July 16, 2019. Western Head, Nova Scotia. Charlotte Lane.

Several years ago, Charlotte Land, a restaurant in Shelburne, was named the best restaurant in the Maritimes. It is still a destination. People drive from Halifax just to dine at Charlotte Lane. For the past few years we were unable to make the drive just for lunch but we have missed the enjoyment of eating Roland the owner chef's food. I wanted to be sure not to miss a meal there this summer. Walt and Mary were pleased to go too and agreed to drive. Today was the day. The day was beautiful, warm and sunny. We started out just after 11:00. They do not take reservations at lunch so there was no need to call. On the way down, just before Shelburne, the road was closed on one side of the highway. It looked like an accident. After we were home, Walt found out that a tractor trailer had gone into the ditch, spewing out the contents of the trailer which was full of 55,000 sea cucumbers. Also the fuel spilled out leaving an environmental mess. Today we could see the remains of the truck being removed from the deep ditch along with the removal of the polluted soil. What are sea cucumbers I wonder. When we arrived and went into the restaurant, Mary and I noted that no one seemed to be in the restaurant, which is unusual. This small restaurant is almost always full. Then Mary noted a box on the floor just at the entrance to the kitchen. And she guessed it. The restaurant was not open for lunch today. A receptionist was taking a dinner reservation and finally told us that Charlotte Lane is no longer serving lunch on Tuesday and Wednesday. We were stuck. And very disappointed. All that drive and no good food. So we drove back to White Point and enjoyed a lovely lunch sitting by the window watching the sea. In the future I will always call ahead to confirm that the restaurant is indeed open for lunch. I learned my lesson.