Days 38 - 40 Some Laughs and some service

Friday, July 19^th 2013

As we drove from our lovely campsite in Cape Breton Highlands National Park and left new friends behind, I felt that sadness that I experience whenever we leave a particularly wonderful place knowing I  will never return. 

Leaving Cape Breton behind us on a gloomy day

We headed about 3 hours back down the Cabot Trail heading to Hyclass Ocean Campground  in Havre Boucher, Nova Scotia, not far from the bridge on the land side of Cape Breton Island.   This campground  was a pleasant surprise.  Although the campsites were uncomfortably close, it was, in fact right on what appeared to be a bay, more than the ocean.

 

 Laundry was definitely number one on the agenda!  There were no facilities in the state park, so we had 5 or 6 loads to do. 

RV's are really crammed in here

After we set up “ camp “ I immediately headed out in search of the washers and dryers.  Or should I say “washer” and “dryer” as in only one of each.  One.  For a large campground! Oh, this should be interesting.  I quickly grabbed some clothes and claimed the coveted machine.  After two loads, someone came by this 6 x 8 little building hoping to do their own wash. As much as my inner beast thought “ Beat it!  I got here first! “  I offered to let them do their two loads before I did more.  I was taught to share my toys.  We spent the afternoon on our computers, constantly getting disconnected and frustrated.  I was constantly running back and forth to the laundromat.

Saturday July 20^th

Finally, 30 minutes away in Antigonish they were having another Farmer’s Market.  We have gone to a couple since leaving Halifax, and we have not found  the fresh organic vegetables we had hoped for.  In Cheticamp there was one lady that must have pulled her under developed lettuce and swisschard from the ground, weeds and all!  We were desperate, so we bought nearly all she had, and the weeds turned out to be quite tasty.  So when we heard about the one in Antigonish, we were all over it!  Still no luck! So we had to resort to the local supermarket to get what we needed.  

When we returned, the weather had turned extremely hot.  Our thermometer  read 98 degrees, but the humidity was only 35 percent.  I never believed it when people said 100 degrees didn't feel hot if the humidity was low.  After all,I figured, if you put your head inside your oven, it’s HOT, isn't it? Even without the humidity!  But now I am re-thinking that. Inside the RV the air conditioner was struggling to keep cool until the entire campground lost electrical power.  We lazied around outside where there was a lovely, but strong breeze.  We strolled down by the water, wading, wishing we had put our suits on to swim, since the water temperature felt like it was probably in the high 70’s.

Party's just "happen" up here in the Maritimes.
If you play, people will come.  People came, and
the party went on until after midnight.

After dinner and a strong rain shower with the sun out ( weird ) the people in the camper right next to us had a “gathering” .  Earlier they had invited us, but we had no idea that this was going to be as large as it was.  They had a fire going, rope lights strung around, and there must have been 20 people all sitting ; drinking whatever and enjoying the music while talking with what appeared to be friends.  They were all very welcoming. 

We learned that here in Nova Scotia, they still to this day have “ Kitchen Parties” which is a very casual event that families and sometimes a few close neighbors would gather in the kitchen ( which is usually the largest room ) and play music and maybe dance.  Music is HUGE here.  It is taught by the older generations to the younger, and boy do they have talent! 

Sunday July 21^st 2013

We managed to get the best campsite in
Whiddens Motel Apts. and Campground 

When we went down the very steep hills of Cape Breton last week, the brakes of our car were acting strange, and the front end was shaking.  Last year, we had discovered a repair facility that was able to fix things that our local Florida shops could not seem to repair in several attempts, so we had great faith in this one particular place. We knew we would be due an oil change at this point of the trip, and assumed we would get service done as we drove by.   We had made an appointment to service the car in Antigonish, and camp reservations at Whiddens Motel Apts and Campground . 

Cape George Lighthouse

 We waited for a fabulous, wide site to free up while I packed us a picnic lunch, to take with us on this nice, scenic drive around Cape George that was said to be very beautiful. There were hiking trails as well, so we grabbed a map, our gear, and headed out.   The road, we sadly discovered, was mainly inland with only glimpses of the beautiful coastal area, so we were pretty disappointed in the trip.

Monday we brought the car to the dealer and they brought us back to the campground where we did some chores, and just relaxed on a beautiful day. 

"Run for your Wife"
at the Antigonish Theatre Frestival

 By the time we got the car back, the day was pretty shot, but I had managed to get tickets to what we learned was a fabulous comedy called “ Run for Your Wife “ playing in the local college theater, which people came from all around ( even Newfoundland ) to see.  We went  that night and very much enjoyed this lively comedy. The acting was phenomenal.