Cape Breton

We stayed at Baddeck Cabot Trail campground for 3 nights.  We had stayed here before and really wanted to stay a week.  The caravans had all the spaces booked, so we were lucky to get what we did.  Pat and Phyllis have waited all trip to visit the Baadeck Yarn Shop.  We were impressed the last time we were here and weren't disappointed this time.  Both of us came away with several projects, and the knitting frenzy began.

The next day we visited the Highland Village which is a great way to see the history of life on Cape Breton.  There are buildings depicting what homesteads looked like from the 1800's to modern times.  People in period dress played characters who would have lived in the homes during that time period.  Different skills such as weaving, preparing the wool to weave, cooking, farming, etc. were demonstrated.  Fun day.

You probably read the FB post about the huge lobsters and crabs we received as a gift from a fellow camper.  It was incredible.

On to Arm of Gold Campground only about 60 km away.  This campground could accommodate us for 5 nights with the added bonus of the close proximity to the Newfoundland ferry.  We explored the area a bit, Mike and Chuck went to revisit the fortress in Louisbourg. 

The highlight of this stay was the 2 days we explored the Cabot Trail.  We all loaded up in the cars, dogs included, and headed out.  After many stops for scenic lookouts and various craft shops, and taking pictures of the various Cape Breton churches, we traveled a partial dirt road to arrive at Meat Cove, the northernmost community on Cape Breton.  Then on to our cabin for the night.  We were all ready to get out of the cars for a bit especially Buster, Gracie, Bella and Scamp.

The next day we finished the Cabot Trail and returned to the campground.  We loaded up on fuel, groceries, etc.

in preparation for our venture into Newfoundland.  Everything is much more expensive there.

After purposely waiting in line for 2 hours, we boarded the ferry.  We elected to take the short ferry both coming and going since our dogs had to stay in the motorhomes without being let out or a visit from us.  Long day for all of them since the ferry trip is around 6 hours.  We all arrived in Newfoundland safe and sound.  That will be a blog for another day.

Internet and phone service is very limited here, so it may be a while until the next blog.  Will add pictures to this when better signal is available.

 

Home from 1800's

Chores must be done on the road

Church at Highland Village 1846

Mike demonstrating to Chuck

Blacksmith demonstration

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike and Pat "Way Up North"

 

 

 

 

Chuck & Phyllis off the Cabot Trail

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bella & Scamp joining in the fun too.



Buster & Gracie hamming it up on the Cabot Trail


















Some of the beauty along the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton

 

Antigonish Highland Games and Blomidon Provicial Park

After Halifax we moved on to Antigonish to attend the 153rd Highland Games.  The weather turned a bit cool (50-60's) and had some rain off and on.  The weather didn't deter us from going to the games for two days.  We were able to watch competitions in Highland Dancing, Pipe and Drum bands, Heavy Weights, and Tug of War.  The Heavy Weight competitions include the Caber Toss ("tossing" an 18-26 foot log weighing around 125 pounds), Weight over Bar which is throwing a 56 pound weight up over a bar which may be 18 plus feet high--watch your head, Hammer Throw, Stone Throw, etc.  They were all very interesting to watch.  Of course all of the competitors wore kilts ("Its a kilt, if I wore underwear it would be a skirt").  The tug of war was a real crowd pleaser with the teams coming from surrounding areas.  It can really be intense.  All of the competitions took place with the sound of bagpipes wafting through the air as various piping and drumming competitions took place.  It is an excellent cultural experience and is wonderful to see so many young people still involved in the ancient games. 

 

Girl's Teams in Tug of War Competition



Pipe and Drum Band in Competition

Caber Toss

After leaving Antigonish, we headed west to Blomidon Provincial Park.  The provincial park system is similar to our state parks. Blomidon is on the Minas Basin which is part of the Bay of Fundy system.  The Bay of Fundy is "Canada's Natural Wonder" because of the dramatic 35 plus foot tides.  This park had a wonderful view of the water and we were able to see the tide changes and walk on the "beach" left during the low tide.  The tides change every 6 or so hours, so there are 2 high tides and 2 low tides each day.  The currents exceed 8 knots (4 meters/second) and the flow is equal to the combined flow of all the streams and rivers of the Earth.  The following pictures are of the same location and show how dramatic the tides are:



High Tide



 

 

 

 

Low Tide

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike, Pat, Buster & Gracie at water's edge

Walking on "beach" at low tide going to water's edge

 

 

 

 

 

Now for the really crazy part.  We all decided to hike UP to Cape Split.  This is a 16 kilometer (approx. 10 miles) hike.  Now for Mike this was a piece of cake, for Pat a little tough but doable.  For Chuck and Phyllis (you can stop laughing now), they figured they would hike up a bit and come back down.  Well being the foolish people they are, Chuck & Phyllis went to the top.  Exhaustion was quickly setting in.  Mike and Pat had been at the top and had started back down when they passed Chuck & Phyllis still going up.  The view was spectacular, but we still had to go back down.  It wasn't all downhill on the way down either.  Well about 1/3rd of the way down, Phyllis tripped over a root and did a face plant into the ground.  Bloody face and all she and Chuck finally made it back down after hiking for over 5 hours.  Yes, we were crazy, but what a sense of accomplishment after we did it and the muscles quit crying.  Here are some pictures of the path and the view at the top.  No pictures of the black eye and other bruises though. 

This part looked pretty level.  Wished it all was.  Chuck on path.

 

Finally a rest at the top.

Smiles are deceiving. She was pooped.

 

 

Buster and Gracie smiling into the wind on the beach.

 

 

 

Now on to Baddeck.........

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hello from Halifax

 

 

 

I am so frustrated at this point.  I had almost completed this blog, and it disappeared.  I really don't want to start over, but I guess I will. 

 

Our last night in the States, we spent in the parking lot at LL Bean.  After an uneventful border crossing (YEA), we arrived at the Oak Bay Campground in Oak Bay, New Brunswick.  This campground was okay, but we really wanted to stay at the Kiwanis Campground on the Bay of Fundy in St. Andrew.  They were all booked up for Canada Day.  We did go into St. Andrew for Canada Day (July 1st), and they were celebrating big time with the streets blocked off for a parade, a little kids' race, food and merchandise vendors, and a car show.  It was fun seeing all of the Canadian patriotism.  After celebrating for a while, we drove across the ocean floor of the Bay of Fundy, while the tide was out, to Minister's Island.  On our way back to the campground, we went in search of wild blueberry pie.  Found the pie someone had recommended, but it was just okay.  However, on the way we did find a great seafood restaurant and had fried scallops, clams, and shrimp.  Yummy. 

 

Bella & Scamp wading in the Bay

Little Kids' Race in St. Andrew

 

 



Mike & Pat enjoying Canada Day



 



Standing on the Ocean Floor of the Bay of Fundy



 On to Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Woodland Campground is the closest campground to Halifax.  Most of the RV caravans that come to the Maritimes stay at this campground, so it is always busy.  We made our reservations here last fall as they were closing up for the season.  Luckily we were able to get in.  One of the best memories we have from this campground from our trip 4 years ago is the owner cooked lobster for us.  We were delighted to find out he still does it.

 

On Sunday we worshiped at St Paul's church which is in the oldest surviving building in Halifax.  They have been holding services here for 267 years.  The church is beautiful.  On the 4th of July we celebrated by walking along the Harbor Walk, had dinner, and then went to the Tattoo.  There didn't seem to be as many shops along the Harbor Walk, but it was still beautiful.  We also went to Keith's brewery so Mike could get a new Keith's shirt.  Since we had already done the brewery tour previously, we didn't do it this time.  Chuck had remembered having Digby scallops for the first time at McKelvie's Restaurant, so we had to have them again.  We weren't disappointed.  If you ever come to Halifax, you must put attending the Tattoo on your bucket list.  It is hard to describe, but well worth seeing. 

Pat taking pictures. Theodore in the background,

Mike & Chuck looking out over the harbor.

 

 

 

Tattoo

 



While in Halifax we nailed down some reservations for later in our trip which included our ferry reservations to go to Newfoundland.  We all were relieved and started getting more excited about the adventures still to come.

 

 The next day we spent on things like getting nails done, replacing tires, etc.  That afternoon Pat and Phyllis went venturing off on their own while the guys went back to the Harbor area in Halifax.  Pat and Phyllis went to a little seaside village called Chester.  It was charming, but the down turn of the economy has taken its toll on this village.  Mike and Chuck went to Cows which is a creamery in PEI that has an ice cream shop in Halifax.  They not only have great ice cream their shirts are hilarious.  They brought back a good selection.  Upon returning to the campground, we found out our lobsters would be ready for us to devour that evening.  We had ordered 3 pound lobsters and were not disappointed.  They were absolutely delicious especially since the campground owner got the lobsters for us, cooked them, cracked them, and delivered them to our campsite.  What service.  This is one of the things that brought us back to this campground. 



Pat ready to dig in



 

Taking in the view in Chester, Nova Scotia

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day we all went to Peggy's Cove.  This is a beautiful cove with an interesting legend and a picturesque light house on Peggy's Point.  Nearby is a monument for the people lost on the Swissair flight 111 that went down in 1998.  While at the lighthouse, Phyllis mentioned she really missed the bagpiper that was there the last time.  Not long after the words were out of her mouth we heard pipes start playing.  It is awesome to stand there looking out over the bay listening to the pipes.

Chuck & Phyllis on Peggy's Point

Peggy's Cove

 
 

Mike & Pat at Peggy's Point

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peggy's Point Lighthouse

 

 

 



Swissair Monument



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today turned out to be a cool (60's), rainy day.  In the morning we took advantage and did chores, laundry, dog baths, etc.  In the afternoon, we all went to the movie and saw "The Legend of Tarzan".  We experienced the D-box seats which makes you feel like you are in the movie.  Interesting.

 

Tomorrow we are off to Antigonish, NS. to experience the Highland Games.  Until later.......