Garth Brooks - "Two Pina Coladas" - Saint Louis de Kent - REST DAY

Now I’ve got a smile
That goes on for miles
With no inclination to roam

I’ve gotta say
That I think I’ve gotta stay
‘Cause this is feelin’ more and more like home

So bring me two pina coladas
One for each hand
Let’s set sail with Captin Morgan
And never leave dry land...
- Garth Brooks – Two Pina Coladas

Saint Louis de Kent - REST DAY

Today was our last ‘official’ Rest Day and I was really, really looking forward to it. Over the past few weeks our rest days have been near to some major cities so there has always been a ‘pressure’ to do sightseeing, go out for drinks, catch up on internet, clean my bike, find a place for dinner, avoid rain, visit Tim Hortons etc. This particular rest day was fantastic because it was on the outskirts of a National Park, had super fast internet, a great camp store (with ice cream!), clean washrooms, a pool and was within walking distance of a small town with a fab pizzeria. Even better, the weather was 29 degrees and there was not a cloud in the sky – heaven..! I was officially on holidays..!

I woke up and emerged from my tent by 8am to find nearly everyone awake. On rest days there is no organised meal so everyone is left to ‘fend for themselves’. I dined on some Rice Crispies and sat down to catch up on some long overdue email and internet. It feels good to have everything organised and falling into place given that a week from today we'll be boarding a ferry to Newfoundland..! Around noon I cleaned my bike for an hour or so and tried to improve my music credibility by letting everyone listen to my juke box itunes... Unfortunately it was mostly Westlife, The Beach Boys and Backstreet Boys so my street cred has gone completely down the drain..!! My taste is music is about as good as my tire changing / flat repairing abilities... Oh dear. Although I cleaned my bike (la Bicyclette) about 4 days ago I want to ensure that it’s running smoothly particularly after all the flats I’ve had recently and also in light of the challenging 6 days of riding ahead. The Cabot Trail makes up 2 of the 6 days and apparently has the steepest hills of the entire TdC. I am nervous but excited at the same time and want to ensure that my bike is in tip top condition for the challenge..!

I then managed to pass the rest of the afternoon catching up on more email and chatting with everyone. Again, the last days are on EVERYONES mind and ‘reality’ is slowly starting to creep in. It’s incredible how quickly we all forgot about the outside world, days of the week, etc. and how this is slowly now starting to penetrate back into our biking bubble. It will certainly be a bit of culture shock being back on a working week schedule and not spending at least 90% of my time outside..! I must admit, London, Ridgetown, life in general seems like a million miles away right now and it is strange not to have a worry in the world....

We headed out for dinner at 5:30. Brendan, Ian and I walked into Saint Louis de Kent which has the largest Acadian population in Canada. the village is situated on the Kouchibouguacis River at the main entrance to Kouchibouguac National Park. We had a fantastic pizza dinner and entertainment was provided by Ned’s wife who is an absolutely fantastic accordion player. She was accompanied by Dave who is amazing on the mouth organ / harmonica. It was lovely to sit outside under a large screened in gazebo and listen to her play while everyone sang and clapped. Hits included, 'Oh Danny Boy' and 'Waltzing Matilda'..! By the end of the dinner nearly everyone from our TdC group was there..! It was a really special moment on the trip.
We ate A LOT of pizza and then headed about 500 meters down the road to the local ice cream shop. The walk back to the campground seemed MUCH longer than it had to the pizza store primarily because we were suddenly ATTACKED by mosquitoes on steroids. It was insane – it was impossible to even walk without feeling them crawl on your legs, on your arms and in your hair. We have not experienced anything like this since Manitoba..!

I was so happy to reach the campground because it meant shelter from the mosquitoes. The sun had set and the campground was in full swing (I think that it’s THE place to be on a Friday night…) as music could be heard blaring from the campground all the way to the road. There was a live country band playing near one of the camp shelters by the field where our tents were set up. It was fantastic..! Andrew, Ian, Jane and I headed over and danced our hearts out on the grass with the locals to country, blues and some good old fashioned rock n’roll. A fantastic evening to end off our last official rest day on the Tour du Canada..!