We slept kinda crappy. The room was really small and as I sleep on the floor, it’s a crapshoot if things go well. I woke up kinda early and ate/blogged for a before another sleep session. We both woke up about 30 minutes earlier than required and were soon heading out. The car/bikes/bag were all fine of course. We are kinda unsure why we were asked to get to the ferry so early as there was really no Covid check in stuff at all. The person at the “gate” did ensure we had all our required “stuff” but did not ask to see any of it.
We waited from 6:45 to pretty close to 8:00 to being loading vehicles. I saw a couple with bikes ride in and planned to talk with them once on board. They had 1 trailer with them and the other rider had only a single of front bag. Another pair of girls also came in equipped more with way camping gear. They too were conversation targets. Silvia was not at the car when the call to board came. The second line of cars was called as a result. No worries. Luckily she was within a hand wave.
We carefully drove onto the pathway avoiding any scrapes. For this ferry journey, we were asked to drive up a ramp onto the craft. Once there we were required to turn around and back in. The staff were really helpful in guiding vehicles like mine that were overloaded. We were so fortunate that our vehicles were loaded directly below the bow of the boat. It was only 1 staircase up and we were given the best seats on the ship. Silvia wanted to find better but I stayed knowing our choice was kinda awesome.
The way it works out if you take the front facing fixed chair and table, the couch/chairs in front of you are kinda also yours. I felt guilty but space was not an issue in this case. We actually offered the seats to any onlookers who wanted it. Luckily Covid restriction’s were loose enough to allow bathroom/cafe and ship visits.
I honestly did not miss St John as it melted away. The crossing is only 75 KM’s or about 2.25 hours in length. There is plenty of time to explore and blog. A few coffee’s and paragraphs later we got close enough to land to warrant packing up to prepare for departure. It looked kinda foggy and wet in Nova Scotia. We were soon called to head to the cars. Being only 1 level above it was super easy to find and score a few pictures.
We saw someone who did not know where their car was . Oh my. Luckily for us our deck appeared to be the first to get off. I took plenty of extra time to exit with the load tending to scrape along the way. Now it was time to find how what NS had to offer regarding covid restrictions. I watched 1 person quizzing people as they drove by. One car was presented with a paper form and asked to park. I suspect that was the mandatory form we had already filled out.
Within minutes we were upon our Covid validation friend who asked us to present our form and drivers license to be held alongside. Easy Peazy and we were in. We soon passed the riding from Ottawa couple and waved good luck. It was about then that the rain started really hard. I honestly think it rained for 90% of the journey to outer Halifax.
The roads in this area have grooves where the many wheels have run. We saw the same thing in NF. The water does not shed off but rather, stays in the grooves like 2 rivers. Even on the hills the water basically saturates the grooves. It made for quite a few interesting puddle surprises. The Fit, during it’s 4 to 5000 RPM climbs tended to spin out in this water during power climbs. That was fun. I had to fight it manually.
Fortunately for us there was only 1 accident just outside of Halifax. Nobody appeared hurt. It was not long before we were cruising into Kaitlyn neighborhood to be. We were told in advance that her apartment building’s parking lot had a bunch of construction going on. The bridge beside her apartment transcended a rail line and was completely out of commission. The road that led to it was completely ripped up. Access to the back of her building was still open but it was a sketchy section requiring navigating orange cones and possible big ass equipment.
I parked in front of the building taking a chance at least to unload. Her apartment is pretty awesome. Despite the rain Silvia and I went for it and unloaded everything. This was a nice post crazy drive workout. I parked soon after in the back of the building. KT and Michelle were flying in the same day so the timing was kinda critical. Their flight was delayed by an opportune amount of time.
With the car unpacked I was able to relax a bit, enjoy a beer and meet some members of construction crew. These guys were the most friendly people I had met in a ling time. They totally understood my parking dilemma and indicated parking there was cool for 1 night. The construction company actually owns the parking lot so I need to play by their rules. I found out the number of the property manager (Debbie) and asked her to find me some parking for several nights. She was very cool. After feeling more relaxed about current and future parking I had some time to remove the bag from the top of the Fit.
I was concerned it was scrubbing the roof for 2300 KM’s. I was also concerned about the situation with the potential water leaks on KT’s stuff. The scratches were definitely there which makes total sense.. i might take some time later to buff them out. It’s really only cosmetic. As for KT’s clothes, there were 5 parcels we had wrapped in heavy duty bags. Sadly Sabrina’s rooftop bag sprung a leak somewhere. Luckily only 1 of the 5 well sealed bags had leaked. We had access to a laundry drier. No Biggy.
It was at this evaluation time that KT and Michelle were getting a shuttle from the airport. They were enjoying the recently arrived sun lol. It was nice to finally reconnect and show her all that we had accomplished and delivered. Ikea around this time was trying to communicate with Kaitlyn about a delivery. That planning was not thought out. Silvia and I tried to intervene before they flew from TO that my number would be better. It’s a bummer that the nice Ikea delivery person was no upset that the recipient of the only number they had was possibly at 30,000 feet. What should have been about a 3 PM delivery wound up being communicated to be a 9 PM. Then later it was to be about a 5 PM. I felt bad for the guys as they had been all over the city. Luckily there was no issues with what they had provided. I was honestly toast and kinda wanted to crash. Michelle and the girls wanted to plow through. That was when Michelle discovered how sharp a serrated common kitchen knife can be. Hospital time for 3 stiches. Hospital delivery and pickup done around 11:30 PM or so. We needed to crash, hell of a day
Sunrise Ferry
Pulling forward before the untie
Bye St. John 🙂
2.5 hours to hang out and blog/chill
Coming into NS
Those of us early onto this portion of the ferry were asked to turn and back in
The while truck was positioned kinda weird. At least space was left for others
KT’s space after unloading the Fit
Sabrina’s roof bag was not waterproof
It was a small lake inside
Luckily I had insisted on heavy bag for the stuff within. Only 1 failed
The roof was buffed only a slight amount
Hopefully a little elbow grease later will solve it
KT and Michelle arrived safe
