Last Province

Well we have been home for 3.5 weeks so thought I’d best update the last blog of Edge to Edge Run.

We left Edmonton going East to head down thru Camrose , wanting to avoid Highway 2. My mind was confused as I was in the going west mode and for awhile I felt like we were going farther away from home. Though a wonderful adventure 3.5 months is along time to be away from family and friends, though we were with family in Ottawa and the cottage district and made friends a long the way and now going to visit our Friends on the journey home, it is time to be home.

The fields of Alberta glow in the sunlight , different shades of yellow and gold, some crops harvested others waiting for the weather and the farmer to be harmonious. We meandered to Calgary to spend an evening and overnight with friends and then the bike is once again headed West.

Highway 40 is the Kananaski Trail, closed when we headed East and now open for our return home. The road climbs thru the mountains , our mountains rising glorious above us,though we have had some mountains , nothing is as spectacular as the Rockies. Great motorcycle road,minimal traffic and the weather is with us, a few mountain sheep and goats grazing at the side of the road, Alberta is slowly disappearing behind us.

We decided to take the Crows Nest highway on our return as the weather had not been the greatest when we had headed out, traffic slightly heavier as we are at the end of the summer and everyone is headed home, smoke fills the skies from forest fires in Montana, with no rain in the near forecast. We stayed in Cranbrook over night at the Lazy Bear Motel, they were again offering motorcyclists a beer or pop, so beer on the deck  was more than welcomed.

The Kootenay’s have some wonderful roads so we headed thru the small communities enjoying the scenery, Ainsworth Hot Springs is the destination for the night with some R&R in the hot springs pool .

Well we know we are back in BC!! The weather has changed and it is looking like a damp ride thru to Nakusp and Kelowna, it will be the 5th time in our adventure to have our rain gear on!!! And BC didn’t disappoint us, it rained going thru the mountains, fall is definitely here, colours are changing and the temperature is dropping.

We had a great visit in Kelowna with friends, even managed to get to the Penticton Market , a must to see if you are there on a Saturday, artisans, food vendors and music intice you to part with your money, thankfully we still have a journey home and no where on the bike to put things!

Time for the last leg of our journey ,great visit with some friends that we met along the way and then family time, with my sister, brother in law and Mom, we made it !!! Great home cooked meal and visit to catch us up with their lives, next stop North Vancouver for a few days with Mom and to see our Daughter Kristina  and boyfriend before we head for the ferry.

The journey has ended , May 17- Sept 10 2016.

Distance travelled 19,137 miles or 30,798 Kms

It was an adventure and something that we should have done  a long time ago, we live in a beautiful country, diverse in every way, new friends and lots of memories .

We  hope you have enjoyed our adventure with us, you were all in our thoughts as we travelled across Canada and Back!!!

Going West

After a relaxing time at the cottage we head out , weather is with us and we ride thru the country side, there is a touch of fall showing on the tree’s , just a hint of a Colour. Fall change has started , would be stunning to see the trees in full colour maybe another time! Our journey takes us thru Algonquin park another place we will have to come back to visit, onwards to North Bay.

Highway 11 out of North Bay takes us north west, less traffic then the Trans Canada and a different route. We do a few long days of 400 miles, but they seem easy as we are looking at the scenery, mining and forestry  are prominent in the area, Timmins is a large gold mining town and the town is spread over a large area. A night in Hearst, ( not much of anything there)!!!

As we approach Thunder Bay we again pass the Terry Fox Monument , and reflect on this young mans fantastic achievement , we have just driven from his starting point in St. John’s, Newfoundland , to just outside of Thunderbay , and he ran it!!! An unbelievable achievement.

Home is beaconing us and we ride another long day, Thunder Bay to Winnipeg. We missed a tour of The Mint on our way East , so did a tour of the facility, very interesting, never realized that we make not only Canadian coins, we make other countries coins as well. Unfortunately no fee samples but we got to ride the Loonie.But we did get to touch and lift a solid gold bar worth 750,000!!!

From Winnipeg we head northwest on the Yellowhead highway, much nicer than the Trans Canada Highway, less traffic and less large transit trucks. Countryside is beautiful , low rolling lands, the grains ready to be harvested , colours changing , ponds and lakes filled with ducks and geese. We do live in a beautiful diverse country.Fall is definitely  in the air,it is cooler and we see more and more Color change in the trees and some trees have already lost their leaves.We also managed to dodge the rain clouds, storms on both sides of us.

As we do a quick tour thru Saskatoon, it happens to be Ukranian Day, brightly dressed dancers , wait their turn to perform,  the spectators dressed in Ukranian shirts and head dress. Beer garden , perogies and sausage , cabbage rolls for sale. They also combined a Canadian citizenship swearing in on the day, making it a very special day for our new Canadians.

The prairie winds are cold and gusty and the temperature is cold for riding , but we are dressed warm and continue on heading west. We spotted an old wooden grain elevator, not many of them anymore,they are being replaced by large concrete or metal holding tanks. Sad to see them go, a few have been moved into heritage Musuem lands , so it was neat to see and explore the large majestic structure.We found the largest Ukrainan Easter Egg ( Pysanka),structure in Vegerville, again every community has something to attract tourists to their community.

Edmonton at last, sun is back and the weather has warmed up again, spent the day wandering West Edmonton Mall, fun to people watch and believe it or we didn’t buy a thing, was just nice to walk around and check it all out.One more day in Alberta , visiting some good friends then we are on our way to BC.

A True Gem

We had a beautiful ride along Highway 138 with another diversion!!! I’m thinking Lawrence doesn’t want to go home??? We had a quick tour around Tadoussac , beautiful tourist town and at the mouth of the Saguenay Fiord. We travelled north along one side of the fiord, picturesque parkland and then did a ride around Lac St. Jean and then travelled back to Highway 138 on the other side of the fiord. Just a slight diversion ( 1 day )!!!! But it was worth it!!

Our last city to visit and tour around is Quebec City , the oldest city in Canada , and was recognized as an UNESCO heritage site December 1985 , being the oldest fortified city in North America. We are glad that we left it for our return West, as it is a true gem, stunning ,quaint,a historique city  sitting proudly on the high banks overlooking the St. Lawrence River. The old city within the old walls, its cobblestone roads, narrow with some steep hills, streets lined with outside cafes and restaurants, ballon artists and buskers playing music. The Chateau Fontenac  dominates the skyline perched high above the river, a very unique hotel, lovely and old and very expensive, I checked it out and a room not overlooking the river was $738.00 plus tax per night, so though we were going to splurge that was a bit hefty for our pocket book!!! We spent a day wandering the roads, eating some very nice French cuisine, checking out the tourist shops, no room on the bike to buy anything but still nice to look. We took the ferry across the river to Levi, just so we could get the view of the city from a different perspective, again stunning, certainly a must do if you are in the province of Quebec.

To end our stay in Quebec we stayed at a lovely heritage B&B, comfort, service breakfast , all amazing, the best way to stay.

We could have  easily stayed a week in Quebec but the west is calling us, so we say Auvoir till next time. We carry on down the north coast of the River to Ottawa where we had another wonderful visit with Dave and Cathy, ( the -in-laws). Next morning we pack up and we all head off to the cottage area of Ontario to meet up with the rest of their family,Christie, Tyson, Simon, Blake and Brianne. We also have the privilege of meeting part of their extended family The Hall’s , we now have met 11 of the 19 kids in the family, and that was a challenge trying to remember a few names of the affectiontely known free range kids. A beautiful area to raise your kids for the summer months as they roam from one cousins house to the next.It was nice to have a down day, no touring , no eating out, just relaxing and visiting with our extended family.

 

 

Côte Nord

We say good -bye to Newfoundland  and sail across the vast Gulf of St Lawrence heading to Blanc Sablon, Quebec on the north side by ferry. The sky is blue the seas are calm and the best thing of all is the ferry only cost $20.00 to make a crossing of 90 minutes, boy are we getting ripped off by BC Ferries. We sat outside the entire trip and as we crossed we saw many spouts from whales , after awhile we couldn’t count how many we saw, a delightful trip and another province toured and enjoyed.

The eastern coastal area of Quebec is amazing, desolate, wind blown, a few scraggy trees, beautiful rock formations,valleys and small lakes. We quickly booked into our Motel room and headed for our furthest point Red Bay, Labrador, as far as we we are able to go on the motorcycle, as from there on it is by boat or the Trans Labrador highway which partially gravel and lots of pot holes  for approximately 1270 Kms! Lawrence now has another ride to add to his bucket list, and one that I will not be doing, so any one that is looking for an adventure give him a call!!!!

The ride was amazing to Red Bay, 81 Kms of sweeping long highway , or should I say 81 k of bumpy Labrador pavement ,with miles of nothing as far as the eye could see, but beautiful in its starkness, the smooth rock formation, lichen and scrubby low lying bushes , Red Bay itself  is a quiet picturesque village , it’s claim to fame is the massive whaling hunts that went on here in the last century , thousands of whales were brought here you have to give a thought for the suffering that went on here in this seemingly  tranquil cove . The following day we travel south a one hour trip to Old Fort this is as far as you can go,the road stops quite abruptly at the government wharf that is being removed at present .

By noon on the third day we are waving goodbye to Blanc Sablon , having been on the dock at seven am for loading our precious baby Pearl into a rusty container , and placed in the bowels of the container ship with all the other vehicles . The next 36 hours is downtime.The ship is a freighter / passenger ship that travels the Northern coast of the St. Lawrence servicing the small communities that are inaccessible, for us it is a mini cruise . Service impeccable , food fabulous, scenery amazing, we have all heard of the thousand islands in the upper St.Lawrence , there must be ten thousand  island up here , the charts are a nightmare , there countless rocks , islands and coves , the ship whines it way through narrow passages , to arrive at the quaintest fishing communities.All of them a photographers dream, boats, nets , sunrises over the smooth rocks , board walks through the villages down to the harbour walls , the whole area is unlike anything we have seen anywhere on this trip , it is a bit like being in the Mediterranean,clear water and pristine environment , if you have an opportunity to visit this area you will not regret it.

The extra bonus was that we met some wonderful people. Bertin and Sylvie from Montreal , Abe and Brenda from BC.,and many more, this is what travelling is all about!! Everyone along the way  has been great, the B&B owners , tourist information consultants,folks on the street that stop and chat or ask if we need help as we are looking at our map, it warms our heart.

Our boat cruise ends in Natashquan a beautiful small community, one of many that we  have seen. The north coast of the river is just as fabulous as the eastern part, not as wild ,but very picturesque. 670 miles later we arrive in Baie Comeau. Again words do not explain what we see, small chateaus , heritage homes, coves , beaches and sorry to say lots of small black flies that love to bite , so sitting out in the evening doesn’t happen unless you load up with the bug spray!!!

So another one of the highlights after a 140 mile drive we did a free tour of  a dam called Manic 5. The largest in the world of its structures , sorry not going into the description! A meteor that crashed made the perfect formation to dam the area and make a lake and also produce all the power required for Quebec. Several further dams down stream augment the power supply as well, it was also a beautiful drive though long.

stay tuned for Quebec City…….

Ready About

 

We did it, all 10 provinces explored,we didn’t do every road but we think we did the majority. Newfoundland is a large province ,mainly uninhabitated, fantastic place for hiking and fishing,which we were not prepared to do, it even has a small island off the southern coast that is French, St. Pierre. We didn’t bring any euros with us and it would have been two days that we would have had to share with Newfoundland so we took a miss on going there.

Some interesting  facts about Newfoundland, it became our 10th province in 1949,did you know that? Also it officially changed its name in 2001 to Newfoundland and Labrador, here we live in this vast country and we didn’t know theses facts. Also when we have heard some traditional music, the words are very Gaelic and they used shillings and pence way back when.

Newfoundland is situated on the easternmost edge of North America,stretching out in the Atlantic and like the Atlantic it is rugged and wild,from meadows covered in wild flowers, to boulders thrown hap-hazardly by the glacier age, ponds everywhere ( that is what they call lakes), to rivers and rugged coastlines. The home to the not native Moose,  they were introduced in 1904,Caribou, Atlantic Salmon and Char, Cod, scallops, mussels, and snow crab.

So now as we start our journey home we will be exploring the Peninsulas’s of Newfoundland. The Avalon Peninsula has 4 arms, two we explored, beautiful small villages, everyone in the fishing  industry.The economy is not very good and we pass many  delapitated homes and business, not even boarded up ,they just walked away, some villages there is only a gas station,which also serves as a convenient store and liquor store. But non the less the scenery is spectacular and we enjoy roaming from one village to another, having a chuckle over their names, for example, Conception Bay, Heart’s Desire, Heart’s Delight , Heart’s Content and  of course where did we have to stay Dildo.Hotels are scarce in Newfoundland ,B&B’s are the way to go, and we have stayed at a few beautiful Heritage homes and also just a room in someone’s house, but a very good way to meet the locals and get some good points on what to see and do.

One such B&B  we stayed at was on the Bona Vista Penisula,a beautiful rocky area with whales in abundance and Puffins that come to nest.Spectacular to just sit and watch, old root cellars imbedded in small knolls  that are still  used through the winter months to store there root vegetables. Some of the villages are trying to restore old fishing plants for tours and each village has some small musuem or something to boast about as this area of Canada is very old and had a lot of explorers land On it. There are statues and plaques of John Cabot , John Cartier and also plaques to those lost in the wars and also lost to the seas.

We finally make it to the famous Gros Morne National park, and it is breathtaking , mountains,with some that are flat,and scared ,with one side treed and the other barren, to a stunning fiord The Western Brook Pond. Not sure what there definition of a pond is but it is a very cold ,very deep lake, with striking cliffs soaring up to 2250 feet in the air, waterfalls abundant. A must if you are on The Rock!!!

We finish our travels on the island, staying in L ‘Anse aux Meadows, this is situated on the most north easternly point of Newfoundland which has evidence that the first Europeans at this point where Norsemen, so we walked  on the grounds where Vikings once roamed 1000 years ago. Pretty cool to think about. They have designated this area as a UNESCO Heritage site and have a wonderful replica display of the settlement, and have a guided tour of the area.

So we say good bye to Newfoundland , her craggy wild shores, a home to wild flowers and many mysteries that are still not uncovered, with whales and puffins and ice bergs, yes we got to see ice bergs, the locals proud of where they live. Making  a living as best as they can on  this rugged province.

The OTHER ROCK

We arrived by ferry to Port aux Basques, Newfoundland , our last province to tour before we turn around for home. With quick reflection we opted for the short night ferry, which was 7 hours, when we should have taken the longer ferry , the reason behind this is, Newfoundland is a big province and the way we had planned it has us traveling across it twice. So if you plan on making the journey ,take a night ferry from Sydney,NS to Argentia,NFL, and make sure you book early and book a cabin. The chairs are better than airline seats and recline but if you have a option lying down would be much better.

Our first glimpses of NFL are through the morning fog, craggy shore lines emerg thru the fog, we made it the other Rock our final destination !!!

A quick right off the ferry takes us along a windy road , thru small communities, lakes, ocean inlets, Boulder landscapes, to the craggy shoreline and a light house in Rose Blanche. There are hundreds of lighthouse ‘s all with a story, this one is a restored stone lighthouse, from the 1850’s. Chatted with some of the locals and we had to tune our ear to their dialect,  a mixture of English, Irish, Celtic,Lawrence caught on pretty quick .Sorry no pictures too foggy.

One community that we drove thru had flags strung everywhere , every house, power pole, store front and banners on each home with “Welcome Home”. They have a festival and welcome family and friends home for a big reunion, it was very moving.

Newfoundland has one major road running north then east then south, the Trans Canada Highway! The scenery is spectacular but it is a typical highway, which is what we normally don’t do, but have not much option to make it to St John, which is in the south of the province. All roads branch off from it and we will explore after a visit to St. John .

The colours and styles of some of the homes makes the skyline cheery to look at.

Standng  anywhere  in St . John you are immediately  impressed by the very impressive stone structure atop the highest point , this is Signal hill , Cabot tower , changed hands between the French and British, always being a key point in the defence of St. John’s, today there is a radio exhibit in the tower , and  it is said that Marconi’s first Trans Atlantic message was received at a hospital nearby , interesting as Nova Scotia also claims the first message received at Glace Bay,will the real message site please stand up? The  view from this point is quite spectacular , you can see Cape Spear the most easterly point of Canada , also,a great place to photograph the city not to mention the fantastic view of the lower rocks and hikes around the point , it is strange to stand here and think the next thing you reach across the sea is Britain , most definitely  a must to do this hike if you come to St. John’s.

Moving on from this point we go to the infamous Cape Spear , as mentioned the most easterly point , shrouded in mist and fog most of the time, it lifted enough for us to appreciate the beauty and ruggedness of this place. There is much history here,during  WW11 long range guns were installed to protect the entrance  to St. John’s and the approaches to the harbour . The barrels to the guns are still on site , and so is the lighthouse that still stands atop the cliffs , a very interesting site ,it is possible to hike many kilometres along the cliff tops , we chose not to do this , just to be here for us marks the end of the first part of the trip , all we have to do now is drive home !

Well we DID IT, St John Newfoundland , Cape Spear is the furthest point East in Canada , 12016 miles one way!!

Cabot Trail

Halifax,wonderful Maritine city, lots happening on the waterfront, music, great restaurants, Harbour Hopper, and of course the Maritime Musuem. Well you can guess where Lawrence wanted to go!! We managed to do it all , did the walk of the beautiful harbour Boardwalk , listened to some music, ate out , did the harbour hopper , which gave us a city tour, then proceeded into the harbour for a harbour tour.

And spent about 4 hours at the musuem. Great couple of days, fun city and a place that we could visit again. Lots of history here, from the Titanic graves in the Fairview cemetery , which is very moving , and interesting to compare photographs from the museum of the grave sites back in 1912 to the present day.

.How the appearance of the cemetery has changed around the grave sites. The Halifax explosion of 1914,when the munitions ship Mount  Blanc was rammed by a Norwegian freighter and the subsequent explosion was the largest man made explosion other than Hiroshima. Also the living history museum at Pier 21 which is where immigrants and soldiers were disembarked , it is said that one in three Canadians have a connection in their lineage to Pier 21. Finally the first brewery in the new world “Alexander Keith’s” is located in Halifax , and after a vist there the history became a little blurred so I will stop here , suffice to say Halifax is definitely  worth a visit and take more than two days if you can.

Our time for Nova Scotia is coming to an end , so after changing both tires on the bike as we have done 11,000 miles it is time to head to the Cabot Trail.  The Cabot trail has been what we have been waiting for ,it is one of the most talked about scenic parks for the eastern coast, we had given ourselves lots of time, with a B&B before and one in the middle so a leisure time to ride. It is spectacular,  craggy head lands, high elevations, windy long roads up and of course down, stunning views.But yep,a big but,we are spoilt in BC we have some pretty spectacular roads like this and you don’t have to pay to go thru them. Yep it is a National park and we had to pay, we now no why ,the roads are not great and they have constant construction to try and keep up with the maintenance needed. But if you are planning a trip it is well worth doing the drive.

We have been very fortunate with the weather , it has been beautiful and warm and when there has been a change we are having coffee or have just got settled into our accomadations for the night . Nova Scotia is very similar to the west coast and there is lots to explore and lots of history so again a province that we can see ourselves returning to.

Three more stops before we catch the ferry to Newfoundland , and not all in one day, first is a simulated coal mine, tour directors are retired miners, so the stories are real, the passion of there mining lives still strong. Tough job and a tough life, let me tell you after being in the cold and damp, bent over for 35 minutes, I have even more respect for the miners then I did before, great musuem if you are In Glacé  Bay, a must to see.

Next stop was the Marconi musuem , Mr Marconi was the gentleman that managed to send the first cross Atlantic telegraph communication,  it appears however that  more than one province in Canada lays claim to the first  Trans Atlantic message  being received , Newfoundland  also has  a claim in the mix , very interesting.

Our finale for Nova Scotia is with out a doubt Fort Louisburg , situated on the north east point of Cape Breton Island , originaly founded by the French as a fortress for the new world , but after changing hands a couple of times the English took control of it and held  it as a stronghold , but eventually it was deserted and destroyed , it has now been  restored and is an interactive museum with a complete set of characters dressed in period costumes and  acting out the various characters that once lived in the fortress.  We spent the day hearing stories how the English attacked , how they waited for supplies from across the sea, and witnessing the various  civic  cases and their punishments administered at the  humiliating post in the centre of the square , all in the best of fun of course , Louisburg is a must see , it is fun for the entire family with history for adults and lots of fun for the kids , of all ages .

So with a fun day behind us , we head for the boat bound for Newfoundland , clutching our valued Newfie phrase book . Stay tuned…..

Fundy , Fundy

So off to tackle another maritime province! Nova Scotia here we come,again we cross the Confederation Bridge today with wind ,so I am a wee bit anxious, but all was well. Where we did hit the wind was crossing the isthmus from New Brunswick to Nova Scotia. The wind funnels up the Bay of Fundy so by the time it hits this narrow area it was blowing with strong gusts of upwards to 45 Kms , Lawrence was geared down to third gear to have control of the bike and we still felt like we were going to get blown over, we had heard stories of semi’s and trailers getting flipped over so we were both glad when we got to the other side. We called it an early day and stayed over night in Amherst, great choice as there was a bike rally on, lots of bikes and riders to share stories to, shopping available for any kind of bike paraphernalia that you could want , so a good night, also great to get some new tips for NS.

We try and stay off the main highway so off to the coastal road we go, let you know they are not great roads, lots of holes and cracks and bumps, then you get a treat of new road , then next corner your back at it , so we don’t travel fast , at least I get to look at the scenery which by the way is beautiful. Our trip seems to involve seeing old  ship disasters, and one that was very interesting is Spencer Island/harbour which is where the famous ghost ship the Mary Celeste ship was built, I will attach a photo of the plaque rather than writing about it. The day was a bit foggy ,and it apparently has been sighted but then disappears into the fog , so you got the feeling she was there just floating in the Bay. Nova Scotia is known for its ship building and many a boat has been built and launched along its coast lines.

We continued along the coast line , investigating the small communities and beaches and you could loose yourselves at any of them, just to sit and watch the tides of the Bay Of Fundy go in and out, some exchanges as high as 42 feet, you are walking slowly and the water is matching you as it goes out or coming in, you need to be careful that you aren’t exploring rocky areas or sandspits as it is very easy to get into trouble. The waters of the bay are muddy and red in Color as the sediment is always moving, not really a great place to swim.

We end our day in Pictou a lovely villag, great B&B even if we had to do 4 flights of stairs!!! After dinner we found a small pub with the best music we have ever heard a gentleman on a guitar , great voice, and a young gal on the fiddle well your feet and hands couldn’t keep up with clapping and stomping, great time. We are hoping for more of this on our travels, music is every where ,unfortunately the last while it’s been the day before or the day after we are there.

Our  travels took us thru the valley of the island and then back to the coast, Halls Harbour , picturesque fishing harbour ,strange to see the boats resting on the harbour floor ,waiting for the next tide to bring the waters in , the fisherman are totally governed by the tides so no 9-5 jobs with them.

Onwards to Yarmouth, most of the villages are named the same as England’s villages so Lawrence is feeling right at home, Bridgetown , Digby ,Smugglers cove, all have a story ,musuem, harbour to see. One of the many interesting stops was a tour thru a tidal generator, great tour(free even). The long and short of it not the most economical way to go for producing power , though a great idea!

The coast line is spotted with light houses , you could  plan your trip on finding all the light houses , all with a great history , some no longer functioning, but made into musuems , the others all automated with again great stories of the past. One village we stayed at was Lunenberg, the home of the famous Bluenose sailing ship, unfortunately she was not there , she was in Sydney and travelling back when we are heading there,so that was a bit disappointing, but we had a fantastic , seafood dinner and enjoyed the picturesque scenery of the multi coloured buildings, boats in the  harbour bobbing up and down and the feel of history surrounding you. I think we have fallen in love with Nova Scotia, don’tworry we won’t be moving, couldn’t do the winters, but it is very picturesque in the summer, would be spectacular in the fall as most of the trees are deciduous so the change in colours would be great to see.

As we travelled the coastline, we would find beautiful sandy beaches ,great lunch stops!!! One famous as it was photographed and was on the back of the $50 bill, “Lockeport”. Others famous for the disaster of the Swiss flight that crashed into the cold waters and all passengers and crew died, the communities  Peggy’s Cove, Baywater helping in recovery, a somber time standing at the memorial sites.

Confederation Bridge

Another province behind us we venture onwards, Prince Edward Island here we come,but first we have to cross the Northumberland Strait. The Confederation bridge was completed and opened on May 31 1997, a great feat of engineering , spanning 12.9 Kms or 8 miles and is the longest bridge in the world that crosses ice covered water in the winter. Faster than taking a ferry, and a great way to get to PEI , it is a toll bridge, you don’t pay when you go over but to leave you pay, $18.00 for us on the motorcycle, lots more if you are in a rig!! Well I don’t like heights, never mind the thought of being over water for that long,and it’s a bit nerve racking if it is windy, but we had no problems and I felt much better when our bike tires where on teraferma!!!

PEI is the potato capital of the maritime’s,  the soil is a beautiful red Color and is very rich in nutrients. And there is potato fields everywhere!!! They also use the dirt to dye t- shirts and they are called Dirt shirts!!!

PEI is also the home of the famous book “Anne of Green Gables” written by Lucy Montgomery , everywhere there is something to do with the character of Anne, you can buy, books, hats, clothes etc, etc. We must confess we didn’t go into the Canadian Natioanl heritage site, too many  people and not our thing! We did travel the windy coastal roads , averaging 250 miles a day, all secondary roads, some not so good but scenic, beaches and light houses along the way and yes lots of potato fields.

We stayed in Summerside as it was central for us and much quainter than Charlottetown  also we had a motel room that had a kitchenette, one thing with travelling for so long you do get tired of eating out!! So first thing to cook was some yummy seafood chowder and I must say with only salt and pepper available it turned out pretty good! The maritime’s is the capital area for seafood and lobster ,so that is what we are trying to eat, though I love Lobster, the scallops and mussels are my favourite , you can get a beautiful Lobster dinner for about $32.00 with all the fixings. So we will indulge a few times as we travel around.

The Northen tip of the island has wind turbines and as we have travelled around they are spotted across the island and for that matter the country, so yes we have had some wind!!! Also the tip of the island boasted one of the longest reefs stretching approximately 2 Kms, at low tide you can walk out, but of course we were at high tide and could just watch the waves .

Though on the map it looks like a small province it is diverse and a beautiful place to see, we attended the first of hopefully  many music shows, a blues jazz show, great music. The maritime’s have a gift for music ,singing and dancing, the winters are long and cold so they have house parties , and it is a night of music and visiting , dancing.

New Brunswick

Well we are long overdue for another blog so here we go!!!

 

New Brunswick, feeling more like we are home all the time, hills and trees, logging is there main industry from what we can see. Not much else to see except for glimpses of rivers along the way, very picturesque. We have tried to stay off the main highways, so it always seems to take us longer to get anywhere, but I guess we are really not in a rush, good way to meet people as we travel along, sometimes it’s the locals we chat to,other times it is travellers like us, and we get great tips from both of where to go and what to see and we trade off on our suggestions. Two points  we would like to make is that everyone is amazed that we have travelled across Canada on our Motorcycle!!! Once we think about it it is pretty amazing!!! Second thing is if you are a lover of Starbucks coffee,you are out of luck as Tim Hortons has taken control across the country, doesn’t seem to matter how small the place,there is always a Tim Horton’s, great place for a coffee , Bathroom break and wifi!

So back to New Brunswick. Over night in Fredricton, small town nestled along the River, some great old buildings and some beautiful old Victorian homes, Lawrence would love to get his hands on one for a Reno job, but only if it wasn’t so far away, real estate is pretty cheap, so if you are looking for a change this is where you should come!!!

From Fredricton we headed for Saint John’s which is on the southern coast line, I must say this trip is very educational for where every pace is in Canada!!! We meandered down highway #102,more a country lane, great country side ,but the road was a challenge with lots of potholes , uneven pavement and ridges, Lawrence was on the look out with a quick “bump” warnings. We met up with a bike group, about 50 riders out for a days ride, so we were tail end Charlie, way to many bikes to pass.so we followed along for about 30 minutes until they took a turn off.

First sight to see in Saint John’s is the reversing tides, the Fundy, has the largest tides upwards to 42 feet, so there is one narrow area that the currents are competing with each other and the water is reversing with a standing wave. Pretty phenomenal to watch!!! Lots of history in this city, great old buildings, and churches and musuems everywhere, also we are noticing that the cemeteries are very big with some very old tombstones.Not been morbid just curious as west coast is really quite young comparatively.

From here we meandered on down the coast line finding small inlets with amazing rock formations , boats balancing on there keels waiting for the tide to re float them, we have the feeling we are in the West Coast of Vancouver island. Quiet,  lots of birds,Ofsprey and yes I have seen and occasional Eagle. Lots of Cormants and Egrets and yes Blue Heron??? Not really being bird people, we are noticing the wild life. And a new wonder to us the  old covered bridges, some still in use but others left to deteriorate. Still pretty neat to walk thru them. Felt like we where in the movie “Bridges to Madison County”.Again staying on the very small road we meandered along to the small village of St Andrews, a small quaint seaside village, lots of little boutiques,  and beautiful cheerfully painted buildings. A triathlon was in progress, well we cheered some of the runners on who where on the tail end of there run and some pretty fatigued  now walking, but with some encouraging, they picked up there pace and got there by now 10th wind to get across the finish line. Had some of the best fish and chips ever and started our return back to Saint John in a bit of drizzle and the fog pushing in. Great day!!!

Off to Moncton or Dieppe which is on the eastern coast to get ready for our next new adventure/ province PEI. We explored the coast line heading East, some spectacular look outs and found ourselves at the beach with some great seafood chowder and Lobster roll, then a walk along the beach to,explore the caves and cliff formations, formed by the great tides of the Fundy, again we are awed by Mother Nature.

 

So we have a night over on the Eastern coast before we venture to PEI so stay tune.

Just a little tidbit for those who are wondering ,our days are full, we range from 110 – 350 miles a day, sorry , you can make the calculation to Kms , we have an American bike.