#46 - Covey Great Adventure - June 2018 - NH and the Maritime Provinces, Part 1

June 2018 – New Hampshire and the Maritime Provinces, Part 1

Schroeder loves Casa Kendrick, too

We finally rolled into Campton, New Hampshire, on May 28 to spend six weeks or so with Charlie and Mollie Kendrick. We were excited to find a new sewer hookup and cable TV connection at Casa Kendrick. If they could eliminate the mosquitoes, New Hampshire’s state scourge, Casa Kendrick would be damn near perfect.  

Coach maintenance is a never-ending process and we arrived with a long list of things that we planned to do. UPS had been delivering packages to Campton for a couple of weeks with the parts we needed. At the top of the list was to replace the engine air filter, replace the y-valve and one-way valves in the fresh water inlet system, change the water filters, add an additional (third) sediment filter to try to keep dirt out of the plumbing fixtures, replace the shower head, clean the batteries and battery terminals and replace the tow dolly tires. Oh, yes, and wash four months of road grime off the coach and get several service items handled on the car. The list was long, but for the first time in many months all of the tasks were done before we pulled out for Canada! Thanks, Charlie for all the help.

As if there wasn’t enough to do, a few days after we arrived we discovered water coming out from under the shower pan. That is really, really not good. Water anywhere that it isn’t supposed to be is a serious problem. I tried everything I could think of to avoid opening up the walls, but finally concluded that it had to be coming from the shower valve itself. After cutting access holes through two bulkheads I discovered that the plastic hot water supply fitting on the shower control valve was indeed leaking. That fitting is now brass. A space heater took two days to dry everything out, but it looks like we escaped without damage to the coach structure.

Clearly not all work!

Outstanding local ale

It wasn’t all work at Casa Kendrick. Kayeanne flew to Salt Lake City to spend a few day with Liesa, a visit that they both enjoyed. The dogs and I waited anxiously for her return. Despite the bugs, we spent several evenings at the large fire pit that Charlie and I upgraded two

years ago trying to make an appreciable dent in his vast wood pile. The wood pile doesn’t look much smaller but our wine supply certainly needed replenishment.

Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale...

While Kayeanne was visiting Liesa, Charlie and Mollie invited me to go cruising to the Isles of Shoals off the New Hampshire coast. Their daughter Holly and her husband Mike own a large power boat that we had a great time on two years ago, so I was really looking forward to seeing them again. Mike and Holly are wonderful hosts and the day couldn’t have been better. Mike’s day turned a little cloudy, though, when one engine died as we reached the mouth of the Piscataqua River. He detoured into a local harbor and we picked up a mooring while he tried to find out what happened. Unfortunately the problem persisted, so we enjoyed a terrific lunch and good company on the mooring watching the unending streams of boats passing in and out of the harbor. Later, Mike had no trouble returning us up river to his marina on one engine.

One twentieth the size of Biltmore
but twice the house

This seems to be our year to visit out-sized homes. In the past couple of months we toured Monticello and Biltmore, so when Mollie suggested a visit to the Castle in the Clouds we readily agreed. I have a somewhat jaundiced view of what people with lots of money spend it on, but I think I would have enjoyed meeting Tom Plant in 1913 when he built his house on 6,300 acres on a mountaintop near Lake Winnipesauke in Moultonboro, New Hampshire. Given its age and history, the house is in remarkable condition. That is a tribute to the original design and construction, and to the work of the Castle Preservation Society, the current owners. 

The gardens caught Kayeanne and Mollie

If you are in the area, definitely make time to visit the Castle. I’d go back just to take the basement tour that details the construction and the systems that were state-of-the-art in 1913. That is a new tour that opened the week after we visited.

We have been planning to visit Prince Edward Island with the Kendricks for four years. You may recall that in 2016 we got as far as Bangor, Maine, when their coach broke down. While waiting for parts we got a call from Liesa that sent us dashing back across country. Before we left Bangor, the four of us vowed to try again as soon as we could. 

Low tide across the street

Well, this is it: on June 25th we pulled out of Campton bound for PEI. We camped at Wally Word in Palmyra, Maine, that night and crossed the border at Calais, Maine/Saint Stephen, New Brunswick the following day. A short drive brought us to lovely Saint Andrews and the first of a series of waterfront camp sites with terrific ocean views that Charlie and Mollie set up.

Moonrise

St. Andrews is a lovely town on Passamaquoddy Bay, which opens to the Bay of Fundy. While it’s a very popular tourist destination, it hasn’t been overwhelmed by the visitors, maintaining much of the historic character and charm of the town. The Kiwanis Oceanfront Campground is exactly what it says. Our sites were literally across the street from the ocean. The view from the windshield was worth whatever it had taken to get here.

Kingsbrae Garden was a surprise to me; I actually enjoyed a botanical garden. Plants, even exotic beautiful ones aren’t my thing, but after wandering around many acres of them we finally got to the sculpture garden. Canadian artists are invited to contribute works every year, so the exhibit changes annually. Some of the pieces were a little hard to fathom, even with detailed explanations by the

creators, but many of them were very interesting. I’d go back just to see this part of the garden again. I’d also return to have lunch in the café, one of the most pleasant rooms I can remember. The food and the service were great, too.

As much as we would have liked to spend more time in St. Andrews, we needed to press on to PEI, our main goal for four years. Mollie’s family is from PEI and she and Charlie have made many trips to the island over the years. We couldn’t ask for better tour guides.

The eight mile long Confederation Bridge joining PEI to the mainland was “interesting” in the coach. We sat way above the railing looking a long way down at deep water. Luckily we had calm weather going both ways; I think it would be another story in foul, especially windy, conditions.

It just doesn't get any better than this

Crystal Beach Campground near Summerside was our first destination. Once again, our campsites were right on the ocean, this time on Malpeque Bay. The campground itself was pretty rustic. The many seasonal campers seemed to like it, but the electrical service was unreliable and the facilities, roads and campsites were badly in need of upgrading. As we quickly discovered, the mosquitoes in PEI are at least as bad as the ones in New Hampshire. Liberal lashings of bug spray were needed to enjoy campfires at sunset overlooking the bay. Tough duty, but we are all troopers. 

Crystal Beach was our base for exploring Summerside and the west side of PEI. The town isn’t large but it has all the services needed and a number of restaurants and shops to explore. Lunch on the upper deck at Peakes Quai Restaurant was very good. For the mechanically inclined, Bishop’s Machine Shop Museum is a must-see. Four generations of true craftsmen turned out farm implements, marine hardware and machinery parts for the island’s economy. It’s a really fascinating place, and Noah, the young docent on duty when we visited was outstanding.

 One of the first things that we noticed when we crossed the bridge was how pretty PEI is. The whole place looks manicured. There is a picture everywhere you look. I don't remember where this harbor is, but it doesn't matter; there are dozens like it everywhere you look.

Of course we went to
Green Gables!

After four full days spent exploring, it was time to move on. Watch this space as we move to the other end of the island to explore Charlottetown, the Northumberland Straight and the north end.