Antigonish, Nova Scotia
July 19, `82
I'm eating chocolate fudge cookies and drinking milk. I'm in the
shade on some Indian Reservation in Cape Britain in 32 degrees
centigrade heat. To my east, there is a thunderstorm going on. I'm not
sure how that's going to play out. The Maritimes need the rain. The
weather, at least for biking, has been exceptional—a bit hot today, though.
Mike and I left Prince Edward Island and made it over to Nova Scotia
with no problem. The first day out we bicycled 20 or 30 miles and then
camped under some power lines, next to a large patch of wildflowers.
The blue and white flowers were refreshingly nice. The second night
out, we camped at a trailer park in Antigonish. The Highland game
festival was going on, so the atmosphere in the town was all-Scottish.
After doing laundry the next morning, I stayed at camp and read, while
Mike went to the beach with some friendly campers. Like Mike, they were
schoolteachers; a husband and wife team out of the Hudson Bay region
of Canada-- a very desolate place. Listening to them, I figured they
must have been on a "calling" because no way could I have put up with
the hardships they described.
The next day, Mike and I went to the Scottish heavyweight games and
watched the kilted Scots throw the Saber, toss the caber—a huge
flagpole like object that was supposed to go head over heels
vertically, and, throw the ball and chain—a large iron ball attached
to a chain that was supposed to fly half the length of a football
field, or at least a quarter of the way. And, afterwards, on the
streets of Antigonish, we were entertained by Highland dancers and the
drum and bagpipe competitions. All in all, it was a full day of fun
and games. After our stay in Antigonish, we were off to hook up with
the Cabot Trail, the main highway moving up and around the large
island of Cape Breton.
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