Days 48 to 50 Kejumukujik National Park

Monday, July 29th 2013

After our bike ride, we rested awhile and then decided to take advantage of the opportunities here and try our luck at handling a canoe.  We had both done it decades ago, but really could not remember the fundamentals.  A lot of people say canoes are more comfortable especially as we get older, and I love the idea of being able to bring a tent and “rough it” on remote islands.  ( I guess my inner Girl Scout is still there ).

Beautiful Mercey River in Kejumukujik National Park

Well, we were not a pretty canoe team.  We were given some instructions on how to steer, but I was thinking that Norm would be in back doing that job so I didn’t really pay attention.  Then when I was told that steering was up to me, I started to sweat! I thought “ oh, no this is NOT going to be fun! “  I struggled and struggled trying to figure it out, but it was difficult.  Norm would change paddling sides just as I thought I was getting the hang of it and we would end up in the bushes again!  I just wanted to cry. He was getting frustrated as well.

Enough of this torture, I wanted to change seats, and Norm, I am sure, was thrilled with the suggestion.   Now  I have to tell you, that was a feat worth bragging about!  Here we were, holding onto a branch,  managing  not fall in as we balanced precariously while passing each other on the wobbly canoe!

After that marvelous feat was accomplished, the trip went much better with Norm in the helm. ( He did, however, take a while to get the hang of it himself )  We paddled up and down river for a couple of hours marveling at how quiet it was out there, and the how the reflections of the trees upon the water made the trip just incredible.

  Our arms are getting a pretty good workout these days, so when we got home I checked to see if my new muscles didn’t  jiggle under my arm, but they sadly did.  I think it is going to take a lot of paddling to firm up those flapping babies!  

Tuesday July 30, 2013

Ahh, a day of rest.  I love these days sometimes as much as the days we are testing our physical limitations.  I vacuumed, cleaned and pulled out the extra supplies hidden away under the couch and dinette, and reorganized for the next phase of the vacation.  Norman sat outside and enjoyed a good book.
 

We also spent, once again, a few hours rearranging our itinerary making sure we are able to see and do the things that are most important to us.

 I needed to add a day to shop for a dress for my daughter’s wedding if I don’t want to wear the same one I just wore to Norm daughter’s wedding in June.  I am glad I have that as an option though.  One day. I have no idea what kind of stores there are in St John, but it is a large city.  I intend to send Norm out golfing, and he will certainly not have a problem with that.

Wednesday July 31^st 2013

The activity of the day was to be shuttled up river to a spot that would afford us the opportunity to kayak down 10 or more “swift water “ areas on the Mercer River.  I was a little nervous because I had never done this before.

After getting settled in our two person kayak, Norm and I headed downstream and within minutes had to deal with the first area of “rapids”.  After perhaps the first two “rapids” we quickly became a coordinated team.  I would say which way to aim around the rocks ( sometimes getting my right and left mixed up which would cause a problem ) and we would smoothly zip past them as if we actually knew what we were doing!

A very beautiful day on the Mercy River

I had the camera safely stored in the waterproof case, so I didn't get any pictures of these "rapids". ( In doing so I may have ruined the dangerous image you may have conjured up, and you would have realized just how "tame" these "scary" waters were! )  

We were paddling together so well, that this 2 hour trip took us a little over an hour!

  These canoe and kayak trips have been so inexpensive!  2 hours in kayak, 2 hours in a canoe, and a shuttle with over an hour totaled to only $53.00!  Back in Florida we sometimes pay that for one canoe for a couple of hours!

After a job well done, we figured we deserved another ice cream!

That evening we took advantage of the park's tour of the petroglyphs given by one of the park's employees who just happened to be a Mi'kmaw native who was extremely passionate about her heritage.

 She explained how the most noticeable traces left by her peoples, the Mi'kmaq, are the engravings they created in the glacially polished slate outcrops found at several locations around the lake, referred to as 'petroglyphs' ( carvings in stone ).  These images are an invaluable resource for learning the history and lives of the Mi'kmaw ancestors.

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 There are over 500 individual petroglyphs within Kejimkujik National Historic Site, making it one of the largest collection of such images in eastern North America. The public are only allowed to see one of the sites here, ( and only with a guide )in order to protect these faint, weathered carvings from more human damage. ( Before this became a protected Historic Site, people unfortunately carved graffiti into the smooth slate, defacing this important piece of First People's history.)

This young lady lead us on a walk in the early evening through archaeological digs, and the petroglyphs themselves proved that they were a nomadic civilization, coming and going through the seasons as the weather, and therefore supplies, demanded.  We were told of the scared burial ground that was recently discovered that only can be seen with special permission.

Days 47 and 48 Kejimkujik National Park

Sunday, July 28th 2013

The laundry pile has been steadily growing, and my hiking pants were soon going to be able to walk on their own, so I decided to get right up and do the nasty chore before moving on this morning to Kejimkujik National Park ( pronounced kedge-i-mi-koo-jik or just "kedgy" as the locals call it ).

God, I hate these campground laundromats!  I had beaten everyone there, so managed to take the 4 washers I needed.  When it was time to dry, that's when the trouble began. The machines just kept gobbling up my precious Canadian coins, and not delivering heat.  After waiting for the repair guy, the job was done about 3 hours later.

Norm and I then moved on, this time south, to the middle of Nova Scotia to Kejimkujik. This is the only national park in Canada  in which it's entire area is also designated a National Historic site.
It is named after Kejimikujik Lake, the largest body of water in the park, and it has many other lakes and rivers that were important canoe routes between the Bay of Fundy and the Atlantic for the ancestors of the Mi'kmaq Indians. They have quite a few campsites here that are only accessible by canoe.  I would LOVE to do an overnight on a deserted island, but the weather forcast for our days here are not too promising.  Oh well, another item for the Bucket List.

Site # 177 At Kejimikujik National Park

We left the rugged coast behind and replaced it with lots of hardwood, fir and pine trees as well as lakes, streams and brooks.  Nova Scotia must be incredible in the fall!

As we arrived in the park and started our way down miles of roads to the campground, our poor RV pitched and rolled through the maze of potholes.  Everything in the upper cabinets came crashing out! I had learned last year to only put lightweight items on the shelves of these cabinets, just for this reason, so no real harm done (we think).

Our campsite is wonderful.  Set back about 75 feet from the road, and very rustic.  This campground does, however, have too many children running around. Norm and I still have the belief that children should be seen, but not heard. We like to hear the birds, not the screeching of ill mannered children. Perhaps when we have our own grandchild our tolerance for the little ones will improve?

A lone and camera shy loon 

It was a little after 1 PM, and the day was young. We decided to take advantage of the lack of rain and take a kayak trip out to the huge Kejimkujik Lake.

 A loon ( type of aquatic bird ) suddenly appeared a little off the boat, and every time I got my camera out it would duck under the water and swim in some unknown direction for many minutes before it again popped up and taunted me!  Norm was very patient, paddling the kayak around and listening to me curse when I missed it yet again.  After a half dozen misses, I finally got it!

Then I saw my own little "loon" testing the waters!

Monday July 29, 2013

Norm and I got to break out our bikes today, because there are miles and miles of lovely trails here.  Many, I hear rumored, to get lost in.

We studied the possiblities, and chose a trail that would give us about a 10 mile ride, and hopefully a lot of views.  It was all that.

A perfect bike trail for old farts. Wide and smooth.
Although it does give you a chance to look around,
it does not give you the excitement of a little danger.

The roads were perfect for us old farts.  Nicely leveled with crush gravel, but narrow
enough so it didn't lose that wooded feeling.

I once again would stop to marvel at the dead trees, and various types of ferns and moss, giving it really beautiful colors and shading.  Norm peddled on, wondering what in the world I found so attractive about a bunch of dead trees.

Now I think this is really beautiful!

The river that ran beside it ( is there a movie or book by that name? ) was flowing pretty fast, with some "rapids" in many areas.  I wondered how scary it would be to kayak down it; Norm wondered what day we could schedule it in. We probably wouldn't drown, it looked pretty shallow but did have quite a few large boulders..........

After the ride we hung around the campground and enjoyed Norm's perfect campfire.

Days 44 -46 A purchase made, and exploring Norm's roots

Thursday July 25th 2013

Well, after 5 years of searching for a perfect centerpiece for the table in the lanai ( screened in covered room ) we finally found it!  About a month ago at the Halifax farmer's market we saw a display of gorgeous kiln fired glass pieces.

We were particularly attracted to the trays of varying sizes.   They didn't have exactly what we wanted, but said they could make it for us.  The catch -  we would have to drive several hours back toward Lunenburg to the town of Chester to the main showroom.  Well, we did love it, but not THAT much we thought.

These were so adorable.  I read that they can make
these look like your own cat if you send them a picture!

Well, the weeks went by and we continued to stop at nearly every craft and gift shop along the way. Often we nearly missed the small signs on the side of the road, screeching the brakes as we wildly turned into the rutted lot.  We need a bumper sticker that reads " we brake for gift shops ".

Before long, we knew we lost our opportunity to finally fill that decorating void.  I just hated to go home from another big trip with only a couple of refrigerator magnets as mementos! Norm just hated stopping to browse yet another gift shop.

 I looked on the internet and realized this place was just an hour south of where we were now staying!  Another chance!  So after calling and making sure they were going to be open, ( we learned these creative types are often not in their studios or shops as advertised. ) we took another drive.

Sample of the work from Kiln Art in Chester, NS

 We arrived at the Chez Glass Lass  studio and we were just mesmerized by the rich, vibrant colors and unique designs!   I stumbled through the door feeling like I finally found the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Dishes,plates, glasses, large ornamental bowls that were $1500 - $2000 (sorry, no thanks ) hanging pieces, candlesticks, and of course the trays of various sizes that we made the pilgrimage for, all beckoned.




Sharon,the creator of this beautiful artwork, took the time and explained that she uses crushed stain glass, or "frit"as if it were paint.  She said it was like painting with colored sand, and then it is kiln fired. Every piece is unique. I loved them all.

 Thankfully my friend, Kathy, had previously gone over to our house to take a picture of our very predominant painting that sat next to the dining table, so we now knew which colors would work the best. It is amazing how you can forget what your house looks like when you are gone this long.

Norm and I finally came to a decision and ordered a lovely glass tray with the perfect colored fish swimming across it.  We discussed at length what type of fish, how many, what direction they would be swimming in, types of grasses, etc.  I can't wait to see how it will come out!

After we left the showroom we shared a dish of homemade ice cream at a very quaint little shop, and headed back, all a-glow from our purchase ( and of course, the ice cream ).

Friday, July 26th 2013

One huge thing I failed to mention, is that my daughter Laura, is getting married!  She is expecting a baby in early November; she and her fiance Mike decided to make it official with a small but lovely ceremony on a mountain in the western part of Massachusetts!   I took a couple of days helping her make some of the wedding arrangements. Oh, the internet is such a marvelous thing! All the while I was working with the other grandmothers ( Mike's mom and Laura's step-mom ) to nail down the particulars for the baby shower next month. The baby will be so lucky to have 3 sets of grandparents to spoil him/her!

Because of this sudden, but wonderful news,we need to get back to Massachusetts a couple of weeks earlier than planned.  No problem, but the itinerary and reservations needed to be adjusted, and it took a bit of time.

On Friday we left Kentville and headed further west to Annapolis, Nova Scotia to our home for the next few days at Dunromin Campground in Grandville Ferry.

 It seemed like a nice enough place that was conveniently located. It had what appears to be the prerequisite pool and playground and what seemed like a very popular little restaurant (none of which we used).

We quickly set up and headed into Annapolis to see Victoria Heritge Gardens.  All the tour groups go here, so we hoped it would be good.  After seeing Bouchart Gardens in

Norm found further evidence that his family was here
in 1671 

Victoria, British Colombia, nothing compares.

 We meandered around and just by chance saw a small very old dwelling with a plaque with the list of families that were in the census of 1671, and the Belliveau family was included.  That was pretty neat. We then headed across the bay to Port Royal to check out the spot where Norman's ancestors first came to this continent from France in 1644.

Reconstruction of Port Royal settlement that was
originally built circa 1605

Port Royal is a reconstructed village of the first Acadian settlement that existed between 1605 and 1613, at which point it was destroyed by the British.  We enjoyed the people there in period costumes who explained the history of these French settlers, and we watched demonstrations on how they made wooden bowls and roof shingles.  It's always good to know, if we ever needed to build a hut in the woods, how to make the shingles!  Time consuming, but not too difficult, really.

One of the "settlers" demonstrating how to
make a wooden shingle

Norman brought his genealogical book that lays out the entire Belliveau family from when the first one arrived in North America in 1644 up to and including his children. There are over 20,000 Belliveau's spread across America listed in the book.

Norm was disappointed to learn that the "Port Royal" referred to in his book as the port of immigration of his ancestor was not the reconstructed place we were visiting.  Obviously it had been destroyed by the British thirty years earlier. What is now Annapolis Royal (back across the bay where we started today's journey) was previously called Port Royal as well.  But it seemed to lack any places of historical significance worth exploring so we moved on.




Saturday July 27th 2013

We rose to a very cold, windy and drizzly day but we headed out anyway to the local farmers market.  I think of the old "hunter-gatherers" of centuries past and wonder how hard it must have been for them to forage for meat' fish and berries.

We found some great local blueberries ( $3.00 qt ) and enough greens to get us by while we are in the National Park, which is our next stop.

Farmers Market in Annapolis, Nova Scotia

After lunch Norm and I played golf at the Digby Pines Golf Course, which was on his list of "must plays".

 It was still dreary out, but the weather forecast promised unlimited sun in the afternoon.

 Well, I have to tell you. We have never played on a course with so much standing water on it!  We had to keep the golf carts on the cart paths, so we had to continuously walk back and forth to our balls ( which always landed on the far side of the fairway ), sloshing through water many inches deep! It was easy to find your ball by the huge SPLASH it caused when landing!
A couple of times I found mine sitting in 6 inches of water!  No extra yards gained from bouncing and rolling on this course!

Sprouted Beans!  What a find at the farmers market!
They are one of the most nutritious foods known.

 It was a highly rated course, and I am sure it would have been more pleasant if we hadn't felt like a couple of ducks.

By the time we finished it was after 6:00PM so we went to dinner to sample the famous Digby Scallops,and they were fabulous.  The rest of the seafood dinner was just ok, but the highlight was definitely the large, succulent scallops!  Right off the boat, and perfectly cooked.





We returned to the campsite to witness "Christmas in July" and saw Santa on a golf cart driving away yelling "HO HO HO! "  Several of the campers were decorated in the wintertime holiday fashion.  Wierd.

Day 43 - Blomidon Provincial Park

  

Wednesday July 24, 2013

The weather is once again overcast with periods of rain.  Last night we were advised by the gentleman at dinner ( who owns the local Outdoor gear store, so in our book is a credible source ) that if was overcast, hike the Blomidon trails and skip Cape Split.( Both are known for their spectacular views) because it would be socked in with fog.

So off we went with our gear and picnic lunch, and headed to the coast, and to Blomidon Provincial Park as advised, to do some hiking.

  This is during a full moon period,
and tides are running 3 feet below sea level at low tide.

Unfortunately our hike took too long, and we did not return at high tide.
Note the dark water mark on the pier to see just how high the tide got.
It went from low, to high and back down this far in 4 hours!  Wow!

Norm hiking along the beach at Blomidon Provincial Park.
Note the red cliffs. 

 We stopped so I could take a picture of fishing boats left high and dry at low tide.

The Bay of Fundy  is said to have the world's highest tides.  What that means is that there is a 50 foot difference in the height of the tide from low to high.   This is five times higher than typical tides on the rest of the Atlantic Coast!  The water drains right out of the harbor and comes back in on a rush of water, almost like a mini tsunami reaching 3 feet in height, creating with it, whirlpools and rapids!  There are all kinds of "tidal bore" adventure activities in the Bay of Fundy, which I really wanted to do, but as vacation time nears its end, and the weather "unsettled" at best, I will just have to miss that adventure this time.

Where we want to hike is socked in the fog!
So eerie! But beautiful

 As we continued on up the mountain, it got foggier, and foggier.  By the time we reached the top, we could hardly see past the hood of the car.  Darn! No views here!

We drove back to the bottom and climbed down to the beach to take advantage of the low tides while we were able walk the beach and marvel at these amazing red cliffs. There were many signs warning people to watch the incoming tide carefully, because at this particular place, it rises VERY quickly, perhaps trapping folks.  Not good.

 Norm had the great idea to keep an eye on a large rock that was about 15 feet from the water's edge.  Well, within 10 minutes, the rock was underwater! That information suggested we not dawdle any longer, and get off the beach. This tide is REALLY fast!

We stopped and spoke with a number of people, some of whom were Rock Hunters. They shared their stories of local rock hunting, and how they create jewelry from the agates, jaspers, quartz and other crystals that abound at this beach.  They shared where the best rocks are found, but Norm didn't seem too interested, so I will have to add that to my Bucket List of things to do. I would love to find a stone and have it made into a piece of jewelry.

Future jewelry from the trunk of
a Rock Hunter 

Norm and I walked the beach and marveled at how fast the tide actually does come in here, and how easily the careless could get in serious trouble being stranded.  We thought we would drive up the mountain try to hike to see the fabulous views of the Fundy Bay again.  The fog must have cleared up there by now.....  well, no it didn't, but we were very determined.  We thought that if we hiked through the woods for several miles, then come out at the coast, perhaps the fog would have lifted by then.

Believe it or not, this is a "look-off".  All we could
see was white!

 

We trudged along, sometimes in the rain, anxiously awaiting that first, and highest, look-out.  We found the platform, but beyond it was an endless white.

We continued on, stopping at each look-out, seeing nothing.

When we reached the end of the trail -  TA-DAH!  The sun was shining, and the air was clearing! Figures!

The fog is beginning to finally lift, but I didn't have
the energy to climb back up the mountain to see
what we imagined would be a phenomenal view.

People sure love their gardens around here!
This yard was completely filled with lilies. 

I was able to take a few pictures, then we headed home, a couple of disappointed hikers. I am told the view we missed was one of the best of the Province!

Day 42 A Gastronomic Delight

Tuesday July 23,2013

In order to head to the western side of Nova Scotia, we had to pick up and move on once again.  This time to Highbury Gardens Family Camping Campground, in Kentville, located at approximately the midpoint of Nova Scotia.  This was one of our longer drives, taking about 5 hours.

Our route from July 12th to July 25th 

  In the recently purchased  guidebook “ Exploring Nova Scotia – 400 Unique Adventures and Activities” we learned that this area, Wolfville in particular, has some really wonderful restaurants.  It had been quite a while since we have had a meal out, and not since we left home had we had a true “dining experience”, so we were more than thrilled.   After consulting my ever-dependable website Trip Advisor, we sought out the #1 restaurant in the area which was Front and Central in Wolfville. 

The delicious scallop dish at
Front and Central, Wolfville, NS

We were in heaven!  I started off by having my first alcoholic beverage in over two years which was a gin concoction with beet juice, orange nectar, and a few other strange ingredients I had never heard of.  Beets?  It had to be good for me, right? 

What made this lovely little place special was that they specialized in smaller plates, and suggest you share and order several so you can experience the many exotic flavors.

I had a Spring Vegetable Salad.  Sounds ordinary enough, doesn't it?  Well, it had asparagus, carrot, turnip, peas, goat cheese, parsley, mint, pea tendrils? Crispy quinoa, carrot top, almond pesto and lemon vinaigrette. Gluten free, too.

Norm had the Chive Gnocchi with oyster mushrooms, kale, truffle oil, ricotta, maple and ginger gastrique ( I don’t know what that is, but it sounds like it might hurt ).  We also shared the mussels, scallops pictured above, and finished it off with Vanilla Ice Cream with blood orange infused extra virgin olive oil, pomegranate balsamic vinegar, ( these were from the Liquid Gold oil and vinegar company I previously told you about ) with Malden sea salt.  It sounded very strange, but folks on Trip Advisor raved about it, and we were interested because we had tried these oils in a store.  We certainly wished we bought them, now! It was soooo very good. Worth the spare tires we are now sporting around our tummies!

We talked with the people at the table next to us for quite a while, and the manager spent a lot of time conversing as well.  We had a great time, and a fabulous meal. Three hours later, we headed back, very contented!

Days 38 - 40 Some Laughs and some service

Friday, July 19^th 2013

As we drove from our lovely campsite in Cape Breton Highlands National Park and left new friends behind, I felt that sadness that I experience whenever we leave a particularly wonderful place knowing I  will never return. 

Leaving Cape Breton behind us on a gloomy day

We headed about 3 hours back down the Cabot Trail heading to Hyclass Ocean Campground  in Havre Boucher, Nova Scotia, not far from the bridge on the land side of Cape Breton Island.   This campground  was a pleasant surprise.  Although the campsites were uncomfortably close, it was, in fact right on what appeared to be a bay, more than the ocean.

 

 Laundry was definitely number one on the agenda!  There were no facilities in the state park, so we had 5 or 6 loads to do. 

RV's are really crammed in here

After we set up “ camp “ I immediately headed out in search of the washers and dryers.  Or should I say “washer” and “dryer” as in only one of each.  One.  For a large campground! Oh, this should be interesting.  I quickly grabbed some clothes and claimed the coveted machine.  After two loads, someone came by this 6 x 8 little building hoping to do their own wash. As much as my inner beast thought “ Beat it!  I got here first! “  I offered to let them do their two loads before I did more.  I was taught to share my toys.  We spent the afternoon on our computers, constantly getting disconnected and frustrated.  I was constantly running back and forth to the laundromat.

Saturday July 20^th

Finally, 30 minutes away in Antigonish they were having another Farmer’s Market.  We have gone to a couple since leaving Halifax, and we have not found  the fresh organic vegetables we had hoped for.  In Cheticamp there was one lady that must have pulled her under developed lettuce and swisschard from the ground, weeds and all!  We were desperate, so we bought nearly all she had, and the weeds turned out to be quite tasty.  So when we heard about the one in Antigonish, we were all over it!  Still no luck! So we had to resort to the local supermarket to get what we needed.  

When we returned, the weather had turned extremely hot.  Our thermometer  read 98 degrees, but the humidity was only 35 percent.  I never believed it when people said 100 degrees didn't feel hot if the humidity was low.  After all,I figured, if you put your head inside your oven, it’s HOT, isn't it? Even without the humidity!  But now I am re-thinking that. Inside the RV the air conditioner was struggling to keep cool until the entire campground lost electrical power.  We lazied around outside where there was a lovely, but strong breeze.  We strolled down by the water, wading, wishing we had put our suits on to swim, since the water temperature felt like it was probably in the high 70’s.

Party's just "happen" up here in the Maritimes.
If you play, people will come.  People came, and
the party went on until after midnight.

After dinner and a strong rain shower with the sun out ( weird ) the people in the camper right next to us had a “gathering” .  Earlier they had invited us, but we had no idea that this was going to be as large as it was.  They had a fire going, rope lights strung around, and there must have been 20 people all sitting ; drinking whatever and enjoying the music while talking with what appeared to be friends.  They were all very welcoming. 

We learned that here in Nova Scotia, they still to this day have “ Kitchen Parties” which is a very casual event that families and sometimes a few close neighbors would gather in the kitchen ( which is usually the largest room ) and play music and maybe dance.  Music is HUGE here.  It is taught by the older generations to the younger, and boy do they have talent! 

Sunday July 21^st 2013

We managed to get the best campsite in
Whiddens Motel Apts. and Campground 

When we went down the very steep hills of Cape Breton last week, the brakes of our car were acting strange, and the front end was shaking.  Last year, we had discovered a repair facility that was able to fix things that our local Florida shops could not seem to repair in several attempts, so we had great faith in this one particular place. We knew we would be due an oil change at this point of the trip, and assumed we would get service done as we drove by.   We had made an appointment to service the car in Antigonish, and camp reservations at Whiddens Motel Apts and Campground . 

Cape George Lighthouse

 We waited for a fabulous, wide site to free up while I packed us a picnic lunch, to take with us on this nice, scenic drive around Cape George that was said to be very beautiful. There were hiking trails as well, so we grabbed a map, our gear, and headed out.   The road, we sadly discovered, was mainly inland with only glimpses of the beautiful coastal area, so we were pretty disappointed in the trip.

Monday we brought the car to the dealer and they brought us back to the campground where we did some chores, and just relaxed on a beautiful day. 

"Run for your Wife"
at the Antigonish Theatre Frestival

 By the time we got the car back, the day was pretty shot, but I had managed to get tickets to what we learned was a fabulous comedy called “ Run for Your Wife “ playing in the local college theater, which people came from all around ( even Newfoundland ) to see.  We went  that night and very much enjoyed this lively comedy. The acting was phenomenal. 

  

Days 35 - 38 Lots to see and do on Cape Breton Island

July 16th to July 19th, 2013

I must admit that we are struggling to remember what we did on these days.  It is amazing when you do a long vacation like this, and everyday is not filled with action packed fun, that you can actually forget where the days went, and how you spent them.  This is really scary because being of "senior" status, we may not have too many days left!  They just slip away unnoticed.

I do, however, remember playing for the first time (and Norm his second) on the beautiful golf course Le Portage here in Cheticamp ( I tend to remember where we spend $100 ). It was a hot and sunny day with swift cooling breezes, the course was in perfect condition, and the views of the surrounding mountains, albeit hazy, were very nice.

Thursday evening we went into the town of Cheticamp and saw a musical play performed completely by a very talented group of young people, ages ranging from an adorable 6 or 7, to mostly high school age. The play was mostly in French, but it didn't matter.  They sang, danced, and several of the performers played multiple instruments.  It was two hours of non-stop fun.!   We think it must have been a comedy,because the audience was laughing a lot.

Very talented kids in this french musical

                                                   










                                                                        Watch this               video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj149BSucko  if you would like to see the talent from this very small community. I chose to put a link to youtube because of the lack of "space" allowed on this blog site. The video may take a minute to come up, and it is about a minute and a half long.  Enjoy.

Nice, relaxing pool after a hair raising bike ride!

  If you keep the momentum going, these bikes
just fly over rocks!  My shock absorber on the front of the bike
can "float" up to 6 inches! This bike is 12 years old and
I still love it! Like riding a Cadillac!

We also went on an 8 mile hike/bike  to the Salmon pools, which began very close to our campsite.  This is the only trail within the park that they allow bicycles, and because of all the rocks, we can’t imagine it is often used by bicyclists.

We had an invigorating bike ride bouncing over the intimidating rocks, followed by a 3 mile hike, stopping to admire the pools and waterfalls.  Boy, there is something about brooks and ponds that just calm my sou!l.  The stressed feelings that I might never had been consciously aware of, just melt away.  Interestingly, oceans never have the same effect on me.  Norm just thinks I am weird.  Maybe you do too?

Norm, always climbing to a high point!

Ahhh, I love a chair at the end of the trail.
They have set these Adirondack chairs and the
end of each trail.  Nice! 

We decided to leave beautiful Cape Breton Island a few days early because we felt we saw and did as much as we wanted, or were capable of doing.  There we plenty more hikes here, but we felt we could do them elsewhere with different scenery.  

Map of our recent travel route - July 1st to 19th

Here's a map of Nova Scotia, and here is a rough layout of our major travel stops.  We have taken many side trips along the way, but this gives you a visual of where we have been so far.

B, C, D    June 30th to July 8th -  Halifax Nova Scotia area   ( Woodhaven RV Park )
                           daytripping to Peggy's Cove, Lunenburg, and Pleasant Bay
E              July 8th - July 12th - Port Hood, NS on Cape Breton Island  ( Sunset Sands RV Park )
F              July 12- July 19th - Cheticamp NS  ( Cheticamp Campground in the National Park )

Days 33 and 34 Driving the Cabot Trail

Sunday July 14^th

We may not have seen a moose, but we saw a great sunset!
Note the sun in the middle of the picture sinking into the sea

Today was another perfect weather day.  Boy, I could love these  temps in the high 60’s with light, gentle breezes!  Norm went to play golf, at Le Portage Golf course. 

  He had a great day, and said it was probably the nicest course he has played in a very long time.  The conditions were ideal.

 I stayed back and reorganized the RV and cleaned.  I also took a nap to recharge for the next big activity.  Important stuff! 

After dinner we went up the road to view another sunset, hoping to see a moose, but had no luck.

Monday July 15^th 2013

The weather, again was glorious so we took advantage of it to make the all day trip around famous Cabot Trail.  The sunshine was bright, with temperatures in the upper 80’s, but it was unfortunately quite hazy, which made photographing the mountains difficult. My pictures do not do them justice.

 We stopped at most lookouts ( there were dozens ) to take pictures and drink in the incredible vistas, and to marvel at the numerous cyclists grinding their way up the extremely steep mountains carrying bulging packs of gear on the sides of their bikes! None of them looked too happy, I noticed. 

   

If we had a smaller RV, we could have this view, too
Meat Cove Campground

I made Norm stop at most gift shops, but  

perfect souvenir is as allusive as the moose, but it's just as fun hunting for it.

Perhaps we will find a souvenir in this
Sears store!

     

We have, however, found two ornaments to add to our collection to hang on our Christmas tree adorned exclusively with travel mementos.  On some trips we don’t go to any gift shops, but we can always find a refrigerator magnet that I can hang a pretty ribbon on, or a key chain if need be. When we decorate the tree each winter it gives us the opportunity to remember all our trips together!  Pretty soon we will need a bigger tree! What a nice problem to have!

Waterfall seen at the end of the trail

We  took a short  hike to view a waterfall, and continued on our way, stopping at John Cabot’s Provincial Park for another picnic lunch.  We continued on, exploring most of the dirt roads that appeared to lead to the ocean or perhaps, if we were lucky, an “overlook “. 

By the time we had reached Meat Cove at the very northern most point of Cape Breton Island we were beat, and the trip felt more of a drudgery than a pleasure, so we took time out and found a spot on the beach where there was a bit of shade where we both took a quick power nap atop a lot of hard rocks.

Norm snoring up a storm lying on a bunch of hard rocks.
This is hard work, vacationing!

After an ice cream cone at the local shop, we left totally energized with our nap as sugar surged through our blood, ready to continue our journey ( which included a very long ride home).

We stopped and had diner at All Aboard Restaurant back in Cheticamp, and listened to
the fellow Norm met back in Mabou playing
the fiddle.  Tonight he was on the piano. Clever guy. The music was pleasant, but the meal, unfortunately, was not. Even the baked potato was terrible. How do you mess up a baked potato?  

Little fishing fleet in North Harbor

Below is the route we took around the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island

Day 32- Skyline Trail hike in Cape Breton Highlands

Saturday July 13^th

Today we took advantage of the most perfect weather.  Not a cloud in the sky, and temperatures in mid to high 60’s.  There is one particular trail here in Cape Breton Highlands National Park that everyone says you must do.  The “Skyline Trail”.  It is 5.7 miles along a very high ridge.  We were going to do this hike on a guided tour to see the sunset, but since the day was so perfect, thought it best to see the views in full sunlight.

A view from the top of Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park

This is a hike with “overlooks” but it felt that without heart palpitations and a lot of sweat, we weren't quite deserving of the views. Here one drove to nearly the top, and hiked from there. The groomed  trail was a little boring for the first several miles, but would open up to fabulous views of the twisting road, mountain ridges and ocean below.   Again, as we walked, we encountered few others, nor did we see any animals, either.

We reached the outermost point of the ridge and the view took our breath away! The steep mountain ridges plunged straight into the sea.  One could also watch the cars twisting and turning on the Cabot Trail below us.

Another view from the trail

It was a long hike, at least more than we are used to, and again my feet ( and other parts of my anatomy ) were dragging.  It does not help that my hiking boots weigh 4 pounds as I trudged along.

On the way back we stopped at various lookout points and saw whales  and bald eagles, which is always a treat.

Norm spotted Minke Whales off shore

When we got back to the campground we found about 20 large motorhomes with Florida license plates!  They were a caravan from Great Outdoors RV Resort from Titusville, Fl.

 They will be here for 3 days, then moving on to Newfoundland.  Perhaps they will sight an iceburg.  We heard on the news the other day that there are more iceburgs this year, right now, than there has been in the last 10 years.  We contemplated going over to see them since we are relatively “close” but it would be just too expensive for the off chance that we might see one.    

Days 29 and 30 - Celtic Music and Seafood Chowder!

Wednesday, July 10^th and Thursday, July 11^th

For the sake of “full disclosure” it is now Friday July 19^th that I sit and write this.  Norm and I are racking our brains trying to remember just what we did on these two days.  I hate writing the blog this way, but we have been pretty busy, and with no internet, so it didn't get done.

Bald Eagle spotted near the coast on the Cabot Trail
I love my zoom lens!  

One day we drove to West Mabou and hiked a couple of the trails that overlooked the ocean.  You probably are beginning to notice a pattern here.  We like ocean overlooks.  Well, overlooks of any kind.  The bad part about that preference is that you have to climb up there to, um, over-look!

  

As we started off on the trail we read all the common signs warning us of coyotes in the area.  How to react should we see them.

- Stand tall and “look big”.
- Make noise. This is the hard part. Norm doesn't talk much.

-  Don’t run, whatever you do,

- Don’t look them in the eye ( how to you keep an eye on them if you can’t look them in the eye? ) -     and whatever you do, don't turn your back on them.

- Just back away.  

- And then the last bit of advice they give you is just a little unnerving.  “ If they attack, use whatever is available to defend yourself.”  

Oh, my!  We brought our bear spray - that should work, providing the wind is not blowing at us, and a small jacknife in case I need to poke him in the eye. ( that's a joke ) I still prefer the “knock your spouse out with a rock and let them feast on him while you run the other way “ method sounding the best.

We're not sure what this is, but
it is the biggest "dog"print we have ever seen!

We survived without any coyote attacks  and had a very nice walk up and down some good sized hills of which we picked the highest to enjoy our picnic on.

Gaelic is actually still taught in schools here,
a lot of the signs are in both Gaelic and English

We can’t remember what we did after that, senior moments.  If it was not for this blog, we probably would not remember any of this trip before we reached home! ( But the credit card bills always tend to remind you, don't they ).

The next day was a dreary morning after torrential rain during the night.  We drove down to Judique to the Celtic Interpretive Center and enjoyed a pleasant bowl of seafood chowder ( I have had about 6 on this trip ) and watched some very talented young woman play the fiddle and dance.  It is just amazing how they stomp their feet to the beat of the music. Now this is not the usual foot tapping most musicians do, this is where one foot may be stomping on the heel, then the toe, while the other may perform an alternate beat using just the toe!  As the tempo increases, the tapping gets faster and faster until the player is out of breath and sweaty with the exertion.  I don’t know how they do it.  PLUS,by the way, they are playing a VERY complicated fast-fingered melody with the fiddle at the same time!  WOW!

As we headed back, I dragged Norm into a few local craft shops on our travels, but we still did not buy anything.

Friday, July 12^th 2013

Today we headed up the beautiful coast to Cape Breton Highlands National Park to camp for the next 10 days.  I am so excited!  The weather forecast for the week ahead should be beautiful.  It was a beautiful drive with breathtaking scenery.  Tall, rugged cliffs, wind-swept beaches, and tiny, weather beaten houses standing guard against the sea.

Campsite #95 Cheticamp Campground
Cape Breton Highlands National Park

We set up in our wonderful campsite we had reserved 3 months before, then watched the orientation video in the Visitors Center and planned our next week of adventures; hiking, biking and a long day of driving in the car seeing the rest of the island.