So much to do and so little time. I am determined to come away from Halifax with not only some understanding of the town, but also an understanding of how I felt about it. Is it a place I would like to visit again? What does it do for me inside? Are the people here really different from other cities in Canada? Does it excite me photgraphically? Whew, a pretty tall order for two and half days, but you need to start somewhere. There were funny sensations going on inside as I walked the sometimes steep streets. With the moist air, fog, old buildings, university right downtown, old apartment buildings fairly well maintained, lots of students wandering around, and a collection of strange characters, it created a feeling like the South Kensington area of London did ... read more

I could have missed the ferry to Nova Scotia this morning, but I didn't. Last night, while watching TV, I noticed the time on clock in my room had a different time from my watch. I glanced at it from time to time, but finally the geek in me took over and I decided to set it to the proper time. For some reason, rather than just set it to my watch, I checked the time on the weather channel. Surprise - I was in a new time zone and didn't realize it. My watch was wrong. Thank goodness I discover that oversight. The undesired consequence for me would have been another day in St. John. While waiting for the ferry, I met a couple of other motorcyclists, Sylvain and Manon, from the Eastern Townships of ... read more

Odometer: 35146km In the morning I had to wait for the rain to stop and the streets to dry a bit before heading off, but I finally got underway by lunch time. I needed a little oil for the bike and ended up getting some help at Farris Power Sports on the outskirts of Augusta. It was one of those places run by seasoned motorcyclists. They were very good to me and hunted up some new oil dregs from several containers and charged me nothing. As I topped up the oil, another motorcyclists came over to talk. I met John, told him my name was also John, and we had a great chat. He was a carpenter, semi-retired, and rode one of the older Honda motorcycles that evolved into the touring Gold Wing of today. He ... read more

I went for my hike in the March-Billings National Historic Park. It rained most of the night, so I had to wait for it to dry out a bit before I could get started. I took advantage of this to do my service stuff - laundry and a haircut. The Rockerfellers put a lot of money into this area and influenced the layout of the town in their later years as well as setting aside this estate as an ecologicaly controlled area. It certainly was worth preserving. My climb up the Precipice Trail provided nice views of Woodstock, even though it was hazy. Of course, the sun came out later on, but I was back down in the town by then. I'm sure the picture of the town with the sun out would have been better. ... read more

Odometer: 34225km The day started with breakfast at Hunter's Diner. I was one of those classic American Diners and had earned "Best Diner of the Region- Peoples Choice Award." It looks a bit like the fuselage of an airplane and is covered in stainless steel inside and out. They were prefabricated in New Jersey and then shipped to their final location for assembly. Hunter's was put in place in 1953 and has been owned and operated by the family ever since. The place was very clean and everyone was efficiently attended to my two waitresses. They seemed to know most of the clientelle by their first names. My waitress was Rae. I couldn't help but comment on her name. "That is a unique name. My sister-in-law's is the same." "Oh it's unique alright, but it isn't ... read more