Nova Scotia Tour 2008
Graham & Elaine
Last update 19th July 2008
Pictures can be viewed here
During our 2007 tour of the U.S.A. our friends at Haus of Trikes made us an offer we couldn’t refuse. As a result we have purchased a second trike, also a 2007 Goldwing 1800, which will be stored in their showroom and available for our use whenever we need it. We will also be leaving some essential riding gear there for future use.
This has inevitably involved a significant cash outlay but we have calculated that we will re-coup our costs (by not having to pay shipping, insurance etc) if we visit just 3 or 4 times.
To ensure that we get value for money we have booked a trip starting on May 9th 2008 during which we intend to take in a week at Myrtle Beach bike week with Jeff, Edith and some of their friends followed by a tour up to Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and, roads permitting, Labrador before heading back via Quebec, Montreal and the northern side of the great Lakes with a return home in mid-July.
Having already booked our flights with British Airways there has been one fly in the ointment in the shape of the dreaded Terminal 5 !!! Being the trusting soles that we are we found a large cardboard box, filled it with crash helmets, riding trousers and various other essentials and posted it to Jeff. Amazingly it arrived within 2 days, thank you Parcelforce. It seems that we may now be leaving from Terminal 4 anyway but whatever happens we know we have most of what we need.
It’s possible that we may not be able to update our blog quite so frequently on this trip but, if you’re interested, keep watching and we’ll update whenever we can.
9th May 2008 – London Heathrow (LHR) to Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI), Maryland USA.
Our flight from Heathrow was delayed by an hour after one of the ground crew servicing the aircraft fell and gashed his head open which meant that we had to wait for an ambulance to sort him out before we could board the aircraft. From then on it was an uneventful flight (just as I like them) and we caught up a little time on the way across. Jeff was there at BWI to collect us and we made our way down to our second home via a very good barbeque restaurant. Unfortunately we caught a lot of the evening rush hour traffic across the Bay Bridge and didn’t arrive until around 22:00 so it was straight to bed for all of us.
10th May 2008 – Picking up the new Trike.
We were awake pretty early this morning (no surprise there really) so accompanied Jeff to the shop to take our first look at our new toy which, bearing in mind it’s second hand, is in great condition. The trike conversion is of the standard we’ve come to expect from Haus of Trikes (i.e. excellent) and we spent a happy hour or so adding the one or two extras we had to it. The one thing that has yet to be completed is the rear brake conversion so, for the time being, Graham is riding with just a front brake, not ideal but not the end of the world. Unfortunately it was very wet and none too warm this morning so it was lunchtime before we got to take it out. After a short run to make sure all was well we went out (in Edith’s truck) to shop for a few essentials before returning to meet Don & Brenda, friends of Jeff and Edith, who are to be spending the next week with us at Myrtle Beach.
11th May 2008 – Ocean City, Maryland to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
We knew today would be a long day as we had around 500 miles to cover. With Jeff leading we took the more scenic route south rather than the Interstate and, having made lots of stops en-route (partly because Brenda’s Harley has a range of not much more than 100 miles to a tank of fuel) it took us just over 12 hours to make the journey. The weather was a little mixed; we had rain, wind, cold, warm and even a little sunshine. The Condo Jeff had organised for us turned out to be a very nice two-bedroom affair with everything we could need and even a sea view. The forecast for tomorrow is for sunshine but windy so, hopefully, we’ll get a good chance to explore.
12th May 2008 – Myrtle Beach Bike Week.
We woke to warm sunshine this morning so made the most of it and went along to Colonial Mall to meet up with Stewart and check out the Haus of Trikes pitch. Much like previous events we’ve been to over here the rally differs considerably from anything we would see at home with vendor areas spread for miles around and, after exploring the rest of the Mall vendor area, we moved on and visited a number of others before returning to the Condo for a very social evening.
13th May 2008 – Myrtle Beach Bike Week.
More warm sunny weather meant more riding and visiting more vendor areas, all very pleasant. There were fewer people/bikes around than we had anticipated which meant it was easy to take a leisurely look around. We had lunch out whilst making the rounds and followed that with a visit to the famous Dolly Parton Dixie Stampede that included some very clever horsemanship, racing piglets and a good meal.
14th May 2008 – Myrtle Beach Bike Week.
Today was the day we decided to take a longer ride and head further south to visit Charleston the state capital of South Carolina. It took us around two hours to make the journey and once we arrived we parked up along the riverside and took a walk around one of the old Colonial neighbourhoods to see some of the fabulous old houses. After we’d moved back in to town and stopped for lunch at a riverside restaurant we walked in to the centre to pick up a carriage tour. Pulled by two mules and escorted by a very knowledgeable guide, we saw more of the town before returning to the bikes for the journey ’home’.
15th May 2008 – Myrtle Beach Bike Week.
Graham & Jeff decided that their bikes really needed a wash so we went along to one of the many bike washes that had set up for the week (it had nothing to do with the fact that the young ladies working the washes were all good looking and bikini clad – or at least that’s what they said !!). After a brief trip back to see Stewart we took a trip along to Margaritaville for lunch (a restaurant owned by Jimmy Buffit – a famous singer) before heading back to ready ourselves for an evening at Horst Gasthaus, a very pleasant German restaurant.
16th May 2008 – Myrtle Beach Bike Week.
The weather forecast for today was a little less promising but, as the day had started out fine we decided to go and see Stewart to make sure all was well and it turned out to be a good move on our part. When we took possession of the trike it had a driver’s seat back rest fitted and we weren’t really getting on with it too well (it made Graham’s back hot and got in my way) so we’d decided to remove it once we got back to the shop. Fortunately for us, we were approached by a guy who wanted one and we agreed to do a seat swap only, as his was a little older (but in perfect condition) we got a changed seat and $100 – not bad. Later in the day we decided to take a look at Murrels Inlet which is the farthest of the vendor areas and where one of the ‘Suck, Bang Blow’ biker bars is to be found. Unfortunately, the forecast turned out to be right and it started to rain just as we arrived. With no sign of it stopping any time soon, we rode back in the rain (guess where our waterproofs were – yes, you guessed it, back at the Condo) for an evening in.
17th May 2008 – Myrtle Beach Bike Week.
Don and Brenda left us this morning to start their ride home and the rest of us took a ride a little way to the west to a small (sleepy) historic town called Conway where we had a very pleasant lunch with free dessert (they forced us by telling us that if we didn’t eat it they’d throw it away). It was then back to town for an evening at a local Irish bar where Jeff & Edith were introduced to Irish whiskey which, by the number ‘tested’ it seems they liked.
18th May 2008 – Myrtle Beach to Washington, North Carolina.
We had to leave the Condo by 10:00 this morning so, once we were packed up, we went along to see Stewart. As there were very few people about and many of the other vendors had already packed up and left, Jeff decided that they might as well load up the trikes that were on show and let Stewart get on his way back with the motorhome and trailer. We were on the road by around 12:30 so were able to comfortably cover 200 miles before stopping for the night in a small town called Washington. We took the trikes out this evening to visit a local eatery and were just finishing our coffee when the skies turned really black so coffees were forgotten in favour of getting back before we got soaked (yes, I know we should have taken our waterproofs but we didn’t!!!!).
19th May 2008 – Washington to Berlin, Maryland.
The sunshine was back this morning but it turned out to be really, really windy for most of the 300 miles back to Jeff and Edith’s. We took a couple of stops en-route but much of the day was spent in the saddle being blow to bits. As it had been such a tiring journey and no one wanted to go out again, we ordered in pizza and were joined by Edith’s daughter Patti and her son James for a nice lazy evening.
20th May 2008 – Haus of Trikes.
The weather was awful this morning as we rode down to the shop to get one or two adjustments made to the trike and to see what, if anything, had been sorted out regarding the rear brake. As the guys had not heard anything more about the brake they made contact with a local metal fabricator (who specialises in boat propellers) who was happy to help and has promised to come along to take a look at exactly what is needed tomorrow morning. This evening, we went with Jeff, Edith, Ed, Patti & James to a very nice seafood restaurant on the Marina at West Ocean City.
21st May 2008 – Haus of Trikes.
As promised Scott, the metal fabricator, came along this morning to see exactly what was required and to take some measurements. He now has our trike locked up in his workshop ready to start work on it first thing tomorrow so, hopefully, it will be done by the end of the day. This will be a useful exercise for Jeff as he is soon to attend a day at the local hospital for wounded US troops and he will be able to take along an example of the brake conversion to show what can be done. We’re now on our way out to go to the local Irish bar – should be interesting!
22nd May 2008 – Haus of Trikes.
We’ve had a very lazy day today waiting on Scott’s handiwork. We know the job has been started but don’t yet know when it will be finished as he had to get some more materials. Here’s hoping for tomorrow. This evening Graham and I will be joining Edith at a local Italian restaurant as Jeff has started out on a fairly epic delivery job – he’s riding a newly converted trike across to Oregon to it’s new owner and will be flying back. Only 3000 miles each way !!
23rd May 2008 – Haus of Trikes.
Still no joy with the brake conversion I’m afraid. Scott worked very hard and put together a system of levers which looked like they should do the job although they were rather bigger than they needed to be (but he is used to working on large boats) but, unfortunately, once put to the test we discovered that the lever hit the ground on braking (not a good idea). This may have been, in part, due to a brake fluid leak on the back end but we won’t know that until tomorrow when Ed is going to take a look at it. Once we know that we’ll have to decide what our next move will be.
24th May 2008 – Haus of Trikes.
Hooray – we have a rear brake at last !! Ed spent the best part of the day making adjustments, repairing the fluid leak etc. and managed to get it working this afternoon, it’s not pretty, it’s not perfect but it will be okay for this trip and can be looked at again once we get back and it means we can get on our way tomorrow. This evening we went to a really good Japanese restaurant where they cook your food at the table and then Edith took us for a spin around the waterfront at Ocean City. I hadn’t realised it was quite so big; there is a sizable funfair and a nice boardwalk and beach. All in all a very pleasant evening.
25th May 2008 – Ocean City to Bethlehem Pennsylvania.
We left Edith this morning (Jeff is still making good progress on his trip west) and set off, in the warm sunshine, north through Delaware and in to Pennsylvania skirting around the cities of Wilmington and Philadelphia before stopping alongside one of the Interstates. We stopped fairly early this afternoon so that we could get wi-fi access and get the blog uploaded etc. We’re not sure how often we’ll be able to get access but, if you’re interested, keep checking and we’ll update as often as we can.
26th May 2008 – Bethlehem to Albany New York State.
The receptionist at last night’s motel recommended a local Scottish Restaurant (called Braveheart) and even arranged for the motel shuttle to take us there and pick us up once we’d done (can’t be bad). The food turned out to be really good and the Malt Whiskey (Oban) was, I’m told, also worth the $11 it cost!! We left in warm sunshine this morning (which turned to real hot sunshine) and headed northeast through part of New Jersey and in to New York State with Albany as our goal destination. Sounds easy but it seems that almost nowhere in NY State sells state maps and we made around 4/5 stops before getting hold of one. The traffic was also fairly heavy today as it’s the Memorial Day holiday so it took a long time to do not all that many miles but not to worry we made it.
27th May 2008 – Albany to Gorham, New Hampshire White Mountains.
We had a much more pleasant ride today although what started out as a hot sunny morning turned into a decidedly cold, cloudy afternoon. Our route took us north and east through Vermont (a very pretty state) and the Green Mountains and along some nicely winding roads in to New Hampshire and the White Mountains. We’re spending this evening in a very pleasant little town called Gorham which is still in the mountains and, consequently, it’s getting even chillier as the evening progresses (the forecast is for a low of 34F – just above freezing). Our plan for tomorrow is to make for the border and stay just the US side so that we have a clear run at Canadian customs on Thursday morning.
28th May 2008 – Gorham to Calais, Maine.
We woke to beautiful blue skies this morning but there was a keen cold wind that persisted all day; it did warm a little but at no time could you call it warm. Our route took us northeast through the remainder of New Hampshire and right across Maine where there’s an awful lot of not a lot except trees. We’ve now checked in to a motel (fairly basic but okay) which is just up the road from the border crossing so, with a little luck, we should make it in to Canada sometime tomorrow morning. I’d best go now as the restaurant attached to the motel apparently shuts at 20:00. I guess we’ll be spending the evening in front of the T.V.
29th May 2008 – Calais to Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick, Canada.
We made an early start this morning in an effort to get through customs before the queues formed and it worked. We had expected to first arrive at U.S. customs to be ‘checked out’ and then to go on to Canadian customs but it didn’t quite work like that; the first ‘kiosk’ we came to belonged to the Canadians and was ‘manned’ by a very helpful young lady who asked a few questions regarding the ownership of the Trike etc. but didn’t want to see the paperwork we had, she also took the U.S. exit paperwork (as that’s what it said on the back should happen) and we were through within around five minutes (or an hour and five if you count that we lost an hour in crossing the border as it’s Atlantic Time). After a visit to the Information Office to collect a map etc. we headed out on to the Bay of Fundy scenic road which, although quite pretty in places, didn’t actually follow the coast as closely as we’d expected. By this time it had got really windy and what with the wind and the rubbish road surfaces, it turned out to be hard work. We are now staying in a small motel close to where the world’s highest tides occur (up to 48 feet). We’ve seen the low tide and we’ll be seeing the high tide tomorrow morning, it should be interesting to see the difference.
30th May 2008 – Hopewell Cape to Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Today’s weather was almost a repeat of yesterdays i.e. cold and windy despite the sunshine. As the weather forecast was for rain on Saturday and Sunday morning we decided there was little point in trying to see the coastal views but instead to find a town to base ourselves in for a day or two. After a discussion with a very helpful lady in the tourist centre we booked in to a B&B in Halifax, the provincial capitol where there is said to be plenty to see. We followed part of one of the scenic routes to get in to town so it took longer than it otherwise would have but we still arrived by late afternoon. The B&B turned out to be a bit further away from the waterfront than we were led to believe and having walked down (literally, the hills are pretty steep) we spent the evening in a very friendly bar/restaurant that just happened to have some very good live music on offer (it turns out there’s a music festival on) before getting a taxi back to our digs.
31st May 2008 – Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Our first stop this morning was to the very big weekly farmers market which is held at the local brewery building. From there we took a walk along the waterfront boardwalk and in to the Maritime Museum which turned out to be very interesting. The promised rain arrived during the late afternoon so we made our way back to the bar we were in yesterday evening as we’d heard there was live Jazz music being played; there was and it was ably supplied by the NSCC (Nova Scotia Community College) jazz ensemble. The afternoon soon became the evening and as our nutty waitress had suggested that the evening’s entertainment was unlikely to be our taste, we decided to leave before we took root. We left to find that the rain had turned to a fairly dense mist/fog so we’ll have to see what the weather’s doing before we decide on a plan of action for tomorrow.