07/13 to 07/16 2025 Trip to Canada - Part One

 2025 Trip to Canada Part One

July 13 to July 16 

Welcome, dear Reader. At the suggestion of fellow Hudson Islander member, Roberta, the club has chosen a new and different adventure for our end-of-RV-season...a trip to Canada. Through her travel experience and fond memories, she's put together an itinerary that I am excited to make a part of my new bucket list. Having visited all 48 contiguous States, I believe the joy of completion is not closure, but the quiet invitation to begin again. What follows will be a two-part blog post in which I'll chronicle the trip. Part One: traveling to get to Canada and Part Two: Traveling through New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Necessary steps to take before entering Canada:

• Passport and Driver's License (Enhanced) are in order; either are good for entering Canada;
• Health insurance documents for out of country;
• Vehicle registration and insurance rider for out of country;
• U.S. currency exchanged for Canadian currency; As of this writing, $1.00 USD = $1.36 CD
• AT&T cell phone plan includes use in Canada without roaming charges or extra fees.
• Alcohol restrictions (sigh) adhered to: 1-1.75 L gin; 2-1.25 L wine; 24 cans of beer.  

B. Seacoast Camping & RV Resort - 2 Nights

Sea Coast Website

Driving the 238 mile, 4½ hour was scenic but the Interstates (I-90 & I-495) had heavy traffic.

The Hudson Islanders in attendance for our Nova Scotia adventure include:

Roberta

Jack

Charlie

Sue/Ray

Pat/Jim

Doreen/Tony

Susan/Gene and

Vicki/Tom

Site 85 Full hook-up. 

One evening we made the trip into Hampton, New Hampshire, and dined at the Sea Ketch Restaurant. The food was terrific, enhanced by our friendly, personable server, Keagan. We chose the second floor outdoor level that had an ocean view and the breeze made for a delightful lunch.

L. to R: Vicki, Sue, Pat, Doreen, Susan, Roberta, Charlie, Jack, Gene, Tony, Jim, Ray, Tom

I chose the Atlantic haddock topped with Monterey jack cheese and ritz cracker crumbs, basted with lemon and butter with a side of roasted baby potatoes.

Knowing firewood was not allowed in Canada, we used most of it up with two evening campfires...80º+ but they were still enjoyable. 

Me (I took the photo), Jack, Vicki and Tom are missing. With Happy Hours and Cocktail Hours at anytime o'clock, we continued to enjoy them as well.

C. Pumpkin Patch RV Resort - 1 Night

After completing the 187 mile trip from North Hampton, NH, refueling and before arriving at the Pumpkin Patch RV Resort in Hermon, Maine, I stopped at Dysart's Truck Stop and Restaurant for a late lunch. Today's ride was most pleasurable with nothing but green forests,  thick with pines and farm lands dotted here and there. Once again I'm amazed at the amount of vacant land in this country. Hours and hours of driving with the same beautiful scenery. Temperature touched 100º and fortunately, only power had to be hooked up and the AC worked for hours to get the RV to a comfortable level...75º

Three Egg Omelet: Fresh broccoli, onions, peppers, tomatoes, mushrooms, and a three cheese blend.

While two of our group chose to spend the night at Dysart's, the remaing six RVs went on another five miles to Pumpkin Patch.

Sites were level and spacious with activity room, showers and laundry close by.

With the remaining wood, we spent our last night in the States with a campfire...

...musical serenading by Tom....

...and the cocktail hour that saw the demise of yet another 'soldier'; sacrificed so that it would not see the Canadian border. Hey, what are the chances of getting stopped and searched in Canada? Answer? 100% Details in my next blog post. Stay tuned.

"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end." — Ursula K. Le Guin