Back at Dunromin

 It was an early start to our drive as we  didn't want to be  too late getting back to  Dunromin to allow for unpacking of Harvee Too.

We left the campground around 7:30 and drove a short distance to the Flyng J service centre on Hwy 401 near Lancaster. Gas as only $1.29.9 / litre. We filled to the brim. 

We chose to take Hwy 401 to Hwy 416 rather than Hwy 138 north and Hwy 417  through Ottawa. While a longer distance, we  avoided traffic through Ottawa.  We made a comfort and Tim's  stop in Arnprior and one more stop at a rest/picnic area north of Blind River to have lunch. We eventually drove out of the rain. 

We saw much of the  earlier in the week  storm damage along Hwy 17 west of  Mattawa . (The highway had been closed.)  There were so many  downed trees. Washouts by  the highway had been repaired. They were still removing  trees at  the entrance to Samuel de Champlain Provincial Park, hit hardest. Hydro  crews were still working on downed poles and hydro lines west of there.

We arrived at Dunromin around 2:15 in ideal mosquito conditions after a morning of rain and no wind. Yuck! It was one of the shorter blackfly escape adventures: 19 days and 4,620 km but great nonetheless. We motored 575 km on our last day.

Back In Ontario

 It had cooled off to 22º by morning. We waited for Montréal's morning traffic to become "fluide", to use the French term, and left the campground around 10:45.

We took the Rte 30 bypass around Montreal  and gladly paid the $5.50 toll. We made a short detour off  Rte 20 just before the Ontario border to do some grocery shopping. We stopped at the first ONroute service centre to have lunch and arrived at Maplewood Acres RV Park shortly before 2:00. This was our third time here.

We enjoyed a refreshing dip in the pool, the first this trip after passing up pools at two other campgrounds.

We had a very nice visit with our friends, Pat and Carole, who came from Cornwall  for dinner.

It reached 27º under mainly sunny skies and less humidity. We drove 125 km.

Au Québec: la fête de Saint-Jean Baptiste

 It was already hot when we left the provincial park and stopped to fill up In Edmundston to avoid needing gas in Quebec where it is more expensive.  It turned out to be  a longer motoring  day than we had planned for two reasons. First, we had forgotten we would gain an hour crossing into  Quebec and E.S.T. When we passed the first construction zone and didn't see a single worker, it dawned on us ....near the end of June .. Quebec's national holiday: Saint John Baptist Day. Even grocery stores were closed. We called ahead to reserve a site back at Camping Alouette.

Holiday traffic was much heavier but moving well. We made three stops at Haltes Routières and one more stop at a service station to buy milk before arriving at the campground  around 3:00. It was 37º "felt like" 42º. You could hardly see the water in the pool there were so many people in it! Our air conditioner really had a workout with the high demand on power in the campground. We motored 506 km. 

Motoring Through New Brunswick

 Another RVing first: a two hour power outage at the campground from approximately 10:00 until midnight

It was mainly cloudy when we left Shediac and headed west through New Brunswick on  Hwy 2, the TransCanada. There was more traffic than on our drive down June 10 - 11 but no congestion or slowdowns for construction. We appreciated the newly repaved sections; too bad there were not more as we still did a lot of shakin' and rattlin'. Poor Harvee Too.

We made very good time, stopping only twice. First stop was  at an Irving Big Stop just off the highway to have lunch. As there was no Tim's at this Stop, we found one for Kathy  a little later in  the town of Woodstock. Kathy did treat me to an apple fritter ...first one this trip!

We stopped around 3:30 at Camping Edmundston after travelling 459 km. It was a hot and humid 26º, "felt like" 33º. We had the air conditioner on as soon as we hooked up. Rain held off long enough for me to wash the numerous bug splats off the windshield, our buggiest drive so far.

Our Last Day in Prince Edward Island

 

We had a  later start to our day after our evening out and  had a short drive to the Confederation Trail for one last bike ride. We cycled to Summerside approximately 2 km one way. Kathy did go farther. The trail was  nice and flat and crossed many roads. Several  people were walking and biking the trail which eventually joined up with the boardwalk along the harbour in Summerside.

We made the turn for home and stopped at Gateway Village at the Confederation Bridge to have our lunch and 

one final PEI specialty.

 We couldn't leave without trying  Cow's ice cream. It boasts an "age old family recipe... handmade from 100% PEI milk ....uses 16% butterfat." The company started in 1983 exclusively in PEI and now has 12 locations across Canada. They have 32+ flavours and also sell everything "cow".

Our ice cream cones were very creamy;  the price for a single scoop was how much???... Holy cow!!

We paid the toll of $50.25, crossed the bridge and entered New Brunswick. We had one more attraction to see: the Cape Jourimain Nature Centre on 621 hectares  next to the bridge. In addition to  numerous   very interesting nature and conservation exhibits, there is  a building dedicated to the life and history of the Mi'kmaq people who inhabited the Atlantic provinces. We climbed the observation deck for a great view of the bridge and Northumberland Strait.

We were able to wait until returning to New Brunswick to gas up where gas is 10¢ / litre cheaper and  drove another hour in a steady rain to Parlée Beach Provincial Park in Shediac. It was now " high season". We paid $68.90 even with a senior discount for 3 services, our most expensive campground this trip. It reached only 16º and  rained well into the evening. We drove 121 km.

Summerside

It was a very blustery night which made sleeping difficult. Lawn chairs flew, campers' gazebo tents toppled. I got up during the night to close our two window awnings. It did make for more pleasant temperatures, reaching 22º under mainly sunny skies.

Our first stop of the day was in O'Leary at the Canadian Potato Museum, The building also houses a community museum full of artifacts. The price of admission ($16 for 2 seniors) covered both museums. The potato  museum was SO interesting, literally  anything and everything there is to know about  the spud, its history, cultivation, harvesting and many fun facts. It was information overload. We even got to sample potato fudge... delicious.

We drove directly to Linkletter Provincial Park on the Northumberland Strait with a view of the Confederation bridge off in the distance. We were able to get a full service drive through site for an easier return at night.

   We were only a few km from Summerside where we stopped at           Spinnakers' Landing on Summerside Harbour. We browsed through the shops. Kathy walked along the boardwalk. We had takeout fish (haddock) and chips from Jolly Rogers Seafood for supper. 

The highlight of the day was "A Summerside Saturday Night" at the Scott MacAulay Performing Arts Centre at the College of Piping and Celtic Performing Arts of Canada. The show was fantastic  and included performances by the Encore step dance group, Shane Cook (a fiddler) and the Woodchippers on  bass, guitar and keyboard. The finale included all of the performers.

We had no difficulty returning to our site at 10:00. It was another short driving day, 106 km.

The North Cape

We had a short drive, 30 km along coastal Rte 12 to the tip of the North Cape where the North Cape Wind Energy Interpretative Centre is located. The Wind Farm has 16 turbines which provide  approximately 25% of the province's energy. The location on the cape is ideal with  a 300º exposure to the coast..The North Cape Lighthouse is an octagonal tower 62 ft tall built in 1865. It has been moved several times due to erosion. The Cape also has the longest natural rock reef in North America, approximately 2 km.

The highlight for us was the Black Marsh Nature Trail, a 5.5 km trail , much of it a boardwalk that passes through forest, a bog  and along the ridge of the cliffs. There are 25 interpretive panels that detail the ecology, unique plants and wildlife as well as other points of interest. It took us two hours to complete the trail as we stopped to read the panels and take pictures. It was very informative and the scenery along the cliffs was stunning. 

the end

We ate lunch before making the turn to continue south on Rte 14 along the west

coast of the Cape to Cedar Dunes Provincial Park overlooking the Northumberland  Strait. The campground was under a "Do not drink water order" due to the elevated levels of manganese.

The park is very near the West Point Lighthouse, constructed in 1875. It added a museum in 1984. It is the island's tallest lighthouse, 67 ft 8 in. 

It was another hot day, 30º, "felt like" 35º but tolerable in the park with winds off the Strait. We drove 103 km.