It was a dark and stormy night when I rolled off the ferry in Port au Basques in Newfoundland at about 11:00pm. I am now 5 time zones ahead of California - well to be more precise - 4 1/2 time zones.
Prior to getting on the ferry for the 6 to 7 hour trip to Newfoundland I said my goodbyes to the number of new friends I met at Cabot Shores. One of the guests came in to the lodge while I was packing up saying they saw a moose both that morning and the evening before. I have yet to see one other than the road signs indicating they are a hazard.
Eric and Jan live in New York. Jan works in human resources and Eric works for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, an organization founded by Pete Seeger to clean up the Hundson.
The staff of the lodge, mostly student interns were in a meeting in the recreation room, when I went down to let them know that I was leaving. Paul and Barbara, originally from the states now make Nova Scotia and Cabot Shores their home. They plan is to make the facility a major destination retreat.
Thanks all for a great couple of days.
The ferry leaves from North Sydney Harbor with two ships for between 2 and 3 crossings a day. As we checked-in motorcyclists were asked to wait for loading in one particular area. While waiting, I met Bill, a 78 year old on the road from British Columbia. I feel so young. Bill is the one with less hair than me.
Also waiting to cross were Julia with her father, Allan. They are on a trek to cross Canada on Honda Cubs. These are very small motorbikes with a top speed of maybe 40 miles an hour. Julia's is a 1967 and dad's is an 84 - (she's younger)... Julia just graduated from high school and told her father that the only way she would do the trip was if it was connected to a charity. "Because I'm A Girl" - I told them I would put their link on my blog. She wants to raise at least $10K.
www.canadabycub.webs.com and www.plancanada.ca/rideforgirls
After boarding the ferry - the next task was to tie the bikes down so if the seas were rough they wouldn't be tossed around. Bill gave me a seasick pill but the weather didn't seem to be too bad until right before we docked. We landed at 11:00pm and it was raining and blowing like crazy. Both Bill and I had reservations at Caribou House B&B and it was a good thing. There were no rooms to be had in town. One couple sitting next to me only had about 50 miles to drive but said they couldn't find a room and were going to sleep in their truck. I asked why they didn't just drive home - "moose." The morning they came down to the ferry they said their were 23 along and on the road and you just don't drive at night.
I had lost the directions to the B&B but one of the ferry staff knew where it was and said it was only about a 5 minute ride from the dock. Good thing - because by the time we got there both Bill and I were soaked. The way we found it was Elizabeth, our hostest, was standing on her porch, in the rain waiving us down. Now I don't know how old Elizabeth is but her husband is 80. We are just a couple of adventures kids to these two....
Elizabeth said to make sure the bikes were secure because there was a strong "noreaster" coming in and they could get up to 120. I hoped that was kilometers because 120 MPH might blow my bike into the bay. Elizabeth said she loved bikers and she had been doing this for 20 something years. She said the first time a biker road up - she was scared but now they are her favorites.
Bill and I just had breakfast, it's still raining, but I think we will be taking off soon. Bill asked if I wanted to ride along with him for a while. I said "sure." (I need to keep an eye on this ole boy)
I don't know where I will be tonight and if they will have internet access but with the exception of campgrounds - every place I've stayed has internet. If you are interested - I'm heading to the very northern tip of Newfoundland. This is where the Vikings first landed in North America and built a settlement -L'Anse aux Meadows, Newfoundland.
It's morning, still raining and blowing, but my bike is still standing - I'm putting off getting started... it's so comfortable in this nice warm dry home.
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