It
was with some sad feelings that we drove off the beautiful island, vowing to
return when we can spend more time. We weighed our options of driving off the
island over the long bridge, or taking the more direct ferry across the water.
In the end, we chose the driving route. And we set off for the next leg of our adventure
getting over to Nova Scotia. Today's drive would be around 400 miles. The drive
was gorgeous, filled with lovely views of the ocean, trees, lovely, lovely
rolling hills. A great time driving.
We were headed over to one of the most beautiful areas of Nova Scotia: Cape
Breton Island. This island is very far to the east in Canada. Once we crossed the causeway onto the island, we headed to the left to go up the western shore
driving on an amazingly beautiful highway. The Cabot Trail is the name of the
main trail, with several other smaller roads, all that have picturesque names.
Part of the island has Acadian settlements. This means so much more to us after
our introduction at the Acadian Living History site.
We stopped to take a peak at the Red Shoe Pub owned by a famous musician on the
island and there were a couple of performers playing fiddle and guitar. We
sneaked in and order drinking and a snack only to find out they were just
finishing filming a commercial for the island. They played just a bit more, and
then we got to watch the still photos of people in the background being served
seafood, etc. fun to see, and then they were done so just a brief fun
encounter.
The drive was stunning, filled with such wonderful views, including many little fishing villages. We loved the brightly colored fishing boats.
Where we were really excited to get to was Cape Breton Highlands National Park.
We knew we would not have a ton of time, so got some guidance from a park
ranger on great pullout a where you had marvelous views of the cliffs and the
sea as well as some easy hiking paths.
One path we went on features a traditional Scottish shepherd hut set in a
300-400 year old forest of sugar maples. So special!!! These were maples like
we had never seen. Forests the way they were meant to grow!
The road crossed the island, rising to a high plateau. In this area we found a wonderful bog crossed by a boardwalk. What was of most interest to us was the carnivorous plants. The pitcher plants were easy to find, at more than six inches high, but we had to look very closely for the tiny sundews. This national park was amazing.
As we got to the very top of the island, we reached our home for the
night in the village Dingwall. This was a very small community and we
were staying at a very charming bed and breakfast. The person who checked us in
when she found out that we had not had dinner, sent us immediately over to a
fancy but rustic resort to see if they could fit us in. They could and we had a
very fine gourmet meal of very fresh fish. Yum!
The B and B was very quiet and peaceful. We were so pleased to be away
from the bustle of roads and tourists....we wished to have a couple of days
just sitting with the quiet. As we went to sleep we could hear the crashing of
the waves. Stunning!
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