vantage point while waiting for Joe.

This reminded me of Joe telling me that people in Canada stop for pedestrians even if there is no crosswalk. This happened to him several times while we were getting money exchanged in St. Stephen, yesterday. Canadians are kind people. 

Later yesterday, Joe stopped for a pedestrian and the person just stood there and stared at us. Maybe it’s the California plate that bedazzled the gentleman. The man waved us on.While I was waiting at the Interpretive Center for Joe, an older woman (looked to be ninety) walked up to me and said, “you’re a long way from home!” Anna lives in Moncton New Brunswick and originally hails from Slovenia. She shared that she had visited Los Angeles and San Francisco while chaperoning students on trips.

Anna found the cities interesting; however two weeks was plenty of time to be around so many people and she was glad to come home to Moncton. She mentioned that she brought a bottle of California wine to bring back home and her husband was confounded. He thought she could have found something of more interest.We had a short but pleasant visit and she wished me a safe trip home.

Joe and I took highway 215 to the campground and it seeemed every time we turned a corner there was a breathtaking view. We were unable to get photos of the eagles soaring over the water. There are dandelions everywhere. Joe asked at the museum about the dandelions and was told that farmers used to mow the fields to keep the dandelions down. Now they are encouraged to leave them as they attract bees.

After we got to the campground, Joe walked to a nearby beach and collected shells and lava rock pieces for our grandchildren, Caleb (9) and Charlotte (7). As he walked up to me, I noticed he looked a bit disheveled. I asked if he had fallen and he said yes. It appears he lost his balance on some rocks. He said he was fine though as he pulled shells and rocks from various pockets. He looked at me and said, “I guess I’m a little boy.”

It made me feel happy to see how happy he was about his treasures.

The other cool item today was the Canadian $5 bill. The bills are a texture that feels like a thin sturdy plastic.

Edited 5/22/2023 once back in Wi-Fi reach.

Random Thoughts in Canada (Road Trip Day 52)

Cold. It is so very cold this morning in Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. Preparing us for Minnesota weather? In Minnesota we will not be living in a tent. At least that is not the plan. Megan, our daughter, is eager for us to all go camping in Minnesota later this summer. She said nothing about winter camping.

We are at the library until it warms up a bit. We can charge our electronics and look out at the city. There are three public libraries in this community of 70,800 people. We are at the East Branch Library. There is a children’s program happening right now. A lot of children talking in the background while I write. Also, some ‘running children’ noise.  Sounds like they are enjoying themselves. I am warm so I am enjoying myself.

Road signs in Saint John are in English and French. I took two ears of French in High School and I find it highly entertaining to try to pronounce the French. I know I’m slaughtering a language that sounds so pretty when someone who speaks the language well says the words. Also, I want to know why we never learned the word stop. It looks like a good word to know.

Here is a ‘silly me’ story from when we came through the border station yesterday. The (extremely handsome) male agent asked me to ‘roll down the back window please.’ Me: “It doesn’t roll down; I can get out and open the back hatch.” EHMA: Points at driver side back seat window. Me: “Oh!” I’d like to think I was just mesmerized by the agent’s looks. I suspect I was not representing Americans in a good light.

As he proceeded to ask us questions, I realized we are the ultimate in tame folks. The questions we were asked: Do either of you carry any firearms? Knives? Other potential weapons? (I think I paused for a second to think about whether we have anything that could be weaponized. Later I realized we might be able to set something on fire with our cooking burner – he didn’t ask about burners though). We were also asked if we had any illegal drugs or CBD. Now if I had illegal drugs would I admit it? We didn’t have any though.

We were then asked the reason for our visit – that was easy – vacation. How long do we plan to stay? Seven to eight days. Do we plan to visit anybody in Canada? No, we don’t know anyone in the area. Now I am wondering if I should have declared that I am eager to meet Deb and Hazel. Deb and Hazel each work for different campgrounds in Nova Scotia. I have been writing to them to solidify plans for campsites. They seem so nice and helpful, and they have each answered my questions in a timely and friendly manner. I think they could be friends.

I am also thinking I won’t have to declare any new friendships I may make when I leave Canada. Do you think the American border agent ask returning Americans who they will visit in the US and how long they plan to stay. Probably not. But my brain had fun with trying to answer with a list of everyone I know in the states.

Yesterday we stopped and had clams for lunch at Carman’s Diner. I have never had fresh deep fried clams near the ocean. They were nothing like the fried clams I’ve had in the past. They were big and juicy and I could have eaten a mountain of them. I looked up foods to try in New Brunswick and came across this article https://cheeseweb.eu/2017/01/13-mouth-watering-foods-to-eat-and-drink-in-new-brunswick/.  My goal is to eat my way around Canada. First beause I love food and second because it is warmer indoors.

Of the thirteen items I want to try fiddleheads, ALL of the seafood (clams are already a hit with me), maybe dulse (a type of seaweed), maple products (maple cotton candy exists and I’d be willing to try it), chicken fricot, and rappie pie. Most of the other foods listed in the article are foods that I’ve tried other places; however it will be fun to try local beers and wines. Potato dishes are big here and I’m always up for trying potato dishes.

So if it is too cold to do much of anything else, rest assured I will eat my way through Canada.

New Brunswick Canada (Road Trip Day 51)

We woke up at 6:30 am and were on the road to St. John New Brunswick after breakfast. This is Joe’s first trip to Canada in fifty years and my first trip ever. Our campground for the next two nights is located on top of a hill in St. John. From our site we can see the Bay of St. John. The photo with Joe putting up the tent shows the bay in the background.

Across from our site we have other campers. Not sure if they paid in U.S. or Canadian dollars. I believe they may be squatters. When Joe and I drove up, they made no effort to move on. Obviously, we are not the least bit scary to them.

The drive was peaceful and only took about 4 hours with a stop for some fried clams in St. Stephens. We also exchanged some American dollars for Canadian money. Canada’s money is pretty compared to ours.

During the drive we were able to see wind turbines up close and personal. Seems in Canada the turbines are closer to the freeways.

The sun is shining so brightly that I could not use my laptop outdoors. Joe created a work station for me in our tent.

Google Maps shows our cars location to give you some perspective on where we are at today.

Tomorrow we will do a bit of exploring and on Saturday morning we will head to Nova Scotia where we plan to explore a portion of the province for seven days.

 

 

Bar Harbor & Acadia National Forest, Maine (Road Trip Day 50)

 It rained last night at the campground. While we were cozy beneath our sleeping bags it was windy and cold outside the tent. We managed to get a good night’s rest.

This morning we drove into Ellsworth to do laundry and go to a local credit union to get cash for our trip tomorrow to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, Canada. We then drove to Bar Harbor where we ate lunch and then did a car trip through part of the Acadia National Forest. It rained for the drive with wind at 16 mph and gusts up to 30 mph. A good day for a drive.

The first three photos are from Bar Harbor.

 Photo taken at Cookery Drive Overlook at Mount Desert, Maine

Peak through the trees at Sand Beach in the Acadia National Park

View of the Atlantic Ocean/Maine shoreline during drive in Acadia National Park

Another shoreline view from Acadia National Park

Lunch consisted of lobster, clam chowder, corn on the cob, and blueberry pie. All of it was tasty. It was the first time I had eaten a whole lobster. I am good for another 66 years,

We are at the Ellsworth Library for a couple of hours as it is warmer and there is more room than hanging out at the campground. We will have an early dinner when the library closes at 5:00pm before going to the campsite.

Maine (Road Trip Day 49)

We drove from Andover, Massachusetts to Ellsworth, Maine today. Waze was set to avoid toll roads and meander on less travelled roads, we took 5 ½ hours with several stops to get to the Branch Lake Camping Area. This is a privately owned campground on a lake. Our tent site is within about 100 feet of the lake.

When I was in high school back in the early 1970’s I wanted to move to Maine, go to college here, and write the great American novel. Instead, I married at 18 years old and moved to California. Maine has been on my bucket list for over 50 years.

Here I am. 

Why Ellsworth? I worked with Sharon Lovejoy for 7 years at Hygieia Biological Laboratories – the job I retired from this past December. She moved to Ellsworth Maine in June 2022 and began sending me photos of the area. She also posted videos of daily hikes near her home on Facebook. When we began our trip, I knew I wanted to come to the area and to see Sharon and her husband, Ben Pyle. We met this evening for dinner at a local Asian restaurant and ate loads of great sushi. Their son, Alex Pyle, accompanied them. Alex is a high school sophomore this year. I met Alex when he was about eight years old, and he came to Hygieia and helped us stuff envelopes.  At the time, Sharon relayed to me that Alex thought my name was Death (not Beth). I’ll always treasure that story.  Death is one of my favorite Terry Pratchett characters in the Discworld series.

We had an enjoyable visit tonight. Sharon, Ben, and Joe share a love for nature, biology, chickens, and gardening to name just a few topics. I could sit and listen to all three of them for hours. Alex is turning out to be astute about the same matters.

After dinner we headed out to Momo’s Cheesecakes. Momo’s is a self-serve honor system cheesecake and candy store. Sharon had written to me about it last year when she discovered the store, and I included it in the Hygieia newsletter. I knew that a trip to Ellsworth would not be complete without a trip to Momo’s.

I hadn’t seen Smokey the bear in years. He’s been hanging out in Maine.

Check out the healthy snack advisory sign.

The lake next to our campsite

Our campsite

Sharon and me at Mimi’s

Joe and Ben 

Strawberry rhubarb cheesecake

Double, Double Toil and Trouble (Road Trip Day 48) Bonus

 We drove into Salem, Massachusetts yesterday afternoon and explored the area. Joe's cousin, Julie, lives in Salem with her family. This was the first time I had met Julie in person. We have stayed in touch a bit on Facebook and texts have been going back and forth with plans to meet on this trip.

Julie is the daughter of Joe's Aunt Cornelia we saw earlier on our stop in New Orleans. Meeting Julie's family, which consists of her partner, Olga, and their two daughters, Marina and Mattea, was a pleasure. Marina, the eldest daughter, is a occupational therapist. Mattea just finished her second year of college where she is majoring in data science. We arrived at their home, a block from Salem Bay, around 6:00pm and visited with the girls until the family's dear friend, Jan Lindholm, arrived at 6:30pm. Jan was born in Buffalo, Minnesota, just down the road from Rockford where Megan - and soon to be us - lives. She lived in various communities in Minnesota until she graduated from college.

Julie and Olga arrived home shortly after 7:00pm and we sat down for a scrumptious meal. Joe was in heaven as there were beans! I don't believe there was a lull in the conversation the entire evening. 

I try hard not to define people by their jobs; however, they have jobs I find fascinating, so I am going to give you a brief overview. Olga is the Director of Workforce Strategy working with international youth to help them obtain skills and jobs so they can financially support themselves. Jan is an English professor at Salem State University. Jan also writes hymns under her full name, Jeannette M. Lindholm. You can read more about her at https://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/singing-praise-without-sexism-salem-state-professor-writes-hymns-for-a-modern-world/article_6859dd73-5f22-587a-9547-bba7bee2fbe0.html.

Julie, according to Jan is currently doing two full time jobs at Salem State University. One job is as Vice Provost of Academic Affairs and the other Assistant Provost for Global Affairs overseeing activities of the Center for International Education. Julie is also a published author. Her book is at https://www.amazon.com/Same-Sex-Marriage-Context-Lesbian-Identity-ebook/dp/B014W13JT6?ref_=ast_author_mpb.

It was difficult to call an end to the evening; however, Julie, Jan, and Olga are not retired and had to work this morning.

While driving around Salem, yesterday afternoon I snapped photos of sites that caught my eye.

I love this stone wall in Salem. The home's not too shabby either. The architecture in Andover and Salem is amazing.

A utility box in Salem. 

I wanted to check out the Salem Witch Trials Memorial area so we stopped long enought for me to walk around. Joe stayed in the car.

Sarah Good memorial stone at the Salem Witch Trials Memorial

The Old Burying Point Cemetery

The eyes caught my attention. This is the barrier between the street and the sidewalk seating for Howling Wolves Taqueria.

Danvers River taken in Salem

Salem Bay

Rhubarb Custard pie baked by Jan (YUM!)

Andover 2 (Road Trip Day 48)

Eight hours of sleep has made me feel perky this morning. I slept so soundly with the quiet and darkness of the forest surrounding us.

We were up and in Andover by 8:45am to eat some breakfast and are now at the Memorial Hall Library charging electronics. I will work on more campground arrangements for our visit next week to Nova Scotia. Joe is watching YouTube videos. The look on his face in the photo below is his concentration look. It is NOT a grumpy old man look. He’s quite happy to spend time in the library watching machining and welding YouTubes. Happier than when he is driving!

We will check back in at the campground this afternoon and then head to Salem to do a bit of sightseeing before meeting his cousin for dinner. Joe will meet her partner and two daughters for the first time. I have not met any of them before. She has also invited a close friend of hers who grew up in Minnesota. I think it sounds like a relaxing and fun day ahead.

The homes we have seen in Andover are enormous, beautiful, and VERY expensive. I enjoy looking at the homes. I think it would be a full-time job to clean homes of this size. That thought exhausts me. I’d rather read a book or plan a trip.

Which I need to do. Plan for our camping in Nova Scotia.

 

Andover, Massachusetts (Road Trip Day 47)

Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms reading this.

We safely arrived at Harold Parker State Forest in Andover, Massachusetts. Tomorrow night we will drive about thirty minutes into Salem to have dinner with Joe’s cousin and her family.

The campground is secluded within a forest area. Here is a photo of our site.

 

We ventured into Andover to eat a salad, pizza, and cannoli at Pazzo Pizza. It was delicious. I took a few photos.

 

The drive through Andover was beautiful. I didn’t ask Joe to stop to take photos. If you ever get to this part of the country – just the drive down Main Street in Andover is charming. I snagged a photo of Phillips Academy from their website (a well-known prep school) to show you how lovely the campus is.

 

I am calling it an early night. I appreciated a few nights at the hotel; however, I am looking forward to sleeping in nature again.

Reflections (Road Trip Day 46)

Relationships and traveling. I have been thinking about the togetherness time Joe and I have had for the past 45 days. When we set out on our travels, I had no idea what 24/7 togetherness would like.

Yesterday afternoon and this morning was the first time we have been apart for longer than an hour or two since March 29^th.  It is a good break. I haven’t had time to miss him, yet. Sometimes I think I miss the idea of him being away from me for a bit versus the reality of actual time apart. What do I mean by that?

Off the top of my head, I can name three people in my life who have lost their husbands to a sudden death in the past two years. As Joe and I age, I fear that Joe could die before me and because of that fear I want to enjoy and appreciate every moment I am blessed to have him here with me.

I appreciate his texts and phone calls when we are apart as it helps me to allay my fears that he is in New York without me to ‘navigate’ for him. Not that I am experienced navigating bus systems. He did fine without me. Joe is great at stopping people and asking for help.

Joe is easy to live with so I expected the trip would work well for us. It has for the most part. We are working on our communication skills. We are learning to speak out loud our thoughts, especially while driving. The other day, I kept reminding him to get into the left lane for an upcoming left turn. He continued to stay in the right lane. Finally, I asked him why he was not moving over and his response, “I plan on it when I feel it’s safe.” I asked him in the future to tell me that when I ask him to change lanes. He agreed that was a reasonable request.

I continue to work on not sighing out loud when we miss a turn. He thinks my sigh means I am angry with him. I’ve explained I am not angry. We have driven in 14 different states so far and the road signs are different in each state and sometimes even within communities. I know he is doing his best. We have agreed that my sighs are not to be taken personally.

Joe has theorized for years that how well people travel together is an indicator of whether a marriage will be successful. He recommends all couples travel together before marriage. I think this idea has merit. I’ll take it a step further though and hypothesize that how well the couple is willing to work on the travel issues that arise is the real indicator. I think it is important to ask for what you need and to let the other person know when something isn’t working for you. This is especially difficult for me as it has been imprinted on my brain over 66 years to let someone else have what they need and to not ask for what I need.

There is a lot going on in this trip that is about more than travel. I am hoping one outcome is that I am a better partner in this marriage as I learn to ask for what I need without feeling as if I am being selfish or needy.

Tomorrow, we leave for Salem, Massachusetts. We will camp at Harold Parker State Forest about thirty minutes north of Salem where we will have dinner with Joe’s cousin and her family on Monday evening. 

Silver Diner (Road Trip Day 45)

Joe took the bus from Paramus, New Jersey to New York City this afternoon to visit his son, I stayed behind and have been chatting with friends in California and catching up on Season 7 of Queer Eye on Netflix. Joe will spend the night in New York City, so this is the first time in 45 days we have been apart.

Since my day was uneventful, I am making this a short blog for today. I thought I would share  photos of the Silver Diner. This is a diner we discovered while in Greenbelt Maryland and we fell in love with their healthy menu. 

During my high school years, I worked at Lester's Diner in Bryan, Ohio. Silver Diner is about five times classier than Lesters. Still, it brought back memories.

New Jersey Friends (Road Trip Day 44)

Joe claims he is now trained to drive at Indy. Our four-and-a-half-hour drive from Greenbelt, Maryland to Paramus, New Jersey turned into a six-and-a -half-hour drive. Our reward at the end of the drive was to visit friends Jen and Matt in Montclair, New Jersey. While the ten miles to their home from Paramus can take 12 minutes without traffic it took us 38 minutes at 4:20 in the afternoon.

Matt greeted us in the yard as we arrived. We caught him in the middle of repairing and painting their home. This was the first time we met Matt. It was also Joe’s first-time meeting Jen. Jen and I met on the job in December 2020. When I met her the first time I fell in love with her authentic and rich personality. In addition to her solid business talent, she is a gifted artist. A couple of years ago, Jen gifted me a broach she created. The piece is titled Tree of Life. It is made with goose, Arucana duck and quail eggshells, calico crab shell, gold leaf, sterling silver, and resin. Mostly it is made with love and passion. The size is about 3/4” x 2”.

 

Jen recently completed the coursework for therapeutical horticulture. I love forest bathing and I appreciate the connection with horticulture therapy. You can read more about it at  https://www.ahta.org/about-horticultural-therapy#:~:text=Horticultural%20therapy%20helps%20improve%20memory,coordination%2C%20balance%2C%20and%20endurance.

We visited for four hours! We enjoyed a delicious meal prepared by Jen. Their son, Noel, joined us for dinner (and he graciously autographed the first book he wrote), and shared with us his new internship opportunity for the summer. Noel is finishing his first year of college.

Matt is also a gifted commercial and fine arts artist. Both Jen and Matt are well traveled so we shared stories about living internationally (Portugal for them at about the same time we were living in Cairo, Egypt).

The time together flew by. Joe and I are both grateful they made space for us in their busy schedule. Their friendship is a blessing0.

Tomorrow Joe heads into New York CIty to visit his son. I am going to take a day to read. I seem to have a strong hankering for some Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich character living in New Jersey for those who are not a Plum fan).