More or Less

While driving to look at 5th wheels yesterday ..... (RV says there wasn't nearly enough storage in our travel trailer for a 2-3 week trip and if we ever do a cross-country type trip he'd like it to be in a 5'er since they have so much storage underneath them. We'll see ..... not doing anything for a few years but figured we can start looking just for fun) ...... we came up with this list of things that were "more" or "less" than we expected from our trip.

We found Canada and Maine to be:

MORE:

* beautiful & breathtaking! than we imagined.

* isolated/rural than we expected .... while in Canada the closest "internet cafe" we found was 1.5 hours from our campground - and its parking lot looked like a ghost town! That was the day we went to Anne of Green Gables and we didn't have the laptop with us, so we didn't venture in. While in Maine, we asked a manager at McDonalds if they had "wi-fi" and she said "what's that?"

* buggy! The Canadian mosquitoes were just downright vicious! My dad said they took a chunk out of you and flew up to a tree to eat it. Someone said they were salt water mosquitoes and boy, were they nasty monsters.

* green - almost every trash can we saw in Canada was divided into "waste" and "compost". With detailed signs on what went in what. Some plates were compost, others waste. Same with cups, forks, straws and everything else. Took a few minutes just to figure out how to throw away our trash. And there were lots more smaller cars than I expected. I guess I expected everyone to be in a big SUV due to their harsh winters. That must just be us gluttonous Americans.

* lobster boats in front yards - we were there between lobster & fishing seasons so there were lots of (commercial sized) boats docked in everyone's front yard.

* RV's! Also in most yards were some sort of RV. I guess when you can make your living by working 2 months of the year (some of the fishermen earn their entire year's salary by working 2 months) you have alot more time for play.

* daylight - the sun didn't even start to think about going down until 10 pm!

* UV rays - the sun felt way hotter than it does here at home (that surprised me!). The temps were in the mid 70's and no humidity (awesome!) but the intensity of the sun was - well, intense! It's been a long time since I've gotten a sunburn. RV doesn't ever remember me peeling like this - and he's known me for 23 years.

* relatives - My dad ran into a distant relative (cousin) 3 doors down at the campground - just met them there camping. They were there for a reunion. Dad has done extensive geneaology research. Almost EVERYBODY on the island is related to someone, in some way. Robertsons, Stewarts, McGregors, oh my!

* GPS, satellite radio & Verizon cell phone coverage - Our GPS (LOVE IT!) took us all over Maine & Canada (and back again!) and we never lost our satellite radio coverage. Verizon cell phone coverage was surprisingly good in the most rural parts of both Maine and Canada.

* expensive - more expensive than we thought, thanks to the sagging US dollar. Fuel was about $6.50/gallon for diesel. We expected that, but were hoping to get better deals as far as the exchange rate and souvenirs & other expenses.

* Green Gables - we loved seeing the Anne of Green Gables setting. Pop Up was especially thrilled to see the 100+ year old Snow Queen apple tree still alive - and still producing apples. The area surrounding Green Gables was more commercialized than we expected - although when people flock there for several days/week at a time, I guess they need something to do (mini golf, shopping, small amusement park, etc). It wasn't too bad - just much more there than the part of the island we stayed at.

LESS:

* we ate at the camper less than we planned - wanted to get a taste of the island cuisine, so ate out quite a bit. Pop Up turned 10 years old on our trip and he got to eat lobster 4 times that week!!!! One of our more interesting (and delicious) meals was: french fries smothered with gravy, then crumbled hamburger and topped with peas. It was yummy - kind of like a shepherd's pie.
* The WORLDS BUSIEST Dairy Queen - in the capital of PEI, Charlottetown - was less appetizing than expected. It holds the record as the world's busiest Dairy Queen location (trivia I learned about 6 months ago so made an effort to go there) - about 5 lines at least 5 people deep inside and a drive-thru that had cars wrapped around the block. Go figure - small island and cold a good part of the year!? ... but it was just gross. I guess they sell it so fast it doesn't have time to set up or freeze in the machine - cuz it was just mush. Wouldn't eat there again if you paid us. We much preferred the mom/pop ice cream stands - and most islanders said they did as well. Guess its just the tourists putting DQ on the map!

Those were just off the top of our head yesterday as we traveled about - I'll try to get some pictures uploaded soon!!!