Posted on August 2, 2018 under Thursday Tidbits with 6 comments

I think I found my car keys

 

“I have traveled around the globe. I have seen the Canadian and American Rockies, the Andes, the Alps and the Highlands of Scotland, but for simple beauty, Cape Breton outrivals them all.” Alexander Graham Bell.

I have traveled the Cabot Trail many times. I have done the trip solo, with family and quite often with visitors to the province. I never tire of this trip. Recently, I took my 10 year old granddaughter around the trail. There were a few ground rules: no cell phones except for me snapping a few pictures and she had to use an old fashioned map of Nova Scotia to see where we were going.

Now, spending 13 hours and a bit in a car with a ten year old might sound like penance for some but for me, this trip redefined the word joyous. I experienced the trail for the first time through a young person’s eyes.

The wheels had scarcely moved when we made our first stop at the Big Stop in Auld’s Cove. A big breakfast was in order to give us the energy for the journey. Little did I know that I would need every single calorie of the protein laden platter.

One would expect a bit of restlessness from a young person when it takes the better part of two hours just to get to the head of the trail at St.Ann’s. However, I took the opportunity to give her a small history lesson as I told her about the construction of the deepest manmade causeway in the world and spoke about the golden age of steel and coal in industrial Cape Breton.

The only minor disappointment of the trip was the fact that the Englishtown Ferry wasn’t in operation on this day.

We had scarcely gotten on to the Trail when we had our second stop at the day at one of my favourite places: The Clucking Hen Restaurant and Bakery in North Shore. I grabbed a bag of homemade chocolate cookies just in case we got stranded in a snow storm!

Passing through Ingonish Beach, I showed her St.Peter’s Hall where the band, The Escorts performed weekly back in the late 60s. I was in this band with my brothers and have many fond memories of entertaining the locals and the campground crowd. We had our first swim of the day at beautiful Ingonish beach with the magnificent Keltic Lodge as a backdrop. I told her that a lot of famous people have stayed there over the years. She asked if I had ever stayed there. I informed her that I was neither rich nor famous but had enjoyed a bowl of chowder a few times in their dining room.

With bathing suits still wet and beach towels on the car seat, we went a few kilometres down the road and took the exit to Mary Ann Falls. The last time I was at the falls was 36 years ago before Betty and I were married. It was a memorable trip as I managed to put my car keys in my bathing suit pocket before diving into the deepest part of the pool below the falls. We hitchhiked back to Neil’s Harbour and mercifully, my sister delivered our spare set (which were back in Antigonish) the following day.

We completed the swimming trifecta not long afterwards by spending a glorious hour at one of my personal favourite beaches at Black Brook. My granddaughter couldn’t get her bellyful of waves and water. Or so I thought.

There’s still a lot of road construction on the trail. One would hope that this is completed sometime before the next millennium rolls around.

No trip around the trail is complete without stopping for a meal at Le Gabriel in Cheticamp.

It was now early evening and we still had a few hours of driving ahead of us. I made the fatal mistake of telling Ivory that we would be passing one of the most beautiful beaches in this province (and possibly the world) at Inverness. After a meal that left me drowsy, I wondered if she would fall asleep before getting to Inverness. Not a chance! We drove down Beach Road through the Cabot Links golf course. I told her that the two Inverness golf courses were amongst the top rated in Canada with Cabot Cliffs gaining international acclaim.

It was a breathtaking evening at Inverness Beach. To get to the beach, we walked along the recently constructed walkway for wheelchairs which is a first in this part of the world. The fourth swim of the day was in the books.

There was a detour for an accident at Port Hood and when we emerged on the other side of the town, we caught the sun setting on Port Hood Island.

Thirteen hours and twenty two minutes (according to my co-pilot!) after we left home, we pulled into the parking lot.

I agree with Mr. Bell. There is no place in the world more beautiful than Cape Breton.

Sharing it with your granddaughter? Priceless.

 

Port Hood Island sunset

 

Posted on July 26, 2018 under Thursday Tidbits with no comments yet

Spending quality time with Mother Nature

 

I love my morning walks, especially in the summer time. I’m an early bird so getting up and out the door before the hustle and bustle of a new day starts is a treasure that I don’t take for granted.

We’re definitely in the dog days of summer. Do you know where that term originated? Neither did I until I looked it up. The ancient Romans called the hottest and most humid days of the summer “dies caniculares” or “dog days”. The name came about because they associated the hottest days of the summer with the star Sirius. Sirius was known as the “dog star”.

The months of May and June left us all wondering if we would have a summer at all as the temperatures stayed cool with plenty of rain. The good news is that everything is lush and green as we near the end of July.

In our home town, there is a path that runs from St.F.X. University to the mall. It is affectionately called “Liquor Lane”. You don’t need an advanced degree to figure out that this trail runs directly to the liquor store at the mall. It is a well-worn path.

Earlier this week on one of those sultry mornings, I was walking briskly along liquor lane. It doesn’t take much to get my mind wandering but on this particular day, I was thinking about this strip of real estate and transported myself back nearly 60 years when this was known as the Bishop’s Bowl. The land between liquor lane and the Annex (the old Antigonish High School) was comprised of woodland and a wonderful, gently sloping hill that was a great place to toboggan back in the day. Many local skiers used this hill to hone their skills long before the Keppoch came along.

Living nearby on Hillcrest Street, I spent many idyllic summer days of my youth wandering through the woods down to the Bishop’s Bowl, up through the cemetery and into the forest behind Church Street Extension.

I wonder how many children these days will ever experience the joy of spending days on end hanging out with Mother Nature? Back then, in our youth, days felt like months and months felt like years. These days, months feel like days and the years are borne swiftly on the winds of time.

How many children will pick a daisy and carefully pull off the leaves uttering the infamous refrain, “she loves me, she loves me not?” Will they know the smell of spruce gum and how it turns black on your hands when you cut down boughs to make a fort? Will they experience the pure joy of discovering a patch of blueberries and filling their bellies to bursting? Will they unexpectedly come upon a garter snake slithering through the grass? Will they hear the sound of a dozen bullfrogs croaking in unison or the cacophony of a million crickets announcing the closing of another day?

Will they sit in a field eating a peanut butter and jam sandwich while grasshoppers alight on their hands? Will they stumble upon a wasp nest and learn how fast they can run? Will they see a doe and her fawn nibbling on blades of grass? At the end of the day, will they fall into bed, exhausted from expending energy discovering the wonders of nature?

I feel blessed to have grown up with the simple pleasure of life, like a walk in the woods.

Have a great weekend.

Posted on July 19, 2018 under Thursday Tidbits with one comment

Hands at work at The Arts House

 

Show of hands. How many of you have read all 900 of my Week45 stories? The odds of that actually happening are similar to those of being struck twice by lightning. I should be careful as I have been struck by lightning once already. To prove it, here’s the story I published when it happened https://www.week45.com/a-bolt-from-the-blue/.

Based on this survey, there is a very good chance that you didn’t read my Monday post. You’re forgiven! I’m helping raise money for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. I am participating in the Big Bike Ride next Tuesday, July 24^th. I am part of the team from the RK MacDonald Nursing Home. Someone who read my post on Monday thought I was doing a big bike ride, like going around the Cape. Nope. With a wonky back and neck (and mind), that’s not happening. I’ll be climbing on a BIG BIKE that carries about 18 passengers and we’ll take a cruise down Main Street at 7:00 p.m.

I’ve set a goal to raise $1000 and I’m at the hallway mark. If you’d like to make a tax deductible contribution, please go to my page with the Heart and Stroke Foundation: http://support.heartandstroke.ca/site/TR/BigBike2018/BB_General_2018?px=2165881&pg=personal&fr_id=5878. Might even wear my kilt if I exceed the $1000 mark!

The Antigonish Arts Fair is expanding its wings adding a new and exciting program. The old Visitor Information Centre beside Boston Pizza is now the home of The Arts House. Antigonish has been a hotbed for artists for decades. Many successful artists honed their skills under the watchful and caring eyes of Mary MacGillivray. Here’s a piece I wrote about Mary a few years ago. https://www.week45.com/the-art-of-being-mary-2/. Mary is still very much alive and well, recently passing the century mark. She is one of my favourite people and love our chats at the RK.

Do you have a child who is creative and wants to learn various forms of art this summer? Check out their website: http://antigonishartfair.ca/the-arts-house/ . One of my grandchildren is attending this week and from all accounts, it is awesome. Kudos to the visionaries at the Art Fair.

And speaking of the Art Fair, I have been pressed into service this Friday (20^th) and will be playing some tunes at 7:20 p.m. at Chisholm Park… across from The Wheel. You know the place? It’s where Prime Ministers get their pizza when they’re passing through Antigonish!

Apparently a few of the featured performers are sick. The best they could do on short notice was a balding 66 year old man. I promise I won’t play any of my original songs. I’ll stick to the tried and true. Maybe a few Neil Young tunes and some singalong stuff. Oh yes. I have donated some of my books to The Arts House and I think they’ll be selling them on Friday night. 100% of the proceeds go to the Arts House.

How do you cure a pain in the neck? Wouldn’t I love to hear your remedies. There is no cure for annoying people but I’m working on getting relief for neck pain. My latest stop has taken me to an osteopath. We’re not 100% sure what’s wrong with my neck but it’s possible I don’t have my head screwed on properly. (Pause for the cheap shots). He did a lot of manipulations with my head and neck. It’s a little too early to say how things are going to go but I definitely notice an improvement after only two sessions.

Weather’s looking great for the next few days.

Hope to see you at the Art Fair tomorrow evening.