10.12.13 Saturday Lewiston, ME to Home.

We had a great time visiting family and friends in the Lewiston, ME area.  Folks we haven’t seen in about 30 years.  None of them look a day older!  Ok, maybe a day or two.  We left Lewiston around 1:00 PM and decided if we made a long day of it we could make it home by midnight.

 

We arrived home just a few minutes before midnight.  We were gone thirty-six days and drove 5,442 miles and saw all five of the Canadian Maritime Provinces.  We hope you enjoyed the ride as much as we enjoyed having you along.

 

 
 

 

 
 

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

Linda is already talking about a New England trip for next year.  How do I feel about that?  Hey... I just drive the van.

10.11.13 Friday Frederickton, NB to Lewiston, ME

I feel like we kind of cheated New Brunswick.  There is so much to see here and it’s like we are only using it as a corridor to somewhere else.  But still we have tasted of the beauty of the mountains.  There are magnificent vistas to see when reaching the top of a mountain on the highway. You can see a kaleidoscope of yellows, oranges and reds mixed among the deep green that spread into eternity.  Mixed among the colors are the deep blue of the lakes as they reflect the lighter blue of a flawless sky.

New Brunswick is beautiful.

 

 

 

Lake Charles

 

Only 26 Klicks to go.

 

 

 

Saint John River

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our last town in Canada is Woodstock.  Here we will exchange our currency and make ready to check through customs.  While in a drug store a lady asked if we had seen the bridge at Hartland.  She told us about it and said it was only a few miles up the road. Hey, we have plenty of time…Let’s go.

 

That is one long bridge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The customs agent was firm but polite.  Then he saw the license plate “TWOGTHR”.  He got a smile on his face and said “Twogether huh?  How long have you two been married?”  I answered “Forty-six years this coming January.”  At that point the firmness mellowed and he said “Living the good life eh?”  A few more questions and we were on our way.  Now we are back home in the USA.

It's time to say farewell.

Better get into the proper lane.

Waiting for our turn at customs.

 

But the feeling is bitter-sweet.  We have seen such beautiful countryside and never once met a rude person.  We really hate to leave Canada behind.  But it will still be there if we ever decide it’s time to visit again.

 

Although we crossed a border the landscape continues to give a color show that only autumn can bring.  Not to be outdone Maine shows off her colors which became more brilliant in the sunset.   Tonight we will reside in Lewiston and tomorrow visit with friends and family that have relocated here from PA.

10.10.13 Thursday Cavendish,PEI to Fredericton New Brunswick

Why Cavendish? The area around Cavendish and New London is Green Gables territory.  Just about any business you can imagine has found a way to call itself Green Gables something. This is the home of Lucy Maud Montgomery (November 30, 1874 – April 24, 1942) the author of Anne of Green Gables. The best seller published in 1908.

 

In the story Anne of Green Gables, Anne, a young orphan from the fictional community of Bolingbroke, Nova Scotia (based upon the real community of New London), is sent to live with Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert.  Being siblings in their fifties and sixties, they had decided to adopt a boy from the orphanage to help Matthew run their farm. They live at Green Gables, their Avonlea farmhouse on Prince Edward Island. Through a misunderstanding, the orphanage sends Anne Shirley.  Anne is a quick, bright, chatter box who loves to make up her own words and has no problem adapting to farm life and gets herself into predicament after predicament.

 

 The Green Gables House

The Green Gables House and Property
is now a National Park

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The Barn (now a café and Ice Cream Parlor)

This is one contented cow!

Lovers Lane.  Then and now

 

 

The Balsam Hollow 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just a short way down the road is a recreated town of Avonlea.

 

 

 

Lucy Maude Montgomery's Birthplace (New London)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some of Lucy's novels were about Silver Bush

 
 

 
 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P.E.I. has very fertile ground.  There are huge farms in the interior that look like a giant patchwork quilt.   The land is gentle rolling hills that can either end as cliffs or red sand beaches along the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. There is a blend of agriculture and fishing much like the Chesapeake Bay area.

 
 
 

Huge Carrots

 
 
 
 
 

Farming of shellfish is an upcoming enterprise

You can arrive on the island by bridge, ferry or airplane.  None of which are cheap.  No you don’t need to clean your glasses the toll of a car (roundtrip) is $44.50.  I said to young lady taking the toll “I guess you don’t have many commuters?”   She laughed and said “None”.