Travels with haRVy

Yesterday we awoke to the cry of loons on the river, cloudy skies, and building breezes. We headed towards the southern end of Cape Breton Island in hopes of shortening our exposure to the effects of a cold front that is predicted to meet up with tropical storm Leslie later today or tomorrow.

The rain began in earnest in the early afternoon. We continued driving until conditions proved uncomfortable. Around 4 o’clock we pulled off the highway and parked at a small adjacent hospital to see how things developed.

We decided to stay put as long as necessary after the 6 o’clock news called for flooding rains until midnight followed by winds up to 120 kph. We were happy to be situated high and dry and clear of large trees. We ended up staying overnight and even had breakfast in the cafeteria. Thank you, Strait Richmond Hospital for being so gracious.

It rained really hard all night and we are happy to report that haRVy kept us warm and dry.

Once the winds abated (somewhat), we took off again, but the rain and wind soon increased once more. We took some time off the road to grocery shop in Port Hawksbury, where I felt like a kid in a candy store…kale, chard, bok choy – hurray! I am feeling mixed emotions about being back in civilization, but it sure is nice to have access to fresh produce and more healthy foods again. Most of the roads are considerably better too, but there is of course, more traffic. Everything is a trade-off.

The rain stopped and the sun began to shine, but the winds continued to be bothersome. We crossed the Canso Causeway from Cape Breton to Nova Scotia and stopped for lunch in Antigonish. To escape the northerly winds, we decided to head towards the southern shore on Route 7. With the winds at our backs we enjoyed sunshine across rolling hills, farmlands, and waterways. The rivers are all raging from the tremendous amount of rain and the lakes are obviously over their usual levels with many docks and fields underwater.

The coastal portion of this afternoon’s drive was, “like Maine but more” – more islands, more trees, and more bays. At day’s end we pulled off the highway onto Coopers Road near Tangier and parked at the end of the road next to the bay where we, once again, were treated to a beautiful sunset and the cry of loons.

We have managed to keep good attitudes over the past few days as we made travel decisions based on Leslie’s advance northward. In the end we are really glad we got out of Newfoundland where the storm made landfall this morning. The next few days are predicted to be gorgeous here and we look forward to moving on in more favorable conditions.

Cloudy, windy, rainy, sunny, warm. 154 miles