Back In The USA
I woke to rain drops on the tent. I knew I didn’t have much time before the rains came. It took me an hour to breakdown and get things in the car. Everything was packed and I was off to my favorite Starbucks in Dieppe. This would add 20 minutes to my trip and I didn’t care. I needed a coffee this morning for the road.
Goodbye To Canada
After spending nearly 4 weeks in Eastern Canada, I leave taking many great memories and knowing that I will return to these provinces in the future. There is no way to cover this area in just 4 weeks. Everyone I met was so gracious and helpful. The next time I come to this region I will come in the summer.
There is one thing that in particular interested me. There is an Island off the coast of Newfoundland that is a French territory (Saint-Pierre and Miquelon). As someone said, you can go there and add another country to your trip. The schools are French as are the cafe’s. They have the real French pastries I was told.
At The Boarder
My destination was Bar Harbor, ME four hours away. The US / Canadian border was about half way. Despite more pouring rain, I didn’t lose any time. There were 15 cars in front of me and as my turn arrived, I remembered I forgot to get rid of the 6 eggs I had in my cooler.
The questions were slightly different entering the US. I wasn’t asked if I had any firearms, if I had any COVID symptoms, etc. The US was basically concerned about food and wood being brought in. They were also interested in where I had been.
All over Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and PEI was not the reply they wanted. So, I began to describe in detail all the places I had been and was cut off. Do you have any eggs was the question. Why yes, I had eggs in my cooler. Now instead of just handing over the eggs, the office had to look through my cooler. He took some other vegetables as well. He then had to go back in and document what was taken. In Canada, they simply took the eggs and I was on my way. My only explanation for this was the US was documenting more precisely what was coming across the boards. I felt bad that I caused this guy to do more paper work.
Bar Harbor
I made it to the Oceanside KOA in Bar Harbor in the late afternoon. I was surprised by the nightly rate of 70 USD. I had just come from a very nice campground in Canada that cost 25 USD. OK, it was in New Brunswick. The woman explained that there was nothing cheaper and that it was still high season. I had assumed high season would end on Labor day. In Bar Harbor, It is high season for the entire season.
At least it wasn’t raining and I got the tent setup quickly. My site was 100 yards from the ocean. My neighbors from Michigan greeted me as I was eating leftover soup. They had recently retired and were traveling for six months. She had been planing the trip for 8 months and they were headed down the coast. I felt like I should do more planning after speaking with her. They had a small truck, a popup canopy, bikes, a cooler and some clothing. They were traveling lighter than I was. Impressive!!
Having been to Bar Harbor before, 4 years ago, I drove to the Hannaford grocery store 19 minutes away in Bar Harbor to restock and buy a few beers. A group in their 20’s were joking about everything being made with blueberries here, even the beer.
As it got dark, I felt chilled and I took a nap. Feeling more energized after the nap, I pulled out a book and a local beer (Atlantic Brewing: Thunder Hole Ale).
This end of the campground was quiet and I could hear wood crackling in a fire nearby. It would be nice tomorrow, so I wanted to get a good nights sleep.