Chester, Nova Scotia, to Portland, Maine
258 Kilometers
4558 Total Kilometers
We awoke at the Mecklenburgh Inn rested and still friends after sharing a small room among the three of us. Not wanting to push our luck, we'll probably never go out of our way to repeat the experience.
It is Sunday in Chester and all is quiet. The sky is blue and the air is cool. Our last day in Nova Scotia promises to be a good one.
Our innkeeper, Suzi, prepared a tasty breakfast of bacon, various melons and pancakes. Breakfast was shared with other guests at the Inn, including a couple from Windsor, England, and another couple from Halifax, Nova Scotia. They proved to be interesting companions. We hope they share that opinion of us.
After yesterday's 24 hour feeding frenzy none of us were particularly hungry and successfully limited our caloric intake.
We said goodbye to Suzi at 9:30. The next stop was just down the road. The reason for the stop is confidential but we are hopeful that packages will be delivered to our spouses prior to our arrival home.
We had a few hours to kill before our scheduled arrival in Yarmouth to meet the Cat ferry so we continued our coastal ride through the little seaside villages.
A particularly impressive stop was in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. It is a remarkably well preserved village that has gained designation as a World Heritage site. It is larger than Chester, Nova Scotia, and a bit more touristy. But it is clearly the most interesting of the little towns we have seen during this trip.
We realized while leaving Lunenburg that we were 60 kilometers further away from Yarmouth than we thought. We canned plans further coastal explorations, took to the divided highway and scooted directly to Yarmouth.
We arrived at the Cat ferry dock with 30 minutes to spare, had a quick cheeseburger (notice that the quality of our meals is rapidly diminishing) and boarded the ferry.
Once on board we settled down for the 6 hour ride to Portland, Maine.
This ride on the Cat Ferry was fairly rough, unlike our ride from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth. Bo was in the men's room when a seasick Cat Ferry crew member burst into the room, threw open a stall door and, well, you know, got sick. He might consider another line of work. Something on land maybe.
While on board we met Mel, a heavy machinery operator who does pipeline work in Alberta, Canada. He is a good fellow who has been on the road now for two weeks and will not return home for another four weeks. He has plans to visit friends in Cookeville, Tennessee, in a couple of weeks.
Dinner on the Cat Ferry consisted of a ham and cheese sandwich for Bo and baked chicken for Bill and Jim. My, how the mighty have fallen.
The Cat Ferry finally reached port. We unboarded and lined up for U.S Customs. Unlike our arrival in Nova Scotia, things went smoothly. Just to be sure, Bo stayed in a different line, away from Bill and Jim.
We arrived at our motel at 10:00, checked in, unpacked the bikes and had a toast in celebration of a successful trip to Nova Scotia. We said goodbye to Bill, who leaves early tomorrow morning for Manchester, Maine, where he will return his rental bike and fly back to Nashville. He goes to work tomorrow. What an unpleasant thought.
Jim and Bo haven't mapped out their return route yet. A quick dip into Rhode Island is a possibility. Bo would like to ride his bike in all 50 states. Rhode Island will increase the total to 40.
Once again, the extra time to review and post photos is not available. The separate posting of Day 11's photo seems to have worked pretty well so Day 12 photos will be posted tonight.
