The Red Shoe Trail

   Before I get into this story I must introduce my new stripe. The stripe was first introduced at the I.W.K. show but there wasn't nice picture to show on our site and also I didn't tell of the great work Arachnia Design did, making and placing the stripe on the car. What a job she did, Shelly from Arachnia Design puts her heart and soul into everything she does and the end result is amazing. The new stripe put a lot of character into my old B and the comments I am getting regarding the difference the stripe makes made me think this was a good investment.

   To the story. Six cars showed up today for the run on this hot sunny day and after a brief discussion, the Red Shoe Pub in Mabou was to be the destination . Now, before we took off, I wanted to do the dot game. Purchase a dot for $5.00 and at a predetermined location we will check to see whose dot has the closest dead fly, the winner gets half of the money and the rest goes into the club coffers for awards later in the year. Today all six purchased a dot and each person picked the spot on their car where the spot would be placed. The area was cleaned and the dot placed. I took a picture of each dot to verify that there was no bugs around the dot before we left.

Everyone had a different idea where to place their dot, Juilian decided on the front of the engine hood, Bobby on his headlight, and the rest of us on or around the windshield, now lets see who will share the $30.00 with the club

Away we went, over Kelly's Mountain towards Baddeck. As the miles clicked by, I kept watching my dot hoping for a hit.... but there was nothing yet. On the other side of the mountain, about 10 bike were parked at the St. Annes look-off enjoying the view, until we rumbled by that is. They all turned to watch us roll by and a few waved. Driving a small convertible sports car has pretty much the same freedom feeling as driving a bike except in the car you don't need a rather heavy and bothersome helmet. I've driven motorcycles for years and there is perhaps no better feeling flying down the road on a motorcycle but cruising in a great British sports car sure comes close and if the weather were to change, I would rather my beautiful MGB then one of my old bikes any day.

On through Baddeck and the first pit stop, Tim Horton's just outside of Baddeck. At our first stop you surely could feel the heat from the sun, again, moving inland took us further away from the cool Atlantic sea air. The further from the coast the hotter it got and boy did it get hot.

Along the (now dubbed) Red Shoe Trail we drove, through Margaree to our turnoff toward Inverness and still, as I watched my dot... no hits. The gentleman on the side of the road beside Don's car was hitchhiking with a case of what looked like Budweiser, one of us should have picked up the poor buggar, his Budweiser was getting warm. 

Coming into the village of Inverness you could feel a little change in temperature as the road skirted close to the coast. The air didn't change all that much, just enough to notice as you drove along and soon the heat from the sun was back. We explored so much of our Island over the years and there is always scenery that impresses you no matter how often you see it. Here in the first photo you see the rolling hills meet the coast and with the sand dunes scattered along the coast, you just wanted to stop and go for a walk to explore this area a little more but no time for that, as we continued on through the town of Inverness towards Mabou and the Shoe.

Along the Red Shoe Trail we continued and before we knew it, the sign hanging over the door of the Red Shoe came into view. Yet again, there was no parking in front of this great restaurant so across the street from the Shoe we parked.

Arriving at the Shoe, it was time to check the dots. The winner is determined by the closest bug to the center of the dot. I did get a hit about two inches away that I was happy with, thinking I was in contention for a win but with the chatter coming from those around the front of Bobby's Midget ( the car not Anita) I figured my hit two inches from the dot wasn't close enough.

Now you don't need a actual bug carcass, a splatter was all that was required. How do we determine what's a bug splatter and what's something else? We don't. The dot is new and clean when placed so any mark will be determined as a hit. Below, the dot on Bobby's headlight had some residue of something that surely wasn't there when the dot was first placed so... Bobby was the winner. Bobby smiling as he holds up his $15 which I am sure wasn't enough to pay for is dinner but it was enough to have that winning feeling and that's what it's about, the fun in the game and winning. Wait until there are more cars and more money.

It's a toss up to what is the best part of any BCCCB run, Some say it's the drive, others the meal., for me at least, it's both. I don't care where our destination is, I just love getting out driving my British Car and as for the eating. well, bring it on, and the RED SHOE did just that. I am not sure what everyone ordered, I seen fish and chips, sandwich dishes and a few of us had the Red Shoe Burger Platter but before that, a cold drink was in order. The atmosphere here is very similar to your own patio at home except for the service, man I don't get this service at home. The waiter, who by the way wasn't wearing red shoes, looked after us like we were friends. I didn't get his name but if you read this, you did one heck of a great job. The food was fantastic, it's no wonder we travel all this way to get fed, we never leave disappointed at all. We didn't get to meet the chef but his calling card.... the great food... was very well received.

Don't let the fact that the Shoe looked empty, the patio was full, and why not, it was a hot day. There were a few people inside sipping a cold beer sitting comfortably beside the window but the rest were enjoying themselves outside on the patio. From the shoe we drove up the street to the Shrine, here Paula prayed for a speedy recovery from her sunburned face, man did she get a burn.

Paula said the only way to ease the stinging sensation was with alcohol, so after a quick gas stop we pulled into the Freshmart in Mabou for a case of Smirnoff ice, let the healing begin. Next, just up the road our stop was the Glenora Distillery, I think Paula needed more help relieving the stinging sunburn.

The doors to the bar on the grounds of the Glenora were locked, so we sat outside sinking in the tranquility and the beautifully landscaped grounds when the bartender arrived and opened up the doors. Aah .. Now inside and we ordered up a cold drink to help cool us down. Don decided on a glass of Glenora's new "Battle of the Glenn" The bottle is $140 and a glass ran around $21, expensive yes but perhaps worth every cent. My guess is that this brand of Glenora's great tasting whiskey will help pay for their battle to use the name "Glenn Breton".

What a great place to relax and nurse a stinging sunburn. Just look a Paula and I, look how red our faces are. Paula wanted the roof up but I talked her into leaving it down as did the rest of us and yes they are all sunburned as well.

The next few photos are of the grounds around the Glenora Distillery. The grounds are so well kept and yet there are very few people enjoying the area, after talking to the bartender we learned that the fall is their busiest time of the year. I am not sure why but the fall is also the time the Glenora starts brewing their great tasting single malt whiskey. I am sure there is a reason but for now.. lets just relax and enjoy the grounds.

Time to more on and leave the RED SHOE and the Glenora behind us, until we cruise through this was again. Again, the grounds of the Glenora are so well kept that I had to snap these photos to show our readers the beauty of the grounds.

We decided not to double back thought Margaree  but instead we took the route that goes through Brook Village. I just love this region with the landscape dotted with colourful farms and to see the livestock in the fields next to the road is always nice as well, makes for a relaxing drive. This road comes out by Vi's Restaurant and next door the Farmers Daughter where we had a little pit stop. From here the next stop is home.

Don, Paula and I stopped for some desert and a cup of tea at the Cedar House, which by the way was blocked but we only waited 10 minutes to get in, what a way to wind down after a run. An hour later we were home soaking our burned skin on a cool shower, what a great day, Great drive and of course a great meal. Bobby went home with some extra cash and there will always be a next time for the rest of us. With everyone's busy lifestyles it hard to get out for a run but if you ever say "to heck with what I have to do today, I am going for a BCCCB run" I am sure you won't be disappointed.  Come along next time.