Tag Archives: travel

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One Last Trip

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I’ve been away from here for a long time, I know. I decided to create a new website dedicated entirely to my published writing and it’s been a difficult process. Things have changed a great deal since I last posted here. I required a lot of help from both WordPress and Lulu “virtual assistants” and I paid money to hire people who knew more than me about marketing techniques. I’m sure hoping it will pay off. You can visit my new website at https://www.judylawlessauthor.com Be sure to add your comments and click the follow option.

Today I’m going to share a bit about one last trip I took the second week of July this year.

My son, who lives near Warsaw, Poland with his wife, Asia, has been wanting me to visit him. I decided in the spring this would be the year. I not only wanted very much to spend some time with them, I needed to step back from all the stress of getting the new website launched, and the constant busyness of maintaining our household.

I booked my flight and bought my medical/cancelation insurance one evening online. Sometime later my two daughters, Ann and Sarah decided they would meet me in Warsaw. I was so excited to see them all together again!

It had been over twenty years since I’d made an international trip on my own. I was a little nervous but determined to not let my age have any baring on my trip. I had three months to organize it, and the biggest issue was finding someone to look after my dog, Marlo, during my last weekend away, because Jim had decided to attend a Ukulele Festival that same weekend.

Jim dropped me off at Terminal One at the Toronto airport at 4:30 in the evening for me to catch my 7:30 fight. I easily found where I needed to check-in. Before I walked away from there, I was told I’d have to catch a bus to another Terminal on the other side of the runways. She told me how to find it. I was later told that was because the airline I’d chosen, at my son’s recommendation, the Polish Airline LOT, had it’s own terminal in Toronto. It was a minor inconvenience. It’s a good airline.

I had to show my boarding pass to get onto the bus. I showed my printed one.

I was one of the first to arrive, but before long there were many people crowding to find seats or at least something to hold onto. Many were visitors from India who didn’t speak English and didn’t care to acknowledge me. A large woman was wheeled in and placed in the seat next to me at the door. There wasn’t much room, but I did my best to stay out of her way while she complained to her companions. When the bus stopped at the new terminal, she was the first to get off. When she stood up, she stood on my foot, apparently unaware. I’d been looking for my Boarding Pass because it was gone from my hand. I began to panic, then I realized I had a digital copy of it on my phone, so I was okay. When the woman left the bus, I found said pass on the floor where her foot had been. I was so glad to get off that bus!

From there to my check-in gate was a long walk and we had an hour wait before boarding. There were constant announcements asking for people, mostly with unpronounceable names, to go to the gate desk to have their boarding pass checked. I thought I heard my name. I pulled my suitcase to the gate desk to check. I was told there were no issues with my pass, but still I was given a new printed one. The flight was late leaving, maybe because so much checking was taking time.

The line of people waiting to board seemed very long. I expected the plane to be full, but it was much larger than I’d anticipated. I had the whole centre section of my row to myself, technically. It was used by different people now and then when they wanted more space from their family. One young man who had been playing games on his phone, then slept for awhile, woke up looking for something. I eventually asked what he’d lost. I didn’t know if he’d speak English as most passengers didn’t. He told me it was his phone. I helped look between the seats and on the floor to no avail, but he eventually found it and thanked me for helping him look. I was impressed.

There was one small girl who was very demanding and screamed when she didn’t get what she wanted. Her mother paced up and down the aisle with her.

Dinner was served a couple of hours later and she quieted down for a bit. Most people were either watching the TV screen or trying to sleep. The girl awoke and started her screaming again. It went on and on. Her mother had a hard time with her, but I’m sad to say, she obviously had not been taught how to behave. She quieted sometime after midnight, and I got some sleep until she started again early in the morning. Oh well, it was time for breakfast.

A bit of an upset stomach worried me the rest of the trip, but it cleared up soon after I arrived in Warsaw. We were put onto another bus to go to the main terminal this time. Before I got off the bus I called Brendan to tell him I’d arrived, and he said he was waiting near the exit doors. Okay. I saw a sign to Exit but no direction given. I noticed a sign saying Border Security in front of a solid wall with one door that could have been an exit door. I tried to ask someone if I needed to go through there. They didn’t speak English, but a Border Security Officer approached and told me I should get into the line that said Canadian Only and present my passport. I followed his instructions. It took a bit of time for the attendant to check my passport and then I had to put my fingers into a scanner to record my fingerprints! That sure didn’t happen back in 1972 or even1999.

I was thrilled to find Brendan standing in the waiting area, watching for Sarah and Ann who should have arrived before me. We eventually got everyone together and Brendan led us outside, a fair distance from the terminal, to a place where pickups could be made, but they had to be timed. Asia was waiting and watching for us. She moved quickly to the pickup spot and told us we had to hurry. She had only seven minutes to stay there! We scurried to get our luggage into the back and squeeze ourselves into the car, pulling away just in time.

We got a glimpse of Warsaw as we travelled to the rental apartment Ann had booked for us. It had been a very long day!

It would take too long for me to describe all that we saw and did so I’m just going to say, we learned much we hadn’t known before about how Warsaw was treated by both Russia and Germany during both World Wars. Much of the devastation has been preserved around the rebuild of palaces and beautiful parks. We learned to find our way around on foot, on trolleys and underground trains. It’s enough to say, one week wasn’t enough time to see it all. At the end of each day, when the girls decided to go for one last walk, I crashed in my room and enjoyed a good night’s sleep.

I’m hoping I will be able to take Brendan up on his offer of my own suite in his new house, when I can go again for a longer visit.

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The Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo

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The term tattoo derives from a 17th-century Dutch phrase doe den tap toe (“turn off the tap”) a signal to tavern owners each night, played by a regiment’s Corps of Drums, to turn off the taps of their ale kegs so that the soldiers would retire to their billeted lodgings at a reasonable hour.[1] With the establishment of modern barracks and full military bands later in the 18th century, the term “tattoo” was used to describe the last duty call of the day, as well as a ceremonial form of evening entertainment performed by military musicians.[

The first public military tattoo in Edinburgh was entitled “Something About a Soldier” and took place in 1949 at the Ross Bandstand in the Princes Street Gardens.

– quoted from Wikipedia.

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The twenty-minute walk up the hill to Scotiabank Centre, the venue for the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo, reminded us we are not as fit as we used to be! We were slightly out of breath and in need of water, but it turned out to be well worth the effort.

I know I can’t begin to describe this show with only words, but I’ll do my best to make you want to see it for yourself, or at least look it up online.

When we arrived at the Scotiabank Centre, a large sports stadium, there were many people milling around, chatting, enjoying drinks and popcorn, and buying 50/50 tickets. When we entered the arena, there were still many empty seats. We were surprised. But as we watched and waited, we chatted with a couple of ladies behind us who turned out to be from…yes, Ontario!

It wasn’t long before the MC, Peter Anthony, appeared on the floor below us to make some announcements and tell a few jokes, while preparations were still being made. Peter is a Canadian Comedy Award winning comedian who appears on many popular comedy stages throughout Canada.

Soon the seats were nearly filled and the lights were dimmed. The spotlight was on the centre of the floor where a group of Mi’kmaq singers (pronounced mikmak), known as Eastern Eagle, was seated in a circle performing the opening entertainment in Native Powwow style.

Several minutes later, they disappeared as the spotlight shifted to the end of the arena where the sound of bagpipes and drums could be heard. The International Massed Pipes and Drums swept across the floor.

Opening Mass Bands

I can’t say why, but most people, including me, are very moved by this big music production. Having played a snare drum in a pipe band for a few years, in another life, I had experienced marching in such a massed band a few times, on a smaller scale.

German Army Band at Bottom

From that moment on, smooth transitions were made, from the mass bands to highlight individual bands, such as The German Army band from Neubrandenburg, and the Jordanian Armed Forces Band, that included their own breed of bagpipes, as well as brass instruments. While these bands played, a slide show of them performing in their own country was shown on an overhead screen.

The Tattoo International Highland Dancers performed several dances in perfect unison wearing a variety of costumes to match the music.

But it wasn’t all about music. The floor was cleared more than once to make way for other forms of entertainment.

The Soldiers’ Race pitted members of the Royal Canadian Navy against the Canadian Armed Forces in an obstacle course, one team at each end of the floor. When each group had completed the course, they carried away the obstacles. The Navy came out the winner that night.

Then, long silk scarves of bright pink were lowered from the ceiling and we watched in awe, often holding our breath, as Anastasia performed acrobatics on the scarves, climbing high, using only her hands and feet to twist her body, swing up-side down and suddenly drop, stopping herself just in time.

The German Bicycles, a group of young Germans who rode sometimes in singles, sometimes in pairs on two-wheeled bicycles around the floor, balancing on one hand or one foot, riding backward and forward and spinning around, also gave us cause to gasp at times. Sometimes it was just comical.

More comedy was provided by the Flying Grandpas, a group of men of varying ages who ran, jumped and bounced off and on a trampoline with near misses, while allowing the preparation for the second half of the show to be completed.

High Flyer RB3 also had us clenching our teeth when she jumped and turned from hands to feet on a narrow, bouncing, balance beam, being held by two very strong male assistants.

There were historical scenes, this year focusing on the bravery of The No. 2 Construction Battalion, formed in 1916, two years after being told World War I was a “white man’s war” and they were not allowed to enlist. When things weren’t going well, the formation of this all black battalion was approved. Many of their descendants were in attendance in the scene that night. Another tear-jerker.

When MC Tom led the Tattoo Choir and the Children’s Choir in a compilation of Beatles Tunes, the audience was singing along, waving their phone flashlights in time to the music.

A Clip from the Beatles Medley with Children’s Choir and MC

The second half of the show was much the same as the first, with different music. Throughout the whole show, three young women singers gave beautiful renditions of popular British songs.

The Finale Fanfare had all the participants together in one massive band, marching back and forth, crisscrossing and dividing, bringing the audience to their feet, with their flashlights again.

The Finale Mass Bands

What a Show!

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Touring Halifax by Bicycle

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Sorry for the delay in completing this journey

Thursday, June 30, 2022

This morning we made our way past the Warf parking area, further past the Halifax Harbour, where ships were being unloaded, and finally out to a point where we found Point Pleasant Park. We unloaded our bikes in the parking lot and headed off along the trails. It was a beautiful morning – warm and sunny. Birds were singing. The trail we followed lead us beside the inlet to the harbour and eventually to within sight of the Atlantic Ocean, before turning right, into the tall stands of trees. The paths were all light gravel, and well-maintained, making the ride pleasant. There were some hills where we made use of our electric assist.

Somewhere in the middle of the park we came across a round, stone fortress. At least it looked like a fortress to us. We stopped to read what it was and why it was there.

Prince of Wales Tower, Halifax, Nova Scotia

We learned it was the Prince of Wales Tower Historic Site, now belonging to all Canadians, but managed on our behalf by Parks Canada, an agency of the Government of Canada. The site is part of a family of National Parks, National Historic Sites and Marine Conservation Areas across the country, administered by Parks Canada.

In 1794 Prince Edward, son of King George III, was appointed Military Commander for Halifax. Under his command the tower was built by British army engineers to assist in the defence of Point Pleasant. Upon its completion in 1798 Prince Edward named it after his older brother, George, the Prince of Wales.

The round design of the tower was inspired by a small, round, stone tower at Mortella Point on the Corsican Coast, which had effectively resisted a joint British naval and land attack for several days in 1794. The  Prince of Wales Tower had a long life as an element in the over-all Halifax Defence System. In 1866 most of the Point Pleasant land was leased to the City of Halifax for use as a park.

The morning had slipped away and it was almost time for lunch, so we found our way to one of the park exits. Along the way we met up with two other friendly Ontarians who were on foot, trying to follow a map of the trails. We chatted for a bit, shared some of our travel stories, and exchanged email and website information before we left them to explore. We returned to the car.

“Instead of taking the car back to the Warf and paying for parking, why don’t we leave it here where it’s free, and ride back to find some place for lunch?”

“Umm, okay.”

I led the way and surprised him when I made the right turns. I lost him a time or two when he stopped to take more pictures of the ships being unloaded at the docks.

We found an interesting restaurant on the Warf, The Bicycle Thief. It had a wrap-around outdoor patio so we could sit at a table with our bikes parked beside us, just an arm’s length away. We weren’t taking any chances with that bicycle thief! Lol

We were  thrilled to find lobster rolls on the menu at a lower price than any others we’d seen. They came with a small salad and a tin cup of French fries. We both ordered iced tea.

Then our server said, “And what kind of  water do you want? We have lime, watermelon or just plain sparkling.”

It sure sounded like it was included in the total price, so we ordered plain sparkling.

“I’ll bring you a bottle to share.”

I cancelled my iced tea.

The lobster rolls, fries and salad were delicious. We each drank one glass of the sparkling water.

Enjoying lobster roll lunch

When the bill came, we were a little annoyed to see the charge of $6.00 for the water! We knew then how they could sell the lobster rolls for less than the competition.

By the time we finished up there and were on our bikes again, the walkway was becoming very busy. Jim wanted to go the rest of the way down the Warf, where we hadn’t been the day before.

E-bikes are much heavier than regular pedal bikes, and I find mine harder to balance when riding slowly, so riding through crowds of people made me really nervous. I had my feet down most of the way; at one point I got off and walked it.

We did see some beautiful yachts docked in the harbour. The biggest, Jim learned by doing a search of its name, Majestic, is owned by the Money Investment Manager and principle owner of the Miami Marlins, Bruce Sherman. It’s valued at over $70,000,000! Sigh. I  won’t share my thoughts about that.

We rode back, through the crowds, to the street and on to the car, where we loaded up our bikes and returned to our apartment. After a little nap and a second lunch of sandwiches we made, we got changed, ready for our walk up the hill to see the Tattoo.

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Halifax, at Last!

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June 28, 2022

Once we left Moncton, we stopped only for gas and refreshments, being now anxious to settle into Halifax for a few days. We’d traveled for a few hours when Jim thought about me almost leaving my pillow behind our last night.

“Did you remember your pillow this time?”

“Umm.” I looked into the back seat. “I guess not. Did you see it when you checked the room?”

“No. But I didn’t look on the bed.”

“Well I guess it’s still there. I just have to hope the pillows are good at the next place.” I smiled. I have some trouble with my neck and shoulders and need proper support when sleeping.

The day had started out rainy, but the sun was out by then. “I can’t find my sunglasses either! We’ll have to stop somewhere so I can get another pair.”

The sun hid behind the clouds shortly and didn’t reappear until we were entering Halifax. We stopped at a Super Store to find a washroom, and some sunglasses, A couple of days later I found my original sun glasses under my seat in the car, while looking for something Jim had misplaced! Lol That was $25 I didn’t need to spend. Sigh. Oh well.

Once again we arrived at our accommodations a couple of hours early and were unable to check in. That Air B&B had an automated check-in system we’d never seen before. Jim was texted a code that unlocked the appropriate lock-box for our particular room, wherein the key was hiding. Once it was opened, our check-in was complete. But it couldn’t happen before three o’clock. I was looking forward to finally relaxing, but instead we had to find someplace to eat, so we parked the car in the parking lot and walked a few blocks until we found a little Ramen Café. We didn’t want much. We each ordered a dish of breaded jumbo shrimp, that were very good.

When we were seated at a long natural wood-slab table, with a few other people, only four empty stools remained available for anyone new who arrived.

I soon noticed four young women standing at the entrance and asked them to join us. It was a lovely surprise to discover they were part of the Nova Scotia Military Tattoo we were planning to attend. They had been in the city for a week, putting fourteen hour days, practicing and performing. They were highland dancers representing three different countries – one from Edinburgh, Scotland, two from Canada (Toronto and Vancouver) and one from Los Angeles. They gave us an interesting insight into what goes into these major Tattoos, and the expenses the performers have to bare. Their only “pay” was room and board. They were responsible for their flights and other transportation to get themselves there.

We made our way back to the suites at precisely three o’clock.

The suite was in an historical three story home, that had been restored on the outside, but the suites had the convenience of an updated bathroom and shower, and a modern kitchen, open to the roomy sitting/dining area. The bedroom was large and brightly lit by tall windows. The original doors, windows and intricate moldings were retained. There was cable TV and excellent WiFi.

The downside was the twenty-eight steps up a winding stair-case to our suite.

Thank goodness we were only on the second floor!

A hot shower and a change of clothes was the first thing on our agenda, followed by a trip to the laundry, a few blocks away, and another to the grocery story, within walking distance. I put together some dinner and then started writing and reviewing until my tired eyes could no longer see the screen of my iPad. The bed was comfortable; the pillows were perfect, and we discovered we were only a few blocks from the waterfront entertainment.

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Moncton New Brunswick

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We arrived at the Glory Guest Suites in Moncton, New Brunswick where Jim had made a reservation. We were a little early, again, but the sweet Chinese man who showed us where to park was unconcerned. He was, however, concerned about our e-bikes we had on the back of our car. Jim understood him to say something about putting them into the garage, but he couldn’t see any garage, so he assured the man they would be alright.

Once we settled into our rooms and rested for a bit, we went out in search of dinner. We found a lovely pub called the Tide and Boar where we enjoyed an delicious meal of baked, breaded fish, salad and interesting fries made from cornmeal polenta.

I wondered what kind of paint was used for these rainbow cross-walks that keeps them so vibrant.

Jim thought the tidal bore* was to happen that evening, so after dinner, we walked to the waterfront park. It was an interesting spot, but we’d missed the tidal bore.

We were both tired and ready for bed by 9:00 that night. As I was waiting for my turn in the bathroom, a knock came to our door. It was the smiling wife of our host. She explained that they were worried about our bicycles being stolen and they would really like us to put them into their garage. She said they would not sleep at night if we didn’t. We both tried to convince her they would be alright. Many necessary parts were in the trunk and there were three lock on them and the hitch. But they wouldn’t be deterred so we gave in. We both went downstairs with her and she called her husband to come help. It turned out they owned another rental house next door, where the garage was. They both beamed with joy when we had the bikes safely stored in the locked garage.

“You call me in the morning when you want to leave. My husband will help you. You are family!”  That made us smile.

True to their word, her husband was out as soon as Jim called and got the bikes out and to our car for us. We managed the rest, having loaded them many times.

Jim drove back downtown to Cora’s for a delicious breakfast of waffles with cottage cheese and an abundance of fresh fruit. There was even real maple syrup, something that’s hard to find in restaurants because of the cost of it these days.

It was there I had my second nosebleed. I was thankful it wasn’t bad compared to the first, and there were no patrons sitting anywhere near us. Being unable to eat while I tended to my problem, I asked for a take-out box for the breakfast I’d just started eating.  I got it under control quickly, but it left me feeling a little weary.

Before leaving Moncton,  Jim wanted to try again to catch the tidal bore. He parked the car within a short walk to the park we’d been in the evening before, but I just didn’t have the energy. We had seen one on our previous trip to our East Coast, so I chose to remain in the car while he walked to the river and captured  this great video.

Tidal Bore on Bay of Fundy,

When we left Moncton I slept for many miles, then enjoyed my breakfast. Our next stop was our main destination: Halifax.

*A tidal bore occurs along a coast where a river empties into an ocean or sea and the strong, twice daily ocean tide  pushes up the river, against the current creating a high wave of water.  If you ever have the chance to see one, it’s well worth seeking it out. The largest ones occur on Canada’s Bay of Fundy.

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The Journey Continues into New Brunswick

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We left Levis, Quebec at 9:00 a.m. on Sunday, June 26th. We arrived at our planned destination in Edmundston, New Brunswick at 12:45 p.m. Jim tried to check into our reserved Air B & B suite, but were told it couldn’t be done until 3:00, so we went looking for a place to lunch. Who knew that most restaurants were closed on Sundays?! It was 1:30 when we found a place that served only breakfast on Sundays, and only until 3:00. We’d had a good breakfast soon after we’d left Levis, so we settled for a couple of very healthy, fruit smoothies. We picked up a few items at the Super Store, knowing we’d be making our own dinner, and arrived back at our suite just in time to check in.

The “suite” was very tiny, with a funky déco art theme. There was an overused futon in the open living area. It was piled with brightly coloured cushions. A small kitchen table with two chairs sat very close to the refrigerator on the other side of the  room. The bedroom and bathroom were so small I’d take pity on anyone who was much larger than we are, either by height or weight, to fit comfortably. For us, it would do for a night. It was clean. So clean, as a matter of fact, the very strong odour of Lysol cleaner still saturated the air! I opened as many windows as would open to clear it out. As with the smoke I’d accidentally inhaled while walking by smokers on a sidewalk in Kingston, it choked me and hurt my nose. Jim didn’t notice.

When we got into bed, I squeezed into the small space between the bed and window and climbed in. There were no beside tables, so I didn’t have my usual box of tissues nearby. That turned out to be significant. At 4:00 a.m. I felt something running from my nose and down my throat. I quickly covered my nose with my hand and somehow found my way around the bed and into the bathroom next door. My nose was bleeding profusely, and running into the back of my throat. I pinched it, and wiped it and coughed and choked, unable to call out to Jim, who was peacefully sleeping. He has a sleep apnea machine that drowns out most noise.

After I got over my panic and got the bleeding stopped, I worried about being stuck in the bedroom again, or even laying down. I propped myself up on some of the throw cushions on the futon, staying to one end where the padding was firmer, and drifted in and out of sleep until Jim found me at 6:30. I wondered if the bleeding had anything to do with the Lysol and/or the smoke. Little did I suspect this might be a recurring problem.

We were out of there by 8:00 a.m. after quick showers and a breakfast of bagels and cream cheese I’d packed in a cooler bag. I was relieved to see that no blood had dripped onto the bedding, other than the minor spot now dried on my own pillow I’d taken with me.

We stretched out the day’s travels a little better, taking time to visit the longest covered bridge in the world. It crosses the Saint John River that runs through the Town of Hartland, New Brunswick.

After a visit to the Information Centre and a quick lunch of sandwiches, we picked up in the grocery store, we were on our way again.

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On Our Way in Earnest

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After two days in Kingston, Ontario with friends, watching some of the Canadian National Pickleball Tournament, we got on our way to Halifax in earnest. First we had to pick up an extra car battery to boost the almost new one we have.

We made it through Montreal during a provincial holiday – Saint-Jean Baptiste Day, and arrived at our first planned overnight stop in Drummondville, Quebec. We stayed at Hotel Alouette on Mercury Boulevard, which we highly recommend if you’re passing through. It is well maintained, very clean and has good high-speed internet. Because the rooms are very compact, you might not want to spend more than a night at a time, but the owner is very friendly and accommodating. 

We didn’t have time for much exploring in Drummondville, but we did take time to look for the Hemmings Generating Station before we left the following morning. We had to take a bit of a morning hike to get close enough to take pictures, and we got scolded for leaving the trail to do so, by the security guard. Actually, he was very kind about it, taking pity on us because all signage in Quebec is now in French only.  

This generating station is just one of many that are part of the James Bay Project, the construction of a series of hydroelectric power stations on the La Grande River in northwestern Quebec, Canada, by the province owned Hydro Quebec company.

We were in Levis, Quebec by noon that day.

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Changing Times

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It’s been too long since I’ve posted on this site. During COVID shutdowns, because we could do no long-distance travel, I immersed myself in other types of writing. But you might recall that we did do some local travel on our e-bikes.

This past week, we sold our motor home, so our journeys to Arizona are done. We have no plans for escaping the cold of  winter, yet, but we did embark on a new biking journey this week. We took our bikes to Long Sault, Ontario on Thursday evening, after a stop in Prescott to take my brother out for a drive and dinner. We spent the night at the Lion Inn so we could ride the Long Sault Parkway Trail on Friday morning.

The air was cold when we started out, shortly after 9:00 am, but the sun was bright. I took enough pictures to give you an idea of the beauty of the area.

Directly across from our hotel was a round-about intersection with a pedestrian/bicycle crossing that took us to the River Trail, which led us to the Parkway Trail.

The Beginning of the Long Sault Parkway Trail and a bit about it.

The Islands. The eleventh island isn’t named on the map, but there was a road to the right named Moulinette Island Road, which seemed to lead to a private community.

Most of the islands have campgrounds and beaches, that have restroom/store buildings, but there are no houses or businesses. We could hear birds in the trees and see some on the water. It truly is a peaceful green space.

When we reached the end of the trail at Ingleside, we found a great little place in a plaza to eat lunch, before the return ride.

There is a story behind these islands. They were once a part of these two cities, until the 1950s when an agreement was made between Canada and the US to flood the St. Lawrence River that ran beside the towns and between the two countries, in order to expand the shipping lanes. On MacDonnell Island there is an information area with posters that tell the incredible story of houses and other buildings being moved, and the Highway #2 being flooded. We found the small portion of the highway that remained above water.

The road that goes nowhere

Most of the pictures on the boards are now faded beyond recognition, but I did capture the written story in pictures. If you take time to read it, you will be amazed.

The information is posted in both English and French. I cropped out the French only to adjust the pictures to a smaller size and square them up. You can find more detailed information on the Wikipedia website.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this journey. I can’t say when the next one will be but I hope you’ll join me when it does. Happy Travels!

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At Last, Sturgis!

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Continuation of the Series Sturgis and Beyond

Originally posted on August 10, 2010

Days five and six

On Sunday morning, still in our campsite near Mitchell, South Dakota, we took our time getting ready to leave. I did some laundry; Jim repaired a window screen that had become loose, and I finished blog and Facebook postings. While I sat outside completing these tasks, I watched streams of motorcycles speeding past on the I-90. By 10:30 we had joined them, but the bikes ruled the road.

With a couple of stops along the way to refresh, we finally arrived at our campsite at Sturgis around 4:00 pm.

One of many camping sites

The day was another very hot one, reaching temperatures in the upper nineties. Our poor old motor home began to protest when we stopped to register. She didn’t want to start again. But we managed to slowly move her to our campsite and backed into place. We did our nesting; electric hooked up, table and chairs out, awnings pulled to provide some shade. We started a list of things we should purchase the next chance we got, like a sewer connector, a new door blind and stamps to mail cards. After a frustrating evening of trying to get and stay connected to WiFi, an internet stick was added to the list. Hence the reason no news got posted that day.

On Monday we took the bike into downtown Sturgis, list in hand. Lots of luck! There were many interesting sites and lots of pictures to take. Beer could be bought at nearly every corner; if you wanted a souvenir t-shirt or cap or any biking paraphernalia, you had hundreds of shops to choose from. But nowhere in sight was there a computer or mobile phone store, or a grocery store. Our list had to be discarded for the time being. We just parked the bike and enjoyed the show. The streets were lined with bikes of every shape, size and description that you could imagine. Granted the majority seemed to be Harleys. At least the loud pipes on our Virago blended right in.

There were bikes customized to look like cars; there was a bike that looked like our Venture, but it pulled a coffin for a trailer, painted to match the bike. The licence plate read “X-wife”.

The people riding the bikes and walking on the streets were just as varied. Jim especially enjoyed photographing the buxom women who equally enjoyed flaunting what they had. It seems that pasties are the only top covering required in this state. We saw people dressed in caveman/warrior garb, women in bikinis, old people, young people, an extremely tall woman, probably seven feet.

We stood in the crowd for the daily group photo. If you look really closely you can recognize Jim’s hat in the crowd. Well worth the $10 we paid for a copy. We poked through several of the shops, ate pulled pork for lunch and ice cream cones for dessert. We visited the Knuckle Saloon for a cold drink and a listen to some excellent guitar picking and songs by Rogan Brothers Band.

By 4:30 the sun and the walking had done us in so we found our bike and decided to look once more for the Post Office. By the time we found it, it had closed and there seemed to be nowhere else to buy those stamps. Some suggested we might try the grocery store and told us where to find it, but it would mean another slow ride through town; We came back to camp.

But the desire to get internet connection to complete some business and post our updates led us to get on the bike again and head sixty miles east to Rapid City. There we found the internet stick we were looking for and an IHOP where we finally had some dinner. It was nine o’clock by the time we finished eating, time to return to camp. Perhaps tomorrow we’ll get that list taken care of.

In the evening we were still struggling with internet while enjoying some live music coming from the beer tent.

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Have Bike will Travel!

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Just when I was sinking into the depths of the doldrums, the second of the two e-bikes, mine, that we’d ordered in July,  finally arrived on Wednesday!

Today, we got together with two other couples and went on a beautiful 30 km ride.

We met in East City, an area of Peterborough, and got onto the Rotary Green Trail and headed north toward Lakefield. The sky was still cloudy and the wind was a little chilly. I was wishing that I’d put a hoodie on beneath my jacket, but before long the sun broke through and the rest of the day was filled with blue sky and sunshine.

This trail is beautiful, especially this time of year with the colours of the trees starting to turn. The bright yellows of the golden rod and the red blossoms of the sumac shone vibrant in the sun.

Once out of the city, it meandered through arches of trees and then suddenly took us beside the Old River Road to show us the glorious sparkle of the Otonabee River.

We rode along the road, past the campus of Trent University, before picking up the trail again. We made a stop at the wooden bridge that spans a little pond where Canada Geese swam, taking some pictures, before winding our way through the streets of Lakefield until we reached our destination – Shakers Diner.

We were more than ready for the big mugs of coffee and platters of home cooked breakfasts or sandwiches with fries.

I knew I was out of shape because my legs felt like rubber. If anyone thinks that you don’t pedal with an e-bike, give one a try! After lunch I was ready for a nap, but once we got going again my energy returned.

On our way back, Jim led us on a different path, through the University Campus. and gave the others some bits of history about the land where it had been built. He grew up in the area called Nassau.

We crossed back over the trestle bridge that spans the Canal and were soon back at our cars, tired but happy.

I expect to sleep well tonight! I’m looking forward to getting some more rides in before the winter weather hits.

Thanks to Julie and Jim for contributing some of the photos.