June 2 2017 - And so another epic journey begins. We are currently in a nice park near Oromocto, New Brunswick, on our way to Newfoundland, via PEI. This is a new experience for us, as we're travelling with another couple, Dave and Evie Forsyth, who have their r.v. on the trail with us. It takes some coordination to travel with others, but so far, Day 2, so good.

Yesterday we started out in good time, and reached Levis, across from Quebec City, in late afternoon. Traffic around Montreal was as you might expect, and as with the 401, route 40/30/20 is loaded with trucks. One of them nearly did us in, as I got caught in the left lane when we had to go down to one lane, and barely squeaked in ahead of a 26 wheeler carrying aggregate. Clipped one of those roadside pylons, and left a red streak near my driver's door, but fortunately didn't end up taking down a whole row of them, which could have ended rather badly. The driver of the big rig certainly didn't give me much room...just enough. Happened so fast I didn't even get the adrenaline rush that usually goes with close calls.

We celebrated our first day on the road by going to the little canteen on the r.v. site, which featured basic fare Quebec style. Gail and Dave both ordered poutine, if you can believe it. Evie and I had move conventional burger or dog and fries. It was okay, and cheap. A little cholesterol is always a good thing after a long day in the saddle.

Today was more uneventful, as we motored on to Riviere du Loup, and then headed up the valley toward Fredericton. Having done the same trip a couple of years ago, we weren't as tempted as before to stop at the world's largest axe, the world's longest covered bridge, or the Covered Bridge Potato Chip factory. We motored on to catch up to to the Forsyths. They had gone ahead to Fredericton to stop at an RV center to get their furnace looked at, which turned out to be a simple solution. Once we arrived, we also had a couple of things to ask about...no hot water, and a noisy slide-out. Got some answers, so now have hot water, and a still noisy slide-out despite my initial efforts.

Forsyths decided to camp at the RV parking lot, but we came on to a very nice rural park, where we are now set up beside a lovely little lake. We ran into rain all the way along today, and got another dousing here in the park, but now all is quiet...birds chirping, frogs croaking, loon calling...nature at our doorstep.

Tomorrow we will cross the bridge into PEI, where we'll spend a few days before going on to North Sidney. We cross to the Rock on the 9th, so have several days to enjoy in our smallest province.

Hope all are well. Drop a note if you get the urge. More later. Stay tuned.