Rainy, cold and windy days with the prospect of snow might be okay for winter sports, but not for sightseeing. Also, our camper’s not really equipped for freezing temperatures. Nevertheless, we were here and still wanted to see a few sights before leaving.
The weather held off a little when we visited Kejimkujik Seaside Park, a small adjunct to the main park, which is inland. We walked a long way to the shore along a puddly path lined with knee-high, stiff bushes so that we couldn’t avoid getting our feet wet. But the red marsh, the rocky shore and the seals basking on nearby rocks offshore were our reward.
The next day it rained, antagonistically. No more sprinkles. We went to the only open campground near Halifax (30 minutes away) and decided to visit museums. 
After seeing the museum admission prices, including the price to park, we decided not to visit museums. Instead we went to the free Province house (seat of Nova Scotia government) where a friendly security guard explained some of its history. Architecturally, the 1819 Palladian-style building is striking with intricate detail and huge portraits of British royalty in every room. The following day we spent several hours at the Citadel National Historic Site, a major part of Halifax’s defense during the 17 and 1800’s.
We visited a couple sites within walking distance and then walked along Halifax's historic waterfront. 
The rain held off long enough the next day for us to explore Lunenburg, a small, quaint town designated as a UNESCO world heritage site because of its numerous historic homes. We wore ourselves out, at least I did, walking up and down the steep streets. We did visit the Fisheries museum here (half-off during off-season) and learned, among other things, about the difficult and dangerous fishing grounds around Sable Island.
I had planned to spend one more entire day but felt that we needed to leave. There was really only one more place we had to visit on this trip, partly because it was just five miles away from where we were staying. Peggy’s Cove is a tiny fishing village of about 50 people with one of the most photographed lighthouses in Canada. Get there early, said the guidebook, because tour buses start arriving mid-day. “Ha ha,” we said. “Who’s foolish enough besides us to be here this time of year?” We didn’t have to leave the campsite until 12, so we decided to visit Peggy’s Cove first, then return to the campground, hook up the trailer and leave. It was bitter cold and so windy my earmuffs wouldn’t stay on, but the sun was out.
When we got there, we were surprised at the number of cars in the parking lot. Nevertheless, only a few people were actually wandering around the lighthouse. Most were probably drinking something hot in the restaurant. We walked around the lighthouse and the rocks and looked at the houses nestled among and perched on top of huge granite boulders. Then it was time to leave. As we drove back to the campground, a bus full of tourists passed us, then another, then another. I counted five buses, many times the number of people that actually live there. They would completely overwhelm the place. Good thing we followed the guidebook's advice, if only by accident!
We left the campground shortly before 12 and headed to the last open campground in Nova Scotia on our way south. The only problem was that it was too close, less than 2 hours away. We’d get there before 2 pm. The weather was clear. It was a good day to drive. So, as we drove, we considered our options. I could find no open campground in New Brunswick, which we had to drive through to get to Maine. There was an open campground in Maine, but it was over 6 hours away, too far. A WalMart in Moncton, New Brunswick was three hours away. We had been there, and it was very crowded, busy and noisy. However, it was a possibility. Then I had an idea. “What about Fredericton?” I said. “It’s bigger than Moncton and would surely have a WalMart.” It was about four and a half hours away. The problem was we had never been to Fredericton and so couldn’t be sure. We stopped at a visitor’s center, and I was able to use a computer to look online for WalMarts in Fredericton. There were two. We decided to go there. We got to the first one around 6 pm. It was crowded and busy, but we found a place where we could park.
Then we saw the signs: “No Overnight Parking”. It was kind of late to come up with another option. David was tired. The cats were tired. I was tired. “Let’s try the other WalMart,” said David. We had seen a truck stop not too far back, so that would be our fall back. The other WalMart was five miles away. When we got there, it was quiet and uncrowded. Better yet, no signs.
We went inside and asked if we could park overnight. “Yes, of course,” said the WalMart employee. “RV’s park here every night.” So, we had our first WalMart camping experience. This WalMart closed at 10 pm. We were the only ones in the parking lot all night and the next morning. We ran the generator all night and except for (David’s) worrying that the generator would run out of gas (it didn’t), we had a peaceful night.
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