Breakfast with friends is the perfect way to start any day, and we did precisely that at the Saltscapes Restaurant and General Store on Highway 102 near Truro—and the first occasion, a mere 15 minutes from home, to ask:

“Where are we going to park this thing?” That thing being the 30 foot RV that’s going to be home for the next month.

(Part of the mission is to scout out quality locally-made merchandise for the General Store.)

Our secondary preoccupation has been “where can we stop (and park this thing) and let the puppies out every three hours or so. We were travelling with eight dogs on board—six seven week-old Labrador puppies plus our own Lab and spaniel.

(“You two are crazy!” is a phrase we hear quite often; but this time we were just about ready to admit maybe they’re right.)

That was not in the original plan. This was wean-the-pups week and time for the new owners to take possession. Two went to our oldest sons (but they were attending the U2 concert at magnetic Hill on Saturday, so we delivered those Sunday morning as they headed home very pleased and impressed with both U2 and the two little females.)

A third was delivered to a wonderful home with friends from Ontario who drove down and met us in northern New Brunswick.

Two remain to be delivered to a good friend in Cape Breton—and the sixth will become our third house dog. The good news is that we live in dog heaven on acres and acres of woodlands and multiple dogs just fit right in. (The trick is training. Well-trained dogs are never a problem.)

We were heading for southern New Brunswick on the same day as the U2 concert (co-incidentally being attended by three of our four adult children) so Magnetic Hill had to be avoided at all costs. We detoured out of Moncton and headed for Fundy National Park through some delightful countryside…

But, unfortunately, it rained and it rained and it rained and it rained and it rained—and then it rained some more. We thought about all those folks at the concert and peered through the teeming mess as we drove past Hopewell Rocks and the studios and craft shops etc. that populate the area, disappointed that the weather precluded stopping.

But it cleared just as we left Fundy park and just in time for the concertgoers who waded in mud but stayed dry.

We had lunch with friends in Hamden, just outside Saint John, then enjoyed a fabulous drive in beautiful evening sunshine down the Kingston Peninsula—a first for both of us.

It’s a delightful part of New Brunswick, pastoral with water views everywhere—and hosts an amazing farmers market every Saturday with about 70 vendors and breakfast sittings for 600 to 800 people.

Puppies, are, of course, kid magnets, and we seemed to be the main attraction at the RV park we used. We flopped, exhausted, and slept remarkably well on our very first night.