The Rest of the Trip
(this will be in lab report format minus personal pronouns).
Introduction
Yesterday marked my arrival back to Ottawa after a very packed, busy
trip. The best part about traveling must be returning home. I didn't have
any time to keep up the travel log, but some of the interesting items will
be mentioned.
First off, there are two things that I loved about the coastal provinces:
- My cell phone worked everywhere. Much better than 5 minutes out of Kanata.
- A sky so not light polluted that you can see the most intricate features of the milky way. Amazingly beautiful.
Procedure
Day three in New Brunswick was the Acadian festival in Caraquet. Loud
and proud, the festival was bustling. While they did not turn me into an
Acadian music fan, the local band playing, called 1755, put on a good show.
Their fiddler was very talented. Their drummer was also interesting: at one
point everyone left the stage in the middle of a song and he continued it
with a nine-minute solo. Everyone came back for the last four-or-so bars.
The following morning, the real sight-seeing started. I rented a car in Miramichi and took it on a 36-hour trip through New Brunswick to P.E.I., then down to Halifax in Nova Scotia, stopping every now and then along the way. Confederation bridge is more imposing than expected.
Figure 1: The New Brunswick end of the Confederation Bridge.
Prince Edward Island was astonishing, with its red sand against lush grass. Since I didn't have too much time before sunset, I made the most driving around the island parks and countryside. There were many panoramic views that would be ideal for paintings. Charlottetown itself was not nearly as interesting.
Having left Charlottetown after 10pm, I arrived in Halifax at almost 3. I decided to scout out what I wanted to see while there was less traffic. The way the city is organized (or not), that took nearly an hour. Sleeping in the car was uncomfortable. Toyota Echoes are not recommended for sleeping.
That following day involved much walking around the city. The day began with a visit to the Maritime Museum, which included an enjoyable tour of the C.S.S. Acadia, a ship of the same vintage as the Titanic. They did a great job preserving it, and even have a cat on board, though they call him the "Senior Pest Officer." After the museum, I went on the obligatory Alexander Keith's Brewery tour. It wasn't what I expected, though it was undeniably fun, and included sampling of several of their brews I did not know existed. The last big attraction was the Halifax Citadel, where I caught a tour as well.
Halifax was departed at around 6pm, the goal being to get to Moncton before sun-down. Shortly after leaving the city, the largest rainbow I've ever seen appeared over the highway. At the New Brunswick-Nova Scotia border, I had to stop to get a photo of this neat wires-everywhere setup:
Figure 2: CBC Transmitting Station at NB-NS border.
Moncton did not seem terribly interesting, but I stopped at the famous Pour House to try some blueberry ale and get some food. I also bought a six-pack of the ale. I was back in Pointe-Sapin shortly after midnight, very sore from all of the walking around Halifax. But wait, there is more...
Five hours later (just past 0500), Peter and I woke up to go lobster fishing with a local group of fishermen. Even in my tiredness it was a good time. The captain of the boat was a prankster and he brought up one of his buddies' lobster cages and filled it to the brim with sea urchins. It was good to get fresh air before the long ride back home.
The ride home was fairly good. I finally got to go on a train. It was an overnight ride, but in my excitement, I didn't get much sleep. That made for three sleepless nights.
Conclusion
The conclusion of the experiment is that the east coast is not, in fact,
like the west. However, I did see one Lamborghini.
Discussion
What's wrong with Ottawa? Where are the Lamborghinis?