| Ted's
House - Motorcycle Trip Reports Canada, 1996 |
|
I am becoming more and more convinced that you can be plopped down blindfolded anywhere in North America and know where you landed simply by looking at the sides of the road. In Texas, look for armadillos, North Carolina you'll find opossum, Virginia, look for raccoons and squirrels. In Nova Scotia, look for porcupines and lots of `em. At first I thought they were really furry dogs, but after a closer look it was pretty apparent that dogs and quills are an accident, not road-kill.
Crossing the causeway from Mulgrave over to Cape Breton is a real experience. Down the channel there are a few HUGE plant complexes with giant cargo ships, and a whole mountain being eaten away for gravel. After a quick stop at the Tourist Information center I had reservations at The Trailsman motel ($50 Canadian, $60 after taxes) and was making tracks to beat the sunset and cold temps that follow. Product Evaluation of the Day Kathy's Bag Liners, available for $92 at Bob's BMW. They are a replacement for
the BMW bag liners and are form-fitted to the BMW cases and made from Nylon Cordura. They
are NOT waterproof, but didn't let a drop through in the deluge of Day 2. They have an
inner zippered pocket that, with a generous sized piece of ˝" foam fits my TI
Extensa 510 laptop, and an outer pocket that form fits the "pocket" in the BMW
bags. One Ferry, One Island, lots of miles, Next
Day... |
All Photos and Text Copyright©1996-9, Ted
Verrill |
For the first
time I stopped at a bank to exchange some cash and discovered two very important things,
that the exchange rate is actually 35% (not 28-30%) and that not all places charge 3% to
make the change. I hopped onto Rt. 7 for the "Marine Route" from Halifax, NS to
Mulgrave, NS. The US could learn a great deal from Canada's treatment of tourists. The
free maps they give out at "Tourist Information" houses (which are practically
everywhere!) list sites of interest with small icons for different activities, both public
and private campgrounds, even color-coded themed routes. The Marine route runs along the
coast up to Sherbrooke (a fully restored 1800's town with plays, town's folk in period
dress & trade shops s/a the very cool Blacksmith) then onto 211, 316 and finally 344
to Mulgrave. 
The
roads were incredible (actually the roads themselves were not so hot, often had cracks
many with grass growing in them =8-O but the views and the curves were great. I crossed
over a cable ferry and came across several fishing villages, most had reserved the highest
bluff in the town for big white churches and graveyards. I finally stopped pulling over to
take pictures of incredible views because I was using up too much film! 