16 August 2019, Friday We spend much of the morning at the campground activity hut trying to upload blog, but the wifi is very slow. It seems only adequate for checking email and the news. Another campground resident decides it is more a wifi ‘warm spot’ than hotspot. O and I decide to return to White Point on the coastal loop that begins at Neils Harbour. We were here two
15 August 2019, Thursday Our destination of the day is Meat Cove, the northernmost community on Cape Breton Island and probably one of the most isolated. After breakfast we make a brief stop back at Green Cove. O has been rereading the brochure on the rocks there and wants to make sure he identified them properly. While I check in with Dad back home, O walks out onto the rocks
14 August 2019, Wednesday After another lazy morning during which we finish our Aucoin Bakery pastries, we drive to Green Cove, site of some very interesting rocks: granite which predominates, gneiss, and schist. The pink of the granite, the intensely blue ocean, the green trees and the blue sky make for an incredibly beautiful afternoon. From Green Cove we drive the coastal loop starting at Neil’s Harbour. This area is
13 August 2013, Tuesday The day of my orthopedic surgeon appointment has finally arrived. O and I are up early and on the road by 7 am. We make good time driving past scenic Atlantic views towards Sydney, such good time in fact that we stop for breakfast at the Clucking Hen where we read a sign with the following quote: “I dream of a better world where chickens can
12 August 2019, Monday The rain pounded on Vincent’s roof all night long, which is good because Vincent was in need of a bath. By morning the sun is shining. As we eat breakfast we watch several of our neighbors pack up to move on to new destinations. When we finish eating, we do the same. We stop at Aucoin Bakery for pastries for Tuesday’s breakfast. We will need to
11 August 2019, Sunday We watch rain showers alternate with bright sunshine as we eat our Aucoin Bakery cherry pie. Then it’s off to town for laundry and a few groceries. Ah – but it’s Sunday and no stores are open in this little Acadian town. Instead O and I drive the Back Road that goes up into the hills behind Cheticamp and passes by an old gypsum mine. Then,
10 August 2019, Saturday After a delicious breakfast of apple and blueberry turnovers from Aucoin Bakery in Cheticamp, we return to the bakery once more to buy a cherry pie for tomorrow’s breakfast, along with some muffins and oatcakes. Then we are back on the Cabot Trail, driving straight through until we reach Pleasant Bay to continue our geological explore from there. We drive up Grand Anse Valley to North
Cheticamp Campground, Cabot Trail – Cape Breton Highlands NP It is finally time to begin exploring the Cape Breton Highlands. Soon after leaving the campground the Cabot Trail winds into the mountains offering breathtaking views of the Gulf of St. Lawrence below. There are many look-offs, as they are called here, and to add to the fun, we have O’s geological map of Nova Scotia (available at the Cheticamp visitor
8 August 2019, Thursday We are on the road once more, driving to Cape Breton Highlands National Park. It is not a very long way from the Normaway Inn. As we drive through the town of Cheticamp we see an information sign at Tres Pignons, a museum with a concentration on Acadian life in the Cheticamp area and on the Acadian tradition of fine rug making here in Cheticamp. After
7 August 2019 As we eat our breakfast in the sunny dining room the local news is softly broadcast on a radio near our table. Here’s what’s on local news when there are no mass murders or wars or toxic politics to report: Two young people are looking for a forever home. The local government has reached an agreement with the provincial government over who is to pay for courthouse