Today has been much calmer than yesterday. No dramas! We left our campsite near Pokeshaw early, at 09.00. We thought the owner would either come and ask us for money, or to move on, but we saw no sign of him. As none of the facilities were working and all we had done was spend the night on a piece of grass in the corner, we decided not to stop and offer payment.
As we have been following the coast for days, we decided to take an more direct inland route today. The 134 and Highway 8, both of which were quite quiet. We stopped, briefly, in Miramichi to use McDonald’s wifi and then continued to Moncton. As it is one of the larger cities in New Brunswick we thought we would take a look. However, it did not seem very inspiring. It is apparently the fastest growing city in all the Maritime provinces. Many call centres are located here because of the bilingual workforce. We drove alongside the muddy Petitcodiac River. A tidal bore rushes up this river twice daily. Not when we were passing though.
After Moncton we entered Dieppe, they seem to run into each other. Dieppe is the biggest Acadian city in the world. Who are the Acadians? The Peninsula we drove across today is called the Acadian Peninsula and the drive down the coast of New Brunswick is called the Acadian coastal drive. The Acadians were the original French settlers who were driven out by the invading British. Some returned and resettled these areas.
As we approached Nova Scotia the weather became inclement. It had been threatening for a while and had become very hot and muggy. The rain soon passed though and we hoped it was over. Stopping at the Nova Scotia Welcome Office, I picked up a good good map and some general information.
Setting off again we passed through Amherst. Here there were some beautiful old mansions. The place has a very different feel to New Brunswick, which I thought was rather dull. Perhaps that is being very unfair, as we have only driven quickly through it. We decided not to take the Acadian coastal drive, which I am sure would have been pretty, as we have seen so much coastal scenery recently. We will, however, go back to New Brunswick later on and go along the Bay of Fundy to Saint John, which looks interesting.
As we have been driving along in this part of the world, we have noticed many houses have balconies overlooking the road. Mostly furnished with a couple of chairs. People seem to enjoy sitting and watching the traffic pass by.
Nova Scotia seems very quaint and we have driven though some pretty villages on the Northumberland Shore. We decided to head for the campsite at Brule and as we approached it the rain started again. So we had to quickly rush to put the tent up as it was pouring by this stage. Tonight’s dinner was vegetable curry with rice and strawberries and Greek yogurt. Trying to produce a varied menu can be taxing. But we don’t do too badly on just 2 burners. It is now 9pm and still raining. Looks as if we are set for a wet night
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