Sunday, July 24, 2022
Bridgetown to Linwood, NS
Cumulative Miles: 2,921
Clear, 93, HOT!
It was already getting hot when we hit the road at 9:00. Eschewing more scenic possibilities, we stuck to the major routes, arriving at Linwood Harbour Campground by 3:00. It was very hot so we mostly spent the afternoon inside the camper with the AC barely keeping up. Early that evening we had a few rain showers followed by some much appreciated cooler air. Although made us feel better, it had not been a particularly exciting day.
Keeping things simple and cool, we heated up some store-bought chicken corn chowder and had a salad on the side.
By the way, I never mentioned our cooking procedures. Weather permitting, we do most of our cooking outdoors. I used to use a single burner propane stove but this season have switched to a portable induction plate for campgrounds where we have electricity. It’s fast, the wind has little effect on cooking speed and it is quick to set up and clean. We still use the nesting cookware set from our boating days which has the requisite iron layer in the bottom for induction to work.
Monday, July 25, 2022
Linwood, NS
A 90° scorcher!
Sandy did a couple of loads of laundry in the morning; she wanted to get ahead of the that game before joining our tour group. Meanwhile I did some writing for this blog.
Having taken care of our domestic chores we piled in the car, turned the AC to stun and drove around the area. Priority one was alcohol, mainly wine for Sandy. The Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation (NSLC) controls sales of alcoholic beverages and recreational cannabis in Nova Scotia. We drove to the NSLC Select store in nearby Havre Boucher. Sadly, they didn’t have any white zinfandel, Sandy’s poison of choice. However, they checked and told us that a much larger store in Port Hawkesbury, a few miles across the Canso Causeway on Cape Breton Island, had some. So, off we went.
Not only did they have Sandy’s white zin, they had Beringer’s, her favorite! Might there have been a downside? Well, a 750 ml bottle usually costs $6.99 back home. Here it was CA $13.99! On the plus side, I found a deal on a case of the Alexander Keith’s IPA that I’ve adopted while in Canada. Beer prices here are similar to what I pay in the US.
While in Port Hawkesbury we drove around the town. Their publicity brochure boasted several walking paths but we couldn’t get too excited about what we saw. They do have a yacht club with a number of power and sail boats on moorings. On our way out of town we stopped at the Dairy Queen for a sundae for Sandy and a shake for me.
We also stopped at a trailhead for the walking and biking “Celtic Shores Coastal Trail” that stretches 92-km from Port Hastings to Inverness on the west coast of Cape Breton Island. But, it was very windy and really hot so we left the bikes on the rack and headed back towards camp.
The campground literature mentioned a beach nearby so we thought we’d take a look. There were people there, sunbathing and swimming. Not having worn our swim suits, we decided against the climb down and back to the beach.
For dinner we thawed out some of our own gazpacho to eat along with the corn on the cob we’d purchased at the grocery store.
Note: Although the we’ve suffered through the hot streak that also plagues the US east coast, our evenings have been very comfortable with no need for ac.