Why Nova Scotia?

Why not Nova Scotia might be the better question. It's one of those exotic sounding places that I've never been to and that's reason enough for me. I plan on leaving around the 8th of May and spending several weeks on the ride. Along the way I'll be camping out, visiting unsuspecting friends , and maybe getting to ride along with them for awhile. Let me know if you're up to either!

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Saturday, June 6, 2009

Jun 06 – Waddaya mean I’m in Maine?












Linda sent me an email last night mentioning it sounded like I was going through an area that wasn’t as interesting as the previous ones. True, but probably due to the fact I’ve been on the freeway for the past couple of days and there’s a reason why bikers sometimes refer to them as slabs.
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Today was very much the same as yesterday although the first 20 miles or so were nice as they were rural areas. Then it was back on the slab and for the rest of the day it was pretty boring. Some of the areas could just as easily have been the Willamette valley back home, only the license plates and language were different. Still, after a few hours of listening to people communicate in French it was hard to believe I was still in Canada and not France. Maybe I made a wrong turn somewhere?
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This morning I decided to wear lighter clothes so it was back into the leather jacket and Bohn armored undies. I figured if the weather went south I could stop somewhere and slip into big red. Good thinking, around 1:30pm the dark sky that had been following me for a couple of hours finally caught up and the first drops appeared on my visor. I rode through a couple of light showers thinking it might clear up but the sky really started to look black where I was headed so I pulled into a gas station’s side lot and did the deed. After that it was on again off again with the rain but I stayed snug inside big red. Then I crossed into New Brunswick and it was like drawing a line across the road, the light shower turned into a torrential downpour. I stopped at the official welcome to New Brunswick facility to take a couple of pics but it was so dark they didn’t turn out very well.
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I finally reached Edmundston, NB where I intended to spend the night if I could find a place. I queried the GPS for hotel/motel locations and rode to the address of the first one but it seems to have vanished. Then the second one was down a narrow street that T’d onto a smaller street that had a Canadian border building on the left and a grated steel bridge on the right. Not quite understanding what was going on – remember it was dark and raining like all go to hell – I chose the right turn and rode over the bridge. Guess what was on the other side? The US Customs entry into the good ol’ US of A. Pulling into the booth I had to laugh as I told the guy I’d no idea I was about to re-enter the US and that I was just looking for a motel. He chuckled like he’d heard that one more than once and then asked the usual questions about guns and liquor and drugs. After that he gave me directions to the two motels in town so I was off again. The people waiting patiently behind me in line probably thought he was really chewing me out with all the arm waving and finger pointing. I'm getting to like Customs guys, they're fun.
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Finding Martin’s Motel was made easier because of the GPS and I was there in just a few minutes. As I rode up there was a new metallic red Goldwing parked in front and its owner Bill Alexander was standing on the porch admiring the rain. He lives in Las Vegas where he works for Lowes as a commercial sales specialist and at present he’s on a month long ride doing the 4-corners thing which is a very long ride indeed. We hit it off right away and went to dinner at the local eatery where I had the adult version of Beanie Weenies, then I headed back to Martin’s and Bill went to gas his bike and get it ready for tomorrow’s ride.
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Martin's Motel is a killer deal compared to what I've been dealing with in Canada: $46 bucks including breakfast flakes, etc., and although it's an older place it's well maintained and has the same ammenities as the more expensive places. I wish I could find more just like this one.
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I’m not sure which way I’ll head tomorrow, back over the bridge into NB or maybe east through Maine and ultimately to Nova Scotia that way. I talked to a guy a day or so ago and he recommended the latter so maybe that’s what I’ll do. For right now I’ve got a pair of socks to wash out.
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You know what I really like about being back in the US? These people speak English and they know all about Tonic water. Yessirree…



3 comments:

  1. N asked me this morning, watching CBS SUNDAY MORNING if my friend was getting his quota of donuts? The lead story was about Tim Horton's coming to the US and how Canadians eat, on average, 300% (per person)more donuts than any place on earth.
    I try to limit my donut intake to two on Elvis Day, August 16. Jelly filled. "Thank you baby, thank you very much."
    Happy trails. You're now in the area in which I'd like to join you.
    D

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  2. Hey Larry!!
    What an awesome blog...been following along and this is too cool!!
    But you need to write a book..."The Quintessential Book of Motorcycle Eatery," eh!!
    And welcome to New Brunswick, eh!! Us Canucks are indeed a funny lot...british heritage and all...you'd think Gin and Tonic would almost be a national drink!! Living in Saint John, we too have had a hard time finding T.W. (you can get 2 ltr. bottles of Diet T.W. (ugh) but nobody wants to carry the real thing...I guess using diet T.W. means that you can fill up on donuts, at Timmy's!! If you are in the neighbourhood (and need laundry services with T.W.) drop us a line...!! Stay Safe!! NinjaDave

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  3. Thanks Dave, I spaced it and didn't see your offer until just now. I would have liked to kick back for a day and clean things up a bit but that can wait awhile. (I still have a few items that haven't gotten too grubby!)
    Best,
    LL

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