Travel tales: from deja vu, to flu and then, "Achoo!"

     

     Travel — the only thing you can spend money on that will make you richer."     

     I travel, not to find myself, but to remember who I've been all along — a Maritimer at heart. 

     Truly, my life is richer because of all the wonderful people I have met throughout my life's journey. Now, I can add several more to that list.  

     

     With our chauffeur, Mark Harvey, at the helm — his GPS close by, and Debi, his knowledgable assistant occasionally checking the road map — we made our way over the Canso Causeway, connecting Cape Breton Island to the Nova Scotia mainland.  

   
     We rolled in to our destination for the next two days, reaching the quaint town of Baddeck. We were in awe of the beautiful Bras d'Or Lake, as the late afternoon sun cast its rays upon the water. 

     I immediately experienced a moment of deja vu, as before me was the Heritage House Bed and Breakfast, images now surfacing of my last visit here four years ago with my sons, Dave and Roger. (Of course, this had been in our initial plan). 

     

     

     Receiving warm greetings from our previous hosts, Liz and Dick Grubb, I felt I was being reunited with old friends. 

     What a delight to introduce them to Karen, Debi, and Mark, more of my children.  

     

     

     The Heritage House, built in the 1860's, does exude a flavour of the past. 

     Now, prepared to enjoy the quiet, peaceful surroundings that seemed to be beckoning me, I soon learned it was not to be. 

     Debi, for the last few hours of travel, had been experiencing flu-like symptoms — now, it was my turn! 

     Hers lasted 24 hours — mine, a half day longer. So much for my tour of Baddeck. 

      

     I learned, though, there is always a silver lining to the darkest cloud that may hover over us. 

     How grateful I was to not be travelling while experiencing such agony. Our other travellers, Karen and Mark, totally escaped our malady. I was OK with it though, as I had visited Baddeck, at least, on three other occasions. 

     My companions enjoyed exploring quaint Baddeck, visiting the famous Alexander Graham Bell Museum, and taking in a special highlight, "a ceilidh" at the community hall just down the street. 

     In Gaelic "ceilidh" (pronounced kaylee), means "kitchen party" or, an informal gathering making Celtic music and dancing up a storm. What fun they had ( the girls anyway), singing along and dancing with the "locals." 

     
     

     We said our goodbyes to our Bed and Breakfast hosts, and to Nova Scotia. 

     

     We carried on our journey, making our way to the Wood Island ferry that carried us across the Northumberland Strait to the pristine province of Prince Edward Island.  

     The more maritimers I meet, I am reminded that they are indeed..."a delightful breed."   

     Consider the following Canadian Maritimes true story, (or so they say).     

The Sneeze   

     They walked in tandem, each of the 92 students filing into the already crowded auditorium. With their rich maroon gowns flowing and the traditional caps, they looked almost as grown up as they felt. Dads swallowed hard behind broad smiles, and moms freely brushed away tears. 
     
     This class would NOT pray during the commencements, not by choice, but because of a recent court ruling prohibiting it. The principal and several students were careful to stay within the guidelines allowed by the ruling. They gave inspirational and challenging speeches, but no one mentioned divine guidance, and no one asked for blessings on the graduates or their families. 

     The speeches were nice, but they were routine until the final speech received a standing ovation. A solitary student walked proudly to the microphone. He stood still and silent for just a moment, and then, it happened. All 92 students, every single one of them, suddenly SNEEZED. 

     The student on stage simply looked at the audience and said,"God Bless You."  

     And he walked off the stage.  

     The audience exploded into applause. This graduating class had found a unique way to invoke God's blessing on their future with, or without, the court's approval. 

There's a few folk around who still "stand for what they believe." I did hear this earlier, in the news, during "grad" days (May or June), without the added sneeze story, of course.    

     "The best trips never really end." 

 ... More to come.

— beulah