North East Side of Cape Breton - a Bit Fancier

Our goal was to travel, slowly, around the Cabot Trail - the main road that circles Cape Breton National Park. Not far from Cheticamp was a short trail to a waterfall - MacIntosh Brook Trail. The national park has such nice facilities, we parked at the trail head and there was a building with a small kitchen, wood fire stove and restrooms.  The hike was beautiful, and rainy.

multiple bridges cross the brook

the falls

kelly green mushrooms

the brook

Our next overnight stop was near Meat Cove located at the northern tip of the island. We hiked some trails along the way despite the rainy weather and ended up at the actual Meat Cove. Beaches in Nova Scotia are almost all pebbles due to the tides and cold water that prevent shells from cycling into sand.  Our big surprise at the Cove were the number of dead lobsters and lobster parts scattered around the pebbles.  We think these were washed ashore from the ocean depths during the hurricane. The Turk found his 'blue' lobsters right there.

Meat Cove

Rocks at Meat Cove

blue lobster claws washed ashore

The day was cold, windy, rainy - probably the way it is MOST of the time in Meat Cove! The rock formations and hidden beaches were beautiful. The state of the roads - not so much. Few restaurants mandated the Turk to cook pasta from the local coop in our AirBnB kitchen which was fine with us.

Our next day's direction was the Ingonish (means 'remarkable place' )area while exploring small coastal towns along the way.  Fishing is clearly the main business and it seems that everyone has a boat - either in the water or on the front yard, BIG boats!

We visited Neil's Harbor, a fishing village of a few hundred people. The lighthouse is an ice cream parlor but the hurricane caused them to close early for the season, so no ice cream.  I have never seen as many ice cream shops as I did on this trip from Maine through Nova Scotia and parts of PEI and New Brunswick. Ice cream shops EVERYWHERE that seem to be open all year.

huge lobster body amid kelp on shore

the no icecream lighthouse-Neil's Harbor

Neils Harbor fishermen cleaning their catch from the morning

Typical scene along the coastline

lobster traps are everywhere. Lobster goes into hole for bait and can't leave

South of Ingonish is the Keltic Lodge located on a rocky peninsula across from a cape. The national park's lodge is much like the grand Ahwanee Hotel in Yosemite. It was built in the 1930's and 40's as a government funded work program on the summer estate of the owner of Middle Head - Henry Clay Corson who was an American industrialist. He learned of the land from Alexander Graham Bell who lived in nearby Baddeck. This property is known for the scenery, but also the  golf course originally designed by Canada's best golf course designer.

this gives an idea of the grounds. Hiking is behind the lodge, golfing in front.

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one of the small coves along the hike. note the change in colors starting to happen.

purple mushrooms on our hike

After a long day of exploring and hiking, and probably some mussels for lunch, we headed south toward Indian Brook where we stayed along the water in a geodesic dome. Our other choices were yurts, a tiny house, and some conventional rooms in a lodge. Because of the hurricane, and the end of summer, we almost had the place to ourselves! It operates as a wellness facility if you wish to engage. During season, there are lost of activities including yoga retreats, speakers, arts and crafts projects. The property grows vegetables, raises chickens and you get to eat the results of these endeavors.

our walkway to our dome-facing water

The going in/out is tricky at night

Part of the property used to be an apple orchard and the trees are still there, bearing fruit. This made the Turk very happy as he munched around the grounds. We had an outhouse nearby, showers in a central building, wonderful breakfast in the morning. We opted for dinner the night before and were joined by one couple staying at a nearby B&B who were wonderful dinner mates.  The owner sat with us and told us his story.
Ya, former American Silicon Valley marketing person who got burned out and started a nonprofit camp for kids on CBI. After time, he morphed it into profit oriented business on larger grounds with a wellness focus. He played some music for us after dinner until the Turk and I needed to go to bed...in our dome..after building a fire to stay warm.

Turk keeping me warm all night

sitting area, deck - no window blinds

bed and Important wood fire stove

the wilderness around us - shared with apple orchard

Beautiful full moon from our dome

Pull the boat's rope to move across the canal

Turk stayed on land side to save me if I couldnt get back with ropes

needless to say, the Turk tried the fruit of EVERY tree in this old orchard

sunrise from our dome

This part of the island seemed to have more polished artisan shops.  The might have been because of the history of the Keltic Lodge (about an hour north) drawing wealthier visitors to the area. As we left our 'dome a cil' we checked out the galleries.

glass blowing shop that carried local glass artists' works.

beautiful things!

chocolate & art gallery in a church

wood working shop

I wanted to visit the Gaelic College located in St. Annes, so off we went. The college was founded in 1938 with the purpose of preserving Scottish Highland traditions and celtic language. They teach music, dance and language.  They maintain the traditional dance steps worldwide by monitoring Highland dance competitions. We had lunch and attended a ceilidh of music, poetry in Gaelic, and dance.

beautiful quilt on wall depicting uniqueness of Cape Breton Island

Cape Breton - Ireland of North America

Leaves were just starting to turn

 Cape Breton is a very rural island of small communities dating back 250 years to the first European settlers who seemed to move in and stay. The southern part of the island is Celtic and signs are in English and Gaelic. This is the home of the Gaelic College, nightly ceilidhs (kay lees) of gaelic music and dance, of Catholic churches on the verge of closing as the younger generation is not staying, of handcrafts being done by the young 50 year olds. Tourism is the economy and the community is holding on to that thread.

The people we met were welcoming and warm. We had all been through the hurricane and the schools were to be closed for a week while power in this more remote area would be the last to come back.

The southwestern side of CBI is where mom's dad's family is from, and where grandpa Gus was born. The towns of Judique (where he was born), Creignish, Centennial (named by gr gr grandpa), Mabou (where gr gr gr grandparents were married). Seems we are tied to this community as stated by the museum curator!

There does not seem to be much wealth in this part of the island, and the handicrafts reflect the simple arts where necessary items are embellished. Weaving, rug hooking, knitting and baking reflect the community. These items all made at home and sold in shops mostly to tourists.

always views

Our sites were on hiking, despite the weather. This proved to be somewhat successful as we compromised our plans when we considered safety....something you do when you are old!

Got my lobster in Cheticamp!!

local distillery - we did tour. Whisky is too pricey for us!

seems a strong marketing pitch

 These are only a few of the signs that caught my eye. Love the simplicity of communication here.
There were many hand made signs outside of homes where people ran their business - hairdresser, quilt maker, wood carver, knitter, etc.

opportunist: maid, seamstress and rental

clearly describes what this is!

I am told that deer dont actually register

Surveying Margaree-Lake Ainslie Canadian Heritage River...Whew!

Beautiful Margaree Valley - mostly Acadian, not Celtic!

From the Judique/Pt Hood area we took a number of drives - Distillery, Maragree Valley, Baddeck and the nearby Alexander Graham Bell Museum since he lived in Baddeck.  Museum had many of his inventions, most of which I'd never realized.

AGB's home - his descendants live there, so no tours.

Beautiful views from museum. I never know AGB devoted his life to helping the deaf. He met his deaf wife this way.

Found a wonderful brewery along the way

We discovered Big Spruce Brewery overlooking the coastal drive from Baddeck back to the west side of CBI. Fun afternoon with music and good beer. We packed our lunch and picnic'ed right there.

The hiking at Cape Breton National Park was gorgeous, even with rain and fog. I could only imagine sun and sky! We stayed in Cheticamp outside the park. Canada does a nice job with park amenities: lots of restrooms, even at the top of popular trails, signage and good maintenance....except for the restroom door that got stuck  on the Turk who was sure I was going to leave him in his stall forever. He almost ripped his fingernail off to get the lock unstuck. Sorry!

great view of the road...and some sky!

yes, windy and cold. Am wearing 3 or 4 layers

our sunset one night in Cheticamp

popular Skyline trail. With fog and rain, not much for views.

typical hurricane evidence. Elsewhere oak rootballs were often over 10' high

Skyline trail goes to the edge. Boardwalk preserves lichen and the cliffs

Cheticamp area and northern Cape Breton Island is mostly Acadian settled (after they chased the Mi'kmaq indians away). Acadians are the French, so the signage is in English and French in this part of the island.  There are French influenced crafts in this area. The best known is rug hooking. This area is the rug hooking capital of the world...but methinks there is no competition.  The Acadian museum was well thought out, interesting, and we saw beautiful hooked rug designs.

beautiful colors and design

I liked this look

Elisabeth LaFort was known for her portraits - in rug hooking

this is huge and took the better part of a year to hook

Halifornia....or Halifax For Outsiders

Our coastline drive to Halifax was dotted with stops for scenery, small towns, and stops for beer!  What ended up to be one of my top fave breweries on this trip was the Salt Box Brewery in Mahone Bay. Mahone Bay is a beautiful town that is likely very lively in the summer with sailers and beachgoers. There are large vacation homes and it is not a long drive to Halifax.

wood carved fishermen were everywhere - small ones in shops, large ones on doorsteps. Just like Gr Gus carved!

tasting was fun

becoming a pale ale fan

It seemed that this set the stage for our Halifax activities. Beer, bread, donair.  Donair is a made up item invented in Halifax at the King of Donair small restaurant.  Think gyro with beef, sauce and tomato. Turk and I shared one and found it flavorful, messy (which it is supposed to be) and probably quite popular in a late night after the bars.
Our AirBnB was a very old building with very thick stone walls. Since we were in the top floor where the 'help' would have stayed, the windows and the stairway were small.

Anthony Bordain included Donairs in his show on Halifax - and loved them

demoing how to eat donair

AirBnB - tiny windows at top are ours

One of the things I started to notice in Nova Scotia when I went into a restroom was a used needle receptacle. Once I identified what it was, I noticed them in every restroom, no matter if it was a restaurant, a gas station, a park. And I was surprised to see that each one was very full. I don't have any idea of how often these are emptied, but the volume of needles I saw on this trip was stunning.

We explored the port where two ships were docked that day. The hoards of cruise people would appear in all ports that we visited. We figured out a plan to navigate to what we wanted to see and do while avoiding the masses.

One of the cruise ships at port in Halifax

drunken light post - really!

hurricane repairs

 When at the port, we noticed the pavers were piled up in odd places. We found out that the hurricane had created waves that displaced the paver walkways. So we had some interesting walking routes along the way.
My favorite port art was the Drunken Lampposts. This was an art installation that was so popular, it stayed!

The hurricane did create some odd conditions. Some businesses were not open due to electrical or water issues. Army was everywhere to fill in as resources to clear trees from roads and power lines. Power trucks traveled in groups all hours to get to a next location.

The storm's most publicized impact was a building crane in downtown Halifax that crashed into the highrise it was being used for. The condo structure was situated in between other condos and businesses. As a result, people had to move out of their condos and the businesses in one city block had to stay closed while engineers, and probably attorneys, evaluated what to do next.

making rum cake - it smelled so good!

Army was everywhere

 We visited four breweries and two bakeries! One of the breweries, Tidehouse, had only 9 stools around a small bar that circled the brewmaster. Every once in a while, he'd reach behind him to a storeroom and pour a new brew for us to try. We enjoyed this intimate setting so much as it threw together anyone visiting and you immediately started talking.

seemed very popular. We saw their beers everywhere

another of my favorites. Great NE IPA!

several waterfalls to hike to

hiking down to the gorge

Our bakery selection came from the recommendations of the chocolatier we visited - Rousseau Chocolates. Turk was very impressed with their hot sipping chocolate and he is very picky. We visited and ate at both bakeries. We decided one was better for croissants, the other for baguettes. Yes, we are getting that picky!

The next day, we headed for Cape Breton Island, a place described by Nova Scotians as 'weird', 'beautiful', 'different'.  We made our way via Truro, considered the capital of the Acadian community and not far from where we weathered the hurricane in Grand Pre. The centerpiece of this town is their 3000 acre woodsy Victoria Park.  It is over 130 years old and is much loved and cared for by this community.  There is a creek, are waterfalls, many well marked and cleared trails, wooden stairs and decks, benches, picnic areas, swimming holes. What else could you ask for!  We explored and enjoyed both the hike and our lunch of delicious baguette sandwiches.  And then we continued to CBI for another adventure.