Woke to the sound of serious rain which was a little disheartening as we had to be on the road early and take Ellie to have her roadworthy inspection. Luckily for us the rain stopped and we had a pleasant 10 mile ride out to Roy's Parts & Service for said inspection. Mike rode his Honda 125 out as it also needed an inspection. We knew everything should be okay but we still held our breath until we got the thumbs up and that all important sticker was attached to Ellie's fork tube. The bike is now ours in every sense of the word and there is nothing stopping us from beginning our journey across the continent.
On the way home we stopped at Shelburne historic waterside area to take a photo of Ellie before she leaves her home of the past two years.
We sorted through our gear and decided the Wixom panniers were quite small. We mailed a box of goodies home and by mid afternoon we bade a temporary farewell to Mike, Jessica & Clara, turned the key and away we went to begin our exploration of Nova Scotia.
We thought we'd head north-east but instead found ourselves at a village called LUNENBURG on the south coast. We liked it so much we decided to stay the night. It is a UNESCO World Heritage site so figured it would have plenty to offer. We stopped in the almost deserted main street and immediately the owners of the alternative foods shop next to us came out. They rode bikes and struck up a conversation. Lovely people, well traveled and entertaining with their stories. The fellow was standing on the edge of the pavement when he lost his footing, staggered, swayed, fell back against some roadwork barriers, tilted, legs swaying, arms waving and then on the ground he went. What was astounding was he never spilt a drop of his coffee! He bounced up, red-faced, and announced that he performed that stunt like a true Aussie. We nearly split our sides laughing.
We found a place to stay overlooking the harbour and village. We enjoyed the walk in to town, in awe of the beautifully painted wooden buildings.
We were totally surprised to find a piece of the Berlin Wall here on display. What is it doing here?
At the waterside we saw the historic schooner 'Blue Nose'. It cost nothing to go on-board but they were offering sailings each day and I guess this was a good way to whet people's appetite to go for a sail.
As with all the other coastal villages there was the memorial plaques to those lost at sea. Again, hundreds of names printed on each column.
We had a lovely meal overlooking the harbour and watched the sun sink behind the distant hills. There were several horse and buggy's clopping along the pavement. It all added to the atmosphere of the place.
On our evening walk we explored the historic streets, St. John's church and the spooky Lunenburg Academy. A stubby-tailed cat, that attacked dogs walking by, decided to join us on our village walk. He stuck with us for several blocks, almost acting like a guide.
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