Gadding About in Cape Breton With My Longtime Friends (75 year friendship).

Arriving in Cape Breton Island. 

This is a continuation of my last post.  We did so many things on this trip to Nova Scotia I couldn't cover it all in one post.  Late on Wednesday we arrived at the house, and very soon after our arrival had a nice visit from friends Catherine and Michealette.

Up early on Thursday to head to Sydney via St. Peter's stopping at the post office in West Bay to see Linda, friend and post mistress. St. Peter's is a pretty little town and a trip there always means a visit with my friend Frances.  In Sydney we visited down at the waterfront where there is a giant fiddle that welcomes visitors.

In front of the Giant Fiddle in Sydney.  

We returned to the house via The Cedar House where we ate a late lunch and stocked up on their wonderful baked items: bread, oatmeal raisin cookies, Aussie cookies, oat cakes and blueberry pie.  They were out of strawberry rhubarb pies, my favorite.

Friday we were up early and made our way over to Cheticamp and drove up the Cabot Trail as far as The Bog where Pat W. and I hiked out over the wooden walkway suspended on the bog.

The Bog along the Cabot Trail. 

In the afternoon we headed back down south to Inverness and the Cabot Links Golf Course.   The Panorama Restaurant that overlooks the 18th hole at the Golf Course is a favorite place to have dinner.  We arrived a few minutes before Panorama was open, but I very nice gentleman took us up to the back in his golf cart where we could enter the Restaurant without climbing the steep stairs.  He let us in and we each ordered a dessert to have while enjoying the beautiful view.  The gentleman turned out to be the Assistant Manager of the Food Services and when he learned that we were celebrating the year we all turned 81 he brought us champagne on the house.  And after our desserts he took us down to our car in his golf cart.  What hospitality!!!!

Our ride to the Panorama to avoid the stairs.  Great hospitality. 

Here's to our 81st year. 

Cookies and ice cream. 

Looking out over the 18th Hole. 

On Saturday we went over to Iona to visit the reconstructed Highland Village.  The church that is there was moved by water from Malagawatch. 

The pulpit of the church.  

Sunday we just stayed around the house, slept late and enjoyed the beautiful view.

The house.  

Our neighbor Patt Up (I'm Patti Down) had beautiful flowers planted in our window boxes.  

Before we left for Halifax I made one last breakfast where we enjoyed the cinnamon buns from the Cedar House Bakery and frozen wild blueberries with banana slices.

Cinnamon buds from the Cedar House Bakery 

Three Friends and Their Hats (A Repost in Memory of my Friend Christene)

Three friends in August 2014.

I'm reposting this in memory of my friend Christene (left in photos) who passed away today. I was fortunate to be able to visit with her last week when I was in Cape Breton.  She was a good friend and a delightful lady.  We had so many good times together.  I will miss her terribly.  RIP my dear friend.

In the summer of 2013 my friends Michealette and Christene came out to Marble Mountain to spend a leisurely day walking on the beach, playing Scrabble and just catching up.  In the course of the afternoon, David (Christene's son) took photos of the three of us, but we could not get Christene to have her photo made without covering her face.  We told her she was camera shy.  So this summer when they were out for an afternoon we decided to try and recreate that same photo.

Photo from summer of 2013.  L. to R. Christene, me, Michealette.

Photo from this summer 2014.  An attempt to recreate a similar photo.

We persuaded Christene not to be camera shy so she agreed.

Christene camera shy no longer.

In the first photos I was wearing Michealette's hat and Christene was wearing a white hat that has been around the house here for as long as I can remember, but for our final photo this year, we each wore our own hats.  Christene had just got back from a trip to Vancouver and  was sporting a new hat from there.  Michealette had her original pretty sun hat, and I had my visor from the US Open which was in North Carolina this year. 

Photo from this year 2014 each wearing our own hats. 

The three of us always have a good time when we get together.  It's not just the young who can have fun, those of us who are not so young can continue to have just as much fun.  Stay tuned for next year's photo update.  

Friends for 75 years!!!

Celebrating our 81st.  

Last week I was gadding about with Pat W. and PJ in Nova Scotia.  We've been friends since first grade which was 75 years ago and that means we were also celebrating the year that we all turned 81.  Yes 2018 has been a big year for us.

We arrived in Halifax, (Pat W was sitting in my wheelchair.) 

After flying from Charlotte to Toronto (where we missed our flight to Halifax but were able to get another one) we arrived in  Halifax to spend a couple of days.

I wanted to be sure my friends saw some of the South Shore of  the province.  We of course hit Peggy's Cove and then Mahone Bay and Lunenberg.  Along the way we had to have a meal at the famous Tim Horton's.

Peggy's Cove

Beautiful Church in Mahone Bay. 

A pretty B & B in Mahone Bay. 

Lunch at Tim Horton's. 

Back in Halifax we visited Becky, Bruce, and Sherri Campbell, and we were charmed by their new little husky Juno.

Juno, the newest member of the Campbell family. 

Then off to Marble Mountain in our rented Lincoln MKK, a vehicle too smart for us.  We were constantly having to check the manual to see how something worked. 

Our Lincoln MKK.  Leaving for Cape Breton.  

The weather was perfect  and after we arrived in Port Hawkesbury we had dinner at the Fleur de Lis, shopped for groceries and headed out to Marble Mountain.  (to be continued)

Gadding About in Nova Scotia with my Friend Jeanette

Our house in Marble Mountain as seen from our beach.

A few weeks ago my friend Jeanette traveled with me to our place in Cape Breton.  It was the first trip to Eastern Canada for Jeanette, and we tried to take in a lot of sights.

The first of the trip was very frustrating because we missed our connection from Toronto to Halifax because of bad weather and we were stuck in the Toronto Airport for most of a day.  I used this as an opportunity to introduce Jeanette to Tim Horton's, Canada's Krispy Kreme.  The maple frosted donuts are particularly tasty.

Maple frosted donuts. 

We spent a few days along the South Shore of Nova Scotia.  Blue Rocks, Mahone Bay, and Peggy's Cove are all worthy of a visit.

Blue Rocks. 

St. James Anglican Church in Mahone Bay.

Mahone Bay on the South Shore.

Peggy's Lighthouse. 

Dan's cousin Bruce and his wife Becky provided us lodging for the one night we were in Halifax.  It's always fun to see them, and we especially enjoyed their three Huskies.

The Huskies. 

Our main visit was to Cape Breton and our place in Marble Mountain.  It is such a pretty place that we need not have ventured away from there, but we did make a few day trips.

Full moon over the Lake with reflection on our pond.

St. Peter's is a pretty little town on the east coast of CB and has several little restaurants that I like to frequent.  While in that area we drove over to Isle Madame and enjoyed the scenic views from the Acadian Villages.

Jen and Christene having lunch in St. Peter's. 

Isle Madame

Jeanette is a native of Australia, so a trip to Sydney, Nova Scotia was certainly on the agenda.  On the way over there is a lovely view from Kelly's Mountain looking down on the Seal Island Bridge that we traverse to reach Sydney.  A main attraction at the Sydney Port is the Giant Fiddle.

The Seal Island Bridge that we crossed to get to Sydney.

The Giant Fiddle in Sydney, NS. 

I believe Jeanette's favorite part of the trip was the visit to Bird Islands.  (Check back later for a blog on just the Bird Islands.)

Jen on the boat to Bird Islands. 

The last day we went to the Cabot Links Golf Course over in Inverness and up the Cabot Trail for just a bit.  A trip all the way round the Cabot Trail will have to wait for another time.

Looking out over the Cabot Links Golf Course. 

I hope I have whetted Jen's appetite for more trips to the Maritimes of  Eastern Canada for she is a gungho travel companion.

Hiding Painted Rocks in Shelby, NC

Lately painted rocks have been turning up in Shelby and other places in Cleveland County, NC.   When found these painted rocks can be kept or rehidden around town to provide joy for others to find.  Families and folks of all ages are enjoying this.

The beach at our summer place in Marble Mountain, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia has beautiful flat rocks.  Knowing that I would be visiting in Shelby upon my return from Marble Mountain, I collected six nicely shaped rocks and had my friend Iris paint them.

Now I have hidden these in Shelby on or in the block around the Court Square. I have included my email address and if the person who finds one will send me a photo along with their address, or you can post a photo of it on Cleveland Strong Rocks facebook page, I will mail them a Loonie (a Canadian $1) or maybe a Toonie (a Canadian $2.). * The one dollar is called a Loonie because it has a loon on it. And of course Toonie rhymes with Loonie.

I hope you have as much finding them as I had hiding them.  Post your pics on Cleveland Strong Rocks on Facebook.

*The Loonie and the Toonie have no monetary value in the US.