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As most of you know I went to Halifax Nova Scotia for a port call on my Coast Guard ship and they allowed me to take my bike. Here is my write up of the experience.
Day 1
Let me tell you what an awesome time I had in Nova Scotia. We pulled in to Halifax on the 28th to start our 3 day stay there. In the morning we had to meet up with the commandant of the Coast Guard and have a joint ceremony which lasted all morning. After the meetings and the underway demonstrations we pulled in around noontime to tie up for the rest of our time there. It wasn’t till around 2 in the afternoon that I was able to take off on the bike to start my exploration. So I left and fueled up the bike and was on my way. Seeing that I didn’t have much time I set out for the south coast just east of Halifax to look for some twisty roads. It wasn’t long till my GPS led me to some nice smooth roads that hugged the coast. The weather was overcast and I hit a couple of light rain drops and mist, nothing that required rain gear or got me wet.
It was a decent start of the day. I ended up coming back to the boat around around 5pm and 69 miles later to get changed and ready to enjoy some nightlife Halifax had to offer.
I started out by going to the casino where I quickly won about 160 bucks and buying some friends some drinks and such. From there we went to the Bluenose diner for dinner. They advertised the best clam chowder in the city so I was dying to try it. It was the worst thing I have ever tasted. For one clam chowder is supposed to be white, not yellow. 2. Clam chowder should have clams in it; after all, that’s why they call it CLAM chowder. 3. I guess being from New England where the clam chowder is awesome anywhere, you can’t expect the same anywhere else. So if you want clam chowder, go to the Black Rose in Boston instead of the Bluenose in Nova Scotia. So after that we looked for a good place to have some drinks. Well wouldn’t you know it right across the street there was a hopping place called the Split Crow. Went inside and saw some of my shipmates and had some beers. 3 for 5 dollars for Coors light till 10. Can’t beat that even though it is Coors light. So we had a few there and was admiring the locals (did I mention that every girl up here seems to be a blue eyed brunette that is totally smoking, must be something in the water.). So me and a couple of friends were leaving there and heard some girls on the sidewalk yell that it was time for Karaoke. Being that Eric lives on a Karaoke stage we followed them to the Oasis. Which was quite a hike uphill to get to. So we got there and put our songs in and enjoyed the atmosphere and had a couple of drinks. Then the night ended and we went back to the boat to crash for the night.
Day 2
Today was the best day of my trip. I had all day with no worries and could sleep in the next day knowing I didn’t have to be anywhere. So I woke up around 830 am and looked out my porthole of my stateroom and noticed it was gloomy and dark. Kind of a disappointment but I wasn’t gonna let the skies rule my destiny of riding and exploring this great place. So I departed and my goal for the day was to get to the North shore of the island and see how far east I could go. So I set out and headed off. I just zoomed out the GPS and looked for roads that went in the general direction I wanted to go. That kinda snarled me when I started to notice a river that was opening up into a bay. I stopped to take a photo and a car stopped and I asked if there was a bridge up the way to go east more. They said no so I had to turn back and get back to the bridge, wasn’t too far away so didn’t snarl me up too much.
So after backtracking a bit I headed to Truro and had lunch. Nothing fancy, just a McDonalds for a couple burgers and then to a gas station to refuel. By this time the weather had held off. Just some on and off mist and the roads weren’t terribly wet. So far so good. I continued to head northeast to see what was out there. By now I was having a great time, the skies were actually getting brighter and the traffic was light and cops were nowhere to be seen. I kept on keeping on and eventually stopped for gas midway through the day. It was about 230 by then so I asked the lady how far away the Cabot trail was. She said about 3 and half hours. I had a decision to make, go there and look for a hotel or start thinking about turning back toward Halifax to go out with my friends again. She said hotels this time of year can be closed and there wasn’t many out there so I decided Halifax was looking good. So I started making my way back southwest to get back. I ended up back in Truro and saw this Red Sox sign in the window at Hero’s Pub. I thought it was cool there were Sox fans in Canada too. Too bad we suck this year.
So after that break I headed back on my way to Halifax. That’s when the skies darkened and the rain set in. good thing I brought rain gear. I was surprised how dry I stayed with it in. (Thanks to Mike and Jamie for talking me into buying it last spring at the Gap.) So I made it back around 5pm and again got ready to go out that night. This was a 279 mile day. Even with the rain I still had a great time.
So then it was time to go out again. Going to the Casino seemed to be thing to do. Half of everyone of the ship was there. So I played some blackjack and quickly got 100 dollars up. That was good enough for me so I went to this place called So many beers, so little time. They had 60 beers on tap. I had a couple of brews there and met up with my boss and a couple of other shipmates. Had about 2 more beers and went to an Irish bar. There was a bunch of college people wearing green shirts doing a pub crawl. It was a good night to be out. From there I went to the Liquor Dome which had a couple of bars connected together. I met some more shipmates there and the next thing I knew we were leaving and it was 300am. Got back to the boat and was in bed at 330.
Day 3
My stateroom door flew open at 930 am. My roommate was saying hey, its 930 and the suns out, you should be on your bike. So I looked out the porthole and it was bright and sunny out, but I little windy and on the cool side. So I had breakfast and coffee and went out to get the bike. Being a little tired I had already decided it was gonna be a mellow day so I could relax and enjoy myself. So I headed out to the west this time. I found some nice coastal twisties and made a lot of stops.
After a little more riding I found a nice lighthouse and the Swiss Air flight 111 memorial. I visited that and then went to lunch at this local place past Peggy’s Cove. After 104 miles I was back at the boat and ready to load her up and get ready to go on patrol the next day. It was such a good time here and I wish I had a week to explore more. A couple of notes I would like to add. The Tank bag came so in handy. It was my first time using one since my buddy had it on his bike in my garage. So much better than accessing the trunk all the time. MP3 player….When you are riding alone the music seems to be all you have. Definitely made it more enjoyable. Finally my GPS. I have said this before that this is my best investment. To have it and know when you have a turn coming up that you want to take or have a general idea which way you want to go. It was awesome. That night there was no going out for me. I was exhausted. It was a great little break from reality and the temps were bearable and the leaves were changing. I would highly recommend a motorcycle trip up there this time of year.
So that’s about it. My dirty bike sits in the cargo hold waiting for the next adventure. Thanks for reading.
Bruce
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Didn't know the RC could go that fast! 
clam chowder originally is not supposed to be white....we were invited by an old couple of neighbors once, who live here in Springfield, and they made an "authentic" clam chowder with what I believe was chicken broth as a base (no cream), potatoes and obviously...clams. The mister was raised near the Ocean as a litlte boy, and that's how it was made. He also picked the clams himself to make his chowder. It was delicious. Not sure why yours was not good, but they might have been cheap on putting enough clams in it. Altho I really enjoyed the "creamless" recipe, I prefer the white, creamy one myself. 
