Our Last Post from Nova Scotia - September 20, 2012

Sleep last night was amazing!  The bed was so comfy it was hard to eject myself from it this morning.  None-the-less I knew there were places to go and things to do so up I went.

As predicted, the weather forecast was right on the mark.  It wasn’t just raining here in Ingonish, it was pouring.  Even with the rain, the fog was thick leaving the view out our executive windows only a visual memory from yesterday.  It was actually a pretty mythical view – the clouds hung over the landscape, teasing us with green grasses, well manicured gardens and evergreens cut off about 10-15 feet in the air.



Brunch in the Keltic Lodge Dining Room



Brunch was the first task of the day, a duty neither of us were about to take lightly!  The meal was as scrumptious as the night before; scramble eggs, Eggs Benedict, whole wheat blueberry pancakes, baked beans, bacon, sausage and most importantly the fish cakes.  I have often seen fish cakes on menus for breakfast here, but honestly had not had enough nerve to give them a whirl.  I thought maybe it was time – now I can say I’ve done it.  They were likely very good, but in my opinion, breakfast is a pushing the envelope when it comes to fish.  Basically it’s a hash brown with fish.  Enough said!  Fish cakes and all, it was delicious, and even though I was pretty full, I capped my brunch off with a good old bowl of Fruit Loops!  What?  There’s fruit in it right?  Otherwise how can they put the word “fruit” into the title?

From here we returned to our mansion on the 3^rd floor where Ken packed and I wrote an article for Trip Advisor on our experience here at the Lodge (which is part of the posting I sent earlier today).  The service and experience here was amazing and we thought it was only fair to post our thanks and gratitude.  From this I worked on the blog post of the day before, (I was too busy to write it on our anniversary, so you all got the delayed reaction posting!) when we ran out of time and we needed to clear out of our humble little suite. 

One of two fireplaces in the
Sitting Room

We went down into the “Sitting Room” where we listened to Buddy MacDonald play his guitar and sing to us the night before and resumed our blog post.  The rain was really coming down, and the fog continued to slightly lighten then roll in dense over and over again while we worked on the post.  Although it was getting later than we have ever been in starting our day, we figured there was little need to rush us out the door, as giving time to the day may help in seeing more on the remaining eastern portion of the Cabot Trail.  A group from a tour bus came into the sitting room while were there, and Ken chatted with a few of the members.  Strangely enough it was the same bus from Manitoba and Saskatchewan which we ‘bumped’ into while we were touring the Lunenburg Fisheries Museum!  Ken recognized the one gentleman who launched the model of the Bluenose II in the holding tank at the demonstration.  It was funny to meet up with this group again, but not unusual.  It seems many of us follow the same path and will in all likelihood cross paths at least a couple of times now and again.  

One of many scenic views on
the grounds of Keltic Lodge

Eventually we packed up our final gear, headed to the truck, and off we were again, ascending and descending the rolling landscape of the trail.  We were pleased to discover the fog and rain was only putting a mild, and I mean mild damper on our views.  At times the fog impeded our full valley and ocean views, however more times than not, especially in the lower lying sections we still viewed remarkable landscapes.  To be honest, I think it was a real treat having such beautiful blue skied views the day before and misty cloud-hanging views today.  As they say here, “wait five minutes and the weather can change”.   The hanging clouds set a mood of mystery and elegance against the mountainous bluffs and rolling waves crashing against rocks.  I couldn’t have asked for a better demonstration to witness the atmosphere within our Cabot Trail experience.  The only damper we experienced was at times it rained so hard, pictures needed to be taken from inside the truck window, but this wasn’t really too big of a deal, it was certainly better than the alternative!

I personally wouldn’t say the eastern shoreline of the trail was as beautiful as the day before, after all the peek of the trail and the familiar pictures you see in brochures and on post cards of the trail was on yesterday’s western side.   Having said this though, I wouldn’t discredit the eastern shore either!  It still offered the steep valley floors and high cliffs, crashing wave rocked beaches and quaint towns bursting with local artisan treasures.  Likely because of the weather we didn’t stop at every look-off point, but when we did stop, it was totally worth it.

The final part of the trail took us to Baddeck, a fishing village and home of Alexander Graham Bell.  Many have told us to make sure we stop and explore the museum, and the rain made it a perfect day for this, but due to our late start, and the fact we were not staying in the Baddeck area, we skipped the attraction, headed to the visitor centre and inquired about a few other places we had read about.  While here, my phone rang with Davis on the other end thanking us for the post card we had sent him from the Sherbrooke Village.  He also asked if either one of us had big feet, as he had discovered Ken’s infamous Blundstone Boots (remember the conversation he had with Park Official Fran at Hopewell Rocks???  If not, flip back to the Hopewell Rocks Post.)  Guess Ken is seeing the trip through in sandals!  Sure hope it doesn’t turn too cold!  Not sure how we’ll get these back, but we’ll have to figure something out – short of driving back down there to get them!  If anyone has any suggestions, let us know!

Part of our stop in Baddeck included possibly catching up with Dana and Linda again.  We emailed them to see if they were heading home yet only to find they did the Cabot Trail a day before us and were staying in a campground just outside of Baddeck.  Since we were both in the area, we thought it would be nice to have supper together before they began their return home.  When I texted Linda, it turns out they were one store away from where we were standing!  We met in the visitor’s centre, coordinated our plans and arranged to meet at a local restaurant down by the wharf in a little better than an hour.



Mr. & Mrs. Alexander Graham Bell



To my knitting friends, from here we went to Beddeck Yarns, a place where they are known for hand dying their yarns.  Admittedly I was feeling a little lost, as you all know knitting is not my forte, but the colours and wools were beautiful.  We then headed for the boardwalk, visited with the stature of Alexander and Mabel Bell.  Arlene, look closely!  Is Alexander not depicted here as John Currie’s look-a-like?

Ken wanted to pick up some staples from the local Co-Op Market (that’s what they call their grocery store here), but on our way what did we pass – you guessed it!  The Cape Breton Bookmobile & Library!!!  Once again, we had to have a tour!  

Library staff member Coralee opened up the mini bus just for us, where we chatted for a bit as I took pictures.  (I think she may have been the only one on staff in the library so we didn’t want to take up too much of her time.)  She explained she was not part of the Bookmobile Service but assured us the service is well used in the area. 

I also wanted to point out to everyone following us that Wally from the bookmobile stop near Wolfeville has been faithfully following our blog and has emailed several times to help clarify points we have made along the way.  For some reason he hasn’t had much luck yet posting to the blog (which we hope could some how be rectified soon!), but we have really enjoyed receiving his communications. Thanks Wally!

So, like the very satisfied tourist we have become, we left the bookmobile to get groceries!  The tour set us back a bit in the arranged time we were to meet Dana and Linda, but we felt Linda, being the retired Librarian she is, would completely understand!

Linda & Dana
Ciad Mile Failte, our friends!

We met the Coulombe’s at the Bell Buoy Restaurant, which looked over the wharf from our table.  Even with our visit to the bookmobile, we arrived before the Coulombe’s, which was awesome as we didn’t want to be holding them up!  Dana and Ken had the Seafood Chowder which Ken’s response was “oohhh, excellent!” while I had the French Onion soup (I ditto Ken’s response!) as appetizers.  Supper was delicious – Linda had the Pan-Seared Halibut – just for the “Hell-ov-it” with Mango relish (‘ya knew it was coming Linda!), Dana was mildly “bullied” (by me!) into the Lobster (bet you are happy I did Dana!), Ken had the Cajun-Style Halibut, which he said had a nice bite to it, and I had the Seafood Linguini.   There was so much seafood on my plate – it was insane!  As I ate the meal, I swear the bowl kept refilling itself!  It almost seemed I would never get to the bottom of it!  A serving of Hot Fudge Brownie, Blueberry Pie and Cocoanut Cream pie was enjoyed at our table – guess who had which!!

Full as little red wagons, we said our goodbyes and parted ways.  Just a taste of what it feels like when good things come to an end.  It’s been awesome running into  Dana & Linda.  Sharing stories and swapping experiences has lead us to some awesome finds, and we hope they feel the same!

Our plan was to head back to our Taylor Coach before dark, and we arrived in perfect time.  Being so unfamiliar with the roads, the signage and the threat of deer and moose is a bit intimidating at night time.  When we arrived at the Whycocomagh Provincial Campground again, the cloud hung over the cliff backdrop of the campground in such a mystic way.  I love this shot of our trailer, and it was an awesome image to end the day with.  What a perfect experience the Cabot Trail and surrounding area of the Cape Breton Coast Line we have had!  Linda and Dana begin their return home tomorrow after a visit in Moncton, but thankfully we have 1 more week to take the coast in.  Tomorrow we pack up the Coach and head to PEI, the second last leg of our journey.  I’m not ready to think about ending it yet, and frankly, I doubt I will ever be ready…

We leave you with that this evening.  As we leave this amazing Province to discover the next, Prince Edward Island, we share with you a truer than fact quote of the maritimes,

"No matter where you are in the Province,

you are only 30 minutes from the ocean"

True that!

Cheers,

Ken & Tricia