Saturday:
Our packs await bicycles.
Origin:
Harmony
B&B
Destination:
Garrison
House Inn
Route
Description: We managed 6.6 km on the rail trail--mostly nice base with spots of sharper gravel and sand,
and nice views out to Annapolis Basin. And then, the first flat--Bob's rear tire. After repairs, we completed today's ride east on Rt 1, stopping for sandwiches at a small general store. Rt 1 had no shoulder, many short rolling hills, and passed small clusters of homes and housekeeping cabins (this is the old highway).
Another beautiful, sunny, blue sky day for our Saturday ride and strolls around Annapolis Royal. Cloudy Sunday morning for our bike explorations, turning to light rain at noon.
As we prepared to ride from Digby (population just over 2000) to Annapolis Royal (populstion just under 500) we had lively breakfast conversation with Marg and Andy from Mahone Bay, NS. Later, leaving the rail trail to fix the flat tire on the parallel Rt. 1, we had the good fortune to meet Pete Banks, 89, who lived across Rt 1 from our repair spot.
He kindly provided the larger wrench needed to complete the task successfully.
The German pastry shop is located next door to our lodging, so we stopped there first. Annapolis Royal, the smallest incorporated town in Nova Scotia, is one of the largest National Historic Districts in Canada. Settled in 1605 by French explorers, it was the site of the struggle among the English, the French, and the Acadians for years (Fort Anne and Port Royal). After dinner at Ye Olde Towne House Pub, we strolled Saint George St,
appreciating the historic buildings, enjoying the waterfront boardwalk, seeing the Fort Anne site and the old English graveyard.
Sunday morning while Bob lubed the bicycle chains, Marney walked upper Saint George St. to see the restored "Victorian ladies" with their lovely gardens. Many are bed & breakfasts. We both visited the Historic Gardens, with beautiful, themed gardens representing more than 400 years of local history.
The replicated Acadian thatch-roof cottage has an adjacent garden based on Acadian diary notes.
Another beautiful, sunny, blue sky day for our Saturday ride and strolls around Annapolis Royal. Cloudy Sunday morning for our bike explorations, turning to light rain at noon.
As we prepared to ride from Digby (population just over 2000) to Annapolis Royal (populstion just under 500) we had lively breakfast conversation with Marg and Andy from Mahone Bay, NS. Later, leaving the rail trail to fix the flat tire on the parallel Rt. 1, we had the good fortune to meet Pete Banks, 89, who lived across Rt 1 from our repair spot.
The German pastry shop is located next door to our lodging, so we stopped there first. Annapolis Royal, the smallest incorporated town in Nova Scotia, is one of the largest National Historic Districts in Canada. Settled in 1605 by French explorers, it was the site of the struggle among the English, the French, and the Acadians for years (Fort Anne and Port Royal). After dinner at Ye Olde Towne House Pub, we strolled Saint George St,
Sunday morning while Bob lubed the bicycle chains, Marney walked upper Saint George St. to see the restored "Victorian ladies" with their lovely gardens. Many are bed & breakfasts. We both visited the Historic Gardens, with beautiful, themed gardens representing more than 400 years of local history.
We ended our outside day cycling to grocery store, hardware store (for that damn missing wrench), and the Annapolis Tidal Power Plant. It is North-America's-only, built as a prototype in 1984 to take advantage of extreme tides in the Bay of Fundy. Les, our outstanding interpreter of the site, explained that Mother Nature and tidal plants have several conflicts that will prevent the technology from expanding to make a dent in the need for alternative energy. Shucks, all that reading over Bob's history with the magazine Popular Science comes to naught.
Thank you so much for the lively journal entries. I love being aware of where you are and what you are doing in your absence. Sounds like a great trip.
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