July 20

New Heights

"I'm on top of the world!!" Not an exact quote from Leonardo DiCaprio in the epic movie Titanic, but as you read it, play in your mind the emphasis and passion he displayed in his famous quote ("Im King of the World".  


Yes,  this is our Northern most point on the trip.  From here, everything is downhill, or at least southward bound.  

Incredible Scenery

WOW, what a trip this is turning out to be.  Terri and I agree that in many ways, we enjoy this as much or more than the Great Loop.  Don't get us wrong, the GL was spectacular and we openly encourage anyone interested.  But the DownEast (DECL) is something else.  There is something raw and unique about this adventure.  Our destinations are fishing villages and seaside working towns.  Tourist, by and large, just don't go here.  Some of the marinas are quite crude and rudimentary with their docks and power.  Yet, it all seems to work perfectly with our trip.  

The beauty of the waterways, the marinas and the towns are all incredible.  Each place seems to be a scene from a Hallmark movie.  The people we meet are genuine and kind.  


  

Weather

The weather is a huge factor here.  We have managed to move on mostly good days so no issues.  The winds rise in the afternoon. Just so you know what a NOGO day really looks like, well it looks like this:


We literally had winds in excess of 50 mph the other night.  Fortunately, the hidie-hole we found had us well protected such that the boat only rocked a little.   

Cap Gaspe 

Rounding the point of Cap Gaspe on the Gaspe peninsula was spectacular.  The cliff face here is second to none in the world.  It was breathtaking.  We managed to align with a buddy boat, Faith, and get some great pics of each other.  But most days we travel alone and hardly ever see another boat.  




To give you a feel for where we were for these pictures ....


The Towns

The fishing villages tend to run together after a while, but since the last post we have been in Rimouski, St. Anne des Monts, Riviere-au-Renard, Gaspe (the birthplace of Canada) and L'Anse-A-Beaufils.  Each of these are fun and a delight to walk.







Rib Fest

In Gaspe, they were hosting Rib Fest when we arrived.  Immediately, that turned into a "must do".  There were multiple vendors cooking anything BBQed, lots of libations and of course ... music (which actually kind of sucked).  It was a hoot and we went both nights.




Perce Rock

One of the most iconic formations of this trip is Perce Rock which we passed today.  The picture really doesn't do it justice.  It was great.


What's Next

From here we proceed south towards New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and PEI.  Neither of us have ever been this far north before and it is really quite exciting for us.  More Lobster!!! (and clams).

With Love,

Terri and Aubrey

























Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Down East Circle Loop (DECL)

Image
June 28, 2025 The Down East Circle Loop (DECL) I have debated doing another blog for this trip.  I am not sure why.  I realize that it is important for many reasons, not the least of which to aid my ageing memory.  However, multiple people have reached out encouraging such and for that I am humbled and grateful. So what is the DECL?   From a route perspective it is as follows;  Start at New York City and go up the Hudson through Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence Seaway.  Follow that out the mouth of the St. Lawrence and around the Gaspe Peninsula dropping down on New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia. Rounding Nova Scotia brings you back to the USA at Maine.  From there you follow the coast south passing Newport, Boston, Cape Cod, Nantucket, Martha's Vineyard and more until you enter Long Island Sound.  This leads you past many cool things like Mystic and the Connecticut River and back into NYC.   Being that we starte...
Read more

The Madeleines

Image
August 3, 2025 JACKPOT!!!!  We have hit the mother load of fun.  WOW.  This is true cold country, so cold in fact that I don't think us southerners can really understand it.  But, when the weather breaks in the summer, all communities come out to celebrate.  The events, games and fun are by the people and for the people.  Some of the towns we have been in have little to no tourist impact and yet the events are held like it is the King's inauguration. Charlotte Town, PEI The fun began in Charlotte Town, PEI.  The city marina was festive the moment we stepped off the boat with a Tiki bar, band and red sand floors right at the marina.  Off the boat to get some famous PEI oysters.  Now mind you, they are extremely proud of their oysters at $3.75 each ... but hey, that is Canadian $3.75 so does it really count? (about $2.75 US). Whereas they were stupid expensive, they were outstanding. To see more of PEI, we rented a car and drove all over the is...
Read more
Image
July 25, 2025 Wrong Way! It was bound to happen. And things do happen when you least expect them to.  So what am I talking about?  Well, this is actually hilarious... The other day we pulled into Bouctouche, New Brunswick Canada.  It was a beautiful marina with a fantastic dockmaster.  We snuggled into our slip after taking on fuel.  All is good and it was time to take Yudee for his walk.  Now, Yudee is one amazingly well trained dog who works very hard to please us. Among his rather broad vocabulary are a series of commands dealing with the boat.  One of the most common is "jump" to get him on and off the boat.  The specific command for getting off the boat is "Off - Jump" and away he goes. Well, I opened the door to let him out and issued the command, "Off-Jump" as I reached to grab his leash.  Without hesitation, he goes to the port side of the boat and jumps.  Unfortunately for him, the boat was tied to the finger pier on the starboa...
Read more