Day 14-Ingonish to Baddeck Nova Scotia

True to form Nova Scotia weather was a challenge again for today. I woke up to "low clouds". Not actually fog but the ceiling looked about 15 feet above the ground. No matter I was going to stick to my plan and go the "long way" around the Cabot Trail and into Baddeck to check things out there and find accommodations.

I packed up my things for the final time from Keltic Lodge and said good bye to a truly wonderful place. It was so lovely to be there and I know, one day, I'll be back there.

The Cabot Trail is not to be driven with any type of impairment, meaning if you're tired, hungry or have to go to the bathroom. It requires 100% concentration the whole time. The 13% grades on some of the hills added a new dimension for me. I got to use the manual part of my transmission. Very neat but challenging. The hairpin turns needed to be taken with care. Add the thick fog to the equation and it is a little nerve wracking.

At one point I turned a corner and boom! There was the whole of the Western shore of the Cabot Trail in front of me. The fog was gone and the picture we all see of the Trail was there.

Yes, that "ribbon of highway" you see in the picture is the road. It really is spectacular and with little traffic on the road I enjoyed my trip a lot. Unfortunately it was a dull day weather wise and there wasn't much colour but you get the idea. The salty air smelled soooo good too.

At this point I felt as though I had gone as far east as I was going to and now it was the "west" routes that I was taking now. Interesting feeling. I still have a long way to go and lots to look at but it was the change in the routes that made the difference.

I arrived in Baddeck after an uneventful 4 hours of driving and as custom, drove through the town and back again to find what was what and how things looked. I found a parking spot on the main street and stopped at the Yellow Cello for lunch. Weird name, good food. For once I didn't have seafood! I had a great BBQ chicken pizza! Yes, there is a bright, yellow cello hanging in the main dining area!

Also as custom this time of year the wait staff ask where I'm from and where I'm staying. After mentioning that I hadn't found a place to stay the waitress (Michelle) said that she had 3 rooms in the lodge above the restaurant up the hill. I could look at them if I wanted to. Oh! Says I. That sounds like a plan. So, after checking out very favourable accommodations I settled up and moved in. It was 1 pm and I already had a place to stay and all was good. How neat is that. The room even has a front balcony that looks over the harbour. Well this is a bonus! (I type this from there!)

My view!

I ventured off to the Alexander Graham Bell museum which is up the road and had a very educational visit!
I had no idea that Mr Bell was such an inventor and experimentor. The reason the museum is in Baddeck is that he is buried not far from the town centre on the grounds of his summer home. This grand estate was picked by his family for the amazing view and the proximety to Bras d'or bay and waterfront. Many experiments of Mr. Bell, especially his hydrodrome (think hydrofoil) boats and sea planes. I can only imagine what it would be like to live in the area with he and his crew thinking up the newest thing to try and fly or float.
I spent nearly 2 hours in the museum and found the whole experience very interesting.

Rebuilt/replica hydrodrome HD-4 by Alexander Graham Bell.

The picture above does not do justice to the actual craft but this thing Mr. Bell thought the government would like to buy for the war effort in 1918 but they did not and this was left to ruin on the beach head near his home. (The recovered pieces are also in the museum) but the national aviation society rebuilt it using what they could and made replica of the rest. The motor seen here is the actual port motor from the original as is the hydrofoils. The rest is reconstructed. It was HUGE and quite a feat to build in that time or any time for that matter.

After a rest (it was now HOT) and then dinner it was time for some pictures of this lovely harbour town. It is quite the haven for all forms of boating and the local junior yacht club was out doing their thing with some games on the water. It was fun to watch. There were tons of people walking the pier and nice to see so many visitors.

The air is cooling down and the sun sets behind the building so I know tomorrow morning will be an early one I'm sure with the sun hitting the front windows.
This is such a neat place and I will investigate outside of town a little bit more tomorrow.

As I've found with all of Nova Scotia this is a lovely place to be and everyone is soooo nice.
It seems every part of this province is worth a picture.
It's great!