A Rendezvous with Sneakers

For the most part, I would consider myself a planner; I plan days off, with checklists of things that need to get done. Days at work are planned around specific duties which must occur, i.e. med passes, preparing patients for procedures, etc. There are few instances in my past that I can recall where I have been spontaneous– my spontaneous trip to the Kingdom for a day of biking, or spontaneous hiking adventures in the Catskills. However, the majority of my life is pretty much planned out, with few changes in my daily routines.

A couple weeks ago, Kevin and I realized we had 10 days off. Well, techinally, I had ten days off, and he had some extra vacation time he could use.  Brainstorming of what we could do (how about another mountain bike trip in Vermont?), Kevin said, “How about Canada?”

Yeah, Canada…A place we had never been (well, except for nine years ago when I was looking at universities up there). We purchased a guide book, but then life became life, and a trip became an afterthought. Was it possible to plan a trip to Canada, when you would be leaving to go there in less than two weeks?

Mid way through the week, I gave him a call and said, “Why not? Let’s do it.”

Five days later, we were off. No plans on what to do, no reservations of places to stay, no expectations, simply a full tank of gas and a map of New Brunswick, PEI, and Nova Scotia.

The first two days of the trip involved driving. We did have somewhat of an idea of where to go: head to Bangor, then head to Nova Scotia, and end up in Prince Edward Island. (If you ever are in Bangor, there is an amazing “out of the way” joint that has great seafood, called  Mclaughlin Seafood Inc. Truthfully, it is outside of Bangor, off the beaten path, but has amazingly affordable seafood).

We arrived at Saint John an hour later than expected–as we did not realize that we actually skipped ahead an hour during our ride from Bangor to Saint John–and took a ferry across the Bay of Fundy. For your information, the bay of Fundy has some of, if not the highest tides in the world. It also has lots of whales. Unfortunetly, Kevin didn’t get to see any whales on the ferry from Saint John to Digby, NS.

Due to the uncertainty of weather in Nova Scotia, we ended up staying in a cheap motel our first night in Yarmouth, a seaside fishing town on the south-western shores of NS. It was our introduction to the fog, which we’d be seeing for the majority of our trip.

The next day, due to impending rain, we decided to head to Nova Scotia. On our way, we stopped and did a couple road rides, the first starting in Shelburne and riding along the seaside (you can check out a link to rides here ).  I had decided to bring my cross bike on the trip insead of my road bike, as we were unsure what the roads would be like, which was a major mistake. Having only ever ridden in three times, I was not used to the fit of the bike, causing major shoulder and back pain. My tip for you if you ever decide to go on a trip where you will be riding your bike for long periods of time: bring a bike that your body is familar with!

We decided to stop and ride around the peninsula to end up at Peggy’s Cove, therefore stopped again and headed out on our bikes. However, late into the ride, we realized we were riding along Aspotogan peninsula, the little peninsula next to the peninsula which was home to Peggy’s Cove. Ooops. We had great views, non the less, and discovered Nova Scotia is actually quite hilly.

In Halifax, we decided to stay at Kings University, a part of Dalhousie University, as during the summer, they rent out dorm rooms. It was more expensive than a hostel, but cheaper than a hotel/ B&B. I must admit, it was interesting being back in a dorm….Using dorm showers…Etc. But, it was clean and safe. Actually, I think it was interesting staying at my first choice university nine years later.

The student at the “front desk” of the dorm suggested an affordable seafood place called Phil’s Seafood. I decided to try seafood, since, hello, I am in seafood heaven. This place was amazing. Many seafood restaurants in cities charge an arm and a leg for fresh seafood (tourist traps, basically) but this place was incredible. So good we ended up going back a second night. Cheap, and mouthwatering food. Even Kevin, who is a skeptic when it comes to seafood, developped a love for scallops. (Mind you, after our trip, he will never eat scallops again so that he can “remember the scrumptiousness of what fresh scallops taste like”.

With incredible wind, we opted out of biking and spent the day sightseeing in Halifax and Peggy’s Cove. I swear, it is impossible to be overweight if you live in Halifax. From the waterfront to Citadel (a historic fort) or to any other part of the city, you need to walk up hill.

 

Peggy’s Cove

From Halifax we took the ferry from Pictou to Wood Island in Prince Edward Island. If you are a cyclist, Prince Edward Island is the home of the Confederation trail– a cyling trail that goes from one tip of the island all the way through the island to the other tip. It is well groomed, with bathrooms along the way, and places to stay for cyclists. One day, I want to return and ride the whole trail. There are also trails that extend off the main Confederation trail to other areas. Not to mention, the coastal provincial parks have bicycle lanes. Talk about an amazing tourism industry catered to cyclists! If only other places in the United States would learn from the Canadians.

We did treat ourselves one night to a B&B in Charlottetown, the capital of Prince Edward Island, which felt like a 5 star hotel after dorm living and motel living.

If you are ever in Charlottetown, and want some fresh, amazing, mouthwatering seafood, you must go to Water Prince Corner Shop– it is not one of those “all-you-can-eat expensive lobster dinner” places. It’s big with locals, and I know why.  had the most scrumptious Prince Edward Island mussels. (C’mon, you have to have PEI mussels IN  Prince Edward Island!

Due to a forecast of rain, we ended up driving more than cycling. We did make it to North Rustico, and decided to chance rain and ride through Prince Edward Island’s Provincial Park to Cavendish–famous for Ann of Green Gables!

Kevin was a trooper and went to the Ann of Green Gables historic site with me.

Our last stop was Summerside, yet another coastal town. It wasn’t too thrilling, but had a nice rest-over before our 13hour car ride back to the US.  (If you ever decide to drive 13 hours in a day, God bless you! I do not think I will ever be able to do a straight 13 hr drive ever again.)

All in all, it was an incredible trip, and our spontaneous adventure ended up being a blast. Now, after knowing a bit more about the territory, I can assure you there will be another northern adventure in the future.