did I miss the memo?

When did it become normal not to bother peeling the spuds before making chips? I mean, they're chips - don't think a bit of extra roughage is going to do much to offset being boiled in lard and smothered in ketchup. Not to mention the double bacon cheeseburger they come with....

And while I'm at it, when did Americans lose the ability to use a manual bathroom? Sensor flush, sensor taps, sensor soap - well, foaming cleanser - sensor towel dispenser. Ok, they still have one or two manual steps, but it seems it's only a matter of time....

Also, I thought restaurants were for humans and the occasional guide dog under the table. It seems that nowadays anyone can wrap whatever furry rat of their choice in an ebay "service dog" harness, stick it in a stroller and take it everywhere. All that means is it can sit there licking its own arse at the same level as my table.....Or maybe some people just have really ugly babies.

Maine

From New Brunswick we headed for the border and had no problems crossing over into the US. The very tall and rather large border guard said "I'm coming on board". A statement, not a question. He squeezed through into the bathroom and bedroom area and had a good look around. Not sure if he was looking for illegal Canadians trying to cross the border or pets. I did wonder how he got on with the larger motorhomes that have 4 sliders where you can't get through when they're on the road.

We followed highway 1 along the coast to Trenton, about 20 miles north of Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, a lovely seaside town.

We visited Acadia National Park, drove the park loop along the coast then up Cadillac Mountain where the views of the harbour and coastline were amazing

After the Labor day weekend, we continued down the coast. A friend of mine had suggested visiting Cape Elizabeth en-route, but the weather had turned thanks to the storm surge from hurricane Hermine so we didn't make it (sorry Jonathan). What a difference a day makes. We had a couple of drizzly days at Kennebunkport but the surfers were having fun

And we spotted the Bush's summer cottage

We followed the coast road again, down through New Hampshire (which we will visit properly later) and into Massachusetts where we picked up the I-95 freeway through Boston. We are staying in a little village called Westport near Dartmouth and have caught up with friends we met in Whistler (thanks again Doug and Anna for your lovely hospitality). From here we hope visit Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and Boston to name but a few. Watch this space...

The Maritimes

i.e. New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.

We did part of the Acadian coastal drive in New Brunswick from Campbelton to Bathurst and again from Miramichi through the Kouchibouguac National Park to Boutouche. This is a province of many rivers so not just one coastal road but many twisting and turning roads as we navigated the inlets. The curved Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island is 8 miles (12.9 kms) long and they say it is the longest in the world crossing icy waters (although not in August) It was certainly a fun crossing, although I wouldn't want to do it in a howling gale!

The island is named for Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn and the father of Queen Victoria. England and France had been fighting the Seven Year War and by 1758, the island (known as Ile Saint-Jean) surrendered to Great Britain. Within weeks, the English began rounding up all the French and Acadian people on the island and put more than 3,000 on ships, sending them back to France. This was known as the Great Expulsion. Around 1,600 escaped to other parts of the island, New Brunswick and Quebec. There are still a number of communities on the island. We toured around most of the island and found lots of small fishing villages and we've already blogged about all the tasty seafood. 

From PEI, we went back across the bridge and down to Nova Scotia. We stayed at a small place called Linwood, not far from Port Hawkesbury with easy access to Cape Breton. Our first day trip was to Cape Breton Island and the world famous Cabot Trail around the National Park. The views and the highland scenery were quite dramatic and they are very proud of their Celtic heritage. We passed a souvenir shop in a little hamlet and their sign read "If its nae Scottish, its crrr......app" Says it all really. We've not driven the Scottish highlands but imagine it must be lot like this

From here we headed south to Sheet Harbour then along the coast to Halifax/Dartmouth. We had a lovely day following the coast road round to Peggy's Cove

St. Margaret's Bay and Mahone Bay to the old town of Lunenburg.

The following day we went into Halifax and did the tourist thing including a visit to Alexander Keith's Brewery

followed by a walk along the waterfront

then a hike up the hill to the Citadel

and the changing of the guard.

We said goodbye to Halifax and headed north to Truro. Here we saw the tidal bore, a natural phenomenon where the tide sweeps in from the Bay of Fundy and forces the Salmon River to flow in the opposite direction. It was quite cool.

We drove around the coast road along Cobequid Bay to Burntcoat Head, the site of the world's highest recorded tides. The tidal range reaches 16.3m (53.5 feet) at its greatest from low to high tide.

Further round the coast to the UNESCO world Heritage site of Grand Pre, a traditional farming settlement created in the 17th century by the Acadians in a coastal zone with tides that are among the highest in the world.

  
From Nova Scotia we crossed over into New Brunswick and headed to Saint John. Unfortunately, this city is known for its fog and the last few days have been no exception. We escaped the city and drove west along the coast and into the sunshine.

to Lepreau Falls. From here, the fresh water of the Lepreau River will travel and meet the saltwater of the Bay of Fundy.

The rain has just started pelting down and Mark is barbecuing under cover of the awning.  The storm is really something. I think we'll be eating indoors tonight!

Tomorrow we head back across the border into the US and Maine, just in time for the bank holiday weekend.