Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: EXPECTATION (01/28/21)
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TITLE: The Wait Is Worth It! | Previous Challenge Entry
By John Custer
02/04/21 -
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My wife picked out this particular tour because they advertised that you could put your bike on top of the van and ride in the van for any reason. That appealed to her because she felt the long distances were beyond her capability.
During the orientation we were given an overview of the whole week. It was pointed out that the longest distance was on Day 5 but it would be offset by delicious ice cream near the end of the ride. The guide said, “It is worth waiting for!”
I love ice cream, so throughout the ride I imagined what would make this place so outstanding: the view, the flavors, or something else. My imagination had a high expectation!
On Day 1 we stayed at a quaint Bed & Breakfast, then rode down to the Bay of Fundy to watch the whales. When we got to the Bay, the fog was so heavy that we could not have seen the whales if they had crawled onto the rocks where we were standing. Later, we were taken to a restaurant for Bay of Fundy scallops. They were delicious but the guide cautioned us that they were not as good as the ice cream that we would get on Day 5.
On Day 2 the guide took lobster sandwiches and pop to the bay and we ate on the rocks overlooking the Bay. That had to be the best sandwich I had ever eaten. That evening we had Bay of Fundy scallops again. The guide assured us that they didn’t compare to the ice cream we would get on Day 5.
We rode over a mountain on Day 3 so we could ride up the west coast of Nova Scotia. I would have described it as a hill, but the word “mountain” was enough for my wife to put her bike on the roof of the van. She helped to prepare lunch, while I enjoyed the view of the coast. That evening we took a guided tour of the cemetery in Annapolis. We were each given a lantern to light our steps. The comments about those buried there were quite interesting.
However, our guide pointed out that this wonderful tour did not compare with the ice cream we would get on Day 5. The excitement was building.
On Day 4 we crossed a beautiful river, climbed a hill and stopped to examine a couple of porcupine roadkill. We encountered two dogs who started chasing us and scared the hebe-jebees out of my wife. She pedaled faster than I had ever seen her pedal and surprised all of the bikers on the tour. That night she got the prize for achieving the most outstanding feat for the day’s ride—a small stuffed moose.
Finally, Day 5 arrived. It was a long ride and very hot. As we were riding the guide said, “Ten more miles to the ice cream place.” Then, “nine”, then “eight.”
I thought it strange that I didn’t see any signs advertising the place and so I pointed that out to the him. He assured me that I couldn’t ride past it because of the flags on both sides of the driveway. I believed him.
After he told me it was less than a mile, I suspected that the “ice cream place” might be less than I had expected.
“Here we are,” the guide said. It was true. There were two flags, one on each side of the drive. The building most closely resembled a fruit stand, and it very well could have been used for that when no ice cream customers were there.
“The procedure,” he said, “is to give the attendant your order and she will go into the house and fill the order and bring it out. While she is doing that, we will go around to her back yard and get some chairs, bring them around front, so we have something to sit on.”
My disappointmen could have been palpable. After we were on our bikes, he said to me rather casually, “Well, what did you think?”
I wanted to cram the moose right down his throat…but I didn’t. What I said was the most politically correct remark I could come up with. “It wasn’t what I expected.”
Non-fiction
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