Canada - August 2018

During August 2018 we drove north through New Hampshire and Maine and into Canada.  We Explored New Brunswick and Prince Edward Islands before heading back to the states.

Day 1  Millis, MA - Bangor, ME
Day 2  Bangor ME - Fredericton, New Brunswick
Day 3 Fredericton NB - Cavendish PEI
Day 4 Around PEI
Day 5 Around PEI
Day 6 Cavendish PEI - Alma, NB
Day 7 Alma, NB - Saint John NB
Day 8 Saint John, NB - Waterville ME
Day 9 Waterville ME - Millis MA

Canada 2018 - Day 1 and 2

Day 1 - Friday 10th August 2018 -  Millis MA to Bangor Maine

Day 1 was a driving day - we were just trying to get as far north as possible.  We headed up the 495 around Boston.  At about Lowell we ran into traffic and crawled all the way through New Hampshire, but once we hit Maine it was smooth sailing.

Lunch was at the Maine Mall in Portland at the food court.  Spent the night in a Howard Johnson on the outskirts of Bangor - who refused to honour our room saver voucher so we were not happy.  But they did have a nice outdoor pool which we made use of.

Dinner was at a Brew Pub (The Sea Dog) situated along the river.  We didn't get a seat on the balcony but still had nice views from inside. Good food and beer.

Day 2 - Saturday 11th August 2018 Bangor Maine - Fredericton New Brunswick CA

Another long driving day through the backwoods of Maine.

Obviously not very exciting according to Josh - He slept through half of it!

Shortly after midday we reached the Canadaian border in a tiny little town called Vanceboro.  Only two cars in front of us so it was a very short wait.  I would have been willing to wait a lot longer with this view.

About 15 minutes down the road from the border is a town called McAdam.  This town has a beautiful old railway station that they have done up into a museum.

Not a bad view from the platform

Even the street signs were train themed.

One thing I did notice as we drove through New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.  All the little towns had beautiful hanging baskets of flowers all along the streets - it made the towns look really beautiful.

We then headed into Fredericton New Brunswick.  We came in on the 102 along the Saint John River which was a lovely drive.  We were too early to check into our hotel so headed for Greystone Brewery for a flight tasting.

That's one big can of beer!

Dinner was at the King Street Ale house - a great BBQ platter - including poutine.  Then a quick walk around the center of Fredericton.

Canada 2018 - Day 3

Day 3 - Sunday 12th August 2018 Fredericton NB - Cavendish PEI

We headed straight out Route 2 this morning.  First stop was just outside Moncton at Magnetic Hill.  At this site you can park your car at the bottom of a hill, put it in neutral and the car will roll up the hill...

We did this last time we were in the area - 14 years ago on our honeymoon and it was fun then and it was still fun now - even if I do know the trick!  The area around it has really been built up though - there is now a zoo, a waterpark, shopping, you name it.  We skipped all that and just did the hill. plus a quick stop at the sign for photos.

Then back on the road towards Shediac. Home of the big Lobster.

We had found out once we were on the road that the kids stuffed lobster had stowed away in our bags so he and our normal mascot Baa Baa spend most of the trip on the dashboard.

We tried to stop at Port Elgin for lunch, but the entire town was closed down - if it's ever open, so whilst we found a perfect picnic spot we had nothing to eat so had to keep going.  Stopped at a little Diner - Diner 16 - instead.

Then it was time to cross the Confederation bridge.   A 13 km bridge from New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island.

Not too easy to see anything with the big concrete barriers each side.

We stopped at the tourist info center just off the bridge to pick up some maps.  We are in Anne land now.

We decided to follow one of the scenic drives around to Summerside - the second biggest city on PEI.

Some beautiful views as you drive along.

We followed the Green Gables scenic drive around Malpeque Bay to Cavendish.

We were booked for the next three nights into the Silverwood Motel in Cavendish - the heart of Anne country.

We had booked a family suite which was supposed to have 3 double beds and a single bed - but when we got there they had changed our booking to a room with 2 double beds and a queen sofa bed.  We were not happy, but thankfully she managed to get us a better room for the two following nights - 4 double beds so we accepted the not great room for the first night.

I walked across the road to the travel mart for drinks and found some of Anne's Raspberry cordial so had to buy a bottle.

We decided to head out to a Lobster Dinner tonight - this was one of the reasons we planned this trip - the introduce the kids to the PEI lobster suppers.  We went with the one we know - the New Glasgow Lobster Supper.

Bread rolls to start with a bowl of seafood chowder, followed by a huge bowl full of mussels to share.  The kids certainly ate their share!  Then our lobsters followed by dessert.

such yumminess!

Josh and I finished our day with a dip in the pool back at the motel.

Canada 2018 - Day 4

Day 4 - Monday 13th August 2018 - Around Cavendish

We started today with Anne sites.  First stop Green Gables.

We toured the house.

The Parlour

Matthews Room

Kitchen

Kitchen

Bonnie the Geranium

Sewing Room - I'll take this room!

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The Spare room!

Marilla's Room

The Brown Gloria Dress with Puffed sleeves

Anne's Room

The broken Slate

 Outside we explored Lovers Lane.

Then the kids explores pack took us down to the bubbling brook.

The kids were given an explorer pack and one of the things they had to find was a milk bottle in the creek to keep cool.

Another one of their tasks was to dress up as Anne - but neither of them wanted too.  I did though!

The dress didn't fit very well for some reason, but I did learn how to embarrass your kids!

After we finished exploring Green Gables we headed for Lucy Maud Montgomery's Birth Place.

Here we got a narrated tour of her house including details of her wedding dress, lots of her correspondence and the room she was born in.

Other bedrooms in the house.

 There was also a blue Willoware platter.

I would love to have seen this play - the Blue Castle was always one of my favourite books.

Our final Anne site was a visit to the Lake of Shining Waters.

We had a picnic lunch back at the moment and moved into our new rooms then headed next door to the Shining Waters Family Fun Park.  A small waterpark with a few other carnival type rides.  The water slides were not as good as I had expected, but we spent an hour or two sliding before trying out the roller coaster, the pirate ship paddle boats.

The spinning pumpkins and the pool again.

Dinner at the Lost Anchor.