We arrived in Baddeck on Saturday evening after a perfectly wonderful stay in the gorgeous little Maskell's Harbour. It reminded me a bit of some of our favourite bays in Ontario - Stella, Kerr Bay on Amherst Island - picturesque and popular.

Baddeck is full of visiting yachts- mostly at mooring balls with some vessels anchored and a few that found room at the crowded wharf. There are several American boats, many Nova Scotian ones...and a couple from Ontario! The weather has been a little unsettled, so we have been happy to spend a couple of nights here. We dodge rain showers as we dinghy ashore to enjoy the hospitality of the Water's Edge Caf� for food, drink and wifi, and to roam the pretty streets.

As at the Hidden Jewel in Pugwash, the folks here at the Water's Edge Caf� are welcoming, enthusiastic and purveyors of excellent food. Their fish soup was chockfull of all sorts of seafood and I kept finding new little layers of flavour as I took each spoonful - a sure sign of a chef who knows what he is doing.

I'll take a longer wander through the adjoining art gallery today. It appears to be a source of some high quality pieces. On my first scoot through, it was fun to see some of the paper works created by Beth Levin (a friend from the Ottawa area), and pottery made her sister Ghita (a friend of Jim's sister Mary Jean). I also found sea-themed pottery by Christie Chaplin (an artist we had purchased quite a few pieces from in the 80's when we lived in Halifax). It was like finding old friends in a classy gathering of artists!

We enjoyed a fine Saturday evening at the local Ceilidh organized by the Baddeck Gathering. Carl and Doug played fiddle and piano, and Anna demonstrated Scottish dancing - and led 8 of us in our own square set. Jim proved to be a reluctant but excellent sport as I dragged him to his feet to participate - no standing on the sidelines for this pair of adventurers!

Jim and I have just finished reading A Reluctant Genius: the Passionate Life and Inventive Mind of Alexander Graham Bell, written by Charlotte Grey, so it was a treat to see original artifacts at the Bell Museum here in Baddeck, and sail by Beinn Bhreagh, situated prominently on the point across from the town. What heady days those must have been - when so much discovery and invention was taking place right here- when kites flew over these slopes and hydrodomes raced over these waters! I love to ponder the connection between the place, the person and the discoveries, and I wonder about the men and women who are discovering and inventing in these days and what special places they have found to nurture their creative spirits.

We enjoyed a full social calendar last evening with a visit to Hillary, a beautiful Oyster 41 sailed by new friends Steve and Sandy, followed by a delicious chicken dinner on Atlantic Star, a C&C 32, with old friends Pam and Gary. Mary and Blair, Jim and I asked lots of questions about traveling in the Bahamas since Steve and Sandy are experienced visitors there, and I took copious notes in my little green book!

We'll depart this lovely place later in the day after Blair gets his outboard checked by the good folks at Baddeck Marine. They did a speedy repair to Gary's outboard when we first arrived. So far - ours is working fine!!