Eastern Canada 2017 - Day 6 / Cape Breton Highlands National Park

KM driven: 744

Steps taken: 14 557

It was a very long driving day today, we left Prince Edward Island at the crack of dawn and crossed the border into Nova Scotia by about 7:30.  Taking the ferry would have reduced the milage, but not the cost nor the time so we went back over Confedration Bridge… less scrary this time!

Despite the long hours on the road, we still stopped for a few picture stops to stretch our legs.

Lunch was a seafood restaurant with a sea-view, and just like yesterday we arrived just in time before a tour bus descended on the place!

On the agenda for today was the Cabot Trail and yet again thanks to Canada 150 it was another freebie! What a great year for this type of vacation!

We hiked the Skyline Trail which offers 2 options: a short easy, almost wheechair accessable path to the lookout, or a longer more rugged route. We opted for the long one, and I’m glad that we did it that way because it was getting too humid for me, the breeze died and there was not a lot of shade so had we taken the easy route first I would have been too fed up to get a “good hike” under my belt.

The views from up there are just stupendous! A little hazy because it was getting so humid, but fantastic nonetheless.

We arrived at our hotel in Sydney by 6:45PM, dumped our bags and set out for dinner. It was a flop. My guidebook said: “Downtown, Charlotte Street is lined with stores and restaurants”. Doesn’t this set an expectation in your mind that you’ll have a decent choice for supper? Nope. EPIC fail. We got so fed up that we settled on just anywhere which meant pizza again 2 nights in a row. It was delicious I have to admit.

We had some awkward moments when a drunken homeless man came into the restaurant and wanted to chat us up. I am sure he was harmless, in fact the waitres told us that he was “one of many locals”, but I just wanted him to leave. The whole thing just made me feel sad.

We were going to go for a walk in town tomorrow morning before heading out to Halifax, but we’re so fed up of this town already, we just plan to head out and have breakfast at McDonald’s along the highway.

Good night!

Eastern Canada 2017 - Day 5 / Prince Edward Island

KM driven: 445

Steps taken: 17 324

P.E.I. is a GREAT vacation destination!!! We covered a lot of ground today because we stayed on the Island, and it confirmed that we could easily come back for a few more days – lots to see!

We started this morning with a wander on foot through Charlottetown. It reminds me a lot of other Canadian cities like Ottawa, Kingston, Victoria etc. It was a lovely morning walk.

Next on the agenda was a drive out to Point Prim and visit the lighthouse… 4 vertiginous flights up!

Then off to the main attraction for most visitors to PEI: Anne’s House! We decided to have lunch nearby first because we did not know how long we would spend visiting. We arrived at a decent place just in time before a tour bus rolled in for their own lunch break; there were tour busses everywhere! Hoards of people schlepping it though the grounds of Green Gables. (lunch was delicious)

It was a nice excursion, but to be frank I think I would have preferred a visit to the 1980’s Sullivan movie set. As it was, the sights didn’t mean much to me. Ok, so this house inspired her. Ok. Whatever. I was not interested to visit the inside; seeing the house and gardens was more than enough.

We started walking through the woods, but then realized that we still had 2 other destinations planned for the day and we did not want to waste any more time so we turned back and took off.

Thank GOD we left when we did because our next destination was MUCH more interesting and really captivated us: Walking the floating boardwalk through the sand dunes at Prince Edward Island National Park. Wow. Just wow.

Our final excursion for the day was a let-down: The beach at Basin Head Provincial Park. The sand there is supposed to squeak! How neat! its known as the Singing Sand.. well, it was total silence for us instead. BOOO!

Back in Charlottetown for dinner, we wandered around a bit looking for a nice place to satisfy our carb craving and decided on pizza. Mine was great but Frank was underwhelmed by his choice.

All in all, it was a super-busy (therefore super) day! I can highly recommend a visit to P.E.I.

Eastern Canada 2017 - Day 4 / Miscou Lighthouse & Kouchibouguac National Park

KM Driven: 635

Steps taken: 12 686

WHAT A LONG DAY!

I have to try and keep this short and sweet because I am tired, again this morning I was wide awake before 5AM so I need to force myself to hit the sac as soon as possible tonight.

We started the day with what my guidebook promissed would be a scenic drive on the Acadian Peninsula. I don’t know, maybe I am jaded but it was not that scenic and driving for over an hour to gaze at a lighthouse for 3 minutes seems like a very inneficent use of my time!!!

After this, we had lunch and then headed to the impossible to pronounce Kouchibouguac National Park for a hike.

Lunch was alright, but I am sick of resto pubs!! I want something more authentic than generic resto pub fare that I can get at home. NO MORE FAMILY RESTOS WITH LAMINATED MENUS!!!!!!!!!!  What I did like about lunch today however was that it was next to a river. Eating by the water is always a plus for me.

Our hike was nice of course, we love this type of activity, but compared to the last 3 days it ws my least favourite. I like nature trails more than packed gravel biking paths, plus the sun was too hot for me and I have a big bite on my arm that is bothering me…  not because it’s itchy but because I am trying to determine if it looks bull’s-eye-y. I’m so delicious and allergic that it’s hard to tell the difference between my normal allergic swelling and what’s dangerous!!! According to the pictures I have seen on line, I am in no danger.

Once we decided we’d had enough of hiking (it was about 2½ hours), it was back on the road to P.E.I.

Crossing the Confederation Bridge was exciting but also a little scary because of the winds. We tried to take pictures approaching the bridge, and while on it, and again once off it, but it’s really hard to capture it!

For dinner, we followed the advice of the hotel receptionist, but this time we LOVED what he suggested as opposed to last night in Bathurst. Tonight, we had an authentic (and ever so slightly kitch) seafood meal in Charlottetown and loved it!

(That’s Frank’s lobster by the way, I had crab cakes)

Now it’s time to sleep – I hope I am not wide awake before 5AM again tomorrow morning!