Travels Around Nova Scotia

 Dear Family & Friends,

Another few days of riding through beautiful country side, exploring, and more good sea food!

First day leaving Camden John took us on a short tour. First to the top of a local mountain with spectacular views of Camden, then past one of his child hood homes, what a wonderful place to grow up.  Then we proceeded to ride north through lush green rolling hills on to Canada.

For all the horror stories we were told crossing the boarder, it was quick and easy. Hopefully it’s the same coming back.😬

I really enjoy all the small quaint little towns we have been traveling through with the eccentric cafes! Check out a few below.

Our first night in Canada we spent in a small road side motel where several other motorcyclist from Canada were staying and I swapped stories with them. Again they were very friendly once they knew I was not a Taco Trump supporter.

The next night we spent in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia with a great old fashion pub and restaurant. The waitress was very friendly and diplomatic. (No politics)

The next day we took off on a big ride around Cape Breton National Park. Lots of great scenery from coastal areas up into the mountains.

When we rode down by the water not only was it beautiful but it was a welcome change of scenery. Canada is very sparsely populated and densely forested so when you’re riding you see very little. You are basically riding in a tree tunnel!

About 2/3 around the park we stayed in a very small coastal town in a motel with beautiful views of the harbor and good food next door.

Today we road about 5 hours to Amersham. A small town. Our first time heading west back to California. We’ve already ridden 1500 + miles so only 3500 miles to go! The morning started out fine but the last few hours we had heavy rain. It was a long wet day.  Tomorrow we will move on to Prince Edward Island where there is lots to see and hopefully the weather will be dry.

Below are lots of photos with more story attached to them.

If you click on this link there is a 11 minute video of us riding along the coast in the national park.

https://youtu.be/leuUoXfdFNA?si=GKVUIJbq4OEJvWFg

Also this will be my last blog I email out unless you specifically ask me to you send copies. For my Facebook friends I will be posting links to my blog every few days on FB.

If you are not on FB you can always go directly to my blog by clicking on this link and there will always be my most current blog first, plus all the blogs previous to it.

https://www.jagmanxksunlimited.com/

And if your tired of me and my stories just ignore it all.😆😆

Lining up for a group photo, Brian, John, Uli ,and me. Great friends and riding companions!

Our trusty steeds waiting for another days adventure!

Beautiful coastal views as we leave Camden, Maine, John’s home town.

An Ariel view of Camden from the mountain we rode up.

Interesting man I met. He has a BMW motorcycle like mine. Originally from San Fransisco he moved to Colorado but he commutes to SF on his motorcycle!! His motorcycle now has over 125,000 mikes on it with no major repairs!! A lot to be said for German engineering. He works in the tech business so I assume it’s not a daily commute…

Another of John’s childhood homes. What a great place to grow in.

 

Big chairs are popular here. They are all over and I’m not sure what they mean.

Time for a lunch stop…

These small dinners are my kind of place. Good food and lots of character!

Lobster Benedict. Nice way to start the day. We usually ride an hour or two before breakfast so we are good and hungry!

The sign on the back of John’s motorcycles gets lots of laughs and friendly greetings!

My shirt says “Don’t hate me…I didn’t vote for him”.
We’ve mades lots of friends here. We stopped for coffee and one man, a total stranger, bought us all Canadian flag key rings! I guess we are honorary citizens?

Beautiful scenery everywhere. Crossing a bridge as we enter New Glasgow.

A great place with lots of atmosphere ,friendly people, good food, and exceptionally good Blueberry Gin & Tonics!

For dislexic Canadians..😉 

 

An exceptional G&T!

At one point we had to take a ferry to cross a bay. The total trip was about 2 minute or 100 yds.😆

One of the best meals of the trip. Lobster and bacon sandwich…..does it get any better than that?!?!?

Along the cost of the national park.

Quaint restaurant with good food,

One great salad. Ceased Salad with bacon wrapped scallops! But their ceased dressing still isn’t as good as my wife Bonnie’s. Hers is amazing!!

While I’m off playing my wife is tiling the stairs to my garage with all my favorites…motorcycles, cars, travel, an The King, Elves Presley!
What a wonderful woman I’m married to!😍😍😍

WOW!!! What a Day!

 Dear Family & Friends,

Today far exceeded my expectations! Our fourth friend, John Kincade  from SLO, flew in last night to join us for the rest of the ride.

We are staying in Camden, Maine, which is where John was born and raised, and whose family settled here from Norway almost 200 years ago! So needless to say John has a lot of family here and places to show us. He was going to give us a great tour and he certainly did!

First we went out to breakfast with his 97 years ago old mother and 70 year old younger sister. Totally charming people and his mother is still driving and sharp as a tack! She shared some of his family history going back several generations. And even flirted with us! Wanted to know if any of us were single..🤣

After breakfast we drove up into the mountains behind Camden and took a hike up to the top of the mountain to see stunning views and to see a beautiful stone cabin his great great grandfather helped build over a 150 years ago!

Then we visited his  aunt (his mother’s sister) who was only 91, still driving and living is an amazing home over looking the bay. The home was built in 1856, his grandfather bought it in 1919, and it’s been in the family ever since.

She gave us a great tour of the home, art work, antiques, and family photos going back to the invention of cameras!

Both John’s mom and aunt are such nice people and both gave lots of stories about John’s family and local history. They are both one of the high points of the trip so far.

After that we drove down to Camden harbor which looks like something out of a postcard. Graceful classic sailing boats grace the harbor. John even pointed out one he worked when he was a teenager!

For lunch we ate light snacks by the bay in a gin distillery and tasted some delicious gins! Their specialty is fruit infused gins so it was like drinking fruit salad…very healthy.😉

After that we took a tour of the town and saw John’s boyhood home. Then we went back to the old fashion inn where we are staying at to sleep off the gin. By far the nicest and cheapest place we have stayed so far..

Tomorrow we get back on our motorcycles and head north. It is supposed to be warm and sunny tomorrow then in Canada it cools off and rain comes back.

All part of the adventure!!

Jason

Hiking to the top of this mountain. An epic achievement for senior citizens without even breathing hard!

John’s great great grandfather who helped build this stone house in the mid 1800s.

A beautiful stone cabin built on a mountain top over looking the bay in Camden. It was a weekend getaway for a wealthy family in town.

Where ever you look stunning views. I would love to live here except for the four seasons the locals call..”Snow Season, Mud Season ( right after the snow melts and the rainy season starts) Black Fly Season ( I was told black flys make mosquitos seem pleasant) , and Mosquito Season”. What fun..

Views from the cabin.

An old railroad down by the bay. I’d assume it brought freight to and from the ships.

Camden Port

A visit to John’s aunt. Her home is an amazing piece of history. Built in 1856, then bought by John’s great grandfather in 1919, and has been in the family ever since. I’d love to have family history like that.

What a stunning entry way with a beautiful view of the harbor and ocean.

A view from the aunt’s front yard..

The walls are covered in hand painted murals depicting where his family came from, Norway.

A very creative fireplace. The craftsmanship in this home is amazing!

The aunt told us the collection of rocks in this room inspired her son to become a geologist..

Family pictures everywhere.

Family dating back hundreds of years. Can you pick out John?😉

Looks like a stove but it actually opens up to a closet!

A guest room For short guests..

If you look closely the string attached to the kite is all musical notes. It’s the Norwegian national anthem.

A modern light switch a 100+ years ago..

A combination of old and very old kitchen.

I believe this is John’s original family who immigrated from Norweigh..

Posing by Camden bay.

Now it’s time for some serious gin tasting.

Cheers to you all!!

All the gins were mixed with various fruits so it was like drinking fruit salad…..very healthy for you !!🤣

John’s child hood home. This house was originally built in the 1800s by the water. Then later dragged by horses to the top of this mountain!!

   Our trusty steeds waiting to take us on more adventures when we head to Canada tomorrow!!😁