Around the Island.......

When last we talked, I had no decent internet  (still don't) and the view of Prince Edward Island was only thru my eyes....... So back to geography class before we get to the pictures.    We left the Halifax area and drove north across Nova Scotia to Pictou, near where the Confederation Bridge begins.   Built in 1997, it is a beautiful 8 mile span.   The other alternative is a 45 min ferry ride which Dean and Diane did.    Access to the Island is free going North ( by bridge or ferry )but they get you coming the other way....about $7 for a car and over $45 dollars for our house.....the ferry would cost us $107 to go South.   Anyway it was a pretty drive and this pic shows the last segment.   We are camped at New Glasgow, NE of Charlottetown..(about 25 min).  

PEI is noted for it's red sand.   Due to iron oxide in the dirt, it is on the roads, beaches and farm fields.   I bought T-shirts for Andy and Mason that are dyed in the dirt and come out the same color as the sand....they include a package of sand with the shirt.    It is said that there are NO white dogs on PEI. !!

Distances are short and between the lakes, rivers and coastal areas, there is a water view most everywhere.    

It is all VERY picturesque......

We have been impressed with the size of the farms......beautiful patchwork rolling hills, immaculate large farm buildings and brown and white cows dotting the hills.   

The area is dotted with golf courses....while out exploring in the early evening, we came across this red fox ambling across a fairway of a course near the water.....Diane said they also saw one and it seemed oblivious to traffic and people.     Somewhere in our travels, we read that red fox were raised here as an industry.....(.I need to find out more about this so that my blog is informative and historical because I know it's not just about the pretty pictures. : )  

All around  the Maritimes, the culture keeps ties to the past.....music is a big part of their lives and a popular pastime is the ceilidh ( kay-lee).   We encountered these in Cape Breton as well. (This picture was of a ceilidh near the Charlottetown wharf the other day.....the young teens were very good and nimble on their feet)   At local community halls and churches you can  find postings  of a ceilidh several evenings a week.   With fiddles, and bagpipes and song and dance, these are lively and popular events.   We have plans to go to one on Saturday night at the "Historic St Mary's Church".....we'll let you know.      

P E I

Yes, we have NO pictures.  !!     The internet is soooo slow that I tried to download one picture and after 20 minutes, it was still grinding away.  

We left Nova Scotia yesterday after several drizzly foggy days spent being kind of lazy.   That area is lovely, scenic, great weather most of the time and has very friendly people.   Real estate prices are much higher than up at Cape Breton and it has a very seasonal crowd.    The info said that the area was popular with Haligonians (Halifax) and Americans for their summer homes and lovely sail boats.

We had about a 6 hour drive north to Prince Edward Island.    Grey skies made for a pleasant drive and we shared the burden.....of course, I get the busy traffic, the narrow roads and the loooooooonnnnnng bridge.   He gets the multi-lane roads and maneuvering in and out of campgrounds.    To get to PEI from the mainland is a beautiful 8 mi bridge (2 lane).....and then comes the rolling hills and cultivated fields of many colors.   Potatoes grow everywhere.    The British Isles heritage is obvious and I feel right at home (My grandparents were from Cornwall).     We are at New Glasgow Highlands CG snuggled into a leafy campsite.    There is no satellite but we have a couple of Canadian TV stations and spotty wifi.   Dean and Diane are a day behind us, having to wait for a UPS pkg.   And, we're also being stalked by Ron and Cay.   Ron worked with Paul and we met them in Pa and attended their lovely wedding at Quiet Valley, a working farm from the 1800's.   Anyway, they are in a smaller RV which enables them to get close up and personal to many areas.....they started in Quebec, moved on to Labrador, down to Newfoundland, over to Cape Breton to join us and then to the Peggy's Cove area .....we have had some good times around the campfires.     We expect that they will find us again in the next week.!!

So, I'm off to take more pictures of this pretty place and hopefully, one of these days, I'll be able to post them.  

Tourist fatigue......

 Yesterday didn't start out all that promising.......

But later, the skies cleared a bit and we set out for Halifax, taking the more scenic route.  On the above map, we are at Glen Margaret, just southwest of Halifax on St Margaret's Bay.   We headed down the bay to an area near Peggy's Cove.  

Most of the coast looks like this.....

A mile or so before Peggy's Cove, we came to the memorial for SwissAir 111 which went down 5 miles off the coast  9/2/98.

This area has seen more than it's share of tragedy with the loss of many ships , the Titanic and a huge munitions ship explosion in 1917 that destroyed much of Halifax.

We opted to visit the harbor in Halifax and skipped all of the war sites and historic buildings and grave yards and haunted sites and assorted breweries and tours.     The harbor is nicely done and makes for a good walking trail.   The Disney Cruise ship was in port.     Across the bay was this lighthouse, one of so many we've seen along the way but always worthy of a photo.....

Mike said he wasn't impressed with Halifax ( I believe he used a bit stronger language) but that's probably because he didn't take a ride on Ted Too

This was a ship of some importance I think but by this time it was drizzly again and my feet were wearing out as well as my interest in history and ships and famous battles...........

We ended up at one of our favorite spots on the way home...... a Chapters store which is a carbon copy of Barnes and Noble with a little Pottery Barn thrown in.   AND it had a Starbucks and so many tempting books.......

Moving on down the road.....

It's map time again.....  We left  Cape Breton Island around 9:30 yesterday....after an easy 5 hour drive

we arrived at a scenic area west of Halifax called Peggy's Cove.   We will stay here a week before heading north to Prince Edward Island.

While at our campsite this past two weeks, we saw a constant parade of family dogs.....I regret not getting a picture of each and every one of them.....instead of postcard-like pictures, it would be a blog of special family dogs.   In the states, we see a lot of little white dogs...mostly Bichons or Lasa's .....or the large and hairy....the retreivers, the labs and one day, TWO newfoundlands.....how long would you have to clean to get rid of all that hair every day ?????   Camped across from us was this elderly statesman,  Max....he had a look of many years and much wisdom.    Also, parked near us on weekends only was a carbon copy of our Laddie......the haircut, the stockiness and the face were the same but he was not friendly and I preferred not to bother him with my camera.  (our Laddie of 17 years...a Westie..was a people dog).

So, we are camped across the road from this view. (this was taken last evening but it is not much brighter today)   We headed out to breakfast this morning and 

it seems that there is a Kodak moment around every bend. ......   But today, the fog looks persistent and it is chilly so that will wait for another day.

It seems strange to be back in civilization with major stores, a Costco, Subway and McDonalds....AND we have TV again.   After all those weeks without it, it was positively luxurious to watch the Olympics last night.    I hope I don't get lulled back into it instead of the good reads on my list.

In family news, Becca has left her Fairy Godmother wand and pixie dust behind and will head back to college shortly.   We'll miss having her in Florida.    Her brother Alex, the one with all the broken bones and pain from lacrosse, gave that up to be a caddie for the summer.    He's an excellent golfer and was able to walk among the stars while carrying the bags at Cherry Creek CC in Denver.....aside from the generous tips, he rubbed shoulders with John Elway and Peyton Manning..........AND, he was selected as their CADDY OF THE YEAR ....   Way to go Alex.    We are soooo proud of all of our grandkid's wonderful achievements in their daily life but every  once in awhile, one of them steps out of the box to really WOW us !!



 

Cruising with eagles........

The days are winding down here in the Cape Breton area.   We had a list of 'things we want to do' before leaving this perfect place and one of those was golf.    We had our choice of beautiful links courses, historic courses, #1 rated courses or the one we played on.    We haven't played in a couple of months and are not one to spend a bucket of money "on a good walk spoiled" so we chose the local 9 hole course that is being refurbished by it's new owners.   It was flat, no water, few traps and few golfers.     One of us played really well and one of us just had a good time.    It was a good warm-up for the next course down the road.                            

On one of our first trips into the quaint and charming Baddeck, we saw this ship on the bay.....it is the Amoeba and goes out for pleasure trips several times a day.     On Friday, we hoped onboard for a  90 minute sail.    It holds 40 and we grabbed the front seats, near the bow for the best photo-ops altho we had no expectations except postcard  scenery  

Most everyone climbed up to the bow to do their Titanic thing.....I asked someone to take our pic after we gingerly made our way to the tiny platform and hung on in the breeze and motion.    She did not get the coastline in but you get the idea.    Yes, we both have a lot of extra hair on this trip......!

When the sails are fully opened , the tilt of the deck is quite pronounced ( I"m sure there's a proper nautical term for that).

And then, off in the distance came this eagle, heading right towards us......I was amazed and managed to fire off some shots....(actually, I took 289)

Initially, I thought this was a very lucky happening.......,and then learned that the crew throw a fish out at each sailing and over the years, this bird has learned to get her lunch the easy way.    The above pictures are a compilation of 3 fly-by's that this magnificent bird made.   I'm not sure how I feel about them 'baiting' the bird for a show.....sort of like feeding the sharks for divers I guess except the eagle probably can't turn us into lunch.   ( Is that my phone I hear ??  .National Geographic for sure !! )

This is the eagle nest.....it has lived here for 30 years as a pair....(they mate for life).   (There is a large bird to the right of the nest...assume it is an eagle)

Much less exciting is the Alexander Graham Bell mansion, just a short walk from the nest.   He owned 700 acres and the family resides in the several residences.    The last occupant of this place was a 101 yr old granddaughter who died this summer.    There is a Bell Museum in Baddeck which is quite extensive and interesting.

And this stands at the entrance to the Baddeck harbor......There is a picture on every corner.

The Acadian side of things......

I won't refer to the map today but it is helpful in getting an idea about the history of this beautiful place.    Nova Scotia , New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island were originally French (Acadian) along with Maine in the 1600-1700.    They left France to find peace from all the wars with Britain and settled throughout this region.    The British also came, mostly Scottish (gaelic).    The western part of Cape Breton Island is predominately French, with Acadian culture dominating and dependence on the sea for their livelihood.     In the southern part, Margaree Valley (near us) is a beautiful place of rolling hills, lakes and forests....this is the Scottish/British section and agriculture is dominant.   The Eastern and Northern section is the Scottish Highlands......people who have been to Scotland say this area is just like it.    The music, the food and the crafts reflect this heritage.   

We wandered on some back roads on Monday and happened upon this farm which advertised a yarn shop.    We drove up the long farm road to find a small farmhouse, some sheep and this building for housing farm equipment

and the delightful yarn shop.    The owner, in her 30's came down from the loft, knitting as she walked down the stairs.   She said the farm had been in the family for over 200 years.    The yarns were lovely as were the knitted/felted items.    Of course, I had to walk away with something so picked up one of the colorful hanks of yarn to the left of the window for some wool sox. 

 Crafts are a big industry on the island and rug hooking among the Acadian French is proudly displayed  and sold.   I picked up two small pieces to use as coasters in the motorhome in the seaside community of Cheticamp.   

On Wednesday, we headed out for a recommended hike on the Western side (the Acadian side) of the island.   The coastline is rounder and less rugged ..... the body of water is the St Lawrence Sea and is a popular whale watching area.  

We chose Skyline as it is considered "the premier hiking trail in Nova Scotia".   The parking lot was busy, the sky was clear blue and the temperature was in the 70's when we left home.   We should have checked it  before we started out.......(it was 84 when we got back to the car).

It was HOT......and aside from this stretch, there was NO shade.....and no breeze.  

This was a more typical view of our walk, high, with a view of the sea and...did I mention NO shade.   Luckily, the trail was fairly mild but mostly uphill on the way back.

Pretty ground berries along the way..........we saw 1 robin, 1 little brown bird, 2 seagulls, 2 small orange butterflies, no whales, no dolphins, no eagles and no relief from the sun.    We did bring hats but it was too hot to wear them with my thick hair.

We only followed one route instead of the loop as it was reported to be very rugged.

At the end of the trail is a boardwalk leading down to look-out areas.....where we'd hope to spot Pilot whales......but they were deep in the water, trying to avoid the sun also.   

We ate our PB&J lunch and headed back uphill.    It would have been a nice walk on a cooler, breezy day but we won't repeat it anytime soon.     We ended our jaunt at the local Tim Hortons for ice cold smoothies.........