East Coast 2026: Day 3. Crustaceans but no Cetaceans.

Howdy good people. So far we are 2/2 in free parking lot camping. Last night was lovely and quiet despite there being about 20 camping units parked with us. We were fairly well spread out so that probably helped. The wind died down eventually. The furnace kept us at a solid 14C (our set point) while the overnight temp bottomed at 6C. Thanks furnace. We did burn about 7% of our propane capacity keeping warm.

Amy decided that we were far enough east that we should be in the AST time zone and woke us up an hour earlier than her usual time. We shall call that pre-adjusting.

I walked around the area to have a look at stuff. The lighting on the submarine was better in the morning. All of the museums look worthy of a visit even though I did not venture in. The Empress of Ireland is an intriguing story.

We slowly got ready for the day and even took some moments to look for whales out in the river. We did not see any. This made me a bit sad. Amy did enjoy clambering around on the rocky shore though, so that’s a win.

We departed our spot just after 10:00 to head to Sugarloaf Provincial park right near Campbellton, NB. It was a short driving day so we took our time. Sadly we went 0/2 on our planned stops as the expected farm stands were not there and the Poissanerie was not open, despite the internet saying it was. So much for fish and chips for lunch. Sad face. My Garmin GPS seemed to hate this route. A few times it just gave up until I reentered the destination.

We stopped at a few scenic vistas along the river to take breaks and give Amy some critical outdoors time. Warning children, this could get graphic. At one stop we took a trail to walk back to the covered bridge that was just up the road. This is when Mrs Milddogs spotted it. We had wandered into a shitting field. People, WTF, there were portapotties less than 100 meters away. Maybe, at least dig a cat hole? I assume this is a known target as there were many bombs dropped nearby. I think we can do better. No pictures!

We hit the New Brunswick boarder and jumped ahead an hour. Amy is now vindicated. Sugarloaf is just a few minutes from the border. Check in was easy. Staff is friendly. We settled and took a break for a bit before heading out the local Poissonerie as we had just passed by and knew it was open. Good news! It actually was open. Bad news, despite what the internet said, they did not have fish and chips. Plan C it was. Mrs Milddogs picked up a lobster for dinner and I just stopped at Maccas for a cheaper easier meal. I did forget to swap glasses and this ended up ordering an extra cheeseburger. I have no clue how I actually did that.

Back at the campground we enjoyed eating at the picnic table. The local red squirrel really wanted to join us. Amy did her best to protect us and our food. Perhaps because she expected our food to become hers. She is rarely wrong on that topic.

Despite the lack of overt bear warnings, I felt it best to immediately bring the lobster carcass to the garbage. Maybe bears are just expected like raccoons are in Ontario provincial parks and warnings are implicit.

We have electricity at this site. Charge everything, make some hot water!

Sugarloaf is known for bike trails, hiking and skiing. We did not bring our skis and it’s just a bit too warm still for that. We shall see what other activities we do.

Shower time. There is a very dedicated crew here cleaning the washrooms. Hats off to them, they earned a bonus point in the rating system. Showers are private and have plenty of hot water. However, they do need some paint and perhaps a bit of charm. They feel a bit like you are doing 5 to 10 and this is your shower. Anyway, 6/10 for these showers.

Tomorrow we plan to do something. I hope you do too.

And now I must eat my pain-au-chocolate. More crumbs in the bed!