In our last episode, our hero lost his wallet in L'Anse-à-Valleau, Quebec, and broke his kickstand somewhere after Sainte-Anne-des-Monts on the North shore of the Gaspe Peninsula. Last weekend would have been another great time to get out and go riding, but it didn't happen, and now the short riding season in the Maritimes is already half over, and the need to be out and about seems to double in intensity.
Lepreau Falls Provincial Park, New Brunswick
The Plan: 800 kilometres over 2.5 days
Will it survive contact with the road?
We had really enjoyed our Gaspe experience over the long weekend, but I wanted this trip to be fun with lots of time for family and butterfly watching so set our daily mileage at a mere 400 km per day.
Your primary mission:
To enjoy the ride, see some family and have fun!
Your secondary mission:
repeat as necessary.
It was Sunday and I was still pulling leftover dry goods out of my motorcycle cases from the long weekend. I must have packed about ten pounds of food that CLine and I touched only a small part of. I made a decision to do a couple of things to prepare for the upcoming weekend that we planned around a trip to Saint Martins NB, and that was to buy what we needed as we went, and only pack along stuff for breakfast such as instant oatmeal and tea along with condiments should they be required. That should cut down on my load for the weekend, but as it is getting cooler, it's also time to reconsider riding with a mesh jacket and no backup clothing.
St. Martins is a village on the Bay of Fundy in Saint John County, New Brunswick, Canada. The village was founded as Quaco by 1783 by soldiers from the disbanded loyalist King's Orange Rangers. It was incorporated in 1967. Led by shipbuilders such as James Moran, it was the third most productive shipbuilding town in the Maritimes, producing over 500 ships.[4] Shipbuilding declined after the 1870s and today tourism is the major industry
I must have mentioned that I hate packing, in fact I suffer from a bit of anxiety with the whole "Let's get ready for a trip, shall we?" and I often procrastinate, leaving it as long as possible, so it becomes a mad rush to finish off in the late hours before clock strikes midnight. I didn't do too badly Thursday night, all the cases are on as well as the tent, and all I have to do after work is to go home for five or six minutes and change into my riding clothes, grab my camelback and my tank bag, then head over to join up with Caroline and hey presto! We are off.
Day 1 - Charlottetown to Dieppe NB - 154 km 2 hours
Day 1 - Charlottetown to Dieppe NB - 154 km 2 hours
Diane makes my day when the Post finally arrives!
Caroline had envisioned a perfect world where two 100% waterproof dry bags would be strapped to her motorcycle, one to the passenger seat, and one to the luggage rack, using Rok Straps. She had one set, but had foolishly asked me to order a set for her from FortNine.ca along with my Shinko 705 front tire, and as Friday was a holiday for Old Home Week and the Gold Plate Cup & Saucer , the post office had marked the item as "Office closed" so she ended up calling the Post Office and convincing them that my office was indeed open, so they sent the truck out (Well after the race and parade had been completed) to deliver the tire along with the package taped inside of it, Her Rok Straps and my Ram mount. Anyhow, she sat at home after completing her work for the day, patiently waiting (not so patiently) waiting for those straps. I kept going out to the front to look for the van, but was surprised when Diane walked in carrying the tire and parts.
Once work was done, I scooted home and changed into my riding clothes, grabbed a few last minute items and headed over to Seelines place to watch her attach her new second set of Rok Straps to her luggage system.
Patiently waiting for the Rok Straps
Photo Credit: Caroline
I think my rear Shinko 705 is about due for replacement. See the bulge in the tread? And it was definitely resisting my turn in's this past weekend. I'll do both front and rear when we get back. Not bad for 10,000 km and a puncture!
Do you think this makes my @ss look phat?
We stopped in at the local Esso and McDonald's as Caroline needed fuel and I needed food and fuel...
Photo Credit: Caroline
I don't know about you, but that looks like rain up ahead over the mainland!
Crossing over the Confederation Bridge
Yep, we cut down 955 through Murray Corner NB again to bypass a bunch of that weekend traffic.
It's more fun on 955 NB
955 is looking a bit rough these days
We arrived in Dieppe where Caroline's Aunt Pauline was staying with her sister Mary, so we not only got a free camping spot in the back yard, we got to catch up with
family.
Uncle Carl and Aunt Mary taking it easy.
Of course when I lead Caroline to the restaurant for the evening, I took us on a wrong turn down Rue Industriel when it should have been Rue Acadie further down the street, but we did find the McDonald's Distributor, Martin Brower, who Caroline's son works with, unloading the trucks in Charlottetown. He's been calling them "bauer" orders or something, but now it all made sense when we stumbled upon this warehouse. I get it now, Shamus! "Brower Orders"
Martin Brower's distribution center
We had been wanting to visit the Maharaja for Indian food, as Caroline likes to check out TripAdvisor ratings before heading to a restaurant, which suits me fine, as I prefer turning a trip into a mini adventure and sampling local and exotic foods rather than exist on fare from Tim Horton's or McDonalds, but what we messed up on was the fact they closed at 2000, and we had been happily chatting in the backyard as we set up our tent. Now the tent was up, but we were still chatting away up until 1945. Oops! A trip down into Moncton didn't work so well, as the restaurant we were going to was right in the heart of the Acadian Festival held yearly in the area.
During the first Acadian National Convention held in Memramcook in 1881, August 15 was chosen as the Acadian national holiday. Now, August 15 has become central to Acadian identity and includes a tintamarre parade, where making lots of noise is used to convey the vitality of modern-day Acadie.
Well, we got seperated and ended up in the dark parking lot of the Swiss Chalet (the Petit Codiac River was at low tide btw) and as neither of us wanted to eat there, we settled on Won Wong Chinese & Canadian food which worked out quite well, as it was right back into Mary and Carl's neighbourhood, just a wee bit down the road.
Pineapple chicken balls
chicken fried rice
garlic and honey spare ribs
Beef and vegetables
egg roll
Photo Credit: Caroline
Good call, as I enjoyed it, and it really hit the spot as It had been a very light day for me so far, and I was quite happy that our tent was up, the
Photo Credit: Caroline
Caroline is tickled that all her gear is in two bags, both under the rain fly in her vestibule, and easily accessible. The black dry bag is the ready access riding gear if you must know. ;)
Nature Hike Dry bag
Photo Credit: Caroline
We went inside and chatted away with Aunt Pauline, Aunt Mary and some family friends until my stories bored them all and they called it a night just before midnight. Now off to our guest suite in the backyard... :)
It's Caroline's time with family so I don't want to rush her, and we agreed that 1000 at the latest to leave in the morning would tie into the rest of our plans admirably.
Day 2 - Dieppe NB to Saint Martins NB to Hardings Point Campground NB - 307 km 4:30 hours
Day 2 - Dieppe NB to Saint Martins NB to Hardings Point Campground NB - 307 km 4:30 hours
Aunt Mary and Pauline had made breakfast for us, and Caroline's cousin Darren had gone off and offered us a McDonalds coffee run, which I happily agree to, so there was no need to demonstrate the pyrotechnics of my SVEA123R this morning.
The guest suite is both spacious, and well situated
Photo Credit: Caroline
After a lovely breakfast of scrambled eggs, Canadian Bacon, Black pudding and bread, we moved the party out onto the patio, geared up and said our goodbyes before heading over to G Bourque Ltd over on the corner of Champlain and Englehart where Caroline bought a pair of gloves for the winter, and I got a bit more chain wax for the Ontario trip that is coming up in a couple of weeks, as well as gifting Caroline with a throttle boss made by Kuryakyn. My friend Yun-Kan had introduced me to this model, and I find them very unobtrusive, and thought it would be a great long term addition to her grip provided she was happy with it.
Kuryakyn Throttle Boss
This was a tight fit on her stock Shadow grip, let me tell you! It's not going anywhere!
Of course my eyes were drawn to the Versys 650 and the Versys 300x looks pretty capable too! In fact, I've seen more about these smaller bikes on and offroad, and they may just be a KLR killer if you get your head wrapped around the smaller engine size.
Versys 650 and little brother, 300x
Versys 300x
Versys 650
They also had some heated grips downstairs on the wall, and I wanted to highlight these for Caroline later on, as it was getting closer to the fall, and she should have something to keep her hands warm so she can keep up to me this fall. ;)
Well, once out of Bourques, the mission was to get out of Moncton, and onto some back roads over to Route 111 from Sussex NB to St. Martins on the coast, so we felt we needed to make up some time on the highway, until we hooked up with the 111.
These roads are absolutely magic in mid to late September when the fall colours peak through the pines. I hope we get to revisit the area later on this year.
We finally made it into Saint Martins, grabbed some gas there as the next stop was going to be in Saint John later that afternoon, then stopped again just by the roadside to get a few more photos.
Caroline sitting this one out, or so I thought.
How long are we here for?
Photo Credit: Caroline
The Mosher River flows out to Quaco Bay in the distance
Saint Martins New Brunswick
Mosher River
Photo Credit: Caroline
Photo Credit: Caroline
Time to hop back onto the bikes and head over to Tynemouth Creek Road and have a look at the covered bridge there.
How little did I know that we would encounter our nemesis that was to plague our journey for what seemed hours, but was in fact a bare thirty minutes... The Kayak van... Sort of like Mr. Beans nemesis, our Kayak van was always out in front of four other cars too afraid to pass, but ballsy enough to tailgate, and at less than 60kph in an 80 zone, it didn't take too much. But it was seriously hampering our plans, as we had to ride along in second or third and react to the brake lights that would flash on and off up ahead. I hate this, and found a passing opportunity and exploited it, getting in front of the conga line lead by the white panel van oblivious of the line of cars and bikes behind it, seemingly scanning the woods for places to launch those bright orange roof top kayaks.
Caroline wasn't as fortunate, and was unable to pass them, so I figured once we turned onto Shore road at Bains Corners off of the 111, we'd be free and clear, but it wasn't to be, as Caroline was still behind the van which had turned to follow us!!! I decided to take a wee bit of a drastic step, that is to block the road by going 20 kilometres slower than the posted limit (does that sound familiar?) which allowed Caroline to sneak around him on the left and finally get back into the clear air. It was a matter of seconds to leave them to their own devices and launch up the road towards Tynemouth Creek where I wanted to get some shots of the covered bridge there.
Bains Brook as seen from Shore Road
Oops, we stopped at Bains creek and the nemesis passed us once again! S'alright, cause I want to get some shots of the bridge from a distance.
Caroline alongside Bains Brook, New Brunswick
Up ahead you can see the bridge if you squint... Wait a sec, I think I can enlarge this thing...
Tynemouth Creek
Ten Mile Creek, Bains Brook, and Half Gallon Brook all empty into Tynemouth Creek, which drains into Quaco Bay, a part of the Fundy Bay.
Tynemouth Creek Covered Bridge, St. Martins New Brunswick
Photo Credit: Caroline
I waited until I say the Kayak Van enter the bridge before taking this shot. Seriously. :D
Well, that is behind us, and the Kayak van is in front of us now... *sigh* Oh well, There is a lovely rock beach up ahead that I want to show Caroline, the Gardiner Creek Beach off of route 825 NB.
Route 825 NB heading West
She might have gone a bit far. I tend to like to turn short of the grass.
It really is this much fun riding with me, I swear.
Looking East along the beach.
So at Caroline's Aunt Mary's, her Aunt Pauline was very adamant that plastic straws were an issue in the environment, and I must admit to laughing, and sharing a different view point of littering humans casually "shitting their own bed" by dumping plastic willy nilly in all walks of life, so plastic straws were just "one of a number of straws on the camels back". We were both in agreement that we need, as a species, to clean up our act and restrict what ecologies we mess up. Keep plastics out of the oceans if you don't want them in your soups and stews!
Can I simply ask you all to CLEAN UP AFTER YOURSELVES and dispose of waste properly? That's it.
If you can't do that, then you need to find yourself a new planet to wreck.
Here is a sample of what I found on the beach in a sixty foot radius from the "parking area".
Caroline got more exercise here than I did.
I love watching that wave curl in, from one end progressively to the other.
Photo Credit: Caroline
Photo Credit: Caroline
Photo Credit: Caroline
Photo Credit: Caroline
Photo Credit: Caroline
I just wanted to draw your attention to my brand new kickstand that I broke back in July of this year. I am really missing that kickstand foot, and like a fool I left my old kickstand puck back in my apartment. (where I always use it to park with it on concrete, DUH!)
The New Kickstand
Gardiner Creek Marsh
Simond's Parish
New Brunswick
Gardiner's Creek emptying into the Bay of Fundy
I bet you were wondering about the Kayak Van in all this time, weren't you? Well we had passed it on route to the beach, then it had disappeared down the road, then wandered on back (I think it has a set speed between 50 and 60 kph) and decided that Gardiner Creek would be ideal to launch the kayaks, and they had company too! A camper load of kids that soon caught up to them to join the party!
Scooting further West on 825 makes sense if we ever want to get to the campground at the end of all this today, Hardings Point over on the Kingston peninsula near Saint John, but I also wanted to show Caroline Lepreau falls and a few beautiful bits of coastline on the way back. Time to git going!
Iron horses meet flesh and blood horses. I wonder what kind of oil they take? The emissions are rude though, eh? For both models.
Well it was 1345 and I was feeling the need for lunch, and when we got back onto the 825 and headed in towards Saint John up ahead, I knew that we were in for a suburban traffic jam and I hate them. We hit a bit of rain just before the airport, and pulled off into the church parking lot to gear up a bit, basically just secure Caroline's phone as I'd loaned her my GUB Phone mount for the trip, that allowed her to use her cell phone as a GPS to plot out the trip, which lets her lead instead of her telling me where to go once in a while, for to do that she has to give me the lat and long so I can enter it into my old Garmin 60cx. I knew there was a Tim Horton's up ahead where we could eat lunch and have a nice cuppa.
We were going to give up on something more exotic and order lunch there as well, and would have done so had it not been for the fact that they no longer served the Steak and Chipotle sandwich that I used to like. In fact, they don't carry any beef products on their current menu at all! Only that corporation approved, designed by committee, for profit highly processed "Beyond Meat" product. Nah, thanks. I asked them to register my complaint, then thanked them for the small coffee, and sat down while Caroline asked Tripadvisor where we were going to eat.
Product placement!
Photo Credit: Caroline
A wee shot of the HUGE Irving petrol refinery deep in the heart of Saint John
The Irving refinery in Saint John stands out along the banks of the Little River, and located right beside it, the paper mill, the docks, roads, and railways all serving this giant industrial area.
History
The refinery was built in 1960 as a partnership between Irving Oil and Standard Oil Co. of California (SOCAL) on a 780-acre (320 ha) site in Saint John, Canada. It was built to allow for expansions, the first of which occurred in 1971 and then again in 1974. In 2000, a larger, $1.5 billion upgrade was completed. Irving Oil bought out SOCAL's share in the early 1980s.
The refinery is supplied with crude oil primarily delivered by supertankers to the company's Canaport deep-water terminal which was commissioned in 1970; prior to 1970, crude oil was delivered to the refinery through a much smaller terminal located on Courtney Bay immediately north of the Saint John Shipbuilding property. After Canaport opened, this terminal was converted to exclusively export the refinery's output. In 2011 the refinery built a rail terminal for receiving crude oil; the refinery is served by tracks owned by CN but which are operated by New Brunswick Southern Railway.[citation needed]
In July 2010, Irving Oil cancelled plans for an $8-billion project, known as Eider Rock,[2] which would have seen a second refinery built south of Saint John adjacent to the Canaport property with its partner BP Plc. Irving and BP claimed "the demand for refined fuel had dropped and the capital costs of a new refinery were higher than expected." Construction had been scheduled to start in 2011 and at its peak, the refinery project was predicted to create 5,000 construction jobs and 1,000 permanent jobs. In February 2011, Fort Reliance Co. Ltd., Irving Oil Ltd.'s parent company, also cancelled its $30-million project to build a new headquarters at Long Wharf on property owned by the Port of Saint John.[3]
In 2015, Irving Oil said it was no longer importing Bakken shale oil, but was taking cheaper crudes from Saudi Arabia.[4]
You see these everywhere on the roads
Am I ever glad that she did find something fairly close by that came well recommended! It was a gem of a diner, called The Down Home Diner, located in Saint John East, at 61 Bayside, south of Loch Lomand Road. I didn't expect much judging by the exterior, and a for sale sign located close by made me wonder what we could expect, but I need not have worried, for the food was fabulous!
I am often asked, or perhaps when people read this bit, they will often ask me, at what point did you change your mind about the restaurant? When Caroline sat down and immediately ordered a Pineapple Crush, and I was taken aback, but when the waitress said "Sure." I leapt on the band wagon and asked "Do you have Spruce Beer?" (confusing it with something my dad had as a boy in Hampton NB) "Brich Beer, you mean?"
"Oh yes please!" I responded. Quite happy now that I need no longer peruse the menu as I was pretty sure that "Newfie Fries" were Fries Dressing and Gravy!
Birch Beer and Pineapple!
I sent that picture to my buddy Chris who had ridden across the Trans Labrador Highway with me back in 2011.
Caroline opted for the fish tacos while I really wanted to reacquaint myself with FD&G.
Fries Dressing and Gravy
Fish Tacos
Photo Credit: Caroline
Photo Credit: Caroline
I overheard the next table talking about funnel cakes, so I quizzed one of the staff about them, and when Caroline asked me what they are, I simply had to order one to share with her. Sweet batter piped right into the deep fryer, then dusted with cinnamon sugar, and topped with fruit and whipped cream, and when served hot, it is a wee bit of sticky heaven on a plate. Caroline was all smiles after her first funnel cake.
Peaches and Cream funnel cake
One of the cooks sat down for lunch, and we started up a conversation about the restaurant and "Down home", my visit there a number of years ago, and all things involving fishing, dogs and hockey. Kelly was her name, and her family is all from Newfoundland, so she's travelled there on occasion. I was telling her that as a joke, I was a good camping partner to have in case of bear attacks...
Yep, I resemble one of them,
After the laughter died down, she related a story about spotting a Canadian black cougar walking along the bank of the St. Croix River in Calais ME/St. Stephen NB. Apparently they are so rare that people are asked to report sightings of them, and while searching the internet this morning, I found a CBC article on cougars in Eastern Canada which leads me to believe they are present and breeding out there, but no mention of black ones at all, so they must be extremely rare. Anyhow, the talk turned to her being a hockey mom, and we talked about how she handled the cold weather of the rinks while watching her boys play, and her favourite was a down coat that she admitted was rather expensive at the time, but as it had lasted over ten years, Caroline offered the opinion that it had only cost $100 per year. That made more sense to me, and I can't quibble as I've spent more than a few dollars on heated gear, grips and other cold weather aids over the years. She really likes the Eddie Bauer Down throw, and I laughed as I've seen it cropping up in my newsfeed lately. I told her about the unauthorized, unsanctioned, unofficial picnic blanket that I told Caroline not to bring to Shubenacadie that I managed to hog for much of the motorcycle races weekend.
We said our goodbyes, paid up and headed outside to find Kelly was letting her six year old English Springer out for a romp...
Kelly and Riley on a break
Riley doesn't like the helmet and all the gear. That's okay, I don't like all that gear much myself either. Go ahead and bark!
Riley, don't bark at the gear...
Six years old and she behaves like a puppy... Beautiful. When Kelly asked where we were bound, I told her that we were off to see my Aunt Sue at Kredl's after visiting Lepreau Falls, and she exclaimed "I buy buns and things from there for the restaurant!" It's such a cool small world to be in. :)
Have you got me figured out yet? Motorcycles, Dogs and good food, not necessarily in that order. That turned into a late lunch, and we only got back onto the highway just before 1600, so we'd better get a bit of focus on as I wanted to get to Lepreau Falls then double back along the coast on 790 South East through Dipper and Chance Harbours, then head back up to Grand Bay-Westfield where we were going to catch the cable ferry over to the Kingston peninsula and our camping spot for the night, Hardings Point Campground.
Lots of other bikes out and about.
We were only on the highway for about 45 kilometers then hopped off to visit Lepreau Falls, where we found a wee puppy to play with.
Lepreau Rapids
Why did I go out of my way to call that "Rapids" instead of Falls? Well a couple of years ago I rode by here on my way around New Brunswick and I made the mistake of thinking that was it... The rapids were the "Falls", wow, beautiful but underwhelming... but post ride I found that I'd made a horrible mistake and needed to go back to find the real falls. :)
Photo Credit: Caroline
She is really getting into this, and taking some nice shots as well.
Looking south along the Lepreau River towards the top of the Falls
Photo Credit: Caroline
Photo Credit: Caroline
Photo Credit: Caroline
I was playing nice for this one
I decided that I needed to mix things up a bit, and as I got a smile out of Caroline too, so it was well worth the antics.
Photo Credit: Caroline
Photo Credit: Caroline
Photo Credit: Caroline
Photo Credit: Caroline
Photo Credit: Caroline
Photo Credit: Caroline
I love the way the rocks are striated like that.
Right, all saddled up and ready to roll, Caroline lets me head further south along the river to see if I can spy anything at all...
"Jackpot! Hey Honey! I found more water!"
Lepreau Falls Provincial Park, New Brunswick
So, yeah, there is a falls back there, so I encourage you not to take the easy path when you get so much more out of an extra effort.
Photo Credit: Caroline
I have no idea why this last photo was on the roll, so we are both in the dark. I'm content with that, really I am. :P
I was playing around as this was supposed to be a "couplie" instead of selfie, but I was able to keep her out of the shot with my longer ape like arms. Hahaha! It turns out that she likes me lots, and this was her favourite photo of me this weekend.
Living the good life.
You can almost make out where it empties into Mace's Bay to the south.
No Motorcycles? What?!!!
The Wild One! Take that, "No motorcycles", who do you think you are, old Quebec City?
The Wild One
Photo Credit: Caroline
it was a short ride back out onto 790 south, but I recall that it was going to be a few stops, and I wasn't expecting Caroline to enjoy the falls and rapids as much as she clearly did, so I vowed to stop less and take fewer pictures on this run... If you want to more of this coastline in detail, look at my 2017 The Heart and Hartland of New Brunswick ride.
Little Lepreau Basin, New Brunswick
As the 790 swings from North-South back to East-West, you arrive at Dipper Harbour West, and leave via Dipper Harbour East.
Dipper Harbour, Bay of Fundy
So that boat really is sitting on the bottom during low tide in Dipper Harbour, Bay of Fundy World’s highest tides
Tides in the Bay of Fundy
Twice each day, 160 billion tonnes of seawater flow in and out of the Bay of Fundy — more than the combined flow of the world’s freshwater rivers! The Bay of Fundy’s tides transform the shorelines, tidal flats and exposed sea bottom as they flood into the bay and its harbours and estuaries.
The best place to experience the tides of the Bay of Fundy is within the World’s Highest Tides Ecozone. Located around the two upper basins of the Bay, this area has a distinct coastal geography. Tides in this coastal zone reach a peak of around 16 m (50′) — the height of a 5-storey building. This is many times higher than typical tides on the rest of the Atlantic coast! The huge tides expose the sea bottom and shape the coastline.
Dipper Harbour Creek
Photo Credit: Caroline
I really like the images that her Apple iPhone 7 Plus has been contributing. They are almost as good as the shots I was getting with my Samsung S3 years ago. ;) Seriously, they are better lit than my point and shoot Panasonic DMC-TS3
Photo Credit: Caroline
We all do this, don't we?
Photo Credit: Caroline
It's six o'clock and I had hoped to be another 53 kilometres and an hour away at Harding's Point by now, that way we could choose between heading on to Kingston and my Aunt Sue's backyard or staying at the campsite, but as she is a baker and up to bed early, she goes to sleep at 7pm and I didn't want to intrude so it was time to get going if we wanted our tent up in the daylight hours. I resolved to take more pictures but from the bike.
I pulled over to take some pictures of the aptly named Moose Creek, and was caught up in the beauty of the area, when I saw some movement out in the distance, and spotted a Moose cow and her two calves! Caroline told me excitedly over the Scala's that she was finally going to use the binoculars she'd been carting around for ages! While I signalled an oncoming car to stop and pointed out the moose in the distance.
Sorry gang, it's not the best camera in the world, but you can see why I love this shoreline, eh?
Moose at Moose Creek, New Brunswick!
Looking south into Little Dipper Harbour along the Moose Creek
The aptly named Moose Creek, Little Dipper Harbour, New Brunswick
The husband and wife thanked me for pointing out the moose, and headed on their way, while Caroline and I expressed our excitement of seeing the "Meese?". While I had wished they were much closer, It was a perfect "Golden Hour" moment for me, and I was feeling blessed to be in the right time and place to have witnessed them.
Back at it!
Dipper Harbour Back Cove
Dipper Harbour Back Cove
When I stopped for a chat a couple of years ago with a gentleman working on his shed here, my friend Zac said it might be the same gent that owned the fishing boat he was working on at the time... Was this it?
The old man's shed/barn/shed thing
We didn't bother entering Chance harbour this go round, and headed out onto the highway towards Saint John, then north up to Grand Bay-Westfield where we stopped in at the Sobey's for some nibbles as we were still full from our late lunch at the Down Home Diner.
The Shopping list was short, but perhaps a bit sweet?
Raspberries
Milk
Chips
Chocolate
Cider
Jerky
Water, four litres
We belted up past my friends house, but as no car was in the driveway, and I knew he was away riding at the Fundy Adventure Rally this weekend, didn't bother to stop at all, and headed to the ferry ramp that would take us across the Saint John River and over to Harding's Point.
I did wave though. A bit, my hand was full of camera
Waiting on the ferry, but it is a busy crossing point, and a short wait, so we turned the engines off, but stayed on the bikes waiting for the ferry to return to the West side of the Saint John River.
Caroline is no stranger to ferries, but I think this is her first time on a cable ferry.
Looking North up the Saint John River
I gave Caroline some advice about ferries, concerning bare steel plates, spilled fluids like transmission or engine oil puddles, and then set an example with a wee wheelie off the end of the ramp cause I could. :)
And immediately pulled into the campground on our right. I mean off the ramp and fifty foot up you need to turn off the road and into the campground entrance where you meet a young fella who asks you to park beside the garbage bins before checking in. The staff got us registered and sorted quickly, although I noted that my debit card was now being declined?!! At least I still had my Visa and was able to book the campsite and buy some firewood, and as Caroline had paid for our groceries it was a fair split.
Following the side by side out was a bit rough, as both Caroline and I said he was going to slow that it was hard not stay off the clutch and brakes to keep our distance.
Add caption
Grand Bay-Westfield is over that-a-way
They were going to stick us out to the East side, in the "Wilderness" area, but when the lad in the side by side pulled over by a site next to the road, we were happy to call it home for the night as it was a short walk to the washrooms down the hill, so
Our campsite for the night, not so wild, er or ness after all
I was so happy to get my boots off at last and retire to my Keene sandals... Bliss!
These aren't going back on until tomorrow
The Chaos 3 by Alps Mountaineering
Cider, raspberries and ketchup chips... Mmmm!
Time to get the show rolling with some of that firewood and liquid boy scout...
The last time we did this I used some coleman stove fuel (Naphtha or White Gas) on wet wood in Nouvelle Quebec, and it was a nicer "Whoosh!" that did indeed relieve me of some overly long knuckle hair. :)
Ooh! Here is a good reason why you never pour from the container when a fire is already under way... Pouring Gas on Fire.
Looking south towards Ingleside Heights across the Saint John River
Photo Credit: Caroline
Past experience meant that I was smart enough to toss the entire smallish bag of wood in so that it would all burn out at about the right moment, so I wouldn't be up to midnight on fire watch, and I knew that we both wanted to be to bed earlyish as I don't sleep terribly well in a tent, and will often be up with dawn, so 0430 or 0530 at times. Go figure, I have a hard time getting out of bed to go to work for 0800, and will sometimes smack snooze until 0730... Not while camping.
As it got darker, we noticed a couple of things... One) this place had street lights, and one of them was aimed straight at the open door of the tent on my side, so that flap would have to go down, and Two) the neighbour kids are kinda noisy with no parental supervision to ask them not to scream while playing on the tree swings on the other side of the road. *sigh* perhaps we should have been more wild after all, but that young kid had thought Caroline wouldn't want to try the groomed gravel hill ahead of us, and Caroline had thought she wanted to be closer to the washrooms until now that is...
Low cloud cover over Ingleside Heights
The raspberries and the cider had gone down very nicely, and the fire was just burning down now.
We let it burn out before heading down the hill to find the washrooms, then hiked back up to our tent, and the now missing children, thank god, only to find after laying down and climbing into our sleeping bags, that the music that we ignored in the background was now loud enough that we could sing along with it, that is if they had been playing anything either of us wanted to hear at this time of night. Okay, they have to quiet down at 2300, right? Nope. Ear plugs inserted, we both managed to nod off and finally fall to sleep after Caroline read aloud the more negative reviews of the campground. Yeah, I'd give it a 2.5 star based on noise and facilities. There are many permanent parked trailers and RV's here, and they are well groomed and lit, so I imagine that being able to make some noise and enjoy oneself on the weekend is part of the scene here in the camp ground, but at that moment, I wish we'd pressed on and silently squatted at my Aunt's place in Kingston New Brunswick. Hahaha. Caroline's opinion of the place wasn't much better, and she needs her sleep at night. Don't ask me how I know this... I'm a very lucky guy. (She says "To be alive after all that snoring you do." but, I say "Because I have you in my life." See why she loves me so much? Oh, and don't forget Cow and calves at Moose Creek. It's hard not to love me after that. ;)
Night y'all!
Day 3 - Hardings Point Campground NB to Charlottetown PE - 342 km 4:20 hours
Day 3 - Hardings Point Campground NB to Charlottetown PE - 342 km 4:20 hours
Oh no! It started to rain heavily in the morning, quite early as the tent was illuminated by the dawn's light, and I braved it to go pee, and was back in the tent carting my rain gear lifted from the bike.
The forecast shows rain, and lots of it
Yesterday they had been calling for nothing, but now it was rain and thunderstorms, darn it!
She made me remove the cute picture of her
all snuggled up and sleeping!
I only did it under protest and because
I want her along on the next one. ;'(
She can sleep through this "Ambient Noise"?
Have you ever used ambient noise? Well Alexa has, and once in a while I'll join Caroline to listen to toads, waves on a beach, rain, and once as a joke, "Rain on Tent" as I told her she would need to get used to it. Well, who was still using ear plugs this morning and sleeping through some of it? Not I, I can relate that much to you.
The tent was going a great job of keeping us dry though, and we even got a deluge of rain at one point that I was sure was going to bounce the rain fly directly down on top of the mesh and in contact with the inner tent, such as that reported by "Swiss Chris" and his detested MSR Hubba Hubba that he had carted from TDF all the way back to Prince Edward Island where he tried to make it a gift to me as he thought his last night in a tent was over. Whoot! Score one for the Chaos 3!
We stayed inside until as late as we could, then geared up to brave the elements, or rather I left the tent to gear up and dance in the rain while Caroline turned herself in a water proof sausage. A florescent orange one.
It's time to bring the tent down, wet and that means more work post trip to dry it all. *sigh*
Today's mission was to get to my Aunt Sue's place in Kingston and introduce Caroline to my new-to-me Uncle Ken, and then head to Kredl's market where my Aunt Sue works in the bakery making the most wonderful Soudough bread imaginable! Better than the one you just thought of! This stuff is to die for!
Some of the most fun and technically challenging roads around, and we had to do them in the rain on a Sunday while everyone is at church. I'd cry, but I'm already too wet. I was a bit worried about Caroline as we found her headlight wasn't working yesterday late in the day, but she was very visible in her orange rain jacket, and I was glad she was wearing that one, as even for me with rain on my visor both in and out this morning, it was a rough go for a while, but not nearly as epic as the rain we rode in through Dalhousie New Brunswick on our way to the Gaspe. That's Caroline's new benchmark, although I don't think she's hit the "Pour water out of your waterproof boots" stage yet, so I'll keep my mouth shut.
Uncle Ken met us at the door, and I told him not to bother inviting us in as we were both still ready for the rain, and I had no intention of staying long enough to
climb out of the gear
climb back into the gear
Which was bit rude, but Ken had his old FJ up in the garage and knew what it was like to be riding in the rain, and pressed for time and distance. I got to introduce Caroline to him, and to arrange for a longer visit, perhaps when the snow flies? And it was back up to the road and our waiting bikes to head on down to Kredl's where my Aunt Sue was working for the day. Perhaps their Facebook page has more information? Yep...
Kredl's Corner Market
Hampton New Brunswick
Photo Credit: Caroline
It had stopped dripping from the sky, and I was getting a bit warm with all that gear on, so I shed it on a bench outside thinking noone is going to want wet rain gear and a jacket with dye dripping from it's leather sleeves, and into the market I went with Caroline in tow.
I'm pretty sure they are still going to be here when get back.
Photo Credit: Caroline
I let my Aunt know that we had armed ourselves with coffee, free donuts and a chunk of blueberry scone, as well as some Egg Roll Salad that Caroline had found in the market, and would be upstairs in the new cafe area.
Two forks and someone to share this with
Photo Credit: Caroline
That scone is so good, that it was a wonder there was any left for Caroline to snap this pic. The Egg Roll salad was nice as well, and I think i have a good shot at replicating it with some coleslaw fried in butter mixed in with some spiced ground pork, in fact I think I could get away with using some mildly flavoured sausage meat. It was yummy, especially after Caroline slaved over a hot microwave to heat it up. Thanks Hon. (Phonetically correct "Hun", or spelling correct "Hon". I think refraining from calling her a "Hun" might be one of my brighter moments.
Hun
/hən/
noun
1. a member of a warlike Asiatic nomadic people who ravaged Europe in the 4th–5th centuries.
While fully capable of ravaging Europe, I doubt she is of Asian descent nor old enough to have enjoyed all that 4th and 5th century ravaging. Of course they say there is a little bit of Genghis Khan in all us... ;)
Blueberry Scone
Photo Credit: Caroline
I had plans of bringing back enough Sourdough for everyone, five or six loaves, but that rain made me rethink it, and I only bought a couple to perch inside my top box, but there you have it. It's a treat for me.
I got to introduce Caroline to my Aunt Sue, but all to briefly it was time to go, and I assured her that we would drop in for a longer stay, perhaps when the motorcycles got put away? ;)
And it was off, North East on NB 121 into Roachville where I made a mistake that would have put us on a very wet clay road (I did this once before to the Dawn 2 Dusk riders way back when) so I had to turn around at the top of the hill and lead us onto 10 north onto NB 880 through Havelock NB.
My camera was still wet, so this is all you are going to get at the moment. Sorry.
OMG! Huge water drops spotted over Sussex New Brunswick!
Caroline took advantage of the stop to shed her rain jacket, and I gave the lens a wee wipe with the end of my finger. It seems to have worked to some extent. :)
Will you look at the condition of these roads? Interior New Brunswick seems to be a have not province when it comes to road repairs, and quite often those bumps you feel are the patches on patches on patches you are bumping over. I'm certain there must be some original road there somewhere.
It means you lower your pace and enjoy more of the scenery, and there truly only were about ten kilometres of road with open potholes that required extra vigilance.
We were cruising merrily along when I spotted this goat tethered to a hut on a farm at the crossroads, of 880 and Creek Road, just West of Lower Ridge NB and I had to stop and get some pictures of him!
I spotted this goat and had to ask Caroline to wait a moment while I circled back
Check out the horns!
Turn this way!
What a rack!
We didn't have long to go to our gas stop at the Salisbury Irving, just 30 min down the road, but whereas I was hoping for fuel and a coffee, the place was an absolute madhouse on a Sunday morning, and I asked Caroline to skip the coffee and let's just get going again.
I love this girl. She asks me now and then not to take the highway all while I am offering to take the highway for her sake. :D
We bounced onto Homestead Road and rode that to Moncton's Chemin Road where we jumped onto the Trans Canada 2 that would bypass Moncton and put us on track for the Island in due time on Highway 15 towards Shediac.
Caroline's Aunt Mary and Uncle Carl had asked us if we had ever stopped at Cape 16 Market on NB 16 just East of the Port Elgin roundabout, and we admitted to almost always missing it in favour of Murray Corner to bypass all the tourists that have trouble driving the speed limit in a straight and level stretch of road. ;) We thought it would make a great respite as we'd had a large breakfast at Kredl's and this would be a late lunch early supper at 1430 in the afternoon. The timing was right, and we can now say that we have stopped when we meet Mary and Carl later on this week.
Cape 16 Market Restaurant
Photo Credit: Caroline
Caroline ordered an iced coffee, and they were kind enough to make one to order for her, as she doesn't care for the sugar syrup that most iced coffees use, and I must confess to being a bit repulsed by the idea of cold coffee as I prefer tea any day of the week, Black tea, good and strong. I made a bit too much noise and she challenged me to try a sip or shut up. Her version was good, much better than I was expecting. I'll shut up and enjoy my house Iced tea, non sweet. Perfection!
That's not as bad as I thought
Photo Credit: Caroline
Waiting for our lunch
We couldn't make up our minds as it has a good menu, but we finally decided to share so half a burger, and half a chicken Quesadilla each.
Bacon Cheeseburger and Chicken Quesadilla at Cape 16 Market Restaurant
Wow! It was good, and Caroline is in agreement when I say we are going to give it five stars worth of "We are eating here again".
It was nicely warm, the roads were dry, and we finally shed all that rain gear, and made it back onto the Island to end our sodden little adventure of the day.
Confederation Bridge and home!
So in spite of all that unforecast rain we had this morning, Caroline and I had another great weekend on the bikes, and she tells me that she ordered an inflatable pillow yesterday... A few weeks ago she was content with a stuff sack full of clothes. I find it funny how I recall the WHY of the kit I carry today when she tells me things like that. I can see a whole bunch more fun with this girl in September when we head to Onterrible to visit family and ride some beautiful roads to get there.
From Prince Edward Island, have a good one and keep the rubber side down, shiny side up!
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