Cape Breton Post

VIEW FROM RICHMOND

Visitors looking for those special places, events

- Ann Marie Yorke View from Richmond Ann Marie Yorke has worked closely with the Richmond County tourism industry and has been a tourism informatio­n officer in St. Peter’s for 15 years. She looks forward to your comments at annmarieyo­rke@hotmail.com.

Visitors looking for those special places, events

Hidden gems. That is what visitors are looking for when they explore our beautiful Cape Breton Island.

One of our visitors found just that when they travelled into Richmond County this past weekend.

A lovely couple from Germany stopped in at the St. Peter’s Visitor Centre Saturday morning looking for informatio­n on what they could see or do before heading off to the mainland. They had already booked their accommodat­ion in the Pomquet area so they were looking for some activities that could fill in their afternoon.

On asking a few questions about what their interests were, I discovered that they really loved lobster and strawberri­es. So I told them about a few events taking place in the morning and later in the afternoon, but they would have to travel back in the direction that they had already come to attend.

I gave the informatio­n on a powwow taking place at Potlotek, a farmers market with local artisans in Grand River, a strawberry festival in Loch Lomond and a lobster supper in Fourchu, I gave them the directions for each one and the time that the events would be taking place.

They also told me how much they enjoyed our beautiful beaches in Cape Breton, so I asked if they had been to Point Michaud Beach, as it was one of our hidden treasures, and they had said they hadn’t been there. But when they found out that it was in the same direction that the strawberry festival and lobster supper would take them, they asked how do we get there? When they received the informatio­n, they thanked me and set off to see how much they could do before they had to leave.

Later that evening, after waiting on some guests looking for accommodat­ions for the night, Gary and I were just closing up when a car pulled into the parking lot.

Our German guests from earlier in the day asked if we were still open. They just wanted to say how much they had enjoyed their day. They loved Point Michaud Beach and were so impressed with the lobster supper in Fourchu. The lobster was perfect and everyone was so friendly. They said they felt like they were home. Unfortunat­ely, they missed the strawberry festival, but were planning to make a stop down to Potlotek for the powwow. They had us call their bed and breakfast, to say they would be coming in a little later than they had expected. They thanked us for pointing out these little gems that they would have missed.

It was great to see the smiles as they drove off. What a great end to the workday.

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