September 27 - Leaving for Cape Breton/September 28 - The Cabot Trail

Stuart took over the navigators job, YAHOO!!!

Just a short drive today, we stayed in Badeck at Adventures East RV Park and Campground, hardly anyone there, very quiet.

Stuart, Jenny and I went to a Ceilidh in Badeck, it was good but not as good as the one we went to in PEI.  There was a 90 year old woman there dancing a jig, her feet weren't moving much but the rest of her sure was. They had a square dance with wheel chairs, that was interesting and the old folks were really happy, they love that sort of thing.  Look what we all have to look forward to. There was a photographer there with a huge flash that was annoying the hell out of everyone.  At there intermission they served Oat Cakes and Tea.  Dalton stayed home as he was not feeling well and wanted to rest after the drive, however, he did manage to see the Alexander Graham Bell Museum, had no idea he was involved in so much.  What an interesting place, should be seen by one and all.

Jenny enjoying the trip horizontally

Wheelchair square dancing

The two on the end are married, the one in the middle was a guest

A 90 year old Jigger

A little step dancing

September 28 - The Cabot Trail

Dalton came down with the Flu so he was feeling really bad - he missed the Ceilidh last night and today is missing the Cabot Trail.

Stuart, Jenny and I left around 9:00 and arrived back about 4:30.  It is a very scenic drive, we stopped for a picnic lunch overlooking the water.  Jenny wanted to put her fingers in the Atlantic, I went with her, a wave came along and I wasn't quick enough so got Atlantic wave soaked shoes.

We stopped for gas and there was a little general store there, this guy came in and started playing, after we got on the road again we saw him playing to some people at a scenic turnoff

Just had to show my son that he is even famous on the East Coast

Many places have chairs aimed at the scenic view

Aren't they cute

A land locked Lighthouse

Point of Interest
There are lots of beautiful Bays between Peggy's Cove and the junction for the highway.  Definitely a scenic route.

September 25 - Picking up the Tasmania Hagells
We picked up Stuart and Jenny at the Airport and immediately started sight-seeing.  We went down to the Harbour and wandered around the shops - read all the information about Halifax nearly being destroyed by the munitions ship that exploded in the harbour during the war and all the other appropriate things.

Stuart & Jenny arriving in Halifax

The Lighthouse at Peggy's Cove

Stuart, Jenny and Dalton at Peggy's Cove

 

On the way home we stopped at Peggy's Cove.  Dalton and I had gone yesterday to reconnoiter along with about 15 bus loads of tourists off the cruise ships.  It was a fascinating place, only about 35 people live there but there still is lots to see. The Lighthouse and the area around it is so very interesting, you want to capture it from all angles. 

 It is a very unique place.  We enjoyed it both times we went, even with all the tourists, we don't think of ourselves as tourists.

A short distance away is a Memorial to the Swissair Flight 111 that crashed into the ocean in 1998 killing all 229 passengers and crew.  It is beautiful and very tastefully done.

They took a huge piece of granite, sliced it down the middle and carved the writing in.  It is really nice to see.  A very fine tribute.

September 26 - Lunenburg & Mahone Bay
We wanted to see the Bluenose so we took a drive to Lunenburg.  On the way we stopped for coffee and the cafe had a very interesting ceiling.

The coffee was really good and cookies had just come out of the oven so we had to have one.  The lady who ran the place told us we had to stop at Mahone Bay as they were having a Scarecrow Festival.  They were pretty amazing all right.

A really good likeness of Michael Jackson

the Phantom of the Opera

The Royal Family

Check out the ears - Camilla looks better than usual

We finally made it to Lunenburg to see the Bluenose only to find that it was in dry dock and was going to be launched on Saturday, when we wouldn't be there to see it, so we took some pictures, it had no mast but it looked pretty good anyway.

Doesn't look right with the Mast

Lunenburg had some very nice buildings

They even had a distillery that made Rum

September 22 - Nova Scotia - Peggy's Cove
We left PEI this morning, I felt quite sad as I did really like it here.  We left the campground at about 8:15, we had planned on leaving by 7:00, slept in though.  We wanted to make the 9:30 Ferry and we were sure we would miss it.  Even though it is a small Island it still takes a while to get from one place to the next. 

We think that PEI is the Garage Sale Capital of the World - at least on Saturday mornings.  Everywhere we went there were tables in front of houses, businesses, in garages, in driveways, on front lawns, some had canopies over them and some did not, it was drizzling slightly, had rained heavily overnight and there was some side effects left over.  The cars were lined up on both sides of the highway everywhere you turned, making driving even mores slow.  I have never seen so many people out garage saleing (I think I just made up a new word) ever in my life.  I took pictures but they are somewhere with Dalton eating lobster. 

We did manage to get the 9:30 sailing, it was on a small Ferry, nothing like the BC Ferries, it cost us $107.00.  You only pay to get off the Island, you don't pay to get on.  We were told you should take the Ferry over and the Confederation Bridge back because then it would only have cost us $60.00 being 52'.  Oh well, next time. 

We arrived on a very Foggy day, warm though.  Shortly after leaving the Ferry we turned 5000 miles since leaving home.

POI
Gas prices in PEI - 133.5             Nova Scotia 135.9 - they just went down 9 cents
PEI well groomed                        Nova Scotia not so much, more fall colors though

We pulled into the Wayside Campground at Peggy's Cove, parked next to a couple from Victoria who is parked next to a couple from Qualicum.  Across the road from us is a couple from Campbell River, Willow Point (where we live) and the couple beside them is from Courtenay.  This is the first time we have even run into anyone from BC never mind neighbors.  We spent the evening drinking beer with the neighbors (from Victoria).

September 21 
Today Dalton golfed and I did laundry...interesting aren't we!  He got home early and we still had some places to look at so off we went.

We had been told not to miss the Farmers' Bank of Rustico, it is in Cymbria.  The Acadians were learning to read and write and a new Catholic Priest came to the area and he was teaching them about finances, hence the Bank.  It was really doing well until the Credit Unions came into being.  Very interesting place, they had samples of the early money, bills and coins, there were quite a number of coins and some were even larger than the Toonie.

The Farmers' Bank of Rustico

One of the first Acadian Families lived here, they held Mass here before the church was built

 

 

The Bread oven, it's still used today for special functions

The Church in Cymbria

There was a Toy Factory near New Glasgow so we went in and I was able to do some Christmas Shopping, interesting place.  They are really back to basics and they make some nice things.
We were in such a hurry to get there before it closed that we forgot to take a picture, it is a really neat looking place.  Looks like it should belong in the North Pole.

We were going to have dinner in New Glasgow, however, just as we pulled in so did a bus tour so we decided we would go elsewhere.  We headed to Rustico where we had dinner, Dalton had lobster and I ate from the 60' Salad Bar - No Kidding - 60' (including both sides) I have never see anything like it, we happened to arrive just before 2 bus tours, we were lucky we arrived first.  I had some pictures of Dalton in his bib, with the lobster in front of him, but I don't know where they went.  I guess I will find them one day.

I had to stick my feet in the Atlantic, I did on the way home, not as cold as I thought it would be.

Both feet, not just the toes

I didn't stay in very long.

September 20 - Charlottetown - the Birthplace of Confederation
We went into Charlottetown, the largest City on the Island to get a little history.  There happened to be two cruise ships in port so there were lots of tourists.  The rain held off so that was good.

The downtown area is fairly small, lots of really old buildings and churches.  We went into Province House where we saw a short film entitled "A Great Dream" which showcases the events of the Charlottetown Conference. All very interesting, especially if you were not paying attention in class, I believe it was probably around grade 4, god I'm old.

This is where the Speaker of the House sits

The sure had nice furniture in those days

The conference table where all the discussions took place

Parliament House

The Town Hall

Bill would love to give you a ride, isn't he handsome

such a lovely place

We had a great lunch in an old Irish Pub, food was good and so were the drinks.  I don't know if anyone has noticed, but we seem to have a lot of great lunches, I guess that explains the waistlines.

We took a drive out to Woods Island, where the Ferry leaves from as we wanted to see how long it would take to get there.  We saw some people in boats, we think they were clamming, not certain and there was no one within earshot to ask.

looks interesting

 In the evening we went back to Stanley Bridge to see a Ceilidh (if only the Irish could spell) the pronunciation is Kaylee and it is a traditional Gaelic social gathering consisting of folk music, dancing and story telling.  It was wonderful.

Michael Pendergast (nice eyes) was the Emcee, for lack of a better word, he played the guitar, accordion and piano, Tom McSwiggin played 2 funny looking accordion type instruments, not at the same time, and told the funniest stories.  Nathan Condon played the guitar, fiddle and sang.  Samantha Mackay tap danced and sang.  If you ever get the opportunity to see or hear any of these people, do not miss that opportunity.  It was really a great evening.  They had an intermission part way through where they served ice cream and Prince Edward Island Strawberries, which was excellent.  They also had cushions on every chair in the place and on all of the benches (no sore bums for the Irish).  A really class establishment.  During the summer months they have a Ceilidh every night.  It was only $10.00 to get in and it was worth every penny.