2013 The Eastside Story Day 26: NB River Valley Scenic Drive

Route 130, New Brunswick's River Valley Scenic Drive turned out to be a wonderful ride with gentle curves following the St John river from Woodstock to Grand Falls. It passed through Hartland, home of the world's longest covered bridge and Florenceville-Bristol, self proclaimed home of the best French fries in the world, unfortunately they weren't serving 'chips' for breakfast.

The scenic drive ended at Grand Falls NB south east of Edmunston but the perfect weather continued for the rest of the day.

You can cross the gorge by bridge (definitely my choice) or you can cross by zip line. First zipper crossing - "ya - hoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

 Double zipper crossing ...

After the Falls the route lead to highway 2W then turned to 185N.  This section of highway is undergoing massive reconstruction, the magnitude of which was mind blowing.  I'm sure there are small countries that could be entirely rebuilt with less work. All of this, of course, once again played with Garmin Dan's electronic head! (Dan just doesn't seem to be able to cope with change.)

Tonight's stop is in St. Andre, Quebec. Dropping down into the river valley, from highway 185 to route 132, I was once again awe struck by the sight of the magnificent St.Lawrence estuary; across the river's mouth the mountains meet the water and I know I'm close to home. Route 132 is one of my favorite highways to ride as it follows the meanderings of a mighty river through towns brimming with character and history.

P.S.  Gaining an hour left a little time to explore and I made a new friend on my hike along the river ...

And the sun set (midst millions of blood sucking mosquitoes) over the St. Lawrence at St. Andre.

2013 The Eastside Story Day 25: Into each life some rain must fall ...

Following Dwight's suggestion we found a great motorcycle road and a quaint little ferry crossing at Evandale ...

But into each life some rain must fall and by Gagetown it was pouring. A great excuse to stop at the "Creekview" for lunch.

I was here (I placed my pin) ... and I ate French Onion soup and house made cornbread. Very good.

And after the rain the sun always shines ... by Fredericton it was beautiful, a day begging for pictures... (finally!)

The Garrison District was full of activity with lots of things to picture.

2013 The Eastside Story Day 24: The real twenty-fourth day

Yesterday I titled my post day 24 (now corrected) since I realized today was the real twenty-fourth day. When you are on holiday it is seemingly all too easy to loose track of time.

The day started once again with the patter of rain on the tent roof, something I had hoped to avoid since it was the day to pack up and say good bye to the Island. 15 minutes earlier and I'd have packed a dry tent but, to quote tonight's host "It is what it is!" After a quick oil change at Centennial Auto, Sport and Tire (Charlottetown) and a warm Tim Horton coffee, it was on to Shediac. There were white caps on the Northumberland Strait and wind gusts crossing the bridge were challenging. At the first stop after the bridge, wet and chilled, I was happy to pull out the heated vest and give it the inaugural run (thanks Ken and Barb).  I arrived in Shediac toasty warm .

So many times I've headed to PEI and never stopped at Shediac....so many times I've missed seeing the largest lobster in the world, now I can cross that one off the bucket list!

Tonight the tent is spread to dry in the garage of gracious hosts and fellow moto bloggers, Dwight and Angele in Shediac NB. A short ride, but hopefully a long friendship.

2013 The Eastside Story, Day 23: Charlottetown and Wood Islands

Even with cloudy skies and cool temperatures it was good to be a tourist today in Charlottetown.

Scenes from the street ...

 the Sunday market ...

 street entertainers (who even give directions) ...

 and then lunch before heading to Wood Islands.

 Scenes from the road ...

 The Northumberland Ferries Limited, Confederation sets sail for NovaScotia.

 The light house at Wood Islands ...

and of course it wouldn't be a tour on the island without seeing at least a couple fishing boats.

2013 The Eastside Story, Day 22: From Anne’s Land to Charlotte’s

Under cloudy skies and intermittent rain we’ve moved from Anne’s land to Charlotte’s. The west coast of the Island has such a different feel; less living with the tourists more visiting on the Island. There was a quick stop in Summerside before looking for a spot to photograph the bridge.

The sky was heavy with cloud and misty rain and the bridge just wasn’t very photogenic today – perhaps tomorrow she’ll look better. (After 23 days on the road, I know how she feels.)

Tonight the campsite is in Cornwall. It’s a familiar campground filled with campfire smoke and with memories … memories of camping with my family …. memories of a skunk commandeering a bag of cheezies, holding me hostage in the tent, and memories of squirrels determined to chew their way through motorcycle luggage. 

It has stopped raining and there’s a promise of sunshine for the morning.

2013 The Eastside Story Day 21: Anne's Land

The rain finally faded and after a nice 6 k hike and an ice cream cone from Cows I headed back to the bike and a late day tour along the shore.

2013 The Eastside Story: Day 20

Now on "The Island," and facing yet another rain delay so I thought it might be a great time to look back and share a few things I've learned so far:

It doesn’t matter how rain soaked your micro fibre towel gets, when you've only got one, give a wring and it might suck up more.

It doesn’t matter how fast you are, there are always at least two mosquitoes that are faster and will beat you into your tent.

It doesn't matter how wet you are, you always feel wetter by the sea. (Thanks Richard for explaining the science behind this feeling.)

It doesn't matter how long Google maps (or Garmin Day) say it will take to get there, it will take this motorcyclist at least three hours longer (even when travelling at or above the speed limit.)

It doesn’t matter how your shoes smell, they will always smell worse inside your little tent.

It doesn’t matter how slow the internet connection is at this campsite, the next one will be worse, guaranteed.

It doesn't matter how hot it's been, as soon as you cross the border into NB it turns cold and foggy (no wonder the Americans all think we live in igloos.)

Yesterday was another day of going fast getting nowhere and this morning another day to wake up to the sound of rain pattering on the roof. In the past four years of travelling on the Star I've had at most a half hour of rain - I guess I was due.

2013 The Eastside Story Day 19: Oh Canada, Through Fog and All

It stopped raining and all things wet and soggy were packed for roads north by north east. 

A stop along the way found a delightful general store/bakery/café and the local red hat society meeting for breakfast. They all had a wave and hello for my Mom an avid “red-hatter” at 96. 

Then past the town of Machais and Bad Little Falls ... to Eastport Maine (the eastern most city in the US) and the turnaround point. 

From there it was on to Calais ME and across the border ... back to Canada where the friendly border crossing agent welcomed me home and the fog followed. I can't ever remember coming this route without hitting a wall of cold Fundy fog. 

I met a friend on a walk to the local diner along the bay. He was happy to pose for a photo.

By the way, somebody changed the highway and forgot to mention it to Garmin Dan during his updates - it really messed with his head..