CCCT Part II - Lawrencetown, NS Rest Days

Thursday, Friday, Saturday, June 27-28-29, 2013
Day 1
We had hoped to have a lie in but Molly, the black lab, was on a different schedule and she felt we should be up at 7:30 AM. After breakfast we drove into Middleton with Pat in her 2008 Chrysler van with all the bells and whistles including a rear-view back up camera that beeps when you get to close to any obstruction. We parked in the grocery store/NSLC (Nova Scotia Liquor Control) lot and walked to the General Store. It was a combination gift shop/antique shop/shoe shop/clothing shop/souvenir shop/etc. Bev found a dress that she liked. Apparently she buys a dress in this shop every time she visits Middleton. We then did some banking. Bev at the Credit Union and I did mine at the RBC. While I had been to the "Dollar Store" there was an accident at the main intersection where a new traffic light had recently been installed. Apparently a pedestrian was hit while crossing. There were several police vehicles and an ambulance there and quite a few spectators. It was the highlight of the day for most of them. We continued doing our shopping by purchasing a 6-pack of beer at the NSLC and some groceries at the shop next door. On the way back home we stopped in at the VIC to see if they had a NS pin for me and Bev was able to get a map of NL which we will need later on when we take the ferry over.
Once back at Pat's home we checked out her garden which consisted of a few raised beds containing a variety of plants including some tomato plants one of which had been severely decimated by deer. I also checked out her very large garage - big enough to store a dozen on more sports cars. Of course they would have to be stacked to the ceiling which was quite high. My tummy started to grumble so it was time to go in for lunch. I had a chicken sandwich sandwich, a diet coke and some of Almont's home made Blueberry Grunt. Don't ask me to describe it or how it's made - you'll just  have to Google it. Needless to say it was strangely delicious. I checked out airfares from St. John's, NL, to Ottawa compared to cycling to Argentia, taking the ferry across to N. Sydney and renting a U-Haul to transport all our gear home. If we post most of our gear home and just take our bikes on the plane it half the cost of taking the ferry and renting a U-Haul. I also tried to help Pat create a business card using Avery free templates but for some reason it would allow us to create one card and not 10 at a time as I had done for our cards.
Almont BBQ steaks while Pat prepared smoked spare ribs which we had with potato salad and cucumbers and tomatoes. There was a birthday cake with strawberry coulis and fresh whipped cream for dessert.
Day 2
I spent the morning after breakfast cleaning our bicycle chains, derailleurs, etc. There was a pair of coveralls in the garage which I found handy for keeping my clothes from getting messed up. They also helped to keep me warm as it was pissing down rain and quite chilly. Bev did our laundry and helped prepare lunch. I had pea soup and a chicken sandwich and a diet coke. I managed to complete another day of my blog and after lay down for a nap.
Almont and Pat returned from grocery shopping with lobster tails for dinner. But first Almont invited me over to his house, which was just two doors over, to show me his hobby which was all about building model airplanes, making medal displays of former fighter pilots, etc. In the past he has interviewed many decorated fighter pilots and military veterans. He has an extensive military library and memorabilia collection. It was all very impressive.
We had surf and turf for dinner i.e. lobster tail, steak, baked haddock, mashed potatoes, leeks, Brussels sprouts, fried mushrooms and onion for dinner. Dessert was Angel Food cake with strawberry coulis and whipped cream. Yikes!!! All the weight I've burned off since starting to cycle again from Trois Rivieres is starting to pile back on.
Pat asked me if I knew how to setup Netflix. I'm still a bit of a dinosaur when it comes to the latest TV technology. When I asked her what it was she was having a problem with she explained that she wanted to hook up her laptop with WIN8 on it to her HD Flat Screen TV. I Googled it and was able to find a video on Youtube explaining how to do it. The difficult part was figuring out where to find "Devices" in WIN8 so we could change the configuration to "dual monitors". But after an hour or so of messing around with WIN8 we finally found it and Badda-Bing-Badda-Bang we had video and sound. After showing Pat's family cruise photos from last year I was able to show my slide show presentation from my France/England 2009 cycling trip.
Day 3
I finally got up at 8:15 and let Molly out. She had been outside our bedroom door rattling her collar and dog tags since 6:30. I assumed she had to go real bad but all she did was go out on the porch and dance. I guess she wanted me to go out with her and relieve myself!!! Anyway she came back in without doing anything. Bev got up and let her out and she did her business knowing that when she came back in Bev would have some dog food waiting for her. Go figure.
After breakfast, Almont and Pat invited us to go to Wolfville to the Farmer's Market. It was a 75 km drive and it was a very overcast day so we decided to go along if not only to check out the route that we would be cycling tomorrow on her way to Windsor. Since we were on the #1 highway in the Annapolis Valley it was reasonably flat and quite straight most of the way. Once we got to the FM we walked about and checked out all the various stalls offering a variety of farm produce, baked goods, canned goods, meat products, locally produced wines, cheeses and food vendors. Bev bought some croissants for tomorrow's sandwiches and some date squares. I took some photos. We decided to go to Pete's Market for lunch as they served healthier food there. I ended up having a spinach and cheese soup and a spinach and Feta cheese Samosa. All very tasty. We then did some grocery shopping before going next door to check out a bicycle/stove shop. Bev was able to get a new tail light to replace her old one as the lens had fallen off and gotten lost somewhere on the way to St. John. I got a  white "Dew" rag for myself. We also saw a really neat bright orange Sugoi jacket with removable sleeves that were held in place by magnets. Never seen anything like it in the Ottawa bike shops. Come on Ottawa - get with the times!!!
When it came time to pay I tried to negotiate a discount. I asked for a bicycle club discount but the cashier refused. I then asked for the "Seniors Cycling Across Canada Discount". It agreed to give us a 10% discount. He then told us a story about a senior cyclist who also asked for a discount. He told him that he would have to chop one of his fingers off to check and see how old he was. Sort of like how you check the rings on a tree trunk to see how old it is. The customer then held up his had with two missing fingers and said "Will this do?". The cashier was dumbfounded. The manager who had overheard everything then said "I guess he stumped you!!!". We all  had a good laugh. Bev then treated us all to ice cream in a cup. They were out of cones. On the drive home, Almont began to get drowsy, so I took over and drove the remaining 50 kms home. Bev did some last minute laundry for me and I had a quick nap before we drove into Middleton for dinner at the Pasta Jax & Ribs Restaurant. Bev and I ordered Spaghetti with Italian Sausage and a garden salad. Pat and Almont ordered to daily special a Seafood Crepe which came with mussels. The manager had gone by with an order of Seafood Crepe for another table and there were no mussels on the plate so it was quite a surprise to Pat, who is not a fan of mussels, to find them on her plate. She did try 2 of them and passed the rest to me. It was a very delicious meal in spite of the unexpected mussels.
Once back home I packed my clothing for tomorrow's early morning departure. It was very hot and humid. I also once again tried to help Pat with creating a business card. In the end she found a site online that allowed her to create a business card with graphic, etc and they would print off 250 cards for $12. Of course it was a US company and by the time the taxes and shipping charges were calculated it all came to $26 I think. It was time for dessert so we all had a piece of apple pie before going off to bed at 10:30
Super 8 Motel, Windsor, NS