Maritimes - Wrap-up
New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia,
Newfoundland and Labrador
(July 10 - September 7, 2003)
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| In 1997 we started planning a trip to the eastern provinces of Canada
known as the Maritimes. After collecting tourist information from each
province and studying campgrounds and bed and breakfasts we decided our
normal two week vacation would not be long enough, but it was doable in
three weeks. That was three weeks including traveling from and back to
Louisville, Kentucky. We could not get three consecutive weeks of vacation
together so we scrapped our plans. Last year we planned to take the trip
by motorhome but Norm's cancer took us off the road for over six months.
Finally, this year we got to make one of the trips of a lifetime and we
were not limited to a few days - we were in the Maritimes 60 days and that
was still not enough time so we will return.
We traveled with fulltiming good friends Rich and Diane Emond and for a different perspective and pictures visit their website Roaming America. We suggest if you visit the Maritimes you travel with friends that have the same interests as you and do not take a caravan. We met several people on caravans and everyone was worn out and looking forward to the caravan's end. Traveling with the Emonds we could stay an extra day in a campground to let bad weather pass and our normal time to hit the road was 10:00 a.m. while caravans left after sunrise. Most days we had very loose travel plans and when we saw a nice boondocking spot we stopped for a night or two. The weather co-operated most of the trip and was usually warm and sunny during the days and cool at nights. We never needed air conditioning and only a small amount of heat a few nights. The cool, rainy and windy days we stayed home, rested and did laundry. But there were many tough decisions to make and we made the decisions as a group. Such decisions included do we eat mussels or lobster, should we drink white or red wine with seafood, should we eat Jigg's Dinners or Poutine and deciding if we should leave a campground at 10:00 or 11:00 a.m.? Of course there are always problems and we had three - troubles always come in threes. In Prince Edward Island our large awning unfurled and flopped over the motorhome while driving. We stopped beside the road and tied it up and left it that way the rest of the trip. After bouncing on a bad road in Newfoundland our refrigerator sprang a leak and we could not get it repaired until we reached Elkhart, Indiana - a total of 33 days without a refrigerator. Every day we bought a bag of ice to keep a few items cool and that was not a problem because we ate out most days. There third problem was a nasty chip in the drivers windshield in New Brunswick and we had it patched in Saint John. Our travels are detailed in our articles Maritimes Part 1 through Part 6 so this wrap-up will be short and our travels and expenses are listed at the bottom of this page for others interested in a similar trip. We spent 16 days in New Brunswick, 10 days on Prince Edward Island, 11 days in Nova Scotia and 22 days in Newfoundland including an overnight side trip to Labrador. We put the motorhomes on three ferries and the Honda CR-V on two additional ferries. We had campsites with hookups 36 nights and boondocked 23 nights (14 free nights and 9 paid nights). Traveling from Louisville back to Louisville we drove the motorhome 5,992 miles including 2,966 miles in the borders of Canada. We found grocery prices slightly higher in Canada and restaurants considerable higher. Diesel fuel cost as much as $2.15 a gallon and unleaded gas about $2.50 a gallon. (Prince Edward Island regulates fuel prices and they were much cheaper.) No matter where we traveled we found the Canadian people to be most friendly and helpful. Each community had its own identity - British, Irish, Acadian, French, even Viking and mostly laid back country people. Often a distance of twenty miles took us from an English speaking village to a French speaking village. Sometimes signs were in English, sometimes in French and sometimes in both. By visiting the Maritimes we were subjected to many interesting cultures. Two months was not enough time to see and do everything so we plan to return two more times. On one trip we want to spend three months in Newfoundland alone, enjoying the beauty of the country and soaking in the culture and friendship of its people. With the other trip we plan to spend one month on Prince Edward Island, one month in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia and one month on the southern shore of New Brunswick. We supported the Canadian economy by leaving $7,251.11 ($5,264.63 U.S.)
in Canada during our travels. The chart below lists our major expenses.
This next chart gives a brief description of our itinerary.
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