11:43pm, Jul 3rd and our ferry, the MV Highlanders, pulls out of Port aux Basques, NL. The 7hr crossing begins.
We have reserved seating for this crossing and so are looking forward to hopefully more comfortable seating than we had a month ago. Yeah! The seats are more comfortable. They recline like the non reserved seats but also have a flip-up support for your legs and a small padded stool on which to rest your feet. In all these features should allow for a better nights sleep.
Ahem….. I said ‘should’. Neither Barb or I had a very good nights sleep. These chairs are just not suitable for us. In all I think we each only had about 3hrs of sleep. The remainder was spent trying to get comfortable or walking about the vessel to pass the time. Argh.
We arrived in North Sydney, NS at 7:00am and we were one of the first vehicles allowed to depart. We headed out of town on the TCH towards Antigonish; however, before arriving there we stopped in a small roadside park where we each slept for an hour and a half.
After catching up on a little sleep we drove to the Masstown market where Barb did some shopping while I slept a little more. We enjoyed fish & chips for lunch and returned to the TCH heading westward.
The weather is very different than we’ve become used to over the past month. We left Newfoundland in foggy and damp conditions with a temperature of about 15°C. Today on New Brunswick we are driving in beautiful sunshine with a temperature of 31°C. The vans air conditioning system is working wonderfully.
We stop at Nackawic, NB where we are staying at the Big Axe Brewery, a Harvest Hosts site. We enjoy a plate of Nachos and a beer each, and Tony buys a couple of cans to take home as well as a souvenir glass.
Tomorrow we drive into Quebec.