Cornwall to Lower Barney's River Day 66

You can't go far without seeing the telltale lobster traps on PEI.

Fishermen own these little huts where they store all their fishing gear.

Confederation Building in downtown Charlottetown.

The Wood Island's Ferry from Wood Island PEI to Pictou, Nova Scotia.


We first met this fellow outside Charlottetown and then three other times as he hitch hiked is way to the ferry. Here he is on the NS side trying to get to New Glasgow. He is on his way to Halifax to fly home to France. He had been here working in Montreal for three months. When we saw him at the ferry he said "I won", meaning he got there before me on the bike.

Welcome to Nova Scotia. Another province down.
Our first glimpse of the intimidating Cabot Trail on Cape Breton.

Terri's daughter Renee's mother-in-law Helen Marr is from Lower Barney's River.

A spectacular sunset at Lower Barney's River.

It was a special treat today not to have to pack up the tent. After a wonderful evening with Linda and Norm we had a night in a real bed. Linda drove us back to the campsite for 6:00 am as Terri was cooking. We got away at a good time this morning and we pushed hard all morning because we were aiming for the 12:30 pm ferry from Wood Islands to Nova Scotia. This would give us enough time to ride to our destination on the mainland without it getting too late. We did not stop and pull off the road for a break other than a nature call. One such stop was at Buzz' cafe where Mike and I had a meal when we cycled in PEI in 2005. Our morning ride was for the majority of the distance was on Highway 1. It had some long but not too steep climbs.

We got to the ferry with 30 minutes to spare, only to find out the 12:30 was cancelled due to mechanical problems. We would not get off the island until 2:30. Linda had made us some sandwiches so with a drink fromt he cafeteria we had a very good lunch and then just relaxed until it was time to go.

We landed in Nova Scotia and took the time for the photo at the welcome sign. One more down and just one more to go.
We saw our first sign for Cape Breton and the Cabot Trail is very much on our minds. We have beenreassured by some that if we got this far we would be fine but it is still intimidating. We get to just the start of it tomorrow and the route promises some "ups and downs".

We did not do the side trip to Pictou given our late arrival on the mainland. I had been there before as my first husband was born there and we visited family there when our children were small. Our ride after the fairy took us through New Glasgow which was very much under construction. Due to no signage on the downtown streets, we had to stop and ask the name of the road before we ventured on it to make sure it was indeed our turn.

We rode pretty hard to camp as the afternoon was getting on and we knew there was only so much daylight. Because the ferry at 12:30 was cancelled our truck did not get here at its usual early time. Half the cook crew barreled ahead this morning and took the 10:30 ferry to make sure they got here to start supper. They ended up waiting quite awhile for the truck but supper was not too delayed.

We had an awesome sunset and we are told this is the last one of the trip. It did not disappoint. It was cloudy on the island this morning so we thought the chances of seeing anything was slim but once on Nova Scotia soil, the sun shone and it warmed up considerably. As I sit in my tent recounting the day for you the wind is whipping all around the tents. It was necessary to use all the pegs to batten down the hatches well.

Our ride today was 133 km and tomorrow is a long 167 km. Terri and I are heading out by 6:30, I am cooking tomorrow night. We hav been told by Claire of the Weather Network that we can expect sunny skies and mid 20's for the rest of the week. We are looking forward to that and the spectacular scenery the Cabot Trail has to offer.