Cruising with eagles........

The days are winding down here in the Cape Breton area.   We had a list of 'things we want to do' before leaving this perfect place and one of those was golf.    We had our choice of beautiful links courses, historic courses, #1 rated courses or the one we played on.    We haven't played in a couple of months and are not one to spend a bucket of money "on a good walk spoiled" so we chose the local 9 hole course that is being refurbished by it's new owners.   It was flat, no water, few traps and few golfers.     One of us played really well and one of us just had a good time.    It was a good warm-up for the next course down the road.                            

On one of our first trips into the quaint and charming Baddeck, we saw this ship on the bay.....it is the Amoeba and goes out for pleasure trips several times a day.     On Friday, we hoped onboard for a  90 minute sail.    It holds 40 and we grabbed the front seats, near the bow for the best photo-ops altho we had no expectations except postcard  scenery  

Most everyone climbed up to the bow to do their Titanic thing.....I asked someone to take our pic after we gingerly made our way to the tiny platform and hung on in the breeze and motion.    She did not get the coastline in but you get the idea.    Yes, we both have a lot of extra hair on this trip......!

When the sails are fully opened , the tilt of the deck is quite pronounced ( I"m sure there's a proper nautical term for that).

And then, off in the distance came this eagle, heading right towards us......I was amazed and managed to fire off some shots....(actually, I took 289)

Initially, I thought this was a very lucky happening.......,and then learned that the crew throw a fish out at each sailing and over the years, this bird has learned to get her lunch the easy way.    The above pictures are a compilation of 3 fly-by's that this magnificent bird made.   I'm not sure how I feel about them 'baiting' the bird for a show.....sort of like feeding the sharks for divers I guess except the eagle probably can't turn us into lunch.   ( Is that my phone I hear ??  .National Geographic for sure !! )

This is the eagle nest.....it has lived here for 30 years as a pair....(they mate for life).   (There is a large bird to the right of the nest...assume it is an eagle)

Much less exciting is the Alexander Graham Bell mansion, just a short walk from the nest.   He owned 700 acres and the family resides in the several residences.    The last occupant of this place was a 101 yr old granddaughter who died this summer.    There is a Bell Museum in Baddeck which is quite extensive and interesting.

And this stands at the entrance to the Baddeck harbor......There is a picture on every corner.