Summary

This is the last post for this trip. I usually write a summary of the trip to try to capture it after reflecting on it for a few days.

I rode 5,148 miles from start to end. We were gone from July 22 to August 10, 20 days. Some days we rode a lot (535 miles); other days only a little (~125 on one day). The bike performed flawlessly. Always started and stopped. I actually had two headlight bulbs burn out; one on about the 3rd day and one about 3 days from the end. These big BMW bikes are very hard on headlight bulbs for some unknown reason. The Motolights did their thing with no flaw. It used about one-quarter quart of oil.

The roads in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Nova Scotia, and New Britain were, in many places, terrible. Full of big cracks; missing pavement, potholes, and surface irregularities that were a challenge for the suspension. I would not want to drive my car there for fear of knocking the wheel alignment out of whack. They are indeed rough!

We had very good weather, overall. It rained the second day of the ride and the next-to-the last day of the ride. We hit a few very light showers a couple of times, but it was dry overall during daylight hours. It rained or showered overnight many nights. So, we lucked out that the rain was at night almost all the time.

We rode 5 ferries; Cape May, Bar Harbor, two small, short cable-driven ones, and one to Prince Edward Island. The longest one was from Bar Harbor, and the shortest one was probably 250 yards long. Costs ranged from $171 (Bar Harbor) to free (Prince Edward Island). Each was unique.

Food was good. And reasonable. I was expecting high meal prices, but they were in line with what I'm used to here in NC.

It was a good trip, seeing sights that I've never seen before. The most amazing was in Prince Edward Island, where the land (with farming) ran right to the sea, with no buffer or dunes or anything. Land, then sea. And the brick red soil that dropped off to the sea. Just wild!

Lodging was available without a problem. Prices were about what you'd expect, with an average of about $100 per night. My favorite lodging was on Prince Edward Island, where we stayed in a cabin in a green grass field about 100 yards from the ocean. It felt like we were at the end of the world.

My favorite place was Meat Cove. Located at the northernmost tip of Cape Breton Island, access was via a curvy paved road for about 20 miles and then 5 miles of dirt road. The scenery was awesome, and I had the best meal at the Chowder hut, a bowl of seafood chowder that was out of this world.

But even after all the exceptional things we did and saw, getting home is great. There truly is no place like home.

Adieu until the next adventure.