Great Adventures

Posted on September 1, 2015 by JanetA

A few days back I had stopped to fill up the ever hungry gas tank. I met Keith who was filling up his gas tank. He popped over to ask me about my Roadtrek. After touring the RV he told me he had two weeks off between jobs and was driving the Oregon Trail from St Louis to Oregon. What he was really doing was a reconnisance tour.

Keith is 63 years young. He has a deep interest in the history of the settlers who walked west to find a better life, one of new opportunities. Keith is planning to walk the trail, as close as he can to the original trail and is planning to walk it soon. He has investigated handcarts and showed me a photo of one that he thinks will fit his needs. It is made by the Amish. He has mapped his route. Unfortunately I don’t remember his target date but I know it is soon. He plans to camp for free as much as he can and has contacted organizations such as the Elks, and churches.

This man has a plan. I hope he pulls it off. You should have seen his eyes light up as he spoke of this great adventure. I think we all need great adventures in our lives. For some it is traveling to a far reaching destination. For others it may be a walk out the front door. It doesn’t matter what the adventure is. What matters, I feel, is that we reach for the unknown and make it ours.

I have had a lot of adventures in my life, some small and some much larger. One of my great adventures was getting married. Jim and I had a marvelous life together for 21 years. I miss him still. Since his death I am on another grand adventure. Traveling is fun and I have been enjoying seeing so many new places and meeting new people. I don’t think this is the grand adventure. I feel that all this travel is my way of looking for that next great adventure in my life. It frustrates me to not be able to identify it. At the same time it is OK. What is the saying “sometimes it is the journey that is important, not the destination”?

I am not always patient. I am learning to be, thanks to yoga and meditation and learning and being alive this long. Age does help in expanding my conciousness. Sometimes you have to live a while to “get it”, whatever it is.

I am sitting on my mat in the middle of the Piedras Forest in Southern Colorado. I have soaked in the hot springs at Pagosa Hota Springs and by the time I post this I will be on my own mini-adventure.

In 1996 Jim and I bought 45 acres of property in the Four Corners area outside of the town of Durango. We were planning to build a straw bale home, live off the grid and enjoy retirement in southern Colorado.

When we got close to planning our next grand adventure, we kept getting bad news. First breast cancer (Janet) and then salivary gland cancer (Jim) and then the metastasis of the later. Plans had been drawn up and we were slowly working through everything. When we both needed medical treatment, the plans for building came to a stand still.

This is my first trip to the property since Jim died. It has been emotionally very hard for me to think of this land and coming out here to figure out what is next for this property. As I arrived back in the USA from Canada on this current trip, I decided it was time to come south and go sit on the property and figure out what the next step might be. If I can’t figure it out, I at least can say hello to this beautiful piece of property and enjoy it for a few nights.

Nothing needs to be done in haste.

Wish me well on this mini-adventure. I feel that I can use all the support I can get.

When the next grand adventure appears, I hope I can see it for what it is and grab a hold and go along for the ride.

Today I am thankful for grand and mini-adventures. Today I am thankful for my friends. Today I am thankful for all the followers of this blog.

Traveling the Path Home

Posted on August 29, 2015 by JanetA

I have been traveling south and west. I am ready to be heading home. It doesn’t seem like I am taking the most direct route but it has been fun on the journey home.

What makes a good campground? Well the obvious is that it is clean,kept up and the bathrooms have to be well maintained. (my wish list) Sometimes what makes a good campground is the scenery. It can be located in the trees or next to water and lack of traffic noise helps. Sometimes it is the people. Hopefully it is all of the above.

Four nights ago, I stayed at the Knife River Campground north of Duluth, MN. It was an unassuming little campground. It was within walking distance of Lake Superior and there was a hiking trail on the river near the campground. Randy the owner was a pretty laid back guy. It took me a while to pay him as he had other things he was doing. There were totems on the property that he had carved. He was working on a ships wheel for a sailing vessel he is restoring. At the entrance is a plane made with spare parts. Yep, Randy did that too.

Janet & Randy standing next to the Vaffel House that he made

I also met Wendy and Mark who are living in their very own small house on wheels. They have been living in it since Wendy retired a year ago. It is really cute and may be even smaller than my RT.

The Small House

The next morning I joined Randy and John, another camper for breakfast in Duluth before I started to drive south. Both of these men told me I could not miss Decorah, Iowa. I put it in my GPS and headed out.

Two days later I was in Decorah. It is a nice town. There is a college there (Luther College) so I saw a more modern town than what I had been seeing in the mid-west. The Vestenheim Museum was the goal of the visit. It holds historical artifacts regarding the immigration of Norwegians to the USA. It is a very interesting place to visit. I don’t know if I did it justice, because something else of interest caught my attention.

Decorah during Nordic Fest

Early in this trip someone posted a you tube video of a biking trail in Deocrah. I was planning to try and find it. Then I got busy with weddings and the rest of the trip and forgot about this trail, until I saw a flyer and then I remembered it.

Beginning of the Trout Run Trail

After finding the Pulpit Campground I got on my biking clothes and checked my tires and got ready to ride. It was really fun trail. It took me out into the countryside, up hill and down. I got to see some beautiful farms and corn fields, lots of corn fields. It was a great ride with a bit of a challenge, on a beautifully kept trail. Half way through the ride there was a fish hatchery. I met some locals there. Everyone kept thanking me for visiting Iowa. I guess Iowa is not on everyone’s itinerary. I would go back.

Scenes along the trail

There were many things you could do in and around Decorah and I found the town to be delightful. I loved getting on my bike.

Now I am pushing west. I am near North Platt Nebraska tonight. It is hot and sticky and I think I may go get in the pool or at least take a walk.

Today I am thankful for events,appearing totally un-related, which bring me full circle and keep me on my path, figuratively and literally.

Elsie’s Animals & Birds

Posted on August 28, 2015 by JanetA

Hey everyone, Elsie the cat here. I took the computer from Janet when she was taking a shower. She says we are on our way home. I’ll believe it when I see it. She keeps finding interesting things to see and do. We keep stopping. Of course she goes off and does things and I sleep under my sheepskin. I like my idea of fun.

Janet says we are in Iowa. I am not sure what that is but when I ride on the dashboard I am now seeing lots of farms. Cows are interesting. They are big and colorful.

There is still a lot of water everywhere. The lakes have gotten smaller and the rivers are a bit bigger. I like that we try to camp in places where I can feel good about going outside. Too many people and a lot of noise does not make me happy and I have to go to the sheepskin to feel safe.

I have been seeing some animals and birds that are interesting. I wish they would get a little closer but they always seem to know where the end of the leash is. Sigh.

I have seen a lot of these birds, everywhere we have been. Janet tells me they are seagulls. I would like to get to know them better but all they do is scream and fly away. they are kind of noisy. I bet if they got too close I would go to the sheepskin.

And, speaking of getting to know someone better, several days ago I saw this little guy. I am told by the all knowing one that it is a red squirrel. I would have really like to get to know him and his buddies better. They moved fast and were often just out of my range. Why do they do that? They chirped and yelled at me and I thought they would be a lot of fun to play with. Hmmm, maybe even a snack.

Janet tells me this is a Kildeer. I don’t know the name and I guess I really don’t care. What I like is that they were just outside my little house on wheels. They ran up and down the beach really fast. I wanted to run with them but Janet said no. Sigh. She says they were fishing. What is that I wonder and would I like it?

These little birds were covering the bushes outside our RT yesterday morning. They were everywhere. they fly really fast and even soar. I would like to try that soaring thing, it looked fun. I am told by Janet that I don’t have the equipment to do that. I would love to have been right there with them. I bet I could have jumped off the ground and caught at least one of these little buggers. Janet says no and there is the leash issue as well.

I have seen a lot of these. They seem to be at every lake I have been to from New Jersey to Minnesota. They are ducks. They seem like they would be fun to play with too. But when the squawk I get scared and run away. They are loud. I wonder if ducks could be my friends.

A few days ago we were camped on one of the really big lakes. There were trees all around my campsite. these little birds were yelling at me. Why do they yell? Janet says that they must have babies close by. Mmmm, interesting. Would I like babies? I bet I would. A snack maybe? These are chickadees, I am told.

Last night we camped near the Upper Iowa River. In the middle of the night right next to the Roadtrek I heard a loud noise. A big hoot. Janet says it was an owl. It was really close and it was kind of eerie. It was followed by a howl which Janet says was a coyote. It is wild out there at night. I am glad I am safe and snuggled up next to Janet.

We are off for new adventures today. It is raining. Janet has the awning out and it makes it nice for me. I can sit outside and not get wet. The best of all worlds.

I gotta go. She is back and I must pretend I have not been on the computer. Oh look breakfast.

Forgiveness Revisited

Posted on August 23, 2015 by JanetA

Lake Superior

I am returning to the subject of forgiveness. I have been traveling for quite a few days through miles and miles of forests and lakes. There is nothing out there except forests, water and the Trans-Canada Highway. It gives a woman time to ponder.

There have been times in my life because of something I said or did that I have seen friendships fade away. Sometimes it feels OK and sometimes there is a bit more reckoning that I need to do. I wish forgiveness was an easy process but it always seems so complex. There are times that it is not anyone’s fault that friendships end. They just do. By acknowledging my role in the departure, I choose to not feel angry or hurt. Mostly I am learning not to blame myself and tell myself that I am a bad person. It has taken me over 60 years of my life to understand this and not hurt or feel guilty about it. Mostly I am finally learning to not blame myself for everything. Whew, it has been a long process and I certainly know the learning curve is not over yet.

Sometimes friends come into my life for a short period of time and then we part often with fondness. The end of the friendship is not often spoken of, we just head in different directions. If we see each other again, we greet each other, enjoy some time and then go on our way. Sometimes we never see each other again.

Here is one of the things I don’t understand about forgiveness. Why are some people able to forgive and others not? Why is it important to some and not to others? What is about this act that is so tough and yet can wield such powerful results? What role does religion play in this? I think about the Amish community in Pennsylvania who after a tragic incident at the school, the community went to the wife of the man who killed so many and forgave her and helped her and her children through a difficult time. That took my breath away and it made my heart open. I wonder if I could do this. Hopefully I will never have to know.

How do I forgive myself? I don’t just look in the mirror and say I forgive you and it is done. I feel that the first step in forgiving myself and others is recognizing that we are all imperfect human beings. Not one of us is without flaws. Maybe then, the first step is to stop expecting so much of ourselves and others. When I can expect less of myself or others then maybe I can begin to forgive myself. I believe that forgiving oneself is where all forgiving starts.

For me, recognizing that I have flaws as well, gives me the freedom to begin to not always blame myself for everything. Part of forgiveness is to acknowledge that I have done everything possible and now I leave it in the universes hands. I am still responsible for cleaning up my act and making sure that I don’t do the same thing again. Maybe the next time I will step back and take more than a moment to assess before I act. Maybe not but I can only hope that would be so.

I find myself grieving for the loss of some friendships. I think grief is a part of letting go and forgiving. At the same time I have begun to feel whole and at peace with this strange thing called relationship. Relationships of any sort are hard. It doesn’t matter if it is a lover, a co-worker or someone you only meet a few times. Relationships are hard!! I can see me still trying to understand and get this point as I age.

I will continue to ponder on forgiveness for a long time to come. Today I am thankful for learning about forgiveness. Today I am grateful for friendships. Today I am grateful that I can still learn and grow and try not to be so hard on myself.

Today I would like to think and feel that I can forgive myself.

The Wandering Kitty Checks In

Posted on August 16, 2015 by JanetA

Elsie le Chat

Bonjour, c’est Elsie le chat. Hee hee. When in Quebec Province I try to speak like the locals. It is hard. I am just a little cat. I find meow is a universal language for us kitties.

Janet and I are on our way west. One day I see the ocean and all that wonderful sand and rock and then next day just trees. Lots and lots of trees. First there was lots and lots of water and now, trees. I wonder what will be next.

We met this woman, Barbara the other day. She was really nice. She came as a package. She had a dog named Spencer. I know Spencer wanted to come in and eat my food but he was good and stayed out. That was probably because he was being watched. When us animals are being watched we are on our best behavior.

At times like this when meeting a dog I am glad to have my little house to hide in. I feel kind of brave looking at dogs, from inside. I watched Spencer come running across the yard. I was hoping he did not see me.

Wow, I cannot believe all the places I have been. Water, any kind of water still makes me nervous. I won’t hide though but I do keep a good watch on it, just in case it does something other than what it normally looks like.

Boats waiting for water

Today Janet and I drove along a waterway called the St Laurent (St Lawrence Seaway). Now here is what I mean about water. There was no water anywhere. the only thing I saw was mud for miles. Janet said

the tide was out. I am not sure what that means but at least I had an explanation. Boats were just laying on their sides waiting for the water to return. I wonder if it does. It looked like it might be fun to walk around in the mud but there were too many people around and I would have needed a blanket to hide under.

Our trip is not over yet. Janet says we still have places to see but that we are on our way home. I thought this Roadtrek was home. I am a bit confused. Oh well I guess I will just take it one day at a time.

Here is a new place I have found to sleep

I have seen amazing things and hope to see some more. When I am not looking around I like to sleep. Us cats do that well. I sleep under the blankets, on my sheepskin (thanks Janet for bringing that) and sometime on the dashboard. It is important for me to get my A’s and D’s.

When things make me nervous hanging behind Janet’s leg is a good idea.

I am glad to have Janet around. She makes me feel safe most of the time. As caretakers go, she is pretty darn good. I get scratched and petted and played with and no matter where I travel, well that is the most important part. I really like being treated like a princess.

Well I am off to explore the campsite. I will report in soon.

Heading West

Posted on August 13, 2015 by JanetA

Final Sunset, Prince Edward island

Yes it is true I am finally and slowly heading west. It was very hard to leave Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. I really enjoyed my time there.

Barbara, Janet and Spencer the dog.

What made it even harder to leave was that I met another solo woman Roadtreker at the last campground I stayed in. Barbara and I hit it off and neither of us wanted to say so long this morning. She is living in her RV 6 months out of the year. The other 6 months, in the winter she lives in a 5th wheel in St Augustine, FL. She sold her house that she loved and got rid of all her possessions except what would fit in the RV and plans to travel until she cannot do it any more.

I have learned a few things from Barbara. When she goes somewhere she stays in the same campground for several nights. She doesn’t rush to go see everything. She sets up home in each campground she stays in. Some places she may stay for a month or more. I see her as truly knowing how to live on the road full time.

I have considered doing the same thing yet have been hesitant. I have actually sat in each room of my house and attempted to figure out what items I could see myself living without. It is an interesting process. Some items I can let go of right away. There are others that I have an emotional attachment to. For example the entertainment center in the living room is something that Jim and I were planning to keep for the rest of our lives. It is a beautiful piece of furniture. When I look at it I think of Jim and myself yet when I ask myself if I got rid of the emotions could I let it go. The verdict is out.

So much for the idea of non-attachment. I am still processing on much of the philosophy of Buddhism. Still working on enlightenment.

How do people, one day, let go of all those things that are in their homes? Barbara is not the only one I know that has done this. My friend, Cat, also did the same thing. She sold her home, got on a bike and took her two dogs on a cross country bicycle trip. Now she lives in a Fifth Wheeler and is traveling the USA.

I would love to be able to take that jump. It is not that I want to live in my small and cute Roadtrek but I would like to experience the sense of freedom of letting go of stuff. I don’t know if I ever will. It is something I have pondered on for quite some time. I keep thinking I could rent a storage space and put the things I want to keep in there. Maybe that is a first step. There is nothing wrong with doing things in stages. Step A, Step B, Step C.

Taking the Confederation Bridge from Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick.

Tonight I am in Moncton, New Brunswick. I am moving northwest towards the St Laurence River. My plan at the moment is to work my way around the northern sides of the Great Lakes. I have never been there. It seems like a good enough reason to go there.

As I head west I will have a lot of time to ponder non-attachment.

So today I guess I am thankful for my “stuff” and considering letting go of it.

Last Stop on the Eastward Journey

Posted on August 10, 2015 by JanetA

You know what is hard? It is when you have offended your pet and she is not going to let me forget it. The hardest part is that I have no idea what it is I have done. Cats!!!! Just as I think everything is OK she gives me a look with attitude and heads for the blankets. Cats!!!

I made it to Prince Edward Island yesterday. The crossing was about 70 minutes on the ferry. Now PEI has a deal. They let everyone in for free and then you have to pay to leave, either by ferry or by the Confederation Bridge. I am going to cross on the bridge and it is $45. Yow. It would have been more expensive by ferry.

Montague Harbor, PEI

This is a pretty island. It is filled with small towns and harbors and lighthouses. The first day I drove east from the ferry. It is one pretty little town after another. What is in between? Fields. Potatoes, Rye, Wheat, Corn and other grasses I did not recognize. Potatoes are big at this end of the island.

Last night I camped at a very nice RV campground right on a bay. They even offered free kayaks to use but it was raining and this morning, it was extremely windy. No kayaking today.

I ended up my day, today, with a hike in a section of Prince Edward Island National Park. It was a beautiful afternoon. This area contains an extensive and fragile coastal dune system, wetlands and different natural habitats in which numerous rare plants are found.

Parabolic Dune

The parabolic dunes (crescent shaped anchored by plants and grasses) are among the most spectacular natural features in this part of the park.

The Floating Trail

The floating walkway was one of the reasons I chose this trail to hike on. The water on one side of the dunes is fresh and the other side is the ocean, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. It was a wonderful hike, with plenty of photo opportunities.

Janet on the Floating Trail

Beautiful View

Doesn’t this look like a water color?

Tomorrow I plan to go and explore the other part of this national park. I have extended my departure date for a few days. I did not want to just drive in and drive back out.

As you may be able to tell, I am feeling much better and a bit less road weary. I want to thank you all for letting me vent in my last post. I want to make sure you know I am more than hanging in there. I am enjoying the peacefulness of this island.

Elsie

Now it is back to Miss Elsie and see if she and I can be friends again. Cats!!!!

Frustration!!!!

Posted on August 8, 2015 by JanetA

The posting below is from last night. Since I made some decisions today I had thought about not posting it. How I feel when I travel is not always fraught with meaning or joy or awe, although these are a part of it too. Last night it was about the harder side of travel.

View from Meat Cove, Cape Breton

Frustration! Frustrating! Frustrate! I am all parts of this word tonight. I am anxious to make the “right” decisions even though I don’t know what the right decisions are. I think a glass of wine will help but not really. It does taste good, though.

Today I took my home on wheels to the Mercedes dealer in Halifax. Why? My emergency brake did not seem to be engaging and the service manager agreed. First I thought it would be an easy fix but instead I walked out with new new parking brake shoes. It appears that I must have been driving with my emergency brake on, somewhere in Cape Breton. The manager, Bruce said that even having it engaged a little would cause this wear. Sigh.

I feel like a bad Roadtrek owner tonight. I know I am not, but tonight I feel like I am a bad owner. How could that have happened? I reach the campground tonight and have to use my new brake for the first time as they put me on a hill and I am too tired to move it or think about what is next.

And…it is suppose to rain this weekend. I should enjoy it but I am tired of the rain. Right now I am near Halifax. I am considering not going into the city and heading to Prince Edward Island. I have enjoyed the small towns and quiet areas so much I am not sure I want to “do” Halifax.

I am whining tonight. Yes I am and I don’t care.

It is hard to travel full time or part time full time. Hopefully you get the gist of what I mean. By the time I get home I will have been gone a quarter of the year and a little bit more. That is a lot of time. I am weary and I am ready to head home.

Tomorrow I have to listen to my inner voice that will give me the right direction to go on. I am tired of listening to my inner voice as well. I am tired of decisions. Maybe Mom or Jim will appear in my dreams tonight and help me with direction.

My turn around date is August 10th. I know it is not iron clad yet I want to keep it as close to that date as possible. the honest truth is that I spent too much of my allotted time in Cape Breton. I enjoyed the quiet, the camping, the hiking the people and I am really balking at going into a tourist city and being around many people.

Peggy’s Cove

Yesterday I went to a place called Peggy’s Cove. It is beautiful. The land around it is an UNESCO Heritage site. I loved the open area around the cove. The town of Peggy’s Cove was crazy. There were motor coaches, people, cars and more moving around in this little tiny town. I lasted about an hour and a half and hightailed it out of there. There were too many people, and too many cars. There was a point of time I would have been the tour manager on the front of those coaches. Craziness.

Elsie checking out the Atlantic Ocean

Elsie is my one bright star tonight. I had to bring her into the Mercedes dealer while the RV was being worked on. She was very good, quiet in her carrier and patient. She continues to amaze me. And when I am feeling tired or down there she is, her sweet little self looking at me with trust and maybe cat caring in her eyes. Boy am I glad she is along.

And on another good note is the Mercedes dealer in Halifax. Bruce never even questioned whether they could fit me in, especially after telling him I was about to drive across the country. He told me, when I thanked him before I left that they try to help those who are traveling through as best they can. What a great attitude. My list of great Mercedes dealers keeps getting longer. They certainly focus on good customer service.

So dear readers, thank you for letting me vent. I certainly needed to. Life on the road, life at home, is not always cheerful and happy. Things do not always work right. The key here is to pick up and move on and enjoy the next moment that comes my way.

Tonight I think I will go to bed early and hope that my star will shine a bit brighter tomorrow.

Of course this won’t post until tomorrow as the wifi in the campground is down. Sigh.

Lavender Fields along the Cabot Trail

This is the next day.

I have to tell you that sometime in the morning hours I awoke out of a dream and I was howling with laughter. I wish I could remember the dream, I know Jim was in it. I had to stifle my laughter a little. I didn’t want to wake up the campground.

When I got up this morning I knew I would skip Halifax. That will just have to be for another trip. Tonight I am in Pictou on the Northumberland straight and tomorrow I will ferry to Prince Edward Island. I believe I will be one or two days behind schedule and that is OK. I am still finding myself weary. Right now I am committing to every other night will be two nights of camping as I make my way west. I am looking forward to seeing the open spaces.

It is OK to have up and down days. Last night I could have howled in frustration, today much less so. I am more than ready to head for the west. A few more days and we will be on our way.

Today I am thankful for raw emotion.

Mom and Nova Scotia

Posted on August 5, 2015 by JanetA

Cape Breton

When I was much younger than I am today, I remember talking to my mother about travel. She said that she always wanted to go to Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island. For several years this subject would arise now and then. We talked of traveling there together. It seems it was one of those dreams that was a dream, until this past week.

I arrived in Nova Scotia at the end of July. Although I don’t know if my mom and I would have seen the part of it I have seen so far, I feel like I have brought her along in memory.

I decided upon arriving at the island that I would travel the Cabot Trail to Cape Breton on into Cape Breton Highlands National Park. I love National Parks. This one was amazing. For three nights I camped right on the ocean. Both campsites were a little piece of heaven. I hiked, saw waterfalls, wandered the grounds of Gompa Buddhist Monastery Retreat, and have yet to see any Moose. Everyone but me seems to have seen a Moose. Sigh.

I am also enjoying the people I meet along my travels. People seem to talk to each other in the National Parks. For two nights I camped at Corney Brook Camp Ground. Kathleen and Gary my neighbors invited me to dinner both nights I was there. The second night They had bought some king crab that was in season. Kathleen took me and the neighbors down to the oceanside to learn how to shuck crab. Oh my was that crab delicious.

Crabs for Dinner

Kim and Jim were on the other side. We kept meeting on the trails. When I moved up to Meat Cove Campground, well there they were again.

Petra and Udo were my neighbors at Meat Cove. They had brought their RV from Germany with them. They started their travels in Uruguay. They have been traveling for a year and are getting ready to go back to Germany in 10 days. I had the best evening with these two. We talked about travel and Germany and the USA (even skirted the issue of politics). I enjoyed laughing and drinking with them and getting to know these two remarkable people.

Petra in the Fancy Vehicle from Germany

I am including pictures of their vehicle. Man that ride could take on almost anything. It was big, and comfortable and has been their home for a year. I wish I had met them sooner. I could have followed them as they saw different part of South America and North America, including Alaska and Canada. If you are interested, here is Petra’s blog. It is in German so you might have to use Goggle Translator to interpret it for you. That is what plan to do.

When the three of us said good-by I felt like I was seeing a good friend depart. Their next tour is the Silk Road. They, of course, are driving it in their mighty vehicle.

At a time when I am starting to miss my San Diego friends, it has been nice to meet up with good people who were willing to include me in their lives, if even for a short time. I enjoy the depth of knowing my long time friends yet there are times when a chance encounter can enrich my life and make it deeper. The other good thing about meeting people while you are traveling you sometimes find out about places and events that I might have missed otherwise. We are all a great source of information for each other.

I am camped in St Peters, on Cape Breton tonight. I am in a Provincial Park and like state parks in the USA, the camp sites are quiet and separate. I enjoy camping where Elsie feels safe going outside. If there are too many people around she runs for the blankets.

I know my mother is not with me in person. I know she is traveling with me in spirit. I think of her often and know she would have enjoyed seeing this part of the world. The ocean on the Atlantic side is even warm enough to swim in. My mom loved to swim. I have yet to swim but have dipped my feet. I hope mom is enjoying her trip. I know I am.

Tomorrow, on to Halifax.

Meat Cove

Elsie’s Third Post

Posted on July 27, 2015 by JanetA

Hey everyone, Elsie here. I am one traveling kitty. Since my last post I have traveled around the east coast of the United States and now I am in another country, Canada. No one even asked to see my passport, whatever that is. They asked Janet for hers.

I have been in and out of different houses since I posted last and I still think I like the Roadtrek best. I have been in it so long it feels like home. I like sleeping under the blankets during the day. I am now getting brave enough to come out while Janet drives and lay on the floor next to her. On my bravest days I ride on the dashboard and look out the window. Sometimes it gets lonely under the blankets.

The Camp on Moxie Lake

We spent about five days with Janet’s friend Missy and her husband in Maine. It was on a big body of water and that water still makes me nervous. I spent the day in the RV and then in the evening Janet would bring me inside the camp house. I am not sure if I liked this. Everything was strange and Missy has a bird, Mango that squawks a lot, and it is loud. What is that bird saying?

The one thing I found in the house that made me happy was another bed with blankets to crawl under. I liked it under there. Mango wasn’t quite as loud.

loon

Missy is a photographer and so is Janet. Every time these birds called loons came around the two of them went nuts. They ran for their cameras and headed to the woods to take a zillion photos. What’s the big deal about loons anyhow? They make weird sounds. It kept Janet happy though, so it must be OK.

I also met a little critter that looked good for eating. He was very bold. I know him as chippie, but he is really a chipmunk. He came right up to me. It surprised me so much I didn’t react except to stare at him. That night I dreamt of catching him and playing with him. Sigh, it was too late by the time I dreamt that. I hope to see more chippies in my travels.

Now Janet and I are on our own. We are settling back into the routine of stopping once a day so I can go outside, somewhere where it is quiet. When we stopped today a funny critter watched us. It didn’t move at all. I think it was a stuffed rabbit. It was just hanging in the trees.

Today I found something I really liked. I rolled in it. It smelled like cat mint.

When things make me nervous hanging behind Janet’s leg is a good idea.

Me taking a stroll at lunch.

Ah, rolling

We have camped in some nice places. The other night we were on Cobscook Bay in Maine. After a nice evening walk on the leash we got back and there were a bunch of mosquitos in our RV. Janet did not seem too happy about that. I decided to help her out and jumped around after those little buggers until there were none left. It was fun to help out. After all, we are a team.

Tonight we are camped on the Bay of Fundy. The town is St Martins. There is a funny intermittent noise out there. Janet says it is a light house. I am not sure what that is but the sound is soothing.

My adventure is continuing. I am glad Janet brought me along. I am not sure if I would do this all the time but I like being with Janet and I am seeing more than most kitties see in their whole lifetime. I must be special. Janet calls me the princess. I like to think I am.

Journeys of Thankfulness

Embracing Life, Traveling in my RV, Feeling Grateful

Category Archives: Uncategorized

Great Adventures

Traveling the Path Home

Elsie’s Animals & Birds

Forgiveness Revisited

The Wandering Kitty Checks In

Heading West

Last Stop on the Eastward Journey

Frustration!!!!

Mom and Nova Scotia

Elsie’s Third Post

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