It’s 9:32 a.m.
Here’s how the morning was supposed to go:
- 8:00 am: oil change at Rhino Truck Lube (no appointment needed, I was just to get there by 7:50 and they’d have a spot for me)
- 9:00 am: car wash at WashX Truck & RV Wash (no appointment needed, according to website)
- 10:00 am: Cruise Terminal outdoor parking lot (best lot for large vehicles along the Halifax Waterfront)
- 10:15 am: start the day’s sightseeing (probably start with Hop-On Hop-Off)
Here’s what really happened:
- Let’s start at 1:00 am. Downpour starts (the tail end of whatever wrath-of-God storm the GTA had the day before)
- 6:15 am: Alarm goes off, I have cup of tea and get dressed to the sound of the skies dumping on my fibreglass motorhome
- 7:20 am: Run out in the rain and un-hook electric & water, and remove levelling blocks and stow in compartments
- 7:35 am: Pull out of campsite and drive through Dartmouth rush hour traffic in absolute downpour (windows keep fogging)
- 7:50 am: Pull up to Rhino Truck Lube service bay & wait
- 8:00 am: Get oil change from two absolutely delightful and helpful young men, who also do a cursory inspection of brakes (which still look brand new to them – yay)
- 8:20 am: Sit in Rhino parking lot and wait for WashX to open. Spend that time determining that driving into the Halifax waterfront and hoping that there will be space for a large motorhome may not be best plan. Determine that there is parking at Dartmouth’s Alderney Ferry which will then take me directly to Halifax’s waterfront. Excellent.
- 8:55 am: Drive to WashX, which is nowhere to be found. No signage, no open wash bays, no answer on phone
- 9:05 am: Drive to another local Truck/Car wash, only to be told that they are appointment only. Give up on idea of a car wash (which was prob not the best plan on a rainy day anyway)
- 9:07 am: Drive to the Alderney Ferry Parking lot. Get stuck in a tiny 20-car lot that is half full. Do a 10-minute 21-point turn to get out of parking lot, with only one witness
- 9:18 am: Give up on the idea of the ferry. Sit at the exit to the parking lot and think
- 9:22 am: Set directions to return to campground with a stop at what turns out to be the only Tim Hortons in Dartmouth without a car park. Squeeze past the cars & trucks lined up for the drive-thru (think the Tim Hortons at Thompson & Steeles) and give up on a bagel
- 9:27 am: Pull into my campsite as the heavens re-open, and hook everything back up
- 9:32 am: Sit down to write this and re-think today.
More to come.