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Old 09-23-2009, 03:16 PM   #16
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We arrive at Meat Cove, finally...it is far from inviting.



By the time we arrived, it was late in evening...I think about 9 or 10pm....imagine this place dark, raining lightly, but the rain is coming down almost sideways from all the wind. There are wind gusts that are probably 30-40mph, and we can hear the surf crashing loudly against the rocks below us. Temps were in the mid 50s, so we weren't so feeling cold. These are definitely not the ideal conditions to camp along the edge of a cliff...but we're stubborn and have our minds set on camping for the night. And we weren't about to ride back through the winding, hilly, muddy, gravel road back to the Cabot Trail to find something else. No one else is at the campground except one very comfortable looking RV... I could see lights inside the RV...I wonder what they must be thinking about us crazy bikers about to set up tents.

A young man comes out of his office/house. I tell him we're looking to set up camp. He suggests a spot farthest from the edge and surrounded by some trees to help with the wind. We shrug off his suggestion and decide to go for the spot by the flag.

He has a look on his face that reads: Are you fools crazy? And then he asks again, "Are you guys sure?" I should've known then to take his advice, but being the stubborn fools we are, we said we're sure.

He also tells us that unfortunately, he doesn't have any more cabins available, and mentions that there's one camping site past the flag pole by the cliff, but that's off limits during stormy weather like tonight... I think, "Hey, we're not *THAT* crazy..."

As we pay for the spot, he asks us if we have really good tents, saying we're going to need really good, strong tents to withstand the windy, rainy conditions tonight...but lucky for us, the temps should hold steady to where it was now...which was about the low/mid 50s..

I think to myself, "Uh oh..." and start to have concerns about my Wally World tent... I keep my poker face and just say, "yea, we'll be fine".

Setting up the tents....Oh my goodness, that was crazy with all the wind!! The wind definitely picked up since we first got there. Basically, as we got closer to the cliff's edge [read: our selected campsite], the stronger the winds... lol.. doh! The wind was so strong that I was afraid my tent was going to blow away if I didn't hold onto it with a deathgrip. Luckily, and rather strangely, a newly wed couple were taking a walk and saw us setting up the tents. They both thought we were insane to set up tents tonight and offerred a hand, which I accepted instantly! They helped anchor the tent down and put everything together. Thank God they were there to help!

Once we were finished setting up, DSH and I quickly retreated into our respective tents. A quick sigh of relief and then I started to organize my stuff to hopefully get some rest. I tightened the tent canopy as tight as possible to keep it from billowing up as the wind blew. Regardless, the wind would get under it and blow up the canopy and felt like the tent would lift up and blow away if I weren't in it! Crazy shit for sure, and I know these $20 Wally World tents were never meant for these conditions!



I had to get some sleep so I put on 2 thin layers and then Aerostich windblocker and my hat and crawl into my down mummy sleeping bag, leaving only my nose and mouth exposed. About an hour or so later, I feel moisture on my nose so I reach out with my hands to feel moisture on my sleeping bag... Damn it. I moved the mattress and sleeping bag as close as I could to where the wind was coming in, hoping I would better avoid the moisture blowing in with the strong wind gusts....wishful thinking, but better than nothing.

When I realized that this was not working, I unpacked my rainsuit and put that on and crawled back into the sleeping bag. Man, that was uncomfortable... All I could do at that point was pray I would see morning....what a night. I swear, at the moment, if an REI rep was there selling $1000 mountain tents, I would've instantly said "SOLD!"

Somehow I managed to survive the night.. Woohoo! Day 5!

I took a long hot shower to try and warm up. Btw, they only have coin operated showers and no change machines, so make sure you bring some with you.



It's starting to warm up, and there's a nice breeze.





I'm sure DSH's Monster has seen more rain, mud, gravel, and general dual sporting conditions in the past few days than most other Ducati Monsters will see in their lifetimes, lol.









Sh!t, I left my gloves by the fire too long... Sigh...I really liked these gloves.



I sacrifice them to the fire and do a little fire dance for no more rain this week..



Woot! I survive Meat Cove!

Ok, now we're packed up and ready to roll... we're both starving too.





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Old 09-23-2009, 03:17 PM   #17
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Day 5 continued...

We got back on the Cabot Trail and continued our way Westward.

This is one of my favorite pics from this trip:



Our next stop would be Pleasant Bay to check out some zodiac whale watching.







I'm told these suits are similar to those worn on shows like National Geographic's Deadliest Catch. Sweet...



Our zodiac... if you're prone to getting sea sick, these zodiac tours are much better than the full size boats.



Our captain.







It was a gorgeous day.



By the way, for every pic you see with a level horizon, I have probably a dozen lop sided ones! lol.. :lol3



Cool...they were so close!





Good thing our suits are fully water proof!!!



Next stop....Dinner! We decide to go to the Rusty Anchor.







MMMmmmmm......fresh mussels.



...and Lobster Roll w/fries.




After a satisfying dinner, we continue on the Cabot Trail looking for a place to settle down for the night. We flip through our travel guide and choose the Corney Brook Campground.







Very cool beach.. This fresh water stream flowed into the ocean..









It's only been a few days we've been on the road...but it seems like the my daily routine is another world away. I could seriously do this for a long, long time...I could get used to this.





DSH spent quite a bit of time building this...



We were surprised to see this camper again...it was the same one we saw at Meat Cove, and then later at the whale watching parking lot, and now here.. We chatted with the foursome traveling by RV. They recognized our bikes from Meat Cove so they came over to say hello. They thought we were crazy for setting up tents at Meat Cove...lol. They invited us into their RV for some wine where we chatted for an hour or so. They were from Germany and were on a 3 week road trip which started in Montreal. Wow, now that's a roadtrip!



We didn't cover a lot of miles today, yet I feel thoroughly exhausted. We say goodnight and turn in for the evening.
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Old 09-23-2009, 03:42 PM   #18
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Day 6! Only a few days left...time flies when you're having fun.

Breakfast at Cheticamp. Seemed like a traffic jam in this town compared to the number of cars normally see on our routes! It was a nice little down by the water. Very heavy Co-Operative influence. First time I saw the "CO OP" sign at the Sackville McDonalds, I thought it said "coop" as in "chicken coop". I thought it was a strange name for a grocery store, lol.



CO-OP Artisanale Acadien











Smell of fresh bakery is intoxicating...





I can't remember the name of this meat pie but it was very good. We both ordered on a local tour guide's personal recommendation we met on our way inside; she and her tour group was just leaving. Breakfast this morning was great.



Next stop, Les Trois Pignons Museum.







You can see the drastic improvement and history of Hooked Rugs here..





Some of them were very detailed...all hand made.



Nova Scotia became a power house producer of premium hooked rugs.



Very cool... must've taken 100s of hours.



A couple of angels we are...



We decided to see what else Cheticamp had to offer...

...and stumbled upon this:





This was an unplanned stop. I was hoping to pick up a cd of the coal miners' choir group. The group from the RV last night mentioned they went to the coal miners' concert during their NS tour and they all loved it. Everyone in the group were real coal miners. They sing the songs they used to sing to get through their day and other songs about coal mining. It sounded corny at first, but they played us a sample. I thought they were really good...and the lyrics are quite interesting/funny too.



Unfortunately, they didn't sell anything. This nice gentlemen explained that they considered opening a souvenier shop but reconsidered it since there is already another a shop down the street. They didn't want to "be in competition" with them. The reason definitely took me by suprise, coming from the states where competition thrives and drives others out of business w/o a moments thought... This line of thinking is probably based on NS's long history of CO-OP's. He suggested I try the shop down the street, but I decided to skip it hoping to just download it from itunes when I got back home. Unfortunately, I found out that itunes doesn't have it! Damnit.

If anyone know where I can buy a copy, please let me know. If anyone lives in Nova Scotia and can help me buy a copy of this CD, please let me know. Thanks!





This is cool little museum. It's free, or you can leave a donation.





Next, we continued south to check out North America's only single malt whisky producer. Glenora Distillery. Here we are rolling in.



It's a pretty small setup compared to the last distillery I visited, which was Buffalo Trace in Kentucky. I was also surprised to find out they charge for the tour. I thought it would be free like the Buffalo Trace tour. I think these tours are a great advertising tool. Assuming the product is good and the tour convincing, we would be new potential customers and a spokesman for our circle of friends back home.



They had live music at the bar while we waited for our tour to start.



I was expecting something much bigger so this felt like we were chilling in someone's backyard or maybe a restaurant.

We killed some time taking random pics.







Our tour guide. He seemed very knowledgeable, but not very enthusiastic about the tour.





I wouldn't want to get stuck in there...



Tour guide tells us not to get too close and breathe in the fumes because he's had others in the past pass out and fall in! LOL...what a sight that would be.







where the magic happens..



Of course we get samples...







Their displays need some work.



We take a quick, short break after the tour before we hit the road..



Bye bye Glenora!















The NS natives say there are truly 2 seasons in Nova Scotia: Winter and Contruction. We did see quite a bit of it..



...but the construction doesn't last long. We say goodbye to Cape Breton Island and make our way south toward Guysborough.



And we decide to eat some dinner before we run out of choices... It was about 6pm. We learned from past experiences to not wait too long since restaurants don't stay open as late as many do in the US.





lol...I wonder how new members are initiated into this gang.





Dinner... mmm...

Tried their seafood chowder. It was OK. The ingredients were definitely very fresh, but flavor was not as strong as some others I tried.



The garlic bread was awesome.



My buddy ordered haddock. He described his order as comparable to a microwave dinner! lol.. It doesn't look *that* bad. But it looks a bit too healthy for roadtrip food. I'm happy I ordered pasta...it's hard to mess that up.



Anyway...we hit road again, looking for a place to stay. We decide to get a room for tonight. Last night was really cold in the tent...temps must have dropped to the mid/upper 30s. I started to get a runny nose today so I wanted to get a hot shower and get a good night's rest.

We took a quick break here to admire the sun set.. The pics don't do it justice.









We continued along the Eastern Shore until we found some lodging.. It started getting late and the temps really started to drop once the sun finally set. It took us quite awhile to find something too. There were plenty of campsites though.

We had a little setback when we came to one of those river crossing via ferry...but they were closed for the evening! This was a little past Goldboro. Arrgg..that's annoying. Build a bridge people! Anyway, we had to make a big detour to cross via land. A couple hours later, we found ourselves approaching Sherbrooke, and was hopeful to find a place since we were seeing quite a few lodging signs.

We check into St. Mary's River Lodge. It was a nice bed and breakfast place. They were nice enough to give us a small discount since it was late at night and we were planning to get an early start the next day. Everything was very clean.

What a long day... I really needed a good night's rest at this point.

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Old 09-23-2009, 03:44 PM   #19
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Day 7...!

I want to hit the snooze and sleep another 5 hours, but there's not time for slacking off. We got up and had a healthy breakfast, free courtesy of St. Mary's River Lodge.



Getting ready to ride...





Scenery is still impressive. The water look gorgeous. I want to buy a nice boat someday.









Next stop... Willy Krauch's smoke house. It has the reputation as having the best smoked fish in Nova Scotia. Pretty high honors for an area so rich in seafood. We weren't hungry yet but we decide to stop anyway.







She was so nice and answered all of our smoked-fish noob questions.





So much to choose from! I just want a little bite from each.





We finally decide...



Time to taste for ourselves.



WOW. That is some tender and juicy fish!!! I couldn't believe it. I'm not a big fan of fish, but this was really good.





Ok, we hit the road and push for Peggy's Cove today.







Next stop, LUNCH. We flew by this place, but we thought it'd be worth a U turn...I'm glad that we did.





It's a small cozy place. Everything is homemade. Perfect.







MMMmmmm......





Vegetarians are missing out on some great food.. I wish I had room for another one.




We hit the road again. Our next stop is the Citadel National Historic Site in Halifax. It's an 18th century fort situated in downtown Halifax. Very cool.

This place is HUGE.



Lots of interesting displays.













Trapped.



Hmm...I wonder what's down this way.



Don't you guys have some work to do?



Did I mention this place is HUGE???



Check out the rails to aim...nice.







About time you guys went to do something useful. A fort this big doesn't run itself! ^_^





Watch out for the flying arrow! It might push you over the edge.







Too warm for leathers today.



Very impressive collection of weapons...

































.....next stop, dinner at Peggy's Cove!







We eventually settle on Fisherman's Corner based on some local's recommendation. We're told their fish and chips are the best.







I'm starved. Dinner is served. The batter on the fish was AWESOME. Super crunchy with very tender fish inside.



Very generous portions of fresh, juice lobster... Yum.



BURRRP. That was tasty.



Very satisfied with dinner.



The world famous Peggy's Cove is next!
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Old 09-23-2009, 03:46 PM   #20
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...Day 7 continued.

Peggy's Cove is just a few minutes ride from Fisherman's Corner.





Our guide book said this is lighthouse is the most photographed lighthouse in the world. I'm surprised to see that they're renovating in the middle of summer...why not before tourist season starts? ...unless it's just taking a really long time.



Lots of cute couples there just hanging out.



We spent the next hour looking for a free place to camp. The locals said there's a spot where they've seen others camp there. This time, we didn't just charge ahead with our bikes like we did the first night in NS. This time, we parked the bikes by the road and walked the path to see if it was doable for both bikes. Unfortunately, the path was easily walkable but not so good for the street centered Ducati. We decided to continue riding up the road to a regular campground.



We set up our tents and got a fire going. The fire wood was a little damp so I dipped a cloth rag into my auxillary gas tank and tossed the gas dripping rag into the fire pit. Instant heat. I was expecting it to get chilly again tonight so I made sure to wear a few layers. I didn't want to get sick the last couple days of the trip.
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Old 09-23-2009, 03:46 PM   #21
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Day 8....Our final day of the trip!

We tried to get an early start today. It's going to be a nice, long day of riding.

We decide to have breakfast at another local's recommendation: The Finer Diner. It's just a few minutes from the campground.



Our original plan was to continue along the shoreline towards Yarmouth and then north towards Digby, check out Brier Island, and then head west toward Truro. Since we're running short on time, we decide to skip these portions and head north (via backroads) toward Truro from the Peggy Cove area. We would continue on our preplanned route from there westward to Parrsboro and then up towards Amherst...and then highway slab it to Sackville...

Our first good look at the famous Bay of Fundy.









We headed to lonely planet's recommendation of the best place to watch the changing of the Bay of Fundy tides - Tidal Bore Road. I was suprised to see quite a few people just hanging out there watching the dried up bay. It's obvious these people had plenty of time to kill... I didn't even take a picture since it was pretty lame...like watching paint dry. lol.

So, we decide to head to Truro for a late lunch - Murphy's Fish and Chips. They had better be damn good to be better than what I had at Fisherman's Corner the other night.



World Famous....that's quite a statement.



MMmmm.....looks good so far.





I'd say it was good, but definitely not as good as last night. The fish was definitely very fresh....but that's the case with most seafood in this area! The batter was not as crunchy as Fisherman's Corner, but otherwise it was good. I wonder what makes them world famous. We had to ride through quite a bit of Truro traffic to get here...I wouldn't go through the trouble next time.

After lunch, we continued west until....Five Islands Provincial Park.



If you're looking for a campground, check out this place. Looks like a great spot with nice views. I would've stayed here if we weren't pushing for Sackville by tonight.



Not much of a beach though if your looking for a warm sandy beach to lay around on. The views are great though, and the water looking inviting.



We unexpectedly hit some AMAZING roads...they were as smooth as glass and no debris at all, no traffic, nothing...just us....except the occasional "attacking moose" sign. lol.







Miles and miles and miles.....it just kept on going! I couldn't get enough of it.









Our next break would be this nice little pier..







We're at a fork in the road...time to decide if we should take on the trails of Cape Chignecto Provincial Park. If we go left, we go through trails. If we go right, we take the asphalt detour around the Park. I was definitely up for the trails; DSH, not so much. The dirt path was promised to have some amazing views from the mountain side looking down on the Bay of Fundy. So, afte a quick chat, we decided we should at least check it out.



Starts off easy...





...but not for long. The rocks are starting to get bigger and bigger, but we continue pushing.



And then, it started to get really bad. The rocks were the starting to look like baseball / softball sizes...and some were bigger than that. We really started to slow down through these trails. We were only about 25% of the way through. DSH had a tough time with his Ducati Monster. We decide to turn around and head back for the road.







...we ride on through the night, and finally arrive at Sackville, NB around 10pm. By the time we finish loading the bikes into the trailer and change out into more comfortable clothes, it's close to 11pm. There's nothing else open at this hour so we stick to McDonald's.



After dinner, we took highway back through NB to Maine, and just followed the GPS back to NJ. We would take turns driving through the night and taking naps in the passenger seat. Many, many hours later...we finally find ourselves back in NJ. Bleh.

It's finally over. We're home.

Hope you all enjoyed my ride report!
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Old 09-23-2009, 07:10 PM   #22
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Awesome Job!!!! I just hope my ride this weekend is as adventurous as yours....
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Old 09-23-2009, 07:22 PM   #23
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WoW...amazing stuff Song!
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Old 09-23-2009, 07:49 PM   #24
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That was amazing! Great write up! Can't wait for your next trip.
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Old 09-23-2009, 08:01 PM   #25
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Looks like a great trip... I love reading these things, and as mentioned previously. much like the Long Way series... Exactly the reason why I got myself a touring bike..
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Old 09-23-2009, 08:06 PM   #26
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You know what I just noticed? I killed well over an hour in this thread!! Well worth it, freaking impressive! Looks like you had a really great time. Awesome pictures great write up's! Thanks for sharing guys!
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Old 09-24-2009, 08:38 AM   #27
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Thanks guys, glad you enjoyed the ride report. Good stuff...I'm starting to rack up the miles on the thumper.
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Old 09-24-2009, 02:03 PM   #28
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That looked amazing, thanks for sharing the pics! The food looked like it was a good time all in itself...lobster 3x a day!
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Old 09-24-2009, 03:07 PM   #29
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Thanks for sharing your trip! So well detailed, and the amazing photos...I really enjoyed this thread! Good job man, post up your next trip!
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Old 09-24-2009, 09:11 PM   #30
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Nice post, but I'd skip the trailer next time. I got all psyched thinking this was a LD ride, but when I saw the trailer I laughed.
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