I got excited midway through the trip when a fishing vessel got a little close to us. Initially, I panicked and thought they were Somali pirates but as they got closer, I could tell they were just regular fishermen! I signed a waiver agreeing not to use the ferry service for several years and the captian dropped all charges of fearmongering.
I arrived in Pictou as it was starting to get dark but hit the Sobeys for dinner. I was very happy to see that they will sell lobster AND boil them for you. They were charging about $9 a pound. It was a little early to start a celebration but Halifax is boding well! Cannot wait. Speaking of Halifax, my sister Kathryn brought up the fact that the guy jumping out of a ballon is stealing my thunder of finishing this trip up. I am considering immolating myself at the city limits and then biking right into the water to extinguish myself. I still haven't worked out the details. As it stands, I could be in Halifax tomorrow. Do I go down to the harbour/beach right away? Do I stop and get my accomodations taken care of and then go down the next morning? I guess I have about a day to take care of these details. It'd be nice if it was sunny. As it stands, its quite overcast now.
I biked slowly around the town trying to get oriented and ran into a group of youths. The second time I ran into them, a young boy made some passing comment about looking for bottles in the garbage can. It took me a few seconds to realize he had directed these comments at me!! A new low, being taken for a homeless man. It got even worse when I popped up at the top of main street and the group was there again. A big cry from the same kid, "There he is!". As I did a quick left to hop to the library quickly, I heard, "It's one way!". Gosh this kids was troubling. I got settled outside the library and heard his buddy/brother? call to him, "Jordan!" Ahhh....please give me strength to suffer the Jordans of the world. I was able to de-stress in the libary and at the end of the night, I asked her what the town was like, she said,"It used to be called 'Little Chicago'". I wasn't happy based on my initial meeting of the Pictou youth but she quickly backtracked and said that it was a nice, quiet town other than some energetic youth who roamed the streets. I told her I'd already met them. I'm glad to see its not just me who's noticed them. I asked some basics about the replica tall ship and the fishing museum but didn't get too much in the way of specifics. She was a nice lady after my initial greeting by the town residents.
I ambled over to the open mike at the Palace. A 1905 theatre restored to its original look and I was hoping to do a few songs but I got there just as a guy finished up, "Good Boy" by the Bare Naked Ladies. The organizer of the event heard I was biking and gave me a free Cd. I believe his name was Ashton. I will provide a link later with the proper information.
I managed to find a semi-sheltered spot to camp but the tarp blew off midway through the night and I awoke to a damp sleeping bag so I re-adjusted the sleeping bag. My liner helped keep the dampness off my feet but the bottom was pretty well soaked. Need to take care of that soon. Didn't get the best sleep but headed into the Stone Soup Cafe for a coffee and to finish off a book I bought at the garage sale outside Charlottetown. I found out the owner had spent some time in Vancouver because he saw my vancity card.
I went into the town office and both staff and bystanders were nice enough to tell me to take the Hwy 376 and then the #4 which was the old Pictou road and served as the road for the stagecoach. The road was flat, twisty, and had beautiful foliage. I really enjoyed the ride down to Truro. It mirrored the mai hwy so I knew I was going in the right direction. I made it into Truro and got to the visitor centre. Much to my surprise, teenagers at the centre said hello to me and greeted me. A nice change from Pictou. I also met another biking couple who were just heading up to PEI and then back down to Halifax to finish up their trip. They were from Victoria and were raising funds for the Alzheimers Association. I keep telling myself to donate to that group but I always forget to! I ran over to the Hub Cycle bike shop to meet my warm shower connections. I need to show up a little later but I am enjoying just relaxing in the library after showing at the local gym and gorging myself on pizza. It will be strange to finish this trip up!!