April 14th 2009

A very clever friend told me to write in Word and save until I have internet connection. Good idea. No internet connection as I write, but it is April 14th and I am perched in comfort in the plush interior of this fabulous vehicle. Outside it is snowing, but the view is lovely – Ingonish church yard beside, of course, Ingonish church – almost at the end of the Cabot Trail, Cape Breton.

To recap to this point, I spent a really nice catch-up time with Regi and Liisa in Vancouver before flying over to Halifax. Barry and Camille were real troopers driving out and back in snow and fog to collect me. I spent a really nice Easter Sunday with the family, getting to know Jersy the dog, Kitty the cat and reconnecting with Hannah (incredible poet) and Quinn (yoyo master in training).

But, it was time to leave. Monday morning it had snowed. The 6.5 acres of the Randle residence is really lovely. Luckily I saw it on Sunday because on Monday it was covered. They have great plans for making the land work well for their needs and will be getting pigs to accompany the chickens, are already collecting maple syrup, and will probably have their hands, shoes, buckets and freezers full of blueberries once the season arrives. Apples? They’ll have them by the tonne.

Lots of stops along the way driving out of Pictou and over to Cape Breton. First thing – Canadian Tire for a little electric kettle (a godsend last night), cooler (kind of pointless at the moment but it will come into its own), camping stove, pans and then food.

Other than the snow, which just adds to the whole experience, the Cape Breton coastline and mountains have been great to drive around. Over and out.