Monday, July 25, 2016
When I was writing about our ferry ride over to the islands, I mentioned meeting Dave and Louise, bicyclists from British Columbia. Every time our paths crossed over the next couple days - which happened frequently as we were staying at the same campground - Rob and Dave would talk like old friends catching up about their health, life's stresses, the adventures that lay ahead, and anything else that came to mind. Louise and I would join in, but as the talk continued without any sign of coming to a conclusion, we'd leave the men and head to our respective campsites to take care of our tired, hungry, and sweaty selves.
They were such a lovely couple that it seemed like we should have gotten together for a beer or dinner, but our schedules were completely out of sync. While Rob and I get an early start on the day and put in around 50 miles of riding, Dave and Louise tended to sleep late and start riding in the early afternoon, covering about 50 kilometres. On Saturday we had finished our beer and poutine and were heading out of Havre-Aubert just as they pulled into town. On Sunday we were done with laundry and dinner and heading to the microbrewery just as they were arriving back at the campground from their day's riding.
Our paths crossed later on Sunday night while we watched a fireworks display at the campground and discussed logistics for Monday morning. We were all planning to catch the ferry back to PEI and there was only one departure, at 8 a.m., which meant rising early to get tents and other gear packed up and ride to the ferry terminal by 7 a.m. We're early risers so we'd be fine doing our breakfast routine, but Dave said they'd be heading to the Tim Horton's in town. Tim Horton's appears to be the Canadian version of McDonald's or Wendy's but the way Dave raved about it, when we got up the next morning to swarming mosquitoes, we decided to check it out.
If we thought that we would enjoy Dave and Louise's company over breakfast, we were wrong. We ordered and were almost done eating before they made an appearance.
After boarding the ferry Rob and I settled in for naps, had tea and muffins, then visited with Dave and Louise for the remaining hours of the crossing, talking about life in our respective parts of the world and getting to know more about one another. Dave, a retired biology teacher, was studying to be a minister. Louise still worked as a nurse. While Dave had been on an extended bicycle tour before, this was Louise's first. They were out for about five weeks, heading to Nova Scotia after exploring parts of PEI. We talked a lot about the differences between Canada and the United States, how Canada welcomed immigrants, seeing the value in what they brought to the country as workers.
Once the ferry landed, we went our separate ways. They were off for their 50 kilometers, while we had plans to relax, heading just up the road about ten miles to an ocean-side provincial park. But the math worked out for our paths to cross again the following night. The next day, with our 50 miles and their 50 kilometers we could look forward to meeting again at another campground.
None of us anticipated the rain that would wash out any desire to set up camp the following night.
They were such a lovely couple that it seemed like we should have gotten together for a beer or dinner, but our schedules were completely out of sync. While Rob and I get an early start on the day and put in around 50 miles of riding, Dave and Louise tended to sleep late and start riding in the early afternoon, covering about 50 kilometres. On Saturday we had finished our beer and poutine and were heading out of Havre-Aubert just as they pulled into town. On Sunday we were done with laundry and dinner and heading to the microbrewery just as they were arriving back at the campground from their day's riding.
Our paths crossed later on Sunday night while we watched a fireworks display at the campground and discussed logistics for Monday morning. We were all planning to catch the ferry back to PEI and there was only one departure, at 8 a.m., which meant rising early to get tents and other gear packed up and ride to the ferry terminal by 7 a.m. We're early risers so we'd be fine doing our breakfast routine, but Dave said they'd be heading to the Tim Horton's in town. Tim Horton's appears to be the Canadian version of McDonald's or Wendy's but the way Dave raved about it, when we got up the next morning to swarming mosquitoes, we decided to check it out.
 |
| Just having real dishes to eat on made the food taste great at Tim Horton's. |
If we thought that we would enjoy Dave and Louise's company over breakfast, we were wrong. We ordered and were almost done eating before they made an appearance.
 |
| Louise and Dave had the attitude that nothing could possibly go wrong on this trip. |
After boarding the ferry Rob and I settled in for naps, had tea and muffins, then visited with Dave and Louise for the remaining hours of the crossing, talking about life in our respective parts of the world and getting to know more about one another. Dave, a retired biology teacher, was studying to be a minister. Louise still worked as a nurse. While Dave had been on an extended bicycle tour before, this was Louise's first. They were out for about five weeks, heading to Nova Scotia after exploring parts of PEI. We talked a lot about the differences between Canada and the United States, how Canada welcomed immigrants, seeing the value in what they brought to the country as workers.
Once the ferry landed, we went our separate ways. They were off for their 50 kilometers, while we had plans to relax, heading just up the road about ten miles to an ocean-side provincial park. But the math worked out for our paths to cross again the following night. The next day, with our 50 miles and their 50 kilometers we could look forward to meeting again at another campground.
None of us anticipated the rain that would wash out any desire to set up camp the following night.
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