Day 13 - 14 Sep - Cape Breton Trail

We had a full day! We were up early and on the road and hoping the sun would get through the clouds...which it did. It's about 350 kms around the loop and we wanted to do it, come back to the KOA at N. Sydney, leaving some time for stops along the way. We did it all!
We left the KOA at North Sydney around 9 am and went up the eastern side of the trail around St. Anns Bay and Ingonish. From there it was across the island and then down the western side of the island to Cheticamp and across to Baddeck. It was a great trip.
The first half of the drive was a bit of a disappointment for me--most of the trees covered any view of the huge cliffs and there were even less pull-offs for photos. It was mostly a drive through the bush with a few houses here and there. However, we did manage a stop at a very lovely bakery/restaurant where we hogged down an apple turnover and cinnamon bun that was delicious! Needless to say, this has been another trip where we have eaten our way through N.B. and N.S.!
Once we crossed the top of the island, things opened up and we could really see the rugged coast of Cape Breton. The eastern shore is clearly Scottish...all names are McSomething and there is a college here that teaches Gaelic and Clan/Scottish studies. All the names of the towns are printed on signs with English at the top followed by the Gaelic translantion below. We did stop at a shop that specialized in 'all things Scottish' and of course, had to buy a few McLaughlin (Gilchrist) and McDuff (Skillen) trinkets. The next stop was at the Rusty Anchor Restaurant for the best chowder ever, complete with homemade biscuits!
The westerns shore is French and I've got to talk to Carmel (who comes from Cape Breton) about how this happened! Did we take any of this in Canadian History? I must have been smoking in the washroom during that class.
As we were driving along I saw this BIG brown furry 'thing' and let out a scream...MOOSE! Yep, there she was, right along side of the road, just like all the signs warn you about. We came right along side of her, took a few photos, and she ambled back in to the bush, looking quite irritated at us for disturbing her lunch.
There were some very awesome climbs and views on this drive and we could smell the brakes on a couple of the declines. The LuvMasheen performed well however, and we made it back to the KOA without any problems. The owner is starting to think we are family as we've been here so much and will probably be back here again tomorrow night after the visit to Louisburg.
We are also stopping to visit Wayne's cousin Violet tomorrow...she lives in Sydney and has done some research on the family which he would like to know. Now that Colin has actually walked in the path of his ancestors...in Gorichem, Netherlands...Wayne needs to know more. They haven't seen each other in many years so it should be interesting.
Another great day!