Back to Baddeck Blog (courtesy of Kathy K.)

Hi  friends of Maggie & Branko,

Kathy and Maggie

This blog entry comes a little late.

 I'm Kathy from Toronto and I was with Maggie and Branko just before Bill, Gavin and Shannon.  My east coast adventure was two weeks; the first was with family, and the second week I was all alone (mostly), with just a rough itinerary, never knowing where I was going to eat or sleep, or even what day it was.  Pure bliss!!  Which is just a fraction of how Maggie and Branko must feel, with considerably more than a measly week of freedom ahead of them.

Need we say anything...:-)

Of all the adventures I experienced on my trip, by far the most fun I had was my time with the sailors, even though there was no sunshine and no sailing, and involved a museum, a knitting store, and a fiddle show.  I happily met up with the M&B at the wharf in Baddeck on a wet, dreary Wednesday morning, and I feel as though a magic spell was cast on us for the brief time we had together.  As Maggie mentioned, we had a great lunch, then on to the Alexander Graham Bell museum, which it turns out really is interesting.  We learned a lot about Bell, and my favourite part was watching the video of his daughters talking about growing up with this interesting man on their sprawling family property.

Learning to knit, pearl one and stab...

Afterwards, it was on to the knitting store for Maggie and me, while Branko went back to the boat to make dinner.  We had a blast at the knitting store.  It started when we walked in and Maggie announced to the owner, Pat, that she wants to make Branko a sweater.  Pat  was very amused to find out that Maggie had no knitting experience.  She was so amused that every time someone came in to the shop, Pat pointed to Maggie and told them about her ambitious plans.  Everyone laughed, and Maggie took the ribbing well.  She talked Maggie down to a scarf, and then maybe a blanket.  Pat and her husband of two years, Fred, were high school sweethearts, who went their separate ways and then reconnected after many decades...a very romantic story.  Fred gave Maggie some knitting lessons, and we happily left with a bagful of yarn.  (How's the scarf coming Maggie?)

The chef and captain with Sophie

Back to the boat for dinner, and just as my time with M&B was the best part of my trip, Branko's stew was the tastiest meal of my trip (and I had plenty of great food in two weeks).  I wish I could have come home with the recipe, but Branko just made it up as he went along -- and it was amazing.

Kathy with the talented fiddler

After dinner we went to the local Parish Hall for the Ceilidh, and for a couple of hours we just sat back and got lost in this wonderful Cape Breton tradition.  Well, M&B sat back until Nancy, the organizer, asked for four couples to come onstage for some dance lessons.  The first three couples quickly went up, and after a little coaxing, Branko grabbed Maggie by the hand and off they went.  So much fun!!!  Thankfully I had my camera with me, and got some great video.  If you want to see the dancers in action, please key in "h2obo Baddeck" and "h2obo in Baddeck" on Youtube.  Afterward, several people told Branko what a good dancer he was, but Maggie said it's just because he's tall and easy to see.

H2obo in Baddeck

Afterward, we went back to the boat and watched a very strange but excellent movie ( I can't remember the name), then off to bed.  I slept like a baby in my cozy little bed.  If you didn't have a chance to see the boat before M&B left, let me tell you -- it is gorgeous!  They did such a fantastic job building the interior from scratch.  I remember seeing it when it was just a hollow shell, and I never imagined the end result to be so impressive...so beautiful, comfortable, and efficient.  Every square inch of the interior is functional, and still esthetic.  I can see why Sophie is so happy and content!

 The next morning Maggie's cousin and his kids arrived just as I was leaving to continue my road trip.  You could see they were happy and excited to begin their adventure.

I want to thank you guys for your hospitality and the great memories!

Maybe I'll see you in the Bahamas or Croatia!

Note from H2obo -  Blog entry and pictures courtesy of Kathy :-)