Can Retirees Have Vacations?

Friday, July 22nd

Reports from natives and other boaters are that it continues to be lumpy out in the ocean. The forecast for Saturday remains poor. Sunday too.

It would seem we’re on vacation from our vacation for at least two more days.

We could have done worse than Liscombe Lodge. With shorepower, WiFi and the whole resort just steps away from the dock, this is as good a place to wait out weather as any.

Sammy is really enjoying his walks here. The lodge includes cottages and chalets along the river, so just walking the grounds is like going for a hike in the forest.
River at Liscombe Lodge

The head of navigation is not far upstream from the docks. We won’t be taking the boat this way!
Rapids above Liscombe Lodge

There’s a tunnel under Highway 7 which leads to more lodge buildings on the other side. Most of the wedding party that’s here this weekend is staying in that section.
Tunnel Under Highway 7

The main lodge building houses the restaurant, lounge, gift shop and front desk, with the marina office on the lower level. You can’t have a lodge in the woods without chandeliers with antlers on them!
Lodge Chandeliers

And, of course, the food is top-notch. Since I had poutine and smoked meat in Quebec, and Mussels on PEI, I had to order the planked salmon here in Nova Scotia. This is the signature dish of the lodge, as well as of the province. It’s origins are in native Mi’kmaq cooking, and although I’ve had it before, I have to admit this was the best preparation, with a maple sauce, I’d ever tried.
Planked Salmon

So, I guess we’ll continue “roughing it” here for now.

We’re not the only boat here. After us, a couple of guys came in aboard a 28-ish foot Trophy outboard fishing boat with a cuddy cabin, and every inch of deck space, even the side walkways, filled with barrels, jerry cans and bottles of fuel and oil. They’re heading for Newfoundland.

A couple of sailboats also seeking refuge anchored just off the docks and are hoping for a weather window to start East tomorrow. They’ll have the wind and the waves with them, and so might stand a much better chance than us of making some progress.

Finally, around supper time, a large, maybe 40-foot catamaran sailboat came in and anchored downstream from the other two. All the other boats are native Nova Scotians, and all are headed the opposite way as us.

Aboard the Trophy, their project for the day was engine tune-ups, and for some reason I happened to have the one tool they needed, a set of feeler gauges for their spark plugs. Of course, my diesels don’t have spark plugs, but my dinghy motor does.

My own maintenance activities for the day involved pulling out all the anchor chain (remember that black mud which held us so well in Fisherman’s Harbor?) to access the windlass solenoid switch. Sure enough, there was a loose connection which was causing the windlass to fail at the most inconvenient times. All in all, a much easier fix than tearing apart the windlass to get at the motor or any other internal connections.

That, some cleaning, baking bread, a few loads of laundry and numerous walks pretty much filled the day.