“Hopewell ROCKS...and bumps, and get thrown around….” ( Alma, NewBruswick to Bangor, ME)

Time to go back to Hopewell Rocks….yep that bumpy, roller coaster road back to see low tide….(I can tell, this is the start to a rocky morning!!)  Knowing what was to come, I convinced Chris (after a u-turn) to stop at the little general store for some coffee (with another treck across Canada to ME, I need some help…) I have to give the Canadians some credit…instead of brewing coffee that sits there all day (really, I think there are about 5 people in this town this time of year) they put out Keurig’s so you can make your own fresh coffee—genius!

I then had to convince Chris to take the scenic route ….if you know Chris, this is not always an easy task…but, it worked….only one problem…if you have never been a passenger in an rv before, you should really consider it before taking off on a trip (my short term memory gets me every time…) There is only 1 good seat in the RV…the driver’s seat…the rest of the seats are really just props….its like going on a roller coaster ride at top speed without a seat belt (and with 2 dogs on/off your lap the whole time…) I’ve never understood motion sickness, but as I write this blog, I’m starting to get it…. And I’ve already gotten whiplash, my head hit off the wall, and several claws into my legs afraid for their own lives…..

We head for Cape Enrage…As we get to the top of a hill an RV of this size should not embark on, we run into the closed gate….yep, its going to be a tight turn-around to not go over that cliff, but we can do it…..we had no other option….(we did capture some good photos up here…..)

Finally, we arrived at Hopewell Rocks…..it truly is a pretty neat place!! During high tide the waters rush into the Bay of Fundy and cover everything, then during low tide, it all gushes out and you can walk on the beach around the rocks (which were completely covered yesterday!!!) 

"I'm not going across that grate..."

all that water is gone....for now!!!

"Dad, let's go check out the caves..."

Last night we were standing up there with those trees....this is seaweed.....

I read somewhere you take photos of who you would least like to lose.....

whomever said that....nailed it!!!

(they are sitting on a bed of seaweed!!!)

they leave these ropes out on these rocks-- in case you have climbed over the closed/danger signs and high tide comes in, you can hopefully throw them up over a tree and climb up....don't worry, we may ignore a few danger signs, but we certainly did look up high tide times.....

guess Sunny would rather use the rope...

but Daddy saved her....again....

time to soak rayne's paw......(also forgot to give credit to Chris :) --that laundry basket reminds me that he did our laundry last night!!!)

It was soon time for the trek back (only 6 days left to get back to State College, PA…) We stopped for a quick cinnamon roll at Cinnamonn’s….very yummy…

Then drove through Fredericton, New Brunswick...

The Chocolate River

Where we wanted to check out…whoa, wait…..what is the metric conversion to feet???

As we were rapidly approaching a bridge labeled 3.5 m I was being yelled at to convert it to feet….um…although I aced my math classes, don’t you think the engineer should be the one doing math in his head????  Mean Chris  (yes, this is his new name for the time being) yells at me—hurry up and get out to see if we can make it….ok, let me just paint the picture… I have on my slippers…sitting with an open window, Rayne on my lap with the camera strap around both of us…Sunny is barking at everything including me …it’s a green light, cars everywhere, a walking path beside me with a few dogs on it….sure, let me just hurry up and see if we have it cleared…(maybe it’s a good thing I don’t have that concealed permit…we maybe one less mean chris…)

I leap out of the rv (in my slippers…boy do I look cute!!)…I say leap because we keep the laundry basket filled with essentials in the step well to 1. be able to reach them and 2. to catch the dogs (I cover it with a blanket and pillow) for when mean Chris throws us around the RV as he drives…..I’m yelled at to climb the metal fence to higher ground and give an answer in less than a second…you try it…we barely cleared it… (which means who the h--- knows how tall this rv really is..depends on if you believe what you read or what you are told..) but as I’m checking it out…AND haven’t given the go ahead….Chris is barreling through and I’m left running to catch the rv….in my slippers…on the dog path (yep, dodging people and dogs) otherwise mean Chris may just leave me here….in my slippers with no coat in the frigid Canadian town of Fredericton…..

You can fill in the blanks here as to the remainder of our conversation, but I can tell you I was asked “what took me so long? The guy coming toward us said we had it cleared”….well, the d--- guy isn’t the one who will pay yet another RV repair bill if he is wrong so maybe that’s what took me a little longer…..maybe he should take tha guy with him on the rest of the trip and they can play math games together…..ugh….like I said earlier, this is marriage counseling at its finest…..have any of you figured out the conversion from meters to feet??? lol, I bet  not....

Back to the plan (which became to drive as fast as we could, me hanging out the window with two barking dogs on my lap to get some “good” photos of the government buildings before getting back on route 2….) So, we check out…..

The Soldier’s Barracks….

The Leglislative Assembly Building…..

City Hall….

And the Old Government House…..

I’m thinking of a photography career if this dental thing doesn’t’ work out (not bad photos, eh??  MOST of my work is done while MOVING!!!)  Onward to Bangor, ME….USA…..at least 110 km/hr….rocking, almost tipping, and praying for that heart attack…….

As I’m trying to catch up on this blog, I get summoned to the front quarters of the RV....I ask, " Is it a moose?"

"No, when is our next turn?”….I reply route 3 south….I look up and see we are almost to Woodstock…..yep….missed the turn….we are definitely not on schedule…time to re-route….find a place to cross into the USA…finally!!!

This time, it required another visitor who was quite a bit more thorough…..its funny how you can feel so intimated even when you have done nothing wrong….the officer comes aboard and literally checks….EVERYTHING….and in typical guy fashion…leaves the cabinets wide open!!! But, at the end of inspection, he did try to pet the dogs and he did let us into the country so I guess I shouldn’t complain….

We decide to stick to the plan…head to Bangor…check out Paul Bunyan

Get some dinner at Thistles... (Argentenian)

And retire for the night….I think we are more exhausted than when we began…I'm pretty sure I need a vacation!!!