From Charlottetown it was an hour and a half drive to the Eastern Shore of P.E.I. to catch the ferry. We arrived about an hour early at the Wood Isle terminal so we drove to the light house on the hill. It is located in a park complete with a playhouse sized fishing village for the kids to play in. A whole mini village, docks and all. We walked around a bit but did not spend a lot of time because it was COLD. About 45 with a stiff wind blowing.

I had ridden a ferry or two as a kid, but this was my first time to actually drive onto one. The Spirit of Northumberland is a mid sized ship and carries 35-40 cars and around 120 passengers. It works just like the bridge in that you only pay when leaving the Island and costs just $4 more than the bridge. The fun of a ferry, plus the miles saved on this leg of the journey made it a great idea. The crossing to Nova Scotia is about 12 miles and takes around 55 minutes. It was a perfect time to relax and enjoy.

After we docked in Caribou, Nova Scotia we still had about two hours left to drive to get to Halifax. Right away we could see it was much more urban than the VERY rural Prince Edward Island. Still by the standards around here it could still be considered absolute wilderness most of the journey.

Halifax is a very modern, thriving city of over a million, if you count the whole metro area. It boasts a deep harbor with a beautiful skyline. Once again we had a harbor view hotel. The city is built on a very steep hill rising from the docks and high atop sits an old stone fortress. The Fort is appropriately named the Citadel. It is still in use by a military school and they have a very impressive changing of the guard ceremony reflecting the full Scottish heritage of the area.
From all over the downtown area you could hear the lonely sounds of bagpipes drifting through the air.It was a quick 10 minute passenger ferry ride from our hotel to downtown across the harbor. The boat runs every 30 minutes so we rode it daily. The dockland area is great with both tourist shops and working business side by side. The whole downtown is very nice and close in. Easy to site see on foot as long as you parallel the water front. But the roads seem to go straight-up if you venture past the second block.

Kristie and I climbed the very steep hills to the fort and were rewarded with a birds-eye view of the whole city. San Francisco has nothing on these steep streets.

Other Blog

After Saint John Kris and I moved onward to the tranquil setting of Prince Edward Island. We drove across New Brunswick on what they call a freeway. Two lanes most of the time but with ramps at the exits. I could get used to that. Everything in Canada is measured with the metric system and being honest, I liked it after getting used to it. Driving at 120km is great. ( 75 mph )

Getting to Charlottetown, PEI means you have to either go on ferry or cross the bridge. The toll is only charged one way no matter which choice you make you only pay upon leaving. We opted to arrive via the bridge and depart on the Ferry. This more suited our routing since the were on opposite ends of the island anyway.

The bridge is a modern and massive bridge. It is eight miles long and high enough that ocean going ships can pass under it. Eight miles long over the COLD Northumberland Strait. The longest single span bridge in the world. But not at all scary. Nothing like the old Charleston Bridges.

Charlottetown is about the size of Anderson, but much more laid back. Filled with great restaurants. The whole island has a farming lifestyle and is somewhat idyllic. If you read Anne of Green Gables you'll remember it was set there. The north side beaches are covered in a fine sand. Almost as fine a talc and the color of red bricks. It is so soft. That is the main draw during the season, but since it was only in the upper 40's while we were there swimming was out of the question. I noticed all our hotels had large indoor pools.

The Wisdom of Red Green

• "If it ain't broke, fix it 'til it is!"

• "If it ain't broke, you're not trying!"

• "If it ain't broke, too bad, don't total it!"

• "If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy." (Said upon the conclusion of the "Handyman's Corner" segment on The Red Green Show)

"Remember, I'm pulling for you. We're all in this together."

• "The Handyman's Secret Weapon." (Refers to Duct Tape.)

• Quando Omni Flunkus Moritiati-A Latin phrase which means "If all else fails, play dead." Red and the others at Possum Lodge would state this pledge before a lodge meeting after doing an arm movement across their chests.

We arrived in Saint John in the afternoon and after a minor issue with a toll bridge ( we had no Canadian money yet ) Arrived at the Harbour View hotel. (Canadian spelling) We got a great room with a view and were informed of the free breakfast each morning. Now THAT is my kind of Hotel.

Saint John is on the Bay of Fundy and boasts the largest tides in the world. In fact so much so that the river changes with every high tide to flow backwards. They have famous reversing falls right in town.

Saint John is an industrial city but has a charming harbor walk and a smallish yet very lively downtown. In some ways it reminds me of Asheville but with a Cruise ship dock. Princess indeed had the Grand in port while we were there.

We strolled around and visited the farmers market. So many interesting things there caught my eye. We ran out of time.

That evening we dinned overlooking Falls in one of the nicest places I have eaten in years. I had a wonderful Prime Rib and seafood dinner in a very pleasant place with an unbelievable view. Anderson needs a few nice places to eat where you are not overwhelmed with noise, loud music and a party crowd. A place where you can actually have a conversation with table mates.

Deep Thoughts # 2

• Just think how much deeper the ocean would be if sponges didn't live there.
• Do fish get cramps after eating?
• After eating, do amphibians need to wait an hour before getting OUT of the water?

Kris and I flew to Maine for our vacation. Delta had some great fares from GSP to BGR ( Greenville to Bangor ) but like thousands of others we first had to change planes in Atlanta. There is an old saying around here in the deep south, 'That when you die, no matter which way you go, up or down, you'll have to change planes in Atlanta'. But that is not a big deal to a serious airplane nut like me. We used the park and fly option at the Hampton Inn in Greenville and the security lines are so much shorter at GSP.

For my friends who like me actually keep up with such things we had four flights. GSP-ATL, ATL-BGR and on our return BGR-ATL, ATL-GSP. Three flights were Delta connection flights ( ASA ) and one, our first flight was a main line flight. On a MD-88. Funny the shortest flight was the biggest plane. The long runs to BGR and back were CRJ-701's and the final flight back to GSP was a CRJ-200LR. All the flights were good, the planes were clean, crews friendly and ahead of schedule. Hey we even had to De-Ice in Bangor. Nice service and we had very few bumps. The CRJ-200 was in a special paint scheme. ( left ) Texas, BlueBonnet.

After leaving Bar Harbor we drove north on U.S. Hwy 1 to the U.S. Canadian border. The same road that goes through Augusta, and Columbia. It runs near the Maine coast and the scenery was spectacular. Traffic was very light everywhere and driving the 4-5 hours a day like we did was actually a pleasure. Like it was here 30 years ago.

We crossed the border into Canada at St Stephen, New Brunswick, and drove on to Saint John for a few nights.

At the crossing we had to park and go in to see Canadian Immigration. They were very nice. Looked at our drivers license's and ask the usual things ( biz or pleasure, were we bringing gifts how long to stay, where going ) and he asked if we were driving a rental car. Twice in two differing ways. I guess he was looking for the same answer. Seems they are having trouble with people buying cars and bringing them into Canada for people ( resale ) and avoiding a LOT of tax issues. He then asked our first stop. When we said Saint John, he whipped out a map and showed us the route and said how long, and asked if he could help with Hotels or anything. This was in immigration. Cool guy, but I noticed he had a gun and a bullet-proof vest on.

more later

Is this the daughter of Elvis or Elton John ?





Maybe Carol Channing

Sorry!! but you may be over 40 if you understand who that is.

Kristie and I made it back from our vacation. If you read this blog often you already know it was long overdue. More than a year and a half has pasted since we visited Colorado. Unusual events at work has made it more than crazy for a long while, and Kristie has been working punishing hours for far too long. So time for a get away was needed, and it was wonderful.

We flew ( via Delta ) to visit NewEngland and Canada. Specifically we flew from Greenville to Atlanta then onward to Bangor. Where we rented a great car ( 2008 Dodge Charger ) and then drove around Maine and the Canadian Provinces of New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.

I had lived in Bangor a couple years as a child and yes we found my house. In fact you could almost see it from our room at the Airport Sheraton. Let me tell you it was great to have a hotel room waiting and it was waiting within 50 yards of the baggage claim. With an enclosed skywalk even. Very cool.

After a couple days knocking around Bangor, we headed out to Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. We had a very nice day touring in the park and seeing the amazing beauty God created. We even hiked to the top of a mountain for some spectacular views. Our Hotel in Bar Harbor ( the Bar Harbor Blue Nose Inn ) was five star all the way. We were just a week or so past the traditional peak season and the rates everywhere reflected that. The only drawback is that some things were already closed for the season. But the leaves were late this year and we hit them just perfectly.

• more in pt 2 later..

Deep Thoughts

# 1

# If the universe is everything, and scientists say that the universe is expanding, what is it expanding into?

# So what's the speed of dark?