September 1
Baddeck was everything we hoped for: a busy little place, seafood, friends and culture.
As soon as we paid for our mooring for 2 nights ($25/night), we found out
the farmers' market was at the Bell Museum parking lot for another couple of hours. It's a small market but we found interesting products from local artists, fresh French baking and even Caribbean cuisine. We bought 2 children books signed that the author, jerk meat sauce, chocolate-stuffed croissants (pains au chocolat) and some small gifts for home. I'm so glad we had the opportunity to meet many local artists.
The Alexander Graham Bell Museum is very interesting. Even though most of us know Bell (1847-1922) as the inventor of telephone, this invention was really only a part of a multitude of creations and visionary endeavours from childhood to the end. His constant quest to invent new contraptions for this world reminded me of Da Vinci (1452-1519) who was also a visionary of his time. You could read about them in Wikipedia so I won't bore you with the details. I can't finish this paragraph without saying how his wife, Mabel Gardiner Hubbard, impressed me. She was very intelligent, modern, sophisticated and an active participant in her husband's experiments.
As we enjoyed a cold beer at the marina restaurant, we recognized a big powerboat, our marina neighbours from Summerside, PEI - Will and Anne. What a happy surprise! We invited them for dinner the following day. We had the chanterelle mushrooms for Frank's risotto; and I had an indo-morrocan dry rub for chicken thighs all planned out.
We couldn't spend days in Baddeck without eating at the Lobster Suppers, a seafood restaurant, where you could have all-you-can-eat lobster, snow crab, salmon, or beef. Wow! There was a 45-minute line-up but it was worth the wait, especially if you strike a conversation with a young couple from Montreal. They were doing the Cabot Trail by motorcycle, something in Frank's bucket list. As the evening progressed, we wanted to listen to some music. Baddeck has a community hall where there is celtic singing and music every night. But we were too late to enjoy the performance. We heard a folk singer on the terrace of Lynwood Inn as we walked by. So we had dessert and tea there.
Everywhere we go in the East Coast, everyone is so nice, open hearted and relaxed. People walk slowly, take the time to chat, there's no rush. It's like the Hakuna Matata of the North. We have no problem adapting to this lifestyle!
After Baddeck, we anchored in a few little coves nearby, each a little gem. There are very few other boats around. We're often the only boat in a cove. Finally, Frank has caught 2 bass fish! I say finally because since we left, he had not started fishing for different reasons. So I made my fish spread for happy hour (recipe in another blog - July 2021). What a treat!
According to weather forecast so far, we plan to start our stretch from Canso to Halifax (about a week long) on Monday. This leg is a new adventure within this terrific trip as we will sail on the ocean for the first time. And we will need to choose our travel windows carefully because our bearing is towards the prevailing winds. We love a challenge!
