On Baddeck

My departure from the Salmon Pool Inn suffered from one major flaw: I left my water bottles behind. I blithely rode on in the still cool air for 13 km before noticing. And there was no cellphone reception at that point. I rode back a fair distance before phoning the Inn. Thankfully Bob the Owner was there and willing to drive the bottles to where I was. The whole experience took about an hour and stole the momentum from the day.

It has been very warm and dry in these parts to the point the locals are wishing for rain. I must confess I am starting to shun the sun when possible. While I would rather not bike in the rain, at times, I would welcome the cooler temperatures rain would bring. Then again the memories of my trip when Anna was tiny spring to mind: that summer was described as atypically cold and wet by the locals.

Somewhere after crossing into Victoria County, I found a license plate from a ski-doo or ATV complete with part of the vehicle still attached by the side of the road. I picked it up and stowed it for delivery to the RCMP.

It was a bit of a shock to get off the Cabot Trail and onto the major Highway that is the 105, a.k.a. the Trans-Canada to North Sydney. It was also weird to see a billboard for a resort I had passed in Ingonish. In theory, going to Baddeck is going backwards a mite, but I wanted to go to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum.

Today was a short day and I got to Baddeck by about two. It was also strange as it was the largest town I have been to since Tuesday. It is also very touristy in a different way from say Chéticamp with its hooked rug boutiques and its less than useful bike shop.

After the Bell Historic Site, checking into my B&B, showering and cleaning my gear, I sought out the local RCMP detachment to drop off the license plate. It had closed for the day so I left it on the doorstep. As I rode back to town, I saw a RCMP SUV going the other way. I flagged it down to let the officer inside know about the plate and its provenance.

The choice of where and what to eat in these parts is complicated for me as lobster is the ingredient of choice. However, as described in early entries in this blog, I am not sure if lobster agrees with me. Given the price and debatable ethics of lobster consumption in combination with my stomach, I avoid it but it seems a shame at one level though a relief at another.

On the subject of food, in the restaurant I had supper tonight, there were a couple boys who decided to put their fries on long skewers that came with another part of their meal. I was so amused that I asked their mother if I might photograph one of their creations. She said yes, so I will post the picture when I get back.

Désirée, Dominique and Philip get on the train to Halifax tonight. I gather Alice drove them to the station in Montreal. In less happy news, it seems Izzy is ill.