Terri and Peter's RV Adventures

Back to civilization, I guess. It was a bittersweet goodbye to “the Rock” as they call Newfoundland around here. As we were driving to Port Aux Basque this morning, ringed by lush forested mountain sides, it occurred to me that with only a half million people on this island, there appears to be just enough people to enjoy the place and live peacefully with minimal disturbance to the natural beauty of the place. No paving paradise and building a parking lot here. Yet. Hopefully never. Perhaps the harsh weather and level of isolation will preserve it for a while. It’s not the easiest place to live and is probably only attractive to certain hardy types. All I know is we so enjoyed our time here and value the natural beauty of the place, the extraordinary kindness of the people and the slower, simpler pace of life.

So, on to the ferry we hopped, being the pros now that we are and the dogs, while not happy with the situation, tolerated it. On one of our “pet relief” walks on the deck, I entered into a conversation with a few people from Ontario. One asked what I thought about what was happening in Los Angeles (the immigration protests and national guard and marines that have been called in). Of course, I made my feelings known and all they could do was say they were sorry for the US and couldn’t believe they’d (we’d) elected him again. I really had no answer other than utter embarrassment for my country. It was a very interesting conversation with likeminded people who live in rural Ontario but are very tuned into what’s happening in the US and see right through the grift.

We are now back on the mainland, Bras d’Or Nova Scotia just outside of Sydney. We made a beeline off the ferry to the Best Buy 25 minutes away, and I’m now communicating with you using my new MacBook Air. I was relieved it was there waiting for me but now the brat in me is thinking, “But I wanted blue, not silver.” Humiliating but true confessions. What was I saying a second ago about living a simple life? Oh well.

Next to Best Buy was a pizza and pasta place so we grabbed a quick meal and now we’re set up in our campsite at the same campground (Arm of Gold) we stayed at before we left for Newfoundland. The bizarre thing is that when we arrived there were rows of Airstreams! Turns out they are having an Airstream rally (as they call them) of people who join an Airstream group. It’s very strange to be surrounded by so many trailers, let alone Airstreams, after being in fairly quiet, isolated campgrounds. I guess this is the other part of civilization one has to adjust to.

Returning to “civilization” is a mixed bag. We immediately commented as we entered onto the freeway, how familiar it feels all of a sudden. We’ve been driving mostly two lane roads for the last week or so and now we’re on four lane highways with houses and businesses on either side of the freeway. We get to a mall and it’s like any other mall in the US (which I avoid). It’s a mixed blessing, again, to have the conveniences and yet the complications and amplified, accelerated life that comes with it all.

For now, I’m grateful to be back in Nova Scotia, safely, with both dogs asleep at my feet, Peter a few feet away and we have so much more to look forward to. On to Prince Edward Island tomorrow!