Standing tall

EDENTON, NC - - One of the town square Civil War statues...and Confederate States of America flags...discovered on our part of the trip through the deep south.

Under the water

FLORENCE, SC - - Friday we crossed one of the most unique bridges in the world, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. This engineering marvel, built to allow use of two widely separate shipping channels comprises three long bridges, two mile long tunnels and four man-made islands in the Bay as portals for a 17+ mile long drive over/under water. The bridge-tunnel connects the DelMarVa Penninsula - - which we wandered down from Annapolis - - to Hampton Roads/Norfolk/Virginia Beach, Va.

Coming off a bridge out in the bay to enter a tunnel going under the bay might cause a temporary shortness of breath...of course I'm only speculating that something like that might happen.

Life from a mallard's point of view

EDENTON, NC - - "If I had a boat like that," said the mallard, "I wouldn't have to spend all my time paddling my tail off to make an impression on the the females."

Famous

LUBEC, ME - - The West Quoddy Head Light is quite recognizable and famous. Its depiction graces travel stories and calenders and, probably, tens of thousands of photo albums (prints and digital). The light station is located in Lubec, Maine, at what the brochure calls the easternmost point of land in the U.S. This point of fact is hotly debated by the folks in Eastport just across the bay...but that's another story.

THIS photo was shot in quickly grey-ing weather and at lowering tide. The rock outcrop seen to the right is underwater at high tide. Here, where the Bay of Fundy creates very high (and low) tides, strong tidal currents and unpredictable weather and heavy fog the light and foghorn stand a 24 hour vigil. The light station's signature is: two seconds on; two seconds off; two seconds on; nine seconds off.

The real fuel for travel in Canada

SOMEWHERE IN NEW BRUNSWICK ON HWY. #1 - - Of all the hockey players Canada has produced none has succeeded like Tim Horton. He may not have been a well known star, but his fame lives on years after he left the ice as every day people across Canada hoist one for Tim. Note that the cups are politically correct (by government regulation) with both English and French imprinting.

Whale watching

EASTPORT, ME - - We wanted to take a whale watching cruise...like we did in Seward, AK two years ago...but bad weather and rough water kept us on shore. Consequently, our watching was mostly like this colorfully fanciful dream scene wood carving on the wall of a shop in Eastport.

Catch this

CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK - - One of the great things about traveling along the Cabot Trail is that you keep seeing the lobstermen and women working their catch. Luckily, we came upon these boats pulling their 'pots' near shore. The top two boats are unloading bounty and will then bait the trap and drop it back into the deep.
Double click on the above photo and you can see both Jack and Florrie working. I'm not sure if they saw Lydia and I taking pictures but they made one sweep (below) which looked like they were going to drive the boat right up the rocks at us.

Moose on the run

CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK - - Visitor information proudly states that there are more than 160,000 moose in Nova Scotia. We've seen two. This female? was just off the Cabot Trail roadside in - - where else - - the middle of nowhere.

Catch me if you can

This is either an 'art' shot or a mangled lobster trap which has washed up on the rocks. Your pic.

A picture of the pitcher plant

CAPE BRETON HIGHLANDS NATIONAL PARK OF CANADA - - Guess what we spied on our hike along the skyline trail in the park ... a pitcher plant. I got close enough to give it a whiff of human scent, took my photo and moved on.

Purple and yellow power

KEJIMKUJIK NATIONAL PARK SEASIDE ADJUNCT - - Would you believe orchids growing in the wild in Nova Scotia. Here's proof. This is a marsh orchid. It looks pretty good considering the 50's temperature, the wind and overcast sky. We saw quite a few of them on a hike we took. We also saw, but didn't think to photograph some 'picture plants' which are similar to the venus flytrap in that they are carnivorous. Lydia would have really liked to get a pic of me with my fingers being munched by a plant.

SwissAir 111

HARABOUCHER, NS - - The memorial to the 229 who died in the crash of Swiss Air Flt. 111 on Sept. 2, 1998 are two carved messages on polished granite stones. The flight crashed after catching fire and plunged into the ocean 5 miles (equidistant) off the coasts of Peggy's Cove and Bayswater.
Nearly 11 years on there are still stuffed toys and artificial flower arrangements left to adorn the memorial. Peggy's Cove is on the horizon a short distance away.

THE unwritten code of the sea for fishermen in this harsh Nova Scotia environment is to help any and all in distress. The crews from The Cove and Bayswater played a large part in recovery operations.

Sea Side Campground sunset

GLEN MARGARET, NS - - Not too bad a view from the side window of our camper VW in Sea Side Campground. The name should be 'cove side' but that won't attract guests like 'sea side' does.

Found it

PEGGY'S COVE, NS - - We finally found it...the sun, the scenery and lots of solitude. Of course since the last blog we've also migrated north into Nova Scotia via a three hour ferry ride from Bar Harbor. Photos of Peggy's Cove are used in publications to show everyone what they may be missing if they don't travel to NS. Trust us, there are a lot more desolate/bleak roadways than the scenic beauty you see here. But, when you get to an area like this all the long miles are forgotten.
THIS is being posted from The Bike and Bean coffee shop/bike shop in a nearby town. Normally we try to avoid the tourist-y areas at all costs. In NS, you end up looking for them because those area are the only ones which have stores, places to eat and campgrounds.

Scene on a foggy day

Boothbay Harbor on a foggy afternoon. Very quiet.

Lunchtime

BAR HARBOR, ME - - Lobster, it's what's for lunch. Along with steamer clams and an ear of corn. This was what we had in Haraseeket, ME. We've since ended the longevity of another two lobsters. Weather still iffy; but it was sunny on Saturday.

On the road

FREEPORT, ME - - Here we are, sitting in a bagel shop in Freeport, Maine, and watching it rain. So how did we get here? Two hard days of driving (600 miles per) to get to Poughkeepsie, NY, for a family visit. Then, after two days, we headed toward Maine. The areas are scenic in different ways from Canada and Alaska and the Southwest, but that doesn't matter if you don't get to see the sun. This is a good try-out for our recently purchased 2003 Volkswagen Eurovan with a pop-top for camping. It's dry inside, lacks some of the space we have in the Honda Element but then we can't sleep in the element. The lobster and steamer clams are great, if a bit expensive. Now we head toward Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park.