Day 10: Dirt Roads
Even though I heard the rain subside at 9am, I decided to sleep until
11 and pack things up in the rain - why make things easy? Once things
were stowed again, I headed out along the North Mountains bound for Parker's
Cove. The roads that I soon found myself on were a little less paved
and, with the recent rain, a little more muddy than the ones I'd been on
so far. I enjoyed a few quick turns and jumps (not too big) before
stopping in Harbourville for lunch. With the fish and chips tastily
consumed, I headed off again. Soon after, though, my car started to
overheat so I pulled off for a bit and took a look at things. My resevoir
was empty so I added some water which promptly drained out. I would need
some service! I limped along to Kingston where nobody was open (being
Sunday) and set about looking for a place to stay. I found the Victoria
Inn B&B in Middleton and headed there for the night. You would
think that I would be fine after only a week without TV but, once it was
available, I sat for hours. I did try to connect to the internet with
little success although they do seem to be making some progress. Although
Star Wars was on TV, I decided to head for bed.
Day 11: Car II
Got up and had some breakfast (see, I am getting this B&B thing)
before heading off to the local rad shop. The mechanic noticed that
my overflow tank was cracked and that my rad was empty so after topping up
the rad I headed back to Valley Subaru in New Minas. After a quick
fibreglass job I was on my way to Parker's Cove and the Cove tent and trailer
park. I took the highway this time.
I selected site 88 (all the tent
sites were available) on the ocean and set about fighting with my big tarp
for an hour. Once everything was set up I decided to scope out the
local trail. The trailhead is about 10km off and by the time I got
there the car was running a little hot. On my way back it kept getting
warmer so I pulled off for a while to cool things down. Back at the
camp I called Valley Subaru and we decided I should head back for them to
check into it.
I tried my NTL internet account with no success but managed to connect
with a borrowed password. I checked my email, sent a few, chatted on
MSN Messenger and found a few good web sites before logging off and heading
back to the site for some dinner (pesto pasta, nothing special). I
tried out my bike a bit but it definitely needs air in the tires and then
I took a nap.
I did a bit more internet surfing and then went to watch the sunset. I took a few pictures but it wasn't the most spectacular one I've seen. After reading a bit of Lord of the Rings, I headed to bed.
Day 12: Car III
Took my time getting up and was on the road back to New Minas by 10,
arriving around 11. The mechanic (Ern) noticed that quite a few
things were a little off, but set to work sorting out the overheating problem
while I headed to the mall. I picked up another pair of jeans and a
few snacks before heading back. I have an ebook called The Varieties of Religious
Experience which I read for a bit before they called me over. Seems
I need a bit more work so I made another appointment for Friday and
headed back to the Cove.
I did some beachcombing before frying up some salmon for dinner.
The sunset was obscured by a big cloud so I read a bit and went to
bed.
Day 13: Back to the Trails
I took my tme getting (anybody noticing a pattern here?) and the headed
off to the Delap's Cove Wilderness Trail.
Although the name is rather menacing,
its actually quite an average trail. There are two loops going down
to the shore that are linked together by a logging road. The loops
are quite nice - the first one has a nice waterfall - but the logging road
leaves a bit to be desired. It was a little warm, too, so that didn't
help when walking on a shadeless road. On the way back to the car I
caught sight of a red-headed woodpecker but he took off before I could get
a good picture. I finally decided to try out the new boots I had purchased
in Oshawa during my last visit. They're Merrills and fit a lot better
now than they did at the store - definitely a good investment! I also
tried some portable technology on this hike as I downloaded the map for the
trail to my Jornada before leaving. It actually came in handy as I was a
bit concerned about the distance to the second loop but when I looked at
the map I could tell that I just had to go around a bend and over a stream
before it would be on the right - which it was.
I stopped at a convenience store on the way back to pick up a few
things and then relaxed at the campsite for a bit. I stopped in to
check email, etc and mentioned to the owners that MTT could set up a jack
on the pay phone so that they wouldn't have to worry about people tying up
their phone line (as I had been doing - oops!).
After a few rain clouds passed, I made dinner and enjoyed the sunset. I read a bit more and headed to bed.
Day 14:
I took my time getting up and slowly headed my way back to New Minas.
Since I was bringing my car in for 8am, I figured I should be a bit
closer since I had no intention of getting up at 6am. I stopped at
the Annapolis Royal Tidal Power generating station for a quick look - good
idea but hard to implement on any larger scale.
I took the back road up through Greenwood (and CFB Greenwood) before
I stopped at Dairy Queen for a snack. I stopped at Upper Clements PP but
the bugs were interfering with my desire to read in the sunshine so I headed
on. I napped at McDonald's and picked up some fries.
I decided to treat myself to a hotel and stopped at the Greenboro
Inn in New Minas. I also tried to connect to the internet again to no avail
- another call to the help desk resulted in me getting a temporary password.
I went for dinner at a local pub/restaurant and then did some more
surfing at the hotel. They had a wing nite at the pub so I headed back for
a few before turning in.
Day 15: Car IV
I had to get up this time so I dropped off the car for 8am and then
took the loaner back to the hotel to play on the internet for a few more
hours until checkout. I stopped in at Canadian Tire and Dairy Queen
before heading back out to Canning for a change of scenery. I had lunch
at the deli and then sat for a while and read.
I stopped back in at the dealership but the repairs took longer than
they expected so I decided to stay another night at the Greensboro before
heading off. I headed out to Kentville for dinner and then stopped
in at the theatres to see Swordfish (it was either that or Evolution).
Day 16: Back on the road!
After checking out, I headed off for the less grand surroundings -
a campsite! The drive out to Digby was nice but since I had passed
most of it a few times already I stayed on the main highway until Annapolis
Royal. From there I took the scenic route into Digby. I stopped
for a smoothie at DQ before heading off along the Digby Arm.
I stopped at Whale Cove campground
and set myself up on site 10C (nice and sheltered). They have a small
museum in the basement of their house so I checked that out before heading
to the local store for some ice.
Back at camp, I sat down to some reading and finished off the first
book of the Lord of the Rings - The Fellowship of the Ring. I had passed
a restaurant at Sandy Cove along the way in so I headed back there for some
fish and chips (the best so far). From there I checked out the ferry
in East Ferry and then headed to bed.
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