Saturday, June 20

This is Tom.

Well, today’s blog could be very short; we ate, we drove, we ate, we flew, we drove, we ate, we slept.

However, that seems a bit too much brevity, so here’s a somewhat longer version.

Today we left Newfoundland for Nova Scotia. Since the places we had been staying at had full kitchens, we had saved some money by shopping the local grocery and eating in. After a few days of this we had some choices to make about what to eat, what to toss, and what to leave. Since Jim and Diane don’t eat breakfast except for Jim’s coffee and some saved bacon for Diane, the task was up to Val, Dan, Tom, and Deb. Val and Dan took the usual route polishing off the eggs while Tom and Deb reprised the Chicken Parisienne from the previous evening. Both couples came away satisfied with our meals and with fewer items to trash. So we packed what we knew we could take on the plane and away we went to Nova Scotia.

We returned to the St. John’s airport with plenty of time to make our 2:05 flight, so once again the hunt for food and bathrooms. We had asked for a wheelchair for Deb, and that gave us pre- boarding status. Once landed in Halifax we were glad of the chair because baggage claim and the car rental kiosk were at the other end of the terminal. Deb and I were the last ones off the plane, and the skycap pushing Deb was in no great hurry. Even so, once we arrived at baggage claim, the luggage was still not out. When it did appear, we quickly discovered our checked bags were rain-soaked, obviously sitting outside for a while! We piled into our rental car, a spacious VW Atlas, and prepared for the two hour drive to Antigonish.

The drive was much different than Newfoundland. The ground was flatter, the roads straighter and well paved, and with fewer potholes to slalom around. We saw farms, cows, silos, arable fields and many more deciduous trees, not to mention company names we recognized from the states. It could have been upstate New York except for the occasional glimpses of ocean or the many lakes. The ride to Antigonish was uneventful, but the configuration of the Atlas meant the seating was 2-3-1-luggage front to back, and that middle seat was not meant for adult butts!

So far we ate, drove, ate, flew, and drove. Time to eat! Of course a Saturday night without reservations is a bit tricky for a party of 6. Deb scoped out one restaurant while Tom scoped out another because he thought the choices were limited at the one Deb was at. Tom was told it wouldn’t be long so we all trooped to the second restaurant, only to be told it would be 20-25 minutes. Bummed, we decided to try the steakhouse across from our motel which had glorious reviews. It was not what we expected; lots of fried food and weak drinks. We coped, but should have gone with door #1. Upon leaving the restaurant, Deb discovered she couldn’t find her phone! So after registering at the motel and dumping her purse and luggage, we returned to the first restaurant and were exultant that it was there! Crisis averted! Slow breathing resumed.

Our motel advertised “family rooms” and it wasn’t false advertising. Deb and Tom had 3 beds, Val and Dan two, poor Jim and Diane a mere one. We met to write Friday’s blog in Deb and Tom’s room which had extra chairs, and then went our separate ways for a good night’s sleep. Cape Breton awaited!!