nfld2

July 28, 2000 Friday
Tim Horton�s for breakfast! Haven�t eaten there for quite a while. Coffee is just as bad as I remember, bagels are just as good. While at Tim Horton�s, we saw four couples on motorcycles getting their picture taken. The biker chicks posed in front of Lick-a-Chic. It was funny!

The campsite, called �Arm of Gold� is very windy, but very nice, gives a gorgeous view of Lake Bras d�Or. The weather is on and off threatening. We planned to go to Louisbourg but didn�t because of the rain. We went to the Miner�s Museum in Glace Bay and the Marconi Museum instead. Karen and I are tickled with the Cape Breton accents. The gift shop at the miner�s museum had the best variety of music! We saw GBS, Slainte Mhath, the Barras, Rawlins Cross, Ennis Sisters, Kilt, among others.

We all enjoyed the tour and ate at the restaurant there. The three of us had a most scrumptious meal for only $20 total. The waiter had Darrell�s eyes and glasses, a university student in New Brunswick. A very friendly Cape Bretoner, who informed us he is a Cape Bretoner, not a Nova Scotian. He was happy to find we enjoyed Cape Breton and were going on to NFLD. He told us the people of Newfoundland were just as friendly as the ones from Cape Breton, and warned us not to form an impression of Newfoundland until we were well away from Port aux Basques. He also warned us about the CAT ferry, the Max Mols, recently christened, �The Vomit Comet.� And he told us we were the first Pennsylvanians he�d met. Hope we made a good impression!

We tried to tour the Tall Ships but everyone else on this island had the same idea and their cars were all in front of ours. Couldn�t get anywhere near the harbour. Might as well spell it that way � when in Rome�

So we went back to the campsite and I heard the funniest lecture about Newfoundland. I eavesdropped on this group who were taking a guided tour in their campers from Florida to Newfoundland. The guide was informing them that although �it is a primitive exotic place,� they do indeed have washers and dryers in Newfoundland and �even supermarkets to get provisions!� He informed them that although Newfoundlanders speak English, �You might not understand the English they are speaking.� That much I figure is true, having heard Darrell talk with some displaced Newfoundlanders after a concert once. Whoa! Had a hard time following THAT conversation! He then turned around and had a perfectly understood conversation with us statesiders.

Talked to a lot of people at the campground. Most are going to or coming from Newfoundland. Saw a motor home with a license plate that said �JANE�S.� I know she�ll be up here somewhere, but it�s funny running into signs of impending contact. There are license plates from Florida, Texas, South and North Carolina, Wisconsin, New York, Massachusetts, Alaska, Alberta, Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Quebec, Ontario, and of course Newfoundland and Labrador. The displaced ones going back to Newfoundland to visit express a desire to one day stay. The ones coming from a visit seemed sad they had to go back to their current home.

People were generally surprised when they found out that we didn�t have relatives in Newfoundland. �Why are you going?� We gave several reasons: a) GBS invited us - they always close their concert with �See you in Newfoundland;� b) they talk so warmly about their homeland in conversations with them; and c) we tried to get there three years ago and ran out of time and money.

Why did I bring my violin with me? I have no clue! Maybe because Natalie MacMaster is from Cape Breton, maybe to show it to BOB (yeah right! What are those odds?), maybe to get some pointers from fiddlers, maybe because I�ll miss three weeks worth of lessons. But I don�t really need to subject the campground to my beginning practice sessions. Maybe simply because I got it a couple hours before we left for Newfoundland and I wanted to feel like I owned it. It sure takes up a lot of room for a small instrument, though!

July 29, 2000 Saturday

Ramblings in a windy tent:
Windy and rainy and windy and windy and rainy. I am sitting in the chair inside the tent waiting for Vic to come back with my coffee from Tim�s while it rains and blows the tent down about a foot. The tent stakes are in there as good as we can put them in. There is a very thin layer of dirt with solid rock underneath. Brought the wrong kind of tent stakes for this kind of soil.
Natalie MacMaster makes good listening music in the wind and rain on Cape Breton while eating Cream of Wheat. The wind is blowing so hard on the tent that it�s leaning seriously. GBS is good storm-listening music too �She�s goin� up tonight!� Let�s just hope the tent doesn�t. Guess we go to Baddeck today and put off Louisbourg for yet another day. Next time we come up this way, we need to come by plane. Too much anticipation while waiting for the ferry is making me nuts!
End of ramblings!

Well we did go to Baddeck! What a genius Alexander Graham Bell was! So who knew he invented planes and hydrofoils? I really enjoyed the Museum there. They did a great job of making it interactive. I especially like the kids� part of the exhibit and the book that the local schoolkids wrote. Ate lunch in Baddeck at the Yellow Cello and heard Jim Fidler and the Fables on their MUZAK! I am definitely NOT at home! They played �The Rhythm of the Goat�, �The Narrows�, �Frog in the Well�, and some other Celtic tunes.

We got back to our campsite to discover 2-4 inches of rain inside and everything inside was wet. So we carted off the stuff to the campsite Laundromat and met a Spanish-speaking couple who asked us if we were going to Newfoundland. She informed us it was their second time. �You go once, you go again and again,� she said. It was a statement that would be repeated by many people on our trip. She told us the people were �friendly, wonderful, and happy to talk with you, but you won�t be able to understand them.�

Saw two blue herons on the way to church tonight. No organist at the church, but everyone sure can sing! Or the campsite owner informed us we could go tomorrow at the Mission Church �T�ree miles downa road.�

After Church we discussed sleeping arrangements. The winds in the Highlands were supposed to be 80 kph in the night with higher gusts. Karen and I opted to sleep in the car, Vic decided to brave the weather in the tent. Maybe we�ll get to Louisbourg tomorrow?