Monday, August 30, 2010

Michael's blog

Hi, blog readers.
If you didn't know me yet I am Michael Munday.
Since my sister has moved away to charlotte town, I have been very lonely at times.

Anyway, lets get to the story.

Well, We've done most of canada now and were in Nova scotia now.
By the looks of things, I am probably gonna be in Halifax at my 10th birthday. ( September 9th )
last year, the day of my birthday was an 9 ultra, know why?  Well i was turning 9 on september 9 and september is the 9th month and it was 2009, 9999.

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island


Arisaig Provincial Park, Nova Scotia



Ballantynes Cove, Nova Scotia



Ballantynes Cove, Nova Scotia


McLeods beach campground, Cape Breton



Cape Breton


Cape Breton


 

Friday, August 27, 2010

from Kouchibouguac, NB to New Glasgow, NS

We camped at Kouchibouguac National Park in NB for 4 nights. Beautiful weather for 3 days and one rainy day... Lots to see and do there...a fantastic boardwalk down to the ocean that crossed a salt marsh and dunes and a bike trail that circled the park.  Only one geocache in the park though so I wasn't too happy with that!  There was a beach named after me so that was okay!


We left early Friday morning and finally headed to Nova Scotia.  Drove through Amherst and loved the older buildings!  Drove through Pugwash where the Seagull pewter factory is (where our Jazz Christmas ornaments are made).  We were close to where Ken grew up but didn't take that route, maybe on the way back.  We decided to park for the night at a Walmart (again) in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia.  


Since the boys have all been playing this card game called "Magic Cards" and I have been feeling a little left out, I surprised Michael today and picked up my own deck builder kit and will be able to play with them from now on!  Not sure if I will like it or not but will give it a try..you know the saying, if you can't beat them, join them!







Sunday, August 22, 2010

Fundy National Park, New Brunswick

We arrived at Fundy National Park in New Brunswick on Aug 20th.  We have a nice camping spot beside Terry Sr for 3 nights then they are off tomorrow morning back to Quebec.

The town of Alma is right beside the park, a short walk away.  Lobster shops where you can buy them fresh or cooked...Terry Sr bought 2 cooked ones for his dinner last night!

The Bay of Fundy has the largest tides in the world, up to 40 ft high in some spots.  When the tide goes out it completely drains the bay near us in Alma and the boats are left resting on their keels or sides.

Drove to Moncton yesterday to check out magnetic hill.  It is an optical illusion where the road appears to be going down hill when it is actually up hill.  We tested it out and our vehicle rolled up hill...check out my photo below and tell me which way the road the appears to going.....












Wednesday, August 18, 2010

PEI is coming to an end for us....

We are almost finished our stay in PEI...2 more sleeps....

We are back at Twin Shores with Grandpa Munday, Les and Jake and will leave with them for New Brunswick on August 20th.

We went deep sea fishing today and we all caught lots of mackerel and some of us caught cod.  We were able to keep some filets for our dinner.  We bought some fresh mussels and scallops as well and had a huge seafood feast!  Terry Sr's friends Derek and Hazel Hughes came with us , a nice couple from Summerside that he has known since he was 19!

The weather has been fantastic and we have all spent lots of time swimming in the warm ocean waters.   Yesterday I went snorkeling and saw a decent sized lobster, dove down to try to touch or catch him and ended up cutting my finger on his shell....he got away!  Les also saw a lobster, maybe the same one and also tried to catch it, no luck either!

Mike and his cousin Jake have had a great visit, watching movies, playing Magic cards, playing in the sand, swimming.....

Monday, August 16, 2010

See ya later Dedo!

We had to say goodbye to Jen (a.k.a. Dedo) yesterday.  She is all set up in Charlottetown, PEI...she has an apartment, she has a job, she is all registered at University, she has made some friends...our job is done...time to move on.....     It was a very hard thing for me to do, I am sure every parent that says goodbye to a child must go through it one day or later....of course I bawled my eyes out...everyone that knows me knew that I would!

Jen gave Michael his birthday presents for his 10th birthday coming up.   Jen also received a nice gift from Grandma Gail and Grandpa Ken, a new TV!  We drove all over Ch'town trying to find her one the right one!

We are all so proud of her and her decisions and her journey she is about to embark on..we love you and miss you already!  xoxo




Wednesday, August 11, 2010

73 days

We have been gone for 73 days!  Time sure flies when you are having fun.  

Hard to believe that school starts in a few weeks and that summer is almost over.  We can see it in the air,  the cool nights and the shorter days.   When we left it was spring time and we watched the days get longer and longer until they peaked out and we had the full heat of the summer.  There were some days (and nights) that were so hot and muggy it was unbearable…I had the fan on full blast to sleep or the air conditioning on full during the day.  Now it is getting to the time that we need socks, long pants and hoodies on in the evening.  

We have traveled through 8 provinces and still have Nova Scotia left to explore before we head south for the fall and winter.

Our budget is staying on track…we have spent less than budgeted for on camping (thanks Walmart!).  We are under budget on fuel as we anticipated it to cost quite a bit more to drive from coast to coast.  I guess Terry’s conservative driving paid off!


Food and miscellaneous costs are WAY over budget so far…..

 The cell phone bill is much higher that we thought;  we hadn’t planned on eating out as much as we have; the food is so good here; the wine tastes better here; the beer is much colder here; the fresh PEI mussels, lobsters, potatoes, beef, pork, corn, strawberries,…okay I think you have the idea….

The "Old Dublin Inn" one of many pubs in Ch'town.



The Munday boys




downtown Charlottetown restaurant




The "Divine Nine" golf course beside where we camped at Brudenell River Prov Park.
Only $5 for green fees for campers!




One of the many beautiful golf courses on PEI.



Saturday, August 7, 2010

lovely PEI

We drove around part of the island  yesterday with Terry Sr,  Les and Jake.  We went up to Jacques Cartier beach and the kids caught a jelly fish with their bucket.

 Today we went to the Haunted Mansion in Kensington, a real hoot!  The spinning vortex was too much for me to take...too dizzy......

Had a nice lunch at the Tasty Freeze, a road stop hamburger stand right on the Confederation trail in Kensington.

We all enjoyed the go-karts in Burlington...Michael was a little unsure at first but after he went the first round  he was beaming!

A nice BBQ back at the campsite and we are all in the RV watching the kids play their "Magic cards"


Friday, August 6, 2010

Les's birthday at Linkletter park

Grandpa Munday, Uncle Les and Jake arrived on Aug 5th, Les's birthday, to meet us at Linkletter park in Summerside.

Les was born in Summerside so it was fitting that he arrive here on his birthday.

Both Terry's BBQ'ed the dinner.  Les had a 30 oz prime rib roast cooked up for him!

Michael and his cousin Jake were happy to see each other, Jake has grown quite a bit taller since we saw him last year in Jasper!  Both boys went off to play "Magic Cards" for most of the evening.  

It was quite windy so we sat outside and enjoyed the bug free evening . The park is busy, not quite the type of Provincial park we are used to with private sites, but rather a large open grassy area right on the edge of the water.  Terry Sr has camped here several times before and it is a very sentimental place for him as Bernice used to love it here.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

driving the island tip to tip

We departed Charlottetown and headed east and drove up to Red Point Provincial Park for one night, a nice spot on a hill over looking the ocean towards Cape Breton Island. We drove up to the Eastern most point and made the turn to go back down towards the central valley doing a figure 8 and drove the Northwest part of the island and stopped near Bloomfield.  We camped at the Mill River Provincial Park for 4 nights with huge wide open grassy areas right beside the trees to camp.  We must have had 1/2 an acre ourselves with the next camper having their own 1/2 acre!

The Mill River fun park was right beside us and we walked a few steps to the the back entrance and then bought our wristbands - all day water slides, the Rave (an almost free fall slide), bumper boats, swimming pools etc.  It was great, Michael had a blast and I even went down the Rave twice, screaming the entire way down, it only lasts 2 seconds so I didn't scream for long!  Terry did it as well, but he was yelling "yippee", so that didn't count as being scared!

We drove up to Alberton and went to the Prince County Fair.  Michael had an all day wrist band for the rides which was short lived after one hour, we found him on a bench with his head between his knees, lol!
 I guess he got too dizzy on one ride..so we left and he slept in the back of the RV for the next 2 hours while we drove around!

Saw more light houses, went right to the tip of the island to North Cape, it was pretty cool!  I think we have seen 4 light houses up close, not sure how many we have seen in the distance.....reminds me of Estevan Point in BC where we lived near the lighthouse!


It took us 4 days to drive around the island with one stop in Charlottetown as we passed through.

We have logged over 2500 km's just driving on PEI in the last 3 weeks we have been here!








Tuesday, August 3, 2010

goodbye Granny Pat

We just found out today that Granny Pat passed away on the weekend.  We just visited with her 5 weeks ago and she was looking a little more frail than normal but she seemed okay.  She was fine on Thursday, went to the hospital on Friday, had fluid on her lungs and passed away on Saturday.  Her heart gave out on her, she had many different heart problems for the 24 years I knew her and for many years before that.

I took Jen out for a drink and dinner tonight to give a cheer for Granny Pat, she was one of a kind and will be missed dearly.