Nova Scotia 2017

Day Seven and Eight  270 miles Traveled from Halifax to Sydney on Wednesday and spent two nights in Sydney. Had dinner at the Governor's Pub on Wednesday night.  Great food but place was little noisy. It rained all day on Thursday, today, so we rented a car and went off to see the Miner's Museum in Glace Bay, NS.  An interesting tour.  I had no idea that coal was mined off the coast of Nova Scotia since the late 1600s.  Some of the mines were 2700 feet below sea level.  All were out under the ocean.  We were told there were many levels of coal.  Some veins 12 feet high  some only 18" high. The veins are all separated by 2 or so feet of sandstone/limestone.  So it means that the sea level, at some time in the far distant past was very much lower than it is today (coal comes from decaying organic matter such as trees). The mines, about 40 of them, were all worked during the last 100 to 200 hundred years.  A really nice tour ...

Day Six - In Halifax We stayed in Halifax today so we did some traveling around.  Went to Breakfast at the Blue Nose Restaurant, had lunch at the Shaws Landing, and then hit he Petite Valley Vineyard on Italy Cross Road. Oh, almost forgot we went to Peggy's Point to see Peggy's Lighthouse. Here are some pictures from the day. It starts with the trip to Peggy's Point and traveling back to the local equivalent of an interstate to head to the Vineyard. The images below were taken at Peggy's Cove These images were on the way down the east coast of Nova Scotia as we head to the four lane to the Petite Winery. And here are some videos at Peggy's Cove And a piper played Waves on the shoreline

Day Four Saint Andrews, New Brunswick to Halifax, Nova Scotia This was a trip of about 320 miles.  It was mostly in roads similar to interstates in the states.  A very easy trip with two exceptions. First, speeds are posted in KM.  While the bike has KM on the speedometer the numbers are very small so you sort of have to guess at the speed but I think 110 KMH is the same as 65 more or less. Second, the roads into Halifax (well Halifax proper) are in poor repair, plenty of repair work going on at lots of no left turns, ect.   Finding the hotel took about 15 minutes even though we were only one mile away.

Day Three ,NYSkaneateles to Saint Johnsbury, VT  377 miles A long day, longer than the first two.  More later The trip was longer than I thought it would be, not in distance but in time. We traveled NY Route 28 and went through  Adorondac Park and Lake Champlain.  The sort of ran out of  names  for lakes and used "First Lake"  through  " Seventh Lake" that i remembered seeing.  Here are some pictures along the way.

Day Two - Elkins, WV to Skaneateles, NY (The motels address is Albany but this is the place its near) Skaneateles is located on Lake Skaneateles which is one of the Finger Lakes in "upstate" New York.

Day One Home to Elkins WV - 450 miles Mostly interstate until we get to VA and then US 219 Here is the route The trip today was very un-eventfull.  About 480 miles.   We traveled mostly on I-77 and then I-64 with the last 100 or so miles on US 219.  The interstate was much smoother than I expected.  And US 219 was really good.  Lots of nice turns, not much traffic and we arrived at the hotel/motel at about 530. We tried to stop for lunch at a plane in Fancy Gap, VA, the Gearhead Diner I think was the name.  However it was closed because the owners needed a vacation this week.  Go figure.   It is a converted gas station with outdoor seating where the pumps use to be.  Sort of cool. So we went down the road to a place called the Lake View Restaurant.  I did not see a view of the lake but... the food was ok, mostly locals in the place, not many tourists. We did hit some rain on the interstate for about 15 minutes.  No...

Well the second (well for me the third) trip to Nova Scotia will start Thursday.  This is the first time I will travel there in the fall.  The intent is to see some fall colors on the way up and around Nova Scotia. The issues, well hurricanes seem to be everywhere but so far they are staying out of our immediate area. I will post more information tomorrow.