Quick trip down the road to Fredericton.  Another perfect day.  I could get too used to this.

I had an excellent sleep - the fact that yesterday I did 712km might have something to do with that, but also the bed was comfy and the house quiet. I get up late, and chat with my brother-in-law.  At 10:00 a.m., the outside temperature was 7o C - so I stayed and chatted some more.

The next check we made at 11:00 was 13o, so I start packing up.  I hit the road at 11:30. South-east on Highway 2, and I take the last bit on the new highway around Fredericton - it's more new, smooth, 2-lane divided highway. And while it is a most excellent highway, it's not much for scenery.

  And now I'm back in Fredericton, at my parent's place, for the first time in 4 years.  And I have another disappointment for my trip - my goal was to arrive Friday lunchtime, so that I could have some of the best fish'n'chips in the world, from Rocky's Lucky Lunch.  My family had been going to the corner of Northumerland and Brunswick for as long as I can remember - at least 36 years. The fries were hand cut, and the fish batter was not unlike a white cake batter. And the portions were huge. Rocky had run the counter by himself all this time, while his mother helped in the store.  She died earlier this year, and when I arrived my dad said the place was now boarded up, and the phone disconnected.  

There are other fish and chip places I will be visiting, but they aren't this unique place, and the loss of childhood's touchstones says something about ageing that I'm not willing to hear.

I make some calls and chat with mom and dad, and have supper.  In the evening, I'm off to visit the Llewellyns, friends made in college. Somehow, although Steve and Heather look the same as I remember, they have two teenagers living with them.  

At 10:45, we go into the back yard, and watch the International Space Station pass overhead. Late in the evening, I return to the house.

Only 110km today, and no cheating of death.  A nice, relaxing day.