Do You Hear What I Hear?

Day 9 came way to soon. For the first time on the road, we felt at home as Ontarian’s, lounging around at a cottage!  We could have easily of stayed for a few more days, but we were minutes away from the ocean, so we found the courage to give back our keys, and continue on our journey.

But first we checked out the graveyard beside us, which was a tourist attraction because of who is buried in it. We took some pictures and were then on our way. We drove along the coast until we found the intersection of the sand dunes and the cliffs, two of the main attractions of the PEI coast line. We even found a place to go swimming! Soon after we had to make our way to Charlottetown to meet with a local artist. We got to our destination, waited a few hours, but no one showed up, which was fine because it was still patio season in PEI! The only thing that got us off the patio, was the thought of our beach side hotel that we were headed to for the night.

We got to Summerside, but it seemed as if we had been a bit mislead. Our little beach front stay was actually a police training facility that rented out rooms to the public. We were close to the water, but weren’t allowed to go near it because it was where they practice shooting. Around this time we decided to drive down to the nice part of Summerside to do something non cop related. We found a restaurant that faced the harbour and ate a great meal, while watching the heavy yellow sun slowly fade to orange as it hit the ocean.

We weren’t to rushed to get back to our bunks, so we decided to check out some live music. We found something that totally seemed like it would be the perfect addition to our night; a family friendly Celtic dance with bagpipers, tin wistle players, and fiddlers. We put the cordinants into the GPS and headed for the fun. Once we got there, we realized that we had been mislead one again. The place we were led to was a dark barn with no one else around. Written on a broken piece of plywood, a note read, honk three times and someone will come and get you. Not being totally sold on that idea, we decided to just explore on our own. We travelled down a dark path until we saw another broken sign that said, party cancelled. The news made us sad, but we were also glad we didn’t have to go somewhere that was sketchy. We figured we’d head back to our hotel where atleast we would be safe.

Since we had so many recommendations for places to visit in Antigonish, we decided to start Day 8 off at a must stop local café. Then it was off to PEI. To get to PEI we had to take a ferry. The ferry ride was not as exciting as I thought it would be, but I found something to keep me occupied for the hour long ride.

Once we got to PEI, we had to cross the island to our little cottage resort. The drive gave us a good look at Charlottetown, the PEI countryside, and lots of red dirt. Once we got to our little cottage resort, we asked where a good place to get some local food would be. We were directed to a place that had a 60 ft salad bar, and I got to try my first and last lobster.
After dinner we went back to our hotel, and treated ourselves to a night at the cottage.

Day 7 started off pretty crummy. It was raining outside, and we just weren’t as pumped as we had been mornings before. It may have been the road taking its tole on us, or it may have just been the weather.

Although both of the above mentioned could have been the reason we were down, I think the idea that the weather could ruin the rest of the Cabot Trail was stealing our excitement. We checked out of our hotel, and made our way through the trail in the rain. The beginning of the trail was pretty similar to what we had drove in the night before, which was no longer grabbing our attention. We thought, this is world famous? This is what people remember the East Coast for?

We continued to drive down what seemed to be the same stretch of road, without noticing that the hills were getting steeper, and the road was winding more and more. It only took a couple of turns, and suddenly we were lost in the scenery, stopping the car every few minutes to experience the view in person; regardless of how hard it was raining. At one point, we found a spot where two mountains created a valley that lead to the ocean. The road lay right above this point, and the wind current made it almost impossible to stand still.

The road continued like this for quite some time, and almost as if it was planned, when we began to get a view of the ocean, the clouds let up, and we got to experience the blues that lie on the edge of Canada’s coast. We stopped for lunch in a small fishing town, that gave us a look into a different type of life, a life that seemed pretty appealing to us at the time. Just beyond the town, we both looked back, and saw the biggest rainbow we had ever seen in person. It seemed as if we could easily chase it, and find a pot of gold beneath it; or at least a little Irish entertainment.

This type of scenery didn’t let up, but eventually we had to get off the trail, and make our way to Antigonish. Once we checked into our hotel, we decided to try and find CFXU on our own, through the tiny town. We easily made it to campus, but got lost between the historic buildings, and student filled streets. We eventually found our way to the station and met the hosts that were letting us on their show.

The show went very well, and we were able to share many stories about local bands and experiencing different music scenes in Canada.

After our station visit, we were told about a few must stop places to eat in town, and that we should meet up with the gang at Jazz night at a local pub. We got some food, and headed to the bar where we exchanged community radio stories, and talked about our favourite bands. Unfortunately, those conversations had to end too, as it would only be a few more hours till we were on the road again, this time to PEI.

Day 6 was our departure from Halifax, and our journey to Cape Breton. We knew this drive would be one of our most visually pleasing, so we kept our eyes to the road.

The further we got away from Halifax, the more rural everything got. The landscape was changing into huge rolling hills, and we were seeing a lot more water, and  thicker forests. There were also a lot of small towns that had very unique landmarks. We really started to feel that we were on the East Coast at this point.

We were heading to the the world famous Cabot Trail, which is a stretch of road that follows the ocean through giant hills and rocky landscape. We entered the fitst part of the trail as the sun was going down. There were hints of absolute beauty, but unfortunately there was a lot of overcast, and we didn’t get the ultimate experience. Still, it was an amazing drive and made us appreciate the Canadian wilderness, and being away from city.

We pulled into our ‘resort’ at around 8pm, just in time to grab some local sea food, and check out some Celtic entertainment at the downstairs bar. The day was a day to catch the scenery of Nova Scotia, but we had a feeling that the best was yet to come.

Day 5 was the first time we didn’t have to rush anywhere. We slept in, and hung around in our hotel room until it was time to meet with another Halifax artist. We ended up meeting them at their favourite cafe, where we got to hear songs and more about their past.

After our interview, we decided to do a shoot in ‘Public Gardens’. We ended up spending most of the evening there; chasing ducks, and making videos by the pond. From there we went further downtown to check out some local shops, but soon after, the aritst we were hanging out with said they had to get ready for a show with her band that evening. She did invite us out to go see them, so it would not be the end of our adventure together.

Seeing as it was around seven by then, and we were close to Citadel Hill, we decided to run up it, and watch the sun set over the city. It wouldn’t be long until the night was on, so we decided to to head back to the hotel, to get ready to rock the town again.

Before we left our hotel, we were contacted by one of our favourite Halifax artists, who heard we were in town, and wanted to catch up with us. We suggested he meet us at the show we were going to, and that we could all chill, and check out some local music.

We got to the show, met with the two bands, and got all the filming we needed done. We hungout for a while, listened to more music, and then decided to get a more East Coast experience.

We thought that it should be pretty easy to find some Celtic music on a Saturday night on the harbour, so we headed that way. Three bars later, we could not find what we were looking for. We eventualy found a place that had acoustic live music, but definitely not the East Coast fix we were looking for.

The show ended pretty early, which was fine, because we needed to rest up, as Day 6 would have us back on the road.

Day 4 is when the excitement began. It was the first day of the trip that we felt we were accomplishing what we set out to do, and even got more than we had asked for.

We started our day by checking out of the cute little bed and breakfast we were at the night before, and then made our way to Dalhousie University, where we had an interview on CKDU.

Our interview went very well, and had a good connection with the show host. He even told us about a great show that was happening later that night with some really great local bands.

As soon as we left the station we had to make our way down to the harbour, to meet with a artist who was doing a show on a boat. It was uncertain if we would be able to get on the boat or not, but we decided it was worth a try. We got to the dock, and boarded the boat. We tried to explain to the the bouncers that we should be on a guest list, but they were unable to find our names. One of the promoters asked us why we wanted on the boat and we explained to her the trip, and she decided to let us on.

Once on the boat, we said hi to the artist we were suppose to meet, and were treated to some free drinks and food. The boat set sail, and the promise of live music was announced over the PA. We had no idea why this boat ride was happening, or what to expect, but we were just happy to be getting a free tour of he harbour.

Once we went down below, I noticed that someone on the boat looked very familiar. I turned to Nebraska, and asked “is that is who I think it is”. She wasn’t sure, but I thought, there’s no way I can’t ask. After the first performer finished, I walked over to him, and asked if he was who he was. And he was! One of Halifax’s biggest artists was on this private party boat with us, and was happy to talk to us about what we were doing with our whole East Coast Tour. Soon after talking to him, we were treated to a set by him, a unique experience that we will never forget.

After the show, we met up with the artist we had set out to see in the first place, and she took us to her favourite hangout. Once there, management wanted to know what we were doing, after seeing all our gear, and then decided to open up a private part of the restaurant, so we would have our privacy. We chatted for a few hours, and then decided to meet back at our hotel for a more intimate video shoot. A few hours later, we are all in bed, making a very special video!

From there we made our way downtown, to the show we had heard about from CKDU. We ended up meeting lots of of awesome bands, and even got talking to someone who was in one of our favorite viral videos. We didn’t even realize it was the guy from the video, until half way through the conversation.

The night didn’t end there, but I don’t think I could explain the excitement as well as the stuff mentioned above. Lets just say, you had to be there.

After two days of almost straight driving, we were excited for just a short driving down the road to the University of New Brunswick, to do our first on air interview atCHSR.

The campus of UNB, was probably the prettiest landscape I have ever seen for a University. The school was high up on a hill overlooking the river and the other side of Fredericton. There seemed to be a small forest in between buildings, which was full of trees changing into their fall colours. The school itself fit very well into this picture, with its mostly brick exterior and historic looking buildings.

I’m not sure what the moto is for UNB, but if I were to give them one, it would go along the lines of, “University of the trees, overlooking the water”, but I guess  that wouldn’t really sell themselves as an educational facility.

After taking in the scenery for a few minutes, we parked our car-in the gravel parking lot- and made our way to the radio station. CHSR was on the top floor of the student center, which gave an even better view of the river. We were given a tour of the station, which was in the process of being made over. The highlight of the tour was seeing the brand new studio equipment, that we got to try out as we went on air!

Our interview was quite casual, and gave us a chance to hone what we were saying when it came to promoting the aritsts we had brought with us. The host was very nice, and had lots of stories to share about community radio.

Our interview was over way too soon, just as our stay in Fredericton. We were soon back on the road, and on our way to Halifax. We decided to check out Moncton on the way to our destination, and found a Mc Donalds with a fireplace, which we thought was adorable. A few hours later we were in Halifax, checking into our hotel, which was actually an old style house, turned into a cute bed and breakfast type of stay.

Thus ending day 3, with just a quick sleep before our very busy day 4.

Day 2 of our East Coast Tour of Canada, was a lot different than our first day. I say this knowing that every day will be completely different; however, day 2 of the trip provided us with our first day of actual adventure.

We got up, got ready, and left the hotel. From there we were on our own, withQuebec City as our playground. Since we had no planed stops, we decided to follow our instincts, and just let the road guide our way.

After driving around for about 10 minutes, we found a huge bridge, which we assumed would bring us somewhere exciting. Once on the other side of the river, we were treated to a lovely country side drive, and a great view of the small town we had stayed in the night before. There was an eerie mist forming along the shoreline, which made the view even better, but the weather quickly picked up, forcing us to head back to the car. This is when we decided to head downtown and check out one of Canada’s oldest cities in the rain.

Driving down the streets of Quebec City was a lot more visually pleasing than I thought it would be. It had the look of Old Montreal, but with a way more authentic feel. Each building had its own character and the people moved around in perfect harmony. It was as if we were in a movie, where everyone lived happily ever after.