ECS Days 13-15

August 6

Enough of the up and down roads of the South Shore; we’re off to Cape Breton. Really, it’s just a cross-country day with stops for supplies and a nice drive up the western part of Cape Breton.

We hit the Sunset Campground in Port Hood at 4:00 (Site 23, $42). Though the campground is crowded with mostly seasonal people and lots of small kids:

…it’s only a few steps from this:

Here’s the view from my chair (for all my friends who like to call us “Trailer Trash”):

August 7

So, we were in the midst of party central last night (three surrounding campers), and it started to rain hard, so the party ended. It was still raining in the morning, and we wished one of the party-ers (not out loud) a good day inside with his four small children and very big dog. Are we bad?

We headed to Inverness Beach (for some beach glass!) through Mabou, “Home of the Rankin Family”. There was even a sign for a Catholic Shrine on Rankin Road!

Wow, the beach and the glass, despite the rain and fog:

We stopped for goodies at the Inverness Cottage Workshop, a bakery run by the local Community Living. The workers were great and so were the cookies (Raisin and Molasses).

We decided not to complete the Cabot Trail (we had booked the Newfoundland Ferry for tomorrow!!!!) so headed across the Margaree Valley and its EIGHT Margaree-related towns (Upper Margaree, Margaree Forks, etc.).

We got to North Sydney and pulled in to our favourite spot beside the ferry, the Ocean View Park on Indian Beach. It’s a park, a fishing pier, a beach, a pavilion and a great free place to stay for the night. Oh, and I got more beach glass from this small beach and, in fact, parking lot, than I’ve got almost anywhere else.

We met Pete and Sandy from Bracebridge heading to Newfoundland for their first time. We loved sharing our favourites with them.

Lucky us, it was a music night at the pavilion. The music wasn’t great (or was it the sound system), but it was fun because everyone sits in their cars and toots their horns after each song:

Here are two Cat’s Eye Views:

…and the BEAUTIFUL view from my chair:

August 8

Here are our two rides for today:

It was a sunny day, a great day for a ferry ride. We left on time, had another good chat with Pete, and met five women who were heading to a friend’s 50th Wedding Anniversary in Codroy Valley.

It was nice to be on deck for a while:

…and we even saw a pod (?) of dolphins and the spouts of some whales! We hoped to hear some scheduled music at Scott’s Cove, but the lovely gent who chatted me up said that the performers were doing weddings and a 50th Wedding Anniversary in Codroy Valley (he loved that I knew about it!).

We got some chicken and headed to the Coleman’s Grocery Store parking lot we found last year for a night (with permission). We’re so happy to be in Newfoundland (Mandy’s fourth province).

Here’s the view from my chair:

ECS Days 11 and 12

August 4

After breakfast, we drove around the cove to view Shelbourne. It was pouring rain (and it continued to pour for a couple of hours), but the town is beautiful with well-preserved period houses. Literature says it’s a Hidden Gem, and I agree:

We’ve noticed a lot of monuments to those who have died at sea in many of the villages we’ve passed through on this coast:

Here’s a View of the View on the wharf:

We passed through Shag Harbour (site of the 1967 UFO crash and sinking-sorry, no time to stop at the UFO Museum) and pulled in to Lunenburg in time for lunch.

We decided to ride our bikes along a Rail Trail into town from the Board of Trade Campground (Site 26. $85 for two nights). We got some great pictures along the harbour (including of the Bluenose II which has exceeded its budget and will not sail this year!)

We had dinner at the Fish Shack:

And, no, it wasn’t a Lobster Dinner (Fish ‘n Chips, though), but they give you a lobster which lights up and vibrates when your order is ready:

August 5

We decided on a road trip today so headed up and down Lighthouse Trail between here and Peggy’s Cove.

We stopped in Mahone Bay and caught the famous three steeples from far and near:

Mahone Bay and Chester, in fact much of the Nova Scotia South Shore so far, is beautiful but much more developed and “rich” than the roads we love in Newfoundland (Maybe we’re just spoiled).

On one road, we came across the Swiss Air Memorial in Bayswater, one of the three points that mark the 1998 crash site. It was beautiful and quiet, and we would have missed it had we not taken this route:

We made it to Peggy’s Cove (we were there in 1993, and it is much more commercial and busy than those days). We stayed a very short while and took the typical tourist pics:

When we got back, I took a walk down into Old Lunenburg and took pictures until the battery died:

This was a nice stay. And here’s the view from my chair:

ECS Day 10

August 3

Time for the Yarmouth and Acadian Shores route.

First stop was St. Mary’s Church, seen from our campground last night and fondly remembered and recommended by my friend, Joyce, who studied French in this area here years ago. It’s the largest wooden church in North America and was designed by a simple boat builder. It’s beautiful:

Next stop was the Fishing Wharf in Meteghan, a busy port filled with lobster, scallop and cod boats. We chatted with one of the old boys who said he bought his lobster quota 40 years ago for $1,000 and would sell it today for $400,000. I love these talks:

Fog continued to build as we stopped at Smugglers Cove (you can barely see the secret cave):

…then St. Alphonse Church; the rocks in the grotto are actually carved from wood:

This is the closest I’ve ever come to a confession:

Loved Mavilette Beach with the tide out:

Mandy seemed to be enjoying the drive:

It was such a lovely drive through this very Acadian section. Beautiful houses brightly painted and proudly showing the “Stella Maris” flag and colours. There is a real personality here.

Interestingly, this changed some as we entered the “English” section of the coast. House are bigger with a little less character and the Wesleyan and Baptist churches prevail.

We took the road to Cape Forchu for lunch and a look at the lighthouse (and our rare picture of us together!):

Then we drove Water Street in Yarmouth and headed on to the Lighthouse Route via the Evangeline Trail. We stayed at The Islands Provincial Park (Site 31, $24). This is the view from my chair across the cove to Shelbourne. We could hear really good Bluegrass Gospel across the water (it was Sunday) and later learned that there is a drive-in church in the Home Hardware parking lot (thus the horns beeping at the end of each song):