Little Brook to Digby 55 km. Saint John to Quispam 26 km



Renette and Norm



After the lobster dinner we returned to Su Ben  had an enjoyable evening with Norman and Renette and a friend Renee who dropped by.  They played guitar and we sang and had a few drinks.  Slept well as I could hear the ocean waves on the shore across the street.  We came down for breakfast at 8:30 and I had the lobster omlette and Bob had the scallop one.  We shared giving the opportunity to savour both.  Yummy!!  Bob took some time to clean up the bikes and we were on the road by about 11:15, a bit later than I wanted.  When you are on a time schedule to catch a ferry you don't want to be late!!!!  As Murphy's Law would have it, I had a blow on the rear tire at the 11 km mark!!!  Just barely into the ride.  It was another "gunshot" blow, scares the living daylights out of you.  I had the panniers off and was moving off the side and a man from across the street offered for us to come in the shade of his yard to do change the tire.  We thanked him for his offer, but stayed put as the bike was already in the process.  He stayed to chat with us, an interesting man.  John Browing.....not an Acadian name, however his mother was an Acadian.  He had lived in Ontario most of his life but moved back when his mother's health was failing and eventually stayed.  We were back on the road within 15 minutes and as always, after a flat you are always leary about weakness in the tire and having another......but after cycling 5 km I became more at ease.  It was a lovely hot day and the scenery looking across the water to Long Island and Brier Island was neat.  Windmills appear to be so large in the distance on Long Island.  We stopped at a roadside market and picked up some peas in shell, and small plums.   Later on we found a NS Provincial Roadside Park and stopped for a snack.  It provided another lovely view as it was right on the water.  I had the wits scared out of me when I knocked on the bathroom door to see if it was occupied and a dog barked!!!!  I thought "who has locked a dog in the bathroom"?  And then a voice said "I'll be right out"...    I enjoyed cycling through Weymouth, a very pretty little spot, off the beaten track as the #101 bypasses it.  Bob and I had cycled the #1 so got to see the lovely little towns.  We arrived in Digby at 3:10 and stopped at the Info centre as we wanted to find out about Brier Island as earlier on the trip we had made plans with Trev and Tam to connect on the labour day weekend in Sept and Brier Island was the suggested spot.  Found out that it is the motorycle ralley in Digby that weekend, with over 5000 motrcyclists, so we decided to reconsider meeting place and will discuss with them later.  To the ferry, purchased tickets and got on board almost immediately  so it was good timing.  The ferry has changed over the years, for the better I think.  They have an information centre on board; a guide to tell about the Bay of Fundy and all that pertains to; and a movie.  Bob and I prefer to sit on the upper level.  They have a Starbucks and a snack bar on that level.  The dining area has a good menu and good food at a very reasonable price.  Bob and I had   large orders of fish and chips and beer and it was just over $25.00  The temperature was quite nice and we were able to spend some time outside.  Arriving in Saint John it was very mild, didn't even need a jacket, which surprised me as I anticipated fog and about 12 degrees!  NOT.  We were the first off the boat and made great time meandering the west side to get to the via duct and onto the main #1 from the city centre.  The wind, if any, was at our backs and we made great time coming home.  It was a little dicey through the first two interchanges as cars merged onto the highway from our right....but when we got a bit further along the shoulder was good and large and we could stay away from the speeding cars.  We got off at the Rothesay exit and cycled along the beautiful Kennebecasis to home.  Our cats were in the yard....and didn't seem to have missed us.  Life was normal to them.  Although it was good to be home, I really could have spent more time on the road.  Total distance traveled 1941 km.



West Side Saint John, off ferry and heading to Quispamsis



Sunday was good to be back at church and meet up with friends and catch up on the news.  We went for groceries and I was lucky to find the 75% off plants at Sobeys.  I stocked up on the annuals, to help refurbish the deer eaten yard with some colour.......  On a sad note, we stopped to pay our respects to our friend George Theriautl.    It is arranged that the cycling friends will have one last ride with George following the hearse from the funeral home to the church.  My bike will fly the Acadian flag in his honour.