We discovered Dartmouth's secret on the way out - a huge new shopping centre built at Dartmouth crossing. I am sure locals have no problem negotiating the intracacies of the motorways intersecting here but it seemed to me a bit like a Telford town centre constructed between and around Gravelly Hill superimposed on the M5/M6 link at Jn 8. Thank goodness for TomTom. The shopping centre was a disappointment for us, being intended for serious shopping with boutique stores, clothes and shoe shops and all the other appurtenences of a town centre apart from a souvenir shop. But we did find a nice place for lunch so it wasn't a total waste of time.
And so to the airport. Car checked in and accepted, luggage checked in and accepted, then the queue for security clearance. Just for once, I happened to have the passports and boarding passes with Sue immediately in front of me. There was a female guard directing traffic to the desks processing x-ray & metal detectors etc. To say that this creature had had a charisma bypass would be rather like saying that Ghenghis Khan was a bit grumpy. Her communication skills had been honed to a point as sharp as the front of a London Transport double decker. She successfully seperated us by directing Sue to 'step on the mat' in front of her while her highly trained sensors located an appropriate place to send her. She mumbled to Sue 'go down there' and pointed somewhere vauguely in the direction of several desks. Despite not hearing because of her hearing loss, Sue gathered what was required and pointed out that she needed her boarding pass and I had it. The exasperated harridan muttered something that neither of us could catch; I thought she now wanted me to step onto the mat and moved forward to be told - 'NO', so I moved back obediently. (Never tangle with a Border Guard). She had successfully managed to confuse both Sue and me, which may well mark completion of page 5 of the border guards operation manual. 'Both of you go down there' she finally clarified at raised volume and slowed speech so that we imbeciles might finally grasp what was required of us. Still somewhat confused we got to a desk where we were duly welcomed.
We managed to grab some fitful sleep on the flight then stayed up 'till about 10 before going to bed. Jet lag was quite bearable this time so perhaps the plan worked!
So lunch was late. Not too far from Jeddore now. We pulled in to the Fisherman's Museum – sign said 'closed'. Not according to the advert in the 2012 tourist guide. Well at least it was on our route and we hadn't driven for miles to get there! Closed seemed a bit of a pattern on the East shore from Guysborough. We had passed several restaurants/cafés which were no longer open and becoming derelict. Houses too with many up for sale. About 40kms from Halifax there were suddenly other cars on the roads and shops and filling stations.
According to our hosts at 'The Elephant's Nest' in Musquodobit Harbour, the pub/restaurant where we stopped is the nearest east of here. There are a few local eateries not more than a few kilometres west, or the next best place would be in Dartmouth. As we plan to go there tomorrow we went to a nice little 'pub' a few kms west.
After some debate as to the best route to take to Sherbrooke, we decided to go up to Sydney then along the Bras d'Or lakes to St Peter's canal then cross over the Canso causeway back into NS proper before heading south to Guysborough and along the South Coast itself.
When we got back, the porcupine was mowing her lawn with her tractor. I switched on the laptop and tried to connect to the internet – only 2 in range and neither of them worked with the code that had been given on a card by the TV. I noticed she was emptying her grassbox near the chalet so tentatively went over and said 'excuse me' no response – again, louder. She looked up and removed an earplug, though it may have just been earwax. 'Which of Mabel or Sherbrooke 2 is the wifi to connect to?' I asked. Puzzled or slightly irritated or possibly both, she said 'neither – it is 'days ago'' – then helpfully offered 'the signal may be a bit weak in the chalet – by all means use the sun porch in the house.' Weak, WEAK it was non-existent and never would be anything else if it is based on a house 50 metres away; I don't think anyone should be allowed to advertise wifi unless there is 60% signal strength at the location stated!
The chalet itself is very nicely finished with the bedroom upstairs on a gallery. I don't think we shall have much problem waking early tomorrow as the window in the upper wall opposite the gallery looking towards the river has no curtain.
Back on the road again we stopped briefly at the information centre waiting interminably behind an indecisive couple booking accommodation with a park ranger before baling out on discovery that we could buy our park permits from a roadside booth just up the road.
Finally in to Baddeck at around 5 feeling ravenous not having stopped for lunch. We found a nice looking restaurant by the waterfront. The table we were first directed to had an air conditioning fan blasting away at foot level, so we moved further away from the window. For the first time since leaving the UK we felt cold so put on our fleeces and I tucked in to a nice French onion soup, followed by chicken in cajun sauce; Sue had garlic bread followed by chicken in a mango sauce. They were nice meals and just what the doctor ordered. I washed mine down with a nice Rickards Red while Sue thanked Dave for introducing her to Corona.
Our stop for the night was at the Auld Farm Inn, run by a Scottish husband and wife team who bought it in 2009. A lovely place but our room a bit on the small side.
I eventually staggered into consciousness about 6.15 am. Rick started writing the blog and I studied the map- so many different ways to go round the Bras D'Or Lakes to get to Louisbourg on the North East coast just south of Sydney.
We heard quite a racket on the deck just below our room and Rick reported several Blue Jays in dispute. It was impossible to move around the room without all the floor boards creaking (yes, they were ten times worse than at home) so I took his word for it.
More rain this morning and forecast to be on and off all day, so we decided to spend some time at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum run by Parks Canada before taking the most direct route to Louisbourg.. We could have spent more than two hours here. What an amazing man. So much more achieved than the invention of the telephone. Many of the theories of his inventions were tried, tested and developed at Baddeck, where he and his family had a summer home near the lake's edge. Quite where the house is we couldn't work out for the centre and grounds are modern.
A short drive back to the town and we checked in to the Stacey House B&B before heading for the nearby 'Grubstake' restaurant. Unfortunately we arrived just after the world and his wife so it was a long wait for service, much apologised for by our waitress. It was well worth it though.
What would breakfast bring? A huge platter of eggs, bacon, toast, fruit, muffins and fruit bread washed down with as much tea or coffee as we could drink. An interesting chat with our host and hostess a lovely couple. He was Nova Scotian by birth. They had met in Toronto while she was studying and had gone to Australia to join several members of her Chinese family who had already settled there. They were in Brisbane for some time returning eight years ago to be with his side of the family once her mum and dad were no longer alive.
A short drive to the Inn at Glendyer. A note pinned on the door – 'come on in. I've gone for supper at the Red Shoe Pub. You're in room 1. Make yourselves at home.
One of the major concerns I had for the wellbeing of the Maritimes community was the absence of a Canadian Tyre – how can any society flourish without one in reasonable proximity? I had not seen one on arrival in Halifax or since. I am delighted to report that there is one in Charlottetown, at least.
With Charlottetown having about half the island's population, it is perhaps not surprising that the main attractions of PEI can be summed up as Historic Charlottetown, fictional Anne of Green Gables, wonderful scenery and spectacular and apparently very warm beaches. If you are not into beach holidays and there is probably a limit to how much lovely scenery you may want to take in; it is not an island in which to spend a lot of time. Although outdoorsy types looking for a new place to play will undoubtedly enjoy spending time here.
Back to the Confederation Bridge and the rather hefty $44.25 toll, albeit for both trips; I suppose an 8 mile bridge costs a lot to build & maintain.
And so to our overnight stay in Wallace at the Jubilee Inn. A large house overlooking Wallace Bay conveniently close to Jost vineyard that we hope to visit tomorrow. Our room is quite a pleasant one with an en-suite, rather quirkily having a spa bath in the bedroom itself. Let's just say that the décor suggests that there have been no recent trips to Canadian Tyre!
We had thought of driving along the coast road from Cavendish through North Rustico and the front at Covehead Bay but this is now National Parkland and a park entry fee is charged from June to September. As we weren't planning to stop, we decided to take the more inland route along highway 6, to Mount Stewart and across to Georgetown. A small town with some tasteful suburban commercial development.