Friday, July 11, 2025

July 10 and 11, 2025

   July 10, 2025 

Back on the Acadian trail which we've been following since we entered New Brunswick.  

Here is an example of the signs for the trail.

 We camped at Sugarloaf Ski Resort for the night.  In summer, the slopes are turned into bicycle lifts and trails.  There were lots of healthy looking families with some high-end bikes.  And of course they rented bikes, too.




July 11, 2025

Some pics along the way as we headed for Quebec Gaspésie National (Provincial) Park.

path to the waterfall

water rushing toward the St. Lawrence


Pics below were taken in St. Anne Des Monts

Marina

boulders surrounding the marina

 
St. Anne church

 We found a restaurant, Le Pecheur,  in Grosses-Roches that allows overnight parking if you eat in their restaurant.  It was quite an experience, because the waitress spoke no English, nor did most of the patrons.  One nice lady came over and offered to help with the menu.  She spoke perfect English.  We also used Google translator!  Two more days in Quebec and then we head back to Maine. 

July 9, 2025

 July 9, 2025  Second day at Escuminac Beach

Late afternoon we took our lawn chairs and headed for the beach where we watched families enjoying the water and the sandy beach.  This grandma (Mimi) had the patience of a Saint with her two grandchildren and others who stopped by to play.  


This statue in the nearby town commemorates the 1959 hurricane that started in Tampa Bay and got worse as it headed north.  Thirty-five fishermen on multiple boats were caught off-guard in the 50 foot waves and drowned.  



  




   

Tuesday, July 8, 2025

July 8, 2025

 July 8, 2025

 Kouchibouguac Campground to Escuminac Beach Campground (New Brunswick)

Ron researched and found this private campground on the beach.  It is a small privately owned campground with several access points to the beach, an office and a laundry facility.  They have 2 washers and 2 dryers in a small attached building and were perfect for our needs.  The office even had ice cream!  We will be here 2 nights.  The weather is perfect!!

   








July 4, 5, 6, and 7, 2025

  July 4th

Lake Ainslie to Chiticamp.

We planned to attend Kitchen Fest at the Doryman, so we arrived in town early.  The Doryman appeared to be very busy, so we arrived for dinner at 6pm even though Kitchen Fest was 8-11.  After getting a table, a group of old and middle-aged drunken golfers arrived.  They were so loud, we had to find a different place to sit.  The stayed until about 8:30 and continued to be loud and obnoxious.  We stayed until 10pm and then headed out to the parking lot where we were given permission for an overnight stay.

Tonight's performers



July 5th

After a stormy night and morning, we headed back to St. Peters, where we planned to attend the last night of Kitchen Fest at McBouch's.  We stopped by early afternoon to get a reservation for the evening, and they were completely booked, so we headed back to the campground and then attended church at 5:30 at St. Peter's.  Nancy and Pierre were there so we decided to head to Lonnie's for dinner.  It was great to have a relaxing evening catching up with them.  (photos:  St. Peter Church and deer in the campground)







July 6th

We drove from St. Peter's to Amhearst Shores Camp Ground.  We had rain all night, so no pics. 


July 7th

Amhearst Shores CG to Kouchibouguac National Park Campground.  Because the new Prime Minister has altered the national park requirements this summer, there was no entry fee and we received 25% off of our campsite, so we paid $16.86 US.  Pics show our lunch stop along the way on the Straights of Northumberland. (photos are not clear due to rain) We had heavy rain all night.





Friday, July 4, 2025

July 3, 2025 Lake Ainslie Fire Hall


  July 3rd, 2025  Lake Ainslie Fire Hall

 We spent the afternoon in a Provincial Park parking lot waiting for the evening event.  It was about 11 km to the venue in Scottsville.  We arrived early because the parking lot was extremely small and we don't fit easily.  This venue  was completely different from the others we've attended.  The time was later 8-11pm and it was very casual.  Other Kitchen Fest events have been full, but the Fire Hall was only half full of mostly locals.  Most of the events require a minimal cost of $15.  Some charge only $10.  Tonight's musicians were among the best we've seen: Shelly Campbell, Allan Dewar, Kenny Stewart and Heather Cameron.  Each venue has a host who starts the evening by introductions in Gaelic and English and then sings a Gaelic song acapella.  This young woman was exceptional.  She performed several songs throughout the evening and then step danced at the end.  One of the differences with tonight's event was the square dancing.  Wow! Hope the video works!






Hoping the video below works.



July 2, 2025

 July 2, 2025

 Pictured:  Step dancer, Trina, from the story yesterday



 We had lots of time today, so we drove out to an Isle Madame south of St. Peters and pulled over for lunch on a small beach. There were lobster shells all over the beach where someone had cracked the shells and apparently had a great meal.



View from our lunch stop

Church atop a hill 

         Another church view


Entertainment at St. Peters included 3 sisters (keyboard, fiddle, guitar/ singer) who couldn't stop laughing.  They apparently had a great relationship with each other.


Myles Davidson also performed.  He was very good.


Wednesday, July 2, 2025

July 1st, 2025 Canada Day

 July 1st, 2025

There were a number of celebrations going on in St. Peters.  We attended the Lion's Club picnic where there was free entertainment and free food!  Events for the kids were available, too.  We joined Nancy, Pierre and their good friends for part of the afternoon.  Pierre was also working the food stand, so he was busy.  





Nancy on the left and their good friends

Pierre

  The Kitchen Fest entertainers:  guitarists, accordion, percussion and vocals.  Our waitress came out and did a wonderful step dance.  After the evening was over, she shared her story with Ron and me.  Her daughter in her 20s is in the military and began having some brain issues.  She was tested and they found 2 aneurysms. Since she was so young, the doctors suggested that it was most likely hereditary and that all of her family should be tested.  Her mom saw a doctor who immediately ordered an MRI.  The Canadian medical system, unlike ours, made her wait 1 year before the MRI could be done.  She was found to have 4 aneurysms in her brain. Both the mom and daughter have had some surgeries, but the mom, our waitress, continues too have issues.  She told us she'd been step dancing her entire life and was so afraid she could never dance again.  But she's grateful she can still dance and teach others. Tried to upload a photo of the  step dancer, but the file was too large.

beautiful accordion

unique percussion

This performer recently won a big award

Aaron McDonald


Tuesday, July 1, 2025

June 30th, 2025 Broad Creek Campground to St. Peter

 

June 30, 2025

We got a late start, so we didn't arrive in St. Peter until 3:30pm.  We signed in at the campground, purchased groceries and headed for Bras d Or Lake Inn for Kitchen Fest.  We were joined by another couple who also had agreed to share their table.  Little did we know we had so much in common. By the end of the evening, we were good friends.  

Emil and Elaine Roach live in Sydney and have a 140 year old cabin near St. Peter. Emil was a high school science teacher and later worked at a college (similar to my story). We mentioned that we had friends who live here but spend winter months in Dunedin.  When I said their names (Pierre and Nancy Lacroix), Emil said, I was their children's teacher.  He mentioned that Pierre was in a men's choir, and I told him it was through choir in Dunedin that we met Pierre.  One more similarity:  Emil was a cyclist who did long rides in the Maritimes for many years. We told them that Ron and I met through cycling.  What a small world to find so many similarities.

Typical scenery

Ferry Ride

All signs are English and Gaelic



Great entertainment

Emil and Elaine

Sunday, June 29, 2025

June 29th, 2025

   June 29th, 2025

Rain is expected today, so we decided to take a day off and catch up on some work.  We are in the same campground as last night, Broad Cove, here on the East side of the Cabot Trail.  We are in the tent area because we did not need power and there were no power sites available anyway.  We had called yesterday for a reservation and they said they were full.  It always pays to drive to the campground and ask in person.  They assumed since we were an RV that we needed power.  Cost of this National Park campground, Canadian $20 per night/ US $15.  Thanks to the new Prime Minister of Canada, all of the National Parks are free until September this year so we did not have to pay to drive the Cabot Trail.  The National Park Campgrounds get a 25% discount!  


Tomorrow we head for St Peters where we have reservations for three nights at the provincial park.  We also have reservations for several of the Kitchen Fest events in town.

Saturday, June 28, 2025

June 28th, 2025

 

  June 28th, 2025  Mabou to  Broad Cove Campground on the Cabot Trail 

  We went to the Red Shoe last night for great fiddle/piano/guitar music.  Knowing that the music started at 7:30 and tables filled quickly, we decided on an early dinner and had great seats.  People were lined up outside the door for the music venue, and we told that staff that we would be happy to share our table of four.  The first two ladies who joined us were retirees from Vancouver, Iris and Margaret.  They stayed for dinner and then left for another music venue in town. The staff came and asked us if we were willing to share our table again.  This time we were joined by Bonnie and Carl, a couple in their late 40s from Toronto. They were fun!  Several locals entertained us with step dancing.  By 9:30 we decided to head back to the RV as fireworks were going off at a nearby beach.   I will try to upload some videos of dancing later.  



The Red Shoe



Our original plan  was to go to the Doryman in Chiticamp for music, but we arrived in town so early, we continued on to the Cabot Trail. The trail is a scenic 298 km highway loop on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia.  It's named after the explorer John Cabot who led the first European expedition to North America in 1497.  While he didn't explore this specific area, his voyages paved the way for European settlement and the naming of the trail in his honor.  

The Gaelic people in Nova Scotia are primarily descendants of Scottish Highlanders and islanders who immigrated to the province between 1773 and 1855.  They brought with them their language, and a rich culture that continues to influence Nova Scotia today.  While Gaelic is no longer widely spoken, there are still an estimated 2,000 speakers in the province  Kitchen parties (Ceilidhs) pronounced kay-lees, are a popular way to experience Gaelic culture, with music dancing and story-telling.










Friday, June 27, 2025

June 27, 2025

  

June 27, 2025  Onward to Mabou

We had a beautiful day's ride from the Provincial Park to Mabou and The Red Shoe where tonight begins Kitchen Fest music.  We drove through Pugwash and saw these cute boats at an intersection in town. 


 Lunch was in a roadside park.  We arrived in Mabou and pulled into a parking lot where we have overnighted before.  And then the trouble began.  Ron felt and heard something tug at our roof and he got out and looked.  A wire was attached to our air conditioner and was stuck.  A knight in ?shining? armor was sitting in his nearby yard and came over to help.  He said that a few days ago, a larger RV pulled in and knocked this wire part way down.  The guy quickly got a stepladder and offered to help.  Well that ladder wasn't tall enough so he went back and found his extension ladder.  Both he and Ron tried to figure out what to do.  They determined that is was a coaxial cable and not live and dangerous.  Ron finally decided the only way to deal with it was to cut it.  That worked, but part of the wire was stripped and is still wedged under our AC.  The AC works, but hopefully there will be no leaks if it rains.  We offered this generous man some money, but he refused.  What a good Samaritan. After this episode, he went to a nearby building and found some cones to mark future problems for those coming to park this evening. 



 
 




On to listen to music!!