Newfoundland - 2024

 This morning, we left Mactaquac at 8 a.m. and stopped for breakfast at McDonald's about an hour down the road in Woodstock, NB. We continued driving until stopping for lunch at a rest stop near Riviere du Loup. We then switched drivers and continued driving. We found Quebec and Ontario to be extremely busy after the quiet roads of the east coast. We stopped at Glengarry Campground, which is a park in the St. Lawrence Park System. We are back in Ontario! We will be home for sure on Thursday. We are going to slow down a little now.

 This morning we ate, showered and packed up.  It was the last night that the National Park in PEI was going to be open for 2024.  Hard to believe that summer is pretty much over.  We parked at the campground office and had coffee and then unloaded our bikes.  We biked all along the coast from Cavendish to North Rustico and then to Green Gables and the Green Gables Gold Course and back again.  It was a mostly paved path, but otherwise stonedust or boardwalk.  We didn't do every trail, but we completed about 35 km.  We had lunch when we got back to the van and then hit the road for home.  We drove to about 4 p.m. and stopped for the night in Mactaquac again which is near Fredericton.  A good day. This is Cavendish Beach.  So sandy and lovely!                     This is at North Rustico and is damage from Hurricane Fiona in September 2022.  

 This morning we headed to Charlottetown to the CRC there.  There service started at 10 and we had about a 40 minute drive.  The service was excellent.  The minister was a retired Presbyterian minister who gave a sermon on Genesis that was great.  The music was also very good and there were lots of young people in church.  Always a good sign.  In the fellowship hall we were not left alone and had several really nice conversations with people there.  A good morning of fellowship in the body of Christ. We then headed downtown as we heard at church that a very large cruise ship was in the harbour and when we got there there were actually 2 of them.  It made a very busy downtown, but nice.  We had a nice walk around and then had lunch.  In the afternoon we changed our clothes in the van and unloaded our bikes.  We went about 45 km on the Confederation Trail which is the rail trail that goes across PEI.  It was a great ride. We...

This morning, we left our campground at 9 a.m. and headed to Port aux Basques to catch the 11:45 a.m. ferry. We arrived in line at 9:30 and were loaded onto the ferry by 11. However, the ferry didn't depart until 12:30. The crossing was smooth with sunny weather and calm seas. The ferry is massive, measuring over 600 feet long and accommodating about 1,000 passengers. The ferry was called the Blue Puttees after a Newfoundland regiment in the first WW.   There are 3 levels for vehicles. We enjoyed a delightful lunch on board and spent time both inside and outside during the crossing. We arrived on time at 6 p.m., and by the time we drove off, it was probably 6:30. We decided to stay at the same campground as before, which was about 30 minutes away. This worked out well as it was just starting to get dark. 

 This morning we hit the road by 9:30 and headed to the Confederation Bridge and PEI.  We arrived around 2:30 p.m. and visited the tourist information to get some cycling maps.  Since we didn't get to use our bikes much in Newfoundland, we thought we might do a few days of biking here.  We haven't been to PEI since 1998 with the kids.  We are currently camped in the PEI National Park at Cadendish.  It features a 40 km sand beach and we had a nice walk along it.  It is only open for 1 more day, so we thought we would enjoy it before it closes for the season.  Tomorrow we will hit the biking trail.

 This morning, we left Kippen and drove further west on the Trans Canada, taking a couple of scenic driving routes off the highway. We ended up in the Codroy Valley, which is surrounded by the Long Range Mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. This area is known for its farming. It's incredibly beautiful here. We hiked through some wetlands and then had lunch at a local diner. After that, we did a driving loop that included the Codroy Valley Provincial Park, which has the first truly sandy beach we've seen here. We walked up and down the beach and then continued on to the Codroy Valley RV Park. Originally a Provincial Park started on land donated by the Downes family, in the 60s the province wanted to sell it and they sold it back to the Downes family, who still run it today. It's a really nice park and the closest park to the ferry with services. We are leaving the island tomorrow. 😞