A LEISURELY RIDING DAY

Today was one of those days where I had all kinds of time to get to my destination.  And so it turned out to be a very long day, but not a rushed one.   Slept in until 8:00 and woke to my alarm and the lovely view of the calm waters of the little arm of Passamaquoddy Bay that Candice and Greg have built their house on.   By the time I had my shower and got dressed, Greg had made eggs benedict for breakfast, so we had a nice breakfast and quick last visit before Candice headed off for work.  

I loaded up Fury and we headed out about 9:15.  Today's only real plan was to get to Hopewell Cape for low tide around 3:30 p.m.  So as I headed down the highway, I took a little side road through Blacks Harbour and Beaver Harbour.   Tiny places, but beautiful scenery and curvy little roads conveniently placed to loop me back around to the highway.  

I stopped just outside of St. John at the visitor centre, but didn't see anything I hadn't seen before.  On my way into St. John, I saw a  motorcycle store and stopped in to enquire about having Fury shipped back to Vancouver when I'm done.  They had some good information for me and I'm hoping to be able to arrange it by mid-September.    As I was leaving, I met Heather and Scott and Charlie, who were out riding from Fredericton.  Heather has only recently got her license and is loving the road on two wheels!  Way to go, Heather.  We had a chat and all carried on our way. 

Getting back on the road, we rode along pretty steadily until we saw the signs to get us onto Hwy 114 towards Hopewell Cape.   Getting close, more signs reminded me about Cape Enrage.  Though I had seen it on my map last nigth, I had already forgotten about it.  Fury and I had a lot of fun on the long, narrow, twisty road that into Cape Enrage that ends in a zip line and a little lighthouse.  The traffic didn't allow a lot of photo opps and the zipline and lighthouse have an admission fee, so we just turned around and headed back.  

Having taken the little detour to Cape Enrage, I arrived at Hopewell Rocks Park just after 4.  The Bay of Fundy has some of the highest tides in the world.  Hopewell Rocks are a big tourist area where you can walk down to the ocean floor and see the gigantic "flowerpot" rocks.  The trail takes 10-15 minutes and I also found an "elephant" rock along the trail.  :)  Down on the ocean floor, eroded and shaped by the tidewaters, the rock formations are spectacular.   So there are a ton of photos of rocks today......

I wandered the beach for an hour before heading back up the trail.  By this time, it was 6:00 p.m. and I knew I needed to get back on the road so I wouldn't be riding in the dark.    As I was suiting up, some folks I had seen on the trail came back to their vehicle beside me.  One couple had recently moved from Ontario to New Brunswick and the other couple was visiting from Quebec.  Their kids were with them as well and they were interested to hear about the trip.  We had a good visit and once again, I am reassured by how friendly and open people have been on this whole trip.  

I have officially arrived in Nova Scotia for the night and look forward to all new discoveries tomorrow!