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  1. #1
    Art's Avatar
    Art is offline Senior Member & VolvoXC.com Supporter
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    Oct 2001
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    Thumbs up Epic East Coast Road Trip

    Caution: Lengthy Post.

    This is one road trip that we will be talking about for a while. We started out from our hometown of Red Deer, Alberta and, with many impromptu stops along the way, we will eventually make it to our final destination, that being Newfoundland. We've managed to log over 6,000 km so far.

    We wasted no time as we blazed through Western, Central and parts of Eastern Canada with the sole purpose of extending our stay in the Atlantic Provinces.

    Stop along the shoreline of Lake Superior.


    Overnighter in Old Montreal. The rear cargo is crammed with our boats, gear, food, clothing, etc.,for the 40 day trip.



    From Quebec City, we took the ferry across the St Lawrence to Levis.


    One last look at Le Chateau Frontenac from the ferry. Au Revoir Quebec!


    Our arrival in New Brunswick was marked with a trip to Hartland, home of the longest covered bridge in the world.



    View over looking the Bay of Fundy


    The Bay of Fundy has the reputation of having the highest tides in the world. The Hopewell Rocks located in Fundy National Park are a prime example of this. We couldn't pass up the opportunity to paddle in and amongst the renowned 'Flowerpots' during high tide. Hard to believe we walked around the same area just a few hours before launching our boats.




    It's off to PEI, the 'Gentle Island'. Views of the 8 mile long Confederation Bridge.



    Images of Summerside, PEI.



    We managed to hook up with a bunch of local paddlers in Charlottetown, PEI who took us on a tour of their fine harbor.




    One of Charlottetown's quaint side streets


    Definitely not yer run-of-the-mill mailboxes.



    Obligatory pic of our rig and boats.


    Misc. images of PEI.








    Departing PEI for Nova Scotia on the Woods Island/Caribou Ferry.


    Following an overnight stay in Baddeck, NS, we would hit the road once again, this time along the famous Cabot Trail.




    2nd night on the Trail – The town of Cheticamp and calm conditions made for a pleasant evening paddle.







    Paddling into the harbor of Cheticamp, one has a great view of the church that looms over the rest of the town.


    More shots of the Cabot Trail the following day. Periods of fog and rain dogged us most of the way. Next stop, Dingwall, NS.

    Same road 48 hours later.






    The small fishing village of Pleasant Bay.


    A couple of quirky, cute homes that we passed along the way.



    More time on the water. Here we are at Aspy Bay near near the town of Dingwall.




    Surf's UP!


    Side trip to Meat Cove, Cape Breton – The most northerly settlement in Nova Scotia. Quite spectacular views despite the gloomy weather.






    That concludes this portion of our road trip to the Atlantic Provinces. We leave for NewFoundland in a couple of days so I’ll be sure to provide more detailed updates with respect to our progress. Thanks for your time and hope that you enjoyed the photo journal!
    Last edited by Art; 07-07-2009 at 07:52 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
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    Sydney, Australia
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    Loved every photo. Thanks so much for posting. I'm inspired to visit Canada!

    Are they folding kayaks? I note half way through you switched from having them collapsed to carrying them assembled. What are the advantages of collapsing them vs keeping them on the roof extended? I haven't paddled a folding kayak. Wouldn't mind to hear your opinions of travelling with folding vs solid as well as your views on using them.

    Keep the photos coming and have a very safe and enjoyable holiday!
    Cheers,
    Patrick
    Architect

    2001 Volvo XC70 (PJ-810)
    2007 Volvo XC70
    2001 BMW 530i Touring MSport


    Past:
    1987 240GL
    1982 244GLE
    1978 245L (Manual)
    and: 1974 Triumph 2000Mk2, 1990 Renault 25TXE, 1986 Rover SD1, 1990 Peugeot 605SV, 1991 Peugeot 605SVE, 1995 Peugeot 605SV


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    God, I love this... makes me go queezy with longing for my holiday... And 40 days

    What's the black bar on one of the pics?

    And I looooove Canada!!! (But never been to the east-coast though... Did get lost with my wife and our one year old in logging country on Vancouver Island though=> half an hour trip took us 6 hours, with roads just stopping in the middle of nowhere Turned out the sign for the correct road was placed 100 meters AFTER the junction and just driving straight on led you the wrong way...)
    Need AWD info, so that's why I invade your forum with my V70 D5 AWD...

    Hope you don't mind...

  4. #4
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    Feb 2009
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    Hope you loved Quebec City! Thanks for coming! I want to drive all the way to the Western Coast, but I'm arguing with my wife about this every time we speak about vacation...

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
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    Canada: Calgary Alberta - Panorama Mountain BC - Pender Island BC
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    Default East Coast Trip Pictures

    Awesome photos Art/Sai. Too bad you seem to have hit cloudy and overcast conditions. I've traveled those roads several times and the scenery is unbelievable when the sea and sun collide. I particularly liked your shots of the Bay of Fundy from both a land lubber and sea wolf perspective.

    Btw, your new oversize wheels/tires fill those cavities very nicely. I've only taken the XC-70 across Canada once and it was beautifully suited to the ride with a ton of space (every inch of which you seem to be taking advantage of).

    As for our guest comments thus far: (a) our daughter Steph is touring Australia as we speak - we've been to Sydney 3 times and thoroughly enjoyed it every single time, (b) I'm Dutch myself and am intimately aware of Vancouver Island road signage as we have a place on one of the islands there - I've taken to relying on a GPS to get me out of trouble, and (c) for our Quebec contributor - we lived in Montreal for several years and it remains my favourite province. Both our gals speak fluent French and my wife still has her hair dresser located there.

    Thanks for the pictures and the reminder of the international friends who inhabit this site.
    '04 XC70 Canadian Premium and Sport packages, Black (425,000 kms)
    '06 XC70 Ocean Race Model, IPD to 240 hp, 18" rims, Deep Blue
    Other rigs: '06 Toyota Avalon, '15 Jeep Grand Cherokee, '23 BMW330e (Plug-In-Hybrid)

  6. #6
    Art's Avatar
    Art is offline Senior Member & VolvoXC.com Supporter
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    Quote Originally Posted by PJ810
    Are they folding kayaks? I note half way through you switched from having them collapsed to carrying them assembled. What are the advantages of collapsing them vs keeping them on the roof extended? I haven't paddled a folding kayak. Wouldn't mind to hear your opinions of travelling with folding vs solid as well as your views on using them.
    Patrick,

    Spot on regarding the boats. They're folding alright…Feathercraft Khatsalanos to be exact. We stowed both kayak packs in the rear of the XC and used a roof basket to car top all of our camping gear and clothes. When we arrived in New Brunswick, we made the switch. The boats went up and the basket and gear went into the back of the car.

    The boats travelled well on the saddles. Naturally they tend to flex a bit in the wind but otherwise were very stable. The Khatsalano is Greenland inspired with a fair degree of rocker. It's likely the fastest boat I've ever paddled and possesses good-excellent primary and secondary stability. It tracks extremely straight into the wind but it can be touch and go in following seas. Feathercraft also offers the Kat S which is slightly beamier.

    Hope that helps.

    Quote Originally Posted by r-p
    What's the black bar on one of the pics?
    Hmmm…which pic are you referring to? It's possible that one of the wiper arms/blades got in the way when it was raining.

    Quote Originally Posted by Miliceman
    Hope you loved Quebec City! Thanks for coming! I want to drive all the way to the Western Coast, but I'm arguing with my wife about this every time we speak about vacation...
    J'aime Quebec!! Even though we only stayed a night in Old Quebec, we plan on visiting again. The day we arrived there was a celebration of sorts occurring….was it Fete Nationale? Anyway, the streets were buzzing with activity and everyone was in a festive mood.

    Quote Originally Posted by john@CdnRockies
    Awesome photos Art/Sai. Too bad you seem to have hit cloudy and overcast conditions. I've traveled those roads several times and the scenery is unbelievable when the sea and sun collide. I particularly liked your shots of the Bay of Fundy from both a land lubber and sea wolf perspective.
    John,

    Conditions were great today and it looks like it will stay that way for the remainder of the week. We walked the Skyline trail which offered up a superb panoramic view of the ocean, the valley below and the Cabot Trail. Even came upon a moose along the way.





    Here a couple of more shots of the Cabot Trail taken today.



  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    Netherlands
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    Quote Originally Posted by Art View Post
    Hmmm…which pic are you referring to? It's possible that one of the wiper arms/blades got in the way when it was raining.
    Quote Originally Posted by Art View Post
    There was a distinct black bar, very clearly outlined (no smudged edges or anything) on this pic. I scrolled down and up and may even have reloaded the page to see if it was a glitch that would disappear, but it didn't. Now it's gone.

    Whatever...

    Thanks for the pics!

    and at the GPS comment of Vancouver Island. No one told us...and we didn't own one in 2004...
    There were some guys working on the road (part of the road was gone, they were fixing it with cobblestones) and they looked funny at us. So when we reappeared almost 6 hours later, one said: I was wondering where you were going, as it's a dead end
    Need AWD info, so that's why I invade your forum with my V70 D5 AWD...

    Hope you don't mind...

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Quebec, Canada
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    Quote Originally Posted by Art View Post
    The day we arrived there was a celebration of sorts occurring….was it Fete Nationale? Anyway, the streets were buzzing with activity and everyone was in a festive mood.
    If you were there on June 23rd, yes, it was the "St-Jean-Baptiste" evening. The day after, June 24th, it is our "Fête Nationale" day, but in Quebec City, we love to celebrate and rest a bit on the holiday (more when this day is right in the middle of the week!)

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Sydney, Australia
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    Thumbs up Nice

    Thanks for the pics. Awesome scenery. Even better than our coastal drive along the Great Ocean Road in Melbourne, Victoria. And your XC looks great too!!!

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Nov 2008
    Location
    Tasmania, Australia
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    10

    Default +1 Nice

    Nice photos and great scenery: makes me very keen to visit North America sometime.

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