About half way through last night sleep a storm rolled in and poured rain non-stop till about 9 AM or so. Even then it didn't fully stop but was just a slight drizzle. I still slept well but felt sorry for Daniel because he's been plagued with so much bad weather and he had to ride his bike in it. None the less, he was in a good mood and wouldn't accept a ride; probably a good thing since I don't have a lot of extra space. So we shook hands and went on our way.

    Today was the first day I haven't seen the sun due to overcast sky and rain. The drive towards Fredericton was wet and gloomy so I didn't take many pictures. The cool weather though is a nice change. The scenery changed to large, rolling hills, I wouldn't go as far as saying mountains though. There are more pine trees mixed in with the leafy ones here and the foliage of the forests is extremely dense. Rain must be common here. Entering New Brunswick I drove over many bridges, some very high above winding rivers below. The is a lot of mist in the distance.

    After about 6 hours of driving and a quick grocery stop, I found the Lake George Family Campground. It's close to Fredericton. The campground is tucked away about 10 km's away from the highway and sits next to Lake George (go figure). Once again another small campsite with only 61 spots, only half full. Beside the lake there's a beach volleyball court, horse shoe pits, and a small area with a basketball net.

    I don't plan on doing a whole lot tonight, just relax. Tomorrow I'll spend a bit of time checking out Fredericton. Then it's off to Lunenburg, NS, to visit Art Curry, A buddy I met while living in Calgary. I'm really excited to see him again.

    It didn't rain last night like I was expecting and I woke up to a warm, sunny day. As I headed to the shower I ran into some locals from the area and sat down for a chat with them for a few minutes. Really nice folk.

    Then I was off and made it to Fredericton before noon. Fredericton is a nice place with a small town feeling. I don't know if I missed a lot of it but the downtown area wasn't much bigger than Penticton's. I took a good walk around, enjoyed the city's main art gallery (Beaverbrook Art Gallery), and took in as much of the Fredericton life as I could. There were a few old buildings including an old guard house, plus some costumed guards that would march around downtown.

    There were more urban bikers here than anywhere else I had visited. Lots of nice hard tail bikes.

    So from there I left and drove to Lunenburg, just south of Halifax. The drive was nice and became very foggy near Halifax, creating a mysterious atmosphere. Nova Scotia is a beautiful province and reminds me of BC, but without the large mountains and a different style of architecture. Much older. On the way between Halifax and Lunenburg I found a very small place called Hubbards. I had to stop for a picture.

    Then to Lunenburg. It's quite the nice little place. Big for tourism in the summer but small otherwise. I'll explore more tomorrow. I met up with Art and he showed me his place. Then we went for supper at The Old Fish Factory where his wife, Connie, works. I got a chicken dish (haha) with some sort of maple sauce on it, it was pretty incredible. Yum! Art and I had a few drinks as well and were able to get Connie's staff discount of 40%.

    The rest of the night Art and I caught up with each others lives. He showed me his short film he created called "Pen Pals". It went in many short film circuits and was very well received. I really enjoyed it.

    In closing tonight, all I'll say is our server Renee at the restaurant was a sweet heart. I might have to go there for lunch tomorrow. Haha. :P

    Art and Connie both worked today so I had the day to explore. First though I met with Art for a tour of his work. He is an animator at a game studio called HB Studios, currently making rugby and cricket games for EA Sport. The studio is in an old movie theatre which the owner kept in tact and is renovating so that the employees can watch movies and play games on the big screen. Nice! The main development room is large with many levels. All the artists, programmers, etc. for each game have their separate areas. I wasn't able to take pictures unfortunately. Aside from the theatre and the development room, there's a small game room outfitted with a nice couch, big screen TV, and many game systems. Lastly is a kitchen/lounge area with a bar, many tables and chairs, a pool table, and a cozy fire place. Art has it good here.

    I left "The Hive", as they call it, and parked the truck back at Arts. Lunenburg is very small so I explored on foot. The whole town is pretty much a historical site and many of the buildings have plaques stating the date they were build and who for. A horse drawn buggy continually takes tourists around the city for tours. I noticed while walking down the little streets that there is an amazing amount of art and antique stores. For all the tourists I guess.

    After finishing my own tour I went to "Historic Grounds Coffee Shop" for a bite to eat. Prices here are steep for the tourist season but the food is great. I had a chicken pesto club. Mmmm.

    I came back home and read till Art was off work, then we ordered pizza. Connie was off at 8 PM and a friend of hers, Katherine, came over. We all went to go see "Wedding Crashers" at the local theatre. That could be the funniest movie I have ever seen. We all left the theatre laughing. I could have went right back in to watch it again. It's highly recommended.

    Today I took the truck in to get an oil change and the air filter changed. Connie didn't work till the evening so while I waited we checked out a near by town called Bridgewater, the same place where we went to the movies last night. We got some more movies from Blockbuster before heading home. Connie's and Art are both great hosts. When the truck was finished we went back to the garage to a surprising bill of $82. Ouch.

    Connie went to work and soon after Art came home. I read for a bit and then the 2 of us went to the Knot's Pub for supper and a few drinks. I had the pubs burger. It was good but I can't say I'm a fan of sauerkraut.

    I think I'll go for a walk tonight before bed. It's a really nice night. My destination was a large chunk of the Berlin Wall that a store owner had shipped over and put on display. It's really incredible to see how tall it is and to see how it was built. An iron fence encased in thick concrete.

    Like yesterday, today was pure relaxation and laziness. Connie had the day off so once again we hung out most of the day. We watched a movie called "Stander" about a cop turned bank robber. Very cool movie. Then we played Halo 2 till Art came home. Haha.

    Once Art came home we made caesar salad and BBQ'd up some smokey's. Art and I then went to Mahone Bay to see a wooden boat festival. There were some amazingly well crafted kayaks and sail boats on display, and later there were fireworks.

    That was my exciting day. Off to Halifax tomorrow. Thanks again to Art and Connie for housing me and showing me around. It is very much appreciated. They are both really wonderful people and great friends to have. :)

    Art and I went to a little place called "Large Marge's" for breakfast. Unfortunately Connie had to work. Then I left for Halifax.

    Halifax is a neat city. I found it confusing at first to navigate but it was alright. I started by walking downtown by the water and eventually found myself at the Alexander Keith's brewery. I decided to take a tour and definitely recommend it to all that visit Halifax. It's about $12 and takes and hour. The whole tour takes place in the 1800's and actors take your through the brewing process, give you history on Mr. Keith, and finally in the end you get a few good sized tasters in an old style pub.

    While taking the tour I met a guy named Perry, from Toronto. He was headed over to St. John's as well and then to Penticton to compete in the Ironman. We chatted a bit and I gave him some ideas on what to see while in Penticton.

    After the tour I kept exploring the city, checked out Citadel Hill (an old English fort), and after winding through streets found a large city garden with many plants, paths, and statues. It was nice.

    I then left Halifax to find a campsite. The first 2 I found were full but I lucked out with the third. It's a nice small place mixed in with trees and rock.

    I set up next to 4 people from Halifax and instantly started talking with them. Their names are Kevin, girlfriend Linda, Jimmy, and girlfriend Joe. We sat around the fire, drank, toked, and just had a great time. Kevin I think is my east coast lost brother because he is into the graphic arts as well, and is big into mountain biking. Haha. If I ever come back to Halifax he said he'd show me their trails and I can stay with them. Wow! The same goes for all of them if they come west. I don't know about the Newfies yet, but these Nova Scotians are the nicest people I've met yet... well that's a hard call... but their at least at a tie. Haha. So times were good all night and I was really glad the first 2 campsites were full.

    In closing, Nova Scotia is a really great place. People here are in their own great world, and everyone's a good person. The personalities are great, you are how you are and that's just great.

    After saying good byes to the Nova Scotia crew I took off. The day was beautiful. I first stopped at a provincial park, Taylor's Head I think it was called. The Nova Scotians recommended it and for good reason. Another beautiful sandy beach, in a small bay, with an incredible view out into the Atlantic Ocean. Wow! I didn't go swimming but it was a good sight to see.

    I then left and drove a scenic road (#7 Hwy) along the coast. It eventually turned up and went to Antigonish, where art's family lives. I stopped in to pick up a book Art recommended, but was also treated to lunch. I stayed for about an hour and had a great chat with Art's dad, mom, and brother. I know now why Art is such a good guy.

    Next it was over to Cape Breton Island where I found the Ben Eoin Campground. The whole site is basically on a man-made island. There isn't a lot of shade. Most of the campsite is taken up by permanent seasonal residence.

    After setting up and looking around, I met my neighbors, Loyde and Pamela. Loyde is originally from North Georgia and had a heavy accent. Pam was Canadian. I think they now live in Lunenburg. Both are writers and were travelling all around Cape Breton, going to every campsite. I shared a camp fire with them and chatted the rest of the night. It was a really great time and they were very interesting, and inspiring people to be around.