I wasn’t about to update this blog so soon, but a recent natural event made me change my mind.
I just found out from Murray that Nova Scotia just received 3 months worth of rain in a span of 24 hours. I immediately called the Duke to follow up, and was relieved to learn that she was safe and sound at home.
I saw the aftermath of the storm. I am grateful I was able to escape the storm. I hope everyone affected will recover from this terrible situation soon with minimal impact. This really hit the province hard. I found out the Lunenburg area has been hit particularly hard. So far, it has been reported that 19 bridges have been damaged, along with 6 more that were completely destroyed province wide.
I have attached some pictures and videos I have found on various social media talking about this storm. To my new found friends at Nova Scotia, please stay safe, and I am wishing you all a speedy recovery from this latest disaster.
It’s only a few hours driving back to Toronto from Montreal. I make it home by noon time. I spent the next day in the hot scorching heat just re-installing the rear seats, and cleaning out the interior. When you’ve been living in the car for over a week, things get grimy and gross. I actually removed the front seats also in order to properly clean the car properly.
By the time I was finished cleaning the interior, I was much too exhausted from the heat that I put off washing the exterior until the next day.
There was a LOT of dead bugs stuck to the front of the car. Upon closer inspection, I also have a lot of stone chips and other minor scratches throughout the body of the car. But the car is back to being relatively clean and presentable again. Unlike me….
The fuel calculations are as follows.
Total Date
2023-06-30 to 2023-07-09
KM Traveled
5282
KM/L
13.20450483
MPG Converted (mixed)
31.05897604
Fuel Consumed (L)
400.015
Fuel Total Cost (Canadian Pesos)
723.87
$/KM
0.137044793
Fuel prices was a bit more than my Vancouver trip, most likely because it costs more in the east coast, and also, fuel prices post pandemic is higher. As I always say, everything goes up in price, except wages. But overall, I think it isn’t that expensive. A direct flight from YYZ to YHZ direct via Air Canada currently cost about $500. That doesn’t include the rental car I’d need once I have arrived, and all those interesting adventures I had in between. Once I factor that in, plus the savings I had from cooking my own meals, I think I came out ahead.
At this time, I would like to thank the following people who helped make this trip possible.
Murray – thank you for planting the idea to visit your wonderful hometown so many years ago. I never thought this trip would be possible.
Duke and Carolyne – I had a great time having lunch with you two. Thank you for helping me refine my trip, especially with interesting places to visit by the Cabot Trail. I hope to be able to visit your fine town again soon.
To my team at the SB OCC – the past year has been very difficult with many challenges. You guys took excellent care of me, and made it possible for me to realize this dream. Thank you.
To YOU – all three of you this time. Thank you for following my blog. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed updating these entries.
So this would conclude a dream that took almost 5 years to complete. It definitely exceeded my wildest expectations. What is next? I’m not sure yet at this time. However, as the famous E.B. Johnson once said Don’t Set Goals, Set Milestones. I promise this won’t be my last road trip, especially with my BRZ (and Instant Pot).
At this time, I would like to close off this blog with a picture of my final meal somewhere in a rest stop in east Ontario. Amazingly, I did not have a single meal at McDonalds or Tim Hortons!
With that said, I will be placing this blog in hibernation mode again. Thank you and good night.
So with much sadness, I began my trip back home today. Yesterday evening, I began driving back to Moncton, New Brunswick. At the beginning of the trip, I stopped at Quebec City, and bypassed Montreal, since I have never been in Quebec City before. It was very beautiful there. I decided to do the opposite on my return trip, since I haven’t been to Montreal in several years. On my way to Montreal, I stopped in the middle of nowhere in a WalMart parking lot, and made lunch with my instant pot. As I was waiting for it to get ready, an older model Dodge Caravan drove towards me, and out come this guy wearing a white shirt and tie. Apparently, he was a Jehovah Witness member, and tried to preach to me. I politely told him I wasn’t interested, and he drove off. What a weird encounter.
My first stop in Montreal was to one of my favorite Chinese restaurants there, and had dinner. I never realize how busy Montreal is during the summer/weekend. I guess I have always gone during the low season, winter time or non weekend times.
I also stopped by Montreal Casino just to see. Again, it was very busy. Montreal actually has one of the best Canadian casinos in my opinion. Oddly enough, they close at 2AM. Apparently, there is some kind of job action/strike happening. Last time I was in this casino, we were quickly kicked out, because of plumbing issues, and they had non running water. Maybe I am just bad luck to this place?
I would rank the Casinos I have visited in this trip as follows.
1 – Montreal Casino. The atmosphere is amazing. I love the multi level layout. The front entrance is just so beautiful at night. One of these days, I will go during the day to see what it is like around the area.
2 – New Brunswick Casino in Moncton. Not as busy or well laid out as the Montreal Casino, but the connected Hotel is quite nice. The buffet restaurant is nothing special. I got carded by the security guard here!
3 – Casino Nova Scotia in Halifax. I’m still very bitter being charged for parking. It was also the least busy casino in the evening. They don’t even have a self serve complimentary refreshment station. I think them choosing to use a central downtown location for the facility was their biggest mistake. I really enjoyed walking outside this casino around the dock area by the ocean.
You must think I am a big time gambler based on this post. I only spent $30 at the Moncton Casino for the buffet. I’m not really comfortable gambling my money. In fact, my friend tried to get me to put $20 into one of the slot machines for him on a specific machine. I just wasn’t comfortable with it, and declined the offer. Gambling never appealed to me. But I do like visiting Casinos just to walk around.
I was about to skip the Egypt falls site, and drive home early. I’m really glad I didn’t. The pictures does not do justice how beautiful it is in real life. Also being able to see it in person without anyone else around was a very unique experience. However, to get to this site was very interesting. I have to drive two km through some really rough gravel roads, and hike for almost half hour one way down some very steep cliffs. The trail actually had ropes to help you, and trust me, you’ll need it. It was very sketchy, and unfortunately I was very unprepared for a hike. I didn’t have the right shoes, I had no walking stick, I didn’t bring water with me, and I was famished, since I didn’t eat breakfast yet! By the time I was reached my destination, I was huffing and puffing non stop. And that’s just one way! I still have to hike back up to my car! I ended up falling once, and scratched my knee for the first time since I was a kid. But the reward was definitely worth it.
As a finale, I went to visit Inverness Beach boardwalk. It was a nice destination to conclude this amazing trip. By the time I reached this beach, I was no longer huffing and puffing, so I made breakfast/lunch in the parking lot, next to a big stack of lobster traps. I actually took a small momento from this beach as a souvenir for this amazing trip.
I start driving back home shortly afterwards. I stop at the New Brunswick welcome center, and have lunch/dinner at the park.
I’m going to explore Moncton a bit for tonight, and I’ll be headed to Montreal first thing tomorrow.
it’s going to be a few days before I can update this blog again. Apparently the water did more damage than I thought, and it is no longer powering up. Oh well. I’ll figure something out when I get home. I’m updating this entry with my phone. That’s why the formatting might be a bit different. Also, the interface is just so difficult to use!
As predicted, network connectivity left much to be desired, and I didn’t want to burn through my data allotment, since I’ll need it for gps directions getting back home. There were some hiccups however I had an amazing time overall. My preliminary itinerary is as followed
surprisingly, I was able to attack most of this list on the first day. Alexander graham bell site was a nice peaceful location… For me to cook lunch at! Some random guy just approach me and comment how cool it was.
being able to eat at a picnic table was quite nice.
Next I visited the big fiddle in Sydney. Yeah, it is definitely big! But beyond the novelty of having a big fiddle, it wasn’t really all that interesting. However, the boardwalk that was next to it was spectacular.
In between destinations, the highway has many lookout spots for you to take pictures. The view, even from just some random spot, was truly majestic.
the first stop I made after I entered the federal park land was Ingonish beach. Instead of sand covering the beach, it was a large collection of smooth stones covering the whole beach. Walking across it made a very satisfy sound
stillbrook waterfall was my next destination in the park. It was amazing tall! One thing I’ve noticed during this trip in this park is how few people visited these landmarks.a lot of times, it was just me, or one other family behind me. If this was situated in Toronto, parking would have been a nightmare, and there would have been a two hour lineup before I can get to the front.
Macintosh brook trail head was nice. Unfortunately by this time, it was getting late and a big fog was developing over the whole park. It was so thick, I didn’t get safe driving at all.
This picture does not properly portray how thick the fog was!I wanted to search for some accommodations for the night so I can continue the trip, but it would appear this was high season, and all Lodgong was booked up, and the two that was still available wanted extortionate price for a two star property. I actually considered driving back home and finding cheaper lodging down the road, but I decided I really wanted to see Egypt falls the next day. So I just did what any crazy guy does, and drove to the closest grocery store parking lot, pulled out my sleeping bag, and made the car seat my bed for the night.
So I will be traveling to Cabot Trail tomorrow. I have read that cell network connectivity will be spotty at best, so I am not sure if I am able to update the blog in a prompt manner. If I am unable to do so, I will still write that evenings blog, but will need to wait until I get reliable connectivity before I can submit my next post.
I was supposed to be driving to Cabot Trail this morning. However, I decided to extend my stay at the dorm room for an extra day so I can rest up, and better prepare my itinerary for tomorrow instead.
This morning, because I am a car guy, I decided to go to the Steele Wheels museum. It was interesting. It wasn’t exactly my type of scene. Probably more like Jay Leno’s type of cars, if you catch my drift. The presentation was amazing, everything was very clean.
This was the only Mercedes there.
This was the only reference to Subaru in the whole exhibit. No Subaru vehicles at all! Why even bother?
There were some cool cars that I really liked.
A proper 3 pedal DeLorean that is unmolested?! Seriously?
A retromodded Mystery Machine full of LED lights inside. It was fun to look at, but meh.
The most shameful one of all, is the George Barris (Original Batmobile fame) RX7 fake movie car for the Fast and Furious was on display! It actually looks worse in real person! I recognized the livery right away.
The car vinyl work was embarrassing in real life. Nothing looked right, and some of application looks crooked. I’ve seen my fair share of good vinyl work, and this ain’t it!
watch this video for more information about this car
Seeing this really made me question the curator of this museum, and his/her credentials. I bet they intentionally squeezed this vehicle in between other vehicles so you can’t see the inside and scrutinize properly.
This description plate was so wrong after you watch the video above. This car was NOT in The Fast and The Furious, and Vin Diesel NEVER sat in this car. Who does this research?
Their food court was a lot of fun! If I wasn’t cooking in my car, I think I would’ve had lunch here.
After I went to a Value Village close by. Keyboards were on average about $10-15 each. Why even bother buying used at that point!? They’re delusional. I saw an old PATA hard drive with the words “BAD” prominently written on top. I didn’t bother to find out how much they wanted to charge for that! If I knew I could’ve sold bad hard drives like that, I would’ve been a millionaire many times over by now! I did find an official Cisco console cable for $3.99, which isn’t bad. Not great, but not bad either. It would’ve cost me more to make my own cable.
And they charged tax. hmm.
Right afterwards, I went downtown Halifax. I parallel parked on a steep downhill street. It was quite nerve wracking.
I walked towards the primary branch of the Bank of Nova Scotia, IN Nova Scotia. The friendly security guard told me I was welcome to take pictures inside, but to be respectful, since this is an active bank, and to respect the privacy of the patrons.
Since I still had some time from the paid street parking, I walked up the hill, and checked out the Halifax Citadel. Beautiful view, overlooking downtown from the top.
That pretty much concludes the final day of my stay in Halifax. I drove back to the dorm, and begin packing up. I passed by a Chinese grocery store, and picked up some frozen dim sum for lunch.
The next time I update this blog, I will most likely be on my way to the Cabot Trail.
I went to many destinations today within short driving distance of Halifax.
This is just a small list of the places I went to.
First stop was to the world famous Peggy’s Cove. I thought I’d just go, take a few pictures and leave. I didn’t expect to stay there for so long! There are two parking lots there. One closer to the entrance, and one closer to the lighthouse itself. I parked at the one closest to the lighthouse. The lady at the information desk said I can either walk about 7 minutes there, or just drive there. I chose to walk. I’m glad I did. There was so much to see along the way, and when I finally saw the lighthouse over the horizon, it was very breathtaking. Unfortunately, it was very foggy, but luckily it didn’t impede the view of the lighthouse itself. It actually feels appropriate, since lighthouses are designed to shine a light to cut through the thick fogs to guide sailors away from danger. I actually asked the information desk if the lighthouse is still lit at night. I would’ve loved to drive to see it lit up for a different view, but she said it is no longer. I guess with modern day technology, it renders lighthouses obsolete.
I was told on good authority that the “Tom’s Lobster Shack” by the lighthouse had very good lobster rolls. I decided to break my personal quarantine, and put up with the allergic reaction, and try one. To be honest, I think it was over hyped and underwhelming. The sauce just overpowered any lobster flavor I wanted to taste. I guess I just prefer the Chinese way of preparing and serving lobster. It wasn’t cheap either! But as they say, when in Rome…
Next up was the Swiss Air memorial site. It was very beautiful and serene. I made sure to stay within the roped off path to prevent damage to the environment. Also, by the time I reached the second site, the fog was letting up, and the sun came out in full force!
Next up was Mahone Bay. Very beautiful little town. Lots of visitors. Plenty of cute little shops. Obviously this area is targeting the tourist market
Afterwards, I visited a town called Lunenburg. It’s another cute little town. Apparently, this town was known for early settlers from Germany! Also, the Bluenose II sailboat was docked here. The Bluenose II is famous for being the very same boat that is embossed on the back of the Canadian dime. Unfortunately, the day I arrived, she set sail to a different location. Oh well, it just gives me an excuse to come back next year!
Just beside Lunenberg is Blue Rock. Very beautiful natural shorelines as far as the eye can see.
And by then, it was around 3:00pm localtime. I start driving back to the dorm. I saw that the local Canada Computers was very close by, so I decided to make a detour. I was pleasantly surprised! It’s almost the same size as a typical one in Toronto. However, it seems they either moved, or just opened very recently. Lot of the shelves were empty.
I also so close by that there was a relatively large Chinese themed grocery store. I guess there is a somewhat large Chinese population here.
And for my final destination of the evening, I went by the new Central Library. My goodness, this place was HUGE! And modern! I was very impressed.
Oh, and here is a picture of me cooking dinner in the middle of Graves Island provincial park on my way driving back home. So far, I have not eaten a single meal at any fast food joints like McD or Tims!
I made it back to the residents by 9. I cleaned up, and after I finish this entry, I’m just going to call it an early night. Goodnight everyone!
After dinner at the dorm room, I decided to drive to the Halifax Waterfront Boardwalk. I went during the evening, on a rainy day. The boardwalk was very empty, giving it a very different vibe. I definitely enjoyed it. All the shops were already closed, save for a few of the bars and restaurants.
Afterwards, I went to the Casino nearby. I was very dissapointed. It was very small, nothing special. Not only that, but because it was in a busy part of downtown Halifax, I had to pay for parking!!! It’s a CASINO! Why would I want to pay for parking, in order for me to GIVE THEM MORE MONEY? Rant aside, I walked around, and I was about to leave. Then I discovered the Pedwalk (Pedestrian Walkway) called the Downtown Halifax Link. Apparently, this is like a mini version of the Toronto PATH system where many different buildings are interconected by an enclosed walkway protected from the harsh winter elements.
The walkway was very interesting, especially because I went 10:00PM localtime and everything was already closed. It was like a ghost town.
This would be my final posting for tonight. Very tired. Big day tomorrow. I will be on the road for many hours again! I hope the weather co-operates.
