– Corner Brook, Newfoundland to North Sydney, Nova Scotia –

Finally, the last ferry. It had better be, anyway. I didn’t get sick, so I’m pleased about that, but it didn’t improve my opinion of boats at all. In fact, no one got sick, and we all had a decent journey.

We were up at 5am, as usual, and had showers and packed the car. We didn’t do too well on our cooler breakfast, and we neglected to pack snacks for the ferry ride yesterday, so we weren’t doing too well on the food front, but we were getting by.

It was about a 2.5 hour drive from Corner Brook to Port aux Basques, where the ferry docks, so we hurried down the road without doing too much stopping, save for a single stop right before we arrived in the town at the little Newfoundland tourist information center.

We used the restroom there, in case we had to wait in line for the ferry or something, and wandered around. While we were there, we spent a little time chit-chatting with the woman working at the desk, and we learned that moose aren’t native to Newfoundland. They were introduced. Isn’t that strange? It just seems like the moose belong. She also said that hunting moose was big business later in the year: it brings in lots of money.

It’s a little weird getting into this larger ferry. First, we were actually briefly searched for plant material and dirt that isn’t allowed to leave the island. We even saw some vehicles being sprayed off to remove mud. I wonder what sort of contamination they worry about. Soil bacteria? Invasive plant species? Bugs?

We also had to hand over ID, get our tickets, park in our lane, and get a placard to indicate we had pets on board. They aren’t allowed on the deck on the ship, so for 7 hours they had to wait down on the car deck in the Suburban. We spent most of our morning worrying about them. Mark figured out that we were in a special pet lane, as well, since all of the other vehicles in our group had the little placards and a dog. We didn’t see any other type of pet.

Since the dogs were to be cooped up for so long, we spent some time making sure they had taken their bathroom breaks, had some water, and had something to eat. We also had to set up Ripley’s cage in the very back of the Suburban, since she’d been really upset in her seat on the last ferry, and that meant we had to move all of our stuff from the back up into her seat. It’s amazing how much more crowded that made it.

Mark and I had been feeling guilty about leaving Ripley down there, so she got lots of treats beforehand, and spent part of the drive to the ferry in our laps. We normally make her stay in her seat with her seatbelt, because it is safer. The cuddles made us feel slightly better, and she enjoyed looking out the windows and being held.

Once we had everything set up for the dogs, Mark, Dad, and I went over to check out the ferry office. There, passengers traveling on foot waited to board the ferry when the time came. There weren’t too many people that weren’t bringing a vehicle along. There’s also a restaurant and gift shop in the office, but we weren’t too interested in their stuff, in the end.

It was required that we arrive two hours early, and we had arrive perhaps 2.5, so we were there waiting for quite a while, but it really felt like the time flew by. Before we knew it, we were driving onto the ship. The ship was absolutely bestial in size, and many of the other vehicles in line were put down below, in the ship’s hold. The vehicles with animals were on an upper deck, partially open to the sky, where there was more air and less noise.

Eventually, the ferry took off. We were not quite full, so many of the seats remained empty. There were three levels for passengers and another for a sun deck. We spent most of our time on level 7, with the restaurant and cafe. Level 8 had more seats and a few cabins, and leavel 9 had the fancy cabins, the reserved seats, and an ice cream shop. Level ten was a sun deck, where you could take photos and look around from the top of the ship.

We had lunch in the ship’s restaurant in shifts, so we didn’t have to worry about losing our seats or our stuff while we were away. Mark and I had veggie burgers, which weren’t bad at all. The food, combined with some 24-hour less-drowsy dramamine had me feeling great, which is pretty unusual for me on boats, especially since this one rocked fiercely from side to side. Everyone looked drunk walking around except for the crew.

Seven hours is a really long time to spend on a boat, even a comfortable one. Dad watched TV, Mark read stuff on his phone and took photos outside, and Mom read a book and joined Mark outside fairly often. It was better than being on a plane for that long, I guess.

The time had changed when we finally landed in North Sydney, and we disembarked sometime before 7pm. We were one of the first vehicles off the ship. Unloading it was a nightmare, and I can’t imagine how chaotic something like that would be in case of an emergency. People were everywhere, packed in like sardines while they tried to escape the ship through the elevators and stairs. What a mess.

Once we’d landed, we drove the ten minutes over to our hotel and unpacked our things. Today is Mom’s birthday, so we spent a few minutes looking for restaurants where she could have some fresh local lobster. We weren’t successful, exactly, but we did find a great place for her birthday dinner. She even had a birthday margarita.

We ended up at The Old Triangle Irish Alehouse. Everyone had burgers and alcohol but me. I opted for a mediterranean “board.” It was delicious. My fresh vegetable cravings are getting out of control on this trip.

Mom wanted a birthday cake, so once we’d finished dinner, it was just after 9pm, and we stopped by Walmart to get her a cake and a couple of new books for her birthday present. She has a serious Walmart addiction. Good thing they had books she would like.

With that done, we went back to the hotel and had our cake, then went straight to bed. Our little motel has breakfast tomorrow morning, and Mark and I have found a decent place to run. Overall, it wasn’t as bad a day as I had expected, given that I didn’t get seasick.

Tomorrow we are going to explore the northern parts of Nova Scotia. Our major entertainment for the day is Cape Breton Highlands National Park. I’m really looking forward to it. I hear it is very pretty.

– Trip Total : 5,702 miles –