And We’re Back!

Welcome back, dear readers! Did you miss the blog? C’mon, be honest! Yes, it has been a while since I last posted. Whether you stumbled here out of curiosity or you have been faithfully following along, we’re thrilled to bring you along for our next great adventure. But, before we divulge the destinations of our next couple of trips, we should probably get you all caught up on what we have been doing these last four months or so. 

The short answer is, “Not Much”.  Recovering from full knee replacement surgery has been a slow and challenging journey, marked by an ongoing regimen of home exercises and bi-weekly physical therapy sessions. It’s an amusing yet humbling reality when the highlight of mid-February morning turns out to be a trip to the physical therapist’s office, where lingering beyond a 30-minute appointment becomes the closest thing to an escape from the monotony of home life. The good news is that about 2 weeks ago, some 5 months post-surgery, I seemed to turn the corner in my rehabilitation, and starting to see some substantial improvement. Very encouraging! Neil (the Northpoint) also spent some time in the repair shop to have service and continuous maintenance items attended to. Now that the weather is starting to improve, the process of getting the RV road-worthy has begun. Yahoo!

We are just itching to get back on the road. The excitement! The adventure! The sights, sounds, and scenic expanses are just calling us back. But before we embark on our summer grand journey, we’ve decided to ease ourselves back into the RV lifestyle by exploring destinations closer to home. Having stayed at several state parks in other regions, it seems only fitting we try out a Massachusetts State Park. So, we are spending 10 days in early June at Scusset Beach State Reservation, located in Sagamore, MA. This gem of a state park is situated at the furthest point towards Cape Cod, without fighting the infamous Cape Cod bridge traffic. One of the highlights of Scusset Beach is the 7-mile biking trail that follows the canal from Scusset Beach to Buzzards Bay. It’s a perfect opportunity to stretch our legs, soak in the fresh sea air, and enjoy the scenic views. We’re also excited about sharing the joys of RV life with local friends willing to spend the afternoon, or morning, at the beach. The best part? It’s only a 60-mile journey from home, making it an accessible and stress-free way to ease ourselves back into motion.

After spending 10 days at the beach in June, we will commence an extensive journey consisting of 11 stops over a period of 75 days, covering 2,100 miles through July and August, into Canada. This trip, which we have named "Canada or Bust," holds particular significance for us. We have loved all our visits to Canada, and there have been several of them. During this journey, Judy and I will retrace our previous trip to Canada, which took place in August 2017. At that time, traveling across the country in an RV was merely a grand idea. Judy and I rented a smaller RV and embarked on a 10-day excursion through New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Despite the limited time, we maximized our travel experience by spending only a few days at each stop. This was one of the trips that solidified our decision to retire early and explore the country in an RV. The only issue we had with the whole experience was that we wanted more time! More time to linger along the coast. More time to explore the historic low tides of the Bay of Fundy. More time to wander the endless beaches in Prince Edward Island. And more time to explore Yarmouth and Halifax, Nova Scotia. This trip will give us the time to soak in the experiences that were dearly missed on our 2017 foray. We vowed we would return, and here is our chance to follow through.

Overview

Canada or Bust - Summer 2025

• Our first stop is Southwest Harbor, Maine, near Acadia National Park and Bar Harbor, Maine.  

• Crossing into Canada, we follow the Atlantic coast and stop at St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Located in Passamaquoddy Bay, it offers views of the historic low tides of the Bay of Fundy. Ministers Island is accessible via a sand bar at low tide, which is covered by 15 feet of water at high tide. We were here in 2017 and have picked out a lovely RV spot with views of the bay. 

• Next, we put “Neil the Northpoint” on a ferry and travel from St. Johns, NB to Digby, Nova Scotia. Our destination is Darling Lake, NS which is just 7-miles north of Yarmouth, NS.  Another familiar stop from our 2017 trip. 

• From Darling Lake, we head north towards the capital of Nova Scotia, Halifax. Shubie Campground, in Shubie Park, is as close to camping in the middle of Halifax as is possible.  Nestled between Lake Micmac and Lake Charles, this looks to be an amazing stop. After our stop in Halifax, we head to Prince Edward Island, where we have two scheduled stops. Our first stop is at Cavendish Campground which is part of Prince Edward National Park. We visited this location in 2017. The campground features amazing sand dunes and beaches that appear untouched by humans. Our second stop is on the opposite side of the island, adjacent to Hillsboro Bay, and an easy drive to the capital, Charlottetown, PEI.  

• When we leave Prince Edward Island, we will head due north Campbellton, New Brunswick, at the mouth of the pristine Restigouche River. Our campsite will offer unobstructed views of the magnificent J.C. Van Horne Bridge and the river.

• We figured out an interesting way to visit Quebec, which is the next stop on out trip. We will be staying at a campground directly across the St. Lawrence River, in a town called Levis.  From here we can take a ferry over to the city of Quebec. 

• As we approach the Labor Day weekend, we will be returning to the United Staes with a stop in central Maine on the south side of Moose Lake, a town called Greenville. Greenville is the historic gateway to the north country of Maine, and a center for outdoor recreation.  

• Our last stop is on Long Lake in Southern Maine, a town called Naples. This area is considered a vacation haven, and it’s usually quite busy (some would say mobbed or overcrowded), but we will be visiting the week after the summer vacation ends, so we expect calm and quiet experience.

Alas, by mid-September we will be back in Massachusetts, where we will start preparing for a mammoth trip to the southwestern United States, scheduled for the fall, winter, and early spring of 2025 & 2026. Details to be announced in a later blog post.

To summarize, it goes something like this; the past 5 months have been some of the most mentally challenging times since we retired in 2023. Staying busy over the winter and rehabilitating from orthopedic surgery made for several a dull day…but we’ve rounded the corner. We’re leaving on our first trip in less than a month, and very much looking forward to it. As the title of this blog post suggests, “We’re Back”, and looking forward to telling… the Rest of the Story.