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Lodging Summary
Gas Summary
Charlottetown, PEI Wed, 9/11 83581-83947 (366 mi)
Woke up, not very rested, but got ready and off the ferry in a hurry. Stopped for gas just outside North Sydney to acclimate and collect myself. They told me that a hurricane was moving in and expected to hit that evening, so I got on the road hoping to make it to Charlottetown before it did. Worked my way around the Cabot Trail - great ride, no traffic, but overcast and cold. Shot back through Antigonish and up to the ferry in Caribou.
The ferry wasn't scheduled to leave for an hour, so I went back and
rode around Pictou, a very nice little town. Short 1.5 hour ride to PEI,
but by the time I got there (6:00 pm) the rain was starting.
Stopped at the tourist info center and they got me a room at
"Marie's Guest House" in Charlottetown. Rode there through the rain,
arriving about 7:30. Marie was an older lady who was renting rooms
in her house, primarily to Japanese students. Put my raingear back on
and headed out for dinner in a storm. Didn't find the brewpub,
but got dinner and headed back to the house to wait out the hurricane - they
were expecting 100 kph winds!
Charlottetown, PEI Thu, 9/12 83947-83962 (15 mi)
The high winds and rain had subsided by late morning, so after fixing Marie's TV (which had been knocked out by the storm), I headed into town to track down the brewery. Glad I finally did - it was now called
the Gahan House in the old part of town, and I was treated very well
there by Trent (the head brewer) and Craig (the manager). Excellent Beers!
Drove around town some more, then headed back to the house to do some laundry.
Went back to Gahan House for dinner (and a couple of growlers),
then checked out some of the clubs in town before turning in for the night.
Kouchibouguac, NB Fri, 9/13 83962-84168 (206 mi)
Got on the road about 11:00 am, after Marie's daughter Giselle came over to make me breakfast. The weather was cold and drab and kept threatening to rain, so I rode around the main part of the island including the beaches (where the water was surprisingly warm from the gulf stream) and Cavendish, site of Anne of Green Gables (apparently a bit attraction for the Japanese). Rode down some real rural (and beautiful) roads to get to the Confederation Bridge - a very impressive 10 mile bridge to NB. The weather was improving, so I went into Moncton to find the Pump House brewery - finally found a pint glass in Canada! Good place, good food, and good beer, run by a firefighter and his Russian wife he met while installing
breweries in eastern Europe. The sun came out as I was leaving,
but I seemed to be riding right back into the rain.
Holed up in Bouctouche for an hour at a gas station while the rain passed,
then zoomed out to Kouchibouguac Park, where I found a great
camp site at dusk (probably because the campground was closed).
Had a beautiful night of camping under the stars.
Contact me at: rf6gunz@yahoo.com
Copyright © 2002, Rick Fletcher
