Off to Newfoundland

We arrived in plenty of time for the Marine Atlantic Ferry.

Waiting in line was a meet and greet for the motorcyclists since we are organized all together for boarding.  We met a 70-year old from Newfoundland, returning with his new Harley and his side kick, a young military guy from Nova Scotia on his way back to his ship.

The room was quite small, something you would see in a submarine.  Two people could not pass through in opposite directions.  Very cosy sleeping arrangements - everyone with their own bunk, and very hot in the room.

As we waited for departure we enjoyed the harbour view.  But, interesting there was a diver preparing to enter the water and investigate something under the ferry ???

On board we soon learned that the air-conditioning was not working and who knows what else - our departure was delayed 2 hours!

What were we to do?  We of course tried some local brews - Iceberg and Black Horse -  as well as some of our favourites.  But clearly we could not keep up with some of the locals!

Harvey also helped pass the time, performing a mixture of rock, country and Irish tunes.

The Cabot Trail

We were worried about the weather this day since the forecast called for rain.  We all put on our raingear and I guess it worked because it didn't rain all day, the sun even came out :)

The roads and the views were spectacular.  The km's just flew by and before we knew it we were in North Sydney where we grabbed some lunch before heading to the ferry.

Cheticamp Time Warp

Riding to Cape Breton Island was good.  We had good roads and made good time, a little bit of rain and construction just before we arrived.

Laurie's Inn is a typical 70's motel.  If you visited the Cabot Trail as a kid, you probably stayed here - same decor.  The good news is - they had laundry facilities, so our clothes are clean now, too bad we can't say the same for our bikes.

Mary settled right in on the front porch, she was just waiting for the boys to arrive with cold beer - then the party started :)

We were all eyeing that nice deserted peninsula of land across the bay, thinking it would make a great place to build a home.

Seawind Landing

We arrived at the Seawind Landing Inn in Charlos Cove around 4PM, it was down a dirt road way off the beaten trail.  We were almost out of gas and clearly we could not walk anywhere for dinner.

The Inn-keeper told us gas was 30 minutes away and then asked us if we'd be having dinner at the Inn - a bit of captive environment.

We confirmed our presence at dinner and then lightened the motorcycles and headed to Guysborough for gas - there was a bit of a debate between following Joe's GPS or the Inn-keepers rather dodgy directions.

We trusted our hostess and made it with 12km to spare on the 1200's (the warning lights had not even com on the 650's yet)  We gassed up, got beer and snacks for the evening and headed back to the Inn.

Back at the Inn, before dinner, we took a walk on the beach and the causeway nearby.  We made the incredible climb to the top.  Whooo-hooo!

Then I lifted Mary down from the rocks.

Joe was again distracted by some interesting odours ...

Dinner was a delightful surprise - the scallops and the haddock were perfectly cooked and dessert included creme caramel, chocolate mousse and a very tasty spiced pear.

We then headed down to the local wharf and Jan help bring in some stray boats.

Brickerton Lighthouse

So on July 10th, our only stop was a visit to Brickerton Lighthouse.  The preservation of the original lighthouse is run by a community group.  We all bought tickets for the hand made quilt they are raffling.

Joe was actually considering staying on as a look-out

Wine Tasting in the Annapolis Valley

After our stop at Peggy's Cove it was 2PM.  

A quick internet search and we found that we could still make the 4PM wine tour at Gaspereau Vineyard (near Wolfville) - of course with the "Gangsta-mobile" and Marc at the wheel we arrived with time to spare.

A bit of time to shop is a dangerous thing - by the end of the tour we had sent a case home :)  Thank-you very much!!

The Gaspereau tour was amazing, our host was knowledgeable, unpretentious and we loved the apron that holds 4 bottles - no cook should be without this.

After this tour was complete, you guessed it we dashed over to the Grand Pre Vineyard for the 5PM tour and tasting.

In the absence of bung-holes, which Joe enjoyed so much on our previous trips, Joe has been further developing his olfactory sense with Nova Scotia wines.

Well, needless to say, we had such a great time another case of wine was ordered - Thank-you very much!!!

It should be there before we get home, unless Aunt Nadine gets to it first.

Having tasted 14 different wines, we decided to eat before heading back to Halifax.  We had a fantastic dinner at the Grand Pre Restaurant - Le Caveau.  By the way, our waitress is in Kinesiology at Acadia and knows Steven.  Gotta love small towns.

Have car will travel

First order of business was to get our hand on a rental car for the day.  We kind of pissed off the Hetrz guy in our hotel so Marc headed off to Budget where he scored an excellent 'Gangsta-mobile".  We were on our way to Peggy's cove in style.  Can you hear "Copa Cabana" playing in the background. (courtesy of XM 70's on 7)

A trip to Nova Scotia is not complete without a visit to Peggy's Cove.  It must be experienced to appreciate the beauty -  the village, the rocks, the lighthouse and the sea.

There are no real security features to protect the tourists from themselves, in Atlantic Canada I guess they expect people to have common sense.  There was only this little sign.

Left to our own devices, we proceeded to frolic on the rocks...

Jan once again continued to amaze all by rearranging some of the larger rocks

But Marc, not to be out done, attempted a leap of faith off the rocks.

Nearby we also took a moment to visit the memorial to Swiss Air flight 111. A simple respectful monument to the 229 people who lost their lives only 8km into the sea from Peggy's Cove

Very Wet Arrival in Halifax

After leaving Lunenburg in the sunshine, we were well dressed for the heat, but not for the rain - all vents opened for maximum airflow.

Then the rain came.  We expected some showers so we didn't feel the need to put on rain gear.  But the rain continued and after a while we were so wet, rain gear no longer mattered.

Our hair got a little frizzy as you can see.

After a warm shower we headed out to the Halifax harbour for some sight seeing and a great seafood dinner at The Five Fishermen restaurant.

Joe and Marc offered to take some pictures for some Japanese tourists and they insisted on returning the favour ... don't they make a nice couple.

Lunenburg Visit

We  parked along the street in Lunenburg, but Joe, being used to Montreal prices, deposited a toonie when he only needed a looney :(

 
Streets were lined with colourful buildings.

 



Since the Bluenose II was not in port, we has to settle for some shots of the Old Lunenburg Jail.

The fisherman's monument shaped like a compass near the waterfront named all vessels and men from Lunenburg county inhabitants lost at sea