To The Tour !

Sunday, July 29th, 2007
Camden, ME to Ellsworth, ME

89.0 miles
Sunny

Oh my goodness, I’m way behind in my travel blog! As I start this update for the 29th of July, it’s actually the 7th of August, and I’m in Nova Scotia! The Good Sam Caraventure tour to New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia has kept Maggie and me very busy. That plus weak or non-existent internet connections give me ample excuse to be so far behind.

Unfortunately there is another reason, and it’s amazingly enough not another repair to my motorhome! Take heed, my friends on the road, and strangers too! The Canadian border has become quite unfriendly!

They are pulling more and more RVs over for full inspections, and I drew the short straw. I refuse to declare all my liquid refreshments, simply as a matter of principle, but that wasn’t my downfall, although they did clean me out. Last year some time, I had received a can of pepper spray from a U.S. Border Patrol friend who was concerned for my welfare on the road. I tossed it in a cupboard and truly totally forgot about it.

The Customs folks, of course, found it. I was arrested on the spot. I spent most of the night in a jail cell, had to come up with three grand, as in three thousand dollars, to get my coach out of hock and pay assorted fines. Thankfully, about 1 a.m., they decided I didn’t really seem to be the criminal type, so they released me, on a $200 bond and a promise to show up in court the next day (same day, by then!). They showed me where Maggie and I could park for the balance of the night, in the Tourist Information Center parking lot. Took about an hour to get the coach back together enough to drive over there to catch a couple hours sleep.

When I went before a judge in the morning, he as much as told me that Canada was simply retaliating for the poor treatment Canadian citizens are receiving at our border. They were “kind” enough to not charge me with "smuggling" in an illegal item, just for not declaring it, and issued me a “conditional discharge”, meaning that if I stay clean in Canada for 6 months, my record will be cleared.

Unfortunately Immigration was not so kind. They are showing “zero tolerance” (their words) and said my criminal behavior meant that I was to be deported and permanently barred from entry to Canada! I begged for mercy, saying my only living relatives are in B.C., plus they were aware of the tour I was part of. So they allowed me to purchase a “temporary resident visa”, so I might continue with this tour. Huh? Permanently inadmissible, but I can buy a temporary resident visa? Oh well – at least Maggie and I can continue the tour, although I’m loathe to do so at this point. But I wouldn’t be able to get our money back, so onward we go!

And, by the way, it's before whatever legislative branch, to search each and every RV as it enters Canada - not that it would cut down on visitors or anything.

Sooooo, enough whimpering – it did put a serious damper on our moods, and Penny is still suffering from it – her princess constitution did not react well to all the stress – but we’ll all survive it. Thankfully, my awful memory will allow me to put it all behind me in fairly short order. There isn’t going to be much in the way of history or other miscellaneous stories for the next few days of entries, while I try to get caught up!

The 29th, itself, was grand. Meg and I had a lovely visit with her daughter-in-law’s family for a couple days before heading north.

The drive up into Maine was everything it should be, and we were able to enjoy it at our leisure, since we had such a short distance to go to meet up with the tour in Ellsworth. 

Classic New England in every way…Victorian homes with lots of almost frilly detail and shutters beside the windows, Georgian homes of precise symmetrical design, prim and proper and immaculately maintained. Salt box construction with cedar shingles. Adirondack chairs in the immense front yards to enjoy the passing of neighbors and life!

Lots of water, so lots of bridges, and I'm a sucker for bridges as well as flowers and church steeples, so Maggie was kept busy!

Meg tells me the three northeastern states, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, in the area above the White Mountains, have often spoken of forming their own “northern kingdom”, as they consider themselves enough different from the rest of the nation as to deserve unique status!


And it’s commonly accepted that the first crop of the year is rocks, as that is what shows it’s head first each spring – the large rocks littering the otherwise rich fields – easier to leave in place than try to move!


And more really fun names – The Cat’s Pajamas B&B, Yankee Stripper Hardwood Furniture Shop &; Repair, Pippy’s Seafood and Ice Cream Drive-In! And lots of black-eyed susans and orange day lilies growing wild on the side of the road. Except for the nasty mosquitoes that patrol the area, and the abominable winters (abominable to me!!), this area is absolutely beautiful!!


Arrived in Ellsworth to meet up with our tour and traveling companions – 21 rigs of all shapes and sizes, including one gal traveling on her own. Lots of doggies for Penny’s enjoyment too!

Timberland Acres Campground
57 Bar Harbor Road
Trenton, ME 04605
207-667-5663