Tent up.... Tent down......

Today I woke up with the excitement of going to ON TREE (zip-lining, and other courses high up in the tree).  Unfortunately my Mom did some research the night before and found out that ON TREE was too expensive. She tried offering other suggestions for the day but none of them appealed to me. When she was out of ideas she decided that we would go put up our new tent ... In a public park !  I was like really excited  (sarcasm) what a poor substitute . But in the end it was more exciting that I thought putting the new tent up and playing with random parts of the old tent. Trying to create a shade tent with  the old tent (without success ).   And the most exciting part .... making a kite with the old tent! Well trying to ;). We also encountered .....Doctor Octopus.

Halifax Citadel

Yesterday, I visited the Citadel in Halifax.  If you are wondering what a citadel is, it is a military fortress.  It is different from other fortresses because it is build in the ground.  It was super-fun, I liked going in the school room and learning to use the math calculator that uses no electricity.*

I thought fortresses have moats filled with water around them but, the Citadel has a dry moat surrounding the inner walls and it is a star shaped moat.  The star shape is easier to defend and harder to attack.

While I was in the school, something unimaginable happened in the fortress.  I heard a humongous BOOM!  Then I turned around to look outside and I saw a cannon.

The soldiers fired it again.  If you think they actually shoot cannon balls, you are wrong!  They only put black powder in because if they used cannon balls they would destroy their own fortress.

*Mom's note: also known as an abacus.

A Quick catchup post seems required... I'm typing from the comfort of the Bulpitt-Gray home in Halifax.  Margo and Chris have ever so kindly lent us their house and all the fun things in it while they are vacationing themselves.

We met up with Chris, Margo and Bridget at Red Point Provincial park in PEI and spend a night camping together which was a great way to catch up and let the kids get acquainted.  By bedtime that night, a pretty sweet relationship had been cemented between all three kiddos despite their age differences.  It turns out everybody loves a secret path. We considered camping a second night together but then we got the weather forecast... RAIN.  Margo and Chris were not prepared to take on a wet night of camping (heck, neither were we!)  and so it was decided they'd head to the Bulpitt family farm and we'd hit another provincial campground located just down the road from them in hopes of spending a bit more time together before going our separate ways.

The weather forecast turned out to be accurate and despite spending HOURS using the free wifi in the Montague McDonalds trying to wait it out, we still ended up having to set up camp in the pouring rain.  The time spent at Brudenell River Provincial Park was sadly not a beautiful memory for us... it either poured with rain or we were being swarmed by mosquitoes   What was memorable was the gorgeous afternoon and decadent meal we were treated to the next day (which made a wet night seem like much less of a big deal) at the Bulpitt farm.

Blue sky, hot sun, a lovely pool and lots of people to enjoy it with.  That pretty much sums up our afternoon/evening with Margo and her family on the farm.

The next day we packed up camp under grey skies and headed toward the ferry... goodbye Prince Edward Island... it rained the whole drive and throughout the ferry crossing, qu'elle surprise!!!

A New Way to Go Rafting

One day at the campsite beach in Cavendish I was making a fort out of sand with my Dad. It was a REALLY windy afternoon. I was getting some sand when I heard my Mom yell “watch out!”, I turned around to see what she was yelling about and got smacked in the face by an air canoe*!!!! It hurt a little because it was big, I was really surprised.

*an air canoe is also known as an inflatable boat.

Some Crabs Pinch, Some Don't

I've had a lot of experiences with hermit crabs this Summer. But yesterday I got closer to something much tougher. I was at the “best beach in Canada”, Basin Head, PEI and I saw a crab. My Dad encouraged me to pick it up so I tried. The first time I tried, I just touched it and ran away. I was afraid I'd touched his claw and I didn't want to get pinched. Then I tried a second time I was not so successful either. To be honest, I don't know if I picked it up from the front or the back, I think it was the front because next thing I knew, I was PINCHED! I was mostly surprised, it didn't hurt that much but I still dropped it. The crab didn't really pinch me, he stuck his claws in my hand and I was afraid he'd open them and pinch me for real. So I think it is very understandable that I dropped it!

Now about hermit crabs, they don't pinch but they do something that irritates me a little. They tickle me with their tiny claws when I hold them. It is irritating but also funny.

In Kouchibouguac I saw a hermit crab out of its shell. It looked weird.

One Giant Leap

So, I remember last year I jumped from a waterfall at Sauble Beach.  Well, this experience was ten times higher and scarier.  Here is the story, at Basin Head, PEI there is a beautiful beach with sand bars and "singing sand"...and you can jump off of a warf into deep river water flowing into the ocean.  To make things even more exciting, the current is really, really strong and fast.  Since my dad and I are daredevils, we decided to try the jump.  And of course, we LOVED it!

 Clara in mid-air (not walking on water!)

Papa taking the leap

Tent vs Mother Nature

The disadvantage of camping on the shores of the Gulf...

That night, we slept at the Singing Sands Inn, safe from the elements, and able to literally and figuratively "recharge our batteries".

The next day, we were happy to discover that the tent survived the night without a scratch.  Nice try, Mother Nature.

Fish Out of Water

Today, I made this fish at Cavendish Beach, with seashells, rocks, and seaweed.

Leo and Papa made this sandcastle.

Fox of Green Gables

In Green Gables, even the wild life have red hair.

A Good Bet

Like every year my sister, my Dad and my Mom guess how many times I'm going to fall. But this year my Mom wanted to make it more interesting. She thought the whole family would all bet on how many times I fall over 6 weeks. They decided they'd bet $1 each. Clara bet I'd fall 7 times, my Dad said 12 times, and my Mom wanted to choose 13 but she decided to bet on 15 falls instead.

So far I've fallen 10 times which means Clara has already lost the bet. Out of 10 falls, I've only hurt myself once!

Anne of Green Gables

This winter we read Anne of Green Gables with our bookclub.  We both loved the book (Laurel for the second time) and always knew we'd have to visit Green Gables when we were on PEI this Summer.

When we got to Green gables it was a beautiful sunny afternoon and we could really imagine what LM Montgomery had been writing about all those years ago.  The place was beautiful, we even got to walk down "Lovers Lane" and through the "Haunted Woods" that Anne described so passionately.

There was even an Anne look alike walking around Green Gables.  She introduced herself and was very true to character.

Here is a photo we took with her and a bunch of other shots at Green Gables.

Clam Digging

When I was reading about things to do in Kouchibouguac National Park I came across mention of clam fishing. From what I read and the photos I saw online it seemed like it would be pretty easy, fun, and cheap activity to try. I asked a kind lady at the information center and she gave me a pamphlet about soft shell clam fishing and tried to explain what we were looking for and how to dig for clams. She also told us to speak to Rachel at the campground as she loves “clamming”. So, off I went to find Rachel and get her advice. It turns out the vision I had in my head about clam digging was way off of reality. I thought you just dug about on wet sand after the tide went out and found clams. Nope. She said we'd be standing in water looking for “blinking eyes” in the sand.

That afternoon we went off looking for these “eyes” and found NOTHING. Even when we did see something that we thought might be “eyes” I discovered how icked out I was at the idea of digging it up! I was disappointed with our failed attempt but we ended up having lots of fun playing with all of the hermit crabs we found while poking about in the tidal pools.

Hermit crabs

The very next day while on another beach in the park I saw a woman who appeared to be hunting for clams. I'd said all along that I thought I just needed someone to show me exactly what I was looking for and how to dig so I went over to talk with her right away. She showed me the blinking eyes and once I'd seen it, I was able to spot lots more. It was exciting and kind of weird to start digging in hopes of feeling the edges of a clam shell. I broke a few shells while figuring out the technique and then finally – Success!!! I started bringing up whole, live clams! It was really exciting and kind of addictive. I could have continued for hours but, the hot midday sun and the fact that we were fishing for clams without a permit made us decide to leave while the going was good. We ended up with 11 live, mostly regulation sized clams. Clara really got the hang of digging after awhile but Leo was once again far more interested in the hermit crabs he found along the way.

My first catch

Back at the camp site we let our little clam friends rest in salt water for the afternoon so they'd rid themselves of their sand and then we steamed them for dinner! I think it was the first time any of us ate food we'd caught and prepared ourselves. The clams were tasty if a little sandy but as far as I'm concerned the experience was absolutely amazing. I'd love to do it again while we are so close to the ocean.

Resting in saltwater

Yummy fresh Clams!

Carnivorous Plants

My family went on a hike in Kouchibouguac National park, we choose the trail called “The Bog”. If you are wondering what a bog is, it is a huge area of moss and peat. When it rains the bog expands and kills the trees and forest plants in its path. Only certain plans can survive in a bog.

When we first read the description of the trail, Clara kind of panicked because it mentioned Carnivorous plants. I don't blame her, especially because my Dad kept trying to scare her while we walked the trail.

Along the trail we saw a weird flower, it was a big tube. My Dad said it was probably one of the carnivorous plants and my sister thought we should throw something into it. I took a berry and threw it toward the flower. I missed on the first shot but the second toss was a success! But the flower didn't do anything so we kept on walking until we found a sign describing the carnivorous plants. That is when I found out that the “tube flower” WAS a carnivorous plant!! The sign explained that the flower digests its food without moving at all, which made a lot of sense.

I really lived the Bog trail, especially when it was my turn to scare Clara!

Observation tower

Racoons at Kouchibouguak

Are first week of road trip vacation is already over, for the last few day we have been camping at Kouchibouguak a lovely camp-site. At first Kouchibouguak was perfect, it had everything, beach, playground, hikes you name it. But we soon discovered a problem, raccoons!! 

It all started in are tent when reading at night, my mom heard a sound coming from are trash can, we all froze (except my dad that was sleeping) because we all knew it was a animal. My mom did not now what to do, she was scared but luckily I had ideas, I suggested to open the tent and flash a light on the trash can. It was the only idea so I did it,we did not have a very powerful light so I couldn't see quite well, the first thing I said to my mom was: ”hey, there are two fireflies”. In the end I realized the “fireflies” were glowing raccoon eyes!!! We were quite surprised. 

The next night something similar happened. We had been reading in bed for a while when I had to go to the bathroom and at the same moment my mom realized that she forgot to take out the trash. So we went together to the garbage bin on the way to the bathroom. As we approached the garbage bin my mom saw something moving. I did not see this movement so I didn't completely believe what she was saying so I contented myself to repeatedly ask her if she was sure. In the end we did not drop the garbage in that bin because my mom was certain that there was something in it, and for good reason because when I came out of the washroom I saw a big puffy tail and two “fireflies” coming out of the garbage bin!!! In the end my mom and I took the path with the most lights to get back to are the camp-site.

Clara

Back at it for the Summer of 2013!

First post, second camp ground, and third day away from home on our Summer adventure.  This time, we've packed up the Echo for 5-6 weeks of camping and visiting in the Maritimes!

It turns out that when it comes to packing up for a long trip AND leaving the apartment in an acceptable condition for tenants to move in, we should just assume it will take until mid-afternoon.  Once again, we only left Montreal at around 3pm which made the decision to stop in Rivier du Loup a good one.  Imagine our surprise when we pulled up at the camp ground to find it was located right in front of this beauty:

Noel Au Chateau

After two nights in Riviere du oup we headed for New Brunswick.  Did you know they are building new highways on both the Quebec and New Burnswick side of the Trans Canada?  We didn't. As a result didn't get as far as we anticipated which is fine because now we've been able to spend time in and discover Grand Falls, NB!