The big house was very quiet for the night. We packed the car before breakfast so we'd be ready to hit the road afterwards. We had an 8am sitting for breakfast and the owners went all out for us and the 4-5 other couples. We were served an egg sandwich with ham, fruit (watermelon, grapes, kiwi, blueberries, a cherry), and sauteed bell peppers and mushrooms. Michele especially appreciated the very healthy breakfast and Rob gobbled up his, surprisingly, as he usually doesn't eat breakfast. It was a lot of work for the owners since they hand made each breakfast sandwich on the spot. While eating we noticed this clever painting or photo on the wall, look closely!
Pleasantly stuffed, we headed out. Rob noticed that the weather forecast appeared to be rainy all day. Our route today took us around the Bay of Fundy from the north to the south coast. Traffic was very light for the first two hours as we headed out of New Brunswick into Nova Scotia.
We had periods of rain as we drove north on Canada Highway-1. Around Moncton we picked up TransCanadian Highway 2, traveled around the end of the Bay of Fundy, and around the neck that connects New Brunswick with Nova Scotia. The scenery was rural and we had periods of blue sky.
We turned east on Highway 104 towards Amherst. We arrived in Amherst after 11am at Subway to get a sandwich for a planned picnic lunch. We had a 45 minute drive along Highway 2 to Five Islands Provincial Park for our picnic. We lucked out and the rain held off. Rob had already scoped out the park using Google Maps photos ahead of time and found covered picnic tables in case it started raining. What a good planner he is! We got a great table with views of the bay and islands.
After lunch we put on our hiking shoes and walked down to the beach area.
The tide was out when we arrived, but was starting to come back in. It takes only about 6.5 hours from high tide to low tide (which means there are about 2 high tides and 2 low tides every day). The tidal change in the bay is between 36 and 48 feet!
Soon we heard the very familiar call of a bald eagle. Michele forgot to get her binoculars from the car trunk, but she followed the call and found him/her in the trees. We zoomed in as much as we could on our iPhones. We could only find the one but based on the calls, there were at least two of them.
We walked down the other side of the beach to look at the islands, the largest one is named Moose Island. Across the way is an RV park with sites right on the edge of the cliff. We then walked up a grassy trail past a few camp sites to the top of a hill for more views.
It was 1:45pm by that time, and we had four hours more to drive for the day, so we got back on the road. What a fun break for our picnic and shoreline exploring.
Our route continued to be scenic and rural. We enjoyed listening to our favorite XM Satellite channels for music and comedy. (Ask us sometime about the comedian who cooked an apple in the microwave for his wife, with unfortunate results.) In Truro we picked up Highway 102 towards Bedford. Just past Elmsdale we hit a supposed 20 minute traffic jam. Google Maps kept adding time to the slowdown, and traffic ahead was stopped as far as we could see. We turned around at a nearby cut through, went back to the previous exit at Rt. 214, and connected to Highway 2 to Enfield to bypass the accident. It was the right decision. There we stopped to gas up the car. Rob overheard two guys talking about the backup and one guy was stuck in it for an hour before he could turn around. We really lucked out that we were right by the cut through to go in the other direction, otherwise we might not have made it to our B&B at a decent hour tonight.
We took 102 into Bedford. Around 4:30pm, we had a wicked strong rainstorm. This is right before we entered it.
The temperature dropped 10 degrees through this storm cell. The rain was so loud we couldn't hear the radio or each other. When we got past it the skies were blue and sunny for awhile. We picked up 101 and took that into Annapolis Royal, our destination for the next four days. We arrived at our B&B just after 6pm. The owner was waiting to greet us and said her dog Lucy was anxious to go for her walk. She apparently gets her dinner after the walk, so it's suspected that is why she likes her walk so much.
Our room is beautiful with a waterfront view. It wasn't until after dinner that Michele noticed the room doesn't have a TV. It's a classier establishment here! The Bailey House was built in 1770 by a Scotsman who arrived in town in 1737 and was a master carpenter.
We walked a half block over to dinner at Whiskey Teller. Rob likes ordering the classic Canadian poutine whenever we visit Canada. It is fries, cheese curds and a brown gravy. Sometimes with different flavors or spices. Michele had rotisserie chicken and a wedge salad.
Rob tried a local cider called Field of Dreams Strawberry & Currant and Michele had a strawberry rhubarb margarita. Yum!!
During dinner we talked for the first time about taking our first long trip in the car instead of on the motorcycle. Rob said he likes it more than he thought he would, he was worried he would be bored. Michele said there's a lot she likes about the car, but is missing some of the adventure of being on the bike, as well as people we meet along the way. On our trips we always get people asking us about the bike, the trailer, where we're from and where we're going. Rob said taking a car trip really opens up the time of year when we can take trips, instead of only July through August. We both still want to take bike trips but might consider mixing it up with car trips in other months. We've noticed a lot of RVs on the road and Michele said she's ready anytime for hers.
We finished off dinner with a brownie with a blueberry compote and whipped cream. That went down very easily!!
Apparently this weekend and Monday where we are staying is a big Nova Scotia event, Natal Days, similar to our Fourth of July but for the province of Nova Scotia. There will be music, a parade and fireworks throughout this three-day long holiday weekend. This town has tons of history, yet only about 530 permanent residents!
After a day of mostly rain, we were rewarded with a colorful sunset. Tomorrow we will explore the sights of the town. Today we drove 400 miles. The temperature ranged from 64 to 77 at various points and locations throughout the day.
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