Excellent Day!

Saturday, November 7th was a great day all together The weather was nice - bright and sunny if a bit cool (6C or so).

In the afternoon we went for one of our exploration drives. We've been doing a lot of them lately - at this time of year we can actually see things much better through the almost leafless trees and bushes so we get a better idea of what exists down the routes we explore. This one was just a mini-drive of about an hour and a half.

First trip was down Canada Hill Road - we've been driving past it for years and ignoring it since it goes inland and we are drawn down roads to the ocean. The road is a very good gravel road going several kilometres in a nice windy path - it's wide and an easy drive. I was surprised by the number of year-round homes - several at the Allendale end and then many more up at Canada Hill Lake. At the Lake it looks like cottage country anywhere in Canada - think Lac Bernard, Mississipi Lake, Muskokas, Norway Bay etc. There is a hill (surprise) with lots of homes and cottages of assorted vintages - some looked a hundred years old or more - and sizes descending to the water. Many are just camps, many looked like very nice homes. At one point we reached a sign which said "last chance to turn around rough road ahead". We dithered then continued and after about 50 yards when we saw large rocks protruding from the roadbed, we decided to back up and continue our explorations elsewhere.

We drove down roads we have traveled many times (just not recently) - Pleasant Point and Osborne Harbour. Lovely views and we discovered friends were selling one of their properties in Pleasant Point. We then continued out to West head via east Green harbour and took a stroll out through Rupert's pastures, past the oxen, at the tip of West Head. Amazingly clear views but a mite nippy so we didn't linger long.

For dinner, we went into Shelburne to Lothar's. Lothar since Thanksgiving is only open by prearranged reservations and menu. The Ragged Island Artisans (Crescent Beach craft group) were having the opening of their knitting show at the Coastline Gallery in the Osprey so a number of them had reserved for dinner and chosen a menu. Lothar sent out their choice and invited others to come for dinner as well - a good move, all tables were occupied.

Dinner was superb - mesclun-orange salad with a buttermilk-dijon dressing and toasted almonds, whole wheat rolls, baked chicken breast stuffed with cranberry and Brie, rice, carrots, broccoli and for dessert, Bavarian Cream with a raspberry coulis - $23.95/person. I hope he continues to send out emails of what's being prepared on a specific evening because it was a lovely dinner.

We then proceeded on to the Osprey to attend the opening of the knitting show and then the performance by the Caledonian Fiddle Orchestra. The knitting was beautiful, all in shades inspired by a garden painting by Gaye MacNeil - a lot of very exotic yarns, stitches, felting - a very creative effort. As usual for these exhibit openings, there was free wine, another bonus.

The Caledonian Orchestra was very enjoyable - they are an ensemble of celtic musicians (about 25 of them) from across New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. The programme consisted of 19 pieces and/or sets - mostly Scottish but a few Irish. Some excellent musicians in the group - they were relaxed and obviously enjoy playing together. It was their second visit to Shelburne and I'm sure they'll be invited back again. One of the flutists was wearing my Mom's family tartan, excellent taste.

A nice drive home under a very large moon (a little late for a harvest moon so I don't know what it would be called this time of year) peeking through wispy clouds - very pretty.

But the Sens lost, the Habs lost, and the Leafs won - not a good ending at all!