September 12 - Stellarton, NS

Lyle and I are still in Nova Scotia and Stellarton was an unscheduled walk today. Our plans to head over to Newfoundland two days ago were thwarted by Hurricane Leslie. The ferries between Sydney and Newfoundland were all cancelled due to crazy winds, heavy rain and high seas. Although I was disappointed with the cancellations, I was also glad that we didn’t need to experience the four meter waves that were forecast.  But, what to do next? I didn’t want to be outdone by a little weather when we were so close to going “all the way”!

Our fares with Marine Atlantic were refunded without question, and after several phone calls we were able to move our hotel stay in St. John’s forward without penalty. The end result is that we have decided to backtrack to Halifax and we will fly from there to St. John’s. As you check the blog, you will see that the walk for there is posted for Monday, September 17.

Now for Stellarton! Lyle and I walked in New Glasgow a few days ago and really enjoyed the Samson River Trail. Today, we started our walk in the neighbouring town of Stellarton and walked towards New Glasgow, a round trip walk of eight kilometres. It was a beautiful day with warm sunshine and blue skies. The first part of the walk was on a smooth sidewalk. The second part was on a gravel path which was firmly packed and was a relatively easy surface for my cane. Today, I didn’t wear my green vest but of course I did use my white cane. I am not sure if it was the cane or if the people of this area are just naturally friendly but nearly everyone we passed had a cheery greeting for us.

We walked along the pathway to the same downtown spot we had walked to before and to the Sea Shack at Crabbies Fish Market where we sat at a picnic table and enjoyed tasty fish and chips. I highly recommend New Glasgow and Stellarton as a tourist stop!

Tonight I am packing our suitcase, ready for our flight to St. John’s tomorrow morning. Although the people there are still mopping up, Hurricane Leslie has moved out over the Atlantic and I am looking forward to our walk on Monday.