Thur. August 1
We drove the Prius from Madison to Bath OH (near Akron) to spend a day and 2 nights with Catherine, Ben and their kids. After supper I accompanied Ben and their dog Violet for a hike in Cuyahoga Valley National Park just north of Akron.

Fri. August 2
I made my way down to the creek that borders their property. The photo shows the tree trunks that lie across the creek. Later we visited Catherine's studio in Akron. That evening I checked out the oil well on their property, up toward the road. They also have a gas well nearby.

Sat. August 3
Catherine is a member of Holden Arboretum near Kirkland OH, norhteast of Cleveland. The morning we left she had to take Isaac to football practice at his school near there. Since the arboretum was on our way east, she arranged to meet us there and we toured the arboretum together. Then we continued on to Margot's Selkirk cottage, on the Salmon River as it flows into Lake Ontario near Port Ontario NY. We met Bruce, a long time friend and travel companion of Margot's father Bill, and his wife Martha, who were staying at the cottage in addition to Margot, Tavery and a friend.

Sun. August 4
At the cottage the water was so hight that it covered Margot's dock. Bruce, Martha, Barb and I drove upriver to the Salmon River Falls. Bruce and I took the steep path down to the river below the falls while Barb and Martha took the path to the top of the falls. I took some movie clips of the falls. Margot and Tavery had other plans. Sundown saw a quiet evening over the river and lake.

Mon. August 5
Margot had business to tend to at the cottage but Tavery needed to be to work in Cambridge so Barb and I drove her and her friend to Margot's house.

Tue. August 6
In Cambridge Barb and I hiked about half way around Fresh Pond. On our way back to the car I took a short trip up a side path to Black's Nook pond where I photographed water lilies on tall stalks.

Wed. August 7
We set off for the 11 hour drive to Parrsboro NS. Once in Parrsboro we were able to reach Betty on her phone at the cottage and got directions to 2090 Two Islands Dr. on the Bay of Fundy. We arrived at the cottage about 7:30 ADT.

Thur. August 8
I drove the 3 of us to Parrsboro and Betty directed us to a lot with an old London taxi and other items of historical interest. The 86 year old lot owner, Kerwin Davis, was across the street and came over to talk to Betty. He offered us a free ride in his 1928 (or 29) Nash, which was parked nearby on the street. The ride came with a fascinating local history lesson. He said the car had been stored for years in a barn before he bought and restored it. He found bullet shells in the car and evidence that it had been hit by gunfire, leading him to suspect it had been used by rum runners. He said such cars were favored by rum runners because they could reach speeds of up to 65 mph, outrunning the revenuers.* Back at the cottage I recorded Betty reminiscing about family members and events on Barb's cell phone.

Fri. August 9
Humming birds were regular visitors to the feeder on Betty's cottage window. A morning visit to the shore provided another opportunity to build a rock man. On an afternoon visit to the gem shop in Parrsboro we were invited to see the front of the house, where there are more display cases. Later I visited the Wasson Creek falls on Betty's property where I discovered that two large trees had fallen across the falls gorge. On a final visit for the day to the shore a rock monster appeared (with a little help from me) just the other side of the creek.

Sat. August 10
No visit to Betty's cottage is complete without a view of Wasson's Bluff. Here Barb and Rocket are out for a morning walk along the shore. Rocket posed on a rock. Heavy rain overnight caused Wasson Creek to swell with silt ladden water, but by 4½ hours later the creek was getting back to normal. The new steps on the left have been put in by the people who own the property on top of Wasson's Bluff.

Sun. August 11
We saw a matinee performance of Odd Ducks, a 4 character comedy, at the Ship's Company Theatre in Parrsboro. On an afternoon walk with me Rocket met another dog along the shore. The dogs approached each other very cautiously, stopping and staring at each other, and finally getting close enough to sniff each other. Then Rocket aggressively charged the larger dog, who retreated and circled around. Then both dogs explored along the shore in the same direction. When Rocket and I turned around and headed back the other dog came along and was chased off by Rocket one more time. Undeterred, the dog followed us all the way back to our steps up to the cottage, and would have come up the steps with us if I had not twice turned her back. Betty drove into town to pick up lobster rolls from a seafood restaurant for our supper, and while she was gone I showed Rocket some of Ian's videos of Gryff on Barb's laptop. After checking behind the screen for the dog Rocket sat and watched with rapt attention and sympathetic whines. In the evening I explored up Wasson's creek from Betty's step as far as the spot shown. I dubbed it the "bathtub" because it was deep enough to submerge a full sized person.

Mon. August 12
We used this day for an excursion to Prince Edward Island, the first visit there for both of us. We crossed the 8 mile long Confederation Bridge and drove around the central section of the island. We stopped at an old United Church of Canada in Malpeque and talked to a young woman who was there for tourists. She told us that the church, which has about 30 members, would have been closed under plans to consolidate 6 churchs into one, but was saved by its impressive pipe organ. The denomination decided to keep two churches open instead of one, and one minister serves both congregations. We stopped for lunch at at Cabot Beach Provincial Park. You can see Barb at the rock where we ate our sandwiches in the 3rd photo. The 4th photo is from PEI National Park, Cavendish, where we hiked along the shore trail. Our final stop was at Skmaqn-Port-la-Joye — Fort Amherst National Historic Site. The last photo shows Barb at the earthworks that provide the only remaining evidence of where Fort Amherst once stood. From there we continued to the Confederation Bridge, paid the $47.75 toll, and crossed back into Nova Scotia.

Tue. August 13
After a final hike along the shore it was time to depart the Bay of Fundy and head for Fredericton. On the way we stopped in Springhill NS at the Springhill Miners' Museum. The Ballad of Springhill is a song Barb often sang during her early folk singing years. Posted on the wall of the museum are the handwritten lyrics by Peggy Seeger & Ewan MacColl which they sent to miner Caleb Rushton whose name appears in the song. We took the museum tour but not the part where tourists are taken down into part of the mine. We also stopped at the memorial near the center of town to the miners who lost their lives in the coal mine over the years. We then continued on to our Aitken House B&B on the University of New Brunswick campus in Fredericton NB.

Wed. August 14
In the morning we walked up the hill to the top of the campus and then down to Kings College, the oldest building on campus. In that building I took photos of the chapel, which I soon learned was where both Betty and Charlie and Linda and Tony were married. We met Betty at Ste. Anne's Court, where she lives, for lunch in their dining room. Then we went to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery where we joined a tour that ended up in the room with their giant Salvador Dali Santiago el Grande painting.

Thur. August 15
We parked the Prius near Christ Church Cathedral and walked across the St. John River on the Bill Thorpe Walking Bridge. Next we drove to Betty's place for lunch and looked at old photos in her apartment. Later we picked up takeout food which we took to Linda and Tony's for supper. Jason, Lila, Ryan and Emmett were also there when we arrived. I took a look at the stream that runs along the edge of their property. Tony and Jason pushed Ryan in a child's swing in the barn doorway. There we met the two big white dogs. Tony asked my age and mentioned that he would be turning 79 tomorrow (8/16). The younger folk all left after supper and us old folk strolled around the property and talked in their screened in gazebo. I learned which buildings on the UNB and adjacent St. Thomas campuses Betty, Linda and Tony had worked in.

Fri. August 16
Before breakfast I walked around the campuses and took photos of the buildings where Betty, Linda and Tony had worked and one where Linda still works. After that I joined Barb at our campus residence hall and we went across to McConnell Hall for a hot breakfast. Then we headed for the border crossing at Calais to return to the U.S. At the border we had a long wait in one of 2 long lines, which gave us a chance to eat our peach. Next we were directed to a 3rd line where we had to wait again before it opened. Finally we got to the gate and handed over our passports. The woman crossing guard looked at my Canadian passport and then at me and asked "What is your status?" Barb, in the driver's seat, told her we were both U.S. citizens from Madison WI. The guard's retort was that she couldn't let me into the U.S. without U.S. documentation! I asked if my driver's license was ok and she said no. Then I dug out my U.S. passport card (which, I discovered just before we left on our trip, had expired last fall) and gave her that. She said "perfect" and let us enter, but not before confiscating two oranges and throwing them in the trash can. We reached Margot's house in Cambridge in time for supper with Margot and Tavery.

Sat. August 17
Barb joined Tavery, her boyfriend Julian and his grandmother Jean for brunch. Then we drove to the Selkirk cottage, where we found Margot's dock was now above water.

Sun. August 18
I cleared debris from the dock, tried out one of Margot's kayaks, and went for a dip in the river. Barb took Tavery into Syracuse for birthday shopping. If Margot's current efforts to sell the cottage succeed, this may be our last photo of it,

Mon. August 19
We drove to a Super 8 motel in South Bend IN. Our room had a heart shaped whirlpool tub which we did not use.

Tue. August 20
We had good weather for most of the trip, but the final leg of our trip to Madison was marked by rainstorms so heavy that we pulled off the road twice.