Day 28, July 25, 2007

Day 28, Tuesday, July 25, 2007
Tonight we are camping on the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Chaleur Bay and the town is Caraquet, New Brunswick. I don’t know where to start. How about the beginning. We got up real early with the idea we would get a good start. Willa wanted to shower and vacuum the motorhome and because we had full services I decided to not only dump the holding tanks but to flush out the black water tank. I filled it twice with water then let it drain out. I had never done this before, all the time we have owned the motor home. So we didn’t get away until about 9:30. We stopped to get a couple of pictures of the entrance to the campsite then we are off. We get about 10 miles down the road and I check all my gages and my alternator is not working, only putting out about 12 volts. So we turn around and head back to Charlo. The GM dealer is too busy to help but they did make a couple of calls around and the muffler shop right next to where I am parked would have a look at it. So I walked back to the muffler shop and they were ready for us and we pulled the front end of the m/h right into the shop. After a little checking it was the alternator that had went and required replacing. A new one is ordered and within 2 1/2 hours we were on our way. Because it was their lunch time we bought a dozen donuts for their coffee in the afternoon. The bill was very reasonable and the fact they were able to help us right away was great. It,s tough, they have their appointments set up and along comes this stranger with the puppy dog eyes, wringing his hands and practically begging for help. It’s a real judgment call on their part. We have been so lucky with the help we have gotten on this trip with the problems we’ve had. People seem to bend over backwards to try to accommodate a stranger in need. I’ve kept the addresses of the people that have helped us and when we get back we will send them all a thankyou and a calendar at Christmas. From there we are on the road again and I am saying to Willa, I hope that is the end of the problems - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - then I look at the gages and the oil pressure gage is way over what it should be. I start to panic and remember that I have had this before and if I just leave it alone for a while and keep driving it has always come back down again and it did. So other than missing a turn and ending up 15 miles on the wrong road all went well. We are driving up the Acadian Peninsula and our first real taste of New Brunswick. The winters must be harsh and short because the further we went up the Peninsula the smaller and more wind swept the trees and brush. The area makes me think of pictures I have seen of Newfoundand, only with more trees. We are driving a little late to make up some miles; but also to get to Caraquet because there is suppose to be a great Sea Food Restaurant in this town and also a campsite on the water. We found the food to be good and we found the campsite. We had booked at the campsite before dinner. After dinner we stopped at the wharf to look at the fishing boats that are tied up. Some mighty big boats and some colourful smaller ones also. The wharf would be a good half mile in total, and the walk back. Saw some jelly fish doing there thing and a number of people fishing off the wharf. We are in awe of New Brunswick so far and we have only covered a 100 miles or so. Imagine what the next 200 miles will be like (you are going to have to imagine; we are going to see it for ourselves). Talk to you tomorrow.