So near and yet so far away

Introduction

2009-01-26T19:53:00.002-05:00

Waking up from a long dream... decision time

Journal entry written on June 11, 2006

The winter months are usually my dreaming months. By early spring I have settled on my touring destination(s) for the year.

For some reason, this year's cycling destination didn't jump out at me in my normal time frame. My dreams wandered from eastern Quebec, across the ocean to southwestern Ireland, a little further into Europe to Denmark, and back across the Atlantic Ocean to Nova Scotia. Good dreams, and I'd like to think that at some point I will visit all of these places with my bicycle. But I can't visit all of these places in 2006; I need to choose just one.

I spent yesterday - a very rainy Saturday - dreaming of touring, reading about my possible destinations, exploring travel sites, reading journals of others who had cycled through my dream locations. And I think I have my destination.

A trip to Nova Scotia has been bubbling in the back of my mind for quite a while, but somehow it didn't come to the top of the list for a full vacation - until now. I'm so drawn to the western side of North America that I tend to neglect the places in the east.

Initially I was going to travel over the sea to Nova Scotia for a long weekend back in 2004. Those plans had to be canceled after my bike and I performed an unexpected flip during my commute to work. Last year's trip planning skipped Nova Scotia, although it did help me get over my habit of not planning tours on the eastern side of this continent. Instead of using my "sort of plans" to visit Nova Scotia, I ventured to a maritime province east of there, Prince Edward Island. But now feels like the right time for my bike and I to wander in Nova Scotia...

It's entirely possible that my mind will wander further between now and my tour. As of now though, my decision and my destination for September is Nova Scotia.

2009-01-26T19:53:00.001-05:00

For now, please use Blogger's list of posts in the sidebar to follow my trip in reverse sequence. I plan to flip this blog on its head so that the posts flow from oldest to newest (like the table of contents in a book), adding a real Table of Contents and a Page by Page sidebar entry, and adding (better) next and previous links at the bottom of each post.

I probably won't be able to make these changes for the next several weeks.

...Denise, January 26, 2009

A look back

2006-10-11T20:20:00.004-04:00

...at a successful non-planned tour

Twelve days in Nova Scotia was enough to give me a taste of the province, and enough to convince me that more trips there are in my future. There is beauty there in both the scenery and in the people. My camera was very happy with the views, and I was delighted with the friendliness of everyone I spoke with.

I absolutely will visit Nova Scotia again, accompanied by my cameras, and rolling down the road on my bicycle. There are areas that I want to explore by foot or kayak, and I suspect I'll want the assistance of a motorized vehicle when I go back to see the Cabot Trail (which sports the type of grades that I'm not fond of riding) - but I can't imagine a trip there where my bicycle stays home. I know that I will ride there again.

The route that I actually followed as I wandering in Nova Scotia. And you're absolutely right, this doesn't match any of the possible routes that I'd sketched out before I left home. I'm glad that I explored the area from afar (via books and web sites), but I'm also happy that I let my desires of the moment dictate my wanderings. It was a wonderful trip.

Yellow line = ferry from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth (and back)
Pink line = the loop route that my bike & I actually followed
Green line = a side trip using a fossil-fuel-powered vehicle + my feet

Map courtesy of (and copyright by) maps.google.com.
Published here per Google Maps Terms and Conditions

Pictures? More pictures!

2006-09-27T20:11:00.011-04:00

Sometimes I wonder if I ride so I can take pictures or if my playing with cameras is the excuse I need to explore new places on my bike. I supposed it doesn't really matter which is my driving force since both activities are things that I love to do. I came home to find that the CompactFlash cards that my cameras had been happily filling contained 1672 photos. And yes, I still had plenty of empty media space so I could certainly have continued cycling and taking pictures. I didn't keep all of the pictures, but there are still a lot of photos. A good sampling of pictures will be in this journal, with more in my photo galleries.

You can access the top level gallery for this trip here. I've split the photos into a number of galleries based on the location (where I was riding) or the subject matter (from my fascination with bugs and birds and animals). Here are the individual gallery addresses just in case you want to go directly to a gallery:

Birds, little creatures, and a big creature too: Some of the live creatures that I encountered during my trip, scattered among the days.
Wildflowers, flowering and gone to seed, plus...: A set of photos of wildflowers scattered across the entire tour.
Assisted by non-human-powered transport: A few photos from my drive from home to Bar Harbor, and some shots taken from (and of) my time aboard The Cat.
Yarmouth visions: houses, harbor, lighthouse: Wandering in Yarmouth and vicinity on arrival in Nova Scotia, and again on my last days there.
Evangeline Trail, from Yarmouth to Annapolis Royal: Photos as I followed the Evangeline Trail, with some off-trail shots as I headed out to Digby Gut and across North Mountain to the Bay of Fundy. A glimpse of the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens is also included here.
Over South Mountain to the Lighthouse Route, Annapolis Royal to Yarmouth: From Annapolis Royal, I headed across South Mountain on Route 8, joining the Lighthouse Route in Liverpool. Then it was time to follow the coast once more as I rode back to Yarmouth.
To the end of Digby Neck and on to Brier Island: I received an assist from a motorized vehicle plus two ferries in my quest to wander by foot and visit the seals on Brier Island.
Acadia National Park: Two times around Park Loop Road on September 19th, once by bike and once assisted by my car - and then a quick re-visit of the coastal areas on the 20th.

Interested in looking via a slideshow? You can click the slideshow button (in each gallery) and let the photos scroll by your eyes. To jump back out of the slideshow, just move your mouse and then click Return to gallery in the upper right. Or you can return by simply clicking the Esc key.

Enjoy!

Photos: Acadia on a gray and quiet day

2006-09-20T20:06:00.004-04:00

What a difference a day makes! From yesterday's wild ocean to today's quiet waters, gray skies, and light rain...

Views of a quiet ocean

2006-09-20T20:02:00.002-04:00

Acadia once more, then a long ride (drive!) home

Rainy gray morning
Bicycle resting today
Park views, four wheels home

My wish for today was one more ride around Park Loop Road before I hopped in my car for that long drive home. That wish was quashed by the steadily falling rain since my bicycle insisted that the riding conditions weren't ideal. Wet pavement, water falling from the sky, and temperatures in the 50s didn't appeal to my bike-riding desires, especially since I had a reasonable choice today.

Conversations again flowed around the breakfast room, and I continued chatting with Lynn and Robert into the morning. It was a good morning for relaxing; no one was moving too fast to attack activities in the rain.

In spite of the weather - or maybe because of it - I decided to do one more loop around the park before I headed for home. The ranger at the entry station recognized me from my entry yesterday on my bike. She agreed with my desire to see the park in very different conditions, and also thought that the car was a better form of transportation for this morning. It was definitely interesting to see the coast on two very different days. Yesterday greeted me with both blue skies and clouds, with heavy surf, and challenging winds. Today both the ocean and the wind were quiet while rain decorated the landscape. It was still beautiful, but definitely different.

After my short loop through the park, it was time to turn my car towards home. I had a quick stop to make as I passed through Ellsworth though. I am absolutely addicted to Maine wild blueberries, and my B&B hostess told me that she purchases hers from a local company that picks and flash-freezes the berries. She purchases 30 pound packages, but she told me that the company also sells 10 pound packages of berries and she thought they would be willing to sell direct to a consumer like me. I stopped and picked up a blueberry supply, and hopefully the berries survived the trip home and retained a bit of their chill. I figured it was worth a try.

When I started my trip I chose to exit I-95 in Augusta and wind my way towards Route 1 and the coast. Today I follwed Route 1A to Bangor before I hopped on I-95 to head (relatively) west towards home. From Augusta, it looks like I-95 veers pretty far inland, but driving the two paths seemed to take about the same amount of time. After I got home, I checked the distances following each of the two paths and found that the total distance is very close. It's 18 miles further going all of the way in to Bangor, but there are fewer miles of back roads to traverse. Since it seemed to take the same amount of time I think I'll let my mood direct my vehicle again the next time I head for Acadia National Park. And there absolutely will be a next time.

Home again... My bicycle jumped out of the car and absolutely insisted on going for a ride. Of course I listened, and my bike and I wandered off for a quick spin on some of the flat roads near home.

Photos: Twice around Park Loop Road

2006-09-19T19:55:00.001-04:00

The parade of the eider - these birds came towards the shore in a line, surfing, diving, enjoying the waves.

Loops and tendrils

2006-09-19T19:53:00.002-04:00

Acadia National Park

Around Park Loop Road
Watching ocean waves crashing
And clouds flying past

Breakfast conversations danced across the tables as we all enjoyed our morning meal of fresh fruit and blueberry pancakes. Two of the other guests here at Holland Inn are also cyclists and plan to sandwich some riding in with hiking - so of course a good part of our floating words this morning had to do with riding and with touring too.

My first loop of the park today was on my bike. I followed Park Loop Road once, and then wandered off on some other roads for a while. I knew once around wouldn't be enough for today, but I wanted to do parts of the road on two feet rather than two wheels, so my second circuit was assisted by my car. First things first though... My first stop was at Sand Beach, unhampered by the weather this time unlike my rainy stop when I was here in June. I was fascinated by the sparkle of the water as the waves prepared to hit both the beach and the rocks along the sides of the beach. I watched, took some pictures, and then moved on. Thunder Hole was thundering today, and it was throwing water all over the viewing area too. I didn't stand too close, not wanting to subject my camera to the whims of the somewhat wild ocean. And as I was standing there, I was thinking about how lucky I was to travel over the water yesterday when the surface of the water was relatively calm and not today when it was more than a bit crazy.

It was a slow ride today because I just had to keep stopping. I could blame it on my camera, but it was really my desire to absorb the beauty of the rocky coastline decorated with moving, crashing, waves that made me stop. Sometimes it was enough to watch the ocean at the same time that I was keeping an eye on the road, sometimes it wasn't... The early morning sunshine, blue skies, and relative warmth (with temperatures in the low 60s) changed as the day progressed. As I turned away from the ocean, starting the inland part of the loop, the sky got progressively grayer, and it felt cooler too. I don't think that the temperature was dropping. Part of the coolness may have been my imagination (due to the diminishing bright sun), and part of it was probably from the wind. It was windy early in the day, and it just seemed to get windier as the day wore on. The sky continued to get more gray, with not a hint of blue in sight. I reached the end of the loop and turned back toward Bar Harbor. As I rolled closer to town, blue started to emerge from the gray and the sun made an appearance once again.

After I switched modes of transportation, I headed back to Thunder Hole. I wanted to walk along the coast and watch the waves, and that seemed like a good place to start. Walking, stopping and sitting for a while, carefully picking my way across the rocks strewn along the coast, staying on the dry rocks and not trespassing over the part of the rocks that appeared to be owned by the seaweed. Wait - what's that in the water? It looks like there are dark spots scattered across the waves. No, not spots, those are birds! They looked like some kind of duck to me. I asked another woman who was watching if she knew what they were, and her guess was eider - which is a type of duck. That's just one more thing that I'll need to remember to look up after I get home. The birds looked like they were riding the waves, surfing, and fishing too. They would occasionally dive deep, and sometimes they would flap their wings and then settle down once more, most of them staying in the water and not flying off. I wish I could have been closer to them, but I was standing on some high rocks without any obvious (safe) way to get closer to the parading birds. Did I take pictures? Of course I did, but I'm afraid that I was far enough away that they will just look like dark spots on the water.

The gray had returned again, with swirling clouds moving quickly across the sky, allowing some blue patches to shine through. I headed up Cadillac Mountain hoping for an interesting sky display, and I got just that. There were spots where a patch of blue was visible, where dropping clouds allowed a brief view of a lake. There were spots that were totally cloud- and fog-covered and there were spots where I was standing above the clouds. And then there was the wind. It was blowing so hard at the top of the mountain that I could barely stand up. One woman who was carrying a bit more weight than I do looked at me, told me that she was having a hard time standing still, and wondering how I was still standing there. I was very glad that I was only trying to keep me upright and that I wasn't trying to keep a bicycle standing. Actually, I don't think that I would have been able to ride in that wind. I have no idea what the wind speed was; it felt unbelievably strong. It was part of today's experience, and I'm happy to have experienced the beauty of the wind and the clouds from the top of the mountain. Cadillac Mountain topped another good riding and wandering day for me.

Hey - Rover here... You haven't heard from me in a couple of days, but I'm still traveling with Denise. I really wanted her to take my picture on top of Cadillac Mountain, but when we felt how strong the wind was blowing, well, I thought I would be blown away. What an amazing feeling! And I'm so glad we looped the park twice today.

One more local seafood dinner, but tonight's had a delightful twist. I ate at Seasons, and while I did have lobster it wasn't the meal that you imagine when you think of a Maine lobster. I ordered a dish called Maine Lobster Taquito, which was described as a griddle-crisped flour tortilla filled with lobster, brie, and carmelized onions, topped with a corn and tomato salsa. It came with a side-dish of mashed sweet potatoes. All I can say is wow!

And now, it's time to send a request to the weather wizard for dry pavement in the morning. I'm hoping to ride around Park Loop Road once more before turning for home. There is rain predicted for tonight and tomorrow morning, but I can hope, can't I?

Photos: The Cat in motion

2006-09-18T19:49:00.009-04:00

I'm fascinated by the baby boat riding on the back of this fishing boat.

Can anyone satisfy my curiosity? Do you know why this normal-sized fishing boat is carrying what appears to be a miniature?

Many thanks to Cliff, who provided this answer: "Purse boat" from the F/V Starlight, a veteran herring seiner from Vinalhaven. The purse boat is slid down the Starlight's stern onto the water, and, powered by a 400+ horsepower engine, speeds off across the water, deploying the seine net around part or all of a sonar or air-located herring school, and back onto the stern of the vessel. The "purse" created as the seine is drawn tight concentrates the herring so that they can be easily brought aboard.

Photos: To the light (and back again)

2006-09-18T19:43:00.016-04:00

My bike picked her own resting spot when I spotted The Cat heading in to the harbor. A pretty picture, but I did have to pull a bit of grass out of the gears... nope, not a very good spot to wait for my camera stop!

As I was headed out to Cape Forchu, The Cat was heading in to Yarmouth. I still had plenty of time to wander though; there were four hours between when she arrived in Yarmouth and when she headed out again for Bar Harbor.

Rogue waves? Really?

Not knowing how rogue applies to waves, I decided a trip through a dictionary was in order. From Merriam-Webster Online, the definition of the adjective rogue: "resembling or suggesting a rogue elephant especially in being isolated, aberrant, dangerous, or uncontrollable (((capsized by a rogue wave)))"

Ah, a tall lighthouse! And one that I wasn't sure I would see in clear daylight. This is quite a contrast from my view of this light on my first day in Nova Scotia.

Photos: Around Yarmouth

2006-09-18T19:32:00.004-04:00

Cape Forchu in sunlight

2006-09-18T19:30:00.003-04:00

...and then The Cat

Cape Forchu once more
Sunny sky instead of fog
Sea water sparkles

One more day in Nova Scotia, and then a ride on The Cat... But first things first, breakfast! Twyla was up early baking as usual, presenting a breakfast of fruit salad, fresh brown bread to accompany morning eggs, and wonderful pumpkin muffins. Too much food for first thing in the morning, so the muffins came along on my bike for a mid-morning snack.

I started my morning on foot, wandering through Yarmouth map in hand, following the official walking tour. There are some beautiful structures in town, old houses built in the mid- to late 1800s. Detailed (outdoor) woodwork, windows, widow's walks made the buildings drew my eyes and camera, and friendly residents of the town greeted me as I wandered.

Once I was done circling the center of town by foot, I headed back to the Guest-Lovitt House to rejoin my bicycle. The sky was gray when I started riding, and my two-wheeled goal for the day was to see the Cape Forchu Lighthouse in conditions other than fog. Heading to that lighthouse in fog was my first ride in Nova Scotia, and returning today was my last ride in Nova Scotia (of this trip, that is). The gray sky stayed in place almost until I reached the lighthouse, and then suddenly the sky changed from gray to blue. What a difference a bit of sunshine makes.

Riding, walking, visiting the Yarmouth County Museum, and then suddenly it was time to head for the ferry. As I stood with my bike waiting for the clock to roll around to boarding time, the owner of the Goodwin Hotel in Weymouth came up to chat. That was the place I stayed my second night in Nova Scotia. The bike made it pretty easy for her to remember me - although I have to admit that she had to remind me of where we had met - and she stopped by to say hello and to see how the rest of my trip went. Her daughter had surprised her with a birthday trip to Bar Harbor; it sounded like the surprise trip was well received. And it was fun to talk with her again.

As I was standing in the ferry lot looking at the cars lined up to board, it seemed like there weren't a large number of cars. Just out of curiosity, I asked the guy who appeared to be sorting vehicles by size. He said that today's load is relatively light, with only about 100 cars. The capacity of The Cat? Apparently it can swallow 250 cars and 14 buses or large trucks. I find that amazing.

Jeannine & Frank - the cyclists from Switzerland who I met in Shelburne - joined me in waiting to be waved aboard the ferry. We boarded together, and spent an enjoyable trip talking about cycling and traveling. The sky was still clear when we left Yarmouth, and we stood on the tail of the boat watching the swath of waves that followed the boat as we moved relatively slowly through the harbor. Once we passed Cape Forchu light and moved into open water, the speed of the boat increased and the air became more chilly. We headed inside and found a table to call our home for the voyage. The blue sky eventually disappeared in fog, and the fog stayed with us for quite a while. Just before we pulled in to Bar Harbor, the setting sun started to emerge from the fog, as did the outline of the hills of Mt. Desert Island.

Maine for two nights and a day... and my sights for tomorrow are focused on Acadia National Park.

Photos: At the end of the peninsula

2006-09-17T19:23:00.000-04:00

Two feet walking

2006-09-17T19:17:00.003-04:00

Brier Island

Oooo, oooo, loud seal sounds
Echo from lighthouse to shore
Seals adorn the rocks

Shh, quiet. Please don't disturb my bicycle, she is taking a well-deserved rest today after carrying me around the western side of the province. Although come to think of it, she might not be resting since her home for the day is in the garage with that wonderful Model T. Maybe they spent the day dancing... For me, it was a day for traveling with two feet on the ground.

Filtered sunshine greeted me this morning. The sky wasn't cloudy, but it wasn't blue either. First things first, another wonderful breakfast to start my day. A mixture of delightful fruit followed by baked French toast and eggs set me up with energy for the day.

What's next? I set out in a gas-powered instead of a person-powered vehicle, heading to Digby Neck, and then on to Brier Island. The difference between traveling in a car instead of on my bike really hit me today. I drove from Yarmouth to Brier Island and back again. That would probably would have taken me four days on my bike. And yes, you're right, the territory I covered between Yarmouth and the turnoff for Digby Neck was very close to the road I followed my first day here. I stuck to the higher speed Route 101 today, so the scenery was slightly different. Plus, more autumn colors seem to be jumping out. At the beginning of my trip, almost everything was green, with an occasional tree sporting yellow or orange or red. Today there were entire bands of color painted across the sea of green.

My drive north was accompanied by Maine Public Radio. I was surprised to get good reception across the expanse of the Gulf of Maine. It disappeared as I turned down Digby Neck, but it was good to listen to one of the Sunday morning programs on the initial part of my drive. Ah, the end of the neck, time for the first of two ferries. The fare on each ferry was $4 round trip; I certainly can't complain about spending a total of $8 for four ferry rides. (And if you decide to follow in my footsteps, but on your bike - I believe bikes and people are free on these ferries.) By some stroke of luck, I arrived just as the ferry was boarding, no waiting here. Cars lined up, three rows of up to 6 or 7 vehicles. Pulling away from the dock, I felt a spinning sensation, and another spinning sensation as we docked on Long Island. When I talked with Bruce later about the feeling of spinning motion, he told me that there is a pretty strong current between the islands. The spinning feeling may have been compensation for the current pushing the boat. A little more driving, and I was at the crossing from Long Island to Brier Island. This crossing seemed slightly longer, but it was probably no more than 4 or 5 minutes. I rolled my vehicle off of the boat, and into the small town of Westport.

I quickly realized that I had no idea how to find the roads to the edges of the island. Why? For some reason there were no signs at all. That makes it more than a little interesting for a stranger to navigate. I drove into what appeared to be the central part of town, hopped into a shop, and said "I think I must be confused". The gal at the counter laughed, then pulled out a map to show me where I was standing. No longer lost, I headed to the lighthouse to the north. As I walked past the light I started to hear a somewhat erie sound. Oooo, oooo, oooo. Oooo, oooo, oooo. Erie and loud. It was the seals, laying on rocks in the water, still quite a distance away. My feet carried me down the path, ears listening, eyes watching signs of life along the rocky shore. Grasshoppers hopping, sea gulls, a heron, seals! Low rocks, edging above the water, served as a resting spot for a large group of seals. You could almost imagine that they were just rocks, but then a seal would toss its head up and back. No, those aren't moving, living rocks, they are really seals. Slap, splash! There's a seal playing in the water. I stood and watched for quite a while, then continued down the path following the rocky coastline.

The rocks were dark in color, sporting streaks of white. It almost looked like a person had cemented the rocks together, but the different rock compositions were natural, not man-made. I believe the dark rock is basalt, but I'm going to have to satisfy my curiousity about the white lines once I get home again.

Hi - it's Rover again. Were you wondering where I've been hiding? I've been helping Denise by keeping an eye out for interesting things to photograph. Today I was trying to help her get a picture of a beautiful heron standing on the rocks close to the water. Unfortunately the rocks between where we were standing and that great tall bird were covered with seaweed. It looked much too slippery for us to attempt the walk, and Denise was pretty sure that if we moved any closer that the bird would fly away. What a beautiful bird though. And then we went on to see the seals. I really like wandering around here!

The ferries run once an hour, and if you take one ferry and drive directly to the next one you arrive at the right time to board. I spent all of my walking time on Brier Island, and then headed straight back - ferry from Brier Island to Long Island, drove directly to the next ferry stop and straight on to the ferry from Long Island back to the Digby Neck mainland. I had a good laugh while I was waiting to board the ferry in Westport (on Brier Island). The car in line next to me was a convertible (with the top down, of course). There was a white dog with a bright pink nose (yes, stuffed, not a live animal) sitting on top of a box in the back seat, strapped in with a seat belt. I asked the couple in the car if I could take a picture of their "dog". They looked at me a little funny, but said yes. I took the picture, and then Rover jumped out of his home with the cameras to say hello to the owners of the white dog. All of us had a good laugh at that; they definitely appreciated my travel companion.

Back in Yarmouth, still astounded by the distance I had traveled today... I wandered over to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia before dinner. There was an exhibit of photographs by Edward Burtynsky that fascinated me. He takes photos of industrial landscapes, things that I normally would consider ugly - and the photos are beautiful. Two of my favorites are kind of on the edge of industrial since they were shots of an abandoned quarry in Vermont. Another one that caught my eye was a photo of mounds of old tires. They were stacked and thrown in such a way that the photo looked like a landscape instead of a photograph of trash. I'd love to see more of his work sometime.

If you're interested in seeing some of Edward Burtynsky's work, he has included some photos in the "Work" section of his web site, www.edwardburtynsky.com.

As a true chocolate addict, I'm always on the hunt for good chocolate. And on trips like this I often opt for a piece of chocolate instead of a restaurant dessert. My preference is for dark chocolate, and to make me happy it has to be good quality chocolate. That can be a challenge when I'm looking for chocolate in convenience stores, but I definitely found an answer to my chocolate urge on this trip - Cadbury Premium Dark Burnt Almond. Yum! I wonder if this is a Canada-only product or if it's available in the states too. (Of course I share it with Rover. And yes Rover, you're right. We will probably need to cut back on the chocolate when we stop cycling every day.)

An after the trip chocolate update: As it turns out, my new favorite chocolate confection is not available in the United States. I think I've found a substitute though, so I won't need to (immediately) take Kate up on her offer to ship me some of those wonderful Cadbury Premium Dark Burnt Almond bars. Interestingly enough, according to the Cadbury UK web site, "Cadbury products in the USA are manufactured and distributed under a franchise agreement by Hershey Chocolate USA". Hmmm... that means that Hershey has the "skill" to create good dark chocolate, not their usual fare. I looked a little further, and discovered a relatively new Hershey product, HERSHEY'S EXTRA DARK. I tried HERSHEY'S EXTRA DARK Cranberries, Blueberries, & Almonds - and wow! That's good, and my new chocolate favorite for when I'm home. I'll continue to seek out Cadbury Premium Dark Burnt Almond when I'm in Canada though!

I'm planning a quiet day in Yarmouth tomorrow. I hope to repeat the short lighthouse ride I did on my first day here in the hopes of seeing something other than fog, and there are a couple of museums that sound like they could be interesting (gasp! I can't believe this non-museum-going gal is actually considering visiting a museum!). The ferry is scheduled to leave at 4:30, which means I need to be in line at the ferry dock at 3:30. Then back across the waters to Maine...

Photos: Closing the loop

2006-09-16T19:05:00.020-04:00

What's wrong with this picture? It looks like it's possible that people live here, but that's a really long drop from the door on the second floor!

...and Rover jumped out to soak in the sights

Oh, look at that lighthouse! And the windmills! And the water! Yes, you'd better take some pictures with your big camera instead of the little one that I can handle.
--- Rover

Strange picture? Maybe, but there were a few things that jumped out at me here, from the color of the house, to the trim around the windows, to the huge pile of lobster traps!

Ah, a treat to end both a good riding day and my loop around western Nova Scotia!

I'm back at the Guest-Lovitt House in Yarmouth, the B&B where I began this journey - and (my hosts) Twyla & Bruce treated me to a ride around town in their vintage Model T. A bit of a change from my bike! (And no, I wasn't driving! I was only in the driver's seat for the purpose of taking this photo.)

Completing the circle

2006-09-16T18:54:00.002-04:00

Shag Harbour to Yarmouth

Bright morning sunshine
Following coastal waters
Glide in to Yarmouth

I woke this morning to a rising shining orb - the sun - in a clear sky, and to the loud cries of the sea gulls.

Another wonderful breakfast started my riding day - this time heart-shaped blueberry pancakes plus eggs. Sitting at breakfast and gazing through the window, I finally saw the lighthouse that escaped my vision last night. It's on an island in the distance, showing (from here) as a little tiny stalk of a building with a intermittent flashing light. Given its size at this distance, I'm really not surprised that I couldn't make it out last night.

The photo album on my breakfast table showed pictures of Phil's three-year-new lobster boat, named Papa's Lobsters. It surprised me that the back of the boat is open. It makes sense in that they don't need to lift the traps, but I keep thinking about getting swept off the back of the boat. Lobster season here runs from November through May so it is now relatively close to the end of the off-season. It also sounds like they don't go out much in January and February. Brr... cold! I can't imagine being out in the North Atlantic at that time of year.

Today's ride started with unrestricted water views. Unsurprisingly, that changed relatively quickly, from open waters speckled with islands, to views of more sheltered water, and then back to landlocked sections of road. Windmills cropped up ahead of me, then disappeared, then appeared again across Pubnico Harbor. They looked close enough to touch at one point, but there was still a bit of water standing between me and the towering blades. On this quiet wind day, the windmills weren't generating much power, turning in very lazy circles. And at the point of my (finally) unrestricted view of the windmills, the Lighthouse Route also presented me with the vision of a rather small lighthouse.

Most of the day my bicycle wheels rolled down Route 3. Once I reached Pubnico (after passing through the towns of Lower East Pubnico, Middle East Pubnico, and East Pubnico), Routes 3 and 103 looked almost parallel. 103 is the newer of the two roads and carries more traffic so I believe that 3 gave me a more pleasant ride. And no, I'm not going to go back and ride 103 just to verify that impression! It was another riding day where I had long stretches of time when the road belonged just to me and my bike. I still find it amazing how few cars traveled that road.

I was getting closer to the end of my riding day when the road decided it was time to confuse me. I was in Tusket, still following Route 3 when the road forked into two roads with no signs to indicate the names (or numbers) of the roads ahead. Luckily there was a store at the wacky Y intersection, and it was a very good time to stop for both a Gatorade refill and verification of the roads ahead. The left fork was the continuation of Route 3, and the right fork headed to Route 103, so from a direction standpoint it really didn't matter which of the two roads I took; both headed into Yarmouth. As it turned out, deciding to continue to follow the less traveled road wasn't the best choice I made today. The smooth but somewhat aged road turned into grooved pavement for what seemed like a long time, probably a good two or three miles. That's not my favorite surface for riding, but I didn't want to retrace the road I'd already ridden, so grooved pavement it was. And this is the first time I've ever seen a sign at the beginning of grooved pavement that said "cyclists take care".

I've noticed some odd signs over the past two days that gave the distance to a place in minutes instead of using distance. Luckily they were for very short distances, but I still found it a bit disconcerting. Just how far away is a place that is noted as "3 minutes from here". Walking? Driving at the posted speed limit? Riding a bike? What? Who comes up with these things?

Dogs continued to behave too. I had a number greet me today by barking, or by barking and running across their property. But my luck continued to hold, and none of these 4-legged friends followed me down the road. They all appeared to be either leashed or confined in a fenced yard, a very happy sight for this cyclist. I don't mind chatting with the animals I meet along the road, but I hate it when they decide to chase my bike.

My wheels rolled into Yarmouth at 3 o'clock this afternoon. I'm a little early for my Monday afternoon ferry reservation, and I've been toying with the idea of renting a car and heading out to Briar Island - but of course I didn't reserve a car. There was no one at the car rental desks at the ferry terminal, so I headed to the visitor center to see if they had any ideas. I attempted to call the car rental places from there, no luck. I'll try again later, or in the morning. For now, it looks like Yarmouth is my end point for today. I asked the woman who was helping me at the visitor center to call the Guest-Lovitt House to see if they have a room available for tonight. They did, so I rode the few short blocks there and was greeted by Twyla and Bruce. My bike is happy with a garage for the night (sleeping next to the Model T), and I'm happy too.

Ah, that end-of-the-day shower felt really good today, the warmest riding day of my trip. Then I headed to the kitchen for a late afternoon treat - blueberry cobbler, tea, and conversation. And, before dinner, a real treat - Bruce & Twyla took me for a ride in the Model T. What fun!

What will tomorrow bring? I hope a rest day for my bike and a driving day for me. Hopefully I'll be able to rent a car for the day to explore Digby Neck out to Brier Island. No car? Well, then I'll probably do some riding and wandering in the Yarmouth area.

Photos: Shag Harbour

2006-09-15T18:49:00.003-04:00

Photos: Lighthouses? Really?

2006-09-15T18:44:00.006-04:00

Lighthouse Route without lighthouses

2006-09-15T18:41:00.003-04:00

Shelburne to Shag Harbor

Morning distant sights
Water slides through green grasses
Ocean to the sky

Morning always seems to come early on these trips, when the exact opposite is true. I'm sleeping much later than normal, but given that my bike seems to keep rolling all day long, I suppose that's a natural state of affairs. This morning I was the first person in the dining room at 7:45. I was presented with a menu that contained lots of choices, and was told to order anything or to order everything. I started with oatmeal, and continued with a wonderful cinnamon bun surrounded by fresh fruit. That along with breakfast conversations with an older German couple who have been wandering through sections of Canada for what sounded like months gave me a good start for my biking day.

My route today started on Route 3 then jumped onto the higher speed and busier (but still two-lane) Route 103 for a while. The scenery along 103 was much like yesterday's, trees and fields surrounding the ribbon of road. The difference? There were more sections with fields lined in the distance with smaller evergreens, a road with a much more open feeling. Then it was time to loop down towards the coast on little Route 309, following the Lighthouse Route. Silly me, I thought there would be lighthouses scattered along the route. Actually, there was the opportunity to see two, but both were along an out and back route of unknown distance - so my wheels chose not to turn from my current path. When I spoke to the woman staffing the museum in Shag Harbour, she told me that many of the lighthouses here are either on islands or are in locations that are not obvious (to find) unless you know where they are. No regrets here, I just thought that it was funny that I don't seem to be stumbling across too many lights.

The road continued to roll comfortably. Leaving the coast in Shelburne, I started rolling through sections of trees. As my wheels started around the peninsula framed by Route 309, I started to see water sliding through marsh grasses, with the grasses waving in the wind. There were wonderful pattterns of water and green grasses enhanced by birds, sea gulls and crows. Late in my riding day, water started to fill the view off the left side of the road. Water, islands, water everywhere, sparkling in the sunshine that finally emerged from the cloudy start to the day.

My home for tonight is in Shag Harbour. The town's claim to fame - in addition to being home of a fleet of lobster boats - is the sighting of an unidentified flying object. I had to stop at the post office to see the little green man standing guard at the door. I don't need to mail anything, but according to the Nova Scotia Doers and Dreamers Guide "the post office in Shag Harbour has a special stamp cancellation commemorating the sighting of a UFO which crashed and sank here in 1967". The reports of the UFO came from two different people who have been fielding questions about the occurrence ever since. Here's a quote from one of them from a newspaper article many years later: "I know something came down out of the sky that night and it landed in Shag Harbour Sound. Where it was, where it is, and what it was, I couldn't tell you." Interesting. And strange too.

If you want to read more about this strange occurrence, here's a link to the article: The Shag Harbor UFO Alien Crash

Shower first, then it was time for a walk down the road to the Chapel Hill Museum and Observation Tower. I really went to climb the tower and look out over the sea, but I was fascinated by a chair and some carved leaves that were made from wood retrieved from shipwrecks. The artist was Gilbert Nickerson, a Shag Harbour resident who lived from 1859 to 1945. There was an interesting story related to the carved leaves that the museum had on display. One of the museum directors saw a set of leaves for sale on eBay, and knowing that they were created by a local, he bid on them for the museum. When the owner of these artifacts found out that the bidder was from the Chapel Hill Historical Society, she donated them to the museum.

Shag Harbour - and Shand's Lookout B&B - is on the coast. It appears to be a town with houses and a dock for working boats, but no stores or restaurants. When I called from the nearest visitor center to see if there was a room available, I also asked about a place for dinner. Chris said that they would be happy to drive me to the next town up the road that has a restaurant. That's definitely a good service for a hungry cyclist!

Philip was my chauffeur, interrupting his work on his lobster traps to drive me to the restaurant and then come back and pick me up. The waitress at the restaurant seems quite used to calling Shand's Lookoff for a ride home for her customers. The restaurant? The only game in town, pretty much the local watering hole. The fare? Fried food, of course! I had fried clams and scallops, and while I don't eat fried food too often, sometimes that bad stuff tastes pretty good. Of course it helps that the seafood is fresh. The waitress told me of a couple from near Boston who were looking for a place to camp. She sent them to the gazebo by the sea where information about the UFO visit is displayed. She wondered how they made out, and I was able to tell her that they were quite pleased with her suggestion and were happily proceeding east along the Atlantic Coast. They were one of the two touring couples who I met yesterday.

As we drove down the road towards my dinner spot, I got a preview of tomorrow morning's ride. The beginning of the day follows the Atlantic coastline, with the ocean in full view. As we drove back to the house this evening, Philip pointed out several islands that are the last point of land (looking to the west) before the water crashes into the United States.

Photos: Sights of Shelburne

2006-09-14T18:38:00.003-04:00

Photos: Visible water, and then...

2006-09-14T18:32:00.013-04:00

Some of the towns along the Lighthouse Route had what seemed to me to be pretty odd signs. Port Mouton was the one my camera managed to catch. According to several sources, the town was named by explorer Samuel de Champlain in 1604. When he arrived in the area, a sheep fell overboard and drowned; hence the name. Odd.

Challenged by the wind

2006-09-14T17:49:00.001-04:00

Liverpool to Shelburne

Beach view this morning
Afternoon hills with west winds
Cycling to the west

Gray skies with filtered sunshine changed to sculpted white clouds against a blue background and then changed once more back to shades of gray. A beautiful day, with an ever-changing skyscape...

First though, time for another B&B breakfast. It started with fresh fruit, peaches, pineapple chunks, and wonderful tiny blueberries - the Nova Scota version of the wild Maine berries that I like so much. Joan was busy this morning baking fresh scones to accompany the fruit. Then I had French toast topped with blueberries and maple syrup. It was a slight variation though, with bread dipped in eggs & fried, and with the extra eggs wrapped around the bread. A good start for a riding day...

I shared the breakfast table with two young women from Germany. They chose eggs for breakfast, but one of the women wanted to taste maple syrup, so she topped her (regular) toast with butter and syrup. Funny, I never thought of applying that breakfast confection to plain toast.

We talked a bit about their three weeks in Canada. Even though the province they are spending the most time in is Nova Scotia, they flew into Montreal to take advantage of cheaper airfares. Their first day was short, traveling from Montreal to Quebec City. The next day was a drive forever day, going all of the way to Halifax. They will be spending only two days in PEI but hitting both the east and west sides of the province. It sounds like a whirlwind tour, with very little time to absorb the things around them. That's beyond my imagination even traveling by a fast mode of transportation instead of a bicycle.

Breakfast done, panniers loaded, it's time to head down the road and to a view of the Atlantic Ocean. Oh, there's a road leading to White Point. Do I need to turn, or will the water show itself if I head straight down the road I'm already following? I stopped to check my map, and the next thing I knew a friendly stranger was walking toward me from several houses down the road to make sure that I didn't need help. Nice. No turns were necessary, and soon a one-mile stretch of white beach appeared in front of me. Summerville Beach was a good place to stop to watch the waves, to see beach grass waving in the wind, to watch a kite dancing in the sky. Beautiful.

From Summerville Beach my bike rolled back onto highway 103. As I was heading up a shallow grade, I saw a cyclist on the other side of the road. I stopped to chat, and found that she and her partner are from Jamaica Plain, two more people escaping the Boston area for a while. They will be in Nova Scotia until October 15th when they will pick up ViaRail in Moncton, NB to get a lift to Quebec City. They will then ride west to Montreal and south to Albany. Funny, I never thought of using the train to link those locations. I'm going to have to keep that in mind as I plan trips in the future.

The entire day's ride was once again made up of rolling hills. They were very rideable though, in spite of the warning that I had from two sources about a very steep uphill along my route. The difficult thing for me today wasn't the hills, it was the wind. It was quiet as I rolled out of Liverpool, but a strong wind started blowing after about an hour, and it never stopped until well after I'd stopped riding for the day. Of course I was headed to the west and the wind was coming from the west. It's a bit disconcerting to see my speed at just over 10 miles per hour while I am pedaling as fast as I can in a low gear heading downhill. I thought that I would take the coastal route near Sable River, but with the strong wind blowing in my face I changed to take the most direct route to Shelburne.

It was a good ride even with the consistent wind. After my brief visit to the ocean, I was once again surrounded by tree-covered hills, with an occasional glimpse of water in the distance. The sky grabbed my eyes and my imagination. From a very gray morning, a blue background filled with sculpted white clouds emerged, waiting until late in the afternoon to morph back to gray. My camera spent the day focusing on skyscapes.

Shelburne loomed, and I headed to the waterfront where I thought I'd find Coopers Inn. This B&B had caught my eye when I was initially reading about the area, and I thought I'd treat myself to a nice place to stay tonight. A room was available, and I quickly settled in. As I headed out for a walk before dinner, I bumped into two cyclists from Switzerland in front of the visitor center. As usual, we spent some time talking about where we had been and where we are going. They started riding in Halifax and are headed to Yarmouth and the ferry to Bar Harbor. Next? A ride to Boston, from where they'll fly home. They don't think they have the time to ride the entire way and were quite happy when I verified that they can take the train from Portland to Boston. That made them happy, especially since they also want to spend a few days exploring Boston before they head home. As I started out this morning, I was thinking that it was odd that I haven't met too many cyclists here given that it's a rather popular place to tour. I know that many people tour during the more popular summer months, but I don't think I'm alone in preferring the edges of the season. It was good to meet some other cyclists today.

My feet were happy to continue moving for a while. My first stop was at the barrel-makers shop across the street. Fascinating. Then I walked along the waterfront for a while, allowing my camera to continue snapping skyscapes, devouring the time until my dinner reservation. Charlotte Lane was a small but very busy restaurant with attentive servers and wonderful food. I continued with my seafood ecstacy, starting with a curried cauliflower soup, and continuing with an Atlantic salmon fillet topped with sesame mustard glaze and a bit of cranberry ginger relish. Wow.

Are you tired of hearing about food yet? It's part of my trip, part of the memories, and part of the reason why I ride. Don't get me wrong, I love riding for the sake of rolling down the road and absorbing the beautiful sights - but it's also fun to be able to eat this wonderful food.

What will tomorrow bring? More new scenery, riding, riding, photos too...

Photos: Liverpool sights, squirrels too!

2006-09-13T17:41:00.020-04:00

Rover, getting ready to climb the lighthouse stairs and shoot some photos. See, he really does travel with a camera!

I spent some time wandering in the Sherman Hines Museum of Photography. Among the exhibits was a wall of holograms. Blank until you view it from the right angle...

A pair of red squirrels happily grabbed peanuts for munching as Joan & I enjoyed tea on the deck

You do have a lot of those peanuts, right? So I can eat one and stash the next one away for winter, eat one and...

What are you two doing down there? Do you have any good food?

Photos: Heading back to sea level

2006-09-13T17:31:00.007-04:00

You're right, this photo isn't really in focus - but I had to include it here for those of you who have not yet had the privilege of riding on the same road with logging trucks. They're big, and they all seem to be running at a very high rate of speed.

I love the play of water and sunshine as the river flows over an apparently man-made structure outside of Milton (almost to my day's destination of Liverpool)

Narrow road winding through trees

2006-09-13T17:28:00.002-04:00

Kempt to Liverpool

Sea level tonight
Quiet road, trees, lakes, rivers
Water, lighthouse view

An early night yesterday made it much easier to open my eyes this morning. My panniers were ready to jump on the bike even before I headed down for a blueberry pancake breakfast. Even so, taking time for a good relaxing breakfast gives me the right start for my day. Funny - I was the only person staying at the inn last night who was from North America. The other guests (at least the ones I spoke with this morning) were from England, Germany, and Switzerland.

Today was a quiet riding day on a quiet road. It continued to be fairly empty, although I was passed by more vehicles today than yesterday. The lumber trucks that passed me yesterday were all empty, and the trucks today were all full. I wonder why...

The ribbon of road continued to undulate over hills, some ups, some flats, but ultimately the road pointed down to sea level. There were sections with houses, but most of the ride was through trees, green leaves with an occasional patch of red. Lakes and rivers were sprinkled through the trees, occasionally jumping out in front of my camera. The quiet morning again morphed into an afternoon of changing winds.

I rolled into Liverpool at around 2 o'clock and headed to the visitor center to get some suggestions for a home for the night. The owner of the B&B that sounded the most interesting wasn't home, so I headed out to see a few things in town. The women who staffed the visitor center told me they would keep calling while I was out wandering.

The first stop on my mini tour of Liverpool was the lighthouse. It was again one of those short structures - only three stories high - and one that is no longer in use. It is in the inner harbor, so its reach was only about 8 miles where it was running. (Hmm... did I really hear that in miles, or was the woman at the lighthouse talking in kilometers?) The lights that are still operating are those on the ocean, and those have a reach of about 23 miles (or kilometers if I heard it wrong). Either way, those distances seem a bit unreal to me. The first set of stairs was steep, but still felt like stairs. The second, climbing to the level of the light, was more like a ladder. I happily go up stairs like that, but then I wonder why I did it when it comes time to head down again. The view was worth the climb, and I treated the stairs like a ladder, descending facing in as opposed to out like a normal traipse downstairs. I was very glad there was a good railing. My next stop was the town museum. I'm usually not much of a museum-goer, but this museum had an exhibit that struck my fancy - a whole room dedicated to outhouses. That just sounded so odd to me that I had to see it. There were two outhouses (reproductions, I guess), and no, they didn't have the non-working parts. But there were also shelves of miniature outhouse models, and a wall of photos of outhouses too. Very funny, and well worth the visit.

Enough wandering for today, time to head back to the visitor's center and find a home for the night. This time Joan was home, and she was happy to accommodate me at the Geranium House B&B. I headed to the house and got settled in, showered, cycling clothes of the day washed. A nice plus is that on this rather windy day there is a clothesline out back that I was able to use. No worries about things not drying overnight here since it's already dry!

I joined Joan on the deck for a cup of tea. We sat and talked and watched the wonderful creatures visiting her garden. Joan had a handful of peanuts that she was feeding (one at a time) to a pair of red squirrels. I sat with my camera ready to capture the crazy animals. The birds visited too, chickadees, a blue jay, and woodpeckers.

Off for an early dinner... It was time for a change from what seems to be my standard dinner of scallops so I headed out for pizza and a salad. Back at the house, I found that my hostess had started the (electric) fireplace to warm up the living room. I've been perched on a chair next to the "fire" since I got back, a nice place to relax.

Tomorrow it's time for my bike to head in a new direction - west. I'll be traveling on a combination of two roads, 103, and 3. And I've been warned that there is at least one fairly large hill on my route. What that really means only time will tell.

Photos: On the edge of Kejimkujik

2006-09-12T17:22:00.012-04:00

Unfortunately I didn't see any real Blanding's turtles, just the sign. I suppose that's just one more reason that I'm going to have to go back to Nova Scotia - to see the real turtles.

Interested in more information about these turtles? Check out Keji's page on Blanding's Turtle Monitoring and Research

A windy afternoon?

Photos: Rolling up a gentle grade

2006-09-12T17:10:00.007-04:00

South Mountain beckons

2006-09-12T16:59:00.004-04:00

Annapolis Royal to Kempt

Camera dictates stop
Wooly caterpillar walks
Down an empty road

Last night presented me with a much more satisfying sleep than the night before, definitely a better rest to ride by. But of course, riding waited for another breakfast of Belgian waffles topped with blueberries, peaches, and maple syrup. Do you think I'm getting spoiled?

Something about the environment of Hillsdale House seems to generate good conversations among strangers. It may partially be encouraged by the breakfast room setup, with several tables for six in the center of the room. That certainly encourages strangers to sit together, which is good for solo travelers like me. In addition, the sitting rooms at the inn were well used. It was rare that I was the only person sitting down there. For breakfast this morning, I joined a couple from London (England, not Ontario). I had started talking with her yesterday at the inn, and when they ended up in the same restaurant as I did last night, she came over to see how my dinner was before she ordered her own. Wonderful people. We were joined by a couple from Drumheller, Alberta - a place that had actually jumped out at me one time when I was contemplating a bike tour in Alberta. Sometime later... I had the somewhat wacky idea of having a quick breakfast and an early start on the road this morning, but I have to admit that I enjoyed my breakfast visiting enough to have no regrets about starting out at 10 o'clock. I knew it was going to be a relatively short mileage day, so leaving that late didn't bother me at all.

My first goal after leaving the inn this morning was to stop at the German bakery to pick up one of their wonderful cinnamon raisin pastries for a mid-morning boost. I wish there was a bakery like that one at the start of every cycling day. There isn't, so I'll enjoy it while I can.

The road tilted up almost as soon as I headed to the south. The grades were very gentle though, so crossing South Mountain was much easier than yesterday's jaunt across North Mountain. Obviously that's based on today's experience only, but I suspect that tomorrow is more down than up since I'll be headed towards the ocean. It wasn't a total uphill day though. There were some downhills, and amazingly enough there were some relatively flat sections too.

I haven't seen too many animals along the road here, no squirrels and chipmunks playing suicide games with bicycles. There is an occasional dog who insists on barking at me and I've taken to talking back at them "bark, bark, dog. bark, bark!". I did surprise what I think was a quail, and I had to take a photo stop when I saw a wooly caterpillar crossing the road. That doesn't really surprise you, does it? I saw it steadily creeping across the road, and just ahead there was a nice guardrail for my bike to lean against. Bike resting for a moment, I grabbed my camera and crouched in the road to take a picture. Fuzzy creature, black and brown and black, crawling, moving quickly across the road - but slowly enough to give me time for camera play.

There was no need to follow directions today. I started south on route 8, and I stayed on that road all day. It was a quiet road, with no shoulder. Traffic? An occasional car sped by, and some lumber trucks flew by too, mostly unloaded. For the most part I had the road to myself. The scenery? As I expected the road was tree-lined for the entire distance. The color was still mostly green but there was the occasional splash of yellow or orange. I imagine that this road would be gorgeous if you could time a trip right to catch the fall colors since there appear to be a nice mix of evergreens and broad-leafed trees. It's getting cooler, the colors can't be too far behind. It was a good riding day, cool temperatures, swirling winds, blue skies decorated with wisps of cirrus clouds.

I stopped at Kejimkujik National Park and took a quick hike - with my camera & Rover, of course. I headed down the short trail to Mills Falls, stopping often to capture images of the forest and of the river and falls. The falls jumped into view much too early, so I continued down the path for a while longer. The little piece of the park that I visited was beautiful; I think I'll need to plan a return trip with Kejimkujik a non-biking focus. A little bit of kayaking and some hiking is probably in order here. Unfortunately, even though I was told of their existence by Brian's warning in my guestbook, I didn't see any Blanding's turtles while I was in the park. For some strange reason they just weren't hanging out at the turtle crossing sign. According to the park brochure, this is the time of year when you're likely to see the babies: "Toonie-sized hatchlings emerge from the nest and are often seen on the road".

Brian - have you actually seen these guys? And are they really the size of a Toonie? Oh, they really are. The brochure shows an image of a toonie next to the baby turtle; their head and legs stick out beyond the circle, but wow, they are tiny. That must be a formula for disaster if they really do wander on the road.

My home for the night has gone from very nice to somewhat funky to very nice to even funkier. I wonder if there is anyplace in between the very nice and the decidedly odd. Tonight I'm at the Whitman Inn in Kempt (although their mailing address says Caledonia, which is still a healthy number of kilometers down the road). It's just past Kejimkujik on route 8, the right place to stop from a mileage standpoint. It wasn't a long mileage day, and I would have been happy to keep riding another hour or so, but I think the next place to stay is in Liverpool, probably 40+ miles from here. Enough, my wheels stop here!

As I showered I noticed a distinct smell to the water, almost a sulphur smell. I came downstairs hoping that this wacky place had some bottled water because I don't think I can drink what pours from the faucet. Ah, good luck! There is a spring water dispenser in the sitting room. I'm saved!

Unlike the Goodwin Hotel in Weymouth where the restaurant served the community as well as the hotel guests, the restaurant here appears to be for guests only. That's not totally unexpected given that the inn is somewhat in the middle of no where. I didn't have great expectations about the food here but this time the somewhat funky hotel has a very good chef and nice fresh food. My selections? Red pepper and tomato soup, followed by pan-fried scallops with garlic & herbs (what else! I think I'm addicted...), roasted potatoes, and a hot mixture of zucchini & tomatos. I finished with a scoop of lemon sorbet. The chef outdid himself, and the food was wonderful. Funny, given where I am, I expected simple food, and that's really not what was served. It was a nice surprise, and good fuel for tomorrow too.

After swirling all day, the wind finally disappeared. As the sun started to drop, the temperatures seemed to drop too, so I went to pull the windows closed. Sitting in the tree just outside of my window was a plump bird. It reminded me of a robin, but its colors were brighter. I tried to grab a photo of him or her, but the shutter speed was so slow that I expect the picture to be blurry. Maybe I'll get lucky.

Back to sea level tomorrow...

Photos: Wandering once more in Annapolis Royal

2006-09-11T16:56:00.006-04:00

Photos: Up and over... and repeat!

2006-09-11T16:53:00.005-04:00

Crossing North Mountain

2006-09-11T16:50:00.003-04:00

To view the Bay of Fundy

Climbing steadily
Bay of Fundy down the hill
Return? Climb once more

The morning definitely came earlier than desired today, especially after my sitting room conversations that stretched until 11 o'clock last night. I'm usually sleeping well before that, but chatting with some of my fellow travelers is always interesting. I was sitting downstairs working on my journal when I was drawn into a conversation with a couple from Mississippi and their friend from Maine. After they went to their rooms, my journal got a bit of attention. My solo stint didn't last too long; I was joined by a couple from London, and we shared some interesting conversations, including talking about the whale watch they did. My vision of whale watches is always aboard a regular (solid) boat. Their tour was on variation of a Zodiac with a metal bottom and inflated sides. All participants were given bright orange waterproof & floatable suits to wear - I suppose for warmth as well as for an unexpected swim. While I'd love to see the whales I suspect my inclination towards motion sickness would have won the battle on that boat. It sounds like they were just sitting, rolling on the waves, as they were watching the magnificance of the whales. Ah, but I was quite happy with my biking day even without visiting creatures of the ocean.

With all of that visiting, it was very late before I posted yesterday's journal entry and attempted to sleep. I say attempted because it took me a good two hours to fall asleep. I hate it when that happens. Hopefully that means that I will be so tired tonight that sleep will come quickly. And I think I'll try to finish journaling earlier. I know I could wait until the next day, but it's hard enough writing at the end of the day without leaving out some odd details (that I'd rather not lose); waiting for the next day just doesn't work for me.

Breakfast was excellent again. Good conversations added spice to my French toast topped with fresh blueberries. After breakfast I decided it would be a good idea to make a reservation for tomorrow night since there is only one place to stay at my target distance for the day. I'll be staying at the Whitman Inn in Caledonia. I have a place to stay and a dinner reservation too since the inn boasts the only restaurant around. The inn is about 4 kilometers past Kejimkujik National Park. Will I see the park? I really should stop there for a taste (even though I know I'll need a longer visit there), but it will really depend on how fast I'm moving. Only tomorrow will tell.

But today... It was quite chilly this morning. A very silly person left the windows of my room open and the heat off. Brrr! That hot shower felt very good. Between that and eating a good breakfast I warmed up quickly. When I checked the Environments Canada web site at 9 AM, the temperature here was 47 degrees (Fahrenheit, yes, I clicked the Imperial Units button. While I can convert kilometers to miles and back again, I'm still a bit brain-dead on the temperature conversion. I really need to get over that!). I wasn't ready to leave yet, so I didn't need to wear all my layers to ride. The temperature managed to jump to 56 before my bike and I rolled out the door, much more comfortable.

My goal today was a relatively short ride, a wander through Fort Anne, a visit to the tidal power plant, and a bit of rest. The rest is the only thing that is questionable (as in, I think I forgot to rest), but I think that's OK. First, I needed to make my bike happy. I headed across North Mountain on the road heading to Parkers Cove. The uphill on the Annapolis Valley side was longer than on the Bay of Fundy side, and in spite of its shallower grade I did cheat and use my two feet on the ground to get over the top. Yes, I know, one of these days I need to become a better climber, but for now an occasional walk works for me. And no, North Mountain is not very high, but even on a short mountain you know that you're climbing. It was a wild ride down the other (very steep) side, definitely assisted by my brakes. And yes, oops, I have to get back up that steep slope to get back to my starting point.

I headed to the west along the very rolling road that parallels the Bay of Fundy, and I could see the hills of New Brunswick off in the distance. Ah, there's a road that looks like it leads down to the water. Downhill glide, past an active fish processing plant, and then to the end of the road. There is another plant at the end of the road, but there is no activity in sight. A couple of abandoned buildings stand next to the water, but beyond that I can easily get down to the "beach". Not sand, very rounded (but not small) rocks lined the shore. Click, click! A few pictures jumped into my camera. Time for a snack, and then a start of my return voyage.

Rollers again, back to the turn to climb North Mountain once more. This is the steep side, with what I believe (based on a route description in the Bicycle Nova Scotia book) is a 12% grade. Riding, a little walking, riding. Ah, the top, time to head back down again. This descent feels shallower, so I started without assistance from my brakes. That ended when I hit 30 miles per hour. The road surface was making me a little nervous and I'm much happier with the feeling that I am in control (even if I'm really not!). My turn back towards Annapolis Royal came very quickly even at my slightly lowered speed.

Next stop, the tidal power plant. According to the information at the plant, this is one of only three power plants that generate electricity from the tide. The other two are in France (the most powerful of the three), and Russia (the smallest plant). It was a quick stop, but well worth the time to peruse the exhibits.

As I got closer to Hillsdale House, I followed a sign for a German bakery hidden behind a building next to the Historic Gardens. I noticed the sign my first evening here, but the bakery is only open during the day. A snack was in order, so I stopped and chose a sweet roll encrusted with cinnamon and hazelnuts. Definitely a good afternoon snack before I headed out again (on foot this time).

I walked the grounds of Fort Anne the first night that I was here. This afternoon gave me the time to go to the visitor center to learn a little about its history. There were two surprises. The first slapped me in the face as I started looking at the exhibits. There were discussions about New England (referring to the Massachusetts Bay Colony), New France (Quebec) and New Scotland (Nova Scotia). Now how did I miss that? I never equated the current name with New Scotland until I saw it in an exhibit this afternoon. Am I alone in that? My second surprise was the shape of the fort. Looking at the map of the fort, it's very obvious that it is laid out in the shape of a very big star, with its edges being triangles. I suppose I never thought about the shape of a fort in relation to its defenses. Apparently it's a fairly common shape for a fort. And it's kind of visible as you look at individual sections of the fort. You can see the protruding triangles, but without a bird's eye view it's really not possible to get the full image.

As I walked around the fort, my eyes were drawn to the sparkle of the water. The bright sunshine that visited all day today was creating shimmer and sparkle. I finally pulled myself away from the shore, time for a quick rest before dinner.

Dinner tonight was at Cafe Restaurant Compose. I had intended to go to a much simpler restaurant, but Monday is their off day so I was forced to go to a restaurant bearing the description "fine dining". It was a small place overlooking the water, and I was one of only two tables seated without reservations. I was amazed at how many people walked in and were turned away. As it turns out I was lucky because the food was just amazing. A plate of bread and "potted cheese" was delivered to my table almost immediately. My first reaction was "what in the world is potted cheese?". In my worst behavior, I stuck a finger into the cheese to aid in tasting. It turned out to be a very rich cottage cheese (think full fat, not my usual 2%) that was laced with garlic. Wonderful. I chose simple fare for my meal - a spinach salad, and sauteed scallops - and I have to say that the flavors of those dishes were beyond my imagination. It's too bad that it isn't closer to home; it could very easily become a favorite.

Wow - it really sounds like I spent the entire day eating! That's a big plus for touring, isn't it? If I power my bicycle all day then I can eat anything I want (at least while I'm on tour)!

Tomorrow, I turn to the south and head up South Mountain and toward the Atlantic Ocean. It would be a long day to get there in one day, rideable, but long. Instead of pushing, I'm choosing to stop half-way. That way I'll be able to honor all of my camera's requests to snap photos. I expect to be in forested (or at least heavily treed) areas for the next two days, no far off vistas to view.

Photos: Glimpses of a setting sun

2006-09-10T16:48:00.003-04:00

Photos: Port-Royal Habitation

2006-09-10T16:42:00.007-04:00

Port-Royal Habitation is a reconstruction of a small French settlement that was started in 1605. All of the pictures on this page (except the one of me, of course!) are of the reconstructed structure.

Photos: Along the road to Digby Gut

2006-09-10T16:35:00.010-04:00

An unloaded wander

2006-09-10T16:32:00.001-04:00

Along the Annapolis Basin to Digby Gut

Clad in wooden shoes
Port-Royal reconstruction
Next stop Digby Gut

Morning seems to come very quickly each day, in spite of the fact that sleep comes early each night. I opened my eyes slowly (and yes, I did hit the snooze on my alarm) to find another gray day. That seems to be the norm here; maybe the sun will appear, but I'll be surprised if it does. It's a bit nippy out too, and it seems like extra layers will be warranted.

Rather than sitting solo at a small table at breakfast, I joined George at his large but empty (except for him) table. He's from Toronto but grew up here in Annapolis Royal. We were also joined by a couple from Virginia. It was another morning of good breakfast conversation along with an excellent breakfast. Belgian waffles topped with fresh strawberries and blueberries gave me a good burst of energy to start the day.

As is my usual habit, I browsed through the welcome pamphlet for the inn, and I just loved this piece of history:

"The Hillsdale House was built in about 1860 by Susan Forbes Foster of Clifton House, on land that had been the exercising ground for the garrison. She operated Hillsdale as a first-rate inn. The property included a large barn with glassed-in henhouse, a piggery, an icehouse and a large orchard. In 1872, Miss Foster married widower Edwin Ryerson in the double parlor of the house. Evidently, she was a thorough businesswoman; before the wedding, Ryerson was required to sign an elaborate pre-nuptial agreement in which Foster retained complete control over her property."

That fact that a pre-nuptial agreement like this one - with the property retained by the woman - was signed so long ago definitely surprised me. Obviously Susan Forbes Foster Ryerson is long gone now, but this inn is quite a legacy.

Time to face that somewhat cool (but still dry) weather on my bike....

I started with a stop - of course - at Cheri's Convenience to pick up Powerade (not my favorite, but the blue Powerade is a good substitute for my usual Gatorade) and spent some time chatting with Cheri. I am still amazed at how much time I can spend talking with perfect strangers on these trips. That's something that definitely makes my days interesting.

Dark gray skies and fog over North Mountain made my route decision for me. Two miles to the east, and then my bike turned west to head towards my day's destination of Victoria Beach. And no, it's not a beach, just a town with a beach name. I warmed up quickly on this rather chilly morning, and I sent a request to the weather wizard to keep the roads dry.

My first stop - other than my normal stops along the road for photographs - was at Port-Royal Habitation, which is a reconstruction of a small French settlement that was started in 1605. This apparently was one of the earliest European settlements on this continent. According to the local visitor's guide, the area was settled "two years before Jamestown, Virginia, three years before the founding of Quebec, and fifteen years before the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth, Massachusetts". Of interest - short but tall bunk beds with no visible means of getting in to the upper bunks, bedding on the floor in the attic in front of open windows, lines of wooden shoes in several of the living areas. The staff at the site were all dressed in period clothes - including wooden shoes. Well, really, wooden clogs. As soon as I noticed the shoes, I had to ask if they were comfortable - and the men I asked claimed that they were. I wonder if that was the truth or if that was an official statement.

Enough history for me, time to head back down the road. I continued my ride over rolling terrain, heading to the end of the spit of land. My cameras stayed hidden for a bit, insisting on staying under cover during a brief rainy period. Riding, looking, absorbing. The road stayed next to the water for a good portion of the ride, but eventually veered a little more inland. Ah, entering Victoria Beach. The road continues to unwind in front of my wheels, just a little more ground to cover. But before the end of the road, Crimson Sails appeared, and it was time to stop for lunch. Most of my mid-day food on this trip has been energy bars and occasionally fruit, but Crimson Sails is a roadside stand that was recommended to me by both Paul & Val (the owners of the inn that's my current home away from home) and by Russ & Cheryl (who I met in a park during yesterday's ride). The place had standard roadside stand fare - which wouldn't have put it on my list of potential lunch spots. But - it is run by a woman from the Ukraine who also features some Russian & Ukranian food. My lunch? Potato & cheese perogies topped with both butter and sour cream made my stomach very happy. That was a lunch to bike on!

Now, on to the end of the road. The wind was relatively strong all day, and as I reached Digby Gut it felt like a strong swirling force. I walked out on a dock to get a good view of the relatively narrow opening between two skinny strips of land. I attempted to capture some photos of a massive flight of gulls, and enjoyed the play of light on the water. As I walked back to my bike - which was happily resting leaning up against a dockside building - a couple in a car stopped to ask me where they were. It was actually a pretty funny question given that the people asking the question live in Kentville, Nova Scotia - which is a bit east of here - and the person they were asking (me!) doesn't live anywhere near here. I suppose it helps that as a visitor, I'm always wandering around with maps tucked in my bag. I really didn't need to look at the map to tell them that they were at Digby Gut, but I did need the map to show them where they were. They joined me in walking up what we thought was a very steep road leading up to one of those little short lighthouses. Once we got up to the level of the light we realized that it wasn't a road but someone's driveway. Funny.

The end of the road meant that it was time for me to begin my return journey. You would think that riding the same road twice in a single day would be boring, but that really isn't the case. Different things pop out at me when I'm traveling in the opposite direction. I saw someone's version of yard art as I was heading east that was hidden by trees and plans as I headed west. It was two bicycles, painted green, and mounted on a center bicycle wheel. A rather odd display that was essentially in someone's yard - but one of my cameras insisted that we stop for a picture.

A little further down the road, an approaching car stopped. And yes - it was Russ & Cheryl, stopping to say hello, to see how my ride was going, to ask where I ended up staying in Annapolis Royal. What fun - to meet people along the road and then to see them again on another day. Just another sign of the magic of touring...

A day of changing weather ended with brilliant blue skies decorated with some puffy white clouds. That was a far cry from this morning's cold gray start. I started the day in my normal biking attire plus a sleeveless long underwear tank, arm warmers, leg warmers, and a wind vest. At one point the sky was adorned with two streaks of clear blue between dark gray clouds, but the blue disappeared again very quickly. After my stop at Port Royal the mist that was coating my glasses changed to a little bit of light rain, so I swapped the vest for my rain jacket. The rain didn't stay very long, but my jacket stayed on for quite a while since it was still quite cool out. It was a swirling wind kind of day, and as I pedaled into it on the way back, those extra layers hopped back into the single pannier I was carrying. Ah, back to summer riding attire...

I didn't start riding until quite late today, and with my frequent stops and dawdling along the road, it was 4:30 before Hillsdale House loomed on the horizon. My first task - as usual after riding through wet conditions - was to clean and relube my bike. The rain was really light, so the bike was just a bit dusty, not too bad. Clean bike, now it's time for a clean Denise. And time for food too.

And my decision is made - I'm staying here tonight and tomorrow night too, so I'll have another day to explore this area before I move on.

Photos: Evening in Annapolis Royal

2006-09-09T10:48:00.000-04:00

Photos: Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens

2006-09-09T10:46:00.006-04:00

Photos: Coastline? disappearing

2006-09-09T10:37:00.014-04:00

Rolling? No, hilly!

2006-09-09T10:34:00.003-04:00

Weymouth to Annapolis Royal

Rolling roads to start
Changing, hilly ups and downs
What happened to flat?

No, that's not meant to be a complaint but a statement of fact!

The weather forecast called for sunshine, but I woke up to find a very gray sky and continued cool temperatures. I slathered myself with sunscreen anyway, and the sun decided to join the party partway through the morning. First things first though - in spite of what seemed like a very big dinner last night, I woke up ready to eat. (That wasn't too much of a surprise, even though I thought I overdid it a bit when I finished that ice-cream topped brownie. Of course I didn't - aren't you always ready to eat when you're touring?) I headed down to breakfast, ordered oatmeal and a muffin, and had a good chat with my hostess. Peter and Betty (my cyclist friends from last night) joined me after a bit. Good breakfast, good conversation, and then our bicycles took off in opposite directions.

It was a day of layers, and of shedding layers too. It was pretty cool when I started out, and the sky was still an overwhelming shade of gray. Arm warmers, leg warmers, and a wind vest were in order at the start of my ride, but I was able to shed them a short eight miles down the road. I stopped at a beautiful roadside and bayside park where I met Russ & Cheryl who live outside of Annapolis Royal, my destination for today. When they heard that I was planning to spend two nights there so that I could explore the area a bit, they suggested riding down Granville Road to Victoria Beach, where there is a good view of Digby Gut. They also gave me their address and invited me to stop by for something to drink and some more conversation if I ride past their house tomorrow. Meetings like that one are one of the many reasons that I really like wandering on my bike.

As I headed back out of the park, I saw a deer just standing in the middle of a grassy area. I was far enough away that I didn't startle her. I was able to quietly lean my bike up against a tree and grab my camera. I took a picture, walked a little closer, took another picture, walked a little... Then a car drove down the road and startled the deer. She started bounding across the field, and my camera kept following. I hope I have a decent picture of her run. But even if there isn't a good picture of this beautiful animal in my camera, there is one in my mind.

Yesterday was truly rolling, but the rolls in the road today felt like real hills to me. They graduated from rollers to hills as I passed Digby, during the part of the ride where routes 1 (the back road) and route 101 (more of a high-speed road, two lanes changing to three to add passing lanes on the uphill side of the road) joined together for a while. The hills never stopped until I ended my day at my home for the night. And the only reason the hills stopped is because I stopped riding. (Yes Kate, you were absolutely right to tell me that Nova Scotia is hilly!)

From Weymouth to just before Digby I could still see the water. Beyond there it spent quite a bit of time hiding from me. Trees crowded closer to the road, still mostly green but with an occasional splash or red or orange. As I rolled closer to Annapolis Royal the scenery changed to farmlands, and I started to see water again. I have to admit that the afternoon ride reminded me of riding near home. My camera pulled me off the road many times today, including once to take a picture of a spider. Let's see, I think (I hope) I captured some spiderwebs along the road to Cape Forchu Light on Thursday, and now I hope that my image of a very interesting black and yellow spider perched on a plant is in focus.

I stopped at the visitor center outside of Annapolis Royal to get some assistance in finding a home for the night. My requirements are simple - a nice B&B for me, with a safe sheltered spot for my bike. I found both at Hillsdale House, a beautiful inn-style B&B with very friendly hosts (Paul & Val). I spent some time this afternoon talking with them, and I'm sure that I'll be picking their brains tomorrow about where I should ride - both tomorrow and on the continuation of my trip. Apparently the roads heading to the east are a repeat of today, hilly, and with the views sheltered by trees. Right now I can't tell you which direction I'll be heading when I finally take off from Annapolis Royal; you're just going to have to keep reading if you're curious.

After settling in I wandered over to the Historic Gardens, just a short distance down the road. And yes, I was definitely accompanied by my camera. I don't have the macro lens for my SLR with me, but I still managed to take quite a few pictures of the flowers. I'm sure that no one is surprised by that. I'm so glad that I'm shooting digital photos and don't have to pay to develop any (real) film. Thinking back to my travels in the now distant past when I was still using film cameras, I know that I didn't take anywhere near as many photos as I have grown into taking in today's digital world.

It was another good food night. Dinner was at the Garrison House, a B&B down the road that also has a restaurant. My stomach decided on one of today's specials - shrimp and scallops in a curry sauce. Very nice - fresh seafood, but with an Asian flavor influence.

Today was a good people day, a good riding day, and an awesome weather day. The sun and cloudless blue sky were both welcome additions. And now it's time to dream of tomorrow...

Photos: Weymouth bound

2006-09-08T20:09:00.001-04:00

Hills rolling, bicycle following

2006-09-08T20:07:00.001-04:00

Yarmouth to Weymouth

Quiet rolling roads
Green fields shorn short, wildflowers
Color for gray day

Good food, delightful breakfast conversations, gray skies, dry pavement, a cool but reasonable temperature - all contributed to the start of a good day. That start was accompanied by some hurricane weather worries, but I think I finally got my (silly) nervousness out of the way by the time I got on the road.

Twyla had a very reasonable suggestion this morning. I was swaying between heading home before the storm, or trying to figure out when it is going to hit and making sure that I am in a town that I can happily hole up in for a day or two. Twyla's suggestion was to rent a car for the stormy days so I wouldn't be pinned down somewhere. Driving during a bad storm doesn't really appeal to me, but I'll keep that in mind as an option. She checked for me, and found that Hertz rents cars in Digby, and Avis in New Minas. (There are rental cars available in both Yarmouth and Halifax, but I'm not likely to be near either of those cities at the appropriate time.) My thought about heading home early is wacky in a couple of different ways. First, I think it probably a pretty dumb idea (yes, it was my idea, but I can certainly call it a dumb idea!) since the ocean swells probably will precede the storm. Really - can you see someone (like me) who fights motion sickness taking a trip on a boat in crazy seas? And apparently if the seas are too rough - there is also a possibility that the ferry will be cancelled. Plus, I really need this vacation; heading home early doesn't give me the relaxation that I hoped to get out of my wandering on my bike. As of right now, I'm staying.

Hey - it's Rover here. Denise is still a bit nervous about the coming storm. I'm trying to keep her calm but sometimes my doggy smile doesn't do its job. I plan to just keep telling her that it's fine to hang out somewhere for a day (or even two days) when (if?) the storm hits. Oh, and just in case you don't believe Denise's description of today, it was a really nice riding day. Rolling hills all day, what fun!

OK, I'll let Denise get back to her writing now.
--- Rover

Back to today though... It was time to tuck my worries away and just enjoy riding. My bike followed Route 1 all day, with an occasional side trip towards the water. Instead of being surprised when I couldn't see the water for most of the day, I was very pleasantly surprised that I could actually see the water during sections of my ride. The sky was quite gray, but the clouds seemed to be pretty high at the start of the day. For a while I thought that the weather was moving in the wrong direction as fog started moving in from the water, but it lifted again. And at about two o'clock I actually got a glimpse of the sun. That was a pleasant surprise. It's a good thing (for my mood) that I didn't really believe the forecast which stated that it was going to be sunny today. Apparently there is another chance for sunshine tomorrow; maybe the forecast will be correct this time.

Rolling roads were definitely the order of the day. Uphill, downhill, a little (sort of) flat, uphill, downhill, repeat. Even though it's September and on the verge of transforming into fall, I was surrounded by green today. Green fields, closely cropped, with small evergreen trees scattered over the hills. Late summer wildflowers continue to bloom along the sides of the road. And glimpses of the water continued to tease me along the left side of the road. Then I started seeing land across the water. Is that Digby Neck? I thought it was, but I stopped at the municipal office in the town I was passing through to ask. Yes, it absolutely is Digby Neck that I was seeing. The water I could see as I wandered out to Cape Forchu Light near Yarmouth was the Gulf of Maine. That's beyond my view at this point, and the water next to me now is St. Mary's Bay. That will follow me as I continue to roll toward Digby.

Belliveau Cove attracted me with one of those very short 4-sided (as opposed to cylindrical) little lighthouses; time for a short walking break. I was surprised by these in PEI last year, and the lighthouse I saw yesterday was of the taller and more stately variety. I wonder it these shorter lights are limited to more protected or less open waterways.

I left Yarmouth with the thought of riding all the way to Digby. Riding, riding... The road swooped down to the Sissiboo River in Weymouth. It headed back uphill after crossing the river, and the Goodwin Hotel was in just the right place to grab my eye. It has more the feel of an inn than a hotel, and it sports the looks of a rambling old house. It's an old building, and it's been operated as a hotel since 1890. A restaurant that claims to specialize in "home cooked" meals is in the hotel - which is a good thing since this is a very small town with few services. It's funny; when I walked in to ask about a room, the owners assumed that I had a reservation. They had one reservation for tonight, made by a pair of cyclist when they passed through here yesterday. Now they have two rooms rented for tonight, both to cyclists. As a contrast, the owner told me that this place was totally booked for the holiday weekend (last week). It was just about 3 o'clock when I hit Weymouth, my wheels had traversed 49 miles, and there were 22 miles more to go before I hit Digby. It was the right time to stop for the day, and the Goodwin Hotel provided a comfortable room. My bike is happily resting in the protection of the garage. Time to rest...

I shared a table with my fellow cyclists at dinner tonight. I had headed to dinner a little earlier than they did, but after initially settling at the table next to mine they suggested that we sit together. Great idea. Good conversations - about touring of course - made for an interesting evening. The restaurant here was actually pretty busy; it seems to be a gathering spot for the folks who live in the area. Good food too. I had Digby scallops, and I dug into a brownie topped with ice cream and fudge sauce for desert .Right now I feel like I won't have room for breakfast, but I know that as a side effect of touring that I'll be ready for more food come morning.

My plans for tomorrow are changing. While I'd still like to get there, I think I am probably not going to head down Digby Neck. Twyla told me this morning that it is very hilly, edging toward mountainous. And when I looked again at the description of the ride (yes, I really did make copies of several pages of the Bike Nova Scotia guide), the Digby Neck - Brier Island ride is rated as moderately hilly. The description should have given me the correct clue, but I think I chose to ignore this passage:

"...taking you down a long basalt ridge, an extension of the Annapolis Valley's North Mountain, stretching out into the Bay of Fundy"

How did I miss that? In contrast, today's route as rated as rolling with occasional hills. Rolling was nice, occasional hills were fine. But moderately hilly on an out-and-back ride that would take me two days to ride, with the second day currently predicted to be a wet one? Uh, I think I'm heading to Annapolis Royal tomorrow. It's funny given that I'm on a bike trip and that my bicycle is my preferred mode of transportation - but I think I am going to have to return to Nova Scotia some day with a motorized vehicle. Digby Neck and the Cabot Trail are both on my list for that trip. And I know there are other sections of this province that I'm not going to get to on this trip that my bike is going to insist on seeing someday. Do you think that I am ever going to visit someplace and be happy with a single trip?

Photos: A glimpse of Yarmouth & my home for the night

2006-09-07T20:04:00.005-04:00

Photos: To Cape Forchu

2006-09-07T19:53:00.010-04:00

Turning in circles

2006-09-07T19:52:00.003-04:00

Yarmouth to Cape Forchu Lighthouse and back again

Feet and wheels on a solid surface once again, my first task was to find my home for the night. When I made my B&B reservation and told my hostess that I would be arriving on the ferry today, she offered me the an early check-in to allow me to bike around the area unencumbered. What a nice treat.

The sky was still gray, but the clouds were high flying. The wind was a little bit nippy, so my wind vest jumped onto my back for the afternoon. I headed out to see Cape Forchu lighthouse, and as I got closer to the light the fog started to roll in. I passed working boats and dock areas, around a curve, up and down a hill, and on to the end of the road. Where's the light? It was shrouded in fog. It was just barely visible, and angle from my position (on the ground) to the top of the lighthouse didn't allow me to actually see the bright light. Maybe I'm just not destined to see lighthouses in clear weather - my vision of these structures on my recent trips seems to be shrouded in clouds or fog.

My very short riding day today gave me a calm start to this trip. Tomorrow I start to travel. I'm still not sure of where my destination will be, but I'm not sure that the end point really matters. Rolling along the road on my bike, soaking in the scenery, playing with my camera, thinking, relaxing, that's what matters.

Guest-Lovitt House is my home for the night. My room is very comfortable, with the added touch of a private balcony off the back of the house, and my bike is happily locked in the garage for the night. The house is beautiful, and is very much enhanced by Twyla, my gracious hostess. It was a great place for a relaxing afternoon and evening, and it had the added benefit of having a choice of restaurants within walking distance. Dinner tonight was at Chez Bruno, a restaurant that I would gladly visit again. Fish chowder and broccoli quiche was tonight's choice. Yum.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring...

Photos: Glimpses from The Cat

2006-09-07T19:44:00.007-04:00

Walking up from the bottom deck where my bike was happily leaning against a container under a set of stairs. Passengers circled through the front of the boat and then up, up, up.

Riding The Cat over the sea

2006-09-07T19:43:00.001-04:00

Speed over water
Cat ferry high speed ahead
Fog and bouncing waves

Denise is busy visiting with the motorcycle guys on the boat, so I'm going to write this entry for her. This is Rover, in case you haven't figured that out. What do you mean, dogs can't write? Of course I can write, and I can type too!

Oh, you want to know how she met a bunch of Harley riders? When we showed up for the ferry this morning, all of the cars were in a number of lines, and all of the motorcycles were in the front and to the right side of the boarding area. I guess two-wheeled vehicles all belong together, because we were sent over with the motorcycles. All of the riders were busy inspecting each other's bikes, and some of the guys were interested in our non-motorized transport too.

A couple of tour buses drove on board, and then a line of cars. But most of the cars had to wait for the two-wheeled vehicles. We rolled on, and our ride was given a home under the stairs for the voyage. Denise and I climbed up into the boat and wandered through the various indoor spaces. A cup of coffee (Starbucks!) and a muffin provided a good start to the day, and then we wandered out on the very skinny back deck so we could see the wake from our fast catamaran ride. It was pretty cool out there, so we moved inside. Crazy Denise thought she'd see what it was like in the front of the boat. I told her she wouldn't like it up there, but she was curious so we went for a walk. It was a quick walk though, because the front of the boat carries a bouncy feeling - and Denise isn't very good with that kind of rocking motion. She did take a Dramamine before we even walked on board, and luckily she listened to me and headed to the back of the boat again. She found a table, and sat down. She was very quickly joined by her new acquaintances, and they talked until we landed in Yarmouth. Allen and Denise had a lot in common; even though he is riding a Harley on this trip, he rode his bicycle across the TransAm trail back in 2000. Touring talk...

It got very foggy just after we left Bar Harbor and it stayed that way for the entire voyage. The sky was gray but the ground was dry when we landed in Yarmouth.

We're through customs & immigration, and now it's time to go find our home for tonight.

I hope that you enjoyed my tales...
--- Rover

Photos: Along the road (and from the car...)

2006-09-06T21:36:00.018-04:00

Crossing the Piscataqua River from New Hampshire to Maine.

What do you mean I'm not supposed to take pictures while I'm driving? Yes, I used my little camera, and no, I didn't attempt to focus, just snapped the photo...

At a rest stop along I-95 in Maine. As usual, I was fascinated by the clouds.

Are we there yet? Can we start riding? I'd much rather be riding a bike than flying down the road in this 4-wheeled vehicle.

Sorry Rover, but we've just really started. There are hours to go yet before we get to Bar Harbor, and we have a boat ride tomorrow morning before we can switch to our preferred 2-wheeled Denise-powered form of transportation.

You're right, stopping on a limited access highway to take a picture really isn't good behavior. But I have been fascinated by this small cemetery that sits right next to I-95. It's not an abandoned plot either; the small area is maintained with fresh flowers and American flags.

I find it interesting that the thing that appears to have been important about Hannah is that she was married to two men (although not at the same time).

Penobscot Narrows bridges, one old with its replacement under construction

You're absolutely right, I did want to walk on the unfinished span. I didn't though, for a change I behaved...

A three-state highway day

2006-09-06T21:24:00.003-04:00

Burlington, MA to Bar Harbor, ME

Bar Harbor tonight
Four wheels speeding, gas-powered
Tomorrow the sea

It was a driving day today. My bike was itching to ride, but first there were roads to quickly traverse. From the edge of Massachusetts, across the shortest side of New Hampshire, and through miles and miles of Maine. Driving, driving, finally arriving...

The hours seemed to go by slowly, but when I consider that it would have taken me at least 5 days (and probably longer) to bike from home to Bar Harbor the 5 hours it took to drive here represent a pretty small chunk of time. I took a slightly different route today. Instead of staying on I-95 to Bangor, I jumped off at Augusta and followed 2-lane roads to the coast at Belfast, then followed Route 1 north to Ellsworth before turning off to Bar Harbor. From a mileage standpoint I think the drive was slightly shorter, but because I spent more time off of the high-speed interstate it took the same amount of time to get to Bar Harbor. It was a nice change of pace, with a few interesting sights along the way to catch my eye. There were patches of bright reds and oranges in the middle of a still mainly green "treescape". There was the first sight of the ocean as I rolled down hill. There was the opportunity to take in the view of old and new bridges standing next to each other, crossing the Penobscot River in Bucksport. The new bridge is under construction, a beautiful cable-stayed structure.

If I had been biking, I'm sure there would have been a number of stops to try to capture that beautiful "skyscape" with my camera. There was blue sky and white puffy clouds. There was gray sky and rain. A return to dry but cloud-studded shades of blue, and an end of the day bright circle of a moon against a dark sky, decorated with wisps of clouds. Beautiful.

There were a couple of what I would consider odd signs too. The first was in front of a church: "Vacancy, 11am Sunday". I wonder if that attracts anyone. The second? A field labeled "all natural corn". What do you suppose non-natural corn looks like?

And then there were my (own somewhat odd) thoughts as I drove from Massachusetts to Maine. Who created the two-character state abbreviations? Was it the postal service? And more than that, how did Massachusetts rate the MA abbreviation, and Maine ME? After all, either state could have been MA. Was it because Massachusetts was a standalone state before Maine? Do I remember correctly that at one point Maine was actually part of Massachusetts? Sometimes silly thoughts like these take up space in my mind as I drive or ride. Does that happen to you too? What odd things went through your mind today?

Tomorrow, the ferry beckons, a new adventure, and explorations of a province that I've never visited before. I'm looking forward to it, excited, yet there's a niggle of concern (is that even a word? No matter, I'm sure you know what I mean). I shouldn't have listened to the weather forecast that jumped out of the radio as I drove here. Maine Public Radio threw out some (unwanted) information on Tropical Storm Florence as she is apparently is forming in the Atlantic, including a statement that the current forecast (for Maine) includes 10-foot seas. I was hoping that putting up with the ending gasps of a hurricane / tropical storm while I was in PEI last September would mean that I wouldn't need to deal with a crazy windy rainy storm this year. Weather wizard, could you please behave?

Let the adventure begin!

Dedication

2006-09-05T21:21:00.003-04:00

I dedicate this trip to my brother Neal. As the road rolls under my wheels, and my eyes absorb the beauty around me, I send thoughts of healing and comfort to Neal as he fights a battle with cancer. As you follow me on my bicycle, I hope that you will join me in sending healing thoughts his way.

At a family dinner, November 2005.

What do you mean you've never been to a meal where the pre-dinner activity was hanging spoons from your nose? We've been doing this as long as I can remember... and that's a lot of years! And of course, Neal is a very practiced participant at this activity.

Donning a wig and funny glasses, Neal brings a smile to my face - and I'm sure to many others too.

Many thanks to Neal's daughter Bari for making this photo available. I wish I had been able to experience this disguise in person!

Cycling by haiku

2006-09-05T21:13:00.009-04:00

Dreaming of travel
Destination decision
Nova Scotia bound

A challenge to myself... right now it sounds like it would be fun to set a goal of starting each day's journal entry with a haiku, a "Seventeen-syllable verse form, arranged in three lines of five, seven and five syllables". I wonder...

Wheels roll down the road
Shadows lead, wonder follows
Freedom to explore

Rover jumps for joy
Bicycle ready to roll
Counting days till start

Rover, ride Rover
The Maritimes call to you
Denise on her tour

Last haiku courtesy of Annie. Rover & I thank you for the contribution!

Where to go, where to go

2006-09-04T21:09:00.012-04:00

Resources to help solve the wonderful puzzle

This page contains references to some of the resources I wandered through as I dreamed of visiting Nova Scotia.

Bicycle Nova Scotia is a starting point to find information on touring in Nova Scotia. This word of warning from the site provided me with what I think it a good sanity check on the terrain that my bike and I will encounter: "One myth that many visitors seem to hold is that, except for Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia is flat. Nova Scotia may be a seaside land, but it is not all sand dunes and seagulls. For the most part it is rough and unyielding rock, giving rise to dramatic rocky headlands. In some areas the rock is hidden under a blanket of soil that creates beautiful valleys, but Nova Scotia has more hills, ridges, and forests than farmland. Some of the hills are steep enough and sufficiently long to require the lowest gears that you can fit to your bike." (Quote courtesy of Bicycle Nova Scotia)

In addition to the general information on the web site, Bicycle Nova Scotia sells a book called "Nova Scotia by Bicycle" that appears to be a decent resource. (Yes, you're right, I did purchase a copy.) I'll have to let you know how good it really is once I get back from my tour. I have to admit that there are a couple of passages in the guide that definitely are smile provoking. The first is a bit dated, and I think I'll choose to ignore it since it seems to be telling me that perhaps women and cycling don't get along - and we all know that isn't true. Funny though...

Medical Warning!
"Considerable discussion has been aroused among physicians and wheelmen by the recent publication of a report that a woman had gone insane from excessive riding of the bicycle... This is not the only case of its kind... The disease of wheel insanity has not gained much foothold yet, doctors say, because it has not had time. Bicycling is as yet in its infancy and so are the diseases connected with it."

The Acadian Recorder, Halifax, 4 March, 1896

The second paragraph that reached out to grab me is more related to the current state of cycling - or maybe I should say cycling and eating. I wonder if the restaurant that's referenced is still there. It's in the description of the ride along Digby Neck to Long Island and Briar Island:

"In the Velo Halifax Bicycle Club this popular tour is known as 'The Peanut Butter Pie Tour', because the Tiny Tattler restaurant, in the middle of Long Island, server unbelievably delicious peanut butter pie. By the way, the commonest family name on Long Island is Outhouse."

Nova Scotia's Official Tourism Website includes a lot of useful information on the province, including what they call their Scenic Travelways as well as interesting sights, accommodations, and (ever-important) places to eat. I ordered a paper copy of the Nova Scotia Guidebook & map, and the requested documents showed up in my mailbox very quickly. The map is decent, but (as you might already know) I'm a bit of a map junkie, so I bought another map that appears to be a little more detailed. My purchased map was from Mapart Publishing. According to to information on the Bicycle Nova Scotia site, there is also a "more detailed book of maps of Nova Scotia's roads and terrain, the publication A Map of the Province of Nova Scotia... This is a book of 46 topographic maps (11"x11") at a scale of 1/250,000 (about twice that of the N.S. Highways map)". For this map addict, that's tempting - but somehow I suspect I won't want to carry that extra weight. I think I'll try to get by with the maps that I have.

After the trip... I found that the Mapart Nova Scotia map provided much more detail than the free map provided by Nova Scotia tourism. The map was inexpensive with a price marked on the map as $4.95. I have no idea whether that is intended to be in US or Canadian dollars, but I purchased in a bookstore in the states.

While I plan on wandering somewhat without plans, I find it helpful to know that I will be able to find a home for the night in the towns my wheels wander through. Check In Nova Scotia has a list of accommodations that can be searched by travelway or by town.

Getting there...

Instead of driving through New Brunswick to the land connection with Nova Scotia, my transportation will be a combination of my car over land from home to Bar Harbor, Maine and The CAT over the sea between Bar Harbor and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. And then - of course - my bicycle takes over. She tells me that she's more than ready to roll over the roads of Nova Scotia.

Fascinated by the tidal bore...

Traveling along the Bay of Fundy means that I may again experience the effects of the tidal bore. I spent some time at Hopewell Cape after my tour of Prince Edward Island last year, and I was fascinated by the changes between low and high tide.

Reading the following description on the Highest Tides in the World site brought a smile to my face:

"Like a father pushing his daughter on a swing, the gentle Atlantic tidal pulse pushes the waters of the Bay of Fundy-Gulf of Maine basin at nearly the optimum frequency to cause a large to-and-fro oscillation. The grestest slosh occurs at the head (northeast end) of the system. Because Earth rotates counterclockwise in the Norhern Hemisphere, the tides are higher in Minas Basin (Wolfville-Truro area) than in Chignecto Bay (Amherst-Moncton area)."

I think I'll see what I can see there. Curious? Read The Tides, a fascinating article by George Ferguson.

After the trip...I did make it to the Bay of Fundy, but I didn't get as far east as the Minas Basin. So this is yet another of my many reasons that I need to return to Nova Scotia some day.

Conversions, challenges...

Miles to kilometers (and the reverse)... that calculation has always been an easy one for me. I can't tell you why, but it is. So having markers along the road in kilometers and my brain and my bike computer operating in miles really doesn't cause me any problems.

The temperature is an entirely different matter. For some reason, my brain seems to fight converting between the Celsius and Fahrenheit. Maybe I should cheat and carry a temperature conversion chart with me. Or maybe I should just ignore the weather forecasts.

And of course as I get closer to my departure date, I'm curious about what type of weather I should expect in the (really) not too far away province of Nova Scotia. (With thanks to Environment Canada for the forecast...) It's OK to check, right?

Rover just jumped up and said "of course it's OK to check. Curiosity is good!"

Rover said he'd help with the temperature conversions, but he also tells me that he'll keep notes for me during the ride, and snap an occasional picture too. Somehow he gets sidetracked by the scenery and by the side task of eating chocolate. I guess it's a good thing that little red dogs can safely ignore the fact that chocolate is not good for (real) dogs!

Pre-trip musings

2006-09-03T21:01:00.008-04:00

...persusing maps, dreaming, wondering

The days have been quickly rolling by; the day is fast approaching when my bike and I will board the ferry for Nova Scotia.

Although it's been several months since I set my non-plans in place, it feels like it was just yesterday. I have to admit that knowing this trip is just days away now makes it a little easier to deal with the (always unexpected) change of the seasons here. My commute-to-work-by-bike days have come to an end for this year, chased away by the quickly retreating daylight hours. I'm hoping that our cooler than usual temperatures as August rolled into September will help me get accustomed to the weather that will envelop me as I roll into Yarmouth.

A map of Nova Scotia remains open on the floor in the room where my computer lives, with its ever-present companion books Nova Scotia by Bicyle, and the Doers' and Dreamers' Guide from Nova Scotia Tourism. I'm not planning day-by-day, but I am reading about places I'd like to see. Funny, but my assumption that I will do essentially a circle tour is being challenged as I seem to be very attracted to sights along the Bay of Fundy side of the province. While I have enough time to do the circle route with longer riding days, I'm going to let how I feel dictate how far I ride each day, as opposed to committing ahead of time to a set number of miles. A circle, or essentially an out-and-back ride with loops in interesting areas? Only time will tell where my bike and camera will lead me.

I'm booked on the 8 AM ferry on Thursday, which gets me into Yarmouth at about noon. Rather than start traveling immediately, I am going to spend the day wandering in the Yarmouth area. And since I'm not moving beyond Yarmouth, I also made a reservation at a B&B for that night. I chose the Guest-Lovitt House, which is where I was planning to stay on the first night of my canceled quick trip to Nova Scotia back in 2004. When I called to check availability, my first question (after hearing that there was a room available) was whether there was a safe place for my bike. There is - or I wouldn't be staying there. I told Twyla that I would be arriving on the ferry that morning and that I planned to do some wandering in the Yarmouth area that afternoon. Her first question to me was whether I'd like to drop off my gear when the ferry docked rather than waiting for the normal check-in time. What a nice welcome! And - to top that - when I gave her my name for the reservation, she immediately asked if I had booked and canceled a reservation in the past, remembering the cancellation of my trip after my crash. I found it truly amazing that she remembered me, a total stranger who made (and canceled) a reservation for one person and one bike over two years ago.

My little baby (handheld) computer will be traveling with me so that I can keep my journal up-to-date from the road. I added money to my iberPass.com account, and I went to their website to make sure that they have access numbers in Nova Scotia. I didn't think there would be a problem since that's the service I used when I was in Prince Edward Island last year - but you know me, I just needed to make sure. I'm not sure why I looked at the list of cities with access numbers once I verified the toll-free numbers for Canada. That little added checking made me a bit nervous when I couldn't find a number for Yarmouth or for Halifax. OK Denise, calm down, there has to be a reason why these somewhat major cities are missing from the list. It took me a few minutes to figure out the sequence of the list. It showed only the name of the city and the phone number. The toll-free numbers at the top of the list were (of course) for Canada. Instead of the list of cities being sorted alphabetically, they were alphabetic by province. Unfortunately, the name of the province is not shown. So Yarmouth - which I expected to find at the end of the list - was shown about two thirds of the way down the page. I suppose it is asking too much of a company that is based in Spain to understand that showing the provinces as well as the city names for Canada would be more than helpful.

As I was looking through the lists of access numbers by city, one name jumped off of the page at me. Did you know that there is a town in Newfoundland named Leading Tickles?

I need to close today's musings with an open letter to the weather wizard.

Dear weather wizard -

The remnants of tropical storm Ernesto blew through here today, giving me a good rest day. While I'm sure that many people are unhappy with our rainy holiday weekend, I have no complaints. I would like to place a request for dry weather for the bulk of my trip though. Yes, I know, there is a possibility of rain in the forecast for almost every day of the upcoming week. But could you please make that scattered rain as opposed to all day downpours? I'd love to see the sun during part of my tour, but gray, dry days are much preferable to wet ones. You're absolutely right - I certainly will make the best of whatever comes my way.

It's coming together

2006-08-11T20:57:00.005-04:00

...a non-plan is made!

A non-plan? A plan? Whatever happened to just wandering? If I had an unlimited amount of time, it would be easier to just wander. But I will be in Nova Scotia a few days less than two weeks, so I think I need to define an eastern limit to my voyage. I'll be starting in Yarmouth, the port of entry for the ferries from Maine, and (what I believe is) the westernmost point in the province. The tidal bore in the Bay of Fundy fascinates me, and I would love to ride far enough to the east to experience the effect once again. That may be pushing it from an overall mileage standpoint though; my bike may decide that she needs to curve back to the west before my wheels roll by the edges of Minas Basin.

Which way should I travel, counter-clockwise or clockwise? Counter-clockwise may be smarter since if (when?) the road happens to be on the coast, there will be no ribbon of road between me and the water. Of course, based on my experience last year on Prince Edward Island where the road didn't usually hug the coast - maybe the direction I head doesn't really matter. Right now I'm leaning towards a clockwise wander.

I plan to wander following both the Evangeline Trail and the Lighthouse Route. It's entirely possible that I may hit the western edges of the Glooscap Trail too. There are things I'd like to see, places I'd like to visit. Possibilities? The differences between the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic Ocean. Lighthouses, of course. And Digby Neck, protruding into the Bay of Fundy on the northwest edge of the province. Bear River, a village that is home to many artists and galleries. Annapolis Royal, and on to Wolfeville. Across the province to the lighthouses along the Atlantic coast.

I'm going to try to avoid the mistake I made on my PEI trip, which was to not plan for a rest day at the beginning of the tour. When I fly to my tour I usually don't travel (by bike) on the first full day at my destination. I use that time to reassemble my bike, take a short ride, and just generally relax. I'm not flying to Nova Scotia, but a 5-hour drive can take a toll too. I'm not sure that I want to spend an extra day in the Yarmouth area though, so I may start riding and take a non-riding day relatively early in the trip. Or I may just attempt to take a few shorter mileage days. (My camera should help with the shorter days, since I know I can use a lot of off the bike time clicking away!)

When I look at the ferry schedule, it's quite possible that the ferry I take will help me decide on the first day as a light day or as a full touring day. Since I plan to travel over the waters on a Thursday, I have two choices of departure times, 8AM, or 4PM. The ferry ride is advertised as under 3 hours, so I'll make the assumption that the 8AM ferry will arrive at about 12PM, and the 4PM ferry at 8PM. Yes, I know I said three hours, but I'll be leaving from the Eastern time zone, and Nova Scotia lives in the Atlantic time zone. So based on the time at my departure and arrival points, the clock will show that I was traveling over the water for four hours.

Right now I'm leaning toward taking the the morning ferry. I'll use the afternoon for a relaxing (that is slow, and low mileage) exploration of the Yarmouth area, including the Cape Forchu Lighthouse. I'll stay in Yarmouth for the night, hopefully finding a nice B&B for a quiet evening. The next day will be the beginning of my real wandering.

(And yes, you're absolutely right, those non-plans could change between now and the first week in September!)

Tell me, in a world where we are accustomed to maps oriented with the top of the map pointing to the north, why do you suppose this map as published is tilted?

Even though the orientation is different than my preferred map orientation, this should give you an idea where I'll be wandering - from Yarmouth, the port of entry of the ferry from Maine on the western tip of the peninsula, along the Bay of Fundy heading north and east towards Wolfeville, south to the Atlantic Ocean, and west back to Yarmouth. Of course I could also traverse this (somewhat) circle in the opposite direction.

Map courtesy of Natural Resources Canada, the Atlas of Canada

It's right over there, you can see it, can't you?

2006-06-12T20:49:00.008-04:00

Oh - it's further away than it seems!

Eastern Canada, the maritime provinces - hey, I live in the northeastern United States, so Nova Scotia is close, right? Wrong! There's a bit of water between here and there, or a really long drive. At this point I have several options. I can fly to Halifax, I can drive all of the way to Nova Scotia (via New Brunswick), or I can take The CAT ferry from either Portland or Bar Harbor, Maine.

Maybe I should leave the decision up to my bike. OK bike, do you want to travel in a suitcase (checked as luggage on a plane) or ride in the back of my car or feel the waves under you on a ferry? Ah, it sounds like a ferry ride sounds right to you too.

Rover tells me that the ferry sounds good to him too! But he insists that he wants to explore the ferry and he plans to take pictures of our journey across the water.

Oh, and he also told me that he looked at the map of Nova Scotia and he doesn't think we need to have explicit directions (or plans) for wandering there. A few glimpses at maps should do.

This photo? It's at the end of my first full day of riding in Ireland back in 2003. Rover liked it there, and he wants to go back someday, but he agrees that Nova Scotia sounds like a good place for wandering too.

Ferry over water...

This year is the first year that The CAT ferry (originally running from Bar Harbor only) operates out of both Portland and Bar Harbor. It runs from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth Monday through Thursday, and returns from Yarmoth to Bar Harbor Sunday through Thursday. The CAT between Portland and Yarmouth runs on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Initially, the addition of Portland to the schedule sounded like a good thing for my trip since Portland is a one and a half hour drive from home as opposed to the 5+ hours it takes me to drive to Bar Harbor. Then I took a closer look at the schedule and realized that the schedule from (and to) Bar Harbor fits much better with my planned touring days. And if you haven't already realized it from reading some of my other journals about trips to (or passing through) Maine, I really like riding at Acadia National Park. "Ferrying" from Bar Harbor means I'll have another opportunity to roll through there again. Another plus...

Another possibility would be for me to take the ferry from Portland to Yarmouth then return to Bar Harbor and ride down the coast of Maine to pick up my car in Portland. Based on rough mileage estimates, I believe that would be three days of riding. If I was planning a longer trip that would might be a good option, but with only two weeks, I'd prefer to spend as much time as possible in Nova Scotia.

Jumping off point: Bar Harbor...