20020529

May 29, 2002

Day 20

Start: Shubie CG, Dartmouth, NS
End: KOA Baddeck, Baddeck, NS
Miles: 243

The low last night was 46f; the high today was 84f according to our indoor/outdoor thermometer. I don’t believe the 84. The sensor is under the trailer out of the sun, but perhaps we stopped on top of a hot piece of pavement or something. Mostly sunny skies, but with high, thin, clouds. There could be rain coming. 

We scooted out of the campground right after breakfast and headed east along the shore on what’s called the Marine Drive. The road winds along the coast, but slightly inland from the real shoreline drive. It’s faster, but you see fewer of the quaint little towns.

The road on Marine Drive is better than that found on the Glooscap Trail a few days ago. Only one stretch, north of Sherbrooke, is bad.

We intended to stop and look at the reconstructed town of Sherbrooke. It has twenty-some buildings from yesteryear or re-created from photos. People play inhabitants of the town in that period. It’s supposed to be quite a well-done museum.

Unfortunately, it had not yet opened for the year. It opens Saturday.

So we continued north to Antigonish and then set out for the island that forms the eastern-most part of Nova Scotia. 

We reached the Canso Straight, the waterway that makes the rest an island, and crossed on a causeway and short bridge, running next to a Rail-link freight train on adjacent tracks. Then we traveled onward on 105 toward the Bras D’or Lakes in the center of the island.

We stopped at the KOA just west of Baddeck. It’s the only 4-W campground on this end of Nova Scotia. We set up and I did a quick receipt of e-mail for the first time in six days. Then we went in to Baddeck for dinner at the Bell Buoy. This may be a play on words – Alexander Graham Bell was born here, and there’s a historic park memorializing that. 

Dolores had another lobster and I had halibut with the local vintages. It was all quite good and the view of the "lake" was outstanding.

Then we gave up and returned to the little house high on a hill in a beautiful campground to rest.

Tomorrow, we’ll leave the little house and take the truck on a circle tour of the Cape Breton Highlands.