Tag Archives: Nova Scotia

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Nova Scotia – Cabot Trail, Louisbourg Fortress

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It rained the whole time we were driving to Louisbourg. But, if you’re going to spend a day driving, it might as well be raining. We woke up the next morning to crisp horizons and a clear blue sky.

Our first order of business in this area was taking in part of the Cabot Trail. It is one of the most scenic highways in Canada. We were warned by a school teacher at the Roosevelt Cottage that she had witnessed several travelers burn out their brakes on the steep grades. To get there we took the Englishtown Ferry. It is a cable ferry that traverses a 410 foot channel and only takes about 3 minutes for the crossing. Friendly doggums were on board enjoying the trip.

At the top of one mountain, there was a picnic turnoff. It was the start of the Smokey Trail which is a difficult trail, about 6 miles long ending in a small town. We noticed there was a jog out to a great spot for a view and hobbled out.

After driving for a few hours we stopped in Sydney on the way back. We were thrilled to learn the restaurant had oysters and lobster. Wayne ordered a dozen and I ordered a whole one (lobster number 3). The waiter came running back with a long face and told us they only had four oysters left and they would be on the house. With only four, the presentation outdid the volume.

We made it back to watch the Full Harvest Moon rise over the bay.

Another beautiful morning. That’s the Louisbourg Fortress in the center of our view. After coffee and breakfast Wayne went rock hunting and came upon a whole gaggle of Piping Plovers. Who knew Monty and Rose had so many relatives.

After checking out of our room we headed to the fortress for the main agenda of the day. For the full history, click on the link above, it’s very interesting but here is a taste – The original settlement was made in 1713, and initially called Havre à l’Anglois. Subsequently, the fishing port grew to become a major commercial port and a strongly defended fortress. The fortifications eventually surrounded the town. The walls were constructed mainly between 1720 and 1740. By the mid-1740s Louisbourg, named for Louis XIV of France, was one of the most extensive (and expensive) European fortifications constructed in North America.

Even the guard bunks had fleurs-de-lis on the mattresses.

Typical embellishments surely ordered by Louis.

Sheep were lazy grazing.

The chapel was quite ornate.

And as Wayne said, “Leave it to Louis to replace God behind the altar.”

The place was housed over 800 soldiers.

The ministry of health finally caught up with us regarding our unreported take home Covid tests that didn’t work (long story).

After the fortress we had a five hour drive leaving Nova Scotia and entering New Brunswick for a stopover before heading to Saint Andrews tomorrow.

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Nova Scotia – Cape Breton Island

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This was what we woke up to yesterday.

This is what we did.

I know, living the high life on vacation. Once back to our lodging we could hear very operatic seals on a nearby island. They did a lot of complaining. I took a walk around the property and came upon Franklin and his human swimming in the little beach. Evidently Franklin only goes up to his chest and gets very scared when his paws don’t touch the bottom. He stays in the shallow end. On his trek back up to the house he stopped by to say hi and decided to do a baby Moses in the rushes act.

This morning we set out early for our drive to Cape Breton Island.

On the way we stopped in Baddeck. Beautiful town on Bras d’Or Lake. We had a lovely lunch on the wharf with an incredible view. When there is no whole lobster, a roll will do.

After lunch we toured the Alexander Graham Bell National Historic Site. Very interesting, but focused mostly on his flying experiments and just gave a nod to the telephone. He fought for eighteen years to be acknowledged as the inventor of the telephone. Perhaps he could have used some help from Ernestine.

Entry to the museum.
Lovely flowers at the historic site.

In 1885, Bell and his wife were taking a vacation cruise along the eastern shore and due to an accidental grounding they discovered Baddeck and Bras d’Or Lake, fell in love with scenery and Scottish culture and built Beinn Bhreagh as a vacation home and eventually lived there year round until his death in 1922. He and his wife are both buried on the estate. The estate is still in the hands of descendants. We tried driving around to find it but were met with a sign reading, “The Bell estate is not open to the public, and is not visible from Beinn Bhreagh Road”. So much for window peeping. Tomorrow the plan is to drive part of the Cabot Trail. Happy trails to you and yours.

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Nova Scotia – Eastern Shore

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Yesterday we drove up from the Southern Shore district to the Eastern Shore. It was about 5 hours and we hoped to drive the shore route but construction in and around Halifax put a lid on that. We settled for the quicker inland route via the Trans-Canadian Highway. It was cloudy and rainy all day, good for a drive.

Our lodgings sit on a small peninsula perfectly situated so we can see the sunrise over the Atlantic on one side and walk around the building and see the sunset on the other side. Here is last night.

And here is this morning.

Eastern View
Western View

Amidst all this natural splendor, the Nova Scotia government has just approved a “Space Port” project in Canso to launch low orbit satellites. I think they should just keep launching from Flordia and jettison the governor.

Perfect morning for breakfast on the deck, especially when we are joined by two of our hosts, Teddy (terrier rescue), and Franklin (Bernese Mountain Dog). When Wayne asked David, one of our human hosts, “Are they named after the Roosevelts?” David replied, “How American of you to think we would name our dogs after your dead presidents.” Franklin is more food motivated than Teddy.

I’m realizing that all I have is pictures of landscape. Well, the fact is, there just aren’t very many people here. Almost every walk on a beach or trail has been devoid of humans. That was true this morning when we took the Black Duck Cove Trail. We are in the county of Guysborough which we think is a much classier name than “Boystown”.

Who knew we would walk right past the Western Union transatlantic cable relay station.

I don’t know if I’ll post tomorrow, wifi here is basically two Dixie cups and a string, evidently the transatlantic cable doesn’t boost the speed. Enjoy your day as we have ours.

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Nova Scotia – Piping Plover

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Somewhat cloudy today so we took it easy. After breakfast we headed to Carter Beach. It has to be one of the most beautiful beaches I’ve seen. White sand, dunes, a salt marsh.

It’s home to several nesting Piping Plovers. Maybe it’s the saga of Monty and Rose of Montrose Beach that thrilled me when one just appeared hopping along the beach.

The little bird put on a show scampering around the waves.

Major naps this afternoon and Prince Edward Island mussels for dinner, oysters for Wayne. Also, Here’s the decoder to Nova Scotia weather.

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Nova Scotia – Day Four, Lunenburg

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Our current lodging is across the street from Summerville Beach Provincial Park, home to many a Piping Plover. It’s especially beautiful at sunset. As the sun lowers in the west the angle of the light amps up the beauty and creates very long shadows. We took a stroll to celebrate the beautiful day and crystalline horizon.

As always, click to enlarge

Someone spent time etching in the sand.

And with typical precision, Wayne left footprints.

We took a day trip to the town of Lunenburg. Founded in 1753, the town was one of the first British attempts to settle Protestants in Nova Scotia. In 1995, UNESCO designated it as a world heritage site. While touristy, the town hasn’t lost charm. It’s filled with original brightly colored structures, many of which were the original homes for early settlers eager to profit off the port and sea.

St. John’s Church was built during the French and Indian War, using the wood salvaged from an older disassembled church building. When King’s Chapel in Boston, Massachusetts, was expanded, its new stone structure was built around its original wooden church, which continued to be used. Then, when that new stone building was completed in 1754, King’s Chapel’s old wooden frame was disassembled from inside, removed through the new building’s windows, and shipped to Lunenburg.[3] Early on 1 November 2001, St. John’s church suffered significant damage by fire. It was restored and re-dedicated June 12, 2005. (Thank you, Wikipedia) As you can see, they are still tending to it with care.

Lunenburg is still an operating port town with many buildings occupied by the marine trades.

Why are flowers are so beautiful in coastal climates?

On a cautionary note, if you happen to be in Lunenburg, avoid the Dockside restaurant at all costs. You order a whole lobster, ask that it be served “whole” and you get dismembered limbs on a plate. See you tomorrow.

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Nova Scotia Day One and Two

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After an uneventful flight from Chicago we landed well ahead of schedule in Bangor, ME, where we picked up our transportation for the next two weeks. After a stop to pick up some groceries, we headed to Lubec, ME, for the border crossing. It was very uneventful, smooth, and the border guard was our first taste of Canadian politeness. Time was slipping away and little did we know that only one restaurant remained open on the island and by the time we got to our little cottage even that was closed. There was Nikki’s Convenience store a stone’s throw away so we trotted off and found only frozen pizzas as an option with no way to cook them. They suggested we trot quickly to the Village Market which had some pre-made sandwiches and homemade taco soup. We got back just in time for sunset and had our repast at the picnic table just outside our door.

As always, click to enlarge photos.

Morning greeted us with clear, blue skies and plenty of sunshine. The tide was at low (more about the tides in later posts) and the detritus left behind gave the gulls a hearty shrimp breakfast. The first agenda item, and the reason for stopping off at the island was to visit the Roosevelt Campobello International Park. It was absolutely fascinating and we had the place almost all to ourselves. Two wonderful, knowledgable guides took us through and had answers for any and all questions. Two first ladies declared the park open, their respective spouses laid the cornerstone, and the Queen Mum declared the visitor center building open for business.

The park was lovely and well maintained with loads of flower beds. Only the Roosevelt cottage was open but others were available for window peeping.

  • Roosevelt Cottage

We then headed off to see the two lighthouses on the island. The first, Mullholland Lighthouse is on the south tip of the island and if you go down the stairs, it’s just a short side stroke away from Lubec, ME. It appears the border wall has yet to reach Lubec. . .

The second was the more famous of the two, Head Harbour Lightstation. It is only reachable during low tide, and for good reason. The tide can rise 5 feet in only an hour. We were there at close to high tide.

We topped off our first full day sitting in the sun in attempted whale watching. I did happen to catch a few dolphins doing their thing heading out to sea with the tide.

Sorry for the short post, but I was backed up due to miserable wifi. The theme tomorrow is “Ferries”.