Day 65, August 10: We’ve Arrived! North Sydney and on to Port au Basque

We had a great, and I will say, well deserved celebration and cork popping upon our arrival in North Sydney.

Hugh and I said our goodbyes that will leave us with memories to share for our lifetime.  Jon then took Hugh and all of his gear to a local motel to ready for his flight home in the morning  back to his lovely wife Uta and their dog Lars….thanks Uta for your support and allowing Hugh to participate with me in this venture that we undertook.

The family went out for an early dinner, where I enjoyed the best seafood chowder ever, though it was the pizza we went enjoy, which proved itself as very delicious Cape Breton style.

After a quick packing and instruction run over of the trailer for Ian and Cindy, Jon and I said our good byes to head to our 9:45 ferry which would take us to Newfoundland.  I gave our trailer a good thanks for a lot of good sleeps on the road! And as I said to Cindy and Kelly and families,  I cannot express enough how much it had meant to me to have family with me there at the start and finish to celebrate my ride of a lifetime.

After a ten minute ride from the campground Jon and I arrived at the ferry to a very large line up of trucks, trailers and many cars… no panic however as we did have a reservation for the passage.  After boarding we made our way to the 9th deck where we had reserved seats in a very nice lounge, no hardship thanks to Kath!

By the time we settled in it was after midnight with another 8 hours to our arrival in Port au Basque, NFLD. I shortly dozed off and slept most of the night reasonably well only awakening a couple of times when we powered through some rougher seas. I awoke with the sunrise and made my way out to the deck for some fresh air and photos.

It was a thrill to get my first glimpse of Newfoundland from the water and see in person that which I had only seen in commercials… believe me, they don’t computerize it, it is truly breathtaking.  We soon docked and made our way off the boat to find a local restaurant for breakfast… when in Newfoundland eat like a Newfoundlander – the fish cakes were delicious.

Our first destination today would be Deer Lake, about 250 km drive to greet Kathie who was flying in shortly after 1:00 pm. This gave Jon and I an opportunity for a leisurely drive and go off the main highway to visit some of the small fishing villages and to spend some time in Cornerbrook.

We arrived at the small but very busy airport that services the west side of the province just before 1:00 pm and after a short wait Kath arrived, very happy to see her and she is still number one with me although no longer that way at GBC, congrats Tammy!

Our next stop was at Rocky Harbour in Gros Morne National Park where we will spend time relaxing, hiking and taking in the amazing surroundings. We will then drive towards St. Johns, about 400 km from here, where I will  finish my ride  by cycling the last few km into the city, including the challenging ride up Signal Hill.  That will be on the 15th when we plan to meet friends Brammer and Lisa Long and enjoy the city and surroundings for a couple of days before we depart for home on the 17th.

I will be signing off on my blog today until the 17th and at that time will provide you with a summary of the experience and  say the many thank you’s to everyone that I  owe for support and encouragement that made this epic ride  a reality, and a memory of a lifetime.

Cheers Sid!!