June 22, 2023 - Cape Breton's Cabot Trail, New Brunswick

June 22, 2023

We spent most of the day on the Cabot Trail, which travels the coast along the east and west sides of Cape Breton.  It also goes through the Cape Breton Highlands National Park in the north.  It goes through many cultural heritage sites and has lots of scenic overlooks.  We stopped at several locations as we traveled the Cabot Trail circle drive.  

I will say that the West side of the trail was more dramatic, with more scenic overlooks, cliff sides, and harbors.  The East side had them, I'm sure, but you couldn't see as many from the road, which was a bit disappointing, and there weren't as many overlooks.  

One of our stops was at Margaree Harbour.  Then we did pull-outs along the Trail.  See some of the photos below. We made a stop at Les Trois Pignons Cultural Center, and had a expert-led visit of the Museum of Antiques, which depicts the early life of Acadian ancestors who settled in the village of Cheticamp over 200 years ago.  They also had a gallery of hooked tapestries, which were commonly made by this community, and still are.  Very intricate designs and pictures, done in tapestry.  Impressive.  This area has mostly Acadian history, which was very interesting, and quite sad, as they were expelled from the area, and sent down to New Orleans or back to France. 

Then we came to the most impressive views of the ocean, where the mountains slope into the water, with a view of the Cabot trail snaking off in the distance.  Very nice.  The road also goes through some mountain passes, with green-covered tree-sloped mountains.  The Trail went through the National Park, connecting the west coast road with the east coast road.  We stopped for lunch at the MacIntosh Brook Trailhead.  This was a little turn-off, with a picnic area, along a brook, in the trees.  Very pretty but FULL of MOSQUITOS.  I couldn't sit in the shade, but had to be out in the sun.  Quick lunch.  We made a stop at the Neil's Harbor lighthouse, on the east coast, out on a little peninsula.  It actually had an ice cream store inside, so . . . yummy.  We then made a few overlook stops on the way down the east coast. If we had been driving our car, there would have been a lot of stops, sites, and trails we would have stopped at.  This trip only gave us a taste of what the Cabot Trail has to offer.

The end of the Cabot Trail is back in Baddeck, and the bus driver knew of a hiking trail through the woods, along a stream, to a small waterfalls.  It was down a long dirt road, that took us to the Uisge Ban Falls Provincial Park.  Some of the active folks started walking the nice woodland trail, but after about a mile, and some discussion with hikers returning from the falls, it was determined that the hike was much longer than anticipated.  So we returned to the bus.  Oh well, it was nice to be walking after the long bus ride on the Cabot Trail.

Dinner again at the Resort, and hanging out along the Bras d'Or Lake water's edge to watch the sunset. 

Photos: 

Margaree Harbor

Margaree Harbor

Acadian Tapetries, Cheticamp, NB, NS

Along west side of the Cabot Trail

West side of the Cabot Trail

West side of Cabot Trail

West side of the Cabot Trail

North side, Cape Breton Highlands Natl Pk

North side, Cape Breton Highlands Natl Pk

Neil's Harbor lighthouse, East side

Neil's Harbor

Uisge Ban Falls Provincial Park trail

Hanging by the waterfront on Bras d'Or Lake at sunset

June 21, 2023 - Pictou, Nova Scotia & Baddeck, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

 June 21, 2023

We were supposed to travel across PEI to the south-eastern shore and cross over to Nova Scotia (NS) on the ferry.  However, we were notified that the sole ferry was out of commission that day, so we needed to travel the long way, going back over the Confederate Bridge and on to Nova Scotia from the west side.  

We arrived at the small fishing village of Pictou, located on another large inlet, the Pictou Bay.  We stopped at the Hector Heritage Quay & Museum.  The replica of the three-mastered cargo vessel was the first ship to directly transport passengers from Scotland to Nova Scotia, which marked the beginning of a massive wave of immigration.  So, Pictou was called "the birthplace of New Scotland" = Nova Scotia.  Inside the museum, hung the tartans of each of the original Scottish families.  We had a tour guide who shared the history of the area.

We then traveled on to the small town of Baddeck, located on the shores of the Bras d'Or Lake, in the center of Cape Breton Island, on the north east side of Nova Scotia.  The lake was beautiful.  There was a very large resort on the lakefront, and our hotel was across the road from the resort.  This was the worse accommodations we had on the entire trip.  Sort of Motel-6-ish.  Our dinner, however, was in one of the event rooms at the resort, so we got to walk along the lakeside and explore a bit.  

In the evening we went to the Gaelic College for an evening performance of Celtic music, called a "ceilidh".  The musicians were really good, and lively.  Unfortunately, we couldn't stay for the entire performance, as the bus driver was limited to the number of hours he could be in the bus.  Oh well, go with the flow.

I can't get over the amount of coast line there is on NB, PEI and NS.  They are islands, or big peninsulas, all with long inlets and numerous lakes.  All beautiful.  Yet, very few houses and boats along the shores.  Nothing like the lower Maine and MA coastlines.  

Photos:

Scottish tartans of the original families of Pictou

Hector replica-being refurbished

Pictou harbor

Pictou

Bras d'Or Lake, Baddeck, NS

Bras d'Or Lake

Nova Scotia countryside

June 20, 2023- Charlottetown and North Rustico, PEI

June 20, 2023

Charlottetown, PEI -- We had a guided tour of the Beaconsfield Historic House, built in 1877.  This is a perfect example of the Victorian architecture common in PEI at the time.  The details in the house were impressive -- the moldings were amazing. And we got a brief history of the house and owners.

We then had a guided tour of Great George Street, one of only two national historic streets in Canada.  A costumed historical interpreter led us around the area, and was really good.  Very interesting history.  This whole area's history is intricately linked to the Scottish immigrants and the French Acadians.  A lot of trade went through the Charlottetown ports. 

Charlottetown is on the south/central shore of PEI, and we drove up to the north/central shore to North Rustico, a small fishing community. We visited the Stanley Bridge Marine Aquarium, which is really a misnomer, as there were no fish there.  The museum did have an amazing stuffed bird exhibit.  I don't usually care for stuffed animal exhibits, but these birds were quite exceptional.  However, at the Carr's Oyster Museum we did get a lecture on oysters, with a show & tell & sample on how to open them and suck them out.  Yuck.  

We then drove over to the North Rustico National Park along the Bay.  Great waves, great colors and great sounds.  Very nice.

Finally, we returned to Charlottetown for free time and dinner.  Our hotel was just a few blocks from the waterfront Victoria Park.  It had a nice walkway along the coast, and an old Prince Edward Battery, with cannons, protecting the Bay.  We also walked through the town a bit on the way to dinner.  We found several book stores, which sucked Peter right in.  I was amazed at how many books were in the shop, and how many were just laying about on the floors.  How the owners knew what books were in their inventory was beyond me.

For me, this dinner was one of the best on the trip.  They had a great burrito bowl, with rice & beans & veggies..  No fish or french fries.  Actually, by this time, everyone was really tired of potatoes, served with most meals.

Photos:

Beaconsfield Historic house tour

Charlottetown's Great George Street guided tour guide

Along the tour.

Stanley Bridge Marine Aquarium bird exhibit, North Rustico, PEI

North Rustico National Park 

Charlottetown Victoria Park, Prince Edward Battery

Book shop in Charlottetown

June 19, 2023 - Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick, Cavendish & Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (PEI)

 June 19, 2023

We left New Brunswick and crossed over to Prince Edward Island.  Confederation Bridge is an 8 mile long bridge, and is the longest bridge in the world to cross ice-covered water. It crosses the Northumberland Strait.  Before the bridge was built, they needed ice-cutting boats to make the crossing.  Right at the beginning of the bridge in NB, are two small islands called Cape Jourimain.  They are a national wildlife area, with a small lighthouse, an observation tower, and some nice trails.  We had boxed lunches there, and explored the trails a bit.  Then crossed the bridge over to PEI.

PEI is very different from what we saw of New Brunswick.  Rather than being totally tree-covered and sparsely populated, PEI seems to be mostly farm land, with red soil.  It has open vistas and lots of bays.  It is amazing how much coastline and inlets an island has.  Whereas NB coast (which also had lots of inlets) had almost no houses along the coastline, PEI had more.  Their main farm crops are potatoes and fish.  

Our first stop was at the Anne of Green Gables Historic Site, in Cavendish, PEI.  We had a tour of the Victorian home that inspired the fictional tale.  I was actually a bit disappointed with the home and the various exhibits, but I was never into the story.  We did have a nice walk along the "Lovers Lane" trail. 

We ended the day in Charlottetown, PEI.  This is the largest city in PEI.  We stayed at the Dundee Arms Inn, an older inn, with an older section and a newer section.  We lucked out and were in the older section.  Our room was actually a Victorian suite, with a living room, fireplace, bedroom and bath.  VERY comfortable.  

Photos:

Cape Jourimain & Confederation Bridge over to PEI

 

Cape Jourimain island coastline

PEI countryside

PEI coastal home

Anne of Green Gables house

Lovers Lane trail at Anne of Green Gables homestead

Our hotel suite in Charlottetown, PEI

June 18, 2023 - St. Andrews & Moncton, New Brunswick

 June 18, 2023

We started the day with a guided tour of the Kingsbrae Gardens, in St. Andrews.  This 27-acre garden features a cedar maze, two ponds, streams, a Dutch windmill, a wide array of birds, butterflies & insects, and a woodland trail through an Acadian forest.  It has over 2,500 different varieties of trees, shrubs, and plants, including vegetable plants, and some amazing flowers.  It also has fauna, such as peacocks, pygmy goats and alpacas.  A great morning tour.

We stopped for lunch in St. Johns, at a restaurant on a small lake.  The weather was a bit chilly, and the water was freezing, but there were a group of young adults taking a swimming rescue course on the beach.  Hearty soles!

Next we headed out to the coast of New Brunswick to the Hopewell Cape on the Bay of Fundy and the Hopewell Rocks.  Due to the geological formation of the area, this section has phenomenal tidal changes of up to 50 feet, every 6 hours!  The Hopewell Rocks are rock formations known as sea stacks caused by tidal erosion. They stand 40–70 feet tall.  At low tide, you can walk on the ocean floor all through them, but at high tide, only the tree-covered tops show out.  We went at low tide and had a guided tour by a naturalist.  These were REALLY NEAT!

Our last stop was in the town of Moncton, where we stayed at another hotel right on the Bay.  

Photos:

Kingsbrae Gardens, St Andrews, NB

Lunch at Lily Lake Pond, St. Johns

Hopewell Rocks at low tide, Bay of Fundy

Hopewell Rocks at high tide (we didn't see this)

More wild lupines along the route.