Jean-Francois called today to tell me he will be delayed 6 weeks in returning to the US. The new date is May 30 so he thinks we should plan on starting the trip the end of June.
He has decided to buy a new motorcycle and asked me to start searching for a 2006-2008 BMW R1200 GS pr GSA. I’ll send him links that he’ll be able to look at on weekends when he has internet access.
I ran across a website today for a man who did a Newfoundland motorcycle trip. He mentioned it was 1900 miles so I was curious where he started from. It took a while for the realization to dawn the he didn’t mean 1900 miles round trip from his home — he meant 1900 miles on the island of Newfoundland alone.
I now wonder what the total mileage for this trip is going to come in at.
I received Adventure Guide to Canada’s Atlantic Provinces: Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Labrador, Iles de la Madeleine by Barbara Radcliffe Rogers and Stillman Rogers and started reading it.
I like this book better. It’s 600 pages so it has a lot more detail of each province and includes Iles de la Madeleine. While it’s not in a specific section, the writers also mention their favorite places and things that shouldn’t be missed. As it’s name states it’s a more adventurous, outdoor oriented book that thoroughly covers camping and outdoor activities.
Each province is broken down into smaller areas with a detailed map for each area and sections for geography and history, getting around, information sources, adventures, cultural and eco-travel, sightseeing, where to stay and eat.
I would like to take this book on the trip, but it may not make it due to it’s size and weight (9″ x 6″ x 1.5″ 2lb).
I highlighted as I read and entered the highlighted information in the worksheet. Starting at Montreal and ending a Black Harbour in New Brunswick I have a list of almost 400 places to go, things to see, restaurants to try, and recommended campgrounds and lodging.
I sent the list off to Jean-Francois relieve that I was able to get it done before going out of town for 3 weeks.
I purchased Frommer’s Nova Scotia, New Brunswick & Prince Edward Island by Paul Karr since it was the best available at my local book store.
I researched on the internet and ordered Adventure Guide to Canada’s Atlantic Provinces: Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Labrador, Iles de la Madeleine by Barbara Rogers.
I spent the weekend reading the Frommer’s book. This book is a little over 300 pages. The first section is a “Best of” list for active vacations, observing nature, scenic drives, hikes, family activities, history, picturesque villages, inns, bed & breakfasts, and local dining. The chapter on Nova Scotia is extensive, with smaller chapters on the other provinces.
I highlighted what interested me and then entered all the highlighted information into a worksheet by province. The goal is to get an organized list of places by area so I can consult the list as we go through the trip to see what’s coming up in the area we’re headed to.
I have been hesitant to mention my proposed trip to Jean-Francois since he grew up in the area and probably wouldn’t be interested. He called today and said he wants to do at least part of it. This was met with stunned silence on my part because I hadn’t told him about the trip. He’d read it on my web site.
He asked me to order visitor guides for New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island as well as all the coastal New England states in the US. He said Iles de la Madeleine is really special and to try to find information on it too. He wants my trip plan as soon as I have it.
The deal between Jean-Francois and I is that I plan the ride — I get to pick all the place I want to go and all the places I want to see. Not a bad deal. Since I don’t think I did a very good job of planning the Mexico trip I want to do a really good job planning this one.
That solves the problem of doing that long a trip by myself.
The BMW rally is June 5-7 and Jean-Francois hopes to be back in the US in mid April.