After 3 Months

Hello there, I am back to blogging world!

And with that comes an update over the last three months.

So we got back home on April 18 and after we made our house our home again for the next 6 months, we noticed that spring wasn't here yet. It stayed cold and we used quite a bit of our firewood supplies. 

Bea started her various garden projects. Putting seeds of various vegetables in the soil - so far in small containers, then with the help of growing lights and some heating nursing them to real plants in our front entrance. Bea is really good at this. People say she has green thumbs, and I have to agree. After the weather got warmer she readied our greenhouse and then her plant babies found a new home there. By that time is was the middle of May and our thoughts went towards the coming tourist season. A few tour guests came early and by the end of the month we had AirBnB renters in our trailer. 

View of Lubec, ME

Beach Art

The return to coastal climate was nice and underlines that a change in surroundings can be very inspiring. So far the beaches were empty and open for walking with the dog.

But I noticed that Dixie was growing older now. Her excitement over doing doggy walks was showing its limits. She has never been a long-hike-dog. It's just not in her breed. As a livestock guardian dog she sees her primary work as chasing intruders off of the property, for then to return to her herd. This is exactly what we appreciate. Whether it is a stray dog, cat or a deer, everything is run off of the ground - sometimes even some pesky two-legged visitors. 

June brought more of the Sightseeing tours and a few more AirBnB guests. The grass started growing like crazy, there was enough rain but also sun.  

The garden was showing results - things were growing making Bea happy. Daytime highs were comfortable. We were still looking forward to a full summer.

I had to see the doc because of my recent Arthritis diagnosis. The local doctor comes to the island twice a week, and I wasn't overly impressed  with him. But he got me some more medication, especially some pills which would prevent me from having stomach pain from the pills I had to take. 

CANADA DAY  at the Head Harbour Kiosk

Waiting for the fireworks....

July 1 was Canada Day and I had to work as a guide on a motor coach full of Americans. I had gotten a bunch of small Canada flags and with the help of the coach driver we managed to play OH CANADA through the coach sound system. And everyone was singing along. 

Happy Bus Group at Herring Cove Beach

The tour was finished on Herring Cove Beach where many of the seniors got barefoot to stick their feet into the Bay of Fundy. It was the absolute highlight of the tour.

July 4 Independence Day rolled around. But the mood was depressed. Too many crazy things were going on in the US. Would America really turn into an authoritarian country? It would influence Canada in a bad way. Could the clown really become president again? It worried everyone. Not even the fireworks on the American side could change that.

The last winter brought some very powerful storms to the island. The Head Harbour Lightstation on the northern edge of Campobello sustained a lot of damage. To help I went out there and started repairs. The big boat shed had lost both doors and fixing this required to gather leftover materials and make new doors out of it. There is more damage on the buildings. So whenever I have extra time I will continue to do some repairs.

Repairs to be made....

Coast Guard on the water....

.....and in the air

And now July is almost gone. The big highlight of the month was the recent 60-year anniversary of the Roosevelt Campobello International Park.

Celebration Grounds

No party without the Mounties...

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs

US-Senator Angus King

 

Ambassador David L. Cohen

The celebration started Saturday at 11am with a gathering of the general public and dignitaries from both countries.

Bagpipe music made for some great entertainment and afterwards it was lunchtime!

A great celebration indeed!

Soon we will be in August and my thoughts are wandering ahead to October. We think, this time, we will be heading south somewhat earlier than last year. That might make it possible to head up the I-40 from Albuquerque to see the Arizona Nat'l Parks along the I-40 before it gets too cold.

Flagg Day at home

The Flagg for Kamala

Home...Sweet Home

Done Deal! We Are Home Again.

The Last day of this long journey started at 5:30am with our usual breakfast. An hour later I was accelerating onto the I-95. 

Last mile in New Hampshire

The state line to Maine at Portsmouth and then we had to pass three Maine toll stations, before we took on the northern stretch of the I-95 until Bangor, ME.

Roads for Cash

It's all yours - in Maine

From there on it's US Coastal Rte 1 and 1A all the way to the Canadian border. 

Weather was gorgeous, blue sky and even deeper blue waters of the many ocean bays one can enjoy from the road. No, the trees are not showing green leaves yet, yet spring was in the air.

In Ellsworth we stopped at the Walmart for some last-minute supplies and had a brief lunch before heading on farther north towards the home island.

Salty air gets into the vehicle

The small town of Machias, ME

Once we crossed through the streets of small town Lubec, there was no more doubt - we were home. 

The FDR Memorial Bridge to Campobello

The International bridge, named after Franklin D. Roosevelt, spanning across "The Narrows", was still looking the same. I wondered whether the guard rails would be painted again this summer. The salty air had made them rusty again.

Mulhollan Lighthouse, Campobello Island

The very last 3 miles to our driveway always feel like a relief, or victory over the challenge a long journey like this really is.

Canada Customs building on the Canadian side

Naturally, once we backed the rig onto our property, a lot of work started. 1.priority is flipping on the power. 2. is getting the water going. This time we had a little hickup with the water, but it got solved. Even though power and water is on, we still spend the first night at home in the RV.

Got it backed up again

 It gives a softer transition and we have more time to warm up the house tomorrow morning. It's all based on years of routine and experience.

Our wonderful neighbour Deanna (85) had invited us for seafood chowder and I swear to all ghosts of lucullus that her cooking skills are the best I have ever tasted.

After a sumptious meal we went home, cozying up in our warm rig.

That Long Day

When ever a travel day is coming up we get into that "let's go" - mood, and it affects our waking time. So today, I was wide awake at 5am and turned on the heater. 15 minutes later I was ready dressed and muggins had the coffee water on the range.

So no wonder we got out of Dodge at 6:30am. And with such an early start you can get to places you never thought would be possible.

Rolling out of the Walmart lot, it just started sprinkling enough to make it difficult to see anything through the windshield. And the low sun wasn't making it any easier.

Eventually some clouds got in front of the sun and things got better.

We were getting around Albany,NY at 11:30am. Massachusetts was next, and it has some looong hills. Usually we go along I-295 via Worcester, but at the exit was a line-up - long as the distance to the moon, so we continued on the I-90 until we got to I-495. That's when traffic got a tad worse. Boston is always chaos.

The I-495 eventually ends and we went down the ramp to I-95. Some more bad traffic but it was getting better soon.

Our goal for the day was the New Hampshire Wine and Liquor Outlet right along the I-95. It is only a few more miles north to the State Line with Maine. And from there we have roughly 5 more hours to home.

So yes, this was a long day - 9hrs and 461 miles long.

The Destination For The Day

Over the recent couple of days I woke up knowing that I could turn around and sleep some more. 

Not so today! A faint light was visible through the roof hatch and I kinda knew, it was time to get up and get ready. Ready for another day of traveling and making another 400 miles towards home.

Breakfast was ready in a record-breaking speed and then the usual procedure continued to the point that I tried to hitch on the trailer. But this morning the hitch ball wouldn't cooperate. Even though, I got it right in place, the locking wouldn't work. After more than 30 minutes trying I just pulled the trailer out of the campsite with an unlocked hitch. As soon as I parked it along the camp road the locking went into place. Never had that happen before!

Next stop was the dump station and then we got driving. We avoided to get into the Columbus rush hour by bypassing the city via Hwy 4 through a number of small towns and villages, all which made an incredible proper and clean impression on us. I mean some places you might see run-down houses with garbage strewn around, but not in Ohio! People take pride in their properties and it shows.

So today we made to between Buffalo, NY and Rochester, NY

Yes, there are wineries in upstate New York