Roses 1.0 Van Life

*South Padre Island

We checked the weather in the AM, thunderstorms and even possible tornados on our route so we chose to drive north, through St Louis then south to avoid them. Added 1.5 hrs. Roadfood.com is our go to site for out of the way local places, this was our first roadfood meal of this trip:

The owner and his wife were the only people working there. Three kids doing homework in a back room were theirs, I assume. I never cease to be amazed at how hard people work. He was very friendly, talkative. Said they make over a 100 pies by hand each day, 6 days a week. No store bought crusts here. There were over a dozen sweet pies on display in the case, several more savory pies were ready in the back. We each had a pot pie for supper and took a slice of pie with us for dessert. Actually I took two, blackberry and cherry/raspberry. Then back on the road to a cracker Barrel in Springfield, Mo. Slept in the parking lot, ate breakfast there then headed south. Ate lunch in Conway, Ar. again at a roadfood “meat and three” place, seen here:

Known for their chocolate gravy, we passed on that and had a traditional southern lunch, with pie of course. Arkansas is the pie state. We drove well passed dark, Houston traffic at 9:30 PM was bumper to bumper but moving at 70 mph. I’m not used to that. Slept at a Cracker Barrel again just south of Houston in Sugarland, Tx. Made it to SPI around 3 PM Friday.

SPI vs. Florida

So far no contest, this is nice but I’d pick Fl. hands down. It was cold here Friday when we arrived, very cold, mid 40’s but felt colder. There is much less to do here. No plays, no concerts, no shows, no farmers markets, that we are aware of. The beach is ok, but not up to Florida standards. The entire strip is about 4 miles long and not as built up as Ft. Myers/Naples where we usually go. Fewer people means fewer things going on. The birding is better though, vide infra, next post.

They allow cars on long stretches of beach:

As usual Sammy was a star attraction. He loves the sandy beach, loves the ocean more. Beach goers enjoyed watching him jump the waves and body surf back. At first he jumped too early causing him to crash into the wave, later he got the timing down. The beach road isn’t easy to maintain:

The beach walk, basic island exploration and shopping, unpacking and lastly supper at Señor Donkeys was all we managed on this day.

Sunday and Monday, July 24 and 25. Ate lunch with Will and Colleen at the Buttery, in south Boston, loaded up Will’s bike and hit the road, with no idea where we would sleep. Got as far as Middletown, NY. Boondocked in a Sam’s/Loews parking lot. The only noteworthy encounter was a stop for food in Newburgh, NY. What a sad place: litter, deteriorating homes and buildings, garbage, and of course poverty. Monday we drove to a Harvest Host farm in Perrysville, Ohio – Forbes Farm Market (stopped at Kravitz Deli in Youngstown for lunch, worth remembering, reasonably close to I 84). Larry and Wendy Forbes own a large farm and have a well tended store by the road with lots of food and other merchandise to chose from. Wendy is an award winning master gardener and it shows. The spot for us to park was level, reasonably private and very quiet. It’s a place worth remembering for future trips. We drove home today, Tuesday July 26 to find the sweet potatoes devastated, I assume by rabbits since I see no deer tracks. All the apples are gone, not a single one visible where 3 weeks ago there had been perhaps over 100. Blackberries are nearly gone although at least friends were able to pick and use most of them. On the bright side there are lots of tomatoes and peppers and the watermelons look good.

No more blogging until the next trip, ? Florida in January ?

July 23, 2022 Woke up in the Walmart parking lot, started the day with a visit to a Tim Horton’s then to the dog park, and still got to The Cat by 8:00 AM. Although we arrived fairly early we were the very last vehicle allowed to drive on. But they had us back off of the ferry at departure so we were the first off. Here’s The Cat…

Loads of comfortable seats inside and a movie but we chose to sit out back where you could get a 180 view of the ocean, all the better to see whales. We saw exactly one…

The Canadians made a big deal about our dog needing proof of rabies vaccine, said the US customs would “impound” him until we had it. We do keep vaccine records with us but they were not up to date so I called the vet, open on Saturday mornings, and had the most recent vaccine records emailed. And of course all the customs official did was pet Sammy, and tell us what a beautiful sweet dog he is. Then we drove on, first to a lunch place then to Acadia National Park. Taking The Cat saved us two days driving and roughly $200 in gas. Of course it cost more than that. Acadia NP was kind of a disappointment. Nova Scotia is like Maine only slightly better on everything, likewise when comparing Acadia NP and Cape Breton NP: more picturesque, better food, fewer people, nicer people, cheaper, more birds but farther away. After Acadia we went to Young’s Lobster Pound again then to Stone Tree Farm Cidery to spend the night. Hope we can meet Will and Colleen in Boston tomorrow, get Will’s bike and hit the road for home.

One new life bird this morning in a wetland next to the Walmart parking lot, Alder Flycatcher. I’ve never been completely sure on the ID so never recorded it on a list. This time the wetland was full of Alder trees, the bird was sitting in top of one of them, in plain sight and was singing it’s two note song over and over, three beers…three beers…three beers… etc. No doubt.

July 22, 2022 From the small park where we stayed in Antigonish we drove to Lunenburg, on the Atlantic side of NS. As soon as we drove in Peggy said “Now this is what Cape Cod should look like”. Narrow streets on a hill descending to the harbor, lined by brightly painted houses and shops create the image we had of Cape Cod before we went there and actually saw it. Lunenburg is the home of the Bluenose, the wooden clipper ship featured on the Canadian dime. Built in 1921 it was used mostly for racing other such ships. It was built and harbored in Lunenburg. Now it goes out two times a day giving harbor tours to tourists. It’s the reason Nova Scotians are sometimes called Bluenosers. Here are some pics of the harbor and the Bluenose…

See the grass covered hill on the other side of the harbor, that’s where we were when we took the first picture above. We talked with the elderly gentleman in the photo below for quite a while. He fixes the sails when they develop tears. He told us he’s 83, and born in 1937 (?). No matter. The Bluenose is in the background.

We had planned to go to Digby next, famous for seafood but the urge to go home overtook us so I booked a ride on the ferry from Yarmouth to Bar Harbor, Me. So we headed for Yarmouth instead. We ate at the Rudder, on the harbor. A festival was going on outside the deck where we ate. The band was heavy on fiddle in cajun and ceidlidh style. The latter is pronounced Kay Lee. It’s a scottish gaelic word for dance party. We’ll get to Bar Harbor around 1:00 pm tomorrow, stay at the Stone Tree Farm and Cidery tomorrow night, visit Acadia NP if time allows and get Will’s bike in Boston Sunday, then head home.

Tuesday July 19,

Driving day, but since it was overcast and raining that made it a good day to drive since we couldn’t do much else. Started from outskirts of Halifax and drove to the Cabot trail, a road that circles Cape Breton. We didn’t make it to the Cabot trail until around noon. The most interesting stop was Baddeck. A beautiful small town on Lake Bras d’Or. Baddeck is where Alexander Graham Bell choose to retire. We could see the grounds of his home from our picnic lunch site. The large lake has a small connection to the ocean and lots of coves so it’s protected from ocean swells making it a good harbor. There was a movement in the 18th and early 19th centuries to make this a new Scotland. That and the rugged beauty of the land attracted Bell to live here in retirement. Here’s a picture of the Baddeck harbor…

A hedge fund billionaire’s 226 ft yacht was docked just to the left of this picture. It was all the talk of the people at the dockside restaurant. I didn’t think to take a picture of it and the couple I spoke to didn’t know his name. We drove on to Cape Breton NP. Ate seafood dinner at the Crofton. Campsite is ok, nothing special. It’s a short walk to this view from our campsite…

People swim off this beach, in the cold, cold north Atlantic water.

Wednesday July 20. Staying put in Cape Breton NP. We chose two hikes, Coastal Trail/Jack Pine and Lake Trail. The former about 3 miles, the latter less. The views are stunning.

I eat seafood at every meal. Peggy thinks she’s allergic to shellfist so sticks to fish, which here in NS means haddock. We had lunch between the two hikes…..

Seafood chowder circled by lobster and mussels with crab meat on top.

Thursday July 21 Started driving south along the west coast of Cape Breton. This side was more heavily settled by the scottish. Crofters, the scottish term for sharecropper, were kicked off the land especially in the highlands when the laird realized he could have more sheep if there were fewer people on his land and therefore make more money. This was known as the highland clearance, occurred in the mid to late 1700’s. Lots of those very poor highlanders came here where they could own land and continue their lifestyle. As we drove south at first the land we saw was too rugged for farming and shepherding but it began to level out as we proceeded south. Again the scenery here is stunningly beautiful.

Both of the above pictures are of the gulf of St Lawrence. Didn’t see any whales from these or other over looks.

We ate lunch at The Seafood House just south of Inverness after doing two hikes.

This side of Cape Breton is known as Canada’s musical coast. The scottish immigrants kept their music alive and there is still a thriving music scene. We stopped for a drink in the afternoon at this place owned by the Rankin Family, well known throughout Canada for their scots/irish themed music .

Staying tonight in Antigonish. Going to see some of south island Nova Scotia before heading back. Finally learned that Will is flying back from his Indianapolis to Boston bike trip so we are not on any time constraints other than our own.

Got 4 new life birds while in Cape Breton; Northern Gannet, Guillemot, Great Black Backed Gull and Common Eider (have seen the latter but never recorded into eBird).

Sunday July 17. We picked two places, hike to Matthews point and the Sea Caves in St Martin. Matthews point was a fairly easy 3 mile round trip to get views of the bay. Then we went south to St. Martin to see the sea caves, short caves created by the tides. We almost got caught by the rising tide, ankle deep when we waded across, knee deep and rising when we waded back 15 minutes later.

Had lunch at The Sea Cave, aptly named restaurant with a deck overlooking the caves. Everyone there was from Canada, and most from New Brunswick. I’m sure they were tourists, this is a tiny town, but its interesting that no US tourists were there other than us (based on the license plates in the parking lot). From there we went back to near the park and walked around Alma, NB. High tide that started when we left St. Martin was now gone, and it was approaching low tide again. The lobster boats literally are on the sea floor at low tide.

There are two tide cycles each day, so two low tides and two high tides, 6 hours apart. From the Bay of Funds the boats go out and return at high tides, they must. Other places, Maine for example, they are free to set a more normal schedule.

Monday July 18 We drove from Chignecto NP (very nice btw) to Hopewell rocks. These cliffs and rock formations are the result of erosion from the extreme tides. The pictures show the cliffs are composed of sand, gravel and rock sediment deposited several million years ago. Tides have eroded the sediment layer forming these intricate cliffs and rock towers. We were walking on the ocean floor, notice the seaweed.

The tide will be up at least covering the seaweed in just a couple of hours. People do get caught. Look at this safety warning.

On to Nova Scotia and a hotel room. We ate on the Halifax waterfront, at Salt Yard Social. The downtown is on a hill that descends to the waterfront. Some streets are steep, some quite narrow. The city looked clean and prosperous. The waterfront is where most of the restaurants and night life are. It was very busy, hard to find parking, and this is a Monday.

Here’s another picture with a view of a lighthouse from the waterfront.

There were lots of dogs. I continue to be surprised by how much our Sammy attracts attention. He’s also fairly well behaved, better than most.

Finally a picture from a small restaurant outside Moncton, NB

Really, gluten free scallops clams and fish.

Tomorrow we plan to drive the Cabot trail around Cape Breton and we will stay at Broad Cove CG in Cape Breton Highlands NP.

Saturday July 16. Long day of driving. Google maps said 4 hr 20 min. but we managed to take all day. Finally arrived at this park around 5:00 PM but that’s Atlantic time, one hour ahead of eastern time. Ate lunch at a TripAdvisor recommended spot, Debi’s Diner in Patton, Me. Known for regional food such as red hot dogs, Maine beans, clams and fish chowder. The latter two were good, but red hot dogs are hot dogs apparently with red food coloring. Oh, and whoopee pie, a Maine regional dessert.

We drove by Mount Katahdin and across New Brunswick which is essentially Maine with even fewer people. Bay of Fundy has the highest tides in the world. Rapids literally run up stream during high tide. There is a naturally occurring whirlpool and some of the rivers have a tidal bore. That’s a standing wave that runs up river. Hope to see at least some of that but walking on the ocean floor at low tide should be a “can’t miss” experience.

We left Dry River CG in Crawford Notch SP this AM. We liked the privacy of the sites, each separated from the next by 30 – 40 feet of forest. Restrooms and showers were clean, no hook ups but we don’t need them. No cell phone signal, and far from town, but again not a big deal. We had time for one more hike before hitting the road and we chose Big Sawyer lake trail. It’s 1.5 miles and ends at a campground worth remembering. There are 8 sites, some with lean to’s, some with flat wooden platforms for pitching a tent on. Here are two pictures from one of the campsites, lean to visible on the picture side…

Finished the hike at about 1:30 then we hit the road for Maine. I’ve been looking forward to a fresh lobster roll for a long time. We chose this place in Belfast, Me. Packed with people, cars from California, Florida, Virginia, etc. Maine license plates were on about half the cars. Peggy had haddock. We left Sammy in the car but should have taken him to the outdoor dining area. We saw two English setters there, quite unusual to see that breed. Usually you see some kind of doodle. Lobster pound is a common name for a seafood place in Maine, not sure why. Here’s the place…

Finally we are staying tonight at a Harvest Host site, Stone Tree Farm and Cidery. Peggy, super taster that she is, rejected every cider on the flight except the margarita, we bought a growler of that.

I’m always interested in how people make a living. Two guys bought this vineyard two years ago and make wine from their own grapes, cider from apples they purchase. The Harvest Host program really helps them out. We are one of three HH guests tonight. You are expected to make a purchase in exchange for parking on their spot, which in this case is the front yard. The tasting room and outdoor picnic tables are around back, opposite a walkout basement.

We go on to New Brunswick tomorrow, staying at a Canadian National Park, Nova Scotia Sunday or Monday. Don’t know where we’ll stay after Sunday.

One more picture. In case you ever wonder what Sammy does while we drive, this picture says it all.

July 8, 2022

I wasn’t planning to blog the first two days, after all they are just driving days. But Pleasant Valley Farm is worth a mention. Jim, the owner, who loves to water ski, bought it in 1994. Although there was no body of water on it, he had a vision. Here are some pictures of Pleasant Valley today…..

That’s the house and lake in the middle pic, our campsite at the base of the dam on the right. He created the lake. Here’s another picture….

Remember there was no body of water on the farm when he bought it in ’94. That’s a slalom course in the picture above, and a ski jump on the right. I estimate the lake is no more than 500 yards long. Jim is 76 years old and still water ski’s. He rents 8 campsites (the blue bus in the background is on site 1) and rents his barn for events.

Saturday, July 9 In keeping with the Dr Seuss theme we found an unusual place to eat on our way to Wellsville, Mike’s Place in Kent Ohio. Here’s Peggy outside…

Notice the X wing replica on the left. Apparently Mike is a big fan of Star Wars. The food was good but the extensive, pun and joke filled menu and the overall quirkiness of the place is what makes it. Here’s the menu…

8 pages, over 200 items. We ate supper at Beef Haus in Wellsville with Chris.

Sunday July 10 70th Emo reunion. About 60 people, Aunt Betty Ann Fox, nee Emo, seemed to enjoy being the family matriarch. We stayed both Saturday and Sunday adjacent to Island Park, and next to the softball fields two night.

Monday 7/12 we had breakfast with Chris then hit the road. Stayed this night at Shaftsbury Alpacas, just outside Bennington Vt.

The owner told me everything about alpacas, and her personal life, sheesh. TMI

Tuesday – From the alpaca farm we went to Four Aces in Bradford, Vt., another roadfood.com find. It was good, avocado toast a big hit with Peggy. Then to Holiday Inn Express. Time for a hotel shower. Ate at the Sunset Grill in Campton, NH. Very good.

Wednesday drove around, exploring the area. Did the Coppermine trail to Bridal Veil Falls (how many Bridal Veil Falls can there be?). The hike up there and back was much more difficult than we expected, took much longer.

Camped at Dry River CG, in Crawford Notch State Park. Bugs were kind of bad but Peggy had them beat…

Thursday July 14 Did the hike up to Mt Willard. Here’s the view…

And one more, they call these gaps notches, as in Crawford’s Notch. That’s this one.

The only life bird possible for me here is Bicknel’s Thrush. It stays high up on the mountain tops, where the vegetation is 3 to 6 feet high, just below the tree line. Mt Williard isn’t high enough. Looks like I will miss this bird.

We head to Maine tomorrow.

PS lots of trouble blogging, first with the .heic extension that Apple now uses for all photos (who knew), then a “glitch” with the blogging software, could type and upload pictures but couldn’t publish. Restart fixed it but had to redo everything.

Got to Ochlockonee State Park yesterday 1/29 late, after dark and the gate was locked! Who knew they locked the gates to State Parks with campgrounds. We went back to the nearest town where I met a guy wearing hunter camouflage pacing back and forth beside his truck, which had two large dog boxes in the bed. He knew the park closed its gate at sundown and the campers inside were given a code to come and go. He told me one Walker dog was in the dog box in the truck but he lost the other two and was waiting for a friend to come help him find them. Seems Walker dogs are coon hounds converted to chase/hunt deer. I showed Sammy to him at which point he said “Breed a bird dog to a Walker dog, It’d make a cracker jack deer dog”. He explained the smarts of a bird dog together with the night hunting ability of a Walker dog is known to be a first rate combo for deer. I think he was propositioning Sammy. No word yet on those offspring with the brains of a Walker dog and the night hunting drive of a bird dog.

We found an emergency number on the parks website, got the code and found our spot.

Today, Sunday, we struck out on the Red-cockaded woodpecker and the Bachman’s sparrow but success on the American Flamingo, a bright coral pink bird unmistakable even at 300 yards. Will try again tomorrow AM then on to Indian River SP in Georgia.