So, five weeks from today we will be hitting the road. It's hard to believe, after all this time, just how close we are to completely changing our lives. I would be a liar if I said that it wasn't freaking me out, at least a little. That said, it is also far enough out that it still seems like some kind of hazy pipe dream. Or it would if it weren't for the boxes.
That's right, our apartment is dangerously close to being completely overtaken by boxes, both filled and unfilled. There are many stacks of boxes in that area between the living and dining rooms, rendering the patio door completely inaccessible. The cats continue to be beside themselves over it and they enjoy climbing to the highest box and wedging themselves into the 5" space between said box and the ceiling. The other side of the living room is devoted to empty boxes and, thanks to some clever scavengers, we have more than enough, I think, to pack up the rest of the house. One interesting thing to note is that the vast majority of boxes contain our book and music libraries and I think that statistic will remain so even once everything is packed. That, I do believe, is one of the cooler parts about being us.
I am currently in the midst of reconfiguring the last month or so of the trip. Turns out that when I extended our time in St. John's to 15 Aug, I was off by a week and in the interest of not calling them back and extending it again (and coming off as a flake), we now have an extra week at our disposal. Originally I wanted to use that week to go visit St. Pierre et Miquelon, which is a small group of islands just south of Newfoundland that are technically part of France. It is a place that I am aching to visit, and I would love to have a reason to change my money into Euros, but it's just too cost-prohibitive for us to go there, a fact that is perpetuated by the knowledge of campgrounds existing on the islands but not being able to find any information on where to find or book them. And hotels/B&Bs are just too steep. One of these days when we've hit paydirt perhaps we will visit. Until then, well...
Anyway, so with that off the table, the new plan (that is, until it changes) is to spend a couple of days camping near Fortune Bay NL (close to where the ferry for the aforementioned archipelago launches) before heading back north, to cross the island. A night in Gander, to break up the drive, and then a couple days back in Gros Morne National Park, which will allow us to undertake the 16km hike to the top of Gros Morne Mountain, which will be closed during our first pass through the park in May (due to an overabundance of baby bears and angry mothers). Then, as planned, a week in Cape Breton and then a night at a hostel in Moncton, to comfort our sure-to-be-aching bones.
Since we were there in 2006 and pretty much saw all of it, I think we will skip Kouchibouguac National Park (though its recent designation as a Dark Sky Preserve has me thinking twice) and instead head down the southern coast of New Brunswick, to spend a few days in Fundy National Park. We were there in 2006 as well but we were not in the same kind of shape that we will be in at this point in our journey and we will be able to handle these mountainous trails with far greater ease, I think. From there we will spend a few days relaxing on Grand Manan Island before heading across the province to Fredericton, and a couple days camping at Mactaquac Provincial Park. Then a couple days in Edmonston NB before heading into Quebec. First stop will be a few days camping outside Quebec City, then a couple days in Montreal, and capping off the trip with a couple nights in Ottawa, staying in a hostel that was once a prison!
Of course, that's just the plan for now. It could all change again before we know it.
I also must mention my excitement re: all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites we will be visiting on this trip. My ultimate bucket list would be to see them all even though I know that there are many sites in very dangerous places so that is not really an option. But I will be able to cross the following off the list:
01) Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland
02) Joggins Fossil Cliffs, Nova Scotia
03) Landscape Of Grand-Pre, Nova Scotia
04) L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland
05) Old Town Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
06) Red Bay Basque Whaling Station, Labrador
07) Mistaken Point, Newfoundland
08) Historic District Of Old Quebec, Quebec City QC
09) Rideau Canal, Ontario
Likewise, Montreal is recognized as a UNESCO City Of Design, one of only three North American locations to be part of the Creative Cities Network (the others being Santa Fe, recognized as a City of Craft And Folk Arts, and Iowa City as a City Of Literature).
Anyway, that's enough nerdery from me for now.
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