For the past week Betty & I have been following the scenic coastal roads down the Eastern Shore and South Shore of Nova Scotia. As noted in a prior post, the Atlantic coastline is getting more and more rugged as the waves crash in on the rocky shores. Coming from the flat prairies, this energetic ocean action is a wondrous sight to behold!
At the same time, this maritime coastal area is quite sparsely populated, which is a good thing for these slow-moving gawking tourists. As we pass the small hamlets and infrequent vehicles, the inhabitants regularly give us a wave – a sign of a warm welcome to their little piece of
paradise. In some rural Canadian communities, the wave goes out to those you know, as you recognize them in passing. But in this part of Nova Scotia, it seems like everyone gets treated like family: A great gesture!
It’s so fun to see the waves and waves as our adventure unfolds on the road!
Throughout our travels, it has been my custom to give a wave to other Class A motorhomes passing in the opposite direction. Betty says it’s elitist that I don’t also wave to Class B & C motorhomes, but you have to draw the line somewhere, or else we’d be waving to everyone on the road! From time to time I’ve tried waving to motorhomes from our Smart car, but for some reason they don’t even seem to see me! LOL
I’ve always been fascinated by the greeting of fellow motorcycle riders, as they lower an extended left hand in passing on the road. This seems to be a common recognition of their fraternity, except today as we passed through Digby, Nova Scotia. We thought we’d find a quiet spot for the night
there, but didn’t realize that the city was hosting the “wharf rat rally”, the Canadian version of the Sturgis, South Dakota rally. There were literally thousands of motorcycles up and down the streets, and on every artery leading to the coastal town: Way too many to acknowledge each other with that wave of recognition!
From Nova Scotia Betty and I will be looping around the Bay of Fundy, heading down the New Brunswick coast to Maine and the New England states beyond. Our travels south on this trip are intended to take us to the great wave action on the Outer Banks at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
Along the way we’ll pass through or near Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Washington, to name a few of the east coast’s urban areas. Given the value of the warm waves exchanged in Nova Scotia, maybe we should extend the practice to those areas as well? As an avowed monarchist, all I can say is: “If the Queen can do it, why shouldn’t we?” LOL
Cheers!
