Day 45 - Day at Kings Landing

We decide that we don't have to rush this morning.  So we take our time getting going and leave the house around 10 am.  First stop is a bank and then coffee at a downtown coffee shop.  Have I told you how much easier this trip is because of things like Google Maps and Yelp?  Well it is!  A quick search for a credit union brings up the closest credit union.  Then search for coffee shop and bam there is one just around the corner.

As we sit outside in the beautiful hot sunshine we talk about what we have to get done when we arrive in Cape Breton.  You can tell the trip is almost over as this topic is coming up more and more.

After so many years married we now find we communicate so much better.  We both seem to talk about things much easier and we make sure we are both on the same page.  Of course there are some days when we are not even on the same chapter!  But for the most part we discuss our thoughts and ideas and how we can go about achieving it.  

I am going to miss all our time in the car.  It has been nice having so much time to discuss things together.

We also comment that it is so hard to remember what day it is.  Usually are mornings start with "what day is it?" and the other saying "Wednesday".  We often have to repeat it a few times too. 

The days just fly by and we are shocked at how quickly each day goes by.  Boy retirement is going so great and so far we have not been bored.

Today we are heading to Kings Landing.  Someone mentioned we should check it out and so today we are.

even I get to play dress up

isn't this cool

We then travel back in time when you cross the river.

We really love it here.  

Women weaving.

The first part of the park is more like a museum where you can tour the houses/building and things are explained to you.  

There was also a great Poet's Corner where a short show was performed talking about some famous poets from New Brunswick.

Kids playing.

Now you are still touring places but you are meeting people in character.  And they do not budge from character either. 

When they ask where we are from and we say British Columbia they are not sure where that is.  They ask if we travelled here in horse and buggy or by boat.

Some establishments are a little later and it is after Confederation and they know of British Columbia and they ask us about the railway that has just opened.  We tell them all about the gold that can be found in British Columbia.

We even sit around a table and listen to stories with some young boys who are on a break from chores and before school.

In some buildings we learn about their way of life.  

We stop and peak in the schoolhouse where a lesson is happening.  A lot of young girls sitting on the left and only a handful of boys on the right.  Hmmm wonder what they are up to?  

Bernie answers a question that the teacher is asking.  She gives him heck for not putting up his hand first!  

An Irish family that process the flax to make linen.

The Print House.

Listen to some fiddle music

The entire site is beautifully laid out and a great event for families, but even we had a great time.

a pub and restaurant

We enjoyed a meal at the Kings Head.

It has been a very hot day and we are exhausted and sweaty and we got some sun.  Yeah we have some decent tans right now.

We leave around 4 pm and travel back towards Fredericton along highway 102.  We fill up the gas tank with the lowest gas we have seen all voyage $1.20 a litre.  

For dinner we end up ordering a pizza.  Originally we were going to go out for a nice meal but again after a long day of playing tourist we are tired and we got a full day ahead of us tomorrow.

Day 43 - Bye Bye Quebec, Hello New Brunswick

We are up early and on the road by 8 am.  The roads are rather quiet as many here in Quebec have today off as Saint Jean Baptiste day fell on a Sunday so they are off on Monday.

The roads are not busy and we are across the river and back on highway one heading East.  Feels kind of good to be back on the road and moving forward. 

But we are both sad to say goodbye to Quebec.  

We really loved the province of Quebec.  We especially loved Quebec City.  Our Airbnb was great in the three places we stayed.  

I will add that there are some negatives about Quebec too.  The drivers here are probably among the most aggressive we have seen this whole trip with Ontario being a close second.  Drivers speed up right behind you and then tailgate then pass aggressively when they can then slow right down.  They have little patience it seems and well I sort of understand.  This province also seems to have the longest traffic lights.  Just when you think it is your turn for a green the pedestrian signal comes on for all directions.  

The other thing we noticed is people are really not friendly here.  May be a French thing as it is similar in France and French countries  - Martinique comes to mind.  When you walk down the street people don't acknowledge you nor even make way for you.  If you are beside someone in a store or restaurant rarely will they make any attempt at conversation.  Not once did someone open a door for me which is very common in B.C. and other provinces.  

I remember when I first moved to B.C. and I walked down the sidewalk people kept saying good morning, or hello, nice day and I thought wow maybe they know my sister, but nope they are just that friendly.  So I did notice that air of privacy here and a sense of what I could only describe as sort of snobbish.  

But it is really a big BUT - if you do talk to them or you get introduced boy they are the nicest people and very friendly and will do almost anything for you.  So I made it a point of being friendly and hopefully brightened their day.

It started out being a lovely day.  Then a few hours down the road the skies opened up and we were welcomed to New Brunswick with a down pour and lightening.

Our GPS shows the dotted line meaning a new Province.

We ducked into an information center off the highway to take our picture of "Welcome to New Brunswick".  Great Visitor's Center with lots of great information.

Note we also move our clocks forward another hour, we are officially done with time changes.  We are now on Atlantic Time - four hours difference from when we left Vancouver.

We detour off the highway to check out the town called Grand Falls.  Wow, check out what water can do.  

We stop for a quick lunch and Bernie of course gets a lobster roll for lunch.  We are in the Maritimes and well you can easily get fresh lobster here.   It was very good he said.

We then head to see the largest ax in the world.  Yup - New Brunswick has it.

Bernie thinking he is taking a pic of me only he is taking a selfie

We are spending three nights in Fredericton - the Capital of New Brunswick.  Our Airbnb is in a beautiful residential area.  We have the entire 3 bedroom house (although only one bedroom has a bed) 2.5 bathrooms to ourselves and the price is amazing.  Check out the link to our Airbnb.  

Here are some pictures I took.

We have been driving for 7 hours today and we are beat.  We relax for a few hours then head out for dinner downtown.  We enjoy a nice meal at a sushi restaurant then walk around the town for a bit.

Another great day!

Our scavenger hunt - we crossed off a Newfoundland License Plate today.

• Moose
• Deer
• Hitchhiker
• Eagle/Hawk
• Licence plates from every Province in Canada - but you can not count the province you are in.  So if we see an Alberta plate in BC then it counts, but not if we are in Alberta. British Columbia Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Yukon, and North West Territory
• Skunk - saw a dead one
• Sheep
• Beaver
• Goslings
• Buffalo
• Goat
• Owl
• Bear
• Loon
• Crane
• Prairie Dog
• Fisherman fishing
• Canoe
• Hummingbird
• Antique car on the road
• Old VW Bug
• Car broken down on the side of the road
• Helicopter on the ground
• Airplane on the ground
• Speeding ticket- hopefully not our own
• Ambulance with sirens on
• Dump truck
• Line painting crew at work
• Mail delivery person walking their route
• Cruise Ship 
• Coyote 
• RCMP officer
• Hop on Hop off Bus
• Sea Glass
• Lobster

If you have any items you think we should add to our scavenger hunt list, let us know.

So Today's Stats 
Driving distance today 750 k
Total distance 8438 km