August 5 - Day 62 - Lazy Day in Moncton

It's my first day off the bike since we left Collingwood on July 21, and so nice to have a hotel room in Moncton thanks to our saviour, Gord the Great.  I was able to get settled in last night and this morning, with a solid wifi signal and comfy place to sit, so should now be current on the blog.  My submission from yesterday was admittedly pretty weak, and I did promise a Day Off Issue today, so here we go.......

I grabbed a cab at the hotel, as Jon and Stephen had taken the wheels to Sackville to relive their college days there at Mount Allison U......I believe some drinking was involved.  First stop was the bike store to grab some new cleats for my shoes.......there is nothing like riding a few thousand kilometres to find out how long your cycling gear and equipment will last.......I'm not sure what will be next, but only a handful of riding days left until the end.........wow......can't believe I am saying that!

The goal was to get downtown and have a look around at anything interesting Moncton had to offer.  At the bike shop I was on a main road that led into town, so thought I would try my luck and stuck out my thumb.  Usually I have no problem getting picked up in Blue Mountains when I get lost snowshoeing, but it was tough catching a ride today in the north end.  Walking down Mountain Road though I eventually came into range of the city bus service, and ran into a punky, heavy metal, looking gal with the multiple piercings and full rack of tattoos at the bus stop........wasn't sure initially if it was a guy or a gal, but she turned out to be really nice and very helpful, and actually had to lend me two buck for the fare until I was able to dig out my change.

My Ride

So downtown bound I was on the #51 which let me off at one end of Main Street, and I had been told to walk that street back and forth, and I would definitely get an idea of what Moncton was all about.  Best way to to this is with my pictures, because unlike yesterday, I did take a few.

Main Street.....not the smartest route if you are driving

The Empress Theatre is connected to the larger restored Capitol Theatre on Main Street, which is the primary live performance venue in town......... their season lineup was on the board by the front door.......quite a mixture of dance, music, theatre, with a package deal quoted if you purchased 3-5-10 events.......10 events was $119.......incredible deal 

Heading to Main Street from the Empress is a series of restaurant/bars

The historic Capitol Theatre is on Main Street, and a beautifully restored and preserved vaudeville theatre, that reopened its doors in 1993 after an extensive makeover........it had become an abandoned movie theatre before local efforts restored it to its former beauty

Moncton Market was unfortunately closed 

Food Truck.....had a snack here.....great food

Had lunch here........nice Asian fare......plenty of restaurants on Main and the adjacent streets serving up quite a variety of food

This is the showpiece outside Artisan Village on Main St........inside the warehouse, a diverse group of artists and artisans share space creating a soup to nuts selection of works under one roof......you are free to walk right into their space and watch them work......nice experience and some really interesting work

One of the first homes in Moncton.....1776 or thereabouts

Joseph Salter memorial......Moncton's first mayor, and a well known shipbuilder, who crossed the Atlantic 36 times in his younger years, and built some of the finest and largest ships in the area

A well placed outdoor theatre at the base of Main Street, looking out on the Petitcodiac River

This is the coolest thing.......the tidal bore.........this is the river at low tide......when the tide comes in, the channel fills up all the way to the grass, and the flow of water is strong enough that people have been known to get out there on their surfboards.......

The sign indicates when the tide will start its movement from low to high

So that was my tour of Moncton.......really just walked up and down Main Street, and up Church Street to look at some.........churches.........probably missed a bunch, but wanted to get home and have a nappy, which I did, and now feel great.......looking forward to our ride tomorrow.......off to PEI......goodnight all

LYJ