Epidemic

Next morning was cool and damp ......the fog had rolled inland, and over the campsite. We put away the camp, and, following breakfast and hot showers, we headed out again, following the north shore of New Brunswick on the south shore of Chaleur Bay. We found a Hyundai Dealer who was open, to see if we could get the caulking/liner for the windshield repaired, but the fellow who does that sort of thing was not in. We then telephoned the next dealer, in Charlottetown, but found the service department was not open, at least until Monday.....so the plan is now to head that way, and be in Prince Edward Island Sunday evening. The scenic route along the water was mostly shrouded in fog, with occasional glimpses of the water and seaside, as we continued along the scenic water route. The towns and villages along here are all very proud of their Acadian Roots.....founded by the original inhabitants of Acadia who were expelled from their original settlements/homeland in French Nova Scotia (Acadia) by the British in 1755. Many of them settled here, while many also went to Louisiana, to be known as Cajuns (Acadians). At the very east end of the Bay of Chaleur, which opens into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, lie the Acadian Isles. We drove to the tip of these 4 Islands to see the Lighthouse on Miscou Island. It is the oldest lighthouse in New Brunswick, and, according to our CAA book, one of the last manned lights in Canada (I think they mean Eastern Canada, as there are still a number of them on the West Coast). We found it shrouded in fog, and again, the foghorn was not being used - maybe they are decomissioning the horns. It also didn't appear to be manned.







The Miscou Island Light (in the fog).











A few kilometres south of the light was a boardwalk with an interpretive walk into a peat bog. Peat moss is a very large export of this area, and we found the walk interesting and instructive.






Linda admires the Peat Bog









This may be where the peat moss in your garden came from.






As we drove further south, we passed in and out of the fog, until by 16:00 we decided to call it a day and set up camp about 20 KM before the city of Miramichi. This campsite is less like camping, and more like suburbia, with myriad RV's parked around it, a Canada Day Parade for the youngsters organized for today (a few days early, but convenient for the weekend campers), pool, laundry, etc.... It gave us a chance to catch up a bit on the laundry. Unfortunately, there is no wireless internet here, so the blog/email will have to wait a bit longer. One thing was extremely noticeable here - the friendliness of the people. Not to say that the rest of the country has been cold, or even cool, toward us, but here people walk up and start chatting. Many of the campers here are locals who leave their RV's here for the summer as a cabin getaway for the family, and they seem quite warm and friendly to each other and to we newcomers as well. It's kind of infectious, and we found ourselves losing a bit of our insularity, and chatting with other campers ourselves, much more than we would have normally done. Perhaps these Acadians are starting a Friendly Epidemic!
Next morning, the fog was back, so we decided to cook porridge for a warm-up breakfast. We still hadn't had the promised rain, although the forecasters continue to promise it for the next few days.
The fog again started to lift, and we drove southeast again, stopping for a photo opportunity at Shediac, the site of the world's largest lobster.


Caught by the largest lobster!







Being in Lobster Country, we decided to splurge on a lunch of Lobster Rolls and poutine....now in a bright sunny mid-day. A short drive further took us to the Confederation Bridge, which crosses the Northumberland Strait from New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island. We stopped for groceries in a small grocery store, and set up; camp a few kilometers short of Charlottetown, in Cornwall, PEI. From our campsite here we can look across the bay toward the harbour in Charlottetown, which should afford us a good view of the July 1 Fireworks. That's if we stay here.....they have no wifi, and I am now 4 days behind in getting it posted, and checking on email. Good thing we're on vacation.