by Peter Payan
The Englishtown Cable Ferry
After driving off the ferry, I stopped to take to take a picture. A few cars and a truck were waiting to board. Getting back into our warm car, we drove down the road looking for the Englishtown village. Other than a few houses, there was nothing to be seen. Soon, we came to a ‘T’ junction and turned left as instructed, heading towards North Sydney.
About 30 minutes later, the road wound its way down the cliffs to the Seal Island Bridge soaring across the waters of the Great Bras D’Or Lake.
The Seal Island Bridge
Following our Google Maps instructions, we came to the turn off for “Little Pond” and our B&B. Along the way, we came to a crossroads with no road signs. Confused, about which way to turn, I saw someone coming out of the post office nearby. Asking them for directions, we found that they were “going-our-way” and led us right to the door of our B&B.
“Whew”, I said, “that was a lucky break! The folks who live in the area must know where to go without any visible signs and don’t worry about ‘lost tourists’.
Our B&B, Little Pond, Cape Breton
After meeting our hosts, we asked them for directions to North Sydney. Armed with them we found our way through the network of roads and into the city. There, we found ourselves downtown near the Ferry Docks with not a restaurant in sight. A passerby inquired, “Hello, are you lost?”
“Yes”, I said, “We’re getting hungry, is there a shopping mall nearby?”
“Yes there is, he replied, “just go up this street and you will see the signs for it. It’s a bit tricky getting into the parking area because they are doing some roadwork. Keep your eyes open and you shouldn’t have any trouble.”
Following his instructions, we found the mall and a Zellers store. After finding a gift for a neighbour who was taking care of our mail, we had an excellent seafood lunch in their restaurant.
Full and refreshed, we drove back to the B&B to explore the area nearby.
Later, we asked our hosts if they could recommend somewhere for supper.
“You must go the Cedar House Restaurant”, they replied. “It is on the highway near Bras D’or. You passed it on your way here. The food is excellent and plentiful but they close at 6pm so you’d best go now. The most direct way is to turn right at the end of our street. Follow it to the water’s edge and turn left. At the highway, turn right and you will see it on your left.”
“Thanks, we’ll find it”, I said.
Arriving there, we found it busy but organized. Quickly seated, our orders soon arrived, the plates overflowing with heaps of food. Speaking to Joyce, I said, “Boy, when she said ‘plentiful’, our hostess really meant it. I hope that I can eat all of it!”
Later, after returning to our B&B, we thanked our hosts, saying, “You were certainly right about the food being plentiful. Our waitress said that since we were the last customers for the day, we got even more than usual. Boy, are we stuffed! We’ll sleep well tonight”.
The next morning, after a great breakfast we left to continue our journey. With my wife still looking for a sweater, we searched for a mall along the ring highway around Sydney. Soon reaching it, we found a Bay store and within it, our bargain for the day – a sweater in the right size and colour.
With it quickly purchased, we continued towards Glace Bay and the Miners’ Museum.
After taking another “wrong” road and asking for directions once again, we found it. As we left our parked car, a misty rain had us needing our umbrellas as we headed for the museum.
The Miners Museum, Glace Bay, Cape Breton
Next month we’ll tour the museum then wend our way toward Louisbourg.
© Peter Payan 2010
This entry was posted by ppayan on Monday, March 1st, 2010 at 12:00 am and is filed under Travellers' Tales.
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