Day 8 – Rain, rain and more rain

Woodstock, NB to Grand Falls, NB

Today was our longest day to date, 123kms up the Saint John River. We started out the day in cloudy weather in downtown Woodstock and headed North on the East side of the river (following the maps’ suggested River Route). The road was narrow and a bit bumpy from Woodstock to Hartland. It also started to rain, so we pulled out the rain gear.

In Hartland, we stopped at the Visitor Centre, conveniently located next to the world’s longest covered bridge. A quick break here and off to Florenceville, McCain central. The road continued to be somewhat narrow and the rain continued on and off. We couldn’t find the visitor centre in Florenceville, so we settle on the local Civic Centre for lunch (after spending too much time in rinks as a youngster, I have to ability to find them in any small town). The canteen was open and Adam had a huge plate of fries for $2, sampling the town’s main product, McCain’s fries.

We decided over lunch that we would push for Grand Falls (Grand Sault) for the night and for our upcoming rest day. It has more services and options for places to stay to watch Japan play tomorrow. From Florenceville to Perth-Andover, the road was very rough, with multiple layers of not so flat patching efforts. You really had to watch where you drove the bike or you were in for a rough ride. In one such pothole avoidance manoeuvre, I had some kids try and scare me by yelling out the window of their pick-up. Our first, and hopefully last, such experience.

In Perth-Andover, it continued to pour rain and we stopped at the Irving to recoup with some coffee/ hot chocolate. We also contacted my mother to see if she could Google some accommodation options for us. She definitely came through for us and found a great B&B, Maple Tourist Home. The owners, Jane and Jerry Devine, greeted our soaking wet and cold selves with a gorgeous room, complete with a nice bathtub and bathrobes! They guided up to a great little restaurant, Le Grand Sault, where we had a wonderful dinner.

This was definitely the most wet and cold we have been so far on the trip, but the great accommodation and food in Grand Falls made it worthwhile!

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