Looking for recommendations on a place to say in Boston. Going to TD North Centre for Bruins game March 23/10 but also want walking distance to main attractions. Any suggestions for a reasonable hotel?

Saturday, August 22, 2009 – Day 41

After travelling towards home through the USA for a few weeks it was time to get a closer look at Southern Alberta and British Columbia. One person commenting online on our Cross Canada Adventure route suggested that we visit Waterton National Park in Southwestern Alberta. It was a wonderful idea.

We headed directly for Red Rock Canyon which is in the North Eastern part of the park. Not knowing what to expect on this hot sunny afternoon we drove along the narrow road with some relatives from the area. The kids enjoyed being with other kids their own ages for a change and enjoyed the drive as much as anything else.

After parking our vehicle in the parking lot we took our picnic lunch to the edge of the creek that flowed through the canyon. It was an amazing sight as we saw the red rock cliffs up the riverbed. The red cliffs were separated by thin horizontal stripes of gray rock that sliced the cliff walls into layers. The gray colours added to the walls of the rock which called for us to explore more upstream. It was too hard to resist and so after a short lunch at the edge of the stream we all hiked upriver. We had been told that there were some natural water slides carved into the rock and the kids were anxious to go upstream to slide in the frigid water. We walked through the shallow water hopping from stone to stone while occasionally trudging through the water. Because of how cold the glacier feeling water was, I could not walk for too long in the water without my feet starting to tingle and feeling a bit numb.

It was not a long walk to the first water slide, only about 5 minutes. This slide however was less than 10 feet long and not exciting at all for our older kids. Our youngest 6 year old was content to slide around in the freezing waters a few times before shivering to shore for a dry towel. He had fun but with the shade around us, it didn't last long.

The older kids wanted a bit more excitement and so they headed on upriver another 10 to 15 minutes to check out the longer 100 foot rock slide. They spent at least an hour at the big slide before the cold got the better of them. They just repeated their slide down the river over and over again. Our 8 year old even braved the long slide in the frigid temperature of the water. When the older kids returned where the younger ones were they were full of stories involving their hike past a tangled mess of trees to the much anticipated and worthwhile sliding spot.

While it was not our first time to Waterton Park, it was our first time to Red Rock Canyon and definitely worth spending an afternoon at. The canyon had something to offer kids of all ages and was a beautiful sight to boot. We'll definitely have to come back to explore more of the corners of this large National Park.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009 – Day 40

Bay of Fundy Tidal Bores – the River's Reversing Tides
As we had parked at the exact spot where the Truro tidal bores occur (across the street from a motel) we only had to wake up around 5:10 in the morning and walk out of our RV. Tidal Bores are when rivers which empty into the Bay of Fundy (where tides can reach 45 feet from low to high tide) change direction.

Rivers which empty into the Bay of Fundy will change direction at one moment in time when the tides change. We were told that this tide reversal for the particular day we were here would be around 5:27 am but that we should be prepared as it can vary by 10 minutes. These tidal bores occur 2 times per day and will vary depending on the tide times. While our 6 and 1 year old slept in the RV next to us, our four older children, my wife and I all prepared ourselves for this interesting phenomena. It happened fairly quickly. As we looked up the river we saw a ripple traveling upstream. It moved steadily up the river like a small wave. Within a minute this wave traveled up the river and around the bend beyond where we could see. That was about it. We headed back to our RV and just before driving off 30 minutes later the water level on the banks of the river had risen over 10 feet.
We were at a loss to find a place to look at the tides of the Bay of Fundy. We had thought to go to Fundy National Park in New Brunswick partly because of its name but after doing a little bit of research online, we found the place we wanted to go to. Only a few hours away was Hopewell Rocks. We did not realize this but we were only 10 minutes away from this location on day 28 of our trip when we went cave exploring with Baymount Outdoor Adventures. Had I known, I definitely would have visited then.

Hopewell Rocks
We arrived at Hopewell Rocks as the tide was going out. The best thing about this location was that we could not only see the drastic change in the tides, but we could also see the way these 45 foot tides carve into the sandstone cliffs of this coastline. The cliffs along this shore have been carved by these strong tides over thousands of years. As a result the cliffs are carved so that pillars stand alone on the beach in contorted shapes. The top halves are larger than the bottom half which is carved by the tides creating diamond shaped pillars that stand on the beach. Trees top many of these pillars giving them a rather hairy look. We spent hours roaming along the beach at low tide before it rose up and covered the beach we were walking along. We also searched out the pillars that looked like ET, a dinosaur, anteater and baby elephant. It added to the fun for the kids and got them to explore more of the coastline than I thought they would have otherwise seen. At high tide Baymount Outdoor Adventures conducts kayaking trips which circle around these rocky pillars. If we had the time I would have loved to kayak along this beautiful coastline.

Alma, New Brunswick
We drove through Fundy National Park and continued on to where we could have a lobster lunch in the fishing village of Alma, New Brunswick. It was a quaint little town where we could see the fishing boats at the bottom seabed along the docks of the bay. If you cannot stay for 6 hours to see both the low and high tide, visit during low tide. It is amazing to see how far out the tides actually go in this shallow harbour. There were plenty of choices for lobster lunches. At the wharf one could buy just lobsters or one could buy a meal at one of the many restaurants that lined the short streets of this town. We decided to have a sit down meal of fish, chips and lobster and were pleasantly surprised by the delicious feast we enjoyed. It was a simple little restaurant attached to a grocery store but the food was great.

St. Stephen's Chocolate Museum
We had a limited amount of time to get to St. Stephen which was a few hours away and so we had to move on before the Chocolate Museum we wanted to visit closed at 7pm. It was a few hours away at the edge of New Brunswick, our last stop before crossing the river into the United States. We arrived with about 30 minutes to spare. The museum gave us a look at the over 100 year history of a family business that has helped develop the chocolate business in Canada. There were a number of interactive displays that kept the kids busy. They were able to time themselves on what it is like to package a box of chocolates and watch a video on the history of the rare hand dippers who train for 2 years on the art of hand dipping chocolate. Perhaps the kids' favorite part was the chocolates that were located on trays throughout the exhibit. It was an all you can each chocolate extravaganza... and we ate probably more than we should have.

Goodbye Canada
It finally came time to say goodbye to Canada for a time. We spent 40 days exploring this wonderful country from Coast to Coast and it was a special treat for our family to see the various peoples and places that make this country the great place it is. The most common question we have receive is “What was your favorite place.” As you can see we have had many highlights and favorites. Perhaps the most unique part to our trip was the people we encountered along the way. While the landscapes, accents and landmarks changed from place to place we found a common friendship and friendliness wherever we went. It was a dream come true for us to visit our country and an opportunity for us to see places that we would like to visit again and explore a bit more in depth one place at a time.


The next 25 days will be devoted to places many Canadians can easily visit. Our return trip through the Northern and Central United States will bring us back home to Victoria, BC.

Monday, July 13, 2009 – Day 39

Due to our last experience having to scramble for some $30 bunks, we changed our night trip on the ferry back to Nova Scotia to a day crossing with Marine Atlantic. While this did provide for a scenic day trip, it did cut into the precious sightseeing time that was very limited.

When traveling on a tight time line the night crossings are best but one must plan ahead to reserve a cabin or bunk to sleep for the night on the ship as all access to vehicles is cut off after the ship departs.
On the ship there was live entertainment in the bar, plenty of food options (although the cafeteria periodically closes), sporadic and slow internet access (much better if you sit in the paid lounge at the top of the ship where the wireless router is located), quiet dark lounges, bunks and cabins. We checked in at 9:30 am, left at 10:30 am and arrived in North Sydney, Nova Scotia around 3:30 pm (including the 30 minute time change that we gained).

We had planned on driving the Cabot Trail but due to arriving so late into Nova Scotia had to put it on our list of things yet to do. We drove through Cape Breton late in the night to Truro where we planned on watching the Tidal Bore's at 5:27 am the next morning. We parked at the exact spot where we were going to get up early in the morning.

Sunday, July 12, 2009 – Day 38

A Lighthouse and Slate Covered Beach
It was Sunday and our only day to explore Gros Morne National Park. We had been warned that to properly explore this park one needs to spend 3 to 7 days. We quickly could see why. The area that this park covered was enormous and the types of things to see were so varied. We did not have time to take the boat trip in the park which would have involved a 1 to 2 km hike before a boat trip that would take us into the Fjords of the parks largest lake. Instead we went to a National Historic site that was located inside of a Lighthouse.

The lighthouse itself did not interest the kids much as it was mostly a visual description on the early settlers of the area with photos and description panels. What did interest them however was exploring the trails around the lighthouse. After walking around the lighthouse itself, they walked down to the shoreline which was filled with slate. They were so excited to see so much slate for them to pick through. After seeing the Halifax Citadel's Schoolhouse demonstration on writing on slate, they were anxious to have some slate boards of their own. They each came back from the beach with picture frame sized pieces of slate and slate pens to write with. To erase their work from the board they just had to wet the board down. As with all other discoveries that the kids found and collected, we had the kids store their collections in a compartment under our RV. Too many feathers, slates and other rocks tend to clutter up the limited space we have inside our motorhome.

Art Lessons
Our next stop was to take in some free outdoor art lessons with plenty of natural beauty to draw. Many free activities are provided throughout the park and this was the Sunday activity. At a boat dock next to the Aquarium in the park, a group of University Students were providing art supplies and giving tips on drawing the scenery in the park. The kids went to work right away and created their own artwork to remember the park by. Where do we put it all?
With our ferry leaving first thing in the morning we drove the 2.5 hours to Port-aux-Basques. It was hard to leave this park as there was so much more we wanted to explore but as with any holiday across Canada, there comes a time when you must move on. The drive in parts was extremely windy and it was hard at times to keep the RV in our lane of traffic. The wind swept over us as we drove along the coastline. As we reached Port-aux-Basques the sun was setting creating a picture perfect sunset. As there were few service stations on our route we also drove into this town on fumes... but we made it. We quickly found a quiet spot behind a high school to park for the night and went soundly off to sleep.

Saturday, July 11, 2009 – Day 37

In Twilingate, Newfoundland we parked in the parking lot of a small hardware store in the outskirts of town. At 1am there were not many options and we were very tired so we quickly went to sleep in the most convenient spot. With an RV it is easy enough to park wherever there is space.

We were not there long anyways as we woke up early for our 10:30 am iceberg watching cruise. We had enough time in the morning to check in for our cruise, dump and fill our RV with water at the free municipal RV station and have a yummy breakfast. As we walked around the town and information centre we noticed that this small town was an extremely friendly fishing village and the people went above and beyond our expectations. With problems to our RV propane line one local person called all of the mechanics he knew in town to see if he could get someone to help us. When that did not work, he called a city 2.5 hours away until he found a repair shop that would be able to help us later in the day. With that taken care of, we were able to enjoy the highlight of the day which came next.

Icebergs up close in Twillingate
We boarded the comfortable boat with Twillingate Iceberg Adventures to explore the distant harbour where we could watch icebergs. We were extremely fortunate because only 2 weeks earlier a ½ mile long iceberg floated into Twillingate's harbour from Greenland and it had broken up substantially at this point. The icebergs were still enormous and towered high above our boat. They were in all shapes and sizes. One looked like the tail on an airplane, others looked like gigantic ice slides while others looked like floating swimming pools with tall ice on two sides.
The kids especially enjoyed sitting on the prow of the top deck looking out at all of the different bergs. Their favorite part however came near the end of our tour when our guide scooped up a chunk of ice from the water with a fishing net. She rinsed it off before breaking it up into bite sized pieces. This 10,000 year old chunk of ice tasted absolutely amazing. It was water frozen before air pollution and other contaminants could freeze into the water. After tasting some ice we made the mistake of drinking some bottled water... it did not even taste nearly as good and gave our taste buds a stark contrast of truly pure water to compare.
At the end of our boat tour we noticed a number of kayaks approaching the icebergs themselves. That too would have been an amazing way to experience this harbour. We continued our cruise by going outside the harbour to see if we could catch site of any whales which commonly frequent the area. Although we did not spot any whales on this trip, we did see what we had come to catch a glimpse of. Some up close icebergs. Although we could have seen the icebergs from shore, it would never have been the same as circling the frozen water up close by boat.

Extinct First Nations Centre
We headed off from Twillingate towards a centre that had been set up to talk about a Native First Nations group called the Beothuk. This group although now extinct had its last known descendant in the mid 1800's. This final descendant helped document some of the words, sketches and information about her tribe. In this particular interpretive centre we were able to watch a video on the researchers who excavated a nearby area. We also were able to see some of the arrowheads that were dug up as well as the items these people fashioned out of the nails and other metallic items they obtained from early settlers.

Urgent RV Repair. Just in Time!
We had to hurry on our way because we had an appointment to fix the broken propane line on our RV in the Newfoundland city of Grand Falls. There were no repair locations that could handle an RV in or near Twillingate. The clock ticked on our GPS as we rushed to our destination. It was Saturday and if we could not repair our propane fridge soon, we would be left with thawed out food and no way to keep things cold for a few days. Monday was our day to take a ferry back to Nova Scotia and so we were very desperate to fix our propane line.
We arrived at the RV repair shop at 3:40... an hour later than planned but with plenty of time we thought. To our surprise they told us that they were closing in 20 minutes and probably would not have time to help us. When we explained our desperate situation, they looked at our problem and backed us into their shop. Within 30 minutes they had our major problem repaired but would not have time to fix our broken steps or other 2 problems that had been bothering us for some time. We were just happy that the most critical item was fixed and that they were kind enough to help us out so close to their closing time.

Driving to Gros Morne
With so much distance to cover in Newfoundland with so little time to do it, we had to press on to Gros Morne National Park. After stopping for our first fast food bite to eat on our cross Canada trip, loading up on groceries and buying a few necessities, we drove until we reached a Campground in Gros Morne National Park. Fortunately they did have space for us because it would have been a long drive back out of the park to find an alternative. Although we had been warned to avoid traveling the roads in the dark, we did catch the evening sunset around 9:30 in the evening as it set over the ocean. It was a beautiful way to enter this amazing National Park.

Friday, July 10, 2009 – Day 36


We had lots of driving ahead of us and so we wanted to get an early start to the driving ahead of us. We wanted to visit Cape Spear and a fishing village on the East coast but our plans were quickly changed as we started to drive away. As we were pulling out for the day, the rear tire of the RV went over a curb.

I looked back and as we went over the curb I saw a burst of air blasting out from the area around the rear tire. I slowly got out expecting to see a completely flat tire but was surprised as it only looked slightly flat. This was definitely not how we wanted to start out the day.

Day Long Tire Repairs
In the rear of the motorhome there are two sets of tires side by side so I slowly drove over to a gas station across the street from us in St. John's. As I paid my 50 cents to activate the air compressor filled the tire to the pressure level I thought was acceptable. This however did not seem to make a visual difference in how much air appeared to be in the outside back tire. A kind trucker stopped by to help so I pugged the compressor with another 50 cents. This is when we discovered that only one of the two tire valves for this side of the vehicle were visible. There was supposed to be a valve for the inside rear tire and another for the outside rear tire. As a result I was only able to fill the inside back tire with air, not the outside tire that had hit the curb. I was not even able to check the tire pressure. He suggested that we go and get the tire checked out at a tire shop... we drove one kilometer to the closest shop our GPS could find but they advised us that they were unable to assist with such a large vehicle. We continued on to another tire store that this shop owner suggested to us but after waiting 30 minutes for them, they advised us that they were also unable to work on such a large RV.
Finally at the 3^rd specialty Tire shop they popped off the hubcaps to reveal the missing tire valve... what they did not mention to me was that the tire pressure was OK. They did however inspect all of my tires and informed me that they were all suffering from dry rot with the front tires heavily worn from being out of alignment. I was told that all 6 tires would need to be replaced if we wanted to make it back to the West coast of Canada. Yikes, all 6 tires. As I contemplated risking it and taking the RV to a US city or a larger city for some better tire prices... I gave in to the safety recommendation. We would spend the $1500 to have the tires replaced and an alignment done. As the tire shop had no time to do an alignment for us I called around other places to see if they could do it on the same day. After about half a dozen calls the service person said they could squeeze us in but that we would have to leave our vehicle in the shop for the day. Considering the 6 to 7 hour drive we had planned for the day it was not in our plans but necessary nonetheless.

Waiting
We took a cab to a nearby mall where I was able to make an appointment to have a chiropractor adjust my back that was still in pain from a couple of days earlier in Halifax. As there were no cabs that could accommodate our entire family we had to take two taxis. After arriving at the mall we soon discovered that we would not be able to spend the day here. This was a ghost mall with most of the shops closed and the ones that were open were mostly professional services like gas companies and doctors offices.

After my much needed adjustment that only relieved the pain in my back and gave me some ideas on stretches I could do, we all had a quick bite to eat before taking another two taxis to a larger mall 8 minutes away. This however was a much more successful place for a family of 8 to spend the afternoon. We were able to get a few things at a dollar store, buy some groceries, get some needed supplies at a department store and line up to get everyone's hair cut. Perhaps it was not a bad thing to have a day off to just catch up on some much needed tasks. A couple of hours later I received the phone call telling me that my vehicle was repaired and ready to go. I took a taxi to the repair shop and went over the repairs with the technician... it was then that I noticed the smell of propane. It didn't seem too bad but it was there. After picking up my family from the mall and driving two hours down the highway we noticed the smell of propane outside when we stopped. I looked at the propane gauge and noticed that in the past day, we had used up as much propane as we had used up in the previous month. I turned the propane off and had it filled up at a service station. It was then that the technician noticed that we had a propane leak... it was not my tires that blew when we went over the curb in the morning, it was the propane line that snapped and was blowing propane by the rear drivers tire. Argh! We were in the middle of nowhere and would be until late the following day.
As a result we had to turn our propane off (which deactivated our fridge and freezer) for the next day.
Well behind schedule we drove on to Twilingate before arriving there at 1am. We had an appointment to take an iceberg tour in the morning and didn't want to miss it.

Thursday, July 9, 2009 – Day 35


I slept great in my lower bunk on the ferry to Newfoundland. I don't know if it was because I was soooo tired or if it was because the ferry rocked me to sleep but I had a nice deep sleep.

We had plenty of time to sleep in as we were not scheduled to arrive in Newfoundland until 1pm. We took our time in the morning and I was happy to see that I was able to use the internet on my laptop to catch up on posting blogs and photos to our online adventure. Although the internet connection is touch and go (disconnects frequently) I had plenty of time so my hour of work took about 3 hours to complete.
We arrived in Newfoundland about 1 hour late due to a late departure. As soon as we exited, we were sure to stop at the billboard welcoming our family to Newfoundland for a photograph before stopping off at the tourist information centre. It must have taken us 1 hour with all the stops we made in the first 10 km, I was beginning to think we would never make it to St. John's. Then we hit the road construction area. In the end we reached St. John's just before 5pm as the attractions were starting to close down. Fortunately however, the National Historic Site interpretation centre at Signal Hill was open until 6pm and so we were able to tour around and watch the short movie before they closed.
Signal Hill is an old strategic hilltop overlooking St. John's and its harbour. From there one can see all around the city, harbour and countryside. Since the 18^th century it has been used to defend and protect the city of St. John's. We climbed the small three story tower build in 1900 at the top of the hill for some breathtaking photos of the surrounding area. From here we could see North America's most Easterly point, Cape Spear. As we were leaving we had the kids photos taken by “Tourist Shot-on-the-Spot”. Here they took our photos and printed them on postcards in their solar powered minivan, ready for us to send off in the mail.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 – Day 34

We had to get up early for the 1.5 hour drive from Port Hawkesbury to Sydney, Nova Scotia. We had an appointment to meet with CBC radio (English) and CBC Television (French) for interviews. It was a very scenic drive to Sydney and we managed to get lots of great photos on the drive. It was a beautiful sunny day (the first in some time we were told) and so we enjoyed every moment of it.

On CBC Radio and TV
We first headed to CBC's office in Sydney where we were invited in.

The plan was to have a few of us in the interview room while the others listened. When the person doing our interview asked who would like to do the interview, all of the kids looked at him with their eyes saying, ME! ME! Well he couldn't resist and so he invited all 8 of us in for the interview. He did say this was the largest group of people he had interviewed at one time and so it should be interesting... it was. As we gave him a good idea of what we were doing on our trip, each of the kids had an opportunity to share some of what goes on with our family as we travel and some of the destinations they have enjoyed the most.

Louisbourg Fortress National Historic Site
Wow! The Louisbourg National Historic Site was amazing. It is a fortress perched on the edge of the ocean, the site of one of Canada's first settlements on the Coast of Cape Breton. We started our afternoon on a little pullout parking area that overlooked Louisbourg (along the coastline just past the parking area turnoff). It was a fun place for the kids to run around on some grassy areas and hike down to a small beach. The kids love any opportunity they can get to get out of the RV and run around. This was great because there was nobody else around and so they could just run around and I could see them from the parking area above. We were shown this great picnic spot by French CBC cameraman Dominique, who followed us the 30 minutes from Sydney to do an interview with Louisbourg in the background.
Following our picnic and interview we drove back to the Louisbourg parking area which is about 2 km from the actual Historic Site. The only way to Louisbourg itself is by taking a shuttle bus from the Louisbourg Information Centre and Parking Lot to this historic fortress. The drive to the site was beautiful as it wound around the coastline until we reached the outer edge of the village.

The first buildings we saw were outside of the village itself. They were recreated farmhouses complete with a burning fire and grass covered roofs. Inside we were told about what it was like in a traditional home in1744. We continued on past the guard at the gate to the village and were told what to expect in the village of Louisbourg itself and rules that us visitors must abide by. We walked up and down the streets that were filled with pubs and shops. Workers were all dressed in period clothing as they marched, drummed, piped and taught us about life in Louisbourg. The kids enjoyed a few games in the billiards hall. I enjoyed watching inventions of the 1700's that were used to spin roasts over the fire using gears and weights. Of course we finished off the day with a powerful cannon blast demonstration as a cannon was fired over the water. Louisbourg had changed hands in the past as French and British fought for control over the region. It is a beautifully restored fortress that took us back for the first time to the late 1600's and early 1700's.

Newfoundland Ferries – Things to Remember
Following a full day in Louisbourg we headed directly for the ferry terminal in the town of North Sydney. This is where the Nova Scotia ferries to Newfoundland leave from. We had booked passage from North Sydney, Nova Scotia to Argentia, Newfoundland on a 14 hour overnight ferry... or so we thought. As we arrived we discovered that only 2 adults had been confirmed and our 6 children were not on the list... I had called an hour earlier and found this out but I was told that this sailing had been closed out and so I would have to try my luck at the ferry terminal directly. Fortunately there was space still available for our children to join us... otherwise we wouldn't have been able to go at all.
Another key piece of information we discovered was that we would be unable to stay in our motorhome on the ferry. Yikes! 6 kids including a 1 year old on a 14 hour overnight ferry! How were we going to do it? When asking about this we were given two beds on the ship. All cabins had been long since sold out and all that was left were two bunk bed births. We were told we could try our luck on the ship at getting some more beds for the rest of our kids.
As soon as we boarded the ship we headed directly for the purser's desk to put our names down on the waiting list for beds.
Name after name was called out before we were given an opportunity as we were some of the last people on the ship due to it taking over an our for the RV's to be loaded. Finally it came time for our names to come up and our request for 4 more bunk beds. I think the purser had pity on us imagining how we were going to get our 6 kids to bed in the evening and so we received 4 bunk beds all facing each other and 2 other bunks that faced a wall where we could set up our baby play pen! What a miracle... we were going to be able to sleep after all.
The ship staff were very kind and helpful even though it seemed like they were a bit frazzled from all of the special requests that people were making. When taking the ferry to Newfoundland just make sure you are aware that beds should be booked for overnight crossings and no access is provided to the vehicle deck for the duration of the trip and you should have a great voyage!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 – Day 33

With little time to see Halifax we decided that we would focus on the historic sites of The Citadel and Pier 21. Although our plan was also to drive the 45 minutes to see the fishing town of Peggy's Cove, we ran out of time before the day was over due to a late start.

Incident at the Citadel – My Back!
The Citadel was a historic site I will not soon forget... not because of the tour or history of this landmark that has protected the port of Halifax for over 2 centuries (and was never attacked due to the stronghold that it was), but because this is where I pulled some muscles in my back as I leaned over to pick up my 2 year old.

I could tell as soon as I leaned over that this was not your typical back pain. It was a muscle in my back that had tensed up. I had done this once before and it took a chiropractor a few days to fix. The only problem is that when you are traveling, it is not easy to find the people you need. Lets just say, over a week later I still had a hard time moving after sitting down to drive for a few hours. I headed back to our RV and as I did so I felt like I was hobbling along like an old man with a cane. I shuffled my feet and felt a few sharp pains knife into my back as I went. While I went to lay down in the motorhome the rest of my family finished their tour of the Citadel.
At the citadel the kids enjoyed the firing of the noon cannon at the precise second, to mark the time for the citizens of Halifax. The cannon echoed off the buildings of Halifax it was so loud. Perhaps one of the kids' favorite parts to the citadel was the schoolhouse that the children of the soldiers used to use. They enjoyed using slate boards (used instead personal chalkboards) to write on, using old pencils and then fountain pens to write with. They walked around for about an hour and a half checking out the various rooms in the citadel.

Pier 21 – A Historic Immigrant Pier
Following a short lunch in the parking area we continued on to Pier 21 which is where over 1 million immigrants came to Canada by ship between the early 1900's and 1971.

There was an excellent 20 minute 3 dimensional film that depicted various time periods that the port was used such as early settlers from Europe, soldiers departing and returning, war brides who married soldiers, a Jewish girl coming to be adopted to a family and more.
Following the movie we wandered around the exhibits which contained stories and information on the circumstances of the people that came through this port for so many years.
By the time we were finished visiting Halifax we were already out of time and had to head towards Cape Breton. We had a CBC TV interview scheduled in French in Sydney, Nova Scotia and wanted to visit the historic village of Louisbourg. This meant that we needed to get closer to our destination for the following day. Next time I visit Nova Scotia, I will definitely visit Peggy's Cove.

Monday, July 6, 2009 – Day 32

Nova Scotia greets you with Highway tolls. As we drove from Moncton to Halifax we were greeted with the traditional provincial welcome sign.

Of course we had to stop for a photograph by the billboard and inland lighthouse that greeted us. The next greeting came an hour or so later when we saw a sign saying, “Highway Toll Ahead”. Yes, the main route to Halifax had a $5.25 (for motorhomes) highway toll. Nova Scotia greets visitors with Highway Tolls. There were no visible alternate roads for us to take so we were kind of stuck. Unfortunately only cash is accepted so we had to raid our kids' piggy banks to find the change we needed.

The $4 Wrong Turn
The real surprise came an hour or two later when we reached Halifax.

We were looking for a campground and called around before finding one close to the city. We plugged the coordinates into our trusty GPS and it indicated for us to cross the bridge into the city of Halifax. This bridge into Halifax however had another Toll! From a distance I saw 75 cents and so I reluctantly went onwards before a crossing guard motioned me to go to a special lineup. The person at the booth let me know that since I had a large vehicle it would be $2.00 to cross. Once again we had to raid the kid's piggy banks to cross. That's when the irritating thing happened, our GPS gave us a turnaround route before telling us to go back over the bridge to get to our campground. A bit frustrated I decided that I would tell the booth operator our situation so that they could have some compassion on us. When we explained our predicament she was entirely unhelpful or compassionate. She simply asked me, “Did you use the bridge. Well if you used the bridge you have to pay.” My receipt with the time stamp on it was not good enough. I simply got a lecture on what to do the next time I really did not intend on crossing the bridge. It is a rather interesting video you can watch.

We eventually did make it to our campground. As has been typical for us around Nova Scotia they were extremely helpful, welcoming and warm. Apart from its many tolls, Nova Scotia is a great place.

Sunday, June 28, 2009 – Day 31

This morning we had a bit of a problem. The night before the magnetic sensor on our door disappeared and as a result, the electric steps to the side door of our RV would not go up.

No matter what we did, we could not get the steps to go back up. As a result we ended up driving to church in the morning with our steps down. By the time we got there, someone had followed us and informed us that our steps were dangerously down... We thanked them for their observation as we rushed off for Sunday services to have a look at it a bit later.
We spent the morning at a Church in Charlottetown and had a great time meeting the friendly residents there. We didn't stay long however as we needed to make our way for a three hour drive to Moncton, New Brunswick to visit some friends.
When we returned to our RV we still had the dilemma on what to do with our electric steps that were down. After discussing the options with the kids and thinking things over together, my 8 year old told us, “I have a magnet, we can use that!”. Within a few minutes we found his magnet, taped it to the door sensor and the annoying steps retracted back up. It was a marvelous site as we finally relaxed a bit.
Our drive was scenic and relaxing although our GPS did not take us on the usual routes so we ended up taking a scenic drive through the countryside farms of Prince Edward Island. I'm not entirely sure about this GPS but it has taken on some rather scenic drives from time to time. I do however refuse to follow it whenever it tries to route me onto a gravel road. Due to our bad experience I explained in Saskatchewan, I will no longer take our RV on dusty gravel roads if I can help it (although summer is the time for roadwork and so I have had a few times I could not avoid it). It took us a bit longer to get to our destination but crossed the Confederation Bridge to pay our $40 toll and drove on to the coast near Moncton.


It is time for us to take a pre-scheduled week off from our blog trip. We will continue again on July 6^th.

Saturday, June 27, 2009 – Day 30

Province House – History of Canada
As we were staying in a hotel in the heart of Charlottetown, we were within walking distance of everything we wanted to do. We decided to start our day with some history and so we headed straight for Province House. Province House is the PEI legislature which is now a National Historic Site.

The reason this building is so significant is because it is the location of the Charlottetown conference where the Canadian fathers of Confederation first met all together to discuss the idea of uniting Canada into one country. There was an older but excellent film to describe the events which took place September 1 to 9, 1864. Our kids really enjoyed hearing about the birth of what we now know as Canada. We toured the upper rooms as well which show where the conference took place and the current legislature.

Not knowing what to see next we decided to take a horsedrawn carriage ride through the city of Charlottetown. It was interesting but I think the 30 minute tour would have been just as well as the 45 minute tour.
Canada Day celebrations were getting underway as we walked along the waterfront. There were activities (strongman competition), games, buskers and pavillions scattered all over the place. Too bad we couldn't stay longer in Prince Edward Island to enjoy Canada Day itself.

Anne of Green Gables Musical
The highlight of the day was the evening musical that we pre-purchased tickets for. The Anne of Green Gables Musical is now 45 years old but it is an amazingly creative adaptation of the book by L. M. Montgomery. What was refreshing was that it was created before the movie and so it has a different perspective. The singers, music and orchestra all brought this lively and fun performance to a life of its own as the Anne of Green Gables story was told. Every one of our kids enjoyed the performance as did us parents and it is definitely a must-see activity for those visiting Prince Edward Island.

Friday, June 26, 2009 – Day 29

We found a great Camping site right in Cavendish which was close to all of the “Anne of Green Gables” sites. The kids were excited to go swimming and we didn't even leave the campground to go sightseeing until around noon.

Skip Avonlea Village Attraction

We headed out to what we were told was the best tourist attraction, the recreated village of Avonlea. In the village they recreate the story of Anne of Green Gables. In the morning Anne arrives by train and is brought to the village where there are a number of scenes recreated from the book throughout the day. I have to say that I was very disappointed and would not recommend visiting Avonlea. The village which consists of about a dozen buildings spreads out an hour long play into the entire day. It seems like they are trying to get people to stay the entire day when an hour or two would suffice. As fun as it was for the first hour or two, it interested our little children under the age of 8 more than our older kids who were not very excited to be there.

Beautiful Sandy Beaches of PEI
Following much too long of a time in Avonlea we headed to the Northern beaches of PEI. Wow, this was the highlight of the day.

We drove into the Prince Edward Island National Park and found a great place to park near some fishing shacks and an outdoor cafe. The site was complete with its own red and white old fashioned lighthouse. The kids were excited to play in the sand, jump off the bridge and splash in the water for a few hours as the evening sun kept us warm. I was surprised to see Teyauna, our 1 year old keep running into the cold water.
After some time getting sandy and some vitamin D sunshine we headed for one of the fish and chips shacks for some dinner just as they were closing at 6:30pm. I have to say I rarely like deep fried batter fish but this fish was absolutely amazing. It was fresh and there was more fish than there was fish batter!

Delta Prince Edward Hotel
After showering all of the sand off of our shorts and feet we jumped into our RV and headed to Charlottetown to rest at the Delta Prince Edward Hotel. We were pleasantly surprised to see this beautiful hotel in the centre of the Charlottetown Harbor within walking distance to the city centre and action in the Harbor of the city. The views from our room overlooking the Harbor were also gorgeous and we felt pampered as we enjoyed two adjoining rooms. The first thing my kids wanted to know was, “Is there a pool?”, they weren't disappointed.

Thursday, June 25, 2009 – Day 28

Hampton Inn
The kids were excited to be in a hotel again and were even more excited that the Hampton Inn of Moncton, NB had a water slide. They were up at 7am when the pool opened to get wet. I didn't see them in the pool much as they were busy finding creative ways to go down the water slide. They splashed around for a few hours before helping themselves to the complimentary breakfast that was served until 10am. I'm just glad they serve breakfast that late otherwise I would have missed it due to staying up late and sleeping in.

Caving Near Moncton

We couldn't wait around long however as we had a mission. We were heading out for a family caving adventure. An adventure that none of us will easily forget. Although our one year old Teyauna was unable to participate (and Kirsten who was watching her) all of our other children from 6 to 14 were able to participate in exploring the caves that are located in a small town about 30 minutes from Moncton. We didn't know what to expect but we did prepare by wearing long sleeve shirts, pants, a good pair of shoes and mosquito repellent.
We met our guide from Baymount Outdoor Adventure just before 1pm at a small tourist information centre. Here we were provided with flashlight helmets, track pants and shirts. These we were told were to keep our clothes clean... a statement that got my boys even more excited! They wanted to crawl around and get dirty! A feat that soon came to be.
After a short 8 minute drive, we parked our vehicles on the side of the road and started walking up a trail for 15 minutes that lead to the caves. We crossed what we were told was soon to be part Trans Canada Trail system and criss-crossed through various paths before we arrived at the North Cave.
To get to the mouth of the cave we had to climb down a steep trail and could barely see an opening in the rock in front of us. We turned on the lights to our helmets and our guide, after a brief discussion on the cave, sent each of us to explore the cave. The entrance to this cave was a steep decent into a large opening. As we climbed down the 24 degree mosquito infested air changed to a cool 8 degree bug free environment. Our guide who just retired as a school teacher was quite impressed when my 8 year old Orin, discovered a narrow passageway to the side of the cave. He instructed my kids that it was fine for them to crawl through this small tunnel and that if they could, they would be fine to explore the narrowest tunnel in the second cave we were to visit. My young kids were only too happy to squeeze through this and one other tunnel that looped around back into the main cave we were in. He only cautioned them to stay clear and watch out for a resident porcupine that has been seen in the cave from time to time. I however had to drag myself on my stomach to fit through this tunnel. It was only about 2 feet high and about as narrow.
After exploring this first cave we moved on to the South Cave that was a 5 minute hike away. This cave was even more spectacular. The temperature dropped as we descended into the gully in front of this cave. We then were cautioned to watch out for the ice that still ran down part of the entrance to this cave. Once inside we all sat down on mats brought by our guide as he provided us with a small snack. During our snack break our guide proceeded to tell us about why groups are not brought into the caves in the winter. While the last of the bats had left about 2 weeks earlier, they hibernate here during the winter. He also explained to us that bat's hearts beat up to 1100 beats per minute when flying around in search of food while the beat as little as 3 beats per minute while they hibernate to conserve energy. Disturbing them while they hibernate can use up their reserve energy and kill them.
After our snack we had the opportunity to squeeze between two rocks called “The Sandwich”. While some people detoured around this point, my kids and I wanted to continue through the tunnel ahead by squeezing through the trickiest part of the cave. To the fright of some of the others on the tour, we made it through and continued on our hands and knees with them to a larger gymnasium size cave further into the mountain. Crawling through this tunnel to a large opening was a dirty yet amazing experience as we stood up and walked around the large opening. We kept close to our guide as in past years the stream running through this cave had been naturally diverted and caused some of the floor to collapse. We walked through the stream that led us through a tunnel to the back of the large cave. Here we all sat down once again while our guide instructed us to turn out our lights.
This was perhaps one of the best parts of our caving experience. As one by one we turned out our lights, it got darker and darker until complete darkness surrounded us. The darkness was as dark as it gets with no chance of light getting into this room. We sat in complete silence for over a minute which surprised me as even my kids didn't make a peep. Our guide explained that when things get rough he likes to pack his gear and head into the caves to take a moment to rest and relax in the complete darkness. He then asked our group if anyone would like to crawl out of the second half of the cave in the dark. Although my kids were eager for the experience, my 6 year old Eli was less excited and the other adults in our group were not in the mood for a dark exit. In the end Eli was convinced and our guide sent the lit helmets out first while my 5 children including Eli and I exited the cave in the dark. This included the section where we had to crawl on our hands and legs to the main cave.
The kids were extremely excited with this adventurous part of our trip. They told me that it definitely was one of our trip highlights and that they would highly recommend this caving experience to anyone. I had to agree.

Confederation Bridge
Following our caving adventure we drove for two hours towards Prince Edward Island. The drive was beautiful as we drove along beautifully treed highways towards the famous Confederation Bridge, the longest Marine Bridge in the World! Due to the early morning wakeup by our kids anxious to swim and the tiresome caving adventure, I had to pull over before the bridge to wake up every one of my children. They were not happy to have to wake up so Kirsten pulled out some ice cream bars from the fridge to give them the energy they needed. That made all the difference and they were wide awake for the crossing. Confederation Bridge is an engineering marvel and we were not only amazed by its length but also by its massive size.

Following a stop just after the bridge at the information centre and “Welcome to PEI” billboard, we drove up the island to Cavendish, the centre of “Anne of Green Gables” country. The drive during the evening sun was absolutely amazing as we looked over the wild flocks growing on the side of the road and the potato fields that lined the farmlands. We took tons of pictures along the drive to our campsite in Cavendish. Prince Edward Island is definitely as beautiful as people say it is.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009 – Day 27

Grand Falls
Covered Bridge
Kings Landing Historical Village
Fredericton
Hampton Inn Moncton Hotel

Check out more on this day of our trip at Kirsten's Blog.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009 – Day 26


Highlights of the day:
A Quiet Cul-de-Sac we Parked at till the morning.
Whale Watching
An expensive Québec Ferry to Rivière-du-Loup
Arriving in New Brunswick

Check out more on this day of our trip at Kirsten's Blog.

Monday, June 22, 2009 – Day 25

We took our time in the morning to have some much needed showers at our campsite and to do some laundry. Unfortunately each laundry room only had two washers and two dryers so we had to scout out the second building to get our clothes cleaned. When you are traveling with a large family it is important to find a place where you can wash at least 5 loads of clothes at once... it saves time. This process took the most part of the morning and so it was the afternoon by the time we arrived at the Plains of Abraham National Historic Site interpretive centre.

This historic site was an absolutely incredible educational experience. It was a multimedia presentation of history on the importance of Québec and its role throughout the recorded history of Canada. I learned about Canada's confederation and how it was not until the 1950's that Newfoundland even joined with Canada. It covered a history from the 1700's to the current day. A must see for anyone visiting Québec.

We then spent an hour walking the streets of old Québec to watch the buskers and toped it off with a visit to a Crepe Restaurant.

We all enjoyed a delicious strawberry, whipped cream and ice cream crepe. Is your mouth watering? It was the perfect way to top off our day in Québec City and I highly recommend it! We then started towards Baie-Ste-Catherine for a whale watching trip for tomorrow.

Sunday, June 21, 2009 – Day 24

We started our Sunday morning in a small church outside of Québec City. It was lots of fun to go to a Sunday service in French. While there were people there to help translate for my other family members who are not yet fluent in French, we had a great opportunity to immerse ourselves in Canada's second official language.

Following the church services, I asked some locals for some great activity ideas for families on a Sunday afternoon. As they looked at my monstrous RV they shook their heads and said, “Whatever you do, don't take that massive thing into the centre of the old city of Québec, you'll never get it out!” (albeit they said it in French).

While one person suggested a suspension bridge park on the opposite side of the St. Lawrence River, another reminded us that the centre of Canada's History in Old Québec cannot be missed. I decided that I would have to be brave enough to attempt the streets of this ancient (by Canadian standards) city. Québec after all is the only walled City in North America with a rich history of British, American and French settlements and wars.

My first stop was at the Tourist Office at the Plains of Abraham to get my bearings on where to stay the night and where we could get the best look at the history of this historic city. Beside the Tourist Office was a bus parking lot perfect for our motorhome. They allow for 30 minutes of Free Parking and so we wandered around the Plains of Abraham (named after an early settler to the area in the 1700's). We could see the Citadel with its cliff walls dropping down from the hills above that we were climbing on. We continued on to the viewpoint over the St. Lawrence river while avoiding the personnel setting up for the stage for the St. Jean Baptiste Provincial Holiday concert in the same park (largest celebration of the year in Québec, bigger than Canada Day).

We saw a great boardwalk trail along the St. Lawrence river that continued on to the famous Château Frontenac Hotel (the most photographed hotel in the world I am told) but I had to get back to my car by this point as time was running out on our parking. I sent my family along as the blustery wind pushed them along the path. I had decided to pick them up at the Chateau so they would not have to walk back. It was so windy that the summer air was not as warm as we expected.

Unfortunately my family was not yet in front of the Chateau when I went to pick them up after driving through the main street of Old Québec. Due to the extra vigilant NO-stopping/parking attendants that waved me on, this meant that I would have to circle my RV through the city one more time. When I returned 8 minutes later after maneuvering through the city with a few tight left hand turns, I saw two of my kids waiting for me. They hopped in the van but as the attendant moved us on again they had them jump out to collect the others. Once again I reluctantly moved on and told my son Dailin to have everyone waiting when I returned. After my third scenic drive through the old village I was finally able to pick up my family who was finally all gathered together and waiting.

We decided to take a scenic drive through the old city. As we looked down a steep road that was barely big enough for a small car to drive down, my kids jokingly said “Drive down their Dad!.” Kirsten was quick to say, “No! Don't you dare.” I was only too happy to agree... that is until I went down a seemingly harmless street which started to get narrower and narrower until we reached a point where someone was blocking the road as he tried to jump start a car that was parked to the side of the already narrow street. I could not even back up. After a minute of no luck starting his car, they moved the car from the middle of the road and waved me on... but the road got even narrower so that the cars parked on the side of the road had little room for me between them and the building to the drivers side.

That's when the oncoming vehicle came. Someone in their little car wanted to pass and I honestly did not know how we were going to do it. Instead of drive down a side street perpendicular to us, he wanted to go where I was coming from. That's when he started yelling at the crazy RV driver that was taking such a beast of a vehicle on his small street. Lets just say I do understand French and the basic message on what he had to say was that he didn't think I should be on such a small street with my RV and that I should find another place to drive my vehicle. He managed to squeeze by me with less than a few inches on either side. It was at that point that I decided to look for the quickest exit from this quickly narrowing street. I took the first (even smaller) one way road I could and after backing up a few times to make the turn to fit down this old narrow street, we were out and on our way to find a camp site.

We found a beautiful riverside Municipal Campsite on the outskirts of Québec about 15 minutes from the city. After driving in to the beautiful treed sites my boys were only too happy to hook up our RV to water and get a campfire going. As we set out to hook up our septic we did discover that the valve was still not closing and that it was a problem that would require a repair person at the next possible opportunity to avoid more smelly situations.

Camping that evening was exciting as we all huddled around a roaring campfire to roast some sticky Marshmallows. Each of the kids were happy to get out of the RV where there was plenty of room to run around, explore and collect scraps of wood to burn. I do have to say that I no longer need to be the one to light fires as my boys are only too happy to put their scouting skills to work in building and starting the fire on their own. After a late night dinner and smores for desert, we were ready for a great nights sleep.

Right now we have just returned from one of the most exciting adventures of all time. CAVING!


After walking on some old forest trails in the scorching sun for about 5-10 minutes with Baymount Outdoor Adventure we stopped to take a break and put on a layer of light pants and a wind breaker to keep our clothes underneath clean. Even if this made it quite a bit hotter at least it stopped us from doing so much mosquito slapping. Quickly after that we started the last 2 minutes of are journey which ended up taking 5 because some people in are group did not like going down steep hills but at last we were there.
As we walked up to the mouth of the cave we could already feel the cool air drifting out. After a few minutes of photos we finally got started on our first cave.
Walking inside the cave was like walking inside a giant freezer and was a welcomed temperature compared to the scorching sun outside. We soon where crawling and walking through rock passage ways. This first cave was used mostly for are guide to see what we could do.

On are second cave of the day we did much more walking but we still did some crawling. We also went much further into the cave. At the very farthest point in the cave where no light could reach, our guide told us all to turn off our lights and try not to talk or make a sound for one minute. This to us seemed like forever. As the lights from everyone's head lamps slowly flickered off, the cave became absolutely dark.
It was very eerie. The cool dark cave the only sound was the water dripping from the ceiling above. Luckily for us the guide said we could all turn them back on then he told us a story about a boy who asked the question: “What if the lights stopped working and turned out in the cave?” The guide's first response was that he had extra flashlights and batteries so that was impossible, but the boy said “just imagine what would we do?”
After half a second the guide said “Well we would have to crawl out in the dark.” Then the boy asked:
“Can we do that?”
“Are you crazy?” said the guide, but then after a bit of thought said “Well, I guess you can”.
So, ever since then he has given his tour the chance to do it in the dark. Well, most of are tour quickly excused themselves and used the lights. A couple of minutes later, we were the only ones left. It was sort of cool but reassuring because the guide was always there in front.
It was only about 2 or 3 minutes but it was still worth it after that we said are good byes and headed off to the MOHO.

Saturday, June 20, 2009 – Day 23

Montreal was a fun city to visit with kids. The biggest problem was finding a place to park our Motorhome without having to walk too far. Driving in Montreal is a nightmare with a motorhome... and the drivers are not very patient.

In the end we ended up parking on the edge of Old Montreal near the George-Etienne Cartier historic site (one of the fathers of Confederation) and walking into the old town. It was even free parking on Saturday... I think.
The Cartier historic site was rather small, but it did give a good look into Cartier's accomplishments and life during the early 1800's. It was a great opportunity for the kids to learn a bit of history although they didn't have the attention span to read the information panels as much as their mother.

Pedestrial Friendly Old Montreal
There were some beautiful pedestrian only streets in the old city where narrow streets criss-crossed in all directions. We saw the old Notre Dame cathedral where plenty of weddings were taking place (and their waiting limousines). The kids tired quickly as they have been doing lots of walking in the past few days. We made our way down to the old port where there was plenty of activity going on. There were numerous cruises departing from here,Cirque du Soleil was set up with their tents as well as a nearby environmental exhibition. What caught the kids' attention however was the orange Labyrinth sign on one of the Pier buildings.

We couldn't resist and so we treated the kids to an hour in the Pirate themed Labyrinth. For an hour the kids walked through the very plain looking yet tricky mazes that went in all directions. If you are gearing for a fancy looking attraction this is not for you. If you are looking for some fun and to get lost in dead-end plastic paneled hallways, you will have a great time. The kids enjoyed themselves immensely and were able to solve all of the clues to get their paper medallion at the end of the course.

Eli, our 6 year old was not too keen on walking the remaining 15 minutes back to the RV but with some prompting he eventually made it... Old Montreal is definitely worth the visit, just make sure you are ready to walk lots.

Friday, June 19, 2009 – Day 22

The only thing we planned for today was to tour the Parliament Buildings. As a result we relaxed in the morning in our hotel room and watched as the sun cleared away all of the rain clouds of the previous day. It was great to take a break and to not have too much planned.

Currency Museum

In the afternoon we hiked over to the Parliament Buildings and found that we would have to wait two hours for our tour to start. The kids however already had a plan on what to do with our spare time... they wanted to go to the Free Currency Museum in the building responsible for Canada's currency. Our kids like money, to collect it (especially our 8 year old Monopoly player Orin) and to look at it. They breezed through the ancient coin section which illustrated the beginnings of currency with the shells, tools and other items that were first used as currency. They hurried on to the ancient Canadian coins and bills that were on display. Learning about currency is a great history lesson. As a result of their interest in money they are well aware of when various monarchs ruled in Canada and when various provinces (like the most recent Newfoundland) joined Confederation in Canada.
Perhaps the highlight for them was to see the video presentation and limited engagement interactive display on detecting forged bills. In the end they were able to look at and detect all of the forged verses actual bills on display... they did a great job.

Pocket Knife Caught at Parliament Buildings Security
By the time we were finished at the currency museum we were ready to excitedly tour our countries' parliament building on the last day it was to sit before summer holidays.


We gathered with our group of about 40 others before being ushered along to the entrance of the Parliament buildings. We were told that to enter we would have to go through airport like security. It was at this point that my 13 year old Jaeden got a little flush. As he went through his pockets he realized he had brought a pocket knife from when we were camping two nights earlier. He was a bit concerned at this point because although he did want to go on the tour, he was just as determined to keep his pocket knife.
As he was going through security the security screener was a bit baffled. He asked Jaeden who's knife it was. When he said it was his own, the screener asked, “Are you here with a school group?”... perhaps wondering what a youth was doing with a pocket knife after coming from school. Jaeden reassured him that he was only traveling with his family. The security person then asked how old he was and where his dad was as I waved from 3 people behind. Unlike the airport where everything is confiscated (unless re-checked in with check in baggage) disallowed items are sealed in a blue bag and saved for when one exits the parliament buildings. Jaeden was relieved to hear this and handed over the knife for safe keeping while the security person handed me the yellow claim ticket.
With the excitement of security over we were able to start our tour of the parliament buildings. As it was the last day that a session of parliament was being held before summer holidays, we were unable to see where the MP's sit and debate. We were however able to tour the hallways, library, senate and clock tower section of the building.
The grand building was amazing, gigantic and brought me to imagine the work that constructing this marvelous building took. Unfortunately the tour only showed us a variety of rooms and pointed out architectural features. It did not talk about the history or efforts involved in constructing the building. It wasn't until we saw a photo the next day in Quebec at the Cartier National Historic Site that we noticed the tents and small shacks people lived in while this grand architectural building was being constructed.
The view from the bell tower was amazing and we could see all the way around the city in all directions. It was the most amazing view of Ottawa and Hull, Quebec on the other side of the river.
Following the tour we just had to make a stop at the whispering wall which is located behind the parliament buildings. The whispering wall is a 30 to 40 foot curved wall with a bench along it. If you stand at one end and whisper, you can clearly hear another person at the opposite end of the wall. The kids had fun and Kirsten and I had fun telling “secrets” about getting ice cream as the kids would sneek by to listen from behind the wall.

Alyssa Gets Lost?
We took a quick walk down the path to see the Rideau Canal before heading back through the walking street of Ottawa back to our motorhome. On the way, Alyssa thought she knew better how to get to the motorhome and insisted on going in a different direction. Only 4 blocks away from our motorhome she went in completely the wrong direction. There was no convincing her to follow and so we kept going back. It did not take her long to realize that the way she went would not get her back and so 5 minutes after we arrived at the RV she showed up. I think her detour was just a way of being by herself for a little while. It is quite the experience to not have a place you can go to be on your own for 3 weeks (so far).

A Picture with Mosquitoes
It was late in the day but we were determined to continue on to Montreal that night so we could wake up and have a full day in our first Quebec city. We made it to the Quebec border just as the sun was starting to go down. Early enough to get a photograph... and a million mosquito bites. The grassy area in front of the Quebec welcome sign seemed to be a haven for Mosquitoes and as I tried to figure out how to get the camera timer to work, mom and the kids were busy running around and jumping up and down to keep the mosquitoes off!

We arrived very late into Grand Falls and could not find an open campground so we parked our bus on a quiet street that looked to be a farming road. We slept in until eight-thirty and were surprised the kids were all sleeping still. After looking at our watches we realized we had passed into another time zone and lost an hour again. We drove down the Trans Canada until we came to Grand Falls which is along the St. John river. We stopped into find the falls and came across a deserted park . All the kids explored the lovely rapids from above and then upon returning to use the bathrooms we noticed a shower. Everyone took turns and we felt refreshed for the day.

Covered Bridge and 1800's Village
We drove to Hartland and stretched our legs at the worlds longest covered old bridge. At 1,282 feet it made a nice release of energy before heading on to Kings Landing. The kids loved the Upper Canada Village so much that we decided to explore this enchanting recreation of a Loyalist Town from the 1800s. It was fascinating to see that these houses were moved in the 60s from their original sites and rebuilt stone by stone up on higher ground. We loved taking horse drawn wagon rides and buying old fashioned candy sticks from the general store. Alyssa and I were enthralled with the village ladies who were busy making gorgeous crazy quilts. I love to see these old ovens that baked such amazing bread without electricity. I think the boys were most taken with actual water powered saw mill and flour mill. Orin was ready to join a young boy in britches hammering away in the field with his dad. For little Teyauna her favourite part was dancing to the Irish singers as they acted out their ballads at the old Kings Landing Inn. This was a wonderful and relaxing way to spend most of the day and give us yet a deeper look into a part of Canada's past.

Waterslide at the Hampton Inn and Suites, Moncton, NB
We were quite tired and felt like finding a campsite with a pool. We thought a nice warm fire would be the perfect ending to our day and the kids were looking forward to making smores. We tried a couple of places and almost checked into one but upon arrival we learned that the pool was closed and we could not make a fire so we headed back on the road. As we were turning toward the highway we noticed a new looking Hampton Inn and Suites hotel right in front of us. We could see a big twirly water slide and pool at one end and decided to stop in. This more than made up for the lack of smores. The rooms were perfect and very spacious and the kids were thrilled with the pool. After playing on the waterslide and a refreshing dip in the pool we settled in for a peaceful nights rest. Norm stayed up late and worked on his website and got lots done. In the morning of course the kids were up early and we all went down stairs for their complimentary breakfast. It was very filling and everyone found something delicious. Before we checked out we spent another hour or so in the pool and on the waterslide. We probably made too much mess and too much noise but no one seemed to mind. The staff kept smiling at us and offering to get us anything we needed. It was a very family friendly place.

June 23, 2009
We were dismayed on our way up to see the Saguenay Fjords to find plenty of road work under way. After traveling for an hour we hit hot dusty roads. Luckily we got behind a water truck that was spraying the roads down to keep the dust clouds at bay, we definitely wanted to avoid a repeat of our interior being covered in dust as happened in Saskatchewan. The drive to Baie-Sainte-Catherine was very picturesque with quaint little villages, darling cottages and neat houses all along the road side. Although it was windy and hilly it was worth the drive.

We were really wanting to see both the fjords and the whales of the St. Lawerence. With Teyauna being so little we knew we could not take the ever popular Zodiak tours so we went with AML Cruises that also offer a small ferry like ship that takes people into the fjords and also promises an incredible marine life experience. I tried not to get my hopes up and told myself even if we do not see whales up close it will still be fun to see the fjords.
Not long into our cruise I knew this would be a special day. We saw minkes, belugas and even humpbacks whales. These are quite rare to spot and the naturalist on board gave some interesting information about all the mammals we were seeing. I was in heaven and could not believe how close they came to our boat. Norm got some amazing footage and everyone on board except Teyauna seemed awed by the whole experience. Teyauna just ran around the boat making friends with anyone who glance her way. We spent so long with the whales that we did not get to go up the fjords as far as we had hoped. It was gorgeous at the mouth of the Saguenay fjord and again we got some beautiful pictures.

June 24, Wednesday 2009 DAY 33

We all got some warm showers today!:) We found a place with nice warm showers.... It was nice since our hot water tank in the motorhome isn't big enough for the whole family, so some of us get cold showers. We all were thrilled except for Orin (8) and Eli (6) who said that they had, had showers three days ago, and Teyauna who loves baths, but screams the moment the shower goes on, even if she is still dry.

Thursday, June 18, 2009 – Day 21

Before heading off to Ottawa we wanted to bike along the trail that goes from Cornwall for over 30 km to Upper Canada Village. We had heard about this great bike path following an interview by a radio station in Cornwall, Ontario.

We rented bikes at the Marina that is the third site in the immediate area operated by the St. Lawrence Parks Commission. From here we were able to bike along the scenic paths that skirt along the river. Although it had been drizzling all through the night, the weather held up for us and allowed us to enjoy the scenic bike trail along the St. Lawrence River.

My 6 year old, Eli who had just learned how to ride a bike earlier this year also wanted to come along for the ride. As a result we came nowhere near to taking the entire 30 km trail to Cornwall, but we did have an enjoyable time along the path and took our time.

By the late morning we were finally on our way for the 1 hour drive to Ottawa. I was amazed to be only 15 minutes south of Ottawa and still be in the heart of flat farmlands. Ottawa is surrounded by protected farmlands to the south.

Our first plan was to head into the heart of Ottawa to visit the Parliament Buildings which are a definate focus of the city. We drove through the city and caught a glimpse of the old buildings... parking an RV hear was also a challenge. In the end we followed the signs to the Bus parking area on the edge of the city and walked the 1.5 km from there to the centre of town where our Guided tour by “Ottawa Walking Tours” was to start.


“Ottawa Walking Tours” did a great job giving us an in depth look into this beautiful and historic city. It was a drizzly day however and so we searched out trees and covered areas as we walked around the city. Not only did we visit the grounds of the parliament buildings but we also stopped at the National War Memorial, the National Press, Supreme Court and shopping district. By the end of the tour our one year old was a bit frustrated at having to sit in her stroller and running around in the puddles was getting a bit much. Unfortunately we had to cut the last part of the tour short due to the weather and our younger ones but as far as the adults and older kids were concerned, we still had a great educational experience on our Nation's capital city from our guide who is a High School History teacher by profession.

We had a bit of a walk in the rain to get back to our parking area and by the time we got there we were desperate for a nice warm and dry hotel room. We made a few phone-calls and within an hour we were in a nice quiet two bedroom suite only 2 blocks away from our parked motorhome. Kirsten was especially happy as she was feeling a bit under the weather... In three weeks of travel this was our second stay in a hotel... and a much needed family break from our RV.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009 – Day 20

We had only heard about Upper Canada Village three days earlier as we were reading a National Geographic Guidebook on Canada.

Not only did this old 1800's style town deliver on its reputation, it exceeded all of our expectations and definitely had become one of our favorite stops on our Cross Canada Trip.

Upper Canada Village is made up of many homes and buildings that were recovered and moved to this location in the 1950's as the St. Lawrence river was flooded using dams to create a seaway that was navigable by ocean going vessels. Due to many communities being completely submerged, the historical buildings of the time were moved to create this Historic Village that takes visitors back in time.

Our first stop at Upper Canada Village was at the photography studio to get some family photos in period costume. Although my boys were a bit hesitant at first do to the ruffles on their white shirts, they didn't seem to mind as much when their smart looking vests were put over their shirts and they found some cool looking flat caps. For a family of 8 however to get dressed up it did take us way too long and in the end we ended up spending close to an hour for our photo shoot. Good thing we were there before the busy summer season.


Throughout this hot day we saw most of the buildings in this village. The weather was perfect for exploring this village that produces every item that a community would need to subsist on its own. It has its own water powered saw mill, flour mill, cows, farms, vegetable gardens, flour gardens, shoemaker, cheesemaker, schoolhouse, blacksmith, restaurant and more. The kids enjoyed rides on the horse drawn wagon and the boat that is towed along the canal by horses.

Some of the highlights of the day was our stop to milk the cows, watching how the wheat was milled and having a bite to eat at the restaurant that only prepared food based on the time period. As we left the park just before closing we got some bread and cheese that was made in the village... was it ever delicious.

Just before going however our kids wanted a ride on the miniature train. It was a beautiful 3 km ride along the shores of the St. Lawrence River... my only suggestion would be to sit well back from the front three cars where the fumes from the diesel engine are a bit strong unless there is a good cross breeze.

Only a few kilometers away from the Village is the Riverside Cedar Park Campground also operated by the St. Lawrence Parks Commission. It is a great spacious camping area where the kids could play around on the playground and splash in the water of the river. It was hard to get the kids to come out of the water they were having so much fun... that was until after the sun went down and the mosquitoes came out... then they were all too happy to hide inside the RV to stay away from the bugs along the shore.

It was at that time the kids remembered how hungry they really were and warmed up in the hot showers provided. We slept great that night in the peaceful campground overlooking the river.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009 – Day 19

Citypass is a great value for anyone visiting the city of Toronto. With these passes you can visit up to 5 attractions for one low price and they are among the city's best attractions too. Although we did have a limited amount of time we were able to visit 3 of the 5 popular attractions for families.

Parking a 31 Foot RV in Toronto
The Royal Ontario Museum (or as Torontonians call it the ROM) was our first stop. After looking for parking I decided I had better drop off my family otherwise it may be too late for us to see anything. I was driving our motorhome in downtown Toronto and as you can possibly imagine, it is not easy parking a 31 foot long RV in North America's 4^th largest city which has a population of over 2 million people. I circled around a number of times up and down the streets around the museum. Tiny alleys and regular streets were all packed full of cars. Although I did spot a few parking spaces occasionally, I was going to need something specific. I needed to find two parking spaces next to each other that were both empty so I could take up both parking spots. After almost 45 minutes I finally found my place right across the street from the front entrance, what luck (although the many prayers of desperation were more likely what helped). I parked as close as I could to the curb and the best thing about Toronto is that I only had to pay for one parking spot since there are only designated parking areas and not actual parking meters with lines marking the spots. Within a few minutes I ran into the museum to find the rest of my family.


The kids enjoyed the ROM's dinosaur collection and our oldest daughter wanted to spend more time looking at the period costumes on display. There was so much to see and only a limited amount of time to see it all but we did our best and enjoyed it all.

Our next stop was the Ontario Science Centre in the outskirts of the city. Fortunately parking was easy here as it was an open parking lot! Much to my relief as the official driver. Once again our kids could have spent a full day in this interactive centre filled will hundreds of interactive displays. I had a hard time moving them from one place to the next as they wanted to test our every single display. They especially liked using the electron ball to charge themselves up and get their hair to stand up on end. A truly hair raising experience.

CN Tower
It was with a bit of trepidation that I drove into downtown Toronto a second time. This time however, it was during rush hour traffic to search for parking. Rush hour traffic however in the evening is easy when driving into Toronto... until you get into the city centre. Fortunately we didn't have too far to go within the city. We went straight to the CN tower and I looked for the first open parking lot I could find. Fortunately there was a place across the street from the front entrance... although rather than the usual $10, the attendant told me I would have to pay for two vehicles. I didn't have any luck or leverage in negotiating a single vehicle price as I sat in my massive RV. The attendant simply suggested a few other places to check as I looked at the traffic that was at a turtle's on the street in front of us. I simply shook my head and took out my credit card to pay what he wanted for the space (although I did have the rest of the evening as the spot was reserved for me until midnight).
My kids had been looking at the CN Tower for days, since we drove by Toronto to get to Niagara Falls 4 days earlier. They were excited to finally get a view from the second tallest man made structure in the world (surpassed by the Burj Dubai tower scheduled to be completed in September 2009). I had the kids look at the glass plate in the floor as we rose up the first of two elevators in the CN Tower.

They squealed with excitement as they saw the floor move away from them and almost disappear off in the distance below them. They loved standing and jumping on the glass floor that let them hover over the city below them. They were amazed to be so high up looking over the city of Toronto and were even more amazed when they had the opportunity to go up another 45 second elevator ride to the Skypod platform. Teyauna our 1 year old had a hard time with the heights and preferred to stay near the elevator.
After the visit was over we capped off our experience with the Himalamazon simulator ride (an old simulator ride that entertained my 6 year old but was otherwise worth missing).

Falling Apart
I decided to get a bit of a head start on the drive to our next destination of Upper Canada Village and so I decided to drive into the night towards our next destination. As we drove I noticed a piece of plastic weather stripping flapping on the outside passenger side of our RV. I looked in dismay as I saw the 10 foot piece that looked like it was not in great shape. After pulling over in a rural neighborhood I realized that it was not as bad as I had thought. I was able to put the weather stripping back into place and continue on our drive into the evening.

Monday, June 15, 2009 – Day 18

As part of our cross Canada adventure we let our kids pick out one amusement park to visit. They selected Canada's Wonderland in Toronto. We did enjoy ourselves but found that the old rides were very jerky and bumpy and left most of us with a headache. Of the many roller coasters, the Beamouth was the smoothest and tallest drop roller coaster in the park and we saved that ride for the last.

Septic Mishap – Phew!
After an exhausting amusement park day I was ready for an early night's sleep.

We found a campground in a suburb of Toronto and quickly got to work in setting up our motorhome. As usual we plugged in our electrical, hooked up our water and removed the septic cap to dump our septic hose into the designated spot in the ground. To our horror we discovered a problem with the valve that is supposed to close off our septic system. It would not close and no matter what we tried, removing the cap brought down some rather smelly stuff. With a quick swipe we did manage to attach the septic drain to the motorhome but not before a pool of rather foul smelling stuff lay under our motorhome.

Kirsten was not impressed with the smell as she attempted to get to sleep. In the end we turned our venting fan off that normally would blow the air out of the motorhome (because when air leave up top, it comes in from down below somewhere, phew!) This is definitely a problem we are going to have to have a look at... it is not a problem we want to repeat!