Ponderosa Pines | A Campground Review

Hugging the world reknownd Bay of Fundy in Hopewell Cape New Brunswick is the quaint family owned Ponderosa Pines campground. Located just minutes from the Hopewell Rocks and a 30min drive from Fundy National Park this little slice of relaxation is a great spot to unwind for a weekend. 

Easy walking and biking here with a small, clean pool and ample full service shady sites we had no trouble unwinding from the work week. There are two ponds on the property where you can fish or canoe or kayak and if you're up early enough you may spot a moose I'm the marsh having his breakfast. 

The campground overlooks the bay but it is also home to a large flock of Canadian geese who are quite the messy neighbours so watch where you step if you're out for a stroll to see the tides change. 

While we were visiting we took in the Hopewell Rocks and a sweet little cafe called Cinnamon Soul in nearby Hillsborough. We had cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven, lattes and lemonades and they did not disappoint! The food smelled delicious although we did not partake...next time for sure!

Take care of yourself, be kind to others, wash your hands and don't pick your nose. 

Adventure is out there!

Love,

The McDonnells

Escuminac Beach and Family Park | A Campground Review

Located on Miramichi Bay in Escuminac New Brunswick is the family owned campground and beach called Escuminac Beach and Park. Recently we spent a weekend here and this is what we thought:

The campground is small, mostly open spaces and mostly seasonal campers. Our site was grassed, full service, in an open field and backed onto the main road. We were on an end so neighbours only on one side. Very little privacy in a set up like this but we had a bird's eye view of the comings and goings around the campground.

It was very quiet down here. Great for relaxing outdoors in a lawn chair with a book and a beverage. Our site fee included access to the beautiful beach but unfortunately the water was way too cold to get in in early June but we enjoyed the waves and watching the sunset and just being near the ocean. 

Amenities at the campground were scarce. It's the type of place you go when you want the beach, and it certainly delivered in that regard. There were 2 small playgrounds that little ones could enjoy. No real space for walking and biking other than along the beach. There were some beach look out points that provided great views of the beach but looked like they could use some TLC.

The office boasts a canteen and ice cream but offerings were very limited. There is a huge covered porch with book shelves full of novels you could borrow which was a nice touch. Firepits were large and gave off great heat on chilly nights and staff deliver your firewood right to your site which is very convenient and appreciated. 

We spent our days relaxing and enjoying the outdoors and in the evening we were treated by beautiful sunsets and warm campfires. 

The small village of Escuminac is fairly remote from any bustling town so if you plan to visit, make sure you have what you need with you. Some essential things can be found in nearby Baie Saint Anne as far as grocery, hardware, liquor and gas needs. A short drive down the road you'll find O'Neil's fish market located right on the wharf so if you're a seafood lover, be sure to stop in for the best lobster you'll ever have. Fresh caught, live or steamed you can't beat it. You can see the boats they've come in on docked right there so you know it's as fresh as can be. 

Consider Escuminac on your travels around New Brunswick if you'd like a quaint, relaxing place near the ocean with a beautiful beach, friendly people and delicious seafood. Here's the link to their site for you to check out

Escuminac Beach and Park

Take care of yourself, be kind to others, wash your hands and don't pick your nose. 

Adventure is out there!

Love,

The McDonnells

PEI June 25-July 4...PEI National Park Cavendish & Twin Shores

It's the first week of summer vacation and our annual trip to Prince Edward Island! This year we decided to make it a double long trip and check out PEI national park in Cavendish before heading to our absolute favorite camping spot...Twin Shores.

The National park layout is not what we are used to. It's not one solid piece of land for you to explore but rather several little pockets of park land spread out along the coast. We weren't sure what to expect for scenery and trails but we were definitely pleased by the beach located in our campground a few minute walk from our campsite. The kids practically had the place to themselves as most people flock to the bigger Cavendish beach down the road but we were happy to be where we were.

I had printed a crossword puzzle from the park website that had us exploring to find the answers to the clues. It was kind of a neat way to see the park. I really like when they put out activities like that especially when you don't really have a game plan of where to start your adventure. The game took us around Cavendish and North Rustico but we didn't end up finishing because the rest of the clues were in the far end of the park quite a ways away from us. Regardless we did get to see some nice scenery and explore a few trails.

No trip to Cavendish is complete without a visit to some of the Anne of Green Gables sites. We toured Green Gables historic site and hiked Lovers Lane trails, visited the grave of L.M Montgomery and saw the homestead where she grew up. Madi fell in love with the story of Anne and asked for the book so she's been working away at that and obsessing over all things Anne.

We also walked around the old rainbow valley site and tried to visit Avonlea Village only to discover that the acting of the Anne story is no longer there and the entire village has been turned into a shopping and eatery destination. Such a disappointment!

June 30th we packed up and said goodbye to Cavendish and hello to Twin Shores! This was our 4th year in a row coming to this little slice of heaven and it never disappoints. This campground is more like a resort for campers and you certainly want for nothing. The grounds are beautifully landscaped and nestled between two beaches. Children are everywhere playing at the playground or biking around and taking advantage of the daily activities that range from candy bar bingo to daily crafts to make your own sundaes to bike rodeos and so much more. The campground boasts a fresh fish market with a mussel boil on the beach every Saturday, a fully equipped camper store that has just about everything you could need, a canteen where you can get pizza or ice cream,a cafe that has delicious baked goods and coffee, a movie theatre for rainy day fun, an arcade, pedal car rentals, a dog park (with doggy washing station), a gym, laundry, shuffleboard, basketball, tennis and on and on.

My personal favorite is the beach. 3km of red sand and ocean waves. You just can't beat it. Mom and Marty camp with us and this year they bought the kids boogie boards for passing in school and it was the best thing ever! They had such a blast playing in the waves on those things we could hardly haul them out of the water!

This year we were at Twin Shores for Canada Day so we headed over to the bayside for the fireworks and they certainly did not disappoint. What an amazing show!!!

It was really hard to say goodbye when we left that Monday but we are already all booked back in for next summer for year 5. We just can't get enough!

Adventure is out there!
-The McDonnells

Fundy National Park - June 17-19, 2016

The week before school let out for the summer was our first trip to Fundy of the season. We had a beautiful weekend exploring the park and enjoying the sun and the breeze. The playgrounds were being upgraded so the kids were mostly stuck with us but they didn't mind too much.

We decided to take part in a 100km hiking challenge the park was putting on. The idea is you hike 100km in the national parks in a season with 10km being in Fundy and you are eligible to receive a special pin.

We hiked a few trails we had never hiked before and found more red chairs that we have never found. We checked out Laverty Falls and the hike was a little too challenging for me but I managed to finish. I can't wait for things like that to be easier for me. Love had a fantastic time playing in the water at the base of the falls.

Madi wanted to go into Alma for our tradition of sticky buns from Kelly's bake shop. They're so popular you have to take a number in order to get a box but boy oh boy there's nothing nicer than sinking your teeth into a sweet, sticky still warm from the oven ball of cinnamon goodness!

Mactaquac Provincial Park - June 10-12

Located about a 15 minute drive from our home is Mactaquac Provincial park. The park consists of the campground, a golf course, some hiking trails and a beach on the shore of the head pond.

We set up camp at site 120 with a beautiful view of the head pond. It took quite a few tries for Jeff to get the camper in the right spot and even more to level it off but we got all situated in enough time to have supper and for the kids to make rock spears and invent a survival game down by the water.

Later in the evening we had a campfire then Madi wanted to watch her new movie The Descendants before we settled for bed. It was a chilly night so the heated beds came in very handy that night.

In the morning we were treated to what seems to be a rarity these days...sunshine! The kids played around outside with a friend they found while Jeff and I just enjoyed the nice weather. After lunch we dropped Madi off at a birthday party and headed back to finish out the day with Cole.

We played a couple rounds of ladder ball, took Love for a walk and watched Cole play a huge game of "grounders" at the playground with a group of kids. The evening was beautiful and warm and I was nursing a well deserved sunburn by the campfire making s'mores and popcorn. We were sad to not have Madi there but she phoned to say goodnight and was having an absolute blast with her friend.

In the morning it was gloomy as if the world was mad my vacation got denied (ha! As if) but it did make it a little easier to roll out of bed at an ungodly hour, get my scrubs on and pack my sleepy son into the car so Jeff could drop me off at work.

I don't know that Mactaquac would be on our must do list. It it is nice and convenient for a mid week quick get away when one of us still has to work while the other is off.

Stay tuned for this week's adventure when we head to Fundy National park for hiking and more red chair hunting!

Adventure is out there!
-The McDonnells

Kouchibouguac National Park - May 20-23

Camping season has officially begun!

This long weekend we kicked off our 2016 camping season at Kouchibouguac National Park. This park holds a ton of childhood memories for both Jeff and I seeing as the park is about 45 minutes away from our hometown of Miramichi. This was where my grandparents always camped and where we would go to the beach and I spent several girl guide camps here!

The campground was packed and the weather was gorgeous so it made for a fantastic kick off weekend. We stayed in the South Kouchibouguac campground at site 306...great location but only had electric service so it made for a little planning for water conservation and having to use the park facilities for the most part. Not ideal, but we made it work! We were thankful to at least have electricity since the nights did get chilly enough we had to put the heated beds on.

We arrived Friday evening after supper and set up pretty quickly. We broke in the oven and made pizza for the first time ever in the camper...and set the smoke alarm off. Oops! The kids roasted some marshmallows over the fire and we got ourselves all settled in. Danny had the lot right next to us and some of our friends were scattered around the park too so we saw a few friendly faces around.

Saturday we took the kids on a bike ride and scavenger hunt the park was putting on. It was so hot it felt like July so we didn't do more than 6km before taking a lunch break and finishing the further away clues by car. There were a few things we needed to get so we took a drive into Richibucto and found a Tim Horton's before heading back to the awards announcement for the scavenger hunt. We ended up winning a deck of cards and laughed at the poor announcer trying to pronounce our names (apparently McDonnell looks a lot like Mitchell on paper).

Sunday was a little cooler and a little more laid back for us. We lazed around the campsite reading and napping while the kids played an endless game of monopoly before hiking the osprey trail in search of the red Adirondack chairs Parks Canada hides around the national parks in very picturesque locations for visitors to find. Unfortunately we discovered why we had never done this trail before and why it's not one of the more popular ones. It was 5km of rougher trail through the woods hiking with not a whole lot to see and no fun information stops along the way. And...no red chairs. Madi thought the forest was very mysterious and both kids learned a lot about different kinds of trees from their grandfather before we finished up and headed back to camp.

Monday morning we got up a little late and had a big breakfast before making the trek home. Madison fell asleep before we even left the park and Cole was out somewhere between Doaktown and Fredericton. Even the dog is sleeping off her adventures!

All in all it was a wonderful weekend and a great start to the season with awesome weather, great company and a chance to work out a few kinks getting back into the swing of things! Our next adventure keeps us close to home while we check out Mactaquac Provincial Park in June!

Adventure is out there!
-The McDonnells

It's Camping Season!

It's officially spring and that means the McDonnells are ready and eager to kick off camping season 2016! We have a busy, fun filled season planned with some old favorites and new adventures.


This weekend we are heading to Miramichi where our camper is being stored to get things aired out and ready for our first camping trip of the season next weekend. We have a few storage modifications we want to test out and some plans to make the teeny tiny bathroom feel just a little roomier.


Our season is going to consist of mainly exploring national and provincial parks and the line up includes:


Kouchibouguac National Park, New Brunswick
Fundy National Park, New Brunswick
Mactaquac Provincial Park, New Brunswick
New River Beach Provincial Park, New Brunswick
Anchorage Provincial Park, New Brunswick


Cavendish National Park, PEI
Twin Shores, PEI


Cape Breton Highlands National Park, Nova Scotia


It's going to be a busy, jam packed season and we can't wait to kick it off!


Adventure is out there!
-The McDonnells