Canada 2011
  
 

Day 12

August 5

  
   
   
     
  Today begins the long journey home of over 2,100 miles back to Nashville. It's interesting to think that from Nashville to the West Coast is 2,400 miles - only 300 miles longer than from Baddeck, Nova Scotia to Nashville. I'm up early as I want to get started on the business at hand. The bed beckons me back but once my eyes are open, I know I might as well get on with it.  
   
 

I clean up quickly and get SweetTreat ready to roll with a note of sadness. I will miss the enjoyable company of Alain on this lonesome ride home. I've learned one thing in my riding - you really get to know someone when you spend days on the road with them. Much to my joy, Alain comes out before I pull off to wish me well.

"I will miss you, my friend" I tell him as I give him a big hug.

He returns the favor and we chat a little bit. He is a friend now and if there is anything I hate to do, it is to leave my friends. But the road beckons so I wave good-bye to him and ride on off.

  
   
  I take one last glance at the Trailsman Motel, wondering if I will ever see it again and then it's down the road to the causeway.  
   
  I've got it all to myself this morning so I take as much advantage of it as I can, knowing there's almost 750 miles between where I am and where I need to end up.  
   
  I can't help but stop though and get this picture. How would you like to say the name of this town every time someone asks you where you're from?  
   
  When I do get to the causeway, it's deserted as a graveyard at midnight. I whizz across it, unimpeded by traffic or traffic observers.  
   
  The fog has settled in, but the rain is holding off and for that I am thankful. I pass the road to the ferry that Alain and I took from Prince Edward Island earlier in the trip.  
   
  Nova Scotia is wide open place, and highway 104 is the road that takes you right through the middle of it.  
   
  As my bike fuel and personal fuel are running low, I see a sign for Tim Hortons, which will work nicely. It is located just off the main highway in a town called Oxford, named for the oxen pulled carts that forded the nearby shallow river.  
   
  The most interesting thing that I pick up is that Oxford is 'The Blueberry Capital Of Canada' and has Mr. Blueberry standing watch to prove it.  
   
  Tim Hortons, I have learned, is predictable and reasonable. Their biscuits are pretty good and their pastries fresh. Not my usual fare, but it works fine today.  
   
  It's been pretty cool this morning, and I have had to stop twice to put on more clothes. I contemplated putting on my heated gear, but it finally warmed up to bearable. And the hot chocolate helps the warming process nicely, not to mention the lovely chocolate donut. Did I say I like chocolate a lot?  
   
  Once I'm back on the road, I see these three flags and do a double take. Then my synapses finally kick and remember that 'Nova Scotia' is Latin for 'New Scotland'. The flag of Scotland is similar but in reverse colors without the crest in the center.  
   
  Soon highway 104 turns into highway 2 which will take me into New Brunswick.  
   
  Just past Salisbury, I turn off on highway 1, hoping there is no highway 0. However, in my previous travels I have seen an Exit 0 or two off the highway.  
   
  As I pass through Saint John that sits on the Bay of Fundy, I notice a container ship port off to the left.  
   
  And little further along, there's an interesting bridge and cataracts off to my right.  
   
  Highway 1 is lot more rural than highway 2 and I enjoy the occasional view of the water as I motor along.  
   
  It seems the more that I push, the less progress that I make. I usually don't stop for lunch on a ride, but my energy levels are dropping like a rock. It's time for gas, so I get off the road at Saint Stephen, New Brunswick and just wander in search of fuel for me and SweetTreat. I find the Red Rooster Country Store, and what a find it is.  
   
  Sometimes I'd rather be lucky than good, and today I am lucky. They have a deli that is cooking up fresh bread and making sandwiches. They also have this wonderful confection called a 'Dilly Don' which is bit like an overgrown Suzy Q. Needless to say, this stuff gets my motor running in short order. Now I am fortified for the soon upcoming border crossing back into the States.  
   
 

The crossing is backed up a little bit, but the border patrol officers are pretty quick. When I pull up to the booth, the officer asks me -

"Bringing anything back from Canada?"

"No sir, just some dirty laundry and some memories" I tell him.

He laughs and waves me on through and once again I am back in the USA.

 
   
  I follow highway 9 which is a pleasant jaunt through rural Maine for about a 100 miles to Bangor.  
   
  I enjoy the journey and the vistas it affords, as once I hit the slab I will be on it the rest of the day.  
   
  As I roll into the outskirts of Bangor, I see just the sign I've been looking for. It points me to I395 which will take me to I95 and the last leg of today's trip.  
   
  I get a sideways view of the Penobscot River that empties into the Atlantic.  
   
  I 95 is up next and I will be on it for a while.  
   
  As I make my last gas stop, I take another extended break. I have had to take longer breaks today due to what I call 'accumulated fatigue'. When you've been on the road for many days as I have, there is an accumulation of wear and tear on the old body that keeps you more tired than normal. A wise man figures it out and accommodates it, an unwise man ends up in the ditch somewhere.  
   
  And to add to the joy, once again it's 'interstate parade time'. One thing you have to count on is what I call the 'vulgarities of the road'. It could be heavy rain, it could be a blocked road, it could be a long detour, but it will always be there somewhere along the way. You just have to learn to kick back and just know that 'what it is is what it is'. Stressing out over it does not make it any better or make it get out of the way any sooner.  
   
  I am really glad to finally arrive at the motel and put poor SweetTreat up for the night. It's been a long tiring day and I am ready to hit the sack,  
   
  I see some restaurants nearby, but nothing that pushes any of my buttons, so I head straight for my room.  
   
  Given my current physical stage of affairs, I scarf down a Snickers bar and drink some water and call it a night. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, but it will be longer than even I imagine as I pillow my head tonight.