OH CANADA!!

June, 2018

I’ve not spent any substantial time getting a true feel for Canada.  Oh sure, I went to a Canadian fishing camp when I was 15; in college some friends and I went over to Windsor, Ontario to drink alcohol and chase women at the topless bars (honesty, finally!).  I was in Toronto for a professional conference (was out partying with friends and almost missed the last bus back to our hotel after closing down a bar or 2).  Barbara and I drove across Southern Ontario from Niagara Falls to Ann Arbor to go spend a weekend with Graham.  And we took a cruise from Boston that stopped in Halifax, PEI, Quebec and finally dropped us off in Montreal before we flew back to the States.

The first part of this journey was planned to take us throughout the Canadian Maritime Provinces, the focus of the trip being to get to spend a week in Newfoundland (ask me about whether or not we “screetched in” later) before wandering west on our way through Quebec and Montreal and entering the States I’m not sure where.  Our trek north from Bar Harbor was magical as we traveled on 95 past the cities of Portland, Bangor and Lincoln.  At last we finished Maine’s 322 miles to come to the Canadian Border.

I don’t know what your experiences are with “going through customs.”  Honestly we’ve not been impressed with the process no matter where we’ve been in the world.  We’ve had a fruit basket and 2 bottles of wine confiscated, but usually there’s some greeting by a custom’s agent who says something like “enjoy your stay” or particularly to me, “welcome home big guy.”  But we did our homework anyhow, and thanks to a couple of great RV blogs, we were prepared for the inquisition!  The stop at the Canadian border was no big deal.  We were asked for our passports, the reason for our visit, and whether we were transporting firearms, alcohol, or tobacco.  We had to confess that we had some beer, wine and an unopened bottle of tequila which for some reason delighted the border agent.  Nothing was confiscated and we were shortly on our way.

After what seemed endless miles of the same highway (did I mention Canada is huge?  Its land mass is second only to Russia), we arrived in Fredericton, the capital of New Brunswick.  We were disappointed that we didn’t see any moose along the way despite the repeated large yellow warning signs of “Moose in Roadway.”  Our rustic campsite looked out over the St. John River – no moose sighted there either.  We started to wonder if the signs were all a ploy to keep us awake and ever vigilant as we drove what seemed endless miles of the same forested scene played over and over.  Not to take anything away from the beauty of Canada; it is truly awesome.  However, we often felt that the trees were just biding their time until they could reclaim those busy roadways.

Fredericton seemed somewhat frenetic. Lots of cars traveling along one of two very busy streets dense with every imaginable retail business: ubiquitous Tim Horton’s, food co-ops, fast food (KFC, McDonald’s (with a red maple leaf in the golden arch), and Dairy Queen, to name a few); Irving (Circle K brand) and Esso gas stations and lots and lots of little mom and pop shops in endless miles of strip malls.  For those who are curious, the cost of gas was about $3.85 a gallon.

We spent the evening of our first day locating a TD Bank where we could exchange our American dollars for Canadian dollars.  We bought some groceries and headed back to Aimee to eat and unwind and to figure out where we wanted to go the next day. As you have probably surmised, there is not a lot to do outdoors in Fredericton in the off season, and the off season ends the weekend of June 23.  But as long as there is sunshine and no rain, we longed to be outdoors.

Our travels took us to the lovely seaside village of St Andrew’s By-The-Sea, located about two hours southwest of Fredericton.  St Andrew’s is a charming resort town on the banks of The Bay of Fundy.  Barbara was eager to see lots and lots of whales but unfortunately the whale tours only happen on weekends at this time of the year.  The weather was about 50 degrees with a cool wind.  We made the most of our visit though, walking the streets, enjoying the variety of small boutiques.  We thoroughly enjoyed our brief stay, and could imagine what it must be like when the town comes into season at the end of June!

We left St Andrew’s and headed to Saint John, New Brunswick, hoping to see moose or whales.  Saint John reminded us of the shipping ports in Philadelphia or any other urban area: very busy and very congested.  Our hopes of seeing whales without boarding a tour boat were dashed again.  The neighborhoods near the docks seemed kind of rough and unwelcoming so we headed back to our campground.

Someone had described New Brunswick as the boring Canadian Providence.  Perhaps the city centers are too familiar to anyone from the east coast, but the small towns and villages, particularly those on the Bay of Fundy are a real treat to visit.

Barbara and Brian