Of Lobster and Poutine. A 1986 Tour of the Maritimes.

grimbo

Explorer
I stayed in that same Hotel at St Johns in well I guess, going by the time travelling nature of that region if the world, 1973. Great part of the world
 

Christian P.

Expedition Leader
Staff member
Family and friends are sometimes worried about our travel and often ask about where we sleep and how do we find places to spend the night.

People seem not to realize that phone booths are now available pretty much everywhere and typically they come with a searchable guide to help you find the beat deal around.

Here is a picture of me looking for a motel for the night.

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New Brunswick is a very bilingual province which seems to have coped with the linguistic issue in a better way than its neighbor Quebec.

All esential services are offered in both French and English.

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xterracanuck

New member
Awesome - we did the trans labrador highway last year as part of an east coast loop - New Orleans to the Maritimes, up and around, and back south through Quebec and Ontario. Cape Breton and St Pierre were probably my favourite! We blogged about it at www.notyouraverageroadtrip.com
 

Christian P.

Expedition Leader
Staff member
Dealing with the military is always something we have to face when visiting a new area and the Maritimes is no exception.

The Canadian military force is known for their rigouresness and we were lucky to come across their tank and their plane.

I could not tell what model or year they are but they appear to be very well prepared for an invasion.

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If you get in trouble, we were told that you can usually work your way out if you carry a couple extra cans of maple syrup but luckily we did not get asked for any bribe.
 

Christian P.

Expedition Leader
Staff member
As we mentioned before, having such a great sound system in the Chrysler allows us to listen to the latest hits.

We were fortunate enough to hear this new artist; her name is Madonna.

This is her new single which I predict will become very popular. I believe she has the potential to be around for a few years.

{Papa Don't Preach – 1986}




Being in the low season, it was still possible to find relatively cheap accommodations.

Here is a spot where we spent the night and made new friends.

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The blue and white camper is a German expedition model called XPTrailer and the tent in the shire is made by SnowyPick.
 
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Christian P.

Expedition Leader
Staff member
Next to the campsite was an interesting cemetery. We are not sure if this could be where many of the lost travelers we heard about were buried.

In any case, I guess we know who had the last laugh.

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At some point we passed this used cars dealership. It was surprising to see so many relatively newer cars in such good shape.

We were tempted to stop by and trade our new Chrysler for something that would fit better with the locals, allowing us to blend easier and not attract as much attention.

Unfortunately it was after 5pm so the dealer was closed.

And luckily for my father, as I am not sure he would have appreciated me coming back with a Chevrolet Belair 1957 instead of his great Fifth Avenue.

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Christian P.

Expedition Leader
Staff member
Here is a picture of a traditional garage in New Brunswick.

Most of these don't carry many parts so if you break down you could be stuck there for weeks, with little to no contact with the outside world.

That's why you want to get a reliable vehicle such as the Chrysler.

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We were quite impressed with the unique architecture of the older houses in New Brunswick.

You can notice the stack of firewood in front of the house – something essential if you want to survive the long winter and heat the stove to cook the French Fries.

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Christian P.

Expedition Leader
Staff member
When we travel, people are always worried about what we find to feed ourselves.

Most of the time, it was hard to stay away from the succulent lobsters especially when put in a hot-dog bun.

It's then called a Lobster Roll.

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Luckily for us, the poutine is also available everywhere and can usually help you go through a day or two.

Veggies are a rarity but luckily a good replacement is distributed here.

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Beside poutine and lobster, many items can be found in specialty shops – which are also a great place to interact with the locals.

Here is great shot of our vehicle in front of a “QuikMart” – one of the popular food suppliers.

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Christian P.

Expedition Leader
Staff member
We are also often asked how we manage with “basic functions” such as going to the toilet.

Luckily, this wasn't too much of a problem in the Maritimes as they have many of these scattered through the countryside.

I believe they called it CrashALoo, although I may have misunderstood, as the spoken English there is sometimes mixed up with French and Gaelic.

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So after having successfully crossed the length of New Brunswick, it was finally time for our next destination: Prince Edward Island.

We were lucky that they had recently installed some road signs.

Albeit small in proportion, there were grand in hope for us as we were anxious to discover a new province!

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mortonm

Expedition Leader
Next to the campsite was an interesting cemetery. We are not sure if this could be where many of the lost travelers we heard about were buried.

In any case, I guess we know who had the last laugh.

hahacemetery-XL.jpg

Interesting tidbit about the Ha Ha Cemetery, the "Ha Ha" is on old french term meaning an abruptly ending path or unexpected obstacle

Never heard of this cemetery but the "Ha Ha" is used all over for descriptions of different places and things

perhaps more fitting than you originally thought?
 

BCHauler

Adventurer
Dealing with the military is always something we have to face when visiting a new area and the Maritimes is no exception.

The Canadian military force is known for their rigouresness and we were lucky to come across their tank and their plane.


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We Canadians are very proud of our tank and our plane. You are very fortunate to have found them in the same place at the same time. We would show you our bullet as well, but its location is supposed to be kept secret.
 

Christian P.

Expedition Leader
Staff member
Our next stop was Prince Edward Island.

Unfortunately our excitment coupled with the generous amount of horspower of the Fifth Avenue resulted in being pulled over by the local police.

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But luckily for us, they were familiar with our model and just gave a warning.

The agents said that had just ordered a new fleet of Dodge Diplomat, which share the same platform as the Fifth Avenue.
They were really excited and anxious to receive them to replace their aging vehicles.

Here is a picture of the model they will get:

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.
We then proceed to find dinner in Charlottetown and we were pleased to find that they also serve Poutine. They even created their own local version....

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PEI is beautiful but unfortunately we were so fascinated that we forgot to take pictures!

Here is one last shot before we took the ferry back to Nova Scotia.

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