Monday was just about us getting all in one place to start the tour. The Simons rode with us to North Sydney and we arrived just as Thy and Jerry arrived by ferry from NL. The highlight of that day was exactly that...celebrating being together again!
Tuesday began the real adventure....starting with breakfast...poor Jerry was excited by the promise of toutons and beans on the menu....unfortunately they did not have a Newfoundland chef. We headed out to English River to cross by ferry and start our adventure in the highlands.
Lots of twists and turns just like all the other trips. A lot of the roads have been redone and widened since we were last here and some are still being worked on. Despite this people still drive really slow. Since we were a little late getting going, it wasn’t long before the hunger was on and we had to stop for a bite to eat. A quick stop at Main Street Restaurant for lunch took care of that. Great meal and we were able to sit outside and enjoy the wonderful temps.
Next stop on the schedule was Meat Cove....an adventure to get to but so worth the ride in. 8 kms of dirt and some pave, really twisty turns and some really steep inclines. Meat Cove lookout is on top of a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. The cliffs are very similar to what I have seen in Newfoundland and the Bay of Fundy.
It gives you the feeling of being at the end of the earth, which is what I have often described standing on the trail at Cape Spear.
We headed back out to make our way to our next stop in Mabou. A stop for gas and ice cream (yes they all screamed) helped to break up the riding time. We didn’t arrive in Mabou until around 7 pm which is late for us and we were all a little road weary. We usually describe this time as “stupid o’clock” which means it is time to stop. Quick showers and a relaxing bev while Jerry and Thy set out to watch the sun set on the beach. We all met together at the Red Shoe Pub for supper which was a quick walk down the road. The pub is owned and operated by the Rankin Family. Walking in, the pub itself is surprisingly unassuming. While it does feature some photos and posters of the famous family it has a simple yet tasteful community pub atmosphere, Not surprisingly as well is a piano and a spot for performance music. It also had one of the best meals that I have had on our many trips... starting with a spinach and kale salad (this was featured as an app but was huge!) followed by pan seared scallops with hodge podge vegetables was amazing. Larry had the haddock with tarragon sauce which was equally amazing. This will be a stop for sure on any other trips we take this way.
The night ended in usual laughter and story telling. It is nice when every part of the day is the best part of the day.
No comments:
Post a Comment