Day 51- A dismal day---brightened

Day 51 Monday June, 28, 2010 Distance 61.47 km. Time 4 hr. 10 min. Total so far 3642.49 km. The pitter patter of rain started at about 5 o'clock. When the weather reaches the east coast, the lightning and thunder are all worn out and it is just constant rain!!! We have a leak near one of our tent tabs and also drips of water run down our poles as condensation happens. I had to use my little pee pot ( a peanut butter jar) to catch it all so we really didn't want to stay in the tent all day. We need to repair it and spray it again. During a short slow down, we passed all our belongings to the picnic table under the canopy and then loaded from there. Thank goodness that I discovered the flat tire last night! In the rain, we passed Port Joli, Port Mouton and had very short stops so that we didn't get cold. During one downpour, we went off the highway to a craft store and hostel. The hostel was closed and cost $30 each so we dripped and talked to the craft store ladies. Just before Liverpool, I ran out of steam and had to down a whole power bar to keep moving. The rain let up as we entered the town looking for a motel. When I saw a fisherman decoration, I had Dave come back to take my picture and out of the house came sunshine herself in the form of Deborah, the artist and also her husband, Chuck. What a bubbly person she is. She was so excited to see us and couldn't believe we had come so far. She and Chuck got bicycles recently and ride several times a day. After some photos, she insisted on showing us the bunkhouse and said we could stay there if we wished (We would have loved that but had way too many things to dry out and needed more room). Then she brought us to her gallery in the front of her home. Deborah paints, mostly with acrylics, on old boat parts and buoys. She paints popular Maritime scenes, boats and wharfs. She also makes little characters doing needle felting with wool. They are all very beautiful. She and Chuck are looking forward to this weekend's privateer days when they dress up in costumes and do reenactments of the old privateer days and they will also have a display of her art work. Anyone that would like to contact her can email debchuck@eastlink.ca We hated to say goodbye but on we went over the bridge, past two more expensive motels and on into Brooklyn to the Trans Scotia Motel. Our room is very big and we are spread out over every inch of it. Weather forecast for tomorrow---rain.