Glorious weather, quiet roads, no hold-up at the Nova Scotia/New Brunswick provincial border check-point for Covid-19, so we’re well on our way. One-fifth of the journey covered today, trolling along, enjoying the fabulous NB scenery. Indeed, if you discount the Atlantic coastal advantages of Nova Scotia, the undulating topography of NB is much more interesting and ever-changing. Forest vistas of every shade of green and dramatic river valleys that border the St. John river, emptying into the Bay of Fundy after flowing from northern Maine, through Quebec – a fairly short journey of 673 kilometres.
If you should venture at any time to NS and need a hotel in Bridgewater – the Lighthouse Motel is a veritable diamond in the rough. Everything as shipshape as its ubiquitous name, perched between the legendary Lighthouse Route that meets the Atlantic ocean and the Lahave River. Marc and Joseph, a delightful couple of Moteliers, who welcomed us at the end of a stressful ‘moving out’ day with an upgraded room that embraced us with its cosy personality and nautical decor.
As a bonus, and because we needed to eat in the room to keep the dogs company, we were given the phone number for Pizzatown, and within 15 minutes of phoning in our order, the best Margarita we’ve ever eaten was delivered right to our door. Yay! Hooray for day one. Or at least, half a day, as the moving company didn’t arrive at the promised time!!! Que sera!
A little different at the end of day two, however, as we’d reserved a room at Days Inn at Riviere-du-Loup in Quebec, overlooking the mighty St. Lawrence River – which altogether met our low expectations of an aging chain motel… And with our three dogs – pre-arranged with the manager – they charged an additional $60 for one night which took the bill to over $200, for a ceiling of polystyrene tiles, a bathroom too small to swing a cat, and one leatherette club chair that they must expect to be shared on a rotation system as the room can accommodate up to four people. Encore, que sera! I’m absolutely determined to be a happy ‘camper’ and enjoy this journey as it completes our Canadian road-trip coast-to-coast when added to the drive some years ago returning to BC from Toronto. Dinner tonight – a nearby McDonalds for fillet-o-fish, fries, and ice cream. I’m not expecting gourmet dining on this journey (last night’s pizza notwithstanding).
So this message will be short and sweet, as we’re on schedule and the day was thankfully uneventful, plus we didn’t stop for any photos along the way. Tomorrow, however, we’ll be visiting some dear friends for lunch as we pass through St. Lazare – just outside Montreal – and onwards to Pembroke, ON for our third night. And I’ll try to keep the camera handy.
One thought before I sign off… Peter pointed out that given the vast size of the country, there’s nowhere else in Canada where you can drive clear across two provinces in one days, other than in The Maritimes.
Actually, I have a second thought – or, more of a question. Why is it that in Canada – an officially bi-lingual country – does New Brunswick offer road signs in both English and French, as an apparent courtesy to its neighbours, but once you cross the provincial border into Quebec, English appears to have been denounced?
Until tomorrow…