Day 113 – July 25

After posting the previous days blog we headed for Ikea – just because it is there. Montreal has 3 Ikeas and we can’t get one? As always we managed to find numerous things that we didn’t know we desperately needed before we went in. I also had a small order from an Ikea junkie friend at home to fill.

There was no need for a GPS anymore once we broke free from the the spider web of roads that circle Montreal and were on the 20 east. This was a driving day. A familiar road with little reason to stop except to eat and buy gas.

The kilometres flew by under the clear blue skies. St.-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Rivière-du-Loup with a short pause to admire one of our favourite houses, a red metal roofed stone building nestled amongst maple trees with a beautiful view of theSt. Lawrence, before we headed inland towards Edmundston. We crossed into New Brunswick and its higher speed limits at about 6:30, 7:30 AST. Our plan for the following day was to meet Kenny on the road as he headed to an airshow at Osh Kosh with his father. We wanted to get as far into New Brunswick as possible so our paths could cross before their turn off into the States at Woodstock.

Referring to our Woodall’s guide Diane found an RV park outside of Edmundston, the Panoramic 86. Although the guide promised 180 sites, it was obvious to us as we pulled into the park that few if any sites would be available. Of all of the private parks we had stayed at this one had the most obvious large population of seasonal residents. Decks, strings of lights, satellite dishes and out buildings abounded. However at the Panoramic 86 there was yet another level of settlement – golf carts.

We were used to seeing golf carts used by camp hosts and park staff but had not seen this proliferation of carts before in the hands of campers. The streets, complete with names and sign posts, that wound through the park were alive with the traffic of these little whirring canopied electric vehicles. As with all such toys there seemed to be a competition amongst their owners around who could add the most features to the basic model, be it a special paint job, called to attention by the license plate ‘pimped’ or the flashing led lights within the rims of another. The prize winner for me however was a fully white canopied cart with plastic side and rear windows, reminiscent of the Pope mobile. A quick check of the roof canopy showed that it lacked any bump big enough to accommodate a Papal mitre so I assumed that Pope Francis (only his closest friends call him Pope Frank) was not in fact vacationing in Edmundston this year.

Settled in

Our site had power, water and sewer, which provided an opportunity to empty our tanks before heading home. The time zone change made for a late supper of barbecued hamburgers that we had bought in a butcher shop a couple days earlier. We watched a DVD before turning in for the night. After 113 days of this routine we were both aware that this might be the last night that we slept in the BRT- a mixed emotion for us.

Day 114 – July 26

We awoke to find that our clear starry skies of the night before had been replaced with overcast and cool temperatures, a fore bearer of the heavy rain promised in the weather reports for New Brunswick and Nova Scotia the previous day. We were on the road early as this was to be our last day of travelling and we wanted to be home well before dark. Because we had pushed the night before we were well positioned to rendezvous with Ken and Ken on their way to the Osh Kosh air show. We passed into rain not far outside of Edmundston and began texting with Ken as we drove along. He was on the road much earlier than us and was into New Brunswick by the time we made first contact. They had been into heavy rain since leaving Nova Scotia so we were prepared for a full day of wet driving, ironically one of the first such days since we had left Nova Scotia – such a Maritime way of being welcomed home.

Our paths crossed at Kings Landing at around noon. Not being dissuaded by the notion of eating and getting gas we stopped at a Petro Can restaurant for lunch and had a chance to catch up with both of the Kens who were off on a male bonding airplane fanatics trip. Ken junior had a lovely small wooden sailboat in tow, hand made by Ken senior many years ago, that was now destined to sail on the cottage lake in Alberta. I’m sure that some on the road may have thought it as a bit of an over reaction to the pelting rains to be towing an emergency sailboat behind but I bet they laughed at Noah as well. Right Noah, 40 days and nights of rain, how come Cindy Day hasn’t said anything about that. By the way I want my power nailer back before you sail off, and what is it with those unicorns.

The Kens head west

The rain continued as we drove towards Nova Scotia but had no perceptible impact on the cocoon of insect carcasses that now constituted the exterior finish of the beast. Like the mounted animal heads we had seen in so many locations on our trip these multi coloured splats have become the visible trophies of our adventure. At Sackville New Brunswick we stopped in to see Jane and Ike and visit with the LRT for a while. The cold rain of Northern New Brunswick had abated, replaced with overcast skies, warm temperature and oppressive humidity which required a quick change of clothes.

After a refreshment break we were on the road again. We were trying to make time as our niece and her family were returning to Curaçao on the weekend and we wanted to see them before they left. We arrived in Beaver Bank around 7:00, in time for a visit before the kids were sent to bed. At 10:00 we finally rolled up our side street and turned off the ignition. After 114 days of flawless performance the BRT came to rest. We sat for a moment in the dark, quietly contemplating what we had just completed. I’d be less than honest if I didn’t admit to more than a bit of sadness to see the adventure come to an end, as all good things must.

Entering the house was an odd sensation, a strong sense of familiarity but yet after 4 months a certain strangeness as well. Our nephew Colin had done an awesome job of keeping the house in order so in some respects it felt like we had never left, like we had just awoken from some very vivid and strangely linear dream……

For those who have been regular followers of these ramblings, there will be one more posting in a day or so, I just need some time to gather a few thoughts.