086 - East Coast Road Trip - Day 9 (Halifax - Mabou - 334km) - Whisked Away

 Guys. HUGE day today. So much excitement. First of all, it’s the halfway point of the trip, so time to change to my second pair of shorts…

I know, two pairs for a single trip may seem extravagant, but hey, I’m fancy.

And, speaking of fancy, we decided to go haute cuisine for today’s lobster rolls,

"This calls for a tailgate party!"

Meanwhile, Britt, exasperated by our collective failure to pack sufficient clothing options (she’s even fancier than me), took the opportunity to hit up the adjacent Joe Fresh for some stylish new attire.

Just in time for our migration north,

To a new watering hole.

The grounds were quaint,

(Until we showed up)

And babbling McAulay Brook was just outside the back door to our room.

Turns out the brook is the source of water for the distillery, allowing fallen fruit and leaves from the surrounding orchards to impart "maple and apple” (insert eye roll here) to the whiskey, which we learned on the tour.

It’s a little surprising we learned anything, actually, since the bulk of the tour consisted of a grainy, garbled video from the early 1990’s, complete with feathered hair and windbreakers. While the other half was led by a non-drinker who had never even tasted the whiskey and confidently replied “You like chocolate ice cream, I like vanilla ice cream.”, as if it completely answered someone’s question, “What is the difference between whiskey and rye?”

Taz skipped the tour to take inventory of his growing potpourri of “potion” ingredients,

And explore the grounds for further supplies.

The makings of some amorous alchemy, perhaps?

We later found him here,

Ciel astutely commented that, along with the apple and maple, it looks like this year's batch will have notes of little boy's feet.

Afterwards, we got decked out for dinner at the pub,

So Britt could put all her new found knowledge to good use.

The pub promised live music and an authentic east coast cèilidh (kail-lee) after 8pm. Of course, we had visions of Great Big Sea belting out Home for a Rest in front of a raucous crowd, but instead it was these two,

In front of a smattering of stodgy, blue-haired whiskey sippers…

“Cheque, please!”

Like I said, an exciting day.