We’re staying at Steve’s with Deeds, Cathy and William, but we call the others and meet in Downtown Pontiac for a tour in the late morning. It’s “real” America again, and the downtown is as historic as promised on the signs. Unlike Jacksonville in California though, this place is still alive and kicking. There is a street art exhibition on and lots of shops, cafes and places open. This year's theme is to decorate small fibreglass cars and trucks - a particular favourites is the 'Van' Gogh.
Our first port of call is the Route 66 Museum as the Mother Road used to run right though Pontiac and in fact runs at the end of Steve’s road!. There is so much memorabilia here and information about what the town and route used to be like – it’s great.
We then stop for a coffee in a new and hip cafe where they ask patrons to write on the wall, and we duly oblige with a little greeting from Egypt.
Lunch is a truly genius creation by Jackie; a veggie lasagna, but instead of layers of pasta then sauce she has used spinach and ricotta ravioli as the layers with a smaller amount of sauce in between. Yum! Shortly afterwards, we set the Deeds off to prepare his creation for dinner; fish, chips and mushy peas. Cathy is in charge of the fish and chips and Deeds’ energy is in making mushy peas….from scratch! From dried peas we do indeed get mushy ones and they look and taste proper. Even better than tinned you might say!
We then spend the rest of the evening on the radio and we are Chimpcasting long into the night. You can listen to the show using the player below.
This morning faffing is limited as our flight is at lunch time, so we pack the car while Al makes a coffee. We then take photos of us and the house and say goodbye to the dogs. We drop the trusty Evolve trolley (which has been strapped to the roof of Jan's truck for all this time) at Summer's mum's on the way to the airport and enjoy our last views of the valley.
At the airport we check our bags in and are relieved that they are somehow within the weight limit (despite us having bought more wine and beer wort in Canada). It’s hard to say our goodbyes as we’ve had such a brilliant time here. It's been a brilliant experience spending quality time with the Canadian Penningtons, we've enjoyed sharing good music and the great outdoors together.
We’re rushed into the next part of our trip though as we are returning to the States and so need to go through immigration again. Maybe something flagged on our passports or tickets because every piece of luggage and us is searched! Firstly every piece of our hold luggage is X-rayed and one piece opened to be swabbed for bad things. Then once our hand luggage comes out of the scanner it too is thoroughly swabbed and we go through an initial scan before a full-body scan!
Passing these tests it’s then passport control where our passports are looked at intently and we’re questioned for at least 10 minutes. The questions start on our reasons for visiting Canada and America, and dwell on why we are returning to America. He's suspicious about our lives in Egypt, but I show the official our ticket which proves we have a flight to leave America back to London which pleases him.
A favourite question of customs officials we’ve found is “Is there anything you’ll be leaving in America?” We answer that we are leaving “cushion covers” as we’ve brought these as gifts from the UKNova crowd. The official seems perplexed and asks if these are “material or camel leather?” to which we answer “Egyptian cotton” (Duh!). He still seems unsure by all this and Scott tries to help him out by saying, “They have pictures of camels and pyramids on them,” but this doesn’t help and he is on the phone asking a colleague “Is there any room in the Secondary?” and we realise that he plans to take us in for secondary questioning. It turns out there is someone already in there, so he asks us why we first moved to Egypt and when we explain it is for work and we are teachers he relaxes and lets us through. Afterwards we joke together about all this and how non-suspicious we actually are, but we wish we’d had the courage to respond with a sarcastic comment that highlighted the immigration guy's complete suspicion of anything connected with the Middle East.
After all this we manage to grab a meal before the flight, but as it is only a quick journey we only have time to read a few chapters of our books and write half a blog post before we land.
Back in the “land of the free” we collect our bags and lug them onto the free shuttle that will take us to the hire car. We booked the cheapest we could get through Expedia but it turns out a “full size” is a massive car and so we try to downgrade to something smaller. Ironically it will actually be more expensive if we want a smaller car, so we settle for what we’ve got. The size must be pretty big though as we manage to fit our two huge hold cases and our hand luggage case in the boot without a problem!
We navigate ourselves out of the airport and along a few freeways until we’re on the I-55 which will take us to Pontiac, Illinois (the State of Ding!). We want to stop off to grab something to eat before we arrive at Steve’s and eventually find signs to a Macdonald's at the other end of a small town just off the main the road. We’ve stumbled on Coal City and are suddenly in the classic America we’ve always thought about; arse-end of nowhere, nothing going on, nobody going in or out kind of place! It’s brilliant! Before leaving, we call in at a liquor store to pick up some beer and decide to try a couple. The first, Dogfish Head, is a micro-brewery featured in a documentary we saw in NS. The other, Old Style, is advertised everywhere in Illinois so we thought we'd give it a go.
We arrive at Steve’s for Novapalooza 2010, and find a load of people already there and the drinks flowing. It’s great to meet these people, most of whom who we’ve known online and on Skype for around four years, and they are just as we expected so we all get along great.
We spend the evening drinking and chatting with Steve and his son Nick, Jackie and Todd, Deeds and Cathy, William, Justin, Matt, Derek and Chimp and Cathy.
It's our last day with Jan and Al and we’re trying to fit everything in, so today are going whale watching! It’s not the best day for it by any stretch of the imagination as it’s raining and overcast here in Canning, and when we call the company down in the south it turns out that it’s foggy there too! They are still going to sail and so we head off early for the drive that will take us to the opposite end of NS from Evolve in Antigonish, and further as we take two ferries to the Island.
We skip breakfast at the house as we plan to stop at "Tim Hortons" which we are assured is a classic Canadian place for coffee. We all grab a drink to keep us warm and awake on the drive and Scotty and I go for the Breakfast BELT (bacon, egg, lettuce and tomato) which is a great idea. We can’t help ourselves and also buy two “Canadian donuts” which are covered in white icing and then red sprinkles in the shapes of maple leaves!!
We arrive at the first ferry of two we need to get out to the distant island where the whale watching company is based. However, it's just pulling away and so we pull up and get out to stretch our legs. The weather hasn’t improved; it’s still foggy, rainy and generally a bit miserable so we head into the gift/coffee shop overlooking the road. Scotty picks up everyone’s spirits when he suggests an ice cream (he points out we're at the seaside on a summer holiday, and it would be ridiculous to turn down ice cream). Soon we're on our way again and make it to the tour centre with plenty of time to spare.
Despite the weather they’re still taking the boat out, although once we’re all on the boat they announce that another boat that is out is returning to land because of the bad weather. Apparently it’s pretty choppy out there and we have a rough ride in store, but can pull out now if we want. We’re determined and so grab a blanket and some sarnies for lunch and sit tight.
The fog means we can see less than 50m but we can see the coast line at first as we follow it round, but then once we venture out into the ocean properly we lose all orientation and can suddenly see even less. It is a rocky ride with about as much wind and rain as you can handle on holiday.
The visibility means that it’s hard for us to see any whales because they have to be pretty close to our boat for us to spot them. We resort to stopping the boat and turning all the engines off. In the silence (apart from the wind and rain) we then all strain to listen for a whale clearing its blowhole or diving (i.e. doing the tail splash). Luckily the crew claim to know what to listen out for and after about four stops and starts and three hours on the water we find a whale.
At first it is on one side of the boat swimming along and then it dives under the boat and appears on the other side to clear its blow hole and finally dive again. We are all following its every move and dash from one side of the boat to the other with cameras at the ready.
It’s great to have seen a whale as although the boat offers you a second trip at any time if you don’t manage to see one (a hell of a guarantee!) this is our only chance here. It’s also quite amazing simply to have found one in this terrible weather and to have had quite an entertaining boat ride too (a mum in one family on board was sick for the whole journey from the cold chicken they’d brought with them for lunch; when we finally saw the whale one of her kids went to where she was lying down to tell her and she responded, “I don’t care anymore”!!)
Back on dry land we decide to grab a meal before the drive back, and we go to what seems to be the only restaurant on the island. They claim to serve the “famous” Grand Passage burger and we order one each. The name gives much hilarity when we see the size of the burger and patty we have to eat! Scott and I also have the chance to again try NS's famous poutine. This time it is served with the classic cheese curd and we’re not disappointed. Amazing!
We’ve only two days left in NS and we’ve been out in the Valley and its beaches a few times but today we’re going to walk out on Cape Split. It’s a walk I remember we did when I visited in the early 90’s and will take us right out into the Bay of Fundy and NS’s most westerly point.
We breakfast late and head to a local vineyard for a wine tasting before we start the walk. Summer had suggested we go and it’s a great idea as neither of us knew there were vineyards in Canada, let alone Canadian wines ready for tasting! There are some really unique wines here that we try, one with a grape that is one found in NS and when you first smell the wine you think it will be desert-sweet, but on tasting it is a dry white. Odd, but nice! Another we like is a red which is to be served chilled and this goes down very well. We also notice on their books is an “ice wine” which is brewed from grapes that have been harvested when frozen and kept frozen but only warming up in the fermentation process.
Not too tipsy we head out with our sandwiches in the afternoon for our walk, stopping off on the top of the 'mountain' to view the valley.
Arriving at Cape Split, we have a nice hike through a wooded path that gradually climbs uphill and we manage to avoid the many roots that rise out of the ground.
The land is flatter as we approach the end of the split and the trees finish to about 50m of grassland before it falls straight down off the cliffs. We eat our sandwiches and drink the beers we’ve also brought with us in the sun.
Al then tries to fly the kite he’s bought but it’s only as he lets it out to its full length does he see that the string it’s on isn’t attached to the spool so evasive action is taken to tie the line!
However, while everyone's attention is diverted by this first emergency, the wind picks up and begins to overpower the kits. Despite everyone's best attempts, the Dollarama special gets caught in a tree; its final resting place.
On our way back Al takes us on a “secret path” that not many people know about. The path wears away and we lose it, so spend about thirty minutes scrabbling through scrub and off-roading before we find the main path we arrived on. We keep an eye out for the “secret path” and it does join the main path again, so it must just be a section in the middle that has overgrown. We're forced to keep going quickly, though, as time has run away with us and it’s going to be tight to get to the ball game tonight in time.
With a record-breaking 10 minute turn-around at the house Jan and Al have their kit on and we’re out the door. Fin and the others are already there with the kit bag and warming up, so Jan and Al stroll into the final positions for batters and get onto the field in the second innings.
It’s a close match this time and although the Canning Team take an early lead with high scores and good fielding in the early innings, the opponents get it back to within a few runs. We’re trying to keep score but still not quite sure of all the rules, so have to wait until we see the teams faces at the end of the match. Good job – Canning Crabs have another win!
We end the day with two classic items from the Nova Scotia menu; poutine and donnair. It’s impossible to keep a straight face when ordering especially as it sounds like we’re asking for a posh version of donner kebab, but it's similar to its European cousin. Poutine is chips smothered in gravy with cheese curd melted in; this place doesn’t have cheese curd and so it’s jut melted cheese, but is still pretty good! Donnair varies from donner kebab in that it is beef instead of lamb and instead of tzaziki sauce it is an almost sweet barbeque sauce. Both are yum!
Today we're going fishing for the famous flounder we hear all about and our day is dictated by the tides. Jan has a tide clock and so we know we need to head out after low tide to collect our bait; clams. Out on the beach we each have a shovel and go around looking for the telltale air holes that show a clam is under the wet red sand. As we dig them up we collect them in the bucket while Bea chases Sham around the bay.
Back at the house Jan and I collect more bait by digging for worms in the garden, and Al heads out to sort breakfast. It's a breakfast wrap from a place in town and we can only just about pick it up, let alone get it in our mouths as it is crammed full of omelet, sausage and peppers. That'll fill us up until dinner!
We get to where we’re going to launch Jan’s boat about two hours before high tide and let the boat off its trailer to rest in the damp sandy shore. Then we play the waiting game until the tide comes in high enough for us to be able to float the boat and get out on the water.
Out in the bay we all cast our lines off the side of the boat. We’re fishing with a single line each that is just wrapped around a spool. On the end are a few weights as flounder are “bottom feeders” and six hooks that have clam or worms on. When we feel this hit the bottom we then hold tight to feel for the tug.
Jan gets the first few catches in, and the cooler we store them in is soon making the sounds of a fishing trip as they flip and flop themselves about in there. I hook a few and Scott does too, so it’s Al who is running dry today. He does eventually get a catch but also manages to pull up Scott’s line when he brings it in. We get back in to land the boat an hour after high tide and after riding it onto the sand we jump out. Jan then brings the car and trailer down and we gradually winch it on board. Luckily we get it all the way onto the trailer before the wire rope snaps, but Jan manages to tie a knot secure enough to last the drive home.
Back at the house we all get to work; Jan is filleting the fish out in the yard (on a plank of wood he’s fashioned for the purpose!), Al making a beer batter, Summer getting the fryer ready and us prepping potatoes for chips. Our labours are well spent and we all have a huge and tasty plate of the freshest fish and chips you can have!!
The softball game tonight is in a neighbouring town but unfortunately the Canning Team don’t fare as well as last match as the opposition take advantage of the team’s smaller numbers and heavy weekend. The team console themselves that they had a better weekend and we head to a brew pub for a beer.
The Port has too many good beers on tap for us to choose so we again go for a taster tray. We get pales, darks and summer specials and have another pint of the ale once we get through the tray.
After the long day and late night yesterday we all lie in to recover from the weekend. We mooch around the house and leisurely prepare a cooked breakfast - that we eventually eat around 2pm! It's our wedding anniversary today and we receive messages from our parents back home which is really nice. Jim and Net phone and we tell them we're about to eat breakfast which prompts the Peter Kay classic "what time is it where you are??" thinking they'd got the time difference wrong and maybe woken us, but we explain that breakfast is late today because of the late night! Once we've had our fill of sausages, bacon and pancakes with maple syrup we head out to look for lobster for dinner.
“Looking for lobster” doesn't involve cages on the ocean floor for us but a trip along one of the highways to find the fresh fish man that Jan knows. We can't find him, but do stumble on a homebrew store. Our luck is in here and they sell kits, so we buy a tin of Canadian Red that we can brew when back in Cairo. We then head over the northern mountain to get to the Bay of Fundy and the local harbour which does have lobster in. We get four live ones that Jan threatens to put in the backseat with Scotty, but which actually end up in a box in the boot.
At the house Al prepares garlic butter for us and Jan gets the pan boiling. Soon we have our red lobster on the table, but Jan has to guide us through firstly how to get the meat out and secondly the best way to eat said meat. We make a right mess with cracking shells and garlic butter and bread going everywhere, but it's very fleshy, tasty and filling.
After eating we take the dogs and our cameras to one of the beaches on the north of NS for a sunset walk. The beach is totally different to the one nearer the house that we went on before the weekend as the rock is grey rather than the stained red and we're walking on pebbles rather than muddy sand. It's a beautiful sunset and the dogs have fun running around and playing with each other.
On the way back to the house we finish our anniversary off with an ice cream. This small local shop sells ice cream that is locally made and there are so many flavours to choose from. Wanting to treat myself I ask for two scoops in a cone but Jan queries this. When he shows me the size of his single scoop I quickly downgrade!
Everyone is feeling the after-effects of last night's mead, so we slowly try to brew some tea and coffee on the stove that Jan has managed to dig out from the truck. We stow the (ample) remains of the mead as no one thinks they can stomach any more tonight! Normally the gates to the festival open at 10am, but the rumour is passing round the site that this year it is 12 noon. We check the tickets and it does indeed say noon, so we head off for a walk down the track to a swimming hole that Al knows. It's a lovely little place as you skirt the edge of the rocks and find a place to put your towel. We don't go in, but it seems refreshing and tomorrow they plan to bring down the many blow-up sea toys that they have bought!
With the camp packed up, the truck and jeep join the queue of cars waiting to be let into the parking field. It's 10.30am and after an hour they start to let cars in. We park up in a flat spot (which we later realise is the furthest away from the campsite as possible!) and start to unload some of the gear into the trolley. A few people go on ahead to get in the queue.
What follows is just a queuing frenzy as we're told that the gates will be opened 15 minutes late, which eventually turns into nearly 2 hours late. First we queue in one place, and then in another in what seems like the wost organised start to a festival. Apparently there is a new security company in charge but no one can understand how a simple thing like opening the doors could be got so "wrong" when there were no problems with it previously. It's hot and sun tan lotion and water are all deep in the bags, so it's not a pleasant few hours but eventually, with a huge cheer from the crowd, we're let in.
The site is weenie and we're soon past the stalls and main stage, and into the camping area. It's actually a clever set up as the main camping area although it is on top of a hill and hence hard to get up, actually gives campers a superb view of the main stage which is in a natural amphitheatre below. Setting up camp involves trying to predict how many tents there will be and leaving enough space for them as well as space to set up the stove in the central area. Scott and I pitch our tent and then Al's while he brings up another load of gear on the trolley - a worthwhile drag on the roof of the jeep. Once camp is set beers are had and Al's friends set to work on the flagpole. They've constructed a flag pole that is a good 30 feet tall and it comes in four sections with guy ropes to steady it - a professional job. The main flag is a big white flag with a red "V" in the centre which stands for Valley the area that Canning is in. We've bought an offering of our own, the Egyptian flag. Once it is set up the festival can officially start!
We chose not to write up what we did at Evolve, since the best way to follow our adventures is through listening to the radio show we recorded at the festival. You can also listen to the podcast of the show right here on the blog using the player below:
To accompany the show, here's a few pictures of the festival in full flow, followed by a couple of videos.
A few side stories from Evolve that weren't included in the radio show:
We've been carrying with us for the last month an Egyptian Flag ready for the Valley Flag Pole, but this isn't our only item to honor the country we currently call home; we also have with us an Egyptian Football shirt. I decide to wear it as much as possible at Evolve for two reasons; one because I think it's a cool talking point and that's a good thing at festivals, two because I think it will help with the identity of Rock The Casbah and may help get interviews etc. Well it definitely comes up trumps!
On the second day we're just about to talk to Scotty from Scotty and the Stars and a guy comes up to me and asks why I'm wearing an Egyptian Football shirt. It's kinda not great timing as we're trying to explain who we are to Scotty, so we can get an interview, but we try and kill two birds with one stone and explain that we live there. This is Sherif and he's Egyptian but studying at university in Canada right now. He's dead excited about the shirt and seeing a touch of home. He's also seen the flag and says he's here with a friend who is also Egyptian and saw the flag. We say goodbye and do the interview with Scotty, but are hoping we'll catch up with him again (it's a small festival, so this isn't an impossibility).
We do spot Sherif in the crowd of the main stage that afternoon and so this time we approach him. He introduces us to his friend and chat a bit about Egypt; they're from Alexandria and are in their final year here, but want to do further studies. They've heard of our school and we laugh about life in Cairo. It turns out that when they first saw the Egyptian flag flying in "tent city" they went over to see what the deal was. Apparently they were told "Oh, it's some English cousins" which probably didn't help explain the situation!
We see they guys around a bit over the next day or so at the festivalSherif what songs get him through life away from Egypt. It would have been interesting and cool, but we'll never know.
Scotty and I may not have come prepared in terms of wet weather gear or camping equipment for Canada's best festival, but we have come prepared for a good nights sleep. Our education has been week-long camping at Sziget festival and we've learnt that you need your rest if you want to party hard and last the festival (and if you're old like us!). So we've got our ear plugs and eye masks at the ready baby! We realise that maybe this isn't common festival knowledge when we get up in the mid-morning to find everyone else awake already and having had breakfast and a brew; forced to get up with sunlight streaming into the tent and stages starting to sound check. Our guilt only grows when the moment we step out of the tent a Breakfast Bap is thrust into one hand and cup of coffee into the other; Jan and Al are amazing hosts!
UK Hip-Hop Beatbox / DJ / Soundman Beardyman was the main headliner at Evolve playing a set on the mainstage on the Saturday night followed by an evening set on the Dance stage. We were all really looking forward to this and his headlining set did not disappoint. It was an amazing set-up. Beardyman had foot pedals and then various electronic gadgets on a large table along with a laptop. He'd then make beats into the microphone, or sing and loop these, distort them, speed up, slow down and generally mixed the whole set from his own vocals live. Absolutely amazing to watch it constructed and develop from one sound into another. We were all seriously loving it!
After his set Scotty and I grabbed a seat beside one of the food stalls while we decided where to wander to next and a pristine car pulled up in front of us. Out steps a guy who then wanders towards the back stage area and is met by a guy in a hoodie with a days stubble; Beardyman! We ear-wig and it seems this guy is Jonas who is the festival organiser. He is greeting and showing round the festival's biggest guest and trying to impress him and his girlfriend. Scotty and I decide to follow when the group walks toward the Dance Stage and we do take the chance to approach Beardyman. We're not quite confident enough to ask straight out for an interview, but go for fan-based-small-talk. I know he's from London, so comment on how nice it is to have a London accent round here, then get chatting with his girlfriend about living in North London and our favourite bus routes from Archway (W5 or N19 are top ranked) where they live. It seems they've been on tour for a while and have more dates to come heading towards the Far East. We gauge the mood as not overly excited to promote the tour on radio right now, so don't mention the show or Egypt. I do manage to name-drop Sensei FM though.
On Sunday it's our last day to get interviews and be around the site, so we're glad to track down Oka as they leave backstage and the interview you hear on the show is being conducted on the main Evolve stalls thoroughfare. After the interview we are getting ourselves sorted and are approached by a bloke with a VIP tag on. He asks where we are from and is dead excited about there being a radio show here. He says that he knows Beardyman is on tour at the moment and is keen to promote this, so he will set up an interview for us. Wow! So now Beardyman is coming to us!! This bloke goes off and speaks to Beardyman and his people. Beardyman then comes up for a chat and thankfully doesn't recognise us from our ramblings last night. We talk about the show and the tour, but he doesn't seem as keen as the promo guy for an interview, so we don't push it. Afterwards we decide that the promo guy is just trying to show he's doing a good job and has contacts.
After this second encounter with stardom we bump into Al who is taking photos around the site on this day of drizzle. He "paps" Beardyman and his girlfriend who have wandered from talking to us over to the burger bar and are getting an order in. A few minutes later in the same spot Al paps Fred Penner doing the same. Burger Joint to the Stars!
Everyone in our camp is flagging and so it's decided to pack up camp today, Sunday. But our plans do continue to revolve around Beardyman's second set. With the camp packed up into the jeep and truck we keep watching bands in the Yurt and trying to avoid getting too wet in the drizzle that is persisting today. Beardyman's set on the Dance Stage is totally different to that the previous night. I guess the festival are getting their money's worth as they get something new, but I preferred the main stage set. This is far more dance and beats, than lyrical, which I guess is what people want on a Dance Stage.
We're glad we've caught it and head home. Stopping first though, as tradition requires, at Snow Queen. It's a "leisure park" but in the dark and rain we can't really see the go karts or mini golf and our eyes focus in on the bright lights of the burger joint. We're the only people eating in, but we both love it - a chance to get some real Antigonish life.
