My Journey - Like It Or Not!

MrPants said:
Took off from Halifax about 8:30 AM and stopped just up the road from the hotel for a much needed (and appreciated) coffee! I hit the freeway as I had to make time today. Long journey to my overnight stop at the Keltic Lodge in a place called Igonish, Cape Breton Island.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Nova Scotia or Cape Breton Island and the Cabot Trail for that matter ..... here’s the deal: Nova Scotia is a Province in Canada (similar to a State in the US). Cape Breton is a large island which is part of Nova Scotia and separated only by a thin ribbon of water. The Cabot Trail is a roadway that begins roughly half way up Cape Breton and circles the coast of northern Cape Breton where the ‘highlands’ are. The highlands being large hills accented by steep, rock cliffs falling off into the ocean. The Cabot Trail is a road that winds it’s way along the entire length of this coastal area. Much of the view is pretty spectacular when the weather is good. This issue is, because of the exposure to the cool waters, the weather here is extremely changeable.

Here’s an image of what I’m talking about. The Trail is highlighted in yellow although, I did end up taking a detour at the norther most point and went to 'Meat Cove', lol. Not worth the drive to go there IMO.:
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Here's an idea of the actual roadway that traverses the coast:
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Now to get to Cape Breton Island, you only have to drive across the man made causeway that’s located at Port Hawkesbury.
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Once across the causeway, it’s onward to Baddeck – the beginning of the Cabot Trail. From Baddeck, it’s maybe 1.5 or 2 hours to my overnight stop at the Keltic Lodge. I stopped in Baddeck to stretch my legs and ran across this wrought iron Pirate with a crow sitting on his arm o_O Not sure why he didn't have a parrot?
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Made it to the lodge around 4:30; got my room settled then went over to the building that housed 2 restaurants. I settled in one and had a cold beer to celebrate my arrival then ordered dinner. What else would I have but a lobster roll of course!
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After a good night's sleep, it's onward to drive the rest of the Cabot Trail tomorrow. Hopefully the weather cooperates 🙏
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I'll bet that drive is beautiful!
Thanks again for an interesting trip.
 

Shero said:
Enjoying your travel blog Mr Pants :love: and so love the picture of the Blue Nose sailing schooner replica! Bon voyage!
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Yes! It was particularly majestic with the early morning mist hanging over the harbor :love:
Merci!
 

I had to go back to the start of this thread to read about your life in the north, far too cold for me. So now you are in Canada, your trip brings back so many memories, Quebec City I remember being stranded on the Plains of Abraham because the heavens had opened and it was more advantageous to stay put. We visited Lunenburg in 2017, whilst there we took a trip to the Fortress of Louisbourg which is one of the historic sites in Nova Scotia. And now you are in Ingonish, more wonderful memories maybe because my late husband has family there. Enjoy your drive tomorrow on the Cabot Trail the colours must be breath taking at this time of year. I never made it in the fall. This time of year I miss the fall colours in Ontario.
 
RobinWren said:
I had to go back to the start of this thread to read about your life in the north, far too cold for me. So now you are in Canada, your trip brings back so many memories, Quebec City I remember being stranded on the Plains of Abraham because the heavens had opened and it was more advantageous to stay put. We visited Lunenburg in 2017, whilst there we took a trip to the Fortress of Louisbourg which is one of the historic sites in Nova Scotia. And now you are in Ingonish, more wonderful memories maybe because my late husband has family there. Enjoy your drive tomorrow on the Cabot Trail the colours must be breath taking at this time of year. I never made it in the fall. This time of year I miss the fall colours in Ontario.
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Unfortunately, it's been unseasonably warm these past couple of weeks here and not much is happening yet in terms of the changing of colour of the leaves yet. Some small trees are turning but it's still a long way off from real change. Very unusual for this time of year! It's fortunate in a way though. I can wear a T-shirt and roll the window down and feel very comfortable!
 
We spent some time touring around the east coast a few years ago. Next time we have to include Newfoundland. Have you been?
 
Far more pleasant to experience those conditions while touring than rain. But don't stay too long or you might find snow conditions, I would not like it there in the winter. We took the overnight ferry between NS and NFLD another province to explore. We loved it there, the people are very welcoming, fresh seafood, the best cod that I have ever tasted. Enjoy the rest of your tour wherever you roam.
 
Jules said:
We spent some time touring around the east coast a few years ago. Next time we have to include Newfoundland. Have you been?
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No I have not. Often thought of going because it's got some beautiful sites and as @RobinWren stated, the people there are very welcoming, as they are most anywhere down east. Gros Moren Nat. Park would be well worth seeing but you need a week pretty much to do Nfld. It's a big place plus the ferry rides over and back.
 
I got lazy and didn't finish reporting the rest of my East Coast Canadian travels - lol.
I did do the rest of the Cabot Trail drive but the weather wasn't ideal - not terrible but off & on overcast and a little windy. The fall color change hadn't really happened yet as even the night time temps were still well above freezing. would have been nicer to see those trees all different colors!

I left from my overnight stay at 'The Kelitc Lodge' in Igonish, Cape Breton Island. Man, that place was super expensive even though it was an off season rate. They have a 18 hole golf course that overlooks the cliffs and ocean so I suppose in summer months, golfers are flocking to the place at probably 1.5 times the rates I was paying! Where do people get that kind of $$??

After I woke up and got showered & dressed, I went out onto the private patio I had on the ground floor to check the weather. It looked promising as I could see sun shining on the beach in the distance:
Keltic.jpg

That quickly faded as I had some breakfast then prepared to leave. I stopped on the road out to capture the majestic yet rather desolate scene. Darker clouds moving in, trees, ocean and lots & lots of rock!
Keltic1.jpg

I headed out and detoured a little to go see Neil's Harbour, on a suggestion from a local I was talking to at the Keltic lodge. Turns out it was not much more than a fishing harbour and a lighthouse but the short drive off the trail was worth it. I met some locals who were eager to talk!
Fishing2.jpg
Fishing1.jpg
The Seagulls were all lining up to get their turn at discarded fish innards :D
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I'll finish up in another thread as I'm out of photo capacity in this one ....... to be continued ;)
 
As is typical for Cape Breton, the weather was ever changing all day long. From cloud to part sun and back again. It could have been worse though so I'm not gonna complain.
I took another detour off the mail Trail to head to the northern most point of Cape Breton at a place called Meat Cove.
This drive off the main road was longer and turned out to be unimpressive. Just lots of trees and a not so well maintained road lol (oh my car's poor shocks :eek:). Arriving at last at Meat Cove, the scene that greeted me was .... well, unimpressive :confused: Guess what I saw?
Meat Cove.jpg
Yeah ... more rocks, ocean and a fairly deserted harbour :cautious:

I didn't stick around long after speaking with a local guy who told me how great the weather was as they normally only get 1 week of BBQ weather each year; apparently in early August?

The weather did improve though as I headed down the backside of the Cabot Trail. It was looking better as I headed along the northwest part of the trail back toward my next overnight stop in Port Hawkesbury.
meat cove2.jpg
It's my understanding that this part of the Cabot Trail is the most scenic. Unfortunately, the position of the sun was in front of me and I'm just using my cell phone camera so images are washed out. It really is breathtaking in person as the road winds around the hills just up from the ocean. A lovely drive actually!
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After arriving at Port Hawkesbury for the night, I headed across the street to a bar and grill to have a bite to eat. I wasn't in the mood for anything fancy and saw an item on the menu that seemed intriguing. It was labelled as 'Just A Cheeseburger" so, I order that lol. As advertised, it was 'just a cheeseburger'. There was no tomato, lettuce. onion on it .... nothing! Not even any condiments 😆
Oh well. I was warned! It was actually a pretty good cheeseburger and I did have a piece of pie for desert so that worked for me.

Next morning, it was off to Prince Edward Island to have a short visit with an old friend of mine.
Hadn't seen her in probably 20 years so I was looking forward to that 🙂
 
I've been remis in finishing this travel journal :cautious: I think I'm a week behind actual timing and that's just because I lost interest I suppose once my travels were over.

Anyway, I did awake the next morning and set off for Prince Edward Island to visit a good friend of mine who I hadn't seen in probably 15 years or so. I was a friend of her husband many, many years ago and got to know her after they were married. He ended up a belligerent drunk who ruined his live and killed off all his relationships. His wife & I somehow kept in touch over the years. She's remarried now to a guy who treats her right and for that, I'm happy because she endured a lot over the years.

On my way there, I was driving along the north coast of Nova Scotia, headed for the New Brunswick border then the confederation bridge to PEI and I remembered someone had told me about a town I was about to pass by called Pictou. Now, I would pronounce that 'Pic-to' but, I was advised that the locals call their town 'Pic-toe'; OK - lol! Anyway, I was a little hungry and maybe even ready for a cool one as the weather was beautiful. Fairly sunny and still unusually warm for the time of year.

I found my way into town and made my way to the coast, which is where the action usually is in these places. Sure enough, it was a beautiful little coastal village :love:
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There was this odd sailing ship that seemed to be under construction. I found a plaque that told me the story about that ship. It was a reconstruction effort that the town had undertaken to rebuild the 'Hector".
(Hopefully, you can read this explanation).
Hector.jpg
As I mentioned earlier, I was hungry and wetting my whistle was not out of the question either. I think I found my spot, right there at the waterfront (y)
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After satisfying my hunger and thirst, I rolled on to P.E.I. My final stop before heading back to visit my mother again then heading off to my friend's place in Ontario, which is where I will be staying for the short term at least.
Anyone who's been to Prince Edward Island will recognize the red dirt right away. For some reason it always feels like you're 'coming home' and the people there only serve to reinforce that notion. Such a beautiful place and such beautiful people :love:
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Just saw these beautiful photos, although I've never been to PEI was reminded of the pink rocks I found in NFLD. Cape Breton has been washed out in places so those pics might look a bit different now. Look forward to hearing about your journey.
 
Greetings from Buzios, Brazil.
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Just arrived here the other day after spending time in Argentina and working my way up the east coast of Uruguay then into Brazil. Weather is amazing with daily temps at 25-26 C (70's in F temp). Not humid and no rain as of yet. Managed to find a room above a bar/kitchen place here right on the beach. Think I'll stay awhile and explore.

Will post up some pics of my travels a little later. I gotta say; it's a nice change from winter :love:
 
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