Days 17-19, Friday-Sunday

We awoke to cloudy and threatening skies on Friday, but we took our time having breakfast and enjoying the incredible view as long as possible.

We had no campground reservations or definitive itinerary from here.  Our only timeline was that we had to be home Sunday night, since we our washing machine repairman was scheduled  to come on Monday.  We had three days to make it home.

The ride out of Meat Cove was a slow one, 8 km of pot holed gravel.  Our van has very little clearance due to the propane tank, so we really have to crawl over bumpy roads.  Eventually we  made it back to the Cabot Trail and the National Park.  Rain and fog were very heavy so our pace was slow and photo ops were minimal.  Despite the weather the scenery was still spectacular.  We stopped at a campground along the west coast of the park where the campsites our right on the cliff.  We stayed at this campground 40 years ago, but the weather really made it not worth it, especially after the fantastic views of the previous night.  So we continued along the Cabot Trail as it weaves along the coastal highlands, taking a few photos that were just impossible to resist.

Leaving the park, we had a great lunch in Cheticamp, whose residents still have a great allegiance to France, displaying the French flag everywhere and speaking in French for the most part.   Leaving Cheticamp, we drove until 6 pm, arriving at a private campsite on coast of the Northumberland Straits which separate Nova Scotia from Prince Edward Island.  The campground was filled with big RV's but they had a very nice section for tents that were well spaced and private.

We got up early on Saturday morning, leaving the campground at 8 pm.  Our destination, Acadia National Park in Maine, 455 miles away.  As we approached the New Brunswick border we stopped at a Nova Scotia Visitor Center to answer a call of nature.  The visitor center is beautifully located at the head of the Bay of Fundy, providing expansive views of the coastal plains.  Enjoying this view as we returned to our van we could hear bag pipes playing.  I assumed they were playing a CD over their PA system, but we eventually came upon a piper in full kilt.  We both thought it was a very appropriate farewell to this beautiful province.

We arrived at Acadia around 3:30 PM, and very luckily got the only available campsite in the park at the Seawall Campground.  After setting up our gear, I went for a ten mile bike ride, completing the full loop around the peninsula that includes Southwest Harbor.  We then headed out for lobster, finding a restaurant, The Upper Deck, close to the campground, and right on Southwest Harbor.  We sat outside, and thoroughly enjoyed our meal.

We got up early on Sunday, packed up our gear and took off at 9 am for driving tour of the national park.  Although we have camped there at least two other times, it may have been ten years or more that we were last there, so most of the scenery was only vaguely familiar.  Our 41 mile drive, clearly stimulated our desire to return.  I would describe Acadia as a cyclists and kayaker's paradise.

Our drive across Maine was uneventful and we arrived in Littleton at 5 pm, stopping at the COOP for some grocers before heading home.

All in all, we put over 3600 miles on our car and couldn't be happier with our trip.  Newfoundland was amazing; it exceeded all our expectations and we encourage anyone that loves spectacular natural scenery to go there.  Life is good!