Nova Scotia (part 7)- We're On Cape Breton Island

    Hi everyone. I hope everyone is having a lovely week. Today I'm taking you back to Nova Scotia. We've left Truro which was our home base in my last couple of posts (which are here  if you're interested: Ferry Trip, Burntcoat Head, Tidal Bore and Joggins) and the Bay of Fundy area.  We're now heading east  to Cape Breton Island. 

     And yes, it's another long post today so get comfy if you plan to read this. 😏

    This next photo was taken from the Visitor's Center parking lot right after we crossed onto Cape Breton Island. If you've been here, you know this, but for those who haven't... In this  photo, the high point where the ship (in the distance) is anchored is the mainland of Nova Scotia. You can see Cape Breton Island isn't too far off the mainland. In order to get there we crossed a long causeway and a  small bridge. You can just see  that small bridge on the right hand side of the photo. 

   My husband has an aunt (by marriage) who originally came from Cape Breton, and we've heard about its beauty for years. She was definitely right when she described the island. Here the Appalachian Mountains meet the ocean. I took so many photos I'm sure I'll have several posts about this area.  I hope you're interested.

    On the island is a road called the Cabot Trail which happened to be in the direction we first traveled.  It doesn't circle the entire island, but heads out  by some beautiful scenery.

    Our eventual destination along the Cabot Trail was out to Cape Breton Highlands National Park, but we did that on another day and so it will be in another post. On this first day we traveled along the Cabot Trail for a ways north as we spent the  night in Margaree Valley.  If you follow the yellow marked Ceildh Trail (Celtic Trail)  on the map I've included below, we turned inland just north of Inverness. The Margaree Valley is marked there.

  On our drive that day we made a few stops and meandered down into some harbors and out onto a beach.

    These lobster traps are different from the ones I see here in New England. They're still made of wood and have  rounded tops. I definitely can see the pros and cons of both the metal ones they use in New England and the wooden ones they use in Nova Scotia.

On a jetty in one harbor I noticed these cormorants. 

   When we first pulled into one harbor, my husband  noticed the boats and I  noticed these 2 handsome birds on the harbor rock jetty. It's interesting (and predictable) how we both notice different things. I'm sure someone else would notice something completely different  first.

    Sadly when I got out and started to walk closer towards the jetty for an even better photo, this lobster boat pulled out, tooted their horn and the eagles flew off.

    After we left this harbor we were driving and came across this beach. (Sorry, I can't remember the names of either the harbor or the beach.) The hubby and I took a little stroll after I took a little stroll with each of the dogs. I guess that means I took a big stroll if I put these little strolls all together. 😉

   I've never seen one of these beach mats before. What a good idea.

   I didn't expect such lovely sandy beaches. In this next photo here's another shore view from one of the harbors we drove down into. 

   After we left the beach it was going on mid-afternoon, so as we drove north we were looking for a place to eat. When we came across a rather grand  entrance to a distillery, hotel and restaurant, we drove up just to see what it was all about.

   We checked out the restaurant's menu which looked pretty good and was basically reasonable, so we decided to go in to eat. We didn't tour the distillery since we've done similar tours before, and our tummies were telling us it was time to eat.  It was the only meal we bought that day, and we had a nice table with a garden view. Plus they had live Celtic music we could enjoy while we ate. 

Here's the view (above and below) from our table which was next to a window.

   I had a beer with my lunch, but since it was a distillery I wanted a taste of their whisky. It was very 

good, but  since I only occasionally drink any whiskey, and the bottle was a bit expensive, I didn't think  it was worth it for me to buy one. However, if you were a big whiskey drinker, it would definitely be worth getting a bottle. If it had been a bit cheaper I would have bought one because it was very nice.

     My husband had a burger with a very nice salad, and I had fish and chips. 

    It was a really yummy meal. It worked out timing wise too because the Air B&B where we were staying that night wasn't too far off, and when we got there we were in the middle of what seemed like nowhere.  Nowhere in a very very good way though. And we didn't need dinner, which also worked out since the only nearby place to eat, an absolutely fabulous bakery, had already closed for the day. I'll share our Air B&B and the fantastic bakery in another trip post.