Celtic Interpretation Center
Lunch Ceilidh
Joe MacMaster and Allan Dewar were performing on stage at the Celtic Interpretation Center located on the Ceilidh Trail in Judique, NS during lunch time.
Momma and Dad said it was a strange experience. They arrived around 1 pm and the gal at the checkout counter handed them menus and told them to sit anywhere. They looked around and picked one of the many dirty tables...as no clean ones were available...and sat down. Maybe the table busser was out sick? There were two servers working the cafe. The empty handed male server said, "We'll be right with you," as he passed by. There was no hurry as the idea was to enjoy the music that had begun at 11:30 and would continue to 3:00. Joe MacMaster was on the piano and Allan Dewar was playing fiddle.
Each song/or collection of reels and jigs lasted for about 15 minutes. Then they would sit quietly on stage for about 5 minutes resting up for the next medley. We had piled the dirty dishes to one side of the table and made our menu selections. The waiter arrived at our table with an electronic tablet and took our drink and food order....walking away and leaving the dirty dishes. Maybe he didn't want to risk balancing the tablet with dishes? At the end of the next medley, he arrived with our drink order on a small tray, placed our drinks on the table and walked away.....leaving the dirty dishes. Hmmm?? Strange. I notice our waiter delivering a food order to another table of three. He carried two dishes from the kitchen. Delivered them to the table and then disappeared into the kitchen to retrieve the third dish. And still our dirty dishes remained, even though he had walked by them twice. And the other tables in his area still had dishes waiting to be taken to the wash rack. And he made a trip that way with empty hands several times. Maybe the young man never received any wait staff training?? He eventually showed up with our order and I nudged the dishes toward him. He hesitated and...wait for it.....FINALLY decided to remove the dishes. Of course the table had never been wiped down. Oh well....we were enjoying the music. And there was no hurry to eat quickly while the food was hot as the fries were already barely warm. At least we had ordered a cold sandwich so there wasn't any temperature disappointment there. As we observed other customers departing, and others arriving, the dishes from the first diners were left for the second diners to eat around. Strange procedure for sure. I couldn't even imagine what service would be like if the cafe had been full with diners.
The ride to and from Judique was beautiful.
There is a causeway that was build in 1955 that connects Cape Breton with the mainland. The causeway has a swing bridge to allow ship passage.
This is a gorgeous area ....but I'm not so sure how the winter months would be. Our waiter mentioned that many Nova Scotia residences head to Florida during the winter to escape the cold. And we mentioned that many Floridians head to Nova Scotia during the summer months to escape the heat. We certainly have become a mobile society.
Every night the campground fills up. The owner was sharing with Dad that this is still a Good Sam Park but this will probably be the last year. The $1500 a year GS charge is being raised to $2500 next year. He has basically 2 months to make enough money to live on for the year and $2500 is a dent in that income that he really doesn't want to participate in. Many only spend the night and move on the next day. Even the tenters have been one nighters. That's a lot of setup for a one night stay. Granted, the tenters that arrived via motorcycle didn't have as much gear. I'd call that minimalist traveling. No trailer being towed with gear. Just what they could strap on the two bikes.
We are still enjoying the area and will be here through Labor Day. Tonight we have a rig with Florida plates parked next to us. Maybe I can make friends with that Floridian beagle.
I'm Chloe
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