Ever since I found out the new Star Trek film was going to be showing in IMAX I just knew I had to go to Halifax and see it at Bayer's Lake's IMAX facility. Yup. If you're going to see a big science fiction action film, you gotta go big, and nothing's bigger than IMAX. ;)
So that's where I am right now, gentle readers. To be more precise, I'm in Lower Sackville at my best friend Robert Martell's house where I'll be staying. While I'm here, of course, I'll be taking the opportunity to spend some time with my good friend Rob; living 395 kilometers away from each other, we don't get as much "hanging out" time as we'd like.
Whoever said that "getting there was half the fun" never tried "getting there" on a cold, wet, drizzly day on a bicycle. OK, I didn't bike all the way here; I would have but I didn't have the 16+ hours to spare it would have taken to bike all the way from Sydney to Lower Sackville. So instead I took Acadian Lines with my bike in a bike bag in the cargo hold under the bus.
Taking the bike on the bus was pretty convenient, actually; when I hit Dartmouth I just slipped the bike out of the bag and it was ready to roll. Navigating, on the other hand, went less than smoothly.
When I checked Google Maps, there were two possible routes to Lower Sackville from the bus terminal. One was to take the Evangeline Trail; the other was to take the Bedford Bypass. I was originally going to take the former but Rob pointed out that there are seven sets of traffic lights on the Evangeline Trail; on the bypass, no lights at all and no intersections, being a highway. That made sense to me; it was 100 meters further but, with no stopping, I'd make better time.
Now this morning, while I'm already on the bus, I get a call from Rob. "I just found out the Bedford Bypass is prohibited to bikes; you'll have to use the Evangeline Trail." Of course, at that point, I already had the Bedford Bypass maps printed and, since I was already three hours out of home, I couldn't go back and print new ones at that point so I figured, OK, I can handle this; I'll muddle through somehow when I get there.
When I got there, the first part of the trip was OK since I still have to go up the same streets in the beginning. I went down Akerly Boulevard and made the right onto Windmill Road. This put the rain in my face. OK. Before I knew it, I was passing a sign that said "No Slow Moving Vehicles." *SIGH* Somehow, I ended up taking the wrong exit and, before I knew it, I was on that "prohibited access" highway with no way off.
At that point, I figured to hell with it. The highway was identical to highways like the Sydney Bypass which I traverse semi-regularly in Cape Breton all the time. I figured, at that point, it would be safer to just stay on the highway and get it over with than try to do a U-turn with all this high speed traffic. So I stuck to it. I guess I did the right thing; a police cruiser went right by me and didn't even slow down. I guess this "prohibited access" thing isn't enforced, anyway.
Mind you, I'm not one to break traffic law and I was profoundly uncomfortable doing that. If I could've found a safe way to exit that highway and find an alternate route I would have and you can bet I'm going to be planning a new route to go back (with Rob's help) that'll allow me to avoid that problem on the return trip. I only hope this stupid rain will bugger off before then; it'll be a lot easier to avoid mistakes like that if I can f*BEEP*ing see... :P
Anyway, right now I'm just waiting for Rob to get home from work. In the meantime, I'm hanging out with his mother and his wife and the menagerie of cats underfoot (Rob's wife just worships cats; I swear she must be a reincarnated ancient Egyptian... :P).
I have to say, writing my blog on Rob's computer is also a major plus. He has an iMac, too, but a much newer model than my own; it's dramatically faster. Plus, he also has a digital camera so I'm hoping, unlike on my other blog entries, I'll actually have some pictures to go along with my stories this time. ;) Not yet, though; like I said, I still have to wait for Rob to get home. ;)
So stay tuned, everyone! I'll keep you posted! ;)
