Exploring Cape Breton Island

Due to some unexpected things to take care of, I had the good fortune to spend most of the summer and autumn travelling around Cape Breton island in northeastern Nova Scotia. It feels like home to me, having visited family here for over 30 years. During all that time, I usually travelled familiar routes and never had much time to explore other parts of this beautiful island.

Cape Breton is often referred to as "God's Country" because of its beauty. It is a large island, connected to the mainland of Nova Scotia by a causeway. Known as one of the top scenic routes in the world and famous for its history and music, it draws thousands of visitors every year. They come for the scenery, the hospitality, and to drive the famous Cabot Trail, a paved road of approx 300 km encircling the northern part of the island. The road winds it's way along the coast, over mountains, along farmland or forests.

There are frequent turnouts to stop and enjoy the views. Fishing villages dot the coastline and people are welcomed at the stores, restaurants, B+Bs,or gift shops.

Cape Breton island, NS.              

Some tourists continue to Newfoundland after driving the Cabot Trail by taking a ferry from North Sydney. 
Others may want to visit the lovely town of Baddeck on the shores of the Bras d'Or Lake which is the world's largest inland sea and a paradise for sailors.
The lake is accessible to boats via the locks at Peter's which connect the Atlantic ocean to the southern end of the Bras d'Or Lake.

view of St Peter's, NS

At St Peter's, I found a beautiful provincial park where I stayed a few days. It was on the outskirts of town and an easy bike ride to the store or library. I was also able to walk to a small beach for swimming or to watch the boats go through the locks.

Locks on the canal at St Peter's.
Boats line up, waiting to go through.

          

From St Peter's it was a short drive to Isle Madame for their Acadian Festival. Most people spoke French and the atmosphere was festive. Seafood chowder was served for dinner in the community hall. 

I met my sister and her husband at the dock in Louisburg in the southeastern part of Cape Breton. They were doing a sailing voyage around the island on the
 " Double Crow" and I met them at some of the ports.

The Fortress of Louisburg

old technology on display at the museum ( not all that long ago
but seems ancient now! It lasted much longer than our present techno!Ivy)

The "Double Crow" leaves Louisburg

Sailing takes much longer than driving and I took a few days camping at the  Mira Provincial Park which was another beautiful  place to stay. It's situated along the Mira River and has a small beach for swimming. I met several campers who live in the area and enjoy visiting the park for a relaxing weekend with their families. The weather was nice and warm and I was able to tidy up my RV. Because the space inside is so small, it takes time each day to keep it organised.

A common scene at campgrounds now!

some ducks came to visit my camp site

 It was hard to leave that lovely park but I had to get back to Sydney for some errands.

It was a short 20 min drive to Sydney where I once again met Margrit and Fred at a marina. As their visitor,I was allowed to park on the wharf where several boats were tied up.Marinas are great places to be, offering showers, internet, and food. Since they were there a few days to visit friends, I took care of some business and then  went on to explore the eastern part of the island. 

The route took me around parts of the Bras d'Or Lake to a provincial park  at Whycocomagh where I spent a night. The next day I drove to Port Hood on the coast and north to Mabou where I discovered the "Red Shoe" restaurant filled with people listening to some lively Cape Breton music. I happened to be sitting beside a couple who just got back from a sailing trip to Florida and knew my sister Margrit. It's a small world! That night I parked at a look off and watched the sunset over the ocean. The RV lifestyle does have its perks!

the Red Shoe Inn

I stopped to chat with these friendly cows!


        

This distillery of Scottish style single malt whiskey is near Mabou and is a tourist attraction. It's main product is "Glen Breton Rare" but they also produce some other whiskies and rum. They were sued for using the word "Glen" on their label but won the case and the name stays. They are not allowed to use the word "Scotch" which is allowed only on whiskey made in Scotland but a connoisseur may find it difficult to tell the difference (serious scotch drinkers may disagree!)

Can you think of a more beautiful place to park for the night?

On to Port Hawksbury, just before the causeway connecting to the mainland.
I had previously  found a good mechanic there and made an appointment for some routine maintenance on my RV. One challenge with the RV lifestyle is that any service has to be done wherever I end up and it's hard to decide who to go to.  I was in Port Hawkesbury for a few days, able to stay at a lovely park overlooking the ocean. I spent my time cycling around town or driving to a nearby beach for swimming. 

Back to Sydney and on to some appointments then drive around the Cabot Trail, stopping to visit family and friends. There were strong winds at times, as is common on the northern tip of the island but generally the weather was quite good, although I could feel the cold, crisp air of autumn.

From Sydney I drove north then west to Englishtown to take the ferry a short distance across St Ann's Bay and onto the Cabot Trail on the eastern side of the island. This brought me to Cape North where I did a detour north to Bay St Lawrence to visit a few days then back to Cape North to follow the trail west to Pleasant Bay, on the west side of the island; south through Cheticamp and the Margaree Valley.  Several small mountains needed to be crossed and I often stopped to see the view.

Images along the Cabot Trail:

note the dead whale washed up onto the beach on the left side of the photo

Once again I went back to Sydney. While there I usually parked at a Walmart or at my favourite place right by the wharf where there is a visitor's centre and a huge parking lot. There is a beautiful walking path along the harbour and just up the hill to Charlotte St which is the main street. Shopping, banks, restaurants, the library, and a good secondhand bookstore are all within a couple of blocks.
While in Sydney, a friend who is a musician in a band I used to play in, convinced me to attend a music camp in Sydney that weekend. I used to play the clarinet but stopped playing after I got my RV and because I got discouraged while trying to play on my own. 
At first I couldn't remember much but very soon my fingers found the notes and I was able to enjoy the weekend end learning more music. It was also fun and that Saturday we paraded  downtown playing our music. With a police escort we felt like royalty!
On Sunday, we had a concert at the visitor's centre for the passengers  from the Disney cruise ship that was docked there. I had forgotten how much I missed playing music with a band and will need to find a way to do that within my RV life.
  

The Disney Cruise Ship at Sydney

The "Big Fiddle" at the Visitor's Centre

I will be in Cape Breton a while longer and then hopefully head south before the snow comes.

    "Instead of wondering where your next vacation is, maybe you should set up a life you don't need to escape from."
                                                                --- Seth Godin

"The whole purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows."
                                                                                --- Sydney Harris

" Nothing is impossible, the word itself says  "I'm possible".     
                                                                                                     --- Audrey Hepburn

"A man and woman had a fight. They decided not to talk to each other for several days. Each worked at maintaining this silence, not wanting to be the first one to break the silence.
He suddenly remembered he had a meeting to fly to early the next morning.
His wife usually woke him up but he didn't want to break the silence, so he wrote her a note: " Please wake me up at 5 am".
The next morning he woke up at 8 am hearing her singing in the shower:
" Oh, what a beautiful morning.."
He noticed a note from her at the bedside: "Wake up, it is 5 am!"

Happy Thanksgiving!

rvmaria