Thanks for listening

I'm writing this last entry having arrived back home. Some of the statistics regarding the journey are as follows:

• the entire trip lasted 68 days, 2 days short of 10 weeks.
• I traveled over 16, 600 kms through 9 provinces
  
• I met all but 2 individuals I had hoped to see.
  
• I was delayed only 1 day due to rain
• I ate no steaks in July
• And the Glide ran, oh she ran well.

At one point, I found myself comparing my trip with the 70's movie, "Easy Rider". The parallels between my journey and the film are obvious in many ways, but there are some key differences. For one, at the end of the movie Wyatt says to Billy, "... we blew it...". Well, nothing could be further from the truth in my case. Another obvious difference is the ending of the film (and I don't think I'm giving anything away here) in which they were both blown away. So, they didn't have to ride back! And they didn't have to go through N.Dakota! (just kidding all you ND's reading this). And no, I didn't run into any Venusians.

This was about the trip that Candace and I had talked about doing and it validated why we wanted to do it: riding across the country to check out sights and roads we always wanted to see, meeting up with family, see longtime friends, and making new ones.

A sincere thank you to all of you for welcoming me along the road, listening to my stories, and being part of Sky To Sea.

And in the end...

On Monday, August 16, I came up from the US and into BC. I slid past Alberta purposefully so I could close out the Sky To Sea journey by visiting Candace's resting site in the Kootenays. It seemed to be the only fitting end to this undertaking.

I'm comforted knowing she was happy with her life and she's happy where she rests today. That was evident throughout my STS journey. As you can see in the photos, it was a beautiful day in the Kootenays and we always said, "it's tough to beat the Kootenays on a sunny day."

The Sky To Sea journey ends, as it should.

US #2

Thought I'd share a quick word on US #2 Highway. I joined onto #2 at the west end of the Michigan peninsula and stayed with it throughout the northern states. It's got a few things going for it, particularly it's relatively quiet, in good condition and generally has a 120 kph speed limit. I've been on this highway twice before but that was in another lifetime it seems so this was a re-discovery. I'd recommend it as an alternate way to get out west if you're traveling through Southern Ontario. Gas is 10% cheaper right now and hotels are about 20% cheaper than in Canada.

The only issue is North Dakota. How do you spell b-o-r-i-n-g? It's like a Wednesday, you know, the hump of the week only there's no hump in N.Dakota. A better description would be the armpit of the week, but that would be unfair to armpits. Good to get through it in a day, which is exactly what I did: Grand Forks, ND to Glasgow, Mt. I'm being a little harsh on N. Dakota but unless you live there, there's no reason to dwell, if you know what I mean.

Montana on the other hand is a beautiful example of the transition that US#2 goes through, from prairie to range land to foothills to the Rockies. Riding south of Glacier National Park on #2 is special. I stayed on this highway to Bonner's Ferry in Idaho, until it was time to go north.

Oh yeah, one thing about getting to #2 from Ontario. If you're crossing into the States at the Soo, try doing it at night. I spent 1 hour on the bridge due solely to volume. Thank goodness it was a nice day and not too windy.

Flat Lander Blues

I must be back in the west. Lots of activity out this way, particularly in the great plains with tornadic events, cooler temperatures, strong winds, and gray skies. I was grabbing for more layers today as I ran N.Dakota on my way to Montana. The Glide has her own way of reminding me that this just ain't her cup 'o tea. "How about squeezing that throttle just a bit more there Bob, that is if you want any more juice outa this old lemon". Reminds me of that Willy Dixon tune covered by Led Zep. Yes, gas is an expendable commodity when you're in oil country and the norwester's blowing. Where I would have had 1/3 of a tank full left earlier in my travels, I was on fumes landing in some towns.

Montana's big and I'm intending on going south of Glacier Nat. Park and coming up through Idaho and into Creston, BC. There's no way I can do that tomorrow so it looks like I'll be a foreigner for at least one more night, eh?. By the way, on the subject of nationalism, I was reminded by a billboard today that while we as Canucks feel pretty smug about our health insurance and such, the Americans have Busch Lite on sale, 24 cans for $14.95. And, while in no way associated with that, the next billboard was a pathetic plea for dietary discipline by parents and their family members. Capitalism nevers ceases to amaze.

So, if all goes according to plan, I'll be closing the Sky To Sea voyage by paying a visit to the East Kootenays in 3 days or so. Then it'll be on to home, sweet home. But for now, this is far from over.

North Bay

After leaving Petawawa, I figured I'd spend an evening with Patsy & Denis then hit the high plains in an effort to get home around the 15th. Yeah right. There was a few things I hadn't planned on that influenced me to move that date out a bit. I showed up at Denis' home in early afternoon and was quickly awed by what I saw. Their property is right on Trout Lake and 5 years ago, they lost their home to an all-consuming fire (wiring issues). Well, call me a graying ember and douse me with some water because out of that mess rose the Phoenix that I was to enjoy over the next couple of nights. Wow. Home & Garden should be called in to document this property. The house truly is a home run. There are guest rooms in the world, then there is "the" guest room. As in mine, fitted with a picture window overlooking the lake, with a sunset of course. So that probably gives you a sense of the accomodations I was provided with but that was just a start.

Denis & Patsy had invited a few folks over that night to celebrate, folks that Candace & I had known throughout high school and had partied with during those years. Before we got into supper, Denis took me out on his harley, a boat that he uses like we would use a vehicle to go to the store. You see, it's parked right outside his deck. We went across the lake over to Dale's place so I could meet with Dale (after 35 years or so). We headed back to Phoenix to get ready for the festivities. Adele & Dennis, Dale & Paula, Cathy & Andy all showed up for a pot luck supper of ribs, corn, chicken drumsticks, salads. Dee-li-shus. So now, I've been there for about 4 hours... I'll compress things at this point and say that the evening was wonderful, the weather cooperated and the fire by the lake was like icing on a cake.

The next morning, I was already commited to accompany Denis. He has this habit of filling his thermos full of coffee and going out for a slow cruise on the lake for his morning cup-o-joe. I enjoyed the ritual and think I would fall into the same routine if I lived on a lake. Somehow, going out for a coffee on the farmer's field just doesn't quite cut it. Anyhow, I didn't leave that day. Not hard to reason why. For the remainder of the day, a good walk and lounging around rounded off the visit, not to mention Dale & Paula dropping by.

Patsy & Denis, a big thank you for your hospitality, taking some time off, and setting up that great get-together. I appreciate your efforts.

I left Thursday morning and headed out towards the Michigan peninsula. After a couple of days of pushing the Glide in some hard riding, tonight I'm dipping my toe in Grand Forks, North Dakota grass. The Glide's still running great and seems to be hitting her stride on this trip so I should be in Montana tomorrow evening. There's been a lot of tornado activity today in Minnesota and North Dakota so I'm hoping that it's over for a while.

Petawawa

I had a short ride along the Ottawa River to get to Petawawa to meet up with my nephew Jeffery along with his wife, Natasha and their 2 sons, Darcy & Aidan. I had not seen Jeff for quite some time and it was my first time meeting Natasha and their sons. Natasha put together a great supper and then Jeff took the boys and me out to his the Armed Forces base in Petawawa, where he's been over the past few years for a tour of the facilities (which incidently is home to over 7000 personnel). We finished off the evening with a fire in their backyard looking at photos and getting to know one another. It was nice to finally put some faces to names.

If Jeff is my nephew, that must make Darcy & Aidan my grand-nephews, or my second nephews, or maybe it's my nephews once-removed. I don't know what the label is but I can tell you that I'm very happy to have them related to me in whatever way it's called. These two boys had me with their personalities, their warmth, their sense of humour, their wit, ... and on and on. Jeff and Natasha obviously have a good recipe going.

A Capital Friendship

I'll be leaving the Ottawa - Gatineau area today after arriving on Friday. I've had a very nice time visiting and staying with Therese & Denis along with their grown children Joêlle and Daniel. Denis is a long-time dear friend from deep in my past and I had never met his family so this was a special visit. We talked a lot, naturally, played some golf we don't talk about, naturally, played some good old 60's music on his guitars that would require some serious practice, naturally, and visited that "area" where all my tax dollars seem to vaporize... naturally.

Therese and Denis are getting to that point in their lives when the children are moving out (& in, & out & ...) so I expect all of us may be seeing a bit more of them as they increase the perimeter and scope of their holiday time in the next few years. Stay tuned.

I also had occasion to meet with another old friend, Hubert who now lives in the area along with his wife Louise (and their grand-daughter) whom again, I'd never met. They invited all of us over for a delicious BBQ (yes, it was steak) and we got acquainted over the evening. They've got a great place and a successful business happening so no changes are forthcoming any time soon in their lives. Hope it's not another +20 years until we all get to see each other once more.

From a biking perspective, this area of the country has much to offer. Because of the river networks, hills, and mature development, there's no shortage of roads to explore. Be forewarned though, this is Canada's political hub and as a result the population density in the area is very high. Many of the drivers are part of the machine responsible for all the "stuff" that consumes your tax dollars so you need to be extra defensive while riding your 2-wheeler anywhere near these high-functioning bureaucrats.

It's been fabulous being here if only for such a short time after so many years of separation. Though it seemed forever in the making, the visit flies by and it's that time again. Thanks Thérèse and Denis for your warm reception, and Joêlle, pour ta lesson de piano.

I'm off to Petawawa to meet with my nephew Jeff, his wife Natasha and their 2 boys. I'll be meeting his family for the first time, again...

The Lord Be With Us

While in Trois-Rivières, I stayed at Françoise & Armand's home for a couple of days and they are very "chaleureux". I've stayed with them twice before and every time they make me feel like family. Merci beaucoup.

I left T-R on Friday and headed out with a plan of avoiding Montréal once again, only this time I opted to go north and through St-Jérome on my way to the Gatineau area of Ottawa. On this particular day I noted something not because it was unusual (even though it was), rather because of how often I came across it. Well, in this area of the country anyway.

Each town I ride through generally has a very old church, vastly out of proportion in size when compared to the remainder of the homes in the villages. Many times, in front of the church, there'll be an icon of Jesus crucified on the cross or Mary standing amongst lambs, etc. fully decorated and painted. Fair enough. Again, that's been standard fair on the eastern leg of this trip. It's what I saw next that gave me cause for the double-take.

The first one I noticed was early in the day. A standard 3-bedroom bungalow in a normally-sized yard had this massive Jesus on the Cross up on a knoll in their front yard. This measured about 3m high x 2m across. Ok. A little weird perhaps but maybe there were special circumstances that drove these homeowners to want to do this. Then, a little ways down the road, another. Followed by a Mother Mary icon in the front yard, on a knoll of course in the next town. So, on and on this goes in this part of the province. I started thinking these were very selfless people, seeing that they had these statues all facing the roadway and not their home. I, on the other hand, would not want to be staring at their "behinds" so to speak and I'd have the darn thing facing the house. After all, drivers in vehicles would only see their backsides for a second or two.

I've mentioned before you have time to think while riding. Naturally, I continued to mull this whole issue around when it dawned on me that there was an angle slightly more intriguing than statue orientation. In some instances some homeowners would have their bedrooms in the front side of the house. If the house is facing west, they inevitably would go to bed on some nights in the shadow of the cross. The scenarios for what that implies are endless. A conjugal union? Now that would have to feel weird. Carrying this very likely scenario farther, at the height of the action, yelling out the Lord's name could result in some interesting consequences.
Creepy.

Still, ...

Life After Netbook

As I'm writing this, I'm sitting in Trois-Rivières using my hosts' computer. The pathetic customer service I was provided by Samsung over the phone can be summarized by: ... your problems are not a warranty item and you'll need to send it in for repairs. Thank you, thank you very much. Bottom line is these posts will be fewer and far between I'm afraid.

The last 2 days have seen some interesting riding in NB and now Québec. Yesterday, I headed south out of Fredericton to see the Kingston peninsula. I ferried onto the peninsula from Westfield and shortly after, it began to rain. No problem, it's a warm rain out here. The unfortunate part was with the sun behind clouds, my navigational skills had to rely on signage. I've mentioned before that signage has been somewhat of an issue for a rider from a ferociously grid-patterned world, although frankly, NB is pretty reasonable for signage. Wet glasses and soggy maps just make it more necessary that you should notice and read the signs that ARE there. Long story short, between the rain and roads that never seem to intersect at 90 deg., when I thought I should be near Fredericton, I was coasting into Saint-John's airport. Oh well, the upshot is some great riding in the area. Didn't make it to Rivère-du-Loup obviously. I made it to Edmunston and truth be told, I thought I was doing good getting past Fred.

This morning it dawned on me to do a walk-around the Glide, you know, like we used to have to do daily. I've been slipping a little in this area and what I noticed was that the old rear tire was on its last ply so to speak. Well, change of plans time and decided to ride on a quieter highway on the south shore of the St-Lawrence, highway 132, in order to get to my hosts, Françoise & Armand's home. Wow. What a ride. Thoroughly enjoyed today. Quiet road, good pavement, awesome river scenes and towns with 300+ years pedigree. Somethings just seem to happen for a reason.

I'm spending tomorrow here and will have my tire changed to ride the great plains which is now only days to a week away.

Fredericton

I landed in Fredericton on Saturday, staying at Deb & George's condo near downtown along with their son, Sam, who's back from his 4.5 month trip in South America. Sam's voyage make the "Sky to Sea" journey seem like a backyard romp. And by the way, he'll be leaving for China and S-E Asia in September and gone for 10 months.

As I've mentioned before, timing is everything. Saturday evening, Deb, George, Sam, and now Bob were invited to Joyce & Joe's home to celebrate Joe's 60th birthday party. Skewered lamb was the main course with various salads and dessert. I like Joyce & Joe.

I spent Sunday afternoon going to Odell park on a 2 hour trek up and down a hillside specifically designed to get rid of mussels, cod, lobster, tenderloin, fries, chicken, subs, etc., you get the picture. The guide for my tour was none other than "Dendrologist George", who proceeded to educate me on the subtle differences between Balsam Fir and Spruce trees. This is stuff that gives Foresters goosebumps ... and why I chose another field. After this arduous workout which was followed by an appropriate exercising of the molson muscle, Sunday evening's main course courtesy of Deb's deft cooking was pacific salmon. Somebody pinch me. The remainder of the evening was time spent gabbing about all the water that has passed under the bridge. Sam has no end of adventures to share and Deb,George, Sam & I were all engaged in conversation. A good time.

Today is Holiday Monday and was spent with walks and talks with my hosts and getting the next few days' stuff sorted out. I've had a fabulous time here enjoying Deb, George, and Sam's company as well as Deb's great spreads. As with all good things, the visit always seems to come to an end quickly and abruptly.

In a post reply, a suggestion was made by Pete to ride an area of New Brunswick near Saint John's (his home turf). I haven't seen that part on NB before so I'll leave here tomorrow and head south to this area before turning around and going north towards Riviere-du-Loup to catch a ferry to the north shore of the St-Lawrence.

I've run into PC difficulties today so things such as post frequency and content including photos will be limited over the next few days. Hopefully it's nothing serious because I've found the netbook quite useful on this trip.

Going Coastal

My last few days have been the best riding days since Cape Breton. I left Halifax 2 days ago and when I arrived at Barrington, I slipped onto NS #3 and rode up the coast to Yarmouth. That was a nice change from the busy port towns near Halifax. The next day saw rain, but I went ahead and took NS #1 following the coastline. Yeah, it was raining but it was a gentle, warm rain and the country road was all mine. By the time the rain had stopped, I’d landed in smooth and curving country lanes. This is biker country. Not quite as busy as the south side but definitely attractive to a 2-wheeler. Stayed on #1 all the way to Windsor and after negotiating a few changes, I took secondary Hwy 215. What a beauty. It continued to follow the Bay of Fundy to Truro where I swung to Hwy #2 so I could hug Fundy some more along her north side. This was even more enjoyable.

I’ve been hard on her, but I give credit where credit is due. The contrast of colours of red mud from the Fundy’s receding tide, notably the highest in the world, lush greenery in the Annapolis valley, and fresh blacktop all combined to serve me a 5-star helping of fun. Follow Fundy if you’re biking. You won’t regret it.

Report Card #2

It's raining this morning in Yarmouth, NS so I thought I should delay my departure for as long as possible as it should clear up later on. What to do? Hey, I know: report card time.

The Glide and I've been on the road now for 48 days, over 9,510 kms, and through 8 provinces. So what does it all look like:


* Food: EXCELLENT
Strangely, I've not had one, that's right, not one steak since my last report card. But, as any of you following the blog have read, food continues to be outstanding with a wide distribution of my hosts' specialties: perch, ribs, chicken, mussels, lobster, cod, scallops, pork tenderloin, ... all with their own blend of flavours and spices. I was even tempted a few times to ask them to let me lick a skillet or two.

* Facilities: EXCELLENT
Again, my hosts have made my stays very comfortable.

* Roads: FAIR
Construction hold-ups have not been overly bothersome but I did issue one post regarding the road conditions in Cape Breton. Not to single out Cape Breton, the Gaspe peninsula had its share of rough roads as does lower Nova Scotia. These places need not be concerned on speed limits as the road conditions take care of that. More signage warning of the upcoming war zones would be good. The odd sign indicating a hwy # in Nova Scotia would be helpful as well.

* Bike: EXCELLENT
What can I say about my Glide. The reliability factor has been 100% this month. The mild power upgrades have proven their worth countless times when a quick pass was needed. I decided to "push" her a little leaving the Gaspe and entering NB, just needed to let her know who's boss.

* Cost: GOOD
Staying on budget; a true testament to my (over)budgeting capabilities

* Weather: EXCELLENT
I've been gone 48 days and have actually been delayed only 1 day as a result of rain, rerouted my plans once due to rain, and have been caught in rain while riding 3 days. Fog has been a bit of an issue on the NS coast but nothing unmanageable. Another noteworthy point is while in southern Ontario for at least 2.5 wks, not once did we get one of "those" storms.

* Company: OVERWHELMING
This continues to be the home run of this trip.

* Converting Non-Believers: POOR
Little success here. In fact I've never seen so many foreign HD clones. Can't understand why you would buy a look-alike when the real deal is sooo much better.

* Team Recruitment: BELOW AVERAGE
Not doing so well in this area. I will follow the advice posted on a reply and focus my attention on curves, road curves that is.

Report Card #2 has me passing along with flying colours. I've turned the corner in south-east Nova Scotia so as I've replied in a post, I'm officially beginning the return leg of this trip. Only another 7000 or 8000 kms to go. I'll be in NS for another day or two and then I'll be heading to Fredericton to meet up with Deb, George, and Sam.

Mort, Peggy, & Me

A few pictures that require some words for context. The top photo is a photo of Mort and the signature shot of Peggy's cove. Blink as you're walking by and you'll miss this tiny but classic scene. I would have if Mort had not pointed it out. It always helps to have a "local" with you.

The second shot was taken in Mort's kitchen.

The 3rd picture is a memorial for Swissair Flight 111 which crashed within sight of Peggy's Cove. I was drawn to the site and in an odd twist of fate, if you click on the picture to expand it, you'll note the reference to "Sea to Sky".

I left Halifax this morning with a sense of satisfaction of having had the opportunity to catch up with Mort. We last spoke in 1978 as I was graduating and heading off to Montreal to work. Since then, we've never been in contact. The short time we spent together this time around has reaffirmed my judgment of character. Still the same good-natured man, full of energy and ideas. See you in Red Deer sometime Mort.

By the way, if anyone reading this has a yen for Gilbert & Sullivan, Mort's your man. Them be "his Harley", if you know what I mean.

Halifax

Landed in Halifax on Monday. My destination here was to arrive at Mort's home near the downtown area. Mort is one of my professors from my Lakehead U. days, some 35 years ago. Thanks to google maps, I've been able to get to everyone's home so far but Halifax was going to be a challenge. These very old cities weren't built with a municipal (road) development plan in mind so I had discussed the best approach over the phone with Mort. On the outskirts of town, I met up with a local biker and asked him for directions. He said: "... Easy. Follow me."
I love the biker community.

This particular stop is different from my others. When he was lecturing at Lakehead, Mort gained my respect based not only on his knowledge and intellect, but also on his down to earth attitude. No pretentious, arrogant doctor/professor was he. I even spent one summer working for him at the U as a student researcher. Good memories. We've been doing some serious catching up on family and peers and he's committed to being my guide for the day. We'll be heading to Peggy's Cove this afternoon.

Cape Breton's Shocking Impacts

I was hoping to do a cannonball run to the fortress this morning but in the end, left the island without going as I had hoped. A reaction to the weather but another reason to come back some day. So I need to share something about Cape Breton that I haven't said anything about yet.

I'm a road traveller more than a countryside observer, if you know what I mean. Hard to be watching those beautiful cliffs when you're countersteering at about 30 kph over the recommended cornering speed. One thing you do notice as a rider is the road condition. Now, if I'm busy focussing on scenes I may never see anywhere else in the world, I can be forgiven for not mentioning road conditions. But I'm riding here, so road conditions always jump into my assessment of new areas.

Like the rest of Canada, Cape Breton has its issue with rough roads. However, they've set what I believe is a new standard for the definition of "pot holes". It's not so bad if you stick to the main routes like the TC or the Cabot Trail. But make no mistake should you decide to get away from the main lines: things shore get interesting! Take any secondary highway like Hwy 216 or any such like and road conditions become a significant variable in whether you'll need spinal adjustments, medical attention, automotive repairs, or all of the above. We're not talking about your nominal road depressions here. We're talking about geological anomalies that university students make pilgrimages to in order to develop new theories on impacts caused by the shifting of tectonic plates. These craters can swallow up a small motorhome, never mind an 8 foot HD.

My message to you is this: Cape Bretoners use "BUMP" signs sparingly. Like a sage who says few words but each one of them with deep meaning, pay particular attention to these signs as they also have deep meanings.

I'm just saying, is all.

The Cabot Trail Fix

Maybe you love cheese cake and at some point you find yourself in a cheese cake cafe. What are you going to do? Pretty obvious I would think. You dig in and eat as much of it as you can. So, what if you're a road junkie and you find yourself staring at the motherlode fix. You can't be blamed for making it the day's main event. So it came to happen.

Everybody out here and throughout the country for that matter talks about the Cabot Trail. "Oh, you gotta ride the Trail. And make sure you do it counter-clockwise." How many times had I heard this refrain. This ride had been built up to a point where I was almost expecting to be disappointed. I wasn't.

On this sunny day, the Cabot Trail opened its door and we rolled right in. I meandered around the lazy turns for the first hour and from Ingonish on, it was spectacular. It continued on over the north around Aspy Bay all the way into the west coastline at Pleasant Bay. Cheticamp on the west side has an Acadian flair and lunch was all about a bowl of chowder at Le Gabriel restaurant. Delicious. The day wound up on back roads that eventually led me back to Sydney to spend the evening once again. The Cabot Trail doesn't disappoint, no matter which direction you take it. This fix should last me a while.

The plan for tomorrow is to go to the Louisbourg Fortress before I leave Cape Breton. Weather looks iffy so I'll wait and see what develops.

Silver Is Golden

Raining though it was on Thursday, one more day in PEI wasn't going to be hard to take, not when your gracious hosts decide to treat you to supper and horse racing, trotter style. It was a great spread with the race track right in front of our table.

I did the ususal, contributing steadily to the municipal tax base throughout the evening, that is until it was time to go. That's when I spotted Silver Streak. On his warmup run, he stood out with his silvery colour and right away I bonded with this horse. A silver horse and a silverback. A match that would not let me leave, at least not before I'd seen him whip those standardbreds around him. I looked at the odds and ol' Silver Streak evidently wasn't raising the same energy levels with the other bettors because he was paying out $28 on a $2 bet. I placed the $2 minimum on him to "show". Hey, I'd lost all night and let's face it, this was a sympathy bet.
The damn thing started off in 2nd last place, had moved up to 5th by 1/2 mile, took the lead at the final turn, and finally finished in 3rd place. I felt like like I'd won a million bucks. So I picked up my 70 cents winnings and went home feeling like a wealthy man. The Silver Streak can still deliver.

I had a great time visiting with Judy & Hans in Charlottetown. Good people, plain and simple. We talked some, we played some, we ate good, and we reminisced with old photos of Candace and the Jeffery family. You know, every one of these meetings makes her passing easier to take and moves me more towards being happy to have spent the time together we did. Right on!

This morning (Friday), I sailed out of PEI on the Confederation Ferry and landed in Pictou, NS. I'll spend the night in Sydney and take a ride around the Cabot Trail on Saturday.

Can't Leave Just Yet

Spent another great day on the island with Judy & Hans. We actually went golfing by the sea. The undeniable beauty of the red cliffs surrounding the ocean and green fairways is hard to describe.

My plans were/ are/ could still be to leave tomorrow but it appears that Nova Scotia and PEI will be rained in all day Thursday. Depending on the severity and range of the system, I may have to burden my hosts for an additional day. We'll see in the morning as I intend to ride to the south-east end of the island (Kings County) to take the Wood Islands ferry that lands in Caribou, N.S.

In the meantime, Hans insists we have more steamed mussels for supper and a couple of oyster shooters as well. The man has some serious issues... and trust me, I'm bringing some of these issues back to Red Deer along with their respective remedies for prairie consumption.

Charlottetown

Landed at Judy & Hans' home in Charlottetown Sunday afternoon after going over the 13 km-long Confederation Bridge. I'm happy to be able tell you it wasn't TOO windy. In Pretty Easy Island, we've been eating very well: had some fresh mussels (prepared au jue a la Hans), some oyster shooters, some lobster of course, and some pork tenderloin with chanterelles mushrooms picked by Hans the morning of. Oh, and I believe the menu tonight calls for salmon, scallops, and cod. Steak, who needs steak?

After some time on the north beach, it's easy to understand why you never see PEI plates travelling across the country. This island IS a resort. It's the destination so why would you ever leave in the summertime. Beautiful beaches, lush rolling hills, relative low costs (gasoline currently at $0.98/ l), rich red earth contrasting against the blue sky and dark ocean, and with 135,000 islanders, a relatively small community. Not to mention the diet consisting of foods most of us can only wish to have at some point throughout the year.

I'll be here until Thursday when I will (sadly I'm sure) leave PEI and ferry out to Nova Scotia.

Mercy, Mercy, Mercy

Ended up in Bathurst, N.B. after another good riding day. Oh yes, she's tired and she's dirty. The Glide definitely has limits.

Guess the boy's still got some jam.