Monday, September 29, 2014

The Patron Saint of Travellers

Conditions improved in Cabot Strait, presumably with divine intervention,


after several strolls through Port anx Basques. 



Newfoundland was followed by five sunny days discovering Nova Scotia. 



Glenora Distillery and Inn - an admirable business model and wonderful Cape Breton stop. The distillery successfully defended a law suit by the Scotch Whisky Association to allow it to use "Glen" in its Glen Breton Rare Single Malt Whisky 



And just up the road, Cabot Links. Given his fondness for quoting Mark Twain - "Golf is a good walk spoiled."- next time I'll come without Ian. 



Then the Cabot Trail. 





Because every odyssey needs baseball, here is Pleasant Bay's field of dreams. 



Meat Cove for the World famous chowder. 


And the ride out.



We ticked off our 10th province with PEI. 



Sunday, September 28, 2014

Landmarks

land·mark
ˈlan(d)ˌmärk/
noun
plural noun: landmarks
  1. 1.
    an object or feature of a landscape or town that is easily seen and recognized from a distance, especially one that enables someone to establish their location.
    "the spire was once a landmark for ships sailing up the river"
    synonyms:markermarkindicatorbeaconcairn More
  2. 2.
    an event, discovery, or change marking an important stage or turning point in something.
    "the birth of a child is an important landmark in the lives of all concerned"
Landmarks are important on a trip.  They can mark the passage of time and distance.  Landmarks also guide and orient you when called upon to do so.  We have seen a lot of landmarks over the last few days that have both marked how far we have come and how far we still have to go.

One of the very first of very few reservations made in advance of us leaving was at the Glenora Distillery.  This has been a mark on my internal map for quite some time and of course we took it all in starting with the tour.  First the fermentation tanks.






Then the still.




And some sampling.


The tour of course exited through the gift shop and souvenirs were purchased.

 



I'm pretty sure someone in the bar told us that if you feed a unicorn an exclusive diet of peat moss, barley and fresh spring water it will pee single malt whiskey.  Anyways, that's bottle #44 out of that cask and measures out at something like 116 proof - cask strength indeed.

The next day was a delight as we got up and around Cape Breton on the Cabot Trail.  But first Brian had to check out some of the other activities available on the island.  Nice location but its too bad all that natural vegetation was dug up and a lawn put down.










At the very top of Cape Breton down the end of a dirt road is a small hamlet called Meat Cove.  I don't know about you but I have a long list of places in the middle of nowhere at the ends of roads that I need to get to at some point and this was one of those places.







And for what reason could someone need to go to a place like this?  For the fish chowder of course, which that day consisted of snow crab, haddock, scallops and mussels.



It was awesome yummy good.

Friday, September 26, 2014

In Curvy Road Mode We Trust.

One of the "reasons" for this trip is a test run for next year's adventure along the Silk Road.  I have a new bike and wanted to make sure that all the modifications were warranted - they were.  We needed to find a set of tires that would last the length of an 8000 mile trip - they have, so far.  One of us apparently needed to find out just how far he could go on a a single tank of gas - he almost did.  And there are new electronics to get familiar with such as the fancy GPS units we both have.  Among the various settings - and there are many - is the Curvy Road calculation mode which is specifically tailored to a motorcyclist.  The great thing is, is that you don't have to for yourself find the green dots on the map any more as this setting instinctively leads you down the best roads as we found out in Nova Scotia.




And will lead you to great places for lunch like Carver's Coffee Bar and Pub on the waterfront in Pictou.


You may also find yourself at the only single malt whiskey distillery in North America.


Thursday, September 25, 2014

One Moose To Rule Them All.

Ahhh the Newfoundland sign moose.


Big, mean and nasty.  So vile, that the general population is shaking in their Wellington boots to the point of a lawsuit being filed against the moose.  So I says to myself, "Self, doesn't this blow you whole theory all to bits?".  Well not really as the now approximately 150000 moose are not native to Newfoundland.  They are an invasive species with out a natural predator (except for large SUVs and Mack trucks),  and are all descendants of a mere four moose that were introduced from New Brunswick in 1904.  A kangaroo crossing sign placed outside of Cornerbrook would have as much bearing on the Newfoundland people as the sign moose as they are the polar opposite of the beast shown on the sign.

There wasn't much to to do in Channel Port Aux Basques during the 30-hour delay from when our ferry was supposed to depart to when we actually got on board and got under way.  In the mean time a short walk between cloud bursts to see what else was being sheltered from the storm in this little harbour.