Crossing New Brunswick and entering Nova Scotia

We entered New Brunswick on a gray day in the middle of the province.  We drove around Fredericton rather than through it and took the freeway to Moncton where we planned on staying at a casino.  We arrived to signs all over the parking lot that read "no overnight camping".  We went inside and asked why and were told that "the neighbors complained."  We looked around and the only "neighbors" was the hotel next door owned by the same tribal group as the casino.  We decided to take our usual $5.00 each to see what we could do.  We walked out forty minutes later carrying $180.  Not bad for the penny slots.  The staff told us about two nearby campgounds.  We couldn't find one and don't believe that it really exists, and the other was closed.  We decided to drive on. and landed in a campgound just across the border of Nova Scotia. What a long day!

We noticed that when in New Brunswick, if you want to paint your house, you go to the store and buy "house paint".  You don't need to specify the color because all of the houses are white.  Old houses, young houses, small houses, big houses, they all are white!  While the freeway did not have the soundproofing walls that destroy the idea of scenery, the freeway was bordered by a 20 foot deep band of forest, so that anything else was hard to see.  We did stop at a couple of small towns.  I surprised at how much french influence there is.  When I asked one gallery owner if the locals say "eh", she said no, that only the people in Ontario say "eh".  I beg to differ, it is very common in British Columbia and Alberta as well.

We didn't see the ocean until we crossed into Nova Scotia.  And initially the ocean water was very brown.  I didn't know whether it was because we were on the edge of Hurricane Igor, or if it was the normal color.  After a few days, I learned that it was from the red dirt that rivers flowing into the ocean pass through. The first night we stopped in a very empty campground.  It was late and we just cooked some dinner and went to bed.  The next morning, we followed the north coast of Nova Scotia.  We stopped in Pugwash to stretch our legs.  It is a quaint little town with a wonderful art gallery, and we didn't see one dirty pug.  I guess they had all been washed.  

 We camped at Caribou Provincial Park near Picou, Novia Scotia.  The wind  from Hurricane Igor was really blowing by the time we arrived at camp and continued until late in the evening when it suddenly stopped. Who knew that we would be affected by a huruicane so far north in Canada!  The camp was on a bluff looking out over the ocean and the park was charming.   Bernie and I went for a long walk on the beach.I was taking pictures and got down on my knees to photograph the beach.  I looked in the viewfinder expecting to see sand and sea weed, but instead, there was Bernie, looking very serious.  The birds were playing in the wind and we walked and walked. The gulls here are a brown color rather than white and gray like the ones at home. At one place I saw many oysters sitting on the beach and began excitedly collecting some for dinner.  Then I saw the sign that said shellfish on this beach were not safe for human consumption.  It made me want to not be human.  Darn! 

Sheltered plants.

Same kind of plants in the wind.

view from camp

We went to a local fishing warf to buy some lobster, and found that they would not be open until the next day.  We were so disappointed that we went into Picou and had great fish and chips at a local restaurant.Of course we returned the next day and got two live lobsters.  (When I cooked them, they did not immediately stop moving in the boiling water like crabs usually do.  I am sorry lobsters!)

Every post has a bird!

We pulled out the camp chairs, sat by the fire and watched the moon rise over the ocean.  We talked with our neighbors some.  They are from Halifax but come to this park frequently.  He is retired from Canada Air so he and Mike had much to talk about.  We agreed to go to breakfast the next morning and they said that they would stop by our camp at 8 a.m.