Despite the persistent cold and rain, there was something about crossing the border that made me feel more relaxed and in congruence with a country. It’s all psychological, but with everything being perpetrated in Washington these days, each day bringing a new insult and embarrassment, I simply feel better being here than there.

Getting here, to Headquarters Campground in Fundy National Park in New Brunswick, just outside of the little town of Alma, was no small feat. After leaving Ellison, the town adjacent to Bar Harbor, we were directed to long, hilly, forested country roads that were Maine’s version of the middle of nowhere. It reminded us of other middles of nowhere we’ve driven through in Montana, Nevada, Texas and New Mexico. Those are the first that come to mind. The Maine version is heavily forested (or as Peter said about Maine and New Brunswick, “They sure have a lot of trees here.”). After leaving Ellison, we drove for 100 miles (no exaggeration) before we saw any gas station, restaurant or signs of life. It was quite surprising.



But as soon as we saw “civilization” in the form of a lobstah walk up cafe, we were there and I had my first gluten free lobster roll. I’m sure the regular roll was much better but the lobster was unadulterated with mayo. It was great. Then we continued another 10 miles before crossing the border with no problem. The crossing was a lonely Canadian guard who asked us a bunch of questions that were easy enough to answer. At the end of the questioning, I told him we had a Canadian flag and were very happy to be here. He smiled and wished us safe travels and an enjoyable time here.
The rest of the drive was almost the same as the first half with the exception of the larger town of St John’s, NB, a sizable town with a large port. The final 50 miles or so returned to desolate as we drove through the length of Fundy National Park, finally reaching our destination. In total today, we drove 260 miles; a four hour drive that took us six, as usual, when we stopped for a meal and gas. But this time, we also lost an hour as we’re now in the Atlantic Time Zone, or four hours ahead of PT. Pretty crazy.
I’m really hoping the weather breaks for drier and warmer. It’s supposed to after tomorrow. We’re here seven nights and hope to explore the area. Just going to the nearest grocery store is almost an hour away in Moncton! This should be an interesting, all new part of the journey.




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