September 2022 - www.voyagebien.com

DAY 1 – On the Road from New York to the Canada-US Border

Posted on September 11, 2022May 7, 2023 by VB_Webmaster

DAY 1 (Sept 11) - On the Road from New York to the US-Canada Border

Time to leave the City, at last! It’s been nine months since we’ve been on vacation (since our Train Trek in December). Way too long…

We were fast this morning as we wanted to pick up our rental car from the Dollar Rent-a-Car Agency, a ten-minute walk. Little did we know we would be detoured to get to the rental place due to the September 11 ceremonies at the World Trade Center location.

We ended up walking almost a mile since we had to walk around several blocks. We finally arrived, warm and sweaty (a cloudy but humid day in New York), to the rental office. The rental guy was very nice and gave us a brand new 2022 Honda Civic car.

Back at our apartment building, Jim went back to our apartment to get our luggage while I parked in the street right in front of our building (yes, amazingly, there was a parking spot on this Sunday morning!).

After loading the car, we set up our GPS for today’s destination: Redcliffe Shore Motor Inn in Robbinston, Maine, right at the border with Canada.

The weather was perfect for driving: cloudy and not too hot, so no glaring sun on us. The drive was pretty much uneventful and NO TRAFFIC… very nice. We made it to the Redclyffe Shore Motor Inn in Robbinston, ME after driving 581 miles (935 km) just after 5:30pm.

On the right-hand side, you can see our rental car parked in front of our motel room.

After checking in, we drove a few minutes away from the motel to a local restaurant called the New Friendly Restaurant. Like Jim said, it was a boui-boui… we order fried-everything (haddock, clams, shrimp, and scallops) and our dinner came “carbonisé” with the “ploucs du coin” (Jim Le Snob said it in French, not me) who seemed to appreciate the food. Being our first day, we didn’t want to complain so we ate it all… I still picked off the “carbonisé” batter. Hopefully, we will get better meals on our trip!

Then it was off to bed… not much more to say about our first day traveling.

DAY 2 – Arrival in St Martins via Saint John, New Brunswick

Posted on September 12, 2022May 7, 2023 by VB_Webmaster

DAY 2 (Sept 12) - Arrival to St. Martins via Saint John, New Brunswick

We slept fairly well and woke up to a beautiful sunrise off the Canada coast, right across from our motel balcony. It was fairly quick and easy to get ready and go.

As we were leaving the motel, a deer ran right in front of our car and hit the right-side of the car. The deer was fine, but the side panel was a bit displaced and had some scratches… cars are so poorly made nowadays (all plastic) that a butterfly bump would leave a scratch!

After this incident, we stopped at a Walmart to pick up a couple of things we had forgotten on our checklist. Then we went for breakfast at McDonald’s. The Egg McMuffin breakfast meal is always a safe bet and now McDonald’s has pretty good coffee (if you order the premium type).

The border crossing was just off Main Street in Calais and it was quick and easy. A couple of days before, we had downloaded the ArriveCAN app on our cell phones for COVID info. Since we were already in the system because of the app, all we had to do was to show our passports, answer a few questions, and we got in!

First thing we noticed in Canada is that the highway we took was really well maintained – unlike the roads in New York. Also, hardly any cars as we were driving toward our first destination: St Martins, New Brunswick, passing through Saint John.

Right outside Saint John, we stopped at the Reversing Falls Rapids outlook.

The site is a unique phenomenon created by the collision of the Bay of Fundy and the Saint John River. At low tide the river empties into the bay causing a series of rapids and whirlpools. As tides rise they slow the river current for a brief period called slack tide. The Bay’s tides continue to rise, gradually reversing the flow of the river; rapids form again, peaking at high tide.

Unfortunately, we were there at slack tide so we couldn’t observe the unique characteristic of the falls/rapids flowing backward as the water is pushed by the incoming tide. Another time…

To the left is a stock photo on the whirlpools in the river when the tide is up and pushing the river upward.

From the Reversing Falls Rapids outlook, we could see the two humongous cruise ships that the guides at the visitor center had told us about. This means that about 7,000-9,000 tourists were strolling the streets of Saint John! A good thing that we were not staying at Saint John… too many people for us. On the below photo, you can see the two cruise ships in the background.

Since St. Martins was not too far from Saint John, we decided to keep driving and have a late lunch there. Before lunch, we booked our kayaking tour for Wednesday afternoon, but the guides told us that due to the weather forecast, it is possible that they would have to cancel the tour. They would let us know ahead of time, of course.

For lunch, we had read that there was a small restaurant called Spinney’s that prepared an amazing lobster roll (1/4 lb of lobster with homemade mayo-based dressing on a homemade bun). Very generous portion and true, it was one of the best lobster rolls we’ve ever had.

As soon as we could check-in (3:00pm), we went to our accommodations called the Sandstone Chalets on the Bay. Our chalet was called the Serenity Chalet and was really very tastefully decorated, cozy and with all the amenities you would need for a longer stay. There was a second chalet but nobody was there. So we had the entire property all to ourselves.

Once we were settled in, we took a look around Saint Martins and the surroundings. To our surprise, there were quite a few buses catering to the people from the two cruise ships we saw in Saint John – can’t avoid these tourists!

After lunch, we took a stroll to the original lighthouse of St. Martins. The lighthouse is not much to look at but it is a very peaceful site. There is coastal trail there that goes up and down the Canadian Atlantic coast. Beautiful views!

Since it was too late for hiking, we went to the rocky beach where we could see the caves. We were there long enough to see the caves both at high tide and low tide… it’s amazing how fast the tides move in this part of the world. Reminds us of Mont St. Michel.

Right there by the beach, there were two restaurants and from one of them, the Caves Restaurant, we ordered fish and chips take-out (this time, the real thing!). We ate our dinner on the balcony of our chalet with a nice bottle of Italian wine that the hosts had provided for us. We very much enjoyed spending a quiet evening with the nice view of nature and the Bay of Fundy in the background.

DAY 3 – St Martins & the Fundy Trail Parkway

Posted on September 13, 2022May 7, 2023 by VB_Webmaster

DAY 3 (Sept 13) - St. Martins & the Fundy Trail Parkway

We started slow this morning – probably because of the heavy fog hanging all around us. We worked on some photos and then went to grab an early lunch (11:00am) at the Coastal Tides Family Restaurant in town. We were the first customers of the day as they had just opened. Good simple food. I had a nice large fresh salad with grilled scallops and Jim had a heartful hamburger, also very fresh and tasty. Also, the staff was very friendly and attentive.

We spent the rest of the day on the Fundy Trail Parkway which goes along the Bay of Fundy coast, stopping at the very many viewpoints. It was quite foggy but we were still able to enjoy and even take pictures.

TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES DRIVEN = 29 miles (47 km)

The Fundy Trail Parkway hugs the coast of the Bay of Fundy and is a 2,559-hectare park. The auto parkway travels 19 miles (30 km) along the Fundy cliffs and the rocky beaches sculpted by the extreme tides. The Fundy Trail is part of two UNESCO designated sites, Stonehammer UNESCO Global Geopark and the Fundy Biosphere Reserve.

We went on a couple of shorter hikes (about 2 km or less), all very nice. We found one hike that went down to a rocky beach (Melvin Beach) so we could get close to the water and take nice pictures from the shore. One of our hikes was to a swinging suspension bridge over the Salmon River. We finished the day walking by the Salmon River and back up to our parking at the visitor center to drive back to our chalet. See the photo gallery below for the photos we took.

Click on the first photo to view each photo as a slide show

Fundy Trail Parkway Sign

Fundy Trail Parkway Hiking Trails

Fundy Trail Viewpoint in Fog

Fundy Trail Viewpoint

Isabelle on Melvin Beach

Jim on Melvin Beach

Isabelle Takes a Photo of Pangburn Beach

Photo of Pangburn Beach

Fuller Falls

Jim on the Suspension Bridge of the Salmon River

Salmon River into Fundy Bay

Salmon River Marshes

Salmon River Marshes & Footpath

For dinner, we were on the standby list to eat at a nice restaurant, but unfortunately there were no cancellations, so no fine dining for us.

Instead, we stopped at Huttges General Merchant on Main Street, an old-time grocery store with very limited choices for food, but we were able to get some very fancy snacks: cheese, crackers, wine, tortilla chips and salsa, beef jerky (for Jim) and cookies. We also stopped at a liquor store to buy a couple of bottles of wine for the road.

We had our one-of-a-kind dinner with some nice red wine, enjoying the view on the Bay of Fundy even if it was a bit foggy. Luckily, it was not very cold.

DAY 4 – Leaving St. Martins & Arriving to Fundy National Park

Posted on September 14, 2022May 7, 2023 by VB_Webmaster

DAY 4 (Sept 14) - Leaving St. Martins & Arriving to the Fundy National Park

As we were having our breakfast the kayaking outfit called us to let us know that they canceled our kayaking tour due to the
weather: still too much fog and rain on the way. Too bad. We’ll try for another
kayaking tour in Alma, our next destination, near Fundy National Park.

We left St Martins at 10:30am to get on the road toward Fundy National Park. The road was easy and definitely not very traveled.

At the entrance of the park, we bought a one-year pass to Canada’s National Parks and Historical Sites for CAN$134. Worthwhile since we will be visiting other parks and historical sites over the next several days – and it’s good until next September. A good reason to come back to Canada by then!

TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES DRIVEN = 93 miles (149 km), including side trips

We arrived at the little town of Alma in the middle of the lunch hour and had our lunch at Tipsy Tails. Although it was a bit chilly, everybody was on the patio. The restaurant was very nice and relax. I chose mussels cooked in white wine and garlic. Jim chose the version cooked in curry sauce. We also ordered some roasted herb potatoes. Very good quality lunch in the middle of “nowhere…” not sure we would find such a good meal in the middle of “nowhere” in the US. But it is known that food is important in this part of Canada in particular in Nova Scotia.

After lunch, we checked out other places to eat for later and the next couple of days. We bought some cookies and sticky buns from Kelly’s Bake Shop for breakfast and snacks. We also did a quick stop at the General Store to get some coffee and milk for our breakfast – and we filled the car with gas. At a gift store, I bought postcards to send out to family and friends in France, an old-fashioned tradition. Hopefully they’ll get to their destination by the end of this year!

We were able to check-in a bit earlier to our Fundy Highland Chalet (#22) located in Fundy National Park itself. The chalet is very clean and, although small, sufficient for two people. From the chalet we could see the Bay of Fundy over the forest.

Since it was early enough before sunset, we chose two short hikes in the Park. One called the Caribou Plain Trail (2 km) with lots of boardwalk as it crossed bogs and lakes. We also did a small hike of 1.5 km called Dickson Falls Trail, which is a beautiful waterfall in the forest. With the recent rains, it was strong and very photogenic.

We were told that we might see moose (not caribou) on this trail, but unfortunately, we didn’t see any wildlife. The trail was very pleasant and very diverse with evergreens, hardwood groves, streams, alders, lakes, and bogs.

Of course, we took our time taking many photos… you can see Jim in the below photos showing off his cameras!!

Jim on the Caribou Trail

Our second hike was to the Dickson Falls. A fairly easy walk mainly on boardwalk to a waterfall. Click on the first photo to view each photo as a slide show.

After the two short hikes, we wrapped up the day with dinner at Muddy Rudder Restaurant where we had homemade pasta with seafood. A very relaxed atmosphere and very friendly.

DAY 5 – Hiking Fundy National Park & Kayaking the Bay of Fundy

Posted on September 15, 2022May 7, 2023 by VB_Webmaster

DAY 5 (Sept 15) - Hiking Fundy Natl Park & Kayaking the Bay of Fundy

For breakfast, we had sticky buns, hard-boiled eggs, and coffee which was sufficient for us this morning. After doing a bit of catch up on our photos and blog, we left our chalet at 10:00am and drove to the trailhead of the Matthews Head Trail, a 4.5 km loop. This trail ended up being a bit challenging with lots of ups and downs and lots of tree roots in the forest that we had to pay attention to. Nevertheless, it was a very pleasant hike with many great lookouts on the Bay of Fundy with many opportunities for photos.

Since it took us longer to finish the hike we didn’t really have time for lunch so we finished our tortilla chips and salsa, hard-boiled eggs, cheddar cheese and crackers. Just enough fuel to get to our kayaking tour in time.

TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES DRIVEN = 21 miles (34 km)

We spent 3.5 hours kayaking on the Bay of Fundy and on the Salmon River. Originally, we were supposed to go much farther on the Bay of Fundy but due to the winds, the guides shortened the trip in the ocean and instead we spent more time on the Salmon River. After the rougher waters on the Bay of Fundy, it was really very peaceful to kayak on the river. The guides were very knowledgeable about the region, the tides, and the wildlife. A lot of fun. We got a bit wet but nothing too bad. We had a 20-minute break on a sandy and rocky beach where they gave us some energy food – fruit punch and sticky buns from Kelly’s Bake Shop where we had bought our own sticky buns for this morning’s breakfast. Everything always tastes great in the outdoors!

We didn’t take many pictures because we didn’t want our cameras and cell phones to be damaged because of the water. Jim was able to take a couple of pictures while we were having a snack break.

After our kayaking tour we went straight to our chalet to wash the sea water off our clothes and chilled before going back to town for our dinner.

We had our dinner at the Octopus’s Garden, a very nice bistro style restaurant with very good food, all sourced from the area and homemade. I had lobster risotto and Jim had the confit de canard with cassoulet, all with a nice bottle of Cotes du Rhone.

Then, it was time to call it a day… another fun day in the great outdoors of Canada!

DAY 6 – Hiking Fundy National Park

Posted on September 16, 2022May 7, 2023 by VB_Webmaster

DAY 6 (Sept 16) - Hiking Fundy National Park

Jessica’s 5th birthday party in Aug 1995 at Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Pinehurst, NC

On our last day in Fundy National Park, we wanted to do another hike and then catch up on a few things including reviewing our next destination.

We hiked down to the Herring Cove Beach where we got quite muddy walking on the beach and the rocks at very low tide. I got black mud on my nice hiking shoes…

The area was settled in 1865 by Tom and Ellen Matthews. The farm did very well and they expanded to add a dairy and barns for livestock. It was abandoned around 1910. We even saw old apple trees that were planted by these settlers at the top of the Herring Cove trail.

It was easy to walk down the steps to the beach… a bit more challenging going back up the many steps! I swear that there were more on the way up than down!

We then climbed the coastal trail from the Herring Cove Beach trail to Matthews Head which was on the opposite side from yesterday’s hike. This portion of the trail was quite steep, up and down, lots of large tree roots on the trail, but we made it through. In total we hiked about 4 km. Very good workout, for sure!

Part of the trail we hiked belongs to the Trans Canada Trail that crosses Canada through a network of greenways, waterways, and roadways that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific to the Arctic oceans. The trail extends over 24,000 km. It is considered the longest multi-use trail network in the world.

Click on the first photo to view each photo as a slide show

The Adirondack chairs are always welcome on trails in the North-East. They are really comfortable and hardy. We stopped at one of the beautiful viewpoints (see photos above) to admire from the trail.

We went back to the Tipsy Tails for a late lunch as our first lunch there was really good. Once more, we were not disappointed. Very fresh and tasty.

Back our chalet, we got organized for our road trip to Margaree Harbour in Nova Scotia, on Cape Breton Island – our next destination. We also relaxed… well, I relaxed (and took some sneaky pictures) while Jim did some sweeping in our cabin.

For dinner, we went to the Tides Restaurant, a very nice restaurant with a beautiful view on the Bay of Fundy.

TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES driven = 21 miles (34 km)

DAY 7 – From Fundy National Park to Margaree, Nova Scotia

Posted on September 17, 2022May 7, 2023 by VB_Webmaster

DAY 7 (Sept 17) - From Fundy National Park to Margaree in Nova Scotia

We left at 7:30am and everything was still closed in the small town of Alma so we left without eating breakfast. It was very uneventful driving to Moncton where we ate at a McDonald’s in Moncton. We had our usual egg McMuffin breakfast with coffee and got back on the road.

There was a bit more traffic on the road – compared to where we were before – but nothing worth mentioning. Just like in New Brunswick, the roads are very well maintained and easy to drive.

We stopped at a small family diner in Antigonish called Snow Queen, where Jim had a burger and I had a Caesar’s Salad. Decent food. Definitely off the beaten track!

Then, we continued our journey on major roads until we reached Cape Breton Island via the Canso Causeway and Canal that links Cape Breton with mainland Nova Scotia. When we were crossing, the winds were very strong and the waves from the canal went over the road… our car didn’t get too wet but the car in front of us got drenched!

The Canso Causeway and Canal

The Cabot Trail starts right after crossing the Causeway. We opted to take it from the beginning to get to Margaree Harbour, the little town where our cottage is. The Cabot Trail is a 300-km road that goes around Cape Breton Island and passes through Cape Breton Highlands National Park. A very scenic route along the Gulf of Saint Lawrence on the West side and the Atlantic Ocean on the East side. We will spend lots of time on the Cabot Trail over the next couple of days.

The Celtic Music Interpretive Center in Judique

We were pretty much all alone on the Cabot Trail. Parts of the road were rather bumpy to potholes. We stopped in Judique to see the Celtic Music Interpretive Centre where a small band was playing Celtic music. Inside, there is a small museum explaining the influence of the Celts and Celtic culture on the Island. Quite interesting. The signs on the road show both English and Gaelic. Very strong Celtic history and influence still today.

Upon arriving to Margaree Harbour, it was extremely windy and the locals told us that they’ve had this wind storm for the past couple of days and it could last another day or two, “one never knows what happens here,” as the locals told us. Indeed, we could hardly stand outside the car to take photos so strong the wind was. We could see the white caps on the ocean as the waves were quite strong.

The Island Sunset Resort is our final destination. We had reserved a cottage with a bedroom, a kitchenette and living area. Very nicely done, however, the Internet didn’t work, and all electronics were probably from the 1990s – coffee pot, TV sets. We managed and didn’t really care about the TV but not having the Internet was not good. Unfortunately, we couldn’t change cottages as the front office was closed for the day.

After unloading the car, we drove to a co-op grocery store in East Margaree, a few kilometers from our cottage, to pick up a few things for breakfasts and on-the-go lunches and snacks.

We then went back to our cottage and got ready to eat dinner at the on-site restaurant (the Island Sunset Restaurant) where we were pleasantly surprised with a very nice menu and atmosphere. Quite a few people eating there including locals on this Saturday. I chose grilled haddock and lobster with vegetables and Jim chose the pasta with Alfredo lobster. Everything was delicious.

DAY 8 – The West Cabot Trail on Cape Breton

Posted on September 18, 2022May 7, 2023 by VB_Webmaster

DAY 8 (Sept 18) - The West Cabot Trail on Cape Breton

We woke up after a great night’s sleep and went to breakfast at a small restaurant-motel (Duck Cove Inn) nearby as was recommended by the resort’s front office. Off season, the resort doesn’t open for breakfast, only for dinner. The small restaurant had a breakfast buffet which was decent but the food was not hot enough. However, their maple syrup for the pancakes was very good.

Since the wind storm was still in effect with gusts of wind up to 40mph, we decided to drive the West side of the Cabot Trail all the way to Cape North and time permitting maybe we could finish the entire road back to our cottage – or drive back on the same side of the Trail. The Cabot Trail is a winding road of 298 km that passes from forests to ocean vistas through quaint fishing or touristic villages.

We had originally booked for an afternoon whaling tour but due to the high winds it was canceled. Nevertheless, we rebooked for the next day at 4:30pm hoping that the winds would die down by then.

Before starting our day though, we stopped at the resort’s front office to tell them about the Internet. They were not able to make it work so they offered a new cottage which had a more reliable Internet connection. So we had to move all of our stuff from our cottage to the new one. At least, the effort was worthwhile as the Internet did work – but it was definitely dial-up speed!!!

But the cottage was also very nice and we even got a discount. So, no issue for us. We will do without reliable Internet for a couple of days.

One of our first stops was in Chéticamp, a French town where everything is in French. Very nice town and very touristic in the summer, but quiet during our visit.

A majority of the population in Cheticamp are Acadians. Together with its smaller neighbor, Saint-Joseph-du-Moine, Chéticamp makes up the largest Francophone enclave on Cape Breton Island.

There are three flags in Chéticamp: the Canadian flag, the Acadian flag, and the Nova Scotia flag.

There’s a lot of history about the Acadians on Cape Breton Island and how the Acadians wandered from place to place to find a home away from the English landowners.

So many beautiful views on the way up Cape Breton Island. In some places, the winds were really strong… difficult to stand straight!

We stopped at the Visitors’ Center of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. Thanks to our annual pass to the Canadian National Parks we definitely saved money.

We took an end-of-the-world road on Cape Breton along the coast where we had beautiful views of the coast (Gulf of St Lawrence) and of the highlands… but at the end of the Meat Cove road it was private property for registered campers only. A bit of a disappointment that we couldn’t spend more time admiring the views. Regardless, we had plenty of opportunities for gorgeous sceneries. We even found a quiet spot overlooking the ocean to eat a lunch-snack of chips, cheese, saucisson sec, and clementines.

Click on the first photo to view each photo as a slide show

At the very tip of the Island, it was even windier! At least, it was not raining and the sky was a beautiful blue with some small white clouds passing through.

English and Celtic Road Signs

We stopped at a small rocky beach off the West Cabot Trail. The waves were quite large – even if the photos make them look small!

Click on the first photo to view each photo as a slide show

We made it back to our cottage with plenty of time to take showers before dinner. Once more, we ate at the Sunset Island Restaurant. This time I had the rack of lamb and Jim had the haddock and lobster – and a carafe of Australian’s Shiraz.

DAY 9 – Cape Breton, East & West Cabot Trail

Posted on September 19, 2022May 7, 2023 by VB_Webmaster

DAY 9 (Sept 19) - Cape Breton, East & West Cabot Trail

At last, the wind had died during the night. The temperature was a bit cool but in the sun it was perfect. We had a fully packed day today with our whaling tour at 4:30pm for 2.5 hours, dinner reservations at L’Abri in Chéticamp at 8:30pm.

We started our day after having breakfast in our cottage. Our plan was to tour the East side of the Cabot Trail and then drive back to our cottage from the West side – that is, doing the entire loop of the Cabot Trail.

We started the Cabot Trail on the South-East side to join the East side of the Trail at Baddeck. The drive was very pleasant even though there were not as many ocean views as on the West side of the Cabot Trail. However, it was still a diverse scenery, driving through forests with vistas of the Atlantic Ocean from time to time.

Since it was a federal holiday today in Canada (due to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II), a lot of places (and restaurants!) were closed. We finally found a local restaurant called Chowder House by a lighthouse in Neils Harbour. We were not the only ones there as other tourists were also looking for a lunch place.

The weather was becoming more ominous – dark clouds – and unfortunately, our whaling tour was cancelled once more (still a bit too windy on the ocean? Not enough people?) and we couldn’t rebook it on account of leaving the next day. Too bad that the weather (we heard that it might rain in the afternoon) was not cooperating as we were really looking forward to seeing some whales – a popular place to actually see whales fairly close. Another time, I suppose.

After lunch, we explored Neils Harbour as it was a tiny, picturesque fishing village. We took some photos of the lighthouse and walked on the port that was deserted. The lobster season was on a hiatus and will resume in November.

Click on the first photo to view each photo as a slide show

We drove back to the edge of Neils Harbour to do a short hike to a sandy-rocky beach. The hike was part of the Coastal Trail but we couldn’t go past the beach due to fallen trees on the trail.

From the Coastal Trail, we had beautiful viewpoints and the light was constantly changing as the clouds flew across the sky. It was becoming windier. A good thing we wouldn’t be on a boat this afternoon… it would have been way too unstable.

Click on the first photo to view each photo as a slide show

We then continued our journey North on the Cabot Trail through Cape Breton Highlands National Park. But before leaving the Park, we had enough time for another short hike called the Buttereau.

The trail goes through a spruce forest, old fields and foundation ruins on a “buttereau” (small hill) overlooking the Chéticamp River and Gulf of St. Lawrence. Wildflowers, trees and shrubs have invaded these pastures that were once tilled by the Acadian pioneers. Along the trail, there are several plaques that explain the history of the former Acadian homesteads. It was a very pleasant and informative hike.

Before getting to Chéticamp, we made a couple more stops to catch the last sunset of our trip on this beautiful part of the world.

Click on the first photo to view each photo as a slide show

We continued back to our cottage stopping at l’Abri restaurant in Chéticamp. We asked if they could take us for dinner now (it was 6:00pm) instead of 8:30pm. They were able to accommodate us and we had an earlier dinner than planned. A good thing since Cheticamp is 30 minutes away from our cottage.

Back our cottage we chilled, getting caught up with our photos but the Internet was so slow that there was no point for me to do any blogging. Another very good day… we both fell asleep very fast.

DAY 10 – From Margaree to Louisbourg

Posted on September 20, 2022May 7, 2023 by VB_Webmaster

DAY 10 (Sept 20) - From Margaree to Louisbourg

Time is going by way too fast… already September 20! I could be on vacation traveling for quite a few weeks… easy to get used to not going to work!!!!

We were pretty much packed and ready for the next section of our trip and, after a light breakfast, we were on the road at 9:00AM. We were looking forward to discovering the South-East side of Cape Breton Island and more specifically the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site.

The road was fairly easy driving even though there was some construction on parts of the road. Lots of work to do for sure on the smaller sections – and less popular – of the road. As you can see on the map, we didn’t take the fastest and/or shortest route. Instead, from Sydney, we took the Marconi Trail along the coast, passing through small towns and villages.

We stopped for lunch in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Supposedly, dumb tourists ended in this Sydney via air instead of the Sydney in Australia… go figure!

Unlucky for us, there was a humongous cruise ship in Sydney and plenty of people – mainly old people – were visiting the town. We walked a bit downtown, but Sydney is definitely not doing very well… although they seem to try and bring it back to life from its heyday back in the early 20th century.

We had lunch in a very traditional Celtic pub. We were lucky to get to the pub before the cruise people started to come in. Inside there was a small band playing Celtic music. The food at the pub was quite good.

There was some kind of wrecked wharf at the bottom of the lighthouse, which the local guys told us was destroyed due to many storms.

After lunch, we continued on the Marconi Trail and we stopped at the Low Point Lighthouse on the Marconi Trail. We even had a chat with three local guys on ATVs… harmless guys but one was completely stoned!

Click on the first photo to view each photo as a slide show

We arrived at the Louisbourg Harbour Inn around 4:00pm. The Inn appeared a bit under stress – difficult to maintain with the rough weather the area lives through most of the year. However, inside… woah! Amazingly maintained and decorated in a Victorian style with lustrous hardwood throughout.

The Inn is a century-old and used to belong to a sea captain, originally built by Captain Thomas Townsend, and has been the family residence of Parker, the innkeeper, for the past 40 years. Eight generations of Parker’s family have fished from the sea and, like Captain Townsend, he has an ancestor who fought in the second siege of Louisbourg.

The hosts were out when we arrived at the Inn but there was a note to take the keys to our room on the 3rd floor…

What a beautiful room! Very large with a huge jacuzzi-tub in the middle, two seating areas (with armchairs and rocking chairs), a small desk, and a roomy bathroom. Beautiful and cozy room. I could stay here for quite a while!

From the larger sitting area, we had a wide view on the small fishing port and in the far background we could see the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site. The sitting area is where we had our wine and snack, enjoying the quiet time.

We walked a bit in town but it started to rain so we went back to the Inn. We had made reservations to the one-and-only restaurant in town that was still serving dinner off season, the Spoondrift Café. It had very good reviews and indeed the food was very well prepared. Jim and I had both onion soup followed by grilled scallops (for me) and mussels in a white wine sauce (for Jim). Of course, we had a bottle of Pinot Grigio which we didn’t finish but took back to our room for our tomorrow’s apéritif.

Surprisingly enough though, they were out of lobster for the season… until November! Bad timing for us.

DAY 11 – Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site

Posted on September 21, 2022May 7, 2023 by VB_Webmaster

DAY 11 (Sept 21) - The Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site

Today, we woke up to heavy rain and winds sweeping over Nova Scotia. Our first real stormy day. A bit chilly with the wind but we were determined to go on with our plans to visit the Fortress of Louisbourg, only 11 miles/17 kilometers from the Inn.

We had a very nice breakfast in the main eating area. We were some of the last ones in the Inn to have breakfast. There were several European (Dutch maybe?) and British tourists staying at the Inn. After breakfast, we chatted with the owner and he told us the story of the house and how it has been in this family since 1960. He comes from a fisherman family but he never got into it because he kept being sea sick on boats… so he became an innkeeper later in life.

We dressed as warm as we could to face the rain and the winds and drove to the Fortress of Louisbourg. We were among the first ones to arrive… quickly followed by a tour bus from the cruise ship we saw in Sydney the day before. Luckily the place is big enough that we had plenty of opportunities to take photos without anybody in them. The below photo on the right is the map of the Fortress site.

This historic site is fascinating and really well done. The Fortress of Louisbourg is part of Canada’s National Parks. It is the authentic reconstruction of the Fortress as it was between 1713 and 1758.

The Fortress was originally built between 1720 and 1740 and was a thriving cod fishing port town and trading center. It was named after Louis XIV. It was besieged by the British in 1745 and 1758 and dismantled by the British shortly after.

The reconstruction of the Fortress started in the 1960s and was built over 20 years with some of the original stonework and thousands of archives that the French government collected as part of various laws from the 18th century… already the French were very bureaucratic with their paperwork and procedures. Still part of the French culture today; can never have too much paperwork!

We took our time visiting many of the buildings – houses, storehouses, guardhouses, soldiers’ barracks, the Governor’s Apartments, etc. So much to discover. Some of the buildings houses special exhibits, for instance, the history of the reconstruction, the history of the Mi’kmaw, etc.

The woman in the below photo is making lace the old-fashioned way… it looks rather complicated. She told us it took her some time to learn how to make lace… I can’t even imagine doing this myself !!

What is really interesting is how the animators are not just guides but are dressed in authentic costumes and reenact life as it was back in time as soldiers, servants, etc. For instance, the woman knitting in the kitchen (in the below photo) acts as the servant working for the military officer who lived in this house with his family. She told us his story and of the people in the area. Very interesting and informative.

After visiting some of the homes, we braced the rain and the wind, and walked outside, discovering and taking photos. We had to be careful not to get our camera lenses wet… difficult to do and some photos are not usable due to rain spots. Even with photo correction tools, some of these spots are way too difficult to remove.

Main Street with the yellow arch in the middle; beyond the arch are the ramparts and the ocean

Click on the first photo to view each photo as a slide show

Photos of the Fortress buildings

Click on the first photo to view each photo as a slide show

After being “slightly” drenched (at least me, since I didn’t bring a rain jacket and my umbrellas was completely useless due to the strong winds), we went back inside and discovered a well-stocked storehouse that belonged to a nobleman from France, De La Valliere.

Note to self: I will buy a sports rain jacket when I get home! I have a nice raincoat but for city use only.

Click on the first photo to view each photo as a slide show

We had lunch inside one of the reconstructed houses – called La Taverne Storehouse located inside the Hotel de la Marine (which was closed like several areas were closed for the season). We were given one spoon and a thick linen (see the below photo to the right) – like in the old days when the common people didn’t really use forks, although they did exist. The linen was thick and big… I suppose people used the same one for several meals over a long period of time… what, no paper napkins? Since it was a communal place where people shared tables, we engaged in conversations with an older couple and their adult son from Quebec. It was a pleasant lunch and the food was not great but good enough for lunch.

After lunch, the rain did stop (at least it was not constant but off and on, and then only a drizzle) – but not the wind – which allowed us to dry out a bit and take more pictures outside. We could see the whitecaps on the ocean due to the strong winds.

After a few photos from the ramparts, we headed to the very end of the site (North-East) toward the Dauphin Demi-Bastion and the Dauphin Gate. It was fun to explore as there were some tunnels, hidden doors, rooms that used to be sleeping areas, stables, etc. Not an easy life back then, for sure.

The Postern Tunnel goes under the rampart to the Dauphin Demi-Bastion where you can find the soldiers’ barracks and the powder magazine rooms as well as other storage areas for weapons.

The below photos are taken from the inside of the Dauphin Demi-Bastion

Click on the first photo to view each photo as a slide show

The above two photos are inside the soldier’s barracks – not very enticing to sleep and eat there

We finished exploring the end of the Fortress site at the Dauphin Gate. It was closed so we couldn’t go through it. At this point, it started to drizzle again and the skies were becoming more ominous once more.

Watch the slideshow below of three photographs of the cannons on the rampart (click on the arrows to navigate)

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Next, we headed to the King’s Bastion area – a large building and courtyard surrounded by ramparts – located on the North side of the site. The governor’s apartments and the military chapel are located there as well as various types of jail cells. The rain started once more and it was really pouring down!

We visited the Governor’s Apartments which reminded us of what you would find in the castles in France. The governors represented the King and lived lavishly. The apartments were reconstructed based on the long detailed inventory made of the estate after his death – a requirement of the French government. Of course, we took quite a few photos.

After a six-hour visit at the Fortress we headed to the Louisbourg Lighthouse. There, the ocean waves were quite strong and we were able to take some amazing photos and videos – but it was hard to keep our cameras dry… and even harder to stand straight.

Watch the slideshow below of selected photographs of the storm over the rocky shores at the Louisbourg Lighthouse
(click on the arrows to navigate)

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Dramatic photos of the Louisbourg Lighthouse… my photo software made it possible to tweak these photos

We went back to the room to relax, have a snack and download our photos. Our dinner reservation was at the same restaurant as yesterday. The people there were very nice and we chit-chatted with the owner and the waitress. The main topic of discussion was the upcoming Hurricane Fiona that was on its way right toward Nova Scotia.

The day before we received a warning message from the ferry company that it was possible that the ferry be delayed or even cancelled. We didn’t change our plans yet and we decided to continue on our planned journey to stay in Truro for one night and then drive down to Yarmouth to take the ferry to Bar Harbour in Maine.

At the end of the day, the rain stopped – and even the wind!

DAY 12 – From Louisbourg to Truro

Posted on September 22, 2022May 7, 2023 by VB_Webmaster

DAY 12 (Sept 22) - From Louisbourg to Truro

Well, today was destined to be a very “exciting” day…

We started with a very nice breakfast at the Inn and then it was time to get on the road. We wanted to take our time to get to Truro (nothing to do there) and we took the Fleur-de-Lis Trail which goes through some villages and forested areas.

We hardly met any cars on this Fleur-de-Lis Trail and we could see that the road was not very well traveled… lots of bumps and potholes on the road. It was definitely slow driving on that road.

We took a short detour towards Gabarus which supposedly has a great hiking trail through woods and along the coast, following cliffs and various high points. But we didn’t have time to do it on this trip – for another time!

TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES driven = 224 miles (360 km)

We stopped at a small fishing town called Rouse Point, which was really very picturesque. There were some fishermen working on lobster traps, prepping for the upcoming lobster season in November. We were able to take some really nice photos walking along the port area.

Below are photos of the small fishing town of Rouse Point. The dark skies made for dramatic pictures. But it was not too cold or windy.

There was no one working the boats or the lobster traps so we were able to take photos of the lobster traps.

A weather-beaten fisherman’s cabin

Then, we continued our journey on the poorly maintained road… and we hit a pothole (a bad one, this time)… in less than a minute, we knew we had a flat tire, right there in the middle of nowhere. We were able to stop in a safe area.

How fun it is to figure out where everything is in a rental. With the car manual open, we figured out where everything was and Jim changed the tire. My job? I placed stones under the tires 😊… Nowadays, car manufacturers give you a ridiculously tiny spare tire to drive only for a limited amount of time at less than 50 mph (or 80 km).

With my cell phone, I had located a Canadian Tire superstore in Port Hawkesbury. We were lucky that they had the right tire for the rental car and could replace it in a couple of hours.

Since we had skipped lunch and were quite hungry, we walked next door to the tire store to have lunch at a Tim Horton’s restaurant, a Canadian fast-food chain. We had never been to a Tim Horton’s and we were surprised that the food was actually quite good and tasty. BTW – They do not serve hamburgers like McDonald’s or Burger King.

We stopped at a small town called St. Peters 20 minutes from where we had the flat tire and found a garage. The mechanic there told us he couldn’t replace the tire as it was completed damaged and he didn’t have a replacement tire for the car. So, we had to drive to the bigger town, Port Hawkesbury. What fun we had driving about 45 minutes to Port Hawkesbury with our flashers on.

In the meantime, I called the Dollar Car Rental Agency and they were the most useless customer service… kept telling me that they couldn’t help us, blah, blah, blah… because we didn’t purchase the road assistance service. We’ll be sure to mention it to the car rental place when we’re back home.

Our car was ready right after our lunch and we were back on the road again toward Truro where we had reserved a room at one of the local hotels, the Inn on Prince. The hotel was clean but in need of a big refresh in terms of style and modern amenities. At least, the staff was very friendly there. We walked on the main street and found a bistro restaurant – The Nook and Cranny – which was very busy and quite good. Otherwise, not much to say or show about Truro.

DAY 13 & DAY 14 – From Truro to Auburn to New York

Posted on September 24, 2022May 7, 2023 by VB_Webmaster

DAY 13 (Sept 23) & DAY 14 (Sept 24) - From Truro to Auburn to New York (Back Home)

TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES driven on Sept 23 = 681 miles (1096 km)
TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES driven on Sept 24 = 178 miles (286 km)

We woke up early as today was going to be a very long drive to Auburn, Massachusetts. We had a quick breakfast at the Truro hotel, which was not very good. A couple of hours later we stopped at a McDonald’s to have our usual breakfast, which was way better than the industrial food from the hotel.

As we were driving through Maine, we made a spontaneous stop at the L.L. Bean store in Freeport. We went there for the first time last year in September during our Maine vacation. Great store for all kinds of outdoor clothing and equipment, fishing, canoeing, hunting, etc. as well as household furniture and items. I was quite lucky with my shopping and bought a sports rain jacket, a winter coat (to replace mine that was getting worn out), and a couple of other fall items to add to my casual wardrobe.

We then continued on toward Auburn where we arrived quite late. It was really difficult to find the hotel – Hampton Inn – as it was not well indicated. There was one problem with the check-in as they had made a mistake with our reservations but it was resolved. Next to the hotel, we found a chain restaurant – Chili’s – where we ate a decent dinner.

The next day, we woke up quite early and grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel then got back on the road. We wanted to be in Manhattan before the Saturday rush with people coming to the City for shopping, shows, partying, etc. We made it! No traffic to get to Manhattan and it was not even 10:00AM when we pulled up in front of our apartment building to unload.

At the Dollar Rental Agency, we worked out the deer encounter incident and the flat tire issue. The agent there was really accommodating (he apologized for the lack of help from Dollar when we had our flat tire) and reimbursed us for the flat tire. The scratches from the encounter with the deer didn’t seem to alarm them very much. However, we did fill out two incident reports to make sure everything was on the up and up.

It’s good to be back home, but it’s also sad to finish our vacation. We really love Canada and we will go back, for sure!