Nova Scotia Day 12 - Halifax, Goodbyes, and More of the Coast

** I'm home now - and even more behind on completing this journal of our adventure. Here's the deal: As the ride planner, my first responsibility after getting to my room each evening is to review and update the plan for the following day. Once the plan is complete in Garmin's Base Camp routing software, I email the route to the other riders in the form of a .gpx and load the route into my own Garmin Zumo 665. I shower - and then download photos from the card in my Nikon D5300 for safekeeping. On long days (and we had a LOT of those this year) - I call it a night. I just can't afford to take time to write... and edit images... and upload everything to this online place... so I get more and more behind.

Now that I'm home, work calls - but I'll finish the account of our adventure in the next few days. Here is the account of Day 12.

Monday  was designed to be a bit of rest day. After the hard push to this point, I knew we would need a break from the grueling pace we had been keeping.

Day 12 was also the day we would say goodbye to Annette (my wife) and Elizabeth (Randall's wife). These ladies have been the best of friends for nearly 30 years. They embraced this idea of ours to ride these crazy adventures willingly, and have been a part of every one of our journeys. Both work full-time jobs. And we care too much about them to ask them to endure the really hard parts of the rides, so they fly in and out - usually after a week or so. This year, the girls flew into Portland and stayed with us until we reached Halifax. On this Monday, they were flying home and we were headed south. First, though... a morning to sleep in - and some tourist activity in the capital city of Nova Scotia as we continued to explore this city we started to experience the previous evening.

I learned in doing my research for the trip that Halifax was the closest sea port to the site of the sinking of the Titanic. While all survivors were transported to New York, bodies of those who perished were transported to Halifax. Today, a Maritime Museum recounts the tragedy, and we spent our morning learning more about the Titanic, those who lost their lives on that fateful evening of April 15, 1912

Following our visit to the museum, we said goodbye to the girls and set out to make our way south along the coast using the Marine Drive. Before leaving the city, however, two stops were in order. We visited the Fairview Lawn Cemetery, which serves as the final resting place for 121 of the victims of the sinking of the Titanic. And then we made the obligatory stop at a Harley-Davidson dealership to get the "been there, done that" t-shirt.

Leaving Privateers Harley-Davidson, we made our way to the Marine Drive with our sights set on the charming town of Lunenburg. Along the way, we would enjoy a tasty lunch at Shaw's Landing, visit Peggy's Cove, home to the most-photographed lighthouse in Nova Scotia, and visit the sobering memorial to Swiss Air 111. This passenger flight from New York City to Geneva, Switzerland crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on September 2, 1998 just 5 miles from Peggy's Cove. All 229 passengers and crew were lost. These notable tragedies are just two of many loss-of-life incidents that have taken place off of the rugged coast of Nova Scotia.

The light at Peggy's Cove, seen from the Swiss Air 11 Memorial

Traveling the Marine Drive route, we found an interesting mix of some of the most stunning sights and bumpiest roads any of us had ever endured. Once again, our trusty Cardo Scala Rider PackTalks enhanced the experience as we listened to one another grunting, groaning, and laughing uncontrollably as we made our way across roads that had fallen prey to the harsh northern winters. You know, one of the things I love about this band of brothers I travel with is we model on these adventures perspectives we should honor at every step along the way in our lives:

• We embrace every challenge as a part of our grand adventure.
• We face the challenges together... in community... deepening our bond with shared experience.
• We choose to laugh in the face of adversity, rather than fall victim to the circumstances.
• We count every test as a memory made that we'll cherish and recount time and time again.

With our sights set on Lunenburg, we visited Mahone Bay, Maders Cove, and a personal favorite, Blue Rocks, before calling it a day in Lunenburg. This quaint little seafaring town is one of only two urban communities in North America designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Tall ships are still moored in port, the streets are lined with colorfully-painted historic homes, much like a living museum from the 18th century. Photos abound here, as this was my favorite day of all for capturing images that are forever etched in my mind. I share these images and say no more, thinking of these words of Ansel Adams: "When words become unclear, I shall focus with photographs. When images become inadequate, I shall be content with silence."

The Rum Runner Inn - our home for the evening

As is our custom on these journeys, we enjoyed a pleasant dinner together before calling it a night. The seafood medley served here at the Old Fish Factory was the best meal of the trip for me.