Episode 36

It was six o'clock in the morning. The sun was shining in Jane's open window. She woke up with a start; with the weirdest feeling ... Uhuru had been tracing the circumference of her areola with his finger.

"Good Morning. What time is it?"

"Six. Why?"

"Because just before I fell asleep last night, I had this really crazy idea. This coming weekend is Labor Day. Contrary to most countries, in North America, we celebrate Labor Day on the first Monday of September. I would have loved to show you the changing colors but that'll only be late next month and after Monday, you'll be in class with Lisa. So this will be the last chance we have for a trip. I want to get to work early so that I can check with the travel agent if he can book us a flight to Halifax on Thursday."

"Halifax? Where's that?"

"It's a city up in Canada, on the Atlantic Ocean. One of the U.N.'s World Heritage sites is right nearby as well as some of the most beautiful countryside in the world. I thought we'd fly to Halifax, rent a car and take two days to drive along the Cabot Trail and then, on the last day, stop at Lunenburg and Peggy's Cove before flying back here. You haven't seen picturesque until you've seen Peggy's Cove and, as for Lunenburg, it is home to the Bluenose, the fastest schooner ever built. That ship used to wipe its stern on the best sailing vessels that ever came out of Martha's Vineyard."

"Used to?"

"Yeah, the original got smashed to bits on some coral reefs in the South Seas somewhere; the one that's there now is a copy."

"You seem to know a fair bit about that area."

"Yes, well..." Jane seemed embarrassed. "That's where my husband and I went on our honeymoon. The way you've been making me feel, it's as if I'm on my honeymoon, all over again. That's what made me think of it."

"I'd be honored to take the place of your husband in such a pilgrimage."

That morning, after leaving Halifax at five, they drove roughly North-West to join with the Trans-Canada Highway at Truro and turned right. At New Glasgow, they stopped for breakfast and continued on to reach the Canso Causeway and Port Hastings at nine. Uhuru had offered to drive but Aunt Jane turned him down, saying that she had already seen the place once and that Uhuru wouldn't appreciate the drive as much if he had to concentrate on the road. Finally, just before ten, they joined the Cabot Trail, per se.

Jane decided to go clockwise and turned left. Just before noon, the reached Margaree Harbour and Jane proposed that they stop for lunch at one of the ubiquitous lobster fest restaurants of the area. For the next four hours, they drove along impressive cliffs, incredible vistas and, just simply, some of the most magnificent landscapes either had ever seen. They stopped frequently, just so as to better absorb the scenery. By the time they arrived at Pleasant Bay, both were saturated so the found a 'Bed and Breakfast' for the night and a restaurant for their evening meal and were happy to go to bed. Both Jane, a tall Nordic blonde and Uhuru, a really black African national, had grown up amid racial tensions, Jane having been born just before Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, and were surprised that no one here even blinked at the two of them being together.