Canada; Beresford, New Brunswick to Port Hood, Nova Scotia

Week 3:

My favourite part... Having the opportunity to see the red sand beaches of PEI!

Total miles... 715

Day 12: Beresford, New Brunswick to Miramichi, New Brunswick 

88 miles 

I said goodbye and left shortly after 8 this morning to take my bike down to the convention for the last day. The rain forecast didn't look too promising, but I went anyways to be an hour further down the road anyhow. Early afternoon the rain did come, and come, and come.  I caught a ride out to visit Gram and witness her critique her grandson's sock selection.  From there I hopped in with another friend, S, and a few of us went for dinner at Boston Pizza.  After dinner, I hitched yet another ride to stay with some other friends for the night. Their cottage is right on the ocean and even with the rain, has a stunning view. 

Day 13: Miramichi, New Brunswick to Stratford, Prince Edward Island 

210 miles 

Rain, rain, and more rain. Slept in this morning and then enjoyed a visit and some tea. We left mid-morning to do a few errands that my friend needed to do, then came back home and read while listening to the rain plunk and the waves crash. We did manage to be productive as well, and made a homemade lasagne that was absolutely delicious for dinner. After dinner, the clouds were starting to break and the forecast looked good, so I decided to head to PEI. I was wrong. It rained nearly the whole way over. By the time I got to Shediac, I was soaked and frozen, so I decided to look for a spot to stay. I spent some time looking and then decided just to persevere. It was another cold and wet couple of hours over to Stratford, but I made it shortly after 10. I was welcomed right in and got warmed up with a hot shower and a cup of tea before saying goodnight.

Raindrops and crashing waves at Miramichi Bay

A rainy crossing of the amazing Confederation Bridge

Charlottetown Harbour, PEI

Day 14: Stratford, Prince Edward Island 

0 miles 

The Confederation was signed here

I got up around 8:30 this morning and had a cup of tea and an amazing homemade blueberry muffin. My friend S got up shortly after that, after having worked the evening shift last night. After we were ready for the day, we headed into Charlottetown to see the historic harbour and the building where the Confederation was signed. From there, we headed into the countryside over to Cavendish to see the farm that inspired the Anne of Green Gables books! The grounds and house have been really well maintained and it's easy to see how Lucy Maud Montgomery's imagination was able to run wild. After exploring the home, the haunted forest and lovers lane, we went into the town of Cavendish to the boardwalk for a Cow's ice cream... Delicious! We headed back towards home then, stopping off in North Rustico to see a 'white' sand beach.. Looked red to me, but really nice either way!  A few lobster boats came in as we were there; they would need to come in during high tide as the sand bar is quite shallow. Back at home, we set about painting a small furnace room which will spend some time being used as a bedroom when they have extra guests. We got the painting finished in perfect time to help get a steak dinner on the table!  After dinner we touched up a bit of paint and I got caught up on my writing and whatnot. 

The infamous Anne of Green Gables house

The 'white' sand beach....

Day 15: Stratford, Prince Edward Island 
0 miles 

I didn't wake up until 9 this morning! The room I am staying in is quite dark, so it's easy to get a great sleep. After breakfast, we went for a nice long walk along the beach, then came home for lunch. In the afternoon, we made some cookies, got the mail, made a few phone calls and sat on the deck. We had an early dinner, then got ready for church. It was a small meeting, but great fellowship. It was a later night getting home, but today was a very rejuvenating day.  

Beachside walks

Day 16: Stratford, Prince Edward Island 

176 miles 

I got up a little earlier today and headed out around 9:30 to tour the island some more. I headed west, rather aimlessly, but it felt great to just be exploring.  I went up to Cavendish, over to Summerside, then followed the North Cape Coastal Route around the southern coast to Mount Pleasant. I had thought about going to the west end of the island, but at that point I felt quite ill, so I headed back towards Summerside instead. Once I arrived, I stopped in at the tourism bureau and then headed over to Samuel's Coffeehouse for a tea and some delicious squash soup while I checked out the brochures I'd picked up. I waited out my queasy stomach at the coffeehouse, then headed back towards Charlottetown. I stopped off at the Charlottetown mall to do a little shopping then went back home and got in before dinner. After dinner, we went for a walk down to the beach, and found lots of beautiful Lupins (and plenty of mosquitoes) along our way. When we got back, we visited some more and then had a cup of peppermint tea before heading off to bed for another night.

Lupins

Day 17: Stratford, Prince Edward Island 

0 miles 

Slept in a bit again this morning and then had a late breakfast. A man was coming to look at their furnace this morning, so once he was done his bit we went for a 7km walk... felt great! We got back just in time for lunch. After eating, we set about getting some tulips dug up and ready to be transplanted. Later in the afternoon I headed into Charlottetown to have a walk around there. I walked around the historic downtown, enjoying a cup of tea along the way. I found myself a cozy sweater (I had really been missing my comfies) and then checked out a little shop called My Little Stash and found a super comfy maxi skirt for $20! So excited for something new and the girl there has an awesome shop! Once I found that, I figured I had better stop shopping, so I headed back home for dinner...delicious homemade hamburgers really hit the spot! After dinner, we headed out to the potato patch to get some weeding done and narrowly avoided the attack of the mosquitoes. The rest of the evening was spent trying to get the lock on one of my saddlebags opened, and relaxing. 

A beautiful spot to walk 7km

Beautiful and historic downtown Charlottetown 

Day 18: Stratford, Prince Edward Island to Port Hood, Nova Scotia 

241 miles 

I got up around 8 this morning and got my things packed up. We had breakfast together around 9, and then I finished getting ready to leave. From Stratford, I headed eastward again to see Point Prim and the oldest lighthouse on the island.  From there, I headed northeast to Cardigan, and then followed the Points East Coastal Route down towards Wood Island.  Along the way, I found a cafe for lunch and enjoyed a pulled pork wrap. I got down to the Wood Island Lighthouse around 1:30, so I had plenty of time to check out the area and then get in queue for the ferry. When I pulled into the line, I parked next to an equally loaded-down bike all the way from Texas! I met its owner shortly afterwards, and enjoyed hearing of his adventures. The ferry ride was about 75 minutes and we got into Caribou, Nova Scotia around 4.  From there, I headed into New Glasgow to wander around and wait for my dad to meet me! He got there around 6. Meanwhile, I had some dinner and figured out a place to stay the night. Once Dad arrived and we were ready to go, we had a couple hours to get to Port Hood on Cape Breton Island. We saw a gorgeous sunset along the way, then set up camp right on the coast. We have some redneck trailer park neighbours with a very limited vocabulary, but hopefully we can get some sleep. 

Point Prim Lighthouse, PEI

Wood Island

Goodbye for now, PEI :(

Welcome to Nova Scotia!

J.

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