The Viking Run, Day 11 - Halifax, Nova Scotia

 

 

Mt. Washington Auto Road

I have a lot to cover since my last entry. A couple of days ago I took the bike up the Mt. Washington auto road and it was amazing. The road is 7 miles long with absolute drop offs at the edge and some very steep sections. The weather at the base of the mountains was 74 degrees and it was 55 degrees at the top, which really wasn't that bad. I had almost considered not going up, but knew I would regret it I had I road all the way to New Hampshire, got to the base of the mountain and then said, "nah". So happy I did. Mt. Washington will be such a fond memory for years to come.

When I left Mt. Washington, I rode north a bit and then headed to the east for Maine. Northern Maine was beautiful. I don't know what people do there for employment but it would be a pretty place to live. Maine as it turns out is a big state and it took quite some time just to get to the middle. The middle being Bangor. I decided to take a bit of a detour and head in to Bangor, just to find Stephen King's house and get a picture for Rachel. It would turn out however that Bangor too is such a nice town. It reminded me so much of Birmingham.

Stephen King's House, Bangor, ME

Bar Harbor, Maine

Acadia National Park

From Bangor it was about a 45 minute run down to Bar Harbor, where I spent the evening. The following morning I took a ride around the island and through much of Acadia National Park, with the exception of going up Cadillac Mountain, which is the highest place on the island. You had to preregister your vehicle and I didn't know that so I stuck to the coast. I stopped in the town of Bar Harbor and got some lunch so I could kill time waiting on the ferry. I couldn't decide between the Maine blueberry pancakes pr an omelet so I got both. I sat and relaxed there for a good bit of time with an OJ and coffee, then it was off to the ferry.

The CAT ferry

The ferry from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia takes about three hours. The ride is ferry comfortable with huge seats and table options. There is a bar and food counters as well as a gift shop and business center. There was even a couple of guys on board in the forward lounge playing Celtic music, they were good. The ferry travels at about 40 miles an hour and we had very calm seas so you barely knew you were on a boat. About an hour outside Yarmouth we hit an incredibly thick fog. When we pulled in to Yarmouth, you couldn't even see the dock until we were right up on it. Once off the boat we waited in line to clear Canadian customs, the guy directing traffic came up and shook my hand and sent me to the front of the line because of my Marine Corps license plate frame. 

Once off the boat in Yarmouth and officially on Canadian soil, it was a quick 15 minute run up the road to an AirBnB on a beautiful lake. I had a pleasant night speaking with the owner and got some good rest for what would be today's ride to Halifax. 

AirBnB in Yarmouth

This morning I got up, washed the motorcycle and headed out to follow the southern coast of Nova Scotia along what is known as the Lighthouse Trail. I can't say much for the lighthouses, there are plenty to see but many are on islands and hard to get to, others are no more than beacons and some are in disrepair. The most grand of them is the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove. I have pictures of it, but won't be sharing. There were so many tourists there that the rocks and town and lighthouse were engulfed with people. I didn't even like being there. For that many tourist ruining what could be a beautiful photo backdrop, I could have stayed in Orlando.

From Peggy's Cove I was ready to get off the bike. An hour north lay Halifax. I had one stop I wanted to make as I entered the city. The old cemetery where they laid to rest many of the passengers from the wreak of the Titanic. Bodies that washed ashore on Nova Scotia, most of whom to this day are still unknown.