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We have just had an absolutely awesome weekend.

Steve, Jake and I spent Saturday and Sunday touring the southern end of the province. We had originally planned to attend a bike rally in Yarmouth, but just after we made our reservations a couple of weeks ago we heard the rally had been cancelled for this year. We’re not sure why it didn’t happen, but we decided we’d go to Yarmouth anyway, since we’d already booked our room, and spend some time touring around. It turned out to be a great decision.

For once this year, the weather totally co-operated. Although we worried last week that we’d get rained on again, by Saturday morning the skies had cleared, the roads had dried and we were on our way. We made lots of stops along the way, spending an hour here and a half-hour there. I’ll write more about those places in future, but this week I have to tell you about an amazing and wonderful chance encounter. It proved to be one of the highlights of our trip.

We were riding through the Valley yesterday when we decided to stop in Annapolis Royal again. Oddly enough, we almost never do that — stop in the same place in just a couple of weeks — but it was time for a break and I had visions of drinking great vanilla latte and of Jake running across the lawns at Fort Anne.

So we’d just parked in front of the coffee shop when a woman appeared beside us asking if that was RoadDog. It turns out Sherry had stumbled across the blog in the past week and remembered our motorcycle riding Cairn. We chatted for awhile and learned that Sherry had just gotten her licence and bought a bike like mine. That led to more chatting and so on and so on.

She eventually asked us which direction we were travelling, saying her boyfriend’s son, Jacob, would love to see Jake riding with us. It turned out we’d just driven by their house, but when Sherry mentioned that Jacob has cerebral palsy and loves animals I knew we were about to make a detour. Sherry told us to drop by anytime we were in the area and gave us directions, but she was hardly back in her van driving away before Steve and I looked at each other and decided we were going to visit within the hour. We did have our coffee and Jake did run around a bit at Fort Anne, but then we were back on the bikes looking for the address Sherry had given us.

We met Jacob and Sherry’s daughter, Bria (I really hope I spelled that right and I’m really sorry if I didn’t), and the whole family. It was probably the best half-hour of our entire weekend. RoadDog made some new friends and I’m pretty sure he made a boy happy. What more can you ask for out of a weekend?
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Do you ever have one of those afternoons when everything just kind of falls into place? I sure hope so, because everyone deserves a little time, however brief, when everything is right in their world.

Things have been a little stressful in our lives over the past month. There have been times when I’ve felt a little bit like a hamster on a wheel — just running, running, running, a little afraid to stop in case everything would come to a halt. So when Steve and I decided to take an afternoon and head to Annapolis Royal, I couldn’t have been happier.

It’s funny, but I’ve never liked to travel the road from Bridgewater, up through Keji, to Annapolis. I like it as far as Caledonia, but after that it’s long and it’s rough and there really isn’t a whole lot to see — trees on the left and, oh look, trees on the right, too. But that afternoon the road was just what I needed. We just rode and I had time to put things back into some perspective. That’s the great thing about riding a motorcycle — it’s just you and the road and your thoughts.

So by the time we reached Annapolis Royal, I was relaxed and I’m pretty sure Steve felt the same. Jake seemed to sense our release of tension and was back to his usual, happy, bouncing dogginess.

I should point out that we all love Annapolis Royal. We got rained in there three summers ago and didn’t even mind because it’s such a fantastic little town. It has great shops and great places to eat. There’s just a great vibe to the place. And Jake loves it because he’s crazy about Fort Anne. He sees all those hills and paths and all that green grass and he just goes nuts.

So we got ourselves a couple of cups of coffee — well Steve had a coffee and I had a vanilla latte (you gotta love a town with a good latte) — and I bought Jake a tiny tea biscuit (I told him it was a gourmet Timbit, but I don’t think he believed me) and we sat outside the coffee shop at a little table and watched the people going by. Well, Jake watched some of the people, but mostly he just stared at all that lawn across the street waiting for us to take him there, which, of course, we did. He romped all over the place until all three of us were pretty much worn out. Then it was back on the bikes for the trek home.

It really was a great afternoon for all of us.
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You would think I would have learned by now to predict just what Jake is going to do next.

Nope, although this time I might have if I’d stopped to think about it.

I bought a small fountain last week. It isn’t anything elaborate, just a resin fountain, maybe two feet tall, where one small pot empties into another, into another, and so on. We’ve been talking about building a water garden in our backyard for years and never seem to find the time, energy or money. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that gardening has taken a back seat to riding in recent years.

So this year we started talking about a small fountain to sit on or near our patio, something to sort of fill in the gap until we “eventually” get around to the water garden. I saw one on sale that I thought we’d both like, so I bought it.

We set it up on the weekend. Well, sort of set it up. For the time being we just ran an extension cord until Steve gets whatever he needs to properly deal with the electrical situation.

Jake was watching as we decided where to locate it at one corner of the patio, put it in place, filled it with the watering can that I keep outside and flipped the switch. Steve and I then stood there for a minute or two oohing and aaawing as if it was one of those not so great fireworks displays.

Not Jake. Our practical boy dog trotted up, sniffed at the fountain, which is, of course, just at his height, and decided to take a drink. Steve and I both started to laugh and Jake looked up at us as if to say “It’s a fountain, right, and fountains are for drinking, aren’t they?”

He proceeded to take a slurp just about every time he went outside this weekend.

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RoadDog is not himself right now. He’s feeling kind of down, as are Steve and I.

There was a terrible motorcycle collision Friday evening in Whynotts Settlement, a couple of kilometres outside of Bridgewater. A man we know was killed. Two of our friends, members of our bike club, were badly injured. As of Sunday night, the man was still in critical condition in a Halifax hospital. His wife is improving, but still requires surgery.

It was a difficult weekend as we all exchanged phone calls receiving and passing on updates. Some of our club members gathered Sunday evening at our usual spot to talk and try to be positive, but it wasn’t easy when we’re all worried and feeling helpless. All we can do is wait and, as one person said, hope for a miracle.

Jake doesn’t understand what’s happened, obviously, but he can clearly sense that things aren’t right.

We did take him for a ride Sunday afternoon, mostly because Steve and I agreed it was a good idea to get me back on my bike before I ended up spooked by what’s happened to our friends. We went to Graves Island and found a quiet spot where Jake could romp around on the grass and Steve and I could breathe the air and try to clear our heads. It helped a little and I’m glad we went. If nothing else, Jake’s antics managed to put smiles on our faces for a short time.

Now we’re waiting and hoping for that miracle.