Our RV Adventures

Nothing really happened at work or at home today. Just the same old, same old.

So since Jan and I were talking the other day about our trip out to Newfoundland in 2009, I thought I’d repost one of the highlights of that trip, our visit to the Bay of Fundy with its 50 foot daily tides.

We entered Canada from Houlton, ME on August 28, 2009 and reentered the US on September 14, 2009. Then we headed north back into Canada, coming down through Quebec, Montreal, and Ottawa, before again reentering the US on September 20nd near Ogdensburg, NY. Then it was on to Niagara Falls.

Originally posted on September 13, 2009

Today is our last full day in Canada for a while, and is also our day to visit the Bay of Fundy area.

The Bay of Fundy is home to the highest tidal changes in the world. In a 6 hour period the water level can change 30-50 feet depending on the phase of the moon.

But first we decided to try a place we’d heard about here in Canada called Cora. Cora is a type of restaurant that seems very popular here in Canada. It is only open for breakfast and lunch. It closes at 3 pm every day.

And it was fantastic. The food is delicious, and every menu item is a work of art. Hopefully we’ll be able to eat here for breakfast tomorrow before we leave.

After breakfast, we made the 30 mile trip south to the Hopewell Rock area of the Bay of Fundy. On the way, we drove along the Chocolate River, which seems very aptly named.

As it was low tide and this river connects with the Bay of Fundy, it was basically a chocolate-colored mud flat.

And here is what it looked like coming back home.

We arrived at Hopewell Rocks about 1 pm, a little before the full low tide point at 1:41 pm. The trail down to the Rocks is about 3/4 mile though the forest. Getting there, here is what we saw.

Then we walked down the 125 steps to the ocean floor.

By the time high tide occurs, the water level will be to the top of the narrow sections of the rocks above.

There are a number of warning signs in the area.

Apparently people are often caught on the ocean floor when the tide comes in. Someone said that someone drowned here a couple of weeks ago.

Because it would be a little over 6 hours until high tide, we drove further down the coast along the Bay of Fundy. On the way we passed a couple of number of scenic views, including a couple of 100-year-old covered bridges, one of which is still in use.

As we neared the Bay of Fundy National Park, we came across these scenic areas. The first is a view of a cliff side shrouded in the fog that had settled in as the day progressed.

Nearby was a boat dock that shows the problem of mooring boats in an area where the water level varies 30-50 feet twice a day.

Finally we headed back up the coast to Hopewell Rocks to see the results of the tide coming in.

Unfortunately we weren’t able to stay for the full high tide because it would occur after dark, and there is no lighting at the Rocks, or on the 3/4 mile walk through the woods to the parking area.

The only downside to our visit was the fact that as the sun went down, the mosquitos came out…with vengeance. You’d think they hadn’t eaten in a year, but they certainly made up for it that night.

We stayed as late as we could. In fact it was downright dark by the time we made it back to the toad.

I’d always heard of the tides at the Bay of Fundy and it was neat to be able to see them for ourselves.

But, maybe the best thing about our Bay of Fundy trip is that Jan finally got to see a Canadian moose!

Tomorrow we head back to the good ole USA.

Thought for the Day:

Remember, it’s not officially a “World War” until France surrenders.

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I spent the morning working on the Knife website until I ran out of things I could do. I finally stalled out with a bunch of questions that I need answers to before I can go any further. But my client is at a knife show this weekend, so he hasn’t been able to answer me.

So I started back on sorting stuff into GO/STAY piles for the storage room, and then sub-sorting the GO stuff into STORE until needed and STORE until next winter. Then the STAY stuff I’m trying to sort into TOOLS, PARTS, RIG PARTS, etc..

All I can say is it keeps me off the streets and out of trouble. Well, maybe just off the streets. Seems like I still manage to get in trouble, no matter what.

As far as my Peeves, I’ve got a bunch of them, and seem to be gathering more all the time.

First up is Software/Apps that seem to maintained and updated on the “Peter Principle’. From a book written in the late 60’s, it’s formally written as “In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.”

Putting it in simpler form, a guy does a good job at work, so he gets a promotion. Then if he does a good job in that position, he gets another promotion. But eventually he’s going to be promoted into a job that he’s not very good at. Of course he’s not bad enough at it to be fired, especially since he has all those promotions on his resume. So there he sits until he retires or dies, doing a crummy job.

Now think about it. Doesn’t that explain what’s wrong with pretty much every organization, government or corporate? But it seems to happen with software too.

My first example is an app called ‘Flixster’ A touch of a key would show you all the theaters in your area, the movies they were showing, and the times they were showing at. You could even buy your tickets through the app.

And if you wanted to see a particular movie, another touch of a button and you’d see a list of movies showing and then the nearest theater that was showing it. All there in big bold tabs. But now you have to hunt around trying to decipher tiny little icons, and it now takes several extra steps to buy your tickets.

They’ve basically ‘improved’ until it’s not as useful any more.

And then there’s useless products.

The first one is a car backup camera called Zus. I saw it at Sam’s Club the other day priced at $99.00. It’s big attraction is that it operates through and displays on your cell phone so it doesn’t need a monitor But since it’s short range, it disconnects from your phone as soon as you leave the area of your car.

So when you come back to your car, you have to get out your phone, start the car, connect up with the camera, and then hold it or place it so you can see it while you’re backing out.

And making things worse, according to the reviews, it can take as long as a minute or two for your phone to connect with the camera.

So exactly how is this useful?

The last one I’ve only seen on TV, but it still looks stupid. And it costs a lot of money extra. It’s the LG InstaView Refrigerator.

On the commercial a kid goes up the refrigerator,  knocks twice on the door and the inside lights up, showing the contents through the normally darkened glass. Then the kid opens the door and gets out what he wants.

Now your first thought is that this ‘saves energy’ right?  But not really. Unless you keep the door open long enough for the food inside to actually warm up, it only takes a few cents to cold down the little bit of warmer air that got in. And the kid still had to open the door anyway.

And how much does it cost you to save these few cents? According to online, maybe as much as $1000. The retail on one of these fridges starts at $4299.

Ouch!

I’ll save the rest of my peeves for another blog.

Thought for the Day: 

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