Driving along the Acadian Coast / Drive we found ourselves in a predominantly French speaking community / province the further north we headed. Finding a lovely 2km boardwalk just out of Bourtouche, we took in the sun and wandered up the boardwalk, then back down the beach, admiring the dunes, the surf, the jellyfish and the many families taking in the beautiful weather.

Finding a little gem of the coast, we arrived at a lighthouse where the local ladies created jewellery made from sea glass they had found on the shoreline. The story behind these stones is that years ago people threw their waste, glass bottles etc into the ocean. Over time the ocean smoothed the glass down, giving its beautiful colours and shape, creating the jewellery that we found. Some of the common colours – green, blue and white were beer, whiskey and rum bottles, as well as Vicks, where the rare glass red, pink, black are hard to find. One of the ladies there had over 1,000,000 pieces of glass, as she had collected pieces from when she was a child – is now making a fortune, as others in this area discover the value of sea glass – Kate LOVES it!!!!

Continuing on our drive, Kate found some amazing spots to visit, next stop, Kelly’s beach in a National Park – for a quick swim, then off to our B & B in Miramichi, a small town 100km’s south of Bathurst. We stayed in an old mansion that had been remodelled, decorated and furnished on the inside to resemble what the house would have looked like. It was home to the local Governor and his wife. This 6 bedroom, 2 storey mansion overlooked the Miramichi river, with breathtaking views (and very affordable!!)
The lovely couple that run the place (a teacher and an ex-united nations employee) gave us many wonderful ideas to further experience New Brunswick. Quickly dumping our things upstairs (we were the only ones to stay in the house…..very cool – they are full up for the next 7 days due to a festival) we tried to see a moose in the wild. Finding a lovely pond just on the outskirts of the city, we played the waiting game, patiently sitting until bordering on dark. Unfortunately no moose were sighted, but it was lovely to watch the sun set over the area!

Prince Edward Island (PEI)

Leaving Moncton and arriving on PEI we took in the Confederation Bridge, all 13km of it – a fascinating sight! Stumbling into the tourist information centre, we made a couple of quick phone calls, to book accommodation etc, then made our way around the east coast, towards Georgetown. Taking in the wonderful coastal drive, we wound our way north, finally stopping in a small town – Souris. Here we found ourselves lodging on a beautiful estate, with a lighthouse used as a room (no, we didn’t get it!). The room was alright, however, the view that we had of the local area was fantastic! Grabbing a few beers, some local Indian curry we took in the sunset, then retired to the bedroom to watch the Tudors (thanks Loz!!!)

Early morning came and we headed towards the northern coast, desperately in search of a swim at one of the many great beaches that PEI provides. Finding a few quieter spots, we took a dip (Brackley’s beach), then relaxed under the warm summer sun….beautiful!
One thing we have found quite regularly when swimming in the Atlantic Ocean, are the jellyfish – they are in abundance, they are massive (between a baseball and a basketball size) and they are bright purple…..very weird! YUK

Arriving in Cavendish, we took in the Anne of Green Gables heritage house tour, which displayed the original home of the author, with the inside being decorated as though it was from the book. We then walked through the nearby forest, which provided the inspiration for the setting of green gables. Thankfully the day was nice and we enjoyed a lovely stroll in the woods. Making our way through Anne’s land, as the locals call it, we saw some wonderful landscape, green rolling hills, haybails everywhere, the red dirt easily spotted, coastal views and of course the many forests around the island. Throughout our travel we saw our first coyote skulking across the road, mangy looking thing it was too! We arrived in Charlottetown late afternoon, staying at the University of PEI, in dorm rooms.

July 28th came…….no news to post…..alright, it was my birthday!! YAY. Kate spoiled me rotten!!!! After opening the many gifts that she had purchased (we went on a mini shopping expedition, where I was banished from whatever part of the store Kate wanted to be in – quite funny!). The morning was rather damp, again, but had the promise of clearing up late afternoon. Heading down town, we went to the Confederation museum (as Charlottetown / PEI was where it all happened!). The museum was interactive, informative and well set out, a highlight of our PEI tour. Most provinces joined early, with the exception of PEI, who had to wait until they were almost broke from building a railway and needed someone to bail them out……quite funny – as the same thing happened many years later with New Foundland, running into financial difficulty.
After leaving the museum, Kate took me out for lunch and a movie (due to the inclement weather), so we saw The Dark Knight – I for one vote that the late Heath Ledger deserves an OSCAR!!! What a champion!!!

The afternoon cleared, bugger, or WOHOO, so we headed downtown (by bus) to take in a lovely meal at the local brewery…..and while we were there….a few beers too!! The staff were exceptional and provided me with a birthday brownie….FREE! A great day was had!!!
Farewelling Charlottetown, we headed west on the island to Summerside, a beach community, that was central to the attractions we wanted to visit. Finding our lodging, we ventured north to Lennox Island, which is a First Nations Reserve (Aboriginal community), learning about the history, lifestyle and culture of the Miq’Maq people. Proceeding to the gift shop we saw many hand crafted items that had been made locally (porcupine quill boxes, eel baskets, dream catchers etc)
After lunch we took in the house of bottles, situated on a property 30 minutes from Summerside, with beautiful gardens surrounding the area. A church, a house and a bar had been constructed out of recycled bottles and plaster. It was made in the 1980’s and some of the buildings have been reconstructed due to the weather and general wear and tear. When the light filtered through the bottles, it provided a wonderful glow of greens, browns, whites and any other type of bottle you could think of! Weddings had been held in the chapel over time, but only to a select few!

Arriving back in Summerside we headed to the piping college to experience what the college provides in musical and dance training. A few of the younger students delighted the audience with renditions of music and dance from the Highlands (Scottish dancing, bagpipes and drumming).
We then made our way to Spinnakers Wharf (Summerside) and checked out the local art and craft scene, making a couple of purchases along our way. Dining in fine style on the patio overlooking the marina, we took some pics before climbing the nearby lighthouse, enjoying the view.

Sadly saying goodbye to PEI, we’re heading north up the eastern coast towards Bathurst.

Moncton

After a 5-hour drive, we took in one of the more natural scenic tours along the boardwalk, admiring the bird life (a good chance to stretch the legs too!!!), the heat and the many wonderful creatures that crawled, buzzed and flew around us! Heading back to the hotel (it bucketed down with rain - must have come with us!!!) we chilled for the evening.

The morning soon came, taking us down to Hopewell Rocks, a natural rock formation on the Bay of Fundy, which has been shaped over time from the high tides that flow in (each day the tides are dramatic, heading km's off shore, as well as coming up very quickly - which we experienced first hand!!!) Hopewell rocks was amazing, as was the Fundy National Park (a 45-50 minute coastal drive from the Rocks). Taking in the scenery - we sat on a picnic bench in the middle of the park, surrounded by thick forests (and right near a covered bridge -that we drove across, with noone else in sight - or ear shot!!) Pretty amazing! The day was spectacular (about time!). As we wandered through one of the many trails that the park provides, we found ourselves heading down towards a very cute inlet. We met a couple that had been swimming there and had just returned from Cape Breton. Exchanging stories, we found out that we teach in the same suburb/city (Kanata) and roughly 5 streets away.....very small world. Both Kate and I took many photos around one key rock, but soon found that the rock was disappearing (in a matter of minutes), as the tide came surging in, we thought it was time to head back to the rocks for another view!!! Driving back to Moncton (heavy rain fell.....again), we got a lovely Mongolian meal - deciding it was time to ready ourselves for PEI.......here we come!!!

Cape Breton Island #2

Cape Breton Island is a lovely destination to visit. The wonderful scenery, the beautiful shoreline views and the rolling hills.

Today was the day we were to do the Cabot trail, unfortunately - the weather didn't permit us to go too far into our journey. After an hour of driving north of Sydney, we found that the rain, the low flying cloud and the fog were going to make visibility poor - and for a 350km trail with scenic ocean views blocked, we thought that we'd turn towards Baddeck, home to the Alexander Graham Bell museum.

After a quick snack, we toured through the museum, taking in a lot of history (inventions etc), whilst learning about the family that had resided within the area.....rather interesting.

Since the weather hadn't improved, we made our way back to Sydney, planning our time ahead - as well as taking in a movie, looking at the local craft markets etc (general touristy stuff!)

After checking the forecast, we decided it was best to boycott PEI, at least for a few days, so we made our way back through "New Scotland" (Nova Scotia) towards Moncton, a good sized city about an hour from PEI.

Sydney - the older one!!!

Waving farewell to Halifax, we made our way towards Cape Breton Island - known for the Cabot Trail, famous Louisbourg fortress and breathtaking views of the Atlantic Ocean and the wildlife that inhabit this wonderful area!

Staying in a cosy B&B, we dumped our stuff and headed out to check out the town. Trying to find the tourist info centre was very easy - as a 40 foot fiddle stood there - in recognition of the Fiddlers association of Nova Scotia, very impressive (and it played a cool little tune as well!)

Next morning we woke early to a wonderful home cooked brekky - waffles, eggs, bacon, cinnamon scrolls - the works!!!! B & B's ROCK!!!
With the weather fairly ordinary (across the East coast - due to a Hurricane that was just offshore - heading north from Bermuda), it rained most of the day - heavily, we decided to give the Cabot Trail a try tomorrow - so we made our way south towards Louisbourg fortress - this one actually played a part in the wars, unlike the previous two - the citadel and the martello tower.

The French and English engaged in major battles for this fortress, due to its position on the coast (and with easy access to the St.Lawrence river), as well as having a nice harbour to fish salmon all year long (didn't freeze over - surprisingly!)
The fortress was destroyed in the late 1800's, but rebuilt in 1925, with Parks Canada overseeing the reconstruction - recruiting French and English historians etc to ensure every detail was correct (only 1/5 of the original city was rebuilt, whilst 1/4 of the wall was reconstructed). A very impressive fort, with magnificent views all around!
Locals portrayed characters from the early 1800's, engaging with tourists as they passed - quite comical. We also tasted some of the bread, that is still baked the same way (in the oven out there, using traditional methods - great to snack on as you toured around the large area!)

After a long time touring around the fortress, and the weather still a bit "wet", we headed north west to the Two Rivers Wildlife Park, which played host to all wildlife that lived on Cape Breton Island (we mainly went to the Park for a giggle - and to try see a moose - we weren't expecting too much, as it was in the middle of nowhere and was $5 entry each.......)

With the rain pouring down and the first 3 enclosures having very wet, sleepy animals, our mood dimmed - especially as the moose exhibit was so large, we would have no chance of seeing it - sticking to its name "ELUSIVE MOOSE!"

Hearing a few giggles of excitement ahead, we made our way past the sleeping skunk, arriving at an enclosure that housed two black bears, a very lagrge male and a smaller female - on heat! The bears enjoyed having people around - we were very lucky, as the female decided to climb the nearest tree to us, giving us a wonderful look at her - and also making us think - "can she fall out of the enclosure?" After watching a young girl hand feed the bears (not game enough, sorry), she told us the moose could be seen not to far from where we were. Rushing forward, we were shocked to see the moose, sitting less than 4 feet from us, allowing us to get very close and take some wonderful photos. Not long after (1-2 minutes), the moose took off, father, mother and baby, into the thickness of the scrub, out of sight for the rest of the time we were at the park (around 3 hours!!! it was fun!!!!)
Lots of other animals were represented - cougar, lynx, bobcat, beaver, porcupine, skunk, bald eagle, red deer, white tailed deer and an emu...........yep, an EMU......what the????

A fantastic time was had - no we pray for better weather for the Carbot trail - keep your fingers crossed for us!!!!