Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Because of the way our "First Friday"  report date landed for September, we had two weeks between August and September projects instead of just one.  So we took off for Canada!  Our time there was fantastic!

We were delayed at the border for about a half an hour since they conducted a search.  Don’t know what they were looking for, but Paul’s guess is the NRA member sticker on the jeep might have prompted them. 

The first night, we spent at Woodstock, New Brunswick, just over the border.  After a road construction detour, the border crossing search and losing an hour changing to Atlantic time, we were ready to stop.

Just to the west, was the World’s Longest Covered Bridge... So yes, we HAD to go see it.  

The next day, we crossed into Nova Scotia, and spent the next two nights at Five Island Provincial Park, which is located on a finger of the Fundy Bay.  We had a great site!  We literally sat and watched the water in this bay.  It has the greatest tide change in the world.

It was fascinating how the scene changed every 6 hours while the tides drop or raise approximately 50 feet.

We saw people down by this rock, but could not figure out how to get down there!  Probably just as well!

The little "island" could not be seen once the tide was in.

We drove over to  the lighthouse and  the view of the five islands, were able to see the tide out.

This island is for sale if you are interested..... has a resort on it we were told.....  for 7 million!

The following day, when we returned to see the tide in, the water was high.  I took pictures, but my camera did not record anything for some reason, so I have no pictures!  I was so disappointed, but the tide out was so fascinating, I guess I would rather have pictures of that than the high tide.  People were even out there clamming. 

Our next few nights were at Braddeck, in the center of Cape Breton Island.  While there, we attended a Ceilidh (pronounced Kaylee), a Gaelic Music “party”.  I could never play the violin like these two young ladies.  And with traditional leg stomping at the same time!  It was a unique experience.

The world famous Cabot trail took us about 9 hours to go the 200 km.  The scenery  was just unbelievable. 

We enjoyed this spot, Green Cove.  It was great just enjoying the sea air and sound of the water.

Cape North

 Can you see the restaurant in the middle of the picture below?  That is the restaurant where we had lunch.

It seemed we were at the top of the mountain one minute, then down by the seashore the next!

I even found my sand.  The water was surprisingly warm!

There were small fishing villages along the way

as well as several small cemeteries.

And a bog that had insect eating plants, 

amoung other fascinating, century old trees that were only three feet high and barely surviving!!

On the eastern shore of Cape Breton, Fort Louisbourg is the “largest reconstructed 18th century French fortified town in North America”.  It was a place that came alive as we wondered through the buildings.  After  losing to the British twice, it was destroyed in the 1760’s.  Archeologists have reconstructed it as it was when the French built it in the early 1700’s.  It was hard to tell that it was reconstructed.  

We were surprised that Alexander Graham Bell had his home in Braddeck.  He was born in Scotland and came to Canada with his parents when he was  23 years old.  They settled in Ontario, and he went on to Boston to teach deaf students to speak.  He became an American citizen, but his home was here in Braddeck.  The Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site of Canada was very revealing.  Although the telephone was his best known invention, it made him wealthy enough to be able to spend time experimenting with medicine, genetics and electrical science, as well as coming up with such inventions as audiometer, photophone, 

Silver Dart airplane, 

and a hydrofoil boat.

I was surprised at the diversity of his work!  Some was the pioneering of inventions coming decades later, like fibeoptics.

His home, Beinn Breagh, is still privately owned by his descendents, on the end of this penninsula.  A great grandson lives in a small house on the property.

The main house is located on the far right in this picture, and only the roof can be seen, from a point further south, on a really clear day (which we did not have after we found this out~)

We had not planned on visiting this end of the island, but are glad that we did.   The second week, we moved onto Halifax.  The weather was not as good, but it was still a very enjoyable time. This will have to be another blog on just the city and surrounding areas.