Belated Update

If one didn’t laugh in the face of adversity there’d be little cause for humour on the East Coast. Hence rain and fog are referred to as Liquid Sunshine. Plenty of both kinds in Saint John on the Bay of Fundy this week. Fog starts rolling in with the tide each afternoon and becomes a palpable presence as first the harbour and then the city disappears behind a wall that creeps like a screen across the world. It hangs around until well into the next morning.

Having looked out and discovered there was nothing but grey haze to be seen I went back to bed on Monday. On Tuesday I became more active and having cleaned the bathroom floor swept and then scrubbed the main part of my living space the ABS flooring. For good measure went outside and cleaned smudges from my windows and the dead insect strikes from the front of my van.

Vitos is a Greek Restaurant family chain in Saint John where we went for Dinner on Tuesday, then back uptown to join the David Goss History Walk that wended round the neighbourhood near the Beatty ‘Hotel’. Superstitions serve to explain and allow seeming control of conditions or forces for which there is no means of mastery or explanation and nowhere are they more prevalant than among seafaring people. Whether or not you believe in ghosts, hauntings and angels: stairs creek, chairs rock, doors open and close, pipe organs are heard to play, rooms turn cold, furniture moves, pictures fall off walls for inexplicable reasons and apparitions of people long dead appear. Such phenomena are most often associated with persons who died by violent means. In Saint John such stories append to buildings at every turn. Whether it be clocks that haven’t worked for years that strike, the ghost that haunts the Imperial Theatre, who walks the burial ground, who visits her former home. Will the young man who fell to his death building the new Irving Tower walk its halls or ride its elevators in years to come?

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Got engrossed in my current read and stayed up late. At 6:00 this morning visibility was a few yards so after a few chores went back to sleep until 11:00. I may have been “burning daylight” but certainly not sunshine.

Once I got active engaged in the prosaic task of doing laundry. I managed to get there just before another patron arrived; I used two of the three machines at $2.00 a load. Watched her plug in two laptops, two tablets and a cellphone to recharge. The dryer cost $2.00 as well. The machines stayed busy. Folded after clothes dried. Managed to catch up online with my tablet while the wash churned.

Got a ride to Atlantic Superstore, headquarters in Brampton, Ontario where I picked up rice, a few other staples, spice rub for fish and two haddock steaks. The pork chops did not meet my standards. I’d made a salad for which I picked up Mediterranean dressing and cooked rice with a cube of butter, dash of lime juice and turmeric, heated the griddle, applied the rub and grilled the fish. The peaches I picked up weren’t quite ripe but we had some with cream.

After we walked over and had a look at the fog over SJ. Out by the pond four deer were browsing on the flower beds.

Thursday, July 26, 2018

Woke to the patter of rain on the roof. Did my morning online checks and went back to bed rather than face wash-up from yesterday’s repast. Slept until 10:30; alas at that point it was raining even harder. Had to break down and wash dishes.

We went out to dinner at Swiss Chalet here in SJ. The rotisserie was busy but the fact that one sympathized with an overworked waiter didn’t make our simple meal taking over an hour any easier to stomach. The place seems popular even on a foggy weekday night and the meal was good though servings seem to continually shrink. Sauce appeared in cardboard container and lemon infused rinsing bowls seem to have gone the way of the dodo. We even had to wait to pay our bill.

Went to Ciniplex to see Jurassic World II in 3-D. The 3-D effect was barely noticeable. One now has to buy one’s ticket at an electronic dispenser with credit card and select one’s seating. Then kick others out of one’s assigned seat. The ads were excessively noisy but the movie was at a tolerable level. Chris Pratt got to keep his shirt on in this outing even while diving in the waters off Costa Rica. The last hour is all action sequence.

Friday, July 27, 2018

Began with dense fog. I woke early and went back to bed as seems to have become my habit. Tried to call NS but the pay phone doesn’t seem to work. Quelle Surprise! Walked out to make faces at John the campground manager. Spent some time getting ready to travel tomorrow. The sun put in a very brief appearance and then got shy again.

Joined Tom for Dinner at his apartment with a trip to Pumpkin Patch to pick up groceries. Did some repairs while my host cooked. Tried to get to bed early.

Saturday, July 28. Entered the fog early and drove up NB Hwy 1 to join Hwy 2 to Nova Scotia past Moncton. Stopped at the Nova Scotia Welcome Centre that has been remodelled yet again to accommodate an enlarged boutique that occupies the entire North end of the building leaving a single service desk and reduced information kiosks. The piper, Jacob had just left feeling poorly, heavy woollen tartans must be uncomfortable in this heat.

Paid my toll with little grace and stopped at Masstown Market where crossing the parking lot was the most dangerous act I’ve undertaken. Visited the fish market for Cod Fish Patties. Picked up Hoppy Garrison Brewing Ale, honey and maple sugar. That Dutchmann’s Gouda which proved to be cumin and clove flavoured, :-(, raisin bread, the slicer out for repair, an apple caramel cake, blueberries and strawberries. From there took the 102 to Halifax and joined the 103 to Lunenburg taking the Blockhouse route. Dropped in on Aunt Muriel and Donna to arrange a Monday Visit.

I’d reserved my space at the Lunenburg Board of Trade Campground so I parked and then registered. After that long drive felt rather whacked out. The construction on the streets of Lunenburg last Fall was mercifully complete.

Sunday Morning dawned with heavy rain so I went back to bed sleeping in to 11:30. The road to Hell... Had grilled scallops and beet salad for lunch with a Garrison Red Beer. Walked up to the bandshell for the Blue Grass concert there. Sat beside a couple from West Virginia who summer in Kingsburg. Spent the rest of the day wandering around Lunenburg looking at Art Galleries and found some watercolours I liked were I in possession of wall space to hang and dollars to buy and frame. Sprang for an ice cream cone and stopped at Foodland for Grape Nut Ice Cream and more blueberries. Quiet evening reading.

Drove up to Aunt Muriel’s and moved in so to speak. We watched slides and had tea. Fish cakes for lunch and blueberry grunt for supper, madam requested seconds so I must have done something right. Home before dark having discovered the Back Harbour Rd that goes past first and second peninsula. The drive through Northwest heads straight to Blockhouse. The experience of travelling so much of North America makes these remembered place names sound quaint.

Monday morning drove up to Halifax to my sister’s. My four-year-old great nephew Caleb marched up to me and queried, “Who are you?” Your grandma’s brother. Being around 3 nephews 16 months, 4 and 8 years and “princess” Eva 11 was an experience. Their parents left them with grandparents and Aunt Amy while they enjoyed some together time. Major expeditions were mounted to Grand Lake for a swim and Shubenacadie Wildlife Park to feed the ducks, pet the deer, watch the river otters frolic. Shubie Sam was having a summer siesta resting up for next Groundhog Day and most of his neighbours were rather torpid. Like people they mind the heat.

While checking Wi-Fi connections was amused to see that one of the neighbours has an unprotected online thermostat.

Departed Halifax August 4 gassing up at Wilsons in Fall River. Watched two fools drag racing into dense fog just past the Standfield Airport and drove through fog to Tantramar Marsh where ironically the fog finally lifted. Lunch at the NB Info Centre before entering torrential rain past Moncton most of the route to Edmundston. Stopped at the Shell truck stop for gas but ignored the myriad fast food outlets adjoining: Subway, the Golden Arches, St. Hubert among others. The backup plan was Wal-Mart but drove down to see if there were weather cancellations at Riverside Campground. There were, though they demanded $38/day cash. Mud road, level gravel site and non-functional Wi-Fi. Site 52 is shaded. After that drive spent a quiet evening.

I stopped at Edmundston to hear the pipe organ at the cathedral but discovered folding chairs set up in front of a temporary altar out front in place for a special yearly service. Got a tour of the church and the basement crypt but did not hear the Casavant Organ. Attended the nearby Notre Dame de Madawaska for Mass in French—mercifully short sermon. No similar welcome at this elgise. Settled in for a quiet afternoon at my campsite beside a fast running stream that flows into the Madawaska here the border with the US. I’d not realized the US Border was so close but then I’d not visited the town beyond shopping at Sobeys and stopping for gas.

Not that I’m big on observing the Sabbath but Sunday Afternoon seems an odd time to do the mowing.

Monday, August 06, 2018

Left Edmundston in fog from the Madawaska and endured the bumpy Quebec Roads. Some crosswinds but no construction and little truck traffic. Stopped at a Subway for early lunch. Hot and weather warnings South of Montreal.

I was given a miserable site I should have walked back down to get changed but hung it out. Hot night with thunder rumbling in the distance, a brief gust of high winds and then showers through the night.

Tuesday, August 07, 2018

Got off around 7 and drove through to Cornwall where I filled up at Flying J and stopped for breakfast at Dennys. A good waitress makes all the difference. Excellent Wi-Fi Service as well.

Miles long traffic jam West of Kingston moved me to get off the highway and go back to find the local KOA. $77/night? And they charge extra to access the web with a second device. How do you spell clip joint? They missed making showers a for pay option. Later learned an inattentive driver ploughed into another vehicle causing that backup. Went for a late afternoon walk on the so-called Lost Channel Trail, meant for dog walkers. Hard to call it wild when the ever-present noise of traffic was nearby.

Set off at 3:00 AM to drive home. Little but truck traffic as I drove the darkened highway. Stopped in Oshawa at the last On Route Rest Stop to recoup then braved the drive through heavy traffic across the top of Toronto made worse by heavy rain and occasional flooded stretches. Traffic slowed at several transfer points between collectors and express lanes but never actually stopped. Made it home around 7:00 AM.