Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. 10 April, 1996
Wednesday morning it is 0430 hrs. I’m pretty much ready to leave. I have the truck loaded with the things I needed at Jackie’s for the last couple of days I stayed there. All that is left is to load Roxy & Barney in the Flea and we are off. The last place I buy something in Bridgewater is at the Sobeys. I get a couple of packs of smokes. Little did I know how much I would smoke on the trip to Calgary.
By 0455 hrs we are on Highway # 103 heading East. You have to travel East to Halifax before heading North on Highway # 102 to the Trans Canada Highway # 104 to travel West. I have the road basically to myself until the other side of Halifax when I get on to Highway # 102. I call my friend George and wake him up. I telephone to say goodbye and tell George I will contact him when I finally pitch the tent in Calgary and put down roots. The trip so far is pretty much uneventful. Little did I know what was in store when I got into New Brunswick?
By Truro I am at the point I need to gas up. When I saw the gas getting to half a tank I filled up. I stop at the Esso and fill up. This would be the last time I get gas in Nova Scotia. The lady pumping the gas in Truro is cute, but that is another story.
Finally we are on Trans Canada Highway # 104. Most of the # 104 is twinned to the New Brunswick border. The only exception is Death Valley. This is where the Trans Canada passes through the Wentworth Valley. The Cobequid bypass is under construction. When I make my return visit to Nova Scotia in 3 to 4 years all the Trans Canada between Amherst and New Glasgow should be twinned.
Passing through the Wentworth Valley I can see the storm clouds lurking on the horizon. When I got to Amherst, the little puffs of snow start. It is here I call Francis on my cellular to see if he and Debbie still want to meet in Sussex, New Brunswick. Francis tells me that they have a previous engagement and they can’t meet for coffee in Sussex. I ask Francis what the weather is like. Francis says it is bad and wishes me Good Luck.
At this point after I hang up with Francis, I am reminded of the movie “Airport” and the scene where the air traffic controller wishes Dean Martin good luck as he and Barry Nelson are about to land the 707 in Chicago in a raging Blizzard after Van Heflin blows a hole in the starboard Loo with a bomb he has jerry rigged together. Little did I know at this point of the journey, I would need all the luck I had on the trip to Calgary. But we will get into this as the story progresses.
Nova Scotia - New Brunswick Border. 10 April, 1996
I am into New Brunswick. Trans Canada Highway # 2. By Sussex the snow has turned into a Blizzard. I gas up just west of Sussex where the highway heads to Fredericton. I am back on the road and see the roam light on my cell has lit up. I try to use the phone and the call is not allowed. I try again, the same thing, I think to myself isn’t this nice? So here I am at a pay phone along the highway talking to a lady at Maritime Tel and Tel Mobility trying to find out why my cell isn’t working.
The nice lady at MT&T says everything at their end is fine and whoever programmed my cell must have put a restriction on it that the phone can only be used in Nova Scotia. She suggests I go to the dealer who sold me the phone and get them to check out the settings. I tell her I bought the phone at a Radio Shack in Bridgewater, and I figure the closest one is in Fredericton. This is the second time today I can remember being wished Good Luck.
So here I am, traveling through New Brunswick in a Blizzard with a phone that doesn’t work and on the way to Fredericton to find a Radio Shack Dealer. I should mention here this is the only the second time I am driving in New Brunswick The only other time is when I am taking a friend to the Ferry Terminal very late in the night to meet the Ferry at Cape Tormentine to pick up a dog. I know the drive would be pretty if wasn’t for the blizzard. The Trans Canada is following the Saint John River. I must make this trip again someday when the weather is better.
We finally make it to the Eastern outskirts of Fredericton. I stop at an Irving Service Station to get directions to the nearest Radio Shack dealer. The fellow at the Irving tells me to stay on the Trans Canada and cross the Princess Margaret Bridge over the Saint John River. What a big bridge. Anyhow I have to find the Regent Mall. Needless to say I find the mall and get the cellular reprogrammed to roam. So what do I do when the cell is fixed? I call Stuart and Barb in Bridgewater to see if it will roam. Duh!!
Any how we are back on our journey to Calgary. We are now on the West side of the Saint John River. You cannot see where you are going. Everything is at a crawl on the Trans Canada. By Woodstock I had enough because of the blizzard I am getting tired. You cannot see past the hood of the flea. So it is in Woodstock I end the first part of the drive. There isn’t a heck of a lot to do in Woodstock so after I get something to eat, I have a sleep. It is only 1330 hrs, so much for getting to Montreal in the same day. Bridgewater to Montreal is a 12 to 14 hr drive depending on road conditions and traffic.
About 1730 hrs I wake up and turn on the TV and get the news, the weather forecast is good tomorrow. I spend the rest of the evening looking at the twinkling lights across the Saint John River. There are railway tracks that pass behind the motel. Do they belong to Canadian National or Canadian Pacific? I must find the answer when I get to Calgary. I call Aunt Betsy in Chateauguay, Quebec to let her and Uncle David know I will be not arriving today. They are disappointed, but know it is for the best as it is still storming. I fall back to sleep and have restless sleep.
