Cape Breton - Day 1

As I was on vacation, and Chris finally had a weekend off, we decided to take a road trip to Cape Breton, NS. Two of our main goals were touring the Cabot Trail in all it's "Celtic color" picturesque glory, and a Matt Andersen concert at a resort in Baddeck. When Chris called the Inverary Inn regarding tickets for the concert, he was given a 'package' with tickets plus a room rate, so he booked us in for two nights. Perfect :)

Saturday morning, we woke up nice and early to head to the 9:30 ferry crossing to Nova Scotia. We took a 'touristy' approach, stopping along the way wherever we wanted, which included a stop at a local cafe, gift shop, The Candy Shop, and even a dirt road through a tree-lined path before reaching our hotel, the Inverary Resort. After checking into our room, we explored an outlook deck above our floor. As it was pretty cold out, I dutifully closed the door behind me and enjoyed the view, which was pretty spectacular. To our dismay, the door had locked behind us...putting us in a bit of a pickle, as it was the only way off the deck, and we were situated on the roof of the building. Chris had left his cell in the hotel room, adding a bit more panic, but I just happened to have my purse with me, and a charged cell (which is never usually charged), so we were able to call the main desk for our rescue. (Never a dull moment!).

We had a few hours before the concert, so we decided to head out for supper. We approached the "Bell Buoy" Restaurant, which promised to be our "Destination Seafood" on the signage. Our waiter brought us to our table, which had a fantastic view of the harbor. Upon viewing our menus, Chris was a little forlorn when he realized there weren't any "fish 'n chips" on the menu. I settled on my choice of a seafood pasta dish, and when the waiter approached, Chris asked him about the "teen menu" mentioned on the bottom of the menu, thinking that might have more simplified choices. The waiter scoffed at him, "but you're not a teen"...(I knew I should've had my hair colored prior to the trip!). Rather than argue about menu options, and instead of ordering the "Catch of the Day" or the "orange glazed pecan encrusted whatever", Chris advised he would have the "fillet of choice", where the customer advises how they wish it to be prepared. He said battered and fried, with his side menu choice to be fries. Et voila! A $18.99 plate of "fish 'n chips". He said it was good, albeit there wasn't enough food to fill him. My pasta was flavorless...the shrimp and lobster in it were good, but the scallops were tough. All in all a $60+ meal that was just 'fair'.

After supper we picked up some beer at the NSLC, (might I add being able to buy 6 for less than the two cost us at supper), and brought them back to the hotel room. We watched Talladega Nights on the laptop (after Chris discovered there was no Internet access in the hotel after all..adding to his foul humor from the restaurant). I changed and freshened up a bit, and then we headed down to the Convention Centre at the resort for the Matt Andersen concert.

The concert was fabulous! A genuine Maritime "kitchen party". Matt came on stage with the Hupman Brothers in tow, and the crowd were on their feet from start to finish. Bruce Guthro even made a surprise visit, and played a song for the crowd as well. It was all we could have asked for and more...a killer concert. We met some new friends while there, the owners of the Halifax Spice Company and their wives were there. Matt played at the Saltscapes East Coast Expo, where they were a part, so they became fast fans and made the trip from Halifax to Baddeck to see him play. We also befriended Gerard, Becca, Margie and Darrell from Glace Bay. Becca and Margie are self-professed "Matt stalkers".

Day 1 of our mini CB vacation = fabulous :)