This was our first time driving up the east coast to Canada. In fact, it’s the first major road trip we’ve taken since our 2006 cross-country drive from New York to L.A. We planned to stop frequently, as much for our old-age stiffness as the dog’s needs.
The route from Asheville took us from I-26 to I-81. This was the familiar part of the route for us, but that didn’t make the heavy 18-wheeler traffic any easier. We stopped much sooner than I would have expected, near Sam’s Gap, just over the TN line where enjoyed a nice walk up a hill and back down. This one great thing about traveling with a dog: they encourage you to stop frequently and get out and move around.
Rest stops became our friend as we made our way up through familiar Virginia territory gathering tourist information and walking the rest-stop where the bathrooms (or at least the women’s bathrooms) are posted with tips on spotting sex predators. Not a bad idea, but it seemed to be a practice limited to this one state. They also offered drinking water, a surprisingly limited resource as we progressed into West Virginia and then Pennsylvania. Fill up those water bottles in VA when you can!
Our first overnight was in Harrisonburg VA at the Hyatt. It was newly constructed, up on a hill near the university in a cluster of other hotels. We put our stuff in the room and then headed out to the nearby Arboretum for a nice walk in the woods. We picked up supper at Xenia Kebab Grill and it was excellent. It felt like a good start.
Driving up through the East Coast required tons of concentration and focus. The traffic on I-81 was heavy with lots of 18-wheel trucks. The greatest driving feat was around New York City where I drove and Lorena navigated. GPS had us going on the Lower George Washington Bridge route, but at the last second it changed to the Upper George Washington Bridge. Ahgg! Lorena kept saying “ keep up.” If you let any space between you and the next car it was immediately filled with an aggressive car. Cousin Gay said it’s a giant game of chicken. Trying to stay safe, go in the correct direction and not succumb to the feelings is a real effort for me. We saw two or three horrific accidents. One truck was completely cut in half in Virginia. Hard to imagine anyone survived.
We set out early after an excellent breakfast at the hotel and made it to Dobbs Ferry NY by mid-afternoon. I’ll let Kitty describe the details of that drive. If we hadn’t had plans to visit Cousin Gay, we would have likely avoided the city entirely on a more westerly route. As it was we stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn, which was much more expensive than our Virginia Hyatt and a bit more run-down. Grass was a precious commodity in the surrounding area, but Pip and I found some about a block or two from the hotel. (I will note that I found some of that other grass without any problem, though).
Pip enjoys the hotel elevators. He delights in the opening door – a miracle every time! The only problem has been his occasional barking when he hears people out in the hallway. The first night we asked for a room closer to the elevator thinking it would be easier to take him out, but was a mistake because he kept hearing people and barking. We thank him for alerting us and then direct him back to his rug.
I’d grossly miscalculated the distances, assuming it would be an easy walk from the hotel to the Hudson River where I was determined to walk the Aquaduct Trail. That walk would have to wait. Meanwhile, we found a nearby dog-park for Pip to start out our next day. The NY dogs, as one might expect, were a rough crowd, mostly pit-bull mix, and they quickly overwhelmed Pip. One dog-owner pulled his dog off and reassured us that he had a shock collar he would use if his dog grew too aggressive. Pip ended up with a Mable look-alike, and the play session ended happily enough.
Hastings-on-Hudson was exceedingly cute with views over the river. We toured the village down to the old Depot where we had breakfast at Maud’s (lgbtq friendly). Pip got to experience his first train thundering past but kept his cool as usual. Gay led us around the town before I split off on the Aqueduct trail. Once again, the woodland walk was restorative. I made it to Dobbs Ferry before back-tracking to Gay’s, 20,000 steps later.
That evening, we went to Gay’s for pizza. Her friend Maria joined us and we talked easily, sharing stories at her beautifully set table before heading back to the hotel.I enjoyed visiting my cousin Gay outside of NYC. Its fun to see a space you have heard about and imagined in your mind. Aging and families were topics du jour. We reflected on our families and their choices for the final years. Gay enjoyed Pip and hosted a great dinner party for us. We walked around in her village and saw beautiful views of the Palisades. Lorena’s father had grown up in a house on the Palisades.
Portland, ME was our next stop. This stretch started with NY traffic (even though it was Saturday), but then eased once we got on the parkway in CT. The driving got easier and easier despite a little Boston bump, and when we hit Maine, things really felt relaxed. I’d booked us at the Best Western Merry Manor Inn, a bit of a nostalgic throwback that was full of families. Children were absolutely manic about the heated swimming pool, and the halls were filled with shrieks of delight and the smell of chlorine. For some reason, I was fine with all this.
We had traded modern comforts (sufficient electrical outlets) for nostalgia, but there was lots of good walking around the hotel for Pip, with grass right outside our ground-floor room. The best outing was our trip to Bug Light. It was late afternoon by the time we got out there, but Pip quickly found a couple of new friends, another white lab/retriever mix and Newfoundland I believe he originally mistook for a black bear. We wandered the grounds after the dogs had exhausted themselves and enjoyed a spectacular sunset and moonrise over the bay. For dinner we got seafood chowder and fried clams from Docks Seafood, and I began to wonder if I wouldn’t feel as comfortable staying in Maine as I would in Canada. This may be a future destination in and of itself.
Lorena was nervous about the border crossing even though we had nothing to hide. This kind young woman asked us questions with Pip leaning out the back window. The agent was trying not to smile at Pip I could tell as I babbled about the herbs and cooking supplies I had brought. Lorena tried to tell her we had all Pip’s records but he she didn’t care, and she waved us on. We understand that the agents are more stringent on the US side getting back in, which has always been our experience in airports.
The next day took us from Portland to St. George, New Brunswick. Kitty describes our border crossing experience above. Once we were settled into our hotel (Holiday Inn Express) Pip & I set out to explore the town via the Waterfront Trail. There was a connector under construction but still passable. We walked for about an hour when Kitty called and reminded me I had marked a lobster restaurant. It was only a block from where I was, so I picked up us a couple of lobster rolls. Delicious! We ended the day with another moonrise/sunset over the town. It feels so good to be back in Canada!
Once in Canada the roads grew quieter and more peaceful. The vistas widened out and the scenery is majestic. Driving was easy and hypnodic. Canada is beautiful. We were blessed with great sunny weather.
Pip has been a joy to travel with as we anticipated. He makes friends everywhere ever he goes. We have been stopping every couple of hours “for Pip” but I think we needed it too. The rest stops are so varied . The welcome Nova Scotia stop had a huge expansive field that allowed us to let Pip free without any worry. Pip raced and threw his body about with wild abandon after all the cramped hours in the car.
The driving got easier and easier once we were in Canada. We stopped at the Nova Scotia Welcome Plaza, an expansive space with big fields for little dogs to run in and a gift store where I bought a Canada sweatshirt and Pip was (once again) the center of attention. He ran through his routine of tricks earning a steady flow of treats and love from two dog-loving ladies. One is working up a “Dogs of Nova Scotia” site for the place and got a pic to include of Pip.
We stopped to shop (Sobeys & NSLC) and eat (Grams) at the same places we did last year when we traveled with Mary & Star in New Glasgow. Soup, sandwiches and homemade peanut butter cookies did not disappoint. It was a couple of more hours on back-woods roads to our AirBNB in Guysboro.
Knackered. That describes Kitty arriving at Shoreline Landing in Nova Scotia. Not sure where in my brain this word came from, but I looked it up and sure enough the definition read “extremely tired or completely broken and worn out.”
Shoreline Landing, as the name implies, is right on Guysboro Bay. It was a water view I wanted, and this is just perfect. As I’d hoped, the distance from US politics is palpable. We have arrived!
Our cottage is on the water and perfect. Lorena did such a good job finding it. There is a walking path right down front into the little village. I cooked us dinner tonight and looked out over the water. We have seen Loons and even saw a seal last night.
Yes, initially knackered but it is fast receding.
