Camping for a Week in Nova Scotia

Camping for a Week

After relaxing for an afternoon and evening, the next morning I was ready to work on some items from my maintenance checklist. The first thing I did was to caulk the molding around the driver’s window frame. During a downpour in Moncton we must have been parked at just the right angle to funnel the water from the roof down and around that window, because we ended up with a pretty large gusher at the corner of the window. I hoped that caulking this molding would cure that problem. Also, while getting out my tools for that job, I was poking around the inverter and saw that the breaker on the side of the inverter appeared to have been tripped. I re-set it and it appeared to start charging the batteries again. If that permanently cures the charging problem then I will be pleased, although I still suspect that I will eventually need to replace my 3 – 4D house batteries with 4 – 6 volt golf cart batteries before I am happy with their capacity. This will mean building a new air-tight battery box for them (since the old one will probably not hold the new configuration) and buying all new cabling, so it will be fairly expensive ($1000+) and a big enough job that I don’t want to rush into it if it will not be necessary. The performance of the current system on the trip back should tell me what I need to know.

In most ways I was really glad that I bought a smaller (35’) bus rather than one of the larger newer models. In 1998 we had lived in a 26’ class A motorhome with relatively little storage space for nearly a year and by comparison we have what seems like all the space in the world. The GM PD4106’s from the early 1960’s were manufactured mostly from lightweight aluminum using aircraft technology and were propelled by powerful 2-stroke Detroit Diesel 8v71 engines. Coupled with the 4 speed Spicer transmission, this relatively lightweight bus (about 22,500 pounds empty) had few corrosion issues and could get better than 10 mpg, good for such a large vehicle. By comparison, our old 26’ motorhome had seldom gotten more than 6-8 mpg and mileage for the newer larger 40’ buses is usually in that same range. Sure, we have a big Rottweiler to stumble over daily, but I don’t think that would be any different no matter how large the bus since all buses are only 8 to 8 ½’ wide and slide-outs are an expensive option. The difference in length would get us room for a desk, which would be nice, and maybe a slightly larger kitchen, but the relative cost in fuel consumption is just too high for me.

When I mention to people that we travel to Nova Scotia just about every summer, most have only a vague idea where Nova Scotia is and fewer know anything about it. I have found it a wonderful destination if relaxation during a vacation is the goal; if you are looking for big cities, night life, and amusement parks, then this is not it. Most of Nova Scotia lies on a peninsula located directly east of Maine. Since it is surrounded by water, the climate is somewhat more moderate than Maine, but maybe foggier and wetter. Nova Scotia means “New Scotland” and the weather is somewhat similar. Summer days occasionally reach the mid 80’s but seldom higher, and nights are always cool. The area is dotted with lakes (more even than in Minnesota) and most of the province is covered in coniferous forest. Halifax, located on the east coast is built around a big natural harbor and is where the majority of Nova Scotia’s population lives. The Clare region that we visit is on the opposite coast, on the Bay of Fundy with its famous 20’ plus tides, directly across from Maine. The coast is dotted with colorful fishing communities and I always say it is like stepping back in time since most big corporate chains have chosen to ignore the place with their McDonalds and strip malls. Popular summer activities include walks on the beach, clamming, and camping. The local cold water fish is among the best I have ever found, especially the lobster. If I used s single word to describe the Nova Scotia experience it would be “quiet”. I can relax for a whole week here while camped in someone’s yard and not hear a plane, a helicopter, or a car horn, or experience a traffic jam of more than 3 cars.

The Clare area of Nova Scotia is the other French-speaking part of Canada (aside from Quebec). Since I speak not a word of French, I would be totally lost except for the fact that people here are mostly equally conversant in English. Conversations automatically change over to English once I say something in English. I am probably at least as comfortable here as I am back in North Carolina and we own land here where we intend to settle once we are both retired. Because the area is still a bit off the beaten path, a nice house can still be purchased for less than $100,000. I have not yet experienced a Nova Scotia winter and I understand they can be brutal as compared to our relatively mild North Carolina winters. The ideal lifestyle then, as long as we are able, will be to spend much of each summer here and the rest of the year, including winters, back in Chapel Hill. That is the main reason we bought the bus.

We camped in Kim and Gaston's yard for most of our stay. They have 3 big dogs and we were not quite sure how Diezel would interact with them. Ted is an aging Golden Retriever and I didn't anticipate any problems with him since he is pretty mellow. He and Diezel sniffed each other and that was about it until Diezel decided to try to mount him and Ted was quick to let him know who was the boss (and it was not Diezel for a change). Aside from that, those two go along fine for the rest of our stay. Kim also has a pair of Bernese Mountain Dogs and while the make of the pair turned out to be just as mellow as Ted, the female seemed to not appreciate having another big male dog in her yard and she gave Diezel holy hell every time he went near her. All in all it went very smoothly and I was glad I had spent time socializing Diezel before the trip; having him eat the dog of a family member would not be good etiquette.

One thing we enjoy here a lot is the music, as the area seems to have more than its share of talented musicians. This week we sat in on a rehearsal by the local Neil Diamond tribute band, which is composed of 8 very talented musicians (3 from Flora’s family). We had a great time watching and listening. We also enjoy the frequent family jam sessions where everyone gets to play their favorites in an intimate home setting after a supper of rappie pie, the favorite local delicacy.

Day 8 in Nova Scotia: This was the day I was to move the bus back over to Janice and Eric’s and reconnect the car dolly for the trip back home. On the way there I stopped and dumped the waste tank and got drenched in a driving rainstorm while I did it. Afterward I stopped by an RV repair shop to have them take a look at the propane burner on the fridge, which had stopped cooling on the trip up to NS. I had taken it apart the day before and seen that it had a flame, but apparently it was not enough flame to do the job. We had frozen fish to take back so it was essential to have a fridge the keeps things cold. All it took was a blast of compressed air to clean out the burner and the thing was back working normally. Thirty two dollars and I was back on the road.

Friday night was a big family get-together with rappie pie, music, and way too many beers. We played music and partied late into the night and finally I had my designated driver deliver me back to the bus. After the previous day’s rain, the weather was warm (for Nova Scotia) and not a cloud in the sky. I was hoping that the weather would hold for our departure early the next morning. We planned to take the same route back down that we had followed on the way up, and hopefully we would be stopping for the night in the same places. Since it was our final day in Clare we used it to tie up the loose ends. I had wanted to take Diezel back to the beach. He and I had gone there once a few days earlier but it had been nearly high tide (meaning that most of the beach was covered with water) plus our time was limited. Today Flora had some errands to run and agreed to drop us at the ocean on her way. The first time I took him there was the day after he had been washed and I knew that if I let him run free he would be rolling in all kinds of awful stuff and would end up smelling of it all week. This time though, right after we got there I cut him loose. What a place for a dog this beach was. There were dead smelly things and big patches of seaweed and it was right next to the fish plant with smells that could only appeal to a dog continually in our faces. Naturally he had an absolutely splendid time. He ran and he sniffed and he rolled in God only knows what kinds of things and by the end of it he was as playful as I have ever seen him. He has a good life with us, but because of where we live he practically never gets to run loose so he took full advantage of this opportunity. On top of that he even got to ride back home with his head out the window, another thing he never gets to do at home. In the evening Flora got her lobster dinner, something she had been looking forward to all week. We each had 2 – 2 pound lobsters, which is way too much for me (I ended up eating only the claws) but not too much for the lobster queen, Flora, and since Eric also had a pizza delivered afterward, apparently no one in that family finds lobster as filling as I do.