My First Trip Report Begins- USA & Canada

[irv]

The wind had arrived at the same time as we hit the outlook, as the saying goes "strong enough to blow a black dog off its chain" certainly cleared the cob webs.

It was obvious autumn had begun



The next day we continued our journey to Mabou

 

[irv]

We encountered the first of the autumn weather on our departure from Bay St Lawrence, wet and windy, couldn’t complain had been perfect till then.
We are on our way to our next stop Mabou, one more night on Cape Breton then tomorrow Prince Edward Island, get ready Mrs DrRon.

We had a visit at Inverness, found another Cafe that served REAL COFFEE, the Down Street Coffee Company, the better half was stoked (I was pretty pleased as well) left them giving glowing praise.

A few photos from the bottom of the hill.

 

[irv]

Our last port of call was Mabou, we had chosen here simply because it was a short drive to the Canso causeway then on to Prince Edward Island.

We had left the Cabot trail and were now on the Ceilidh Trail (pronounced Kay’lee) very Celtic in this part of the world. It had drizzled most of the day but dried up when we reached our accommodation the Mabou River Inn, pleasant place to stay.

That evening we wandered down to the Red Shoe Pub, Mabou has a population of about 1,200 and I think most of them were at “The Shoe”. This was one of those community pubs, Celtic Music and dancing, food was great, would expect this quality in many up market restaurants.

And we won the award for the longest distance traveled to be here (couple of people from Hawaii thought they had it bagged).

A place I would highly recommend to drop in and enjoy, it is unexpected places like this that makes travel so enjoyable.

The next day we were on our way to PEI.

 

[irv]

The next morning saw us over the causeway and back in Nova Scotia on the way to our next destination Prince Edward Island (“PEI”). There are two ways to get here by road, the ferry or the Confederation Bridge, you only pay when you leave the island, might be a method of keeping you there.

We elected to catch the ferry, this leaves from Caribou, it is about a 45 minute journey to PEI, where it lands at Wood Islands.

Met a couple of Aussies on board, had not come across many on our journey, good to hear that Aussie accent.

All aboard and sailing.

 

[irv]

A pleasant journey across, the ferry is fairly full. The sand on the island is a red tinge rather than the golden sand we are used to on the east coast of NSW.

The Island is not large we are basing ourselves at Charlottetown, the capital city of the island. As we make our way we pass huge fields of corn that stretch as far as you can see. These then give way to vast fields of potatoes, again covering large areas of the island, obviously agriculture is a major industry.

Accommodation found, bags unloaded and then we are off to explore the surrounds of the capital, Charlottetown is much larger than I imagined, and we have found coffee.

A few photos from the ferry as we approach the island.

 

[irv]

One of the reasons we chose here was the annual Fall Food Festival, we expected it be a bit more pronounced than it actually was, an occasional sign but very low key.

We found a seafood restaurant participating in the festival, so this was our destination for dinner.

Not disappointed

 

[mrs.dr.ron]

Dinner looks fantastic ! its a big YUM from me ! :mrgreen:

 

[irv]

We have three full days here, so we have divided out trips into the three regions, Day 1 Green Gables Shore (North) and Reds Sands shore (South). Day 2, Points East, Day 3 North Cape (Western part of the island).

We head north, our first stop is Stanhope, used to be a huge timber industry here, now is part of the National Park system.

We go for a bit of an explore, mosquitoes the size of helicopters and in plague proportions,:shock: made a note buy insect repellent. We came across an old cemetery, then a number of bird hides overlooking a lake, apart from the mozzies a pleasant place to visit.

 

[irv]

Next port of call Rustico, I’ll let you guess what the principal industry is.

 

[irv]

I think I prefer Port Macquarie’s beaches to here.

 

[get me outta here]

Oh wow look at those scallops - is that what they are called there too?

One of the reasons we chose here was the annual Fall Food Festival, we expected it be a bit more pronounced than it actually was, an occasional sign but very low key.


View attachment 64041

 

[irv]

Oh wow look at those scallops - is that what they are called there too?

Digby Scallops from Cape Breton, and they taste as good as they look

 

[irv]

Our next destination Green Gables, yes mrs.dr.ron we are here. Lucy M Montgomery, the author of the famous novels is a big name in these parts, and there are Anne “attractions” all over the island.

Lucy is buried in Cavendish, there are different rumours how she died, all part of the Anne industry I imagine.

A few photos.

 

[irv]

Continued

 

[irv]

From here we headed south and ended up in the historic village of Victoria, a bit of a visit before we weaved our way back to Charlottetown.

 

[irv]

The next day we head east, with the weather deteriorating. First place we visit is Shipwreck Point , the little Café here closed for the season, this is pretty common around here.

We reach the Eastern tip of the island, I say g’day to a gentleman here, get the big inquisition about where are you from, he gets on the telephone with the big news he was talking to a bloke from Australia .

A photo of a local driving, the signs at the Lighthouse are obviously a bit of local humour.

 

[irv]

Continued

 

[irv]

Had lunch at a restaurant called 21 Breakwater in a town called Souris, seafood of course, up to the usual standard.

Came across the Potato Museum in the town of O’Leary, the excitement was too much so we just paused for a photo, before made our way back to Charlottetown.

 

[irv]

The next day we are on our way to the North Cape, weather not ideal but we head off tomorrow.
Lots of use of renewable energy in this country perfect example on the northern tip of the island is the Wind Energy Institute of Canada, complete with a huge array of wind turbines. When we hopped out of the car we understood why they chose here, fresh breeze blowing down through the Bay of St Lawrence off the Labrador Sea.

These turbines are massive, to give you perspective they have a body and a blade on the ground, and this is one of the small tubines.

A couple of seals swimming just off shore, however they were a bit camera shy.

This is our last day exploring PEI, back to Halifax tomorrow to drop the car office, overnight stay before our flight the day after to Halifax.

Have enjoyed exploring this part of Canada, I am sure we will be back to explore this part of the world again.

 

[irv]

We leave via the Confederation Bridge, 13 klm long which takes about 10 minutes to cross. This is the view from the Nova Scotia side.