8/19/2014 Nova Scotia, Canada

Lunenburg

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia is a designated World Heritage Site for being the best example of planned British colonial settlement in Canada.  If you put dirt on the roads, remove the cars and 1960's style telephone poles, it would look much like it did 200 years ago.  Debra's ancestors were one of Lunenburg's founding families in the mid 1700's. Christoph Harnish emigrated aboard the boat GALE in 1751, aged 50, a brewer from "Ganda" (Goetha, Germany) with wife Cathrina Hoffman. They begat Johann Gottlieb, who begat Johann George, who begat Elizabeth Margaret Harnish, whose first marriage to a Mansfield begat Deb's mother's line and whose second marriage to a Wamboldt begat Deb's fathers line.  Ya see, Deb's parents are related 5th generation on one side and 6th generation on the other. Aw jeez, doesn't that explain a lot of kooky family behavior!  



Caledonia

 A one hour drive West from Lunenburg takes us to Caledonia in central Nova Scotia were the majority of Debra's Canadian family has lived for generations.  Caledonia is the major village in the area known as North Queens, which has a radius of approximately 20 miles and a population of approximately 1500.  It was so wonderful to trade stories with cousins from Debra's mother and father's side of the family. Life is pleasantly simpler and slower paced and the people are wonderful and are always ready to help each other out.  We went to a community supper at the fire house and cousin Erma looked around and said "yep, you are related to most of the people in this room in one way or another".  Erma said if you throw a stone anywhere in town you will surely hit a relative.  If you want to see what life was like in the United States in the 1950's, come visit Caledonia.  The main roads were paved once in 1952, the phone system was upgraded in the 1970's from the old crank phones with switchboard, and cousin Judy was excited to qualify for home mail delivery a couple years ago when a third house was built on the dirt road within a mile of hers.  With Debra's passion for black and white movies, she feels right at home here.

Replaced in 1970

Steve, Norma, Erma, Judy, Deb and Eric

On a visit here last year, while talking to cousin Judy (French side) and husband Eric about genealogy, Deb described her family tree whereupon Eric said, "who did you say your mothers's grandmother was?"  Sure enough, that was his father's grandmother too! So I am related to Eric on the Smith side, and their late in life marriage makes them "kissin cousins".  Aw Jeez.







8/12/2014 Maine, Moose Accident, Canadian Border Crossing

Mount Katahdin Background

Uncle Bill's Log Cabin

Aug. 10 and 11 - We left Connecticut and headed on 95N to Bangor, Maine then followed Route 152 West to the small town of Ripley. We visited Debra's Uncle Bill and wife Gayle at their beautiful log cabin located on a hill top off a dirt road.  Their porch view is of Mount Katahdin which is the highest mountain in Maine.  Uncle and Gayle will meet up with us again shortly in Nova Scotia.


A few days before we arrived in Maine, my cousin was driving near Bangor and came upon an accident.  At first she thought she was seeing things.  A car hit a moose, and as often happens the moose ends up in/on the car and both moose and passengers perish.  In this case the driver miraculously lived!!!!  Moose weigh almost twice as much as a horse and caution signs are everywhere on the highways in Maine and Canada.



 Aug. 12 - Route 95 takes us to Canada and the Trans Canada Highway.  Last year when we made this trip in the RV (with 24 other rigs from our Excel RV Club) we were waved through at the boarder with no problem.  This time I knew it was going to be interesting when their first question was "where do you live" - in the RV, "what address do you use" - South Dakota. Seeing that the truck and RV are registered in Montana (for tax benefits); we were pulled over and both truck and RV were searched.  Can't really blame them, our lifestyle is a bit sketchy.  They were very nice about it and upon finding no contraband we proceeded to Nova Scotia.



                                                        

8/9/2014 OH, PA, NY, MA, CT 7,000 MILES

7/26 - On Route 90 we drive across OH to Route 80 in Pennsylvania where the landscape has changed dramatically as we reach the Appalachian Mountains.  From the high desert to grassy plains, only corn fields and cows; then rolling green hills and now forests and big hills.  Really they are mountains, but after being in the Rockies it is hard to see the Appalachian's as  mountains.  Found a lovely campground in Loganton PA called Holiday Pines and it was just what we needed.  Wooded, small, and quiet!

7/28 - We take Route 84 in PA  to 87 in NY and back to 90 in the corner of Massachusetts and camp on the Otis Reservoir in Tolland Forest State Park.  A beautiful tranquil place in deep forest.  A tornado hit near this area a few days ago and we can see tree damage.  Not many sites are big enough for our rig but John was able to maneuver into one and made it look easy!

This part of our journey ends at 7,000 MILES  IN  A  MONTH !!!

Won't do this again, glad it is done, had a great time, loved seeing family, friends and this wonderful country but next time at a more leisurely pace :)



Deb With Her Sisters and Brothers 

7/29 thru 8/9 - A short drive on Rt 90E then south to Rt 95 to Mystic CT where John will drop Debra off for about 10 days to visit her family.  It feels so good to be back along the Connecticut shoreline where Debra spent many years of childhood while her father was stationed at Submarine Base, Groton.  Debra's 4 siblings, nieces, nephews, aunt and cousin gathered for good fun, food and sorting through thousands of photographs that Deb's mom had accumulated through the years.  John takes the train to DC to continue work on his contracts and have some badly needed R & R while he stays with Jack.