Back in Canada!

Monday, July 18 (Day 39) and we were making a run for the border.  We were heading back home to Canada.  We decided to stay on the Maine coast for the trip north and along the way stopped at “Helen’s” for lobster rolls.  Little did we know that it was also the home of the best blueberry pie in the United States (as declared by LIFE magazine) and the owner was one of the judges for a Bobby Flay pie Throwdown.  We thought she should have been his competitor rather than a judge.

The bikes were waiting for us a block from the border crossing.  The rig pulled in and immediately got attention from everyone in the Duty Free shop and doing last-minute gas fill ups.  One gentleman stopped because he’d heard Halifax radio talking about the Tour over the past couple of weeks.  Thankfully there were no problems crossing through customs and we made our way to St. John, New Brunswick.

Tuesday was a big day – we were heading to Halifax, Nova Scotia.  The guys decided to take a more scenic route through Alma on the way to our lunch stop in Truro.  

We had the Q104 Street Team (Halifax radio station) waiting for us along the way from Truro to Halifax and they led us all in – all the way to IWK Hospital where we were meeting the families and kids being treated there.  First stop was the Play Garden – a facility where patients, siblings and visitors could play, learn about the seasons, and most importantly, be outside.  Then we were met by Kate Matthews – one of the many amazing staff – and toured through some of the wards where we had the opportunity to meet with those children who couldn’t go outside yet.  We also visited the playrooms and the teen lounge - where we met therapy dog Poochie.  The strength and positive spirits of all the patients, families and staff profoundly affected us all.  We handed out tour bandanas to everyone and left some in the ‘hat box’ for future patients.  

Then it was on to Privateer’s Harley Davidson for a quick stop before heading back to our hotel – situated right on Chocolate Lake – and into the waterfront area of Halifax for dinner with friends of Jason’s. 

Day 41 and our destination was Sydney, Nova Scotia.  Everyone made their own way over – some sightseeing through Halifax and Sherbrook first.  

The rig ended up on a very small ferry for a 100m (if that) crossing of the “Little Narrows”.  We weren’t sure if it would fit on the ferry, but we made it with centimeters to spare.  

In Sydney we picked up our rental van for our trip over to Newfoundland, found parking for the rig for 5 days, and discovered a great pub for patio drinks and snacks.  At the pub we met Brian from Ottawa.  When he heard what we were doing he quickly offered his bistro in Ottawa as a venue for an event when we come through town at the end of the month.  We were more than happy to take him up on his offer.

We made our way to the ferry – 4 bikes now (Mark was riding with us for the next few days) and the van. A 15-hour ferry ride was ahead of us.  After almost 4 hours in the parking lot we finally boarded, found our cabins and met up in the lounge just in time for last call.