The Road Home

When we had our breakdown and had to stay behind as our caravan continued their travels, we hoped that we would be able to catch up to them at some point and finish this journey with them. When it became obvious that we would not be able to do that, we looked at exploring some of the scheduled stops and sights on our own. Unfortunately, our forced stay in St. Anthony went on too long. We did enjoy ourselves, had some great experiences, and met some absolutely wonderful people, but we were ready to get back to the USA.

After we left St. Anthony with a short stop at the dealer in Deer Lake to get our air conditioner recharged, we drove to the Grand Codroy RV/Tent Campground. This was a return to our first stop in Newfoundland and we felt good about staying there until it was time to take the ferry to Nova Scotia. Fantasy RV Tours had reserved a spot on the 11:45 pm departure on August 18^th. Boarding the ferry and parking our rig was another claustrophobic experience. The lanes were so narrow it was hard to walk normally between the lanes of vehicles. We found a seating area that was not crowded and settled in for the night. The ferry actually provides blankets on the night ferry – great customer service! I know that made my night more comfortable. I was able to see a beautiful sunrise on the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

We rolled off the ferry at 8:00 in the morning and headed for Moncton, New Brunswick. En-route to Quebec, we opted to stop in Woodstock, NB and were pleasantly surprised to find we were in time for their annual Rib Fest. It was an interesting small town festival. They had two major vendors whom had won many awards for their ribs. Other vendors offered beverages (some alcoholic), and side dishes. There was a stage with a band. The crowd looked like they were having a great time. We treated ourselves to some ribs for dinner.

We left Woodstock, and made a “sprint” to Michigan. We spent two nights in parking lots, one at Canadian Tire and another at Walmart. We stayed at the Milton Heights Campground west of Toronto before we crossed into Michigan at Sarnia.

After three days of solid driving we arrived in Holly, MI to stay at the farm of a former National Guard comrade. This weekend was our annual Ranger Rendezvous. With just shy of 30 attendees, we had a great time sharing war stories and solving all of the world’s problems. Our host offered us a camping spot next to a power pole near his barn. After an afternoon of partying, we were able to sleep in total darkness with almost no noise. Camping in the country is great!

Sunday morning we drove to Lansing, MI. Our “go to” campground in the area is the Cottonwood Campground. It is a short walk or bike ride to the Lansing River Trail, and that gives us access to downtown Lansing and the Michigan State University Campus by bike. We will be here to visit our doctors, dentists, and financial advisor, in addition to seeing family and old friends.

We may not live in Michigan anymore, but we still call it home!