Sigsbee Campground, Key West Take Two 

This year the Navy computer system was fully functional, and the first stop at the pass and ID office ended in a year-long DBIS card to get off and on Navy facilities in Key West. Last year this didn’t happen. After two days, it was still broken,  and if we would have stayed at Boyd’s Campground for other days, we would have been broke too.  This year we arrived at Sigsbee Campground when the rest of the country was in a huge freezing front and it even snowed in Fernandina Beach Florida, so we are not complaining. 

Cold and windy weather down here in the Keys was reality, and we were thankful for wet suits that one could rent when we went snorkeling. I actually wore a winter coat to the Sunset Grill that was on the base that was perched right on the windy waterfront.   

This  was a happening place where we met lots of nice snowbirding retirees, saw the Eagles clinch their spot at the Super Bowl, and we even did some 60’s Karaoke in our coats,  We waited it out at the Sunset Grill happy hours for several days for the fair winds so that we could venture over the great bridge to Key West proper.  

This quad workout would propel you high up on the boat passable arch;  the bridge sidewalk was as narrow 3 feet wide,  and  we certainly wouldn’t want to blow off.   We rode bikes 4 miles into Key West from the Navy Campground.  The main drag into town had nice wide sidewalks where two ongoing riders could pass comfortably.  (FYI: We found that taking a left on  Olivia St would take you to the one-way Southard Street which had a dedicated bike lane into town.  Likewise, the parallel Fleming Street would bring you back out of Key West on the dedicated one-way bike path out of town)

Celtic Conch, Key West Eagles Bar 

When the  wind was not whipping we enjoyed the Key West sunsets and the libation establishments, as well as took in a play called “Angel Next Store”.  Irish Kevin’s and the Celtic Conch were added to our list of Key West Iconic Establishments.  The Celtic Conch was a heavy-duty Philly bar with posters about drinking Wooder, and we sang the Eagles Fight song at least three times with the guitarist leading the pack in song and not John. 

Of course, we felt at home there, and that was our one late night out, and we never even fell off our bikes. We me die hard Eagles Fan, Shelley, from New Jersey who welcomed us to park at her RV spot whenever we are in the area.  Decided to watch the game from our local sunset bar as the Conch bartender said people would be lining up in the morning to get in for the three-thirty game. 

Key West Pestaurants

We also found two more excellent restaurants to add to the Key West Collection – Two Friends and Santigo’s Bodega.  The latter was a tapas restaurant that our boat captain highly recommended and we luckily got an early reservation. This fit with our early night plan as we had been on the water for 6 hours, and the sleeping beauty had to wake up under duress to make the launch time.  Unusual small plates that you could keep adding to as they brought them to you whenever the deliciousness was ready.  Here we had our first plate of Saganaki, brandy flambe haloumi cheese, olive oil and oregano with grilled pita bread.  This was like flambeed goat cheese with crème Brulle type presentation only savory.  Yum. 

Definitely get reservations is what the captain said.  And the chickens were wandering – evidently, they are welcome in Key West because they keep the spiders and other pests at a minimum, and I must say we have not seen any dropping like we are accustomed to when the Snow Geese come through the desert. 

Dry Tortugas – NOT

Plans to go to Dry Tortugas the Fort that is a 70 mile ferry ride out to where the Gulf Stream begins was thwarted as the gusts were going to the 60mph and I had heard a podcast that said there ride was one of lots of barf bags and free ginger-ale as they were bounced around.  Excellent snorkeling is to be had around the Fort as well.  Seeding coral by placing hard structures like forts, for example, is a way that they are trying to bring back the reefs and the beautiful fish that attract snorkelers like us.  The hot temperatures of 2023 bleached out much of the coral and the beauty of the reefs.  First of all when I went to book the ferry there was only one day available for January through April –  so book early.  I decided to cancel 48 hours in advance because this was the height of the wind event, but you really don’t get your money back.  You need to book a day in the future that they will allow you to do several times evidently.  So hopefully we can go next year when it is a bit warmer, but I guess weather is always a problem.  Met a gal on our Sail, Kayak Snorkel trip who said it was super cold and poor visibility when they went a few days prior, so I guess we didn’t miss.  The other option is to take a $500 seaplane out there for the day

During our final two days, we biked to Fort Zachary Taylor which is a gorgeous public park with a great beach, bathhouse, snack bar for $8 per car or $1 per body.  It is perfect with shady pine trees and gorgeous aqua sea and protected swimming. 

 Sail, Kayak, Snorkel Trip

Now let’s talk Sail, Kayak, Snorkel Trip – luckily our captain was a professional and knew to stay in the deeper parts because we saw several sailboats that were permanently stuck in the sand.  Evidently, they were ownerless and abandoned, there for the taking if one had the means to pull them off.  Of course, most had been looted for everything of value once they got stuck and this became their final resting place.  The state came in and would remove all gas and oil, and they were left to hopefully be a spot for new coral to make a start.   

The first part of this tour included nice sailing wind, but we went out to a mangrove island where we snorkeled in sand and grass and saw very few fish and really not much of anything but sand and grass and a few bottom sponges.  We learned about the sponge economy that went on in the 19^th century as these were easily retrievable and used for filtering, as well as packing peanuts to transport delicate items for the rich from the European continent.  There was a whole on-land pirate economy too where the Key West salty types would pretend to help reef bound ships but then steal from them.  We also learned that Lake Michigan has had the most shipwrecks of all; however, they usually didn’t have gold and riches like many of the ships that ventured in these blue waters.  We’ll have to expound upon the actual Caribbean pirates if we ever make it to Dry Tortugas and Fort Jefferson because I understand there is a lot of folklore there.  And the pink flamingos were hunted to extinction in Key West although there are stories of flocks blocking the sun for a few seconds they were so prevalent in the area.

After our “disappointing snorkel experience”, the kayaks were off-boarded and we kayaked about 300 yards to a mangrove island and followed around a bit.  Unlike beaches which seem to always be eroding where you don’t want them to, mangrove islands are growing.  We could see the pods that evidently can be carried out to sea and when they float into the ideal place will plant themselves under just the right conditions.  As you go across the Florida Key bridges, one can see the many tiny mangrove islands that have popped up.  We didn’t see too much under the clear water with this kayak trip, and really had much more fun and went through the mangrove tunnels at John Pennekamp State Park.  

Last year after our Dive/Snorkel Tour,  I decided only to ever do a Snorkel only trip since divers need deeper water not ideal for snorkelers –  not really too compatible.  Likewise doing the Sail/Snorkel/Kayak of three item tours, none of the items was noteworthy, although the sailing was really nice.  Finally wind at the right time and right speed – this tour had been cancelled in the prior days as well. 

Key Largo, John Pennekamp SP

John Pennekamp State Beach was a return trip from 2024.  The paddling in the mangrove tunnels was really excellent, especially through the smaller ones which were protected from the wind which was going on for the first half of the trip.  These paddling mangrove trails took us to the high-end neighborhoods where boats were hoisted from the water to park and the houses were very upper crust. 

I became an obsessive weather watcher, and booked a snorkel tour the only day that looked decent for the week. This happened to be my birthday and John called ahead to arrange the party package with balloons, flowers and cupcakes.  I was the queen of the snorkel boat.  

The Secret Dive shop was a 5-mile bike ride, right next to the Shipwreck Bar and Grill where we had met new friends Bill and Mary last year.  We would definitely snorkel with them again as this was a convenient place for us to ride bikes from the campground. 

John Pennekamp also had snorkeling tours that only required a ride through the parking lot.  The nice thing is that you could call and rearrange your time for no cost if the weather was projected to be unfavorable. Since the weather was just this way for most of the time, we only did this trip one time.  But with all my weather obsession tendencies, we went back to the Christ of the Abyss Statue twice which evidently is in an area that can be rough waters. You have to check a box that says you are not guaranteed to go to this iconic statue; this throttles back the tourists that scream false advertising.  

The wetsuit rental was highly recommended, especially because wet cold snorkelers on a speeding boat is quite a “cool” experience.  The professional photographer who did the advertisements did much better than my GoPro, although the sun came out during our snorkel, and it was quite mesmerizingly beautiful with the abundance of fish and the waving coral leaves (evidently this is coral too).    

We learned this last year from the excellent movie at the John Pennekamp Visitor’s Center.  This was the same location we had gone to for my birthday trip, so I guess we were lucky to see Christ twice in one week!  I even got to see one of my favorite little pufferfishes and a school of barracudas, although I only captured these two.

On our in second trip the tide was lower and the sun came out which made the underwater glisten magically.   During our first trip we saw the biggest mammoth grouper which was as big as John, but our photos don’t exactly reflect that.  Perhaps it was so far away from him that it appeared smaller, but we both agreed it was the biggest fish we had ever seen.  It was very gray and ugly, nothing like the beautiful professional photographic grouper in Australia. Although it was real, at least we thought so, somehow, it was so pretty and blue that maybe we were fooled.

John Pennekamp State Park was also the first sunset paddle we did.  The wind finally stopped and it was a beautiful evening.  Amazingly there were no bugs on the water, just a beautiful sunset in the mangroves.  

During our 2 weeks at John Pennekamp, John flew to New Jersey for a long weekend to see Vaclav Prospal, his long-time favorite hockey player who is now coaching the AHL Rochester Amerks – John is hoping he moves up to the NHL soon. (Jazmine learned to count 1,2,3,4,5,…11,12,Vinny,14,15,16 – that’s how influential he was and now she 28-that’s a long time – 2001 photo below watching Vinny)

After dropping him in Miami, I hooked up with Mary, as in our 2024 Shipwrecked Mary and Bill friends. 

Vinny was very happy in her driveway and I got to stay in a real bed and bathroom.  Oh Lah, Lah.  We visited and she showed me around her area. Peacock Park has a SUP vending system where you can scan and rent a paddle board; My Padde Boy Would be out of a job if this was everywhere. 

But this is quite inviting, because the hassle of unpacking from Vinny, blowing up  and then having to get dry again to pack up is restrictive especially when bad weather is all about – not on this day though.

Key Biscayne NP

I also took a walk on a trail through Biscayne National Park and learned more about the ecology of the area.  This would also be a great place to paddle when it is not so windy! Even have a rinse off station.

Shark Valley Bike Ride, Everglades NP

I had planned to visit Everglades National Park while Paddle Boy was doing his Prospal hockey thing.  But I ended up cancelling.  We had already done the Shark Valley Bike ride on our way down, and I just was not enthused to see more grass and statue-like alligators.  Although, we did see one in action as he tried to crack a turtle that he had snuck up on, and that was pretty exciting. 

If I would be a birder, maybe I would have gone all the way down to Flamingo, but we saw enough on this bike trail.  I was enjoying some new girlfriend time with my new friend, Mary, so I bagged the birds.  It was still windy and rain in the forecast.

Homestead, Farm Country

“Robert is Here Fruit Stand” was a must see according to Mary and I did a visit to this unique  Homestead Farm Country.  Not only local fruits and vegetables, but quite a collection of animals.  Robert is famous for their milkshakes, but the line was about 25 people long this evening.  

We had already been in this farming area when we harvested hosted at Schnebly Redland’s Winery and Brewery too.  The winery had the most beautiful plant grotto to enjoy wine and a snack.

Unfortunately, it was dark after our Shark Valley bike ride so was not so visible.  We ended up tasting some unique fruit wines including Avocado and having a few glasses.  It ended up being quite expensive for what we got, but the Harvest Host Parking (long dirt driveway with lots of space that brought you in back of the winery where the brewery was going on) was excellent and we ended up staying 2 nights.  On weekends this brewery is the entertainment hotspot and there is Friday Latino dancing and Saturday country line dancing which can make for quite a bit of ruckus at the adjoin harvest host parking.  It ended at 11pm and the music from across the gravel was not too bad.  

The beer selection was nothing special, but it the indoor game was  huge and had several  cornhole setups.  They never checked our reservation as a harvest host and the area was so big that I would consider going there un-announce in our small setup. 

Bahia Honda State Park

Bahia Honda State Park was the next destination upon picking-up John at the airport.  And wouldn’t you know it, poor Eagle’s planning, as he was in the air for the first half of this important play-off game.  (That poor planning saga continued as he was doing colonoscopy prep while watching the Super Bowl a few weeks later – no giant Watch party for us, but 100s of texts on the Smith Clan message group.) His after surgery-propofol influenced singing of the Fly Eagles Fly and he has  gotten 500 views – the Doctor came in before we could spell “E A G L E S”  at the end of the song.  

Bahai Honda for two nights where we arrived late and in the rain.   Later that night the sky opened and for the first time in ten years, 

Vinny was leaking.  John decided it was leaking through the backup camera, and he was out in the rain to cover the camera with a plastic bag – all those magnets came in handy and the dripping stopped.  We awoke to a beautiful sunny morning, so that camera area could dry and the perfect picnic table could be stood upon to apply some silicone calking.  Vinny hasn’t leaked since then, and we had some heavy rains. The weather was still pretty variable and the Tuesday Snorkel trip from here had been cancelled several days prior.  Evidently, they only start with every day snorkel trips from Bahia Honda when Spring Break season starts.   We did a bit of bike riding and decided to snorkel off of the Calusa Beach along the jetty to the harbor, and saw way more fish than in Key West Snorkel, Sail and Kayak tour.

Sanibel Island and Periwinkle Park

Periwinkle Park on Sanibel Island on Florida’s West Coast was our final stop.  Biking Sanibel is the best way to get around as there is one main drag along the island.  One day we biked North about 8 miles J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge.  It was finally a warm day and we welcomed the air conditioned showroom where we continued to learn about Florida’s ecosystem and cool off.  The island suffered extraordinary damage from Hurricane Ian in 2022 and further in 2024 from Milton.  As one walked along the beach many of the condo complexes were in a state of abandonment or repair with less than half seeming like they had occupants.  

Near the town there were shops and restaurants that had returned to business, but there were also some that were not.  The bike path was separate, but ran along the main road through the island.  There was a variety of housing in states of newness on down to boarded up.  The destruction and downed trees and standing water was particularly evident in areas where there was no housing or businesses.  We decided to find the Turtle’s Tiki Bar and were transformed to the resort style outdoor bar and seating, swimming pool that was right on the ocean free from the destruction and renovation going on in much of the island.  

The Periwinkle RV park was outdated on the outside, but somehow old school charming, and they even had a fenced bird park with swans and other duck pond like swimmers (2 feedings a day)

They were still in the process of clearing and our site actually had some standing water behind it, few mosquitos though.  The bathrooms were immaculate and the laundry facilities had a backyard with many long clothes lines and there was a fish cleaning station and a very rough screened in meeting room where there were tables, puzzles, games, kitchen counters and a sink.  I was told by the friendly staff member that Old Fokers, a group of retired men, had been meeting there every morning for coffee at 730am for years. The slam of the wooden screen door on the concrete slab was freshly painted and neat. Somehow it was very old school and quaint and I liked it. Many people had seasonal trailers, some with permanent decks and foundations. Many were from out of state.   It was quite a mix, but evidently, Periwinkle was totally full because I could only get these three days when I inquired many months ago and called occasionally to see if anything was available.  The beach was a ½ mile through neighborhood streets and was perfect for walking with really cool birds 

We were hankering for pizza and when we got to Island Pizza Restaurant, we didn’t have reservations, so we had to sit at two of six free places at the bar.  Other white clothed tables were free but filled up as we ate the delicious pizza.  There were many other Italian selections and we would definitely return to this one.  Another Michigan couple, Tom and Sheila,  strayed in and had to sit at the bar too.  We ended up playing music with Tom in the screened porch room as they were camping at Periwinkle RV park too.   There was little luxury about the island, and the place was not over-run by tourist stores. It was truly relaxing.  Sanibel Island Beach is wide and perfect for walking and riding bikes everywhere.

And as I finish up this blog post almost a month after the fact, I begin planning for Newfoundland since the ferry cabins are already full during the night crossings. We also met fellow RV expeditioners from Mississippi and joined Susan’s Facebook group called Finding Freedom.  She posts exquisite photos almost every day they travel with great explanations and will be an excellent travel resource. 

Our February adventure was about to begin as we returned to our home away from home with Bo and Julie in Fernandina Beach. It’s time for doctoring that includes colonoscopy and an eyelid surgery for John hopefully followed by Cataract surgery.  But first Fly Eagles Fly and so they did !!

I will be checking out until I go back to Hawaii at the end of April lots of family stuff and then off to Newfoundland just after Memorial Day, but wanted to give you a day by day of John’s progress through eyelid procedure. 

John’s Eyelids in Pictures

 Day 1

Day 2 

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6 -stitches out 

These states are minutes apart in the northwestern tip of Massachusetts, and that’s where we were headed to North Adams to visit my childhood friend, Jane Culnane.  After almost 40 years of not seeing each other, Jane visited us in Ridgecrest when she attended her nephew’s wedding in Los Angeles.  Our mothers had been good friends and now with both of them gone, we had to rely on ourselves to keep it going.  The Finding Colors tour was planned to include a stop in this area!

The Dog Mountain Dog Chapel, St Johnsbury, Vermont

We knew of this because our music friends, JP and Liza, had told us about this place during one of their Ridgecrest Concerts.  

They even wrote a song called Dog Mountain, and when I discovered it was somewhat on the way, and John could get a dog fix, it was a stop-over.  Post-it notes cover the inside of the chapel walls in remembrance of all those loved canines who have crossed the Rainbow Bridge.  

It was really quite moving and so lovely.  Then there was the dog field complete with pond for pouncing about on this cool October Day. 

Von Trapp Family Lodge / Café, Stowe Vermont

We had seen the property in Aigen, Austria that had featured the famous musical family before they fled from the Nazis. So naturally,    We had to see the American version which now is a very high-end lodge with a few guest houses.  

Not only was there a café filled with yummy desserts which was nicely situated upon the hills where the cows roamed, but also a brewery. 

There was a disc golf course as well as several mountain bike trails throughout the property.  Roaming cows mean cow patties here and there.  

John took a bit of a slide on one as we had walked on a narrow path and he quickly jumped aside to let a bike through.  The titanium hip still held on and it was only an embarrassment. 

Shelburne Vineyards, Shelburne Vermont

We decided to take in a local singer-songwriter show that was going on at the Vineyard that evening.  Delightfully small venue friendly people.  The younger of the three was quite proficient on the looper and he created a full sound as he was quite good at playing guitar as well.  His fiancé was sitting next to us, and of course, John is quite inquisitive about young people who appear to be in love, and playful discourse ensued.  

Fort Ticonderoga, Lake Champlain, New York

The day was to be rainy so we decided perhaps a bit of history would be a good way to pass the droplets.  We had already learned about the eternal war between the French and the British during the 1700’s from our visit to Fort Louisbourg in Cape Breton.  The French had built the original Fort Carillon, but abandoned it to British when many of their troops had left to attack British Fort William Henry,   in 1759 just like in Canada.

Power went back and forth between the two, but here in NY before one faction surrendered, they would burn and destroy the Fort on the way out.  Clever bridge building techniques were among the ideas that helped the Americans  sneak out the cannons and artillery which were in part responsible for winning independence from Britain.  For the non-historian type like myself,  it was hard to keep track of all the different circumstances in which it went back and forth during our boat tour.   The commanding views of this historically important body of water make it ideal for seeing the enemy as well as color peeping even in the rain some 250 years later. 

We had first stopped at Mount Defiance where we could look down onto Fort Ticonderoga.  After the British positioned some cannons up on this mountain the Continental Army withdrew without a fight.  Those cannon balls were big and could fly for over a mile from this height, evidently no shots were fired, just a big threat.

The weather put a damper on outdoor Ticonderoga demonstrations although we did here the 2 O’clock cannon during our Boat tour.  

Before the continual rain started, I wandered through the King’s Garden and found some really unique flowers which I had never seen. 

A demonstration of a wooden plank being bent and fitted onto a boat was quite interesting, as well as a cobbler repairing his shoes were the two demonstrations we saw on this somewhat rainy day.

Seems like the French were much more friendly with the First Nation People than the British.  Makes me wonder if the British recognize the Native people in their country like Canadians and Americans at least try to recognize through UNESCO designation. We also noticed in both Canada Festivals and Museums the First Nation of the region was acknowledged whether verbally or through display.  Perhaps this is the right thing to do in North America these days, as I also observed this in a movie theater in Williamstown Massachusetts.   

Artisanal Brew Works, Saratoga Springs

What a way to end a rainy day that was continuing to carry on through the night than with a few beers and an overnight.  At least they had a nice Porter. 

Massachusetts Color Peeping

The Greylock Veterans War Memorial was hopping with a college school group who gave us the best chocolate chip jumbo cookie ever after we completed the jaunt up.  

Beautiful views from both the mountain and the tower top as the colors were starting to dull to the tan now.  One can drive right up to the top, but we took the opportunity to do a bit of the very famous Appalachian Trail to a smaller parking area below. 

Jane and I did a delightful morning hike to Pine Cobble Trail in Williamston.

Mass MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art)

This facility is a prime example of repurposing space as the original industrial Mill building was transformed into a manufacturing center for Sprague Electronics who supplied crucial components to the war effort.  They employed just under a ¼ of North Adams Population and were leaders in research and innovation in electronics before closing doors in 1988 due to low prices abroad.  Nearby Williams College was seeking space to exhibit the very large works of contemporary artists.  Although there was much controversy over this Contemporary Art Space, widespread community support eventually prevailed and now it is a world-renowned space for the Contemporary works of art.  Better yet an old building is not crumbling in ruins and the space is also used for performing arts as well.  

Contemporary Art can be difficult to understand.  The Wikipedia definition of Art is a visual object or experience consciously created through an expression of skill or imagination.  

So even though many exhibits seemed to be things that a novice like me could create, the idea of putting it together to invoke a feeling is perhaps what many exhibits did.  For example, the plaster baskets that were created by destroying the basket that created them and seeing the piece from the inside out and then arranging them pleasingly.  

Would that exhibit be the same if there were only a dozen baskets and each did not have an eye?  Not sure. The solid 5 ft wide lines that were painted vertically on 75 feet of wall according to a set of text instructions to create them –  Is that Art? Hmm because technically a craft person could create.  Is it just the large scale that invokes a wow.  Is there a difference between craft and art?  I’m confused, but the exhibits were enjoyable to see.  Particularly the virtual reality experience of flying in space was really cool and provided a feeling to me that I had never experienced.  Is this art or is this Disney?  Does it matter? 

After all is said and done,  head over to the adjoining Bright Ideas Brewery to contemplate. 

Cape Cod, Massachusetts

The CCRT (Cape Cod Rail Trail)

This paved trail runs more than halfway around the Cape from Yarmouth to past Wellfleet, and there are dotted sections with plans to lengthen it.  We rode the smooth asphalt section from Brewster to Orleans and it had markets, restaurants and bike shop access points along the way.   Halfway down we stopped at Nickerson State Park to do one of the many hikes.  Our days’ furthest destination included a stop at the Hog Island Brewery in Orleans to enjoy a porter and a beautiful day to enjoy it during this week of Indian Summer.

Nickerson State Park

This state park lies right on the CCRT making a break it up ride from Brewster to Orleans a perfect spot for a hike.  The asphalt bike trails crisscross hiking trails throughout the property, and then there are the ponds. We hiked around Cliff Pond and saw many sandy-beach entrance points to the pond that were so clear and in the warmer weather perfect for SUP.  

Unfortunately, the Campground had closed for the season and we could not overnight there. There are several Camping Areas that surround Cliff Pond and have beach access, and I could see staying here for several days in September to paddle.  

The leaves in the area were not nearly as brilliant as in the mountains.  Cliff Lake allows a maximum of 10 horsepower vessels.  Nickerson offers that perfect balance of paddling, swimming, hiking and biking to get around to breweries and restaurants all in a beautiful wooded setting if you can get there before October 15^th. 

Cape Cod National Seashore

What should have been another bike and hike day turned out to be a P-town overnight.  Decided to try the Atlantic Ocean entrance at Marconi Beach near the Visitor Center.  The first entrance said no beach access, then another parking lot with other trails yielded the same.   Evidently there had been a storm and the stairway was damaged in one area and the dunes in the other.  Drive out to another said beach and again cement blockades saying no beach entrance.  A woman walking up where a few cars had parked said there was an 80-degree slope down a dune if we wanted to get toes in; we didn’t want to get stuck in the dune so moved on down the main drag looking for a public beach access and finally found ourselves all the way in Provincetown.

The next day we stopped in the National Park Province Lands Visitor Center where I obtained expert advice for a good bike ride mixed in with a beach walk.  

Evidently Cape Cod National Seashore is one of our Nation’s oldest and boy does it have a network of fabulous asphalt bike trails as well as an observation deck to soak in the seashore and dunes.   We decided to do the 7-mile Province Lands Bike Trail Loop starting from the Parking Area at Race Point Beach and then head through the short dunes path and finally getting that toes in the Atlantic beach walk I had been craving.  The bike trail had that perfect number of hills and valleys only having to switch from Q-Bike (Quad) to P-Bike (Push) mode just once.  The weather was so perfect on this mid-October Day.  The sand was beautiful.  Saw several seals come up close to the shore, but I had been warned that October is when the Great White Sharks come close in to feed on the seals.  

There was even a severe bleeding safety kit near the beach area.  

Yikes the likelihood goes way up in October and we were surprised at how close the seals came to the shore.  Unfortunately, there is no camping at this National Park.  Another thing of interest was the Race Point Over Sand Station where they looked like they issue dune driving permits.  May be fun for a future visit.

P-Town (Provincetown)

Our frustrating day looking for a beach and a bike ride landed us in P-town (can’t go any further than this) where we walked the Harbor Boardwalk and saw all the ferry possibilities to Boston, Hyannis and other Harbor Places.  There was Dunes and Sail Tour that would have been of interest with more time, but many of these things already posted that they were closed for 2024 season.  We walked the colorful streets of brightly painted and stylish houses that were decorated for Halloween whose plain old Victoria style made them a natural for the season of haunted.  

The one-way main drag on Commercial Street was an eclectic colorful display of vintage, ice cream, restaurants, bars, cannabis, tourist and T shirt shops that conveyed the LGBTQ vibe of this town.  

P-Town is to Massachusetts as Key West is to Florida, and the possibility to see drag shows and such stereotypical characters walking around town was more noticeable than most other towns.  We never did see  and equivalent to Captain Tony’s Bar that had dollar bills and bras stapled to the ceiling and walls like Key West.  The cross dressers that we saw were relatively conservative in my mind.

We had found a parking spot in a municipal parking lot for $2 hour right across from Provincetown Brewing.  As the day was ending after our P-town walkabout, we stopped there to have a beer and were drawn to sit on the early American style 60’s golden couch reminiscent of the familiar blue couch at John’s childhood house in Blackwood.  This indoor nostalgic décor was more appealing than the hard picnic benches that were outside even on this beautiful day.   Relaxed and comfortable on the loveseat after our beer, we needed to contemplate where we should spend the night.   Since it didn’t say overnight was not allowed, we took that as it was ok, just as long as you paid for the hours on the handy Parking App. We were tucked back on a perfectly quiet spot with a 3-minute walk to the hub-bub on Commercial street, so decided to paint the town which for us means find dark beers and a place with music.  P-town doesn’t seem to have any dark beers though, but the Tin Pan Alley did have a piano bar for entertainment that night so that was the plan.  

Got there early and found a perfect place at the bar, far enough to be observers on the sidelines but the place was small and we only had the window front behind us.  The very talkative George, the bartender, introduced us to two other regulars, one man even joined my blog as we talked about traveling and cranberry bogs in New Jersey and how we got Vinny to Hawaii.   The music was the Dean Martin Era of old songs as several different men came up to sing with the old familiar tunes of yesteryears.  The evening was quite enjoyable and was packed as a couple danced to a tune in celebration of their 46th wedding anniversary. By 9pm things were calming down, and George seemed to have been preoccupied as our water glasses were even empty, and we finally flagged him down to pay.  The food was excellent, and I was tired.  The Parking App only accepted payment until 12 am, but decided to be up at 8am.  There were a few overnight cars in the lot, but by 730am then next morning, the parking lot was full.  There was a bike trail nearby and one could even ride to the National Park Seashore as well as another trail from downtown P-Town, perhaps this was the reason for its early morning fill.

New England is beautiful, especially in the Fall, and surely will pass that way again!

Half Cocked Brewery, Harvest Host 

It’s a return to one of our favorite Harvest Hosts.  Our stay at the Ceilidh Cottage Campgrounds, Mabou, Cape Breton was cut short as it was going to rain and there were no extra shows planned at the Red Shoe. It was a bit strange because the Red Shoe event page was dark with nothing.  Almost like they weren’t gonna do shows anymore.    They did advertise traditional music each evening during the dinner hours and it was very good, but we didn’t feel like we needed to go again.  The Ceilidh Cottage Campground looked like a work in progress where they were the cottages were getting renovated first and the campground may come later.  It was a bit far from Mabou and the Red Pub, but I don’t think there was anything closer.  Evidently in Canada you can park in places overnight unless it says no overnight parking.  

HyClass Campground, Linwood Harbour

There‘s a launch dock  to paddle into  this protected harbor of beautiful sunsets. 

We paddle all around, but couldn’t cross the low tide to get to the ocean, 

We got out to get land legs back and skip some stones from the stony beach.  Day two we just hung on the swim dock because it was just too hard to get out. The water was warm and delightful on the hot but breezy day. 

Seabreeze Campground, Canso 

This was really a delightful campground to get charged up before the Stan Rogers Music Fest. Our site was a short walk down a path to the beach with the SUP.  We did a lovely sunset paddle to the huge bird island. 

That was the noisiest bird island around, and somehow landing on the beach would be like a scene from the movie “Birds” so we didn’t dare do that. 

Besides, we already took our showers for the week and smelled really good!  

We also did a beautiful earlier paddle (we never really ever do mornings with John).  

A bald eagle was soaring high above while paddling along the beautiful rock bluffs. 

In these small campgrounds, it is best to get the electric water only sites because the full hookups are the parking lot type, although they are nice and flat. So my recommendation is to opt for electric/water but don’t forget to bring the leveling blocks because many are not flat.  It turns out, we only had 20 amp service and that was sketchy.  But the manager was so very responsive, and an electrician was called to reroute and put in a new box as there appeared to be a problematic underground connection that occasionally cut out power.  They offered to compensate us, but there was only an hour or two cut out once and then it was on and off half a dozen times during the day.  The close easy access to the beach was really great ! They had kayak rentals there as well as paddle boards at the campground and also a small laundry facility.  

Chapel Gully Trail, Canso

Perfect little hike before a lot of sitting at the Stanfest right in the town of Canso.  

Stanfest, Canso 

Foreign country, not that Canada seems foreign,  means seeking out the music in eastern Maritimes were our 2024 summer gig, so Stan Rogers Music Fest was on the plan, and it has truly been one of the best.  We seem to have brought the good weather here to Canso, and the show’s EMcee, Kelly,  even renamed the town Cansofornia.  Like Merlefest, this one has been hammered by rainy weather in the past years and besides a few night time sprinkles it has been beautiful unlike the hurricane of  2022 or flood zone of 2023.  Multiple times, climate change has been brought up in regards to this festival.

The family connection, dedication and talent is the thing that binds and exudes the Stanfest spirit.  It was started at the elementary school in Canso a ¼ century ago with several of the founders getting together in tent trailers to play Stan Rogers Music, and boy were these are  talented guys and still are the rocks of the Stanfest.  We had met David Gunning at our Millpond Music Fest some 10 years ago and remember clearly his song “These Hands”  This StanFest was dedicated to Bruce Guthro, evidently one of the founders with old timers JP Cormier and Dave Gunning. 

There was quite a moving pre-fest show dedicated to songs and stories in his honor.  Even Irish Mythen who we found in Australia at the Woodford Folk Fest came in for one night tribute to him.  Doing her “Jesus” song that we first heard there – she is incredible, and hope that we can find her playing in PEI when we are there.  

JP Cormier is one of the most incredibly talented musicians and entertainers.  He was definitely not to be missed with my pre-screening process with several folky songs like “Us”, “Another Morning” , Kelly’s Mountain”, but then he turned all show host entertainer with his live stream of “Classical Gas” on his Podcast String Theory.  Then in the very last hours, where he played straight because he said he was too hung over to  sing yet he said he decided to play the hardest classical song he knows.  He is truly a great entertainer.

Carsie Blanton, truly a sassy girl protest singer with the lyrics that are so perfect.  She went viral with a John Prine tribute song called “Fishin with You” and lots of good protest songs like  “Rich People”, but does many others like “Be Good” and “Good Friends” that just bring you away singing the happy go lucky chorus .  Although she said she grew up in Luray VA, and said she was from Philly her bio says she met her husband, and now resides in New Jersey and needless to say she was a first timer to Stanfest. Her John Prine song went viral because as you can see she doesn’t look very folky compared to the rest.

Mallory Johnson kind of country really but her “Married” is a hilarious song about wanting the wedding but not wanting to get married and “Wise Woman.”  She lives in Nashville and talked about the inequality and discrimination of women in the industry.  

Terra Spencer is a more traditional storyteller singer and her “Coyotes” or “At your Service” who say she’s late to this music thing.  She is so humble, but her lyrics so beautiful and better yet annunciated so clearly “Lunenburg Moon” and “Age 38”

Martin Kerr born in Great Britain, was married and moved to Edmonton when his wife picked him out; he is also quite the story teller about how it all went down.  I even bought a Martin Kerr look alike memory stick (I can pull down his pants and get all of his 50 songs and stories), trying to support a full-time artist to keep his ginger 3 boys in sunscreen.  “You’re Amazing”, “Curious Heart”, “Blissful Lands”, and “Don’t Listen to Me” – looking forward to hearing more. 

Lennie Gallant, an East Coast Canadian singer-songwriter who I was drawn to by his on the water songs.  “On the Minnehaha”  translate  “On the Laughing Water”  which we learned was about a woman friend who won the French Golden Globe single handed round the world sailing race or “Peter’s Dream”  He’s also wrote with Jimmy Buffet and told the story of Jimmy called him to do some more songs, but then  Jimmy died. He’s been writing songs as he approaches his 7^th decade and I have lots more listening to do.   

The Once, a Newfoundland band, with incredible harmonies and so natural together on stage, one of the guitarist told the singer that her fly was down right there on stage.  ‘We Are All Running” and by “The Glow of the Kerosene Light”.  

Dave Gunning, the soft spoken and a passionate lyricist.  “These Hands” , “All Along the Way”, “Coal from the Train”, “New Highway” What a fabulous storyteller and puts on such a heartfelt and entertaining show.  Latest displaced being in his story was about the weed sniffing dog who also lost his job when weed became legal in Canada.  His friends surprised him with an exclusive David Gunning song circle of which he was part, yet a surprise that everyone did one of his songs.  Truly seems like a wonderful man.  Although he performs and records with JP Cormier, he is quite a contrast to the fast talking, hard drinking smoking man who is JP.

Other incredible musicians who just seemed to play often and well with others, although, all are solo performers too.  Son of headliner, Jim Cuddy, Sam  Polley and the Old Tomorrows,  the young ones who really rocked it out.   Matt Anderson, and his blues funk and incredible stage presence “Honest Man” and “Let it Slide”.   Kim Dunn who seemed to play the keyboard in so many shows, and also Darren McMullen who we learned played so many shows with so many in the “Stanfest Family” as he and his wife, Rachel Davis played the last workshop and brought back the traditional Celtic fiddling with her foot stomping beat that seemed like fiddlers get complete body workouts, not to mention beautiful harmonies too with “Home”, “Dancing on Modern Ground” and “River and the Road”

John even got up for Sunday morning gospel hour to see Annmarie Pelley, who we had met at Inverness Beach.  

This was one in which we would return but a bit on guard based on weather stories of the previous fest.    It was a perfect size for us and found lots of performers with whom I connected, plus the bedrock performers are incredible and well worth the repeat each year. 

Tickle Islands

Murphy’s Ocean Campground was a perfect misty kayak experience around the Tickles and a place to recharge Vinny.  

We beat the rainy weather and only got mistily wet and somehow the fog made the whole island experience really interesting in the rolling waves.  

Murphy’s has excellent kayak rentals and John could totally control the kayak unlike Meat Cove Kayak that seemed to steer wherever it wanted.

The Tickles also have incredible scene diversity.

They have several distinctive things like an evening group fire where Murphy facilitated everyone to introduce oneself and we played music with another guy.  It was lovely as the next day was deemed rainy for the most part.  The other neat thing is they had a propane fired burner and big pots for boiling your own lobster if you wanted to do so.  Although sites were placed on grass for the most part, it was well run.  Would come here again for a sunny SUP adventure. 

Halifax, NS

The 1406 Edward Street Hideout with John’s siblings, Ed and Ann, for a week where we experienced some of the most interesting features. 

First off it had a lovely mini split that kept the basement apartment cool in comparison to many other places in this lovely neighborhood.  

We actually left a highly rated Press Gang restaurant after we sat down and decided it was just too hot to enjoy a dinner.  Luckily on our very first night we found the Old Triangle Irish Pub with cool air and Theo MacIntosh, a musician who we would come to stalk all week long because we loved his style.  

We would see him two more times at Edible Matters (Strawberry Gin Smash) and Split Crow Pub.  

Buskerfest is what lured us to Halifax, but found the street musicians to be large comedia/acrobatic/magic shows on a concrete area surrounded by lots of people in the heat or rain.  There were no street corner types like we saw in London at Piccadilly Circus.  It was a lovely 20 walk to downtown through the Public Gardens and onto the Wharf area where the four large busker areas/stages were set up.  

The Old Triangle had music almost every night as did many other pubs, but most importantly it had the best gingerbread whiskey caramel cake ever and we had to engage in a repeat during our week, and usually we never get a dessert.  The Stubborn Goat was another place which was cool and hopping on a Friday night.  The Black Sheep at the bar experience with Alex and Jeremy for an evening of bantering about all kinds of stuff from Hockey to Football to Cocktails to the Propeller Arcade(never made it to this pinball hall) 

Pier 21 Immigration Museum presented quite the history and we found what looks to be the 1853 immigration of widowed Christine Klutenkamper, and her three sons George, John and Conrad from Prussia. So exciting to find some info about our friend Julie’s relatives.  

The Maritime Museum to see all types of boats and ships and disasters.  Yeah, we all know about the Titanic, but evidently there was an early 1900 explosion that started when a cargo ship containing munitions for WWI collided with another ship spontaneously combusting,  destroying the north end of Halifax, killing 2,000, injuring 9,000 and leaving 25,000 without shelter.  This was the biggest man-made explosion until the Atomic Bomb.  Huge pieces of the twisted metal/concrete shrapnel were on display here.  These cute little sailing skiffs were welcome after learning about that tragedy. 

Features of our Air B & B.  It had some unique ones including  a sectional couch system larger than a king size bed to sprawl on while watching the projector Apple TV on an 8 foot long screen in comparison to the IPad which we hang between our cabinets in Vinny to view as we lie in our beds.  Then there was a hot tub and steam shower which were not weather conducive, like would be lovely on a cold return from downtown.  Then there was the Murphy bed that came down and converted the kitchen into a bedroom.  Unfortunately the mechanism that lowered a huge table that should have included benches but now is a too big table for the space since the benches don’t lower any more. Four days in, this mechanism got stuck blocking the Murphy bed from easily being opened.  Christian came down and raised the original table and brought a table to expand the counter space which was only a tiny bit larger than Vinny’s. (Not exactly a cooking kitchen)   I enjoyed sitting out on the tree canopied back porch, but most mornings there was a layer of drops that needed to be dried, but very minimal mosquitos.  The frig was tiny, only a bit bigger than what we have in Vinny.  The underground was very quiet and we all generally slept well with no road noise.  Also the great washer and dryer allowed us to get Vinny all prepped and packed up nice and spotless for another venture.  Would I come again? Hmm would consider it, but it was a bit dark, with only three small windows and a glass door, but it really had some nice features too. Like this cute little visitor. 

Peggy’s Cove 

I think this is the biggest tourist attraction in Nova Scotia with its great bouldered shores for climbing and seeing the crashing waves and the famous lighthouse.  

Then there is a quaint little harbor dotted with colorful buildings and even a purple one for Annie. 

Certainly a very beautiful easy to get close to the ocean on the rounded boulders, but not too close to the crashing waves or the security would blow her whistle at you. Not good for sneaker waves to wash the tourists into the churning ocean, I guess this happens all too often. 

I even snapped  a picture of the famous Peggy’s Cove lighthouse without a single body in the photo and that is quite a feat because bodies were everywhere on the climbing on the rocks and I heard that a couple on their honeymoon was swept out by one of those sneaker waves. 

For as busy as the place was, we got a table immediately at the cafe on the rocks, and the food was surprisingly good.  

Gaff Rock and Hirtle Beach Trail, near Lunenburg 

This will be one of my all time favorite hikes even though I got stung and had a little welt for a bit. It is a 5 mile hike with everything

 Beach, Christmas tree and deciduous forests, scrub bushes, dirt with some rocks over which to maneuver and this really cool shale material that sheared in vertical direction and looked like stepping onto it might do an egg slicers type meeting with your foot.  

Of course there was a gorgeous view off the point and part of the trail was all along the cliff, not just a peek through like we had at the more famous Acadian Trail in Cape Breton National Park.  

Best to plan this at low tide so you can walk on the sandy beach and not on rocks for about a kilometer (doable but sprained ankle risky). 

The Trail head starts at Hirtle Beach and it looks like quite a nice swimming beach but undoubtedly cold water. 

When taking the trail again may consider turning back to head counterclockwise instead of the loop because it is high on the bluffs and even get up close to these slices of shale that are really cool and you can see down into the water weeds and see sailboats gliding through the ocean.

The parking lot was big, but it had beach traffic and people also parked along the road.  We always get places late enough to find one of those early birds parking spots that have already had their day. So many beautiful photos 

Harvest Host Lightship Brewery, Lunenburg

First Stop the Harvest Host Lightship Brewery, for a delightful outdoor area on the Lunenburg Harbor.  From our Harbor view parking spot, there was a golf course to the right,  Lunenburg across the harbor to our left, and lots of moored sailboats.  

Pleasant little path into town where we walked by the 200 foot Mylin IV SuperYacht where a crew of 17 must support the 10 guests in 5 cabins, constructed for the late owner of Carnival Cruise Lines in 1992 and named Mylin after his wife, Lin, and is the 4th and final Yacht. His son, the CEO of Carnival inherited the Mylin IV.  

There was even a pirate ship The Harbortown is most famous for its the home of the Bluenose II which is on a 3 postage stamps, the dime and the Nova Scotia License Plate and symbolizes the strength of the Canadian fishing and shipbuilding industries. She held the the Fisherman’s Trophy for 17 year after her first win in 1921. She travels and has ports of call where you can visit and I think even sail.  Unfortunately she was in Halifax during the Harborfest, but non the les the town is quite adorable.

The Lunenburg Folk Harbourfest

It was going strong and we just managed to make it to the opening Thursday night act after a great Hike to Gaff point, a beer at Saltbox Brewery in Mahone and a nap. The main stage has a thousand chairs set up neatly in rows  under a huge tent with side flaps if it should rain sideways.  This stage is only used for the night shows, with 5 other stages a short walk from each other where daytime smaller shows take place. 

And three of these places are rainproof, Lunenburg Opera House, St John’s Anglican and Central United Churches which are also acoustically pretty superb when it comes to music fest stages.  But we went into rain contingency mode where the Park Stage was switched to St John Parish Center and the Wharf Stage was switched to Zwickers. The Lunenburgers like to keep their festival goers dry which has been a huge complaint at Stanfest and Merlefest (unless its a year where Vinny brings the good weather)  It was supposed to be beautiful this weekend too,  but somehow the sporadic rain started up, well no problem here with their rain contingencies.  They say that the fest will be capped at a 1000 because that’s all that will fit under the tent. 

John dropped me off at 6:45am, Day 1 as he was taking Vinny to get a new air conditioner and water pump at Jerry’s RV about an hour away while I had a full day of music. I hung out at the No9 Coffee shop complete with mismatched wooden furniture, couch and cushie chairs by the fireplace, as it sprinkled off and on all morning. Breakfast Golette was the bomb and I had to restrain myself from their other delights. Here I met Joan and Dan from Swarthmore PA who have been coming to this Festival for 20 years.  The beginning years had camping and they recommended some places, as we discussed our favorite musicians.

Every MC starts off with we are on sacred land of the Mi’kmaq First Nation, we come in harmony and peace.  The town is totally involved sponsoring the musicians, that means paying and putting them up for the weekend. At every musician  introduction, the sponsor is announced and people are asked to patronize or go in and thank businesses.  The sound systems have been among the best for these venues.  Although, I was a bit disappointed with the loudness of the main stage Ennis Sisters and if it weren’t for being trapped in the middle I would have backed up. I longed to hear their beautiful harmonies and lovely lyrics without a PA system, another reason to go to Newfoundland.  That’s from these three sisters hail. 

They look in their 20’s but they are obviously in their late 30’s if not older. Many of the musicians came from Newfoundland actually – they have a Folk fest too. 

The sisters, Maureen, Karen and Theresa hooked me with their performance of “I will Sing You Home”.  Don’t listen to this unless you have a box of tissues close by Sing You Home – Remember Them At The Rooms – YouTube. The eldest songwriting, Maureen, wrote this to process the grief of the loss of her cousin by suicide. This song has been used in all kinds of remembrance ceremonies and will be performed at Carnegie Hall.   I just listened to their 2022 Album On We Go and I loved every song on the Album.  Their harmonies are incredible and the penny whistle and Bodhran mixed with beautiful lyrics and their family stories and they even dance and have matching outfits. They have been  performing together since the littles was 3 years old  with their first album release in the late 90’s. 

Well there is a lot of folk, but OMG Suzie Vinnick, Lloyd Spiegel and Charlie A’Court can really lay down some rhythm and blues. Their album “An International Roots Blues Kitchen Party” is fabulous.  They played together today, but all have solo appearances and then there was the trombone.  

We had seen Suzie alone and her Irish white complexion and red hair and matronly appearance in general was not the stereotype of her incredibly bluesy voice and fantastic guitar playing.  She even pulled off just playing the bass to two songs.  She is a very talented woman who breaks the stereotype mold!

Moira and Claire, very young with great sister harmonies.  I picked them out as a not to be missed, so young and will look forward to seeing them develop..  Also the hometown girl, Kristen Martell, who opened the show was on my don’t miss list.  Julian Taylor his stories, presence and lyrics were incredible and I am a follower.  

I don’t know why I missed the Lynn Miles pre-screening, but she’s had a Juno award album of the year and has been releasing albums since 1991.   BTW Juno is a Canadian Music Award.  Then there is another pre-screen failure of mine James Keelaghan “Gathering Storm”, Juno Album of Year 1994. He’s a 60’s baby and his lyrics are inspiring and many are wrapped around historical events. Luckily he played the final night. 

So this is not a camping festival, but there is a very small municipal campground about a 100 yards from the main stage tent that was not on my camp spot radar when I did my planning.  The Little Lake Family Camp was not at all bikeable even though I had hoped the 5 mile bike ride would be possible without ending up on the side of the narrow no shouldered road.  Luckily, I must have scored a cancellation and we are in town for Saturday and Sunday yeah 902 634-8100. This is the way to go when visiting Lunenburg.

The Lunenburg Opera House has a summer season where so many really great acts like my newly discovered Blissfest activist Crys Matthews and also well known Canadian David Myles who we heard twice at Millpond years ago. This would be a nice town to hang a bit, great WIFI at  the quiet municipal campground and 5 minute walk to town with breweries.  This festival was also such a lovely size too and would do a do-over for sure. 

Kejimkujik National Park, Jeremy’s BayCampground

Located near the center of Nova Scotia, the park had some really nice paddling. After taking the exploratory Slapfoot gravel bike trail from the James’s Campground, we decided to launch from the Kedge beach the next day.  

There were several walk-in cabins and these teardrop treehouses where you could pushcart in your necessities. 

Many of the overnight accommodations, as well as beaches for launching vessels, were right off the Slapfoot trail.  

We ended up driving to a beach parking lot for Paddle Boy to do his pumping because it was a bit far from our campsite to carry all the crap.  Lake Kejimkujik and Jeremey’s Bay were a bit too windy to venture across, so we ventured along the coast to Jake’s Landing where we found the Mersey River to paddle up. 

The next day we drove right to Jake Landing with our already inflated SUPs and paddled way up the Mersey  which was really nice. Although there were really high grass reeds,  no alligators about which to worry, just a few little sunning turtles.  

There was a spot in the river that got more narrow and shallow and that made the current so strong that we almost didn’t make it past where we could see the deep easy water.  The boards didn’t pop and we were able to push off the bottom without scraping for the most part.  

This made for a bit of excitement in our paddle. The campsites were huge and although there was really poor cell reception we had a great time here except for when it started to rain just in our last few hundred yards of paddling.  But then the sun came out and we dried off the boards before the next shower.  Drying two standups with two bodies in a van is trying especially when there are wet clothes and towels.  But the next day was nice and we put them away in a hopefully dry enough condition.  

Cape Split Hike

This was my most favorite hike in Nova Scotia even though it ended up being over 9 miles, but it didn’t seem like the 1381 ft elevation gain that All Trails indicated because it was so gradual, I guess.  

Reaching the goal of the split rock cape was jaw dropping.

Peering through the split rock was like no other.  

We ended up doing the loop counterclockwise going for the straight away side and getting up there faster than taking the more convoluted path that had many overlooks along the way.  We had driven from Kejimkujik NP that morning to pursue the good weather forecast and didn’t get started until almost 2pm.  The top has almost no shade, so not suitable to stop and sit and rest, whereas some of the outlooks seemed to be shaded for a nice rest.  We basically walked for 9 miles with only 5 minutes here or there. 

My suggestion would be to do clockwise rest at one of the more shaded lookouts and then go down the more straight path.  

Kempt Shores Retro Music Fest, 

Wow, so happy we veered off the spreadsheet for this.  Evidently they have a bigger fest in July with original work artists.  I would say Kempt Shores is to Stanfest as Millpond is to Strawberry. This RetroFest is just a thing that is ever changing and they hired  four night time dance bands, two each night, to play music of the 60’s to 80’s.  The bands were fabulous and unfortunately there were not so many people to enjoy this absolutely rainless musicfest which we have heard time and time again is not usually the Nova Scotia way.  So many really nice people and musicians.  

The first night was the core old timer who jammed evening at the owners, Marc and Patty‘s covered deck. They had been playing together in this informal way fir years. BJ played both keys and guitar singing one of Ma‘s favorites.“Those Were the Days“

Marc and Patty own the place and Marc plays standup bass and fiddle and is the cando easy going guy that has been joined by never stops strumming/singin Bill and his wife Joy.  They helped us through our first jam sessions.  

The first hours out, of Vinny I met Gary and his wife Gywnn who live near Peggy’s Cove and Winterhaven FL in the winter. Then came Brenda and her husband Dave who said they may consider being Emcees for the fest next year because they are both quick witted and lively folk originating from Newfoundland now in closeby Hantsport.  We need to contact them before our Newfoundland Trip planned for summer 2026 to get the lowdown.  Then there is Ed who said to look up the South Shore Bluegrass association in Bridgewater the next time we pass through for Jam information and inexpensive camping. Evangeline Campground was also called out by Rosie as a great campspot.  BJ the fabulous sweet keyboard/guitar/singer what a delight.  Evidently there is a small music fest circuit through this area that do specific themes or music genres in the summer – Look for it.  

Wolfville 

This is quite the farmbelt area of Nova Scotia with lots of vineyards, apple orchards and U Pick Blueberries.  We stayed at the Horton Ridge Malt Brewery where the main game is preparing the Malt for other breweries rather than brewing.  This is done by moving around the malt until it just sprouts as it has the higher sugar content and then roasting it for sale.  Monday night anywhere is pretty slow and we were lucky it did rain more because the freshly graded loading and RV parking area would have been quite the muddy mess.  The bartender was friendly, and hopefully one day we will get back to do some wine tasting as the area is loaded with them.  

We had time to go into the darling little town of Wolfville for lunch. It is one of those tourist towns but with a nice Miillennium Trail and other multi use connecting trails in both directions .  We  decided to do a bike ride along the Dyke Trail to Evangeline Beach.  This gravel road went through farm lands and was quite an easy going flat ride with the reward of an ice cream cone and a scene of low tide, muddy mush.  

There was a religious based campground there as well.  Riding back to Wolfville we saw more of the large tides for which the Bay of Fundy is known and it was the  perfect, 10 mile ride exertion  after sitting at the music fest for 3 days. Wolfville has a number of nice easy rail trails and there is even a wine route on these nearby trails to Grand-Pres Historical District for a next time.  

Digby 

Another of those fishing towns that are catering to tourists in the summer with lots of seafood restaurants, whale tours  and picturesque harbor fishing boats.  It also has the best private campground that we have experienced in the Maritimes. Digby campground is newly renovated with the best  location, location location, only 2 kilometer rail trail into town without riding those bike unfriendly roadways of Nova Scotia.   Campground has a delightful community firepit and all kinds of games, upon checking you get an orientation and a camp specific paper full of things to to with distances.  

We have really had enough of the cute harbor towns now.  We came here to see the Balancing Rock on the Digby Spit and it is here where Vinny got his first major scar, not like usual where John or I have gotten them.  The Digby Spit is about 75 kilometers and to get to the end at Brier Island one must board two ferries that are free in que-up style.  The adventure begins when I decided to go for T.R. Falls(ak Lake Brook Falls).  Sounds nice huh..Not listed in All Trails, but we have found other hikes not listed here, so it was a halfway point, but we should have gone for Sandy Cove Beach. But, no, we went along this road that turned gravel and more rutted as we drove the last 200 meters, is what our GPS said and ended up at a homestead with a really big 5th wheel and a guy who said this his property, but he is happy to share his falls with us.  We should have stopped at this gravel parking area on the left side,  but civilization and a homestead was in view and we saw a newer car.  They made it so can we.  Well we did but almost fell off the side of the first road trying to avoid a huge pothole.  This is where there was a gnashing of fiberglass  which we have heard that scrape sound before, but this one was a bit more than a scrape.  

We were happy not to have cracked the black/gray pipes or left the generator behind, but Vinny has his first major scar.  The guy told us to go up the right side with left uwheel on the grass centerline and this worked much better on the way up. 

Well, the T.R Falls(aka Lake Brook Falls)  hike – this is what we came for after all. We should have listened to the song lyrics „Don’t go Chasing Waterfalls“  There was a cut path that grew less and less cleared, but there was a bright red waterfall sign. 

Eventually, “the path“ disappeared and we saw bright pink ribbons tied to branches that we followed to the sound of running water.  There were lots of downed branches and decaying trees and mossy green growth in which you would sink easily as you avoided the really mushie parts that are evidence of being close to a stream hence falls.  Although the hike was to be very short we took his advice and did hiking boots and a set of poles. We felt like it was an achievement getting to the falls which looked to be a perfect natural carving of what would be a man made water feature in a backyard as the tiny water steam criss-crossed perfectly.  

And we found this perfection all by ourselves, with only a Vinny casualty.  Look for the homestead on Air B and B, as he was almost finished renovating it and living in his trailer.  

Balancing Rock, Digby Spit

Well, let’s go the next 30 kilometers to what is listed in All Trails – Balancing Rock.  Somehow this just felt too easy to get to compared to our last hour’s adventure.  Big parking lot, lots of boardwalk over the bogs, 200 shingle tarred steps, and finally the entire cliff area to see the balancing rock was freshly fenced with wire to prevent anyone from escaping to push over the rock an squelch the tourist Digby Spit economy of Whale Watching and lighthousing. Legend has it that some tough fisherman way back in the day had already tried and if they couldn’t succeed it is just not the age in which it should tumble like the Double Arch in Utah did this summer. I need to feed Paddle Boy more spinach. 

Brier Island

This required the last ferry ride and we decided to visit one of the lighthouse as we aren’t into whale watching tours, I had already made us one of my signature chicken wraps with lots of Spinach to keep my Paddle Boy strong, since no eating places  or breweries in site, so the off to the Brier Island Lighthouse where I threw a stone into the pile and wished for our American Democracy to continue.

With the lighthouse in sight we opted to park and walk down the divots and huge puddles that blocked the road this time.  

The lighthouse was in action no more and it looked like you could pull off and camp anywhere around here.  There were burned out fire pits and people had obviously done this.  This was another one of those sanctuary areas where the seagulls had the main say!  Definitely wouldn’t go here again, but it was interesting to experience the ferry system that these parts are accustomed to, roll on and roll off, really easy.  

I  think we have had our fill of cute little Maritime towns.  Unfortunately most of the seafood is deep fried and we are really trying to watch our cholesterol.

The Nova Scotia Music festivals and really nice people are a reason to come back !

Nova Scotia 2024

Half Cocked Brewery, Harvest Host

HyClass Campground, Linwood Harbour

Seabreeze Campground, Canso

Chapel Gully Trail, Canso

Stanfest, Canso

Tickle Islands

Halifax, NS

Peggy’s Cove

Gaff Rock and Hirtle Beach Trail, near Lunenburg

Harvest Host Lightship Brewery, Lunenburg

The Lunenburg Folk Harbourfest

Kejimkujik National Park, Jeremy’s BayCampground

Cape Split Hike

Kempt Shores Retro Music Fest,

Wolfville

Digby

Balancing Rock, Digby Spit

Brier Island

There are lots of songs about Cape Breton and coming back to this island.  And although we have been here, only two days it’s a place we definitely want to come back,  just like the song says.  Off the spreadsheet again this time off to a dinner party at our Sail Tour Captain, Gordon’s House.   I discovered Adventure Tours Sailing quite by accident as I was expanding a google route for the next day, boom it was there.  Gordon was so nice to give us an unscheduled day which was for our convenience.  We rode our bikes from the Batter Park in St Peter’s and met him at his house where we boarded “Cu Na Mara “ Gaelic for Hound of the Sea, a 24 ft,  sloop complete with furling jib. 

What a beautiful place to live right on St. Pete’s Bay with your sailboat right out the back door convenient to the huge Bras D’or Lake  or through the St Peter Lock Canal and off to the Atlantic.  We finally were sailing St Peters Bay and there was wind!  Lots of childhood memories for me.  As we sailed the area, 

We did some singing as Gordon said he was a musician himself.  Upon returning to shore, we plotted when we could get together and play music.  Before you knew his wife,Ann Marie, invited us to a dinner party that they were having with friends Clinton/Donna, Liz/Leo, and Barbara/Charles that evening.  Funny, Gordon predicted that she would invite us that night.   Here we met a host of Ann Marie’s Childhood friends who have returned to Cape Breton upon  retirement.  Charles played guitar sharing traditional Cape Breton ballads and Leo ended out evening with a beautiful acapella song written for his departed friend who happened to be Clinton’s brother. Tears were flowing as the reflection of his friendship was conveyed to us, his incredibly beautiful voice was mesmerizing as he sang.  Gordon played many songs and we played a couple too.  Just such a very spontaneous evening and such warm people. We hope to pass their way again.  And plan on meeting Leo and Liz ( Elizabeth) at Stan Rogers Fest.  And who knows maybe we will meet Ann Marie and Gordon in Costa Rica where they winter.  Such lovely people.  We would return for another visit in about a week.

A day with Gordon at the helm and we learned so much about the area as his wife grew up in the house they now lived in with 8 other siblings and still hanging with some of the neighbor kids.  They iniated Swim in the Canal Day because that’s what they did as kids and then it had been forbidden in later years.   We sailed by Chapel Island known as (near Potlotek).  Much like the Spanish tried to convert the native people to Catholicism in California with missions, the French did so in this North Atlantic region Mi’kmaq communities in Cape Breton and Nova Scotia as early as 1610. In 1742.  Abbé Maillard was the first missionary priest to say his first Mass on the island.  His Mi’kmaw flock settled here and built the first chapel in 1754. The boulder still exists today.  In recent years, in effort for reconciliation and recognition of the Mi’kmaq Nation, they are allowed to build the small structures that are seen around the chapel. 

An annual weeklong celebration is held and Gordon said it is the single biggest event that draws the most people to the town of St Peter’s  as they come to the island to celebrate their heritage, fellowship and yet engage in Christian Rituals as well.  This spiritual island is important to Mi’kmaq Nation, and they camp out in RVs and trailers that Gordon says are packed around the area during the mission week. Evidently then the English came and they were not as hospitable as the French.  I have much to learn about Canadian History, but evidently the English required the First Nation Young people to live in English camps in effort to indoctrinate them into European Culture.  Like in the US, the injustices done to First Nation people is recognized and community outreach is striving to repair injustices, but as we know that is impossible. Gordon was so nice to pick us up and deliver us to our Campsite for the evening guitars and all.

Meat Cove, Cape Breton

The most beautiful campsite of all times, decided to stay an extra night. 

Can you blame us?  An unobstructed view of the cove right from my kitchen window.  

The Lawless Lobster Permanent Food Truck with Lobster or Crab Rolls, take it or leave it, were the only menu items.  Meat Cove camping required a ride up a dirt road along the cliffs above the cove and one very large bump that required a bike check. All the hangups around Vinny are working quite well and nothing much fell. 

We didn’t realize how close and high we were to those cliffs as we drove into Meat Cove Campground,  but now that we can look up and see the cars.   The Meat Cove Lookout hike was a bit overgrown in places and the top was a narrow steep descend but at least it was through the green cover 

And the cliffs were very gradual at the top. 

The Meat Cove Lookout Hike was right at the campground, and hiked up the opposite side of the mountain we can see all of Meat Cove.

Would definitely not venture up in the rain, but luckily, we had the most beautiful day and the water was so calm.  We saw people get in and get out quickly, it is the Atlantic Ocean after all and it is amazingly clear. 

Meat Cove Kayak Exploration. We had planned to go to the far waterfall since we could see it from our campsite. 

Meat Cove got its namesake because in the 1700’s they used to process moose meat here. 

I would have called it Shale Flying Buttress Cove because it looks like all along the coast there are sections that eroded away but then there is the protruding steep rock buttresses where you can see layers and sections that have even slid off exposing what looks to be a 80 degree angle of flat shale, very, very  steep.  

 In between the buttresses there are even flat beaches.  The water is beautifully clear and you can peer down to see all the plant life for over 6 feet.  It is very cold and we did not venture in.

The campground lies high up on a grassy area between two buttresses.  

After kayaking north around the butresss, we found another beautiful waterfall where the rock was glistening wet.  This cove is amazingly calm for being on the Atlantic Ocean.   The morning seem to be windy and then it calms in the evening,    And from the bluff on our campsite we had the most beautiful 4th of July Fireworks, no loud bangs Ziva.

Cabot Trail

Skyline Hike

The Skyline Hike is perhaps the most famous hike in Cape Breton Highland National Park.  Yes, it is beautiful and well manicured at the end, a lookout with cascading stairs and multiple landings. 

There was a stunning overlook spot on the way into Cheticamp that was gorgeous.  

Luckily, they have placed benches at these landings because up is a long way!   The return from this easy 6 mile hike was more inland and a bit longer than the coastal part of the loop. Although it was more crowded, the breeze from the water made it more comfortable than hiking in the scrub during return, and if I would do it again, consider not doing the loop.  The parking areas were huge and there was overflow too, but  nowhere near full and I suppose a weekend might be super crowded because it is relatively easy and the view from the top was spectacular.   We even saw people pushing strollers because it was all gravel covered on the coastal side.   Those 100‘s of  steps that brought you down and well then backup was the only difficult part. I am not one to complain about seeing too many people on a hike, but this was like Grand Canyon or Zion proportions. There must have been parking for 200 cars. 

These foamy splotches were evident all along the coastal loop here mostly in the ferns but also in other plants.  They are spindle bug egg sacs. We saw a few on our return loop but they were everywhere on the coastal loop.

Part of the Skyline trail had an enclosed area that was fenced to keep moose out because they evidently knock down new growth, and there was an observation deck that allowed one to see the ocean.  In summary it is a nice huge commanding view, but I like to be a little closer and the trail had very little shade an womanly peoplle

From here we went up to Meat Cove and then down east side side was our plan.  Not quite the straight path because we decided to add in Louisbourg which was on the eastern side of the island and several hours drive, all the while trying to outrun the rain and having things like the Alexander Graham Bell Museum juggled for these rainy days.  

Cabot Trail

The Cabot Trail is known as one of the most beautiful drives through the northern part of Cape Breton and weaves its way in an out through the Cape Breton Highland National Park and towns in between.  The western coast is spectacular and I equate it to Big Sur area in California only, way greener all around and less traffic even though we experienced driving through the town of Baddeck during Canada Day on July 1^st. 

Alexander Graham Bell Museum, Baddeck

Evidently Baddeck opens up the Alexander Graham Bell Museum for free on Canada Day.  Good thing we had done that on the prior day.    Although we know him best for inventing the telephone, he was very famous in Canada for his contribution to the first airplanes and hydrofoil vessels, not to mention the work he continued from his father/grandfather in elocution for the deaf.  His wife was deaf. The museum even claimed that a dog was made to say a few words by forming its mouth and giving treats.  Great place to visit on our rainy day that we were to attend the Big Bash Outdoor Music Event at Saint Ann’s. 

Cape Breton Oat Cakes to celebrate Canada Day which are somewhat like shortbread with oats and were much better than the dry ginger cakes that had too much flour from the Alma bakery in New Fundy.  While we are talking bakeries, the Aucoin Bakery in Cheticamp is not to be missed. We resisted all the sweets and opted for baguette, rye bread and too fresh to slice Flax Bread.  We gobbled this with butter before we could get out of the parking lot.  Our return on the Cabot Trail to Cheticamp will most definitely include a stop here.

Cheticamp 

Cheticamp is a really nice campground with excellent facilities. Wifi is good at the Visitor Center and a tiny bit of cell coverage at the campsite, site near visitor center have the better,  with good coverage at the visitors center which is really close to the campground.  We spent two rainy afternoons getting caught up on internet stuff.  When the Kitchenest schedule came out I was able to get a spot for two days only a week before, and it did not look at all near capacity.  There are these incredible dishwashing covered spaces with hot water, Caroline would be envious!  Not that Vinny needs anything like that.  But camping spaces have these communale rough buildings that have wood burning stoves and picnic tables which is commonplace.  As we drove south down the Cabot Trail to Cheticamp after our Skyline Hike,  we stopped in two different non-reservable campgrounds which were close to the sea, but also to the road.  Seems like space was still available even as evening was approaching as we returned to our site at Cheticamp.  Corny Brook was up on the grassy bluffs, overlooking the coast, but sites were spaced close. 

The map says there is a waterfall hike from Corny Brook.

Mikwesaqtuk/Cap Rouge was where we had dinner overlooking the water in a picnic area.  We were very impressed by this communale building that had a covered outdoor porch overlooking the ocean as well as the typical inside wood stove facility to wait out the rain and play cards, a type of rugged ambience with washrooms right there.  These are perfect last minute opportunities.  From this campground, we did a lovely hike over the Trout Brook and to the rocky beach where we had a perfect digestion walkabout on this particularly beautiful day. 

Luckily Vinny had an employable  shade because there’s not a cloud in the sky  and it wasn’t too windy near Cap Rouge where we stopped on this beautiful very sunny day after our Skyline Hike to make dinner.  When driving furth south on the Cabot Trail to Cheticamp there are two day use areas that would have  better to stop and relax/eat after leaving the Skyline Trail for example.  From the Cape Breton Highlands National ParkTrail Map, #4 Le Buttereau and #3 Le Chemin du Buttereau would have had shade and pretty view parking areas too

Blueberry Hill Trail Head

This trail was recommended instead of the Skyline. It does not appear on Parks Canada map but does in All Trails. Rain has prevented us from doing much hiking in the Cape Breton National Park, but people I met said it allows dogs, but don’t go in August when blueberries are out because it is full of bears eating those berries at the end. 

Pleasant Bay Overlook, Cabot Trail 

The beauty of Vinny VanGo life was really enjoyed as we were able to stop at incredible overlooks where I could cook, not with wine, but with incredible views.  

On our way north to Meat Cove on the Cabot Trail, we stopped at the Pleasant Bay Overlook so we could spot some whales while perched high on the mountain.  

We did have that absolutely gorgeous view, but no whales and John whines often that he has not seen a moose or bear in all of Canada despite all the signage that is in so many places to alert of their crossing the roadways.

As we headed back south on Cabot Trail from the incredibly beautiful Meat Cove,  we had wanted to do the Franey Hike but the gravel grade up to the trail combined with a bit of laziness, reports of bugginess, the return trail still under construction as a gravel slippery path and other easier hiking possibilities, we decided to head back up North.  We had spied a Wood fired pizza place in Dingwall which is where the Kitchenfest Music would be that night.  Here we would enjoy pizza good Wifi and pizza.  

Black Brook Cove Beach

As we made our way back up the Cabot Trail to Dingwall, the first stop was Black Brook Cove Beach which was small and perfect for a spinach chicken wrap and a nap before Jack Pine Hike.  The beach was beautifully sandy and had the Rock buttresses on either side that jetted out into the ocean.  The crashing waves on either side of the 100 yd beach made it especially beautiful and auditorily relaxing for a nap between two boulders.

Jack Pine Trail

This trail had several incredible mesmerizing viewpoints, and the 1.5 mile hike was perfect for our bit of a lazy day.  

The payoff for this short hike was primo.  

The Coastal Trail that would have allowed us to continue  along the cliffs was closed, and we just made the loop back to the parking lot.  The Jack Pine coastal section  was so much more scenic than the inland return loop.  We saw our mysterious spittle bug droppings in only a few plants this time.   Much of the forest had suffered a fire many years ago and although the floor was lush with ferns and new Pine seedlings, above the waist level consisted of burned pine trunks on the inland return loop  It was a very well marked trail complete with placards that explained the nature. 

Neils Harbor, slightly off Cabot Trail

Made our way back north stopping at the picturesque Neils Harbor where you could also see the lobster/fishing industry going strong.  There seems to be Zodiac Boat Whale Tours from here, but we partook in the Lighthouse Ice Cream Tour instead.

There was a Chowder Restaurant on the bluffs that we had been told had great chowder and had outdoor picnic tables to enjoy a beautiful day on the sea coast. 

White Point Lookout, slightly off Cabot Trail

This trail started at the Harbor and we walked up the gravel road to an expanse of rocky yet green ground covered trails that snaked out in different directions to experience the Atlantic waves.

The perfect Ocean breeze made for another lovely hike spoiling us with the views of the ocean, 

even though technically this was not on the Cabot Trail.   

Broad Cove Campground

Green Cove and Lakies Head looked like beautiful coastal lookout sites if there is time to stop or need to eat lunch and it is not raining, but we were headed to Broad Cove Campground to wait out the impending rain and get electricity.  

But first a stop at the Periwinkle Cafe for a breakfast sandwich and really good WiFi to get all the photos on the cloud which were clogged up on my phone. 

Cell service was almost non-existent at Broad Cove campground, but we got our laundry done and did a Young Sheldon Season. Laundromat gossip was yet another who said to go to Newfoundland as well as Quebec.  She and her husband said that the new generation of Quebec people treat English speaking people much nicer these days. Unfortunately the weather prevented us from hiking in this area, and since cell service is so poor, it would probably not stay at Broad Cove for too long.   

Heading out, there was a Farmers market in the local fire hall and I bought a whole lemon meringue pie.  It was cute with ladies selling baked goods to breads and cool rope door mats among many other things. There was coffee and they would also sell slices of cake to enjoy while a folksinger played, but there were no vegetables or fruits at all.  Here we would head off the Cabot Trail and head south east toward Louisbourg, but stopping at Sydney for a pub night along the way.

Kitchenfest

Kitchenfest is a 10 day music event all over the island where venues from pubs, restaurants and music halls host Gaelic tradition musicians from all over.  Kitchedenfest was the reason were were visiting at this time.  After the schedule had been published, I tried chart a path that would lead us to locations where there was camping nearby and allowed us to see and do some hiking in Cape Breton.  This is how we came upon St Peters where we camped at Battery Park.  This was a very short bike ride into town to hear music at the Bras D’or Inn, where we found Gordon our sailboat tour.  There was a pub in town that was also to have music the following night but we opted for dinner party and music with Ann Marie and Gordon and friends where the music was lovely as well. 

Upon arriving in the town of Cheticamp, there was music all over,  but we opted for Doryman’s Pub which was on the official Kitchenfest Schedule.  This required a 5 mile drive from the National Park Campground.  Here we heard a traditional three piece group with the fiddle being dominant and quite delightful.  The fiddlers would take turns during this three hour music session. We even got to round dance as one of the fiddler players also gave dance lessons.  So we danced with a dozen people promenading and traveling in circles on the dance floor as the night ended.  It was a real hoot and then we even saw our dance buddies on the Skyline Trail the next day!  Then we watched our fiddler players taking turns solo dancing and playing to the trio.  What a beautiful night.  This was perfect volume and traditional authenticity.

We had gotten tickets to the “Big Bash”  which was to be an outdoor music fest type venue at the Galeic College in St Ann’s.  Rain brought it inside to an enclosed room which was great because we were wondering how that was gonna not get wet outside.   But we were a bit disappointed because it was very loud and there were larger bands that were just too much for the hall; we ended up leaving during the last act because there were 10 performers with all types of instruments from sax to flute which would have been fabulous outside.   We did enjoy Jimmy Rankin who was a local Cape Breton guy who had an amazing stage presence and energy.  Over the years he has covered many music genres and lived in places that influenced his music and had many CD’s.  It was quite remarkable when the crowd knew all of his songs and sang full on as he also stopped singing on choruses to have the crowd take over.  You could really feel the vibe of the local star coming back to his roots of Cape Breton.  As I mentioned early there are many songs about coming back to Cape Breton.  

Octagon Cultural Center was a gorgeous music venue all wooden and of course octagon shaped. I never got a photo and in fact we could not find one on the internet.  There was a fancier restaurant on the property and even a musician doing folk music there too as we got our tickets. This was a kitchenfest venue with Evans and Doherty playing  guitar and singing.  The song Time, Time, Time was hysterical about growing old and was an audience sing-a-long.  Ended up overnighting in the Northern Cape Breton Museum/Morrison Restaurant Parking Lot.  

It was pretty quiet except I think at about 4am there were cars roaring down the road probably to get on lobster boats for work  There are ports  all over the place in these maritime areas and the lobster/crab trap buoys are everywhere.  The museum had many cool artifacts and also had quite a bit of information on all the shipwrecks that happened in the the 1800’s and early 1900’s on St Pauls Island.

Louisbourg Fortress – a 2 Day Detour

Sydney

This appears to be the biggest city on Cape Breton and we could have chosen one of the three Walmarts at which to overnight, but instead we did Paul Brown’s Auto Service, an “In the City” Boondockers Welcome, which at 7:18am the next morning is bustling and the powered lug nut wrenches are active.  It is an industrial area but very quiet at night as we nuzzled in against two tractor trailer storage units. The parking lot was brightly lit and perfect place to overnight on the way to Louisburg.  At one point we had thought about going all the way, but decided to cancel a few nights at Cheticamp and make our way there less rushed.  

Nothing like the free 5 min ferry ride where you  just line up and cut about 45 minutes from your trip.  

Triangle Pub, Sydney Harbourfront

We hadn’t been to a pub in quite awhile and this one was perfect with a huge wooden bar where we had our favorite Baddeck Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout. John was happy!

Jordan recommended going to Glace Bay and the Miners Museum and stopping at the Sandbar Restaurant in Dominion. Again good internet and we are enjoying multiple bars of 5G.  The evening had turned beautiful and we went out to the rooftop to eat, enjoy the sunset and visit with George Segal, the resident seagull of the rooftop.

Big Fiddle, Sydney Harbourfront 

We strolled along the wharf at incredible sunset colors that had brewed this evening. 

The reflected colors were incredible and then every wharf needs a 60 foot fiddle.  Our bartender said that cruise ships are coming in tomorrow and the pubs will be packed.  Good thing we had our nice quiet Sunday Night at the Wharf. 

Evidently there is a permanent Kitchenfest Restaurant that most likely caters to the cruise ships, but on a Sunday night with none in port the ice cream stand along the Harbour Walk was where it was happening.  

Louisbourg Fortress

Since I am more hiking and music oriented I had not heard about the living history museum of a French Fortress at Louisbourg where all actors and actresses speak French and English and the groups are divided when information is relayed.

People said that we may not leave Cape Breton without a visit to this place (much like Williamsburg) where most workers are dressed in costume and try to stay in character whether a soldier firing a musket, or a fife and drum corp marching around a prisoner in town who was sentenced to public humiliation. 

We ate and saw how bread was made. 

Next time I would love to come early because they heat up the woodfired oven and make the loaves the original way,  and then they  are sold in paper bags just before noon at the bakery.  

We also saw a very cool blacksmith demonstration as we ate our delicious bread and peered into the blacksmith shop.

Louisburg, much like the English Colonies,  were there to serve the mother country and could not manufacture anything to be sold to compete, only provide raw materials.  The poor French recruits, although promised good money, by the time they took out their living quarters and rations from this amount, were left with very little.  They had not been told about these living expenses before they arrived and had signed up for the 6 years was the usual term. Of course, a fenced military fort with cannons and firing holes was needed because France and Great Britain had several major wars going on in the 17 and 1800’s. 

Several times the British won control and it went back and forth. Usually the wealthier Sea Captains or Fort Administrators had the nicer houses and even had slaves and servants with meat rotisserie gadgets that worked off weights much like a grandfather clock.

Good thing for us that the French needed money and increased the size of the US with the Louisiana Purchase from them.   We went through many buildings and had a beautiful day for this exploration.

Tried to stop at the Louisbourg Lighthouse, but the signs in town never said it was closed and it was wrapped in white Bubble wrap.  Wished they would have let us know before the bumby 5 mile trip up there. 

Marconi Trail, Glace Bay

Seemed like  Marconi Trail up toward the north after leaving Louisburg Area would be a nice coastal drive.  Google kept wanting to take us inland, even though we thought that the coastal Marconi Trail would be so much more picturesque to the get to Miner’s Museum at Glace Bay.  We did not see those beautiful waves crashing onto cliffs and hardly any outlook places to stop on this low lying coastal area except this one in Big Reef, just north of Dominion, finally. 

There were many tidy aluminum sided houses with lots of grass in the little sections we passed. We saw very few abandoned houses, but saw a couple really big churches that were boarded.   There had been a hurricane that came through in 2022 and knocked down most of the what looked to be a dense forest of 4 to 10 inch diameter trees. All around the parking area to Fort Louisburg there were downed dried out trunks of trees.  I guess the buildings at the Fort survived pretty well since there was no construction going on that we could see.  Perhaps the Fort was pretty clear of trees so the French could see when the Red Coats were coming.   I presume they cleared this area using timber for fire in this bitterly cold winter climate. This destruction went on for quite away up the Marconi Trail.  I guess the building in Louisburg survived (not the bubble wrapped light house), but I have never seen the hurricane destruction that went on for so many miles of downed young trees, eye opening and  a very bumpy ride.  All in all, not worth the drive, but now we can say we have been on most all of the Cape Breton thoroughfares.    

Miners Museum, Glace Bay

Another eye opening experience as we learned of the boom that came when coal was discovered going under the ocean floor from this area. Those miners had it rough, if they didn’t die in an accident.  The inhumanity of those years of greed and treatment of the workers is difficult to conceive.  Even though corporate and political greed is still quite evident in our society today, at least there are some basic protections for the workers.  Maybe sometimes these go a bit far, but certainly erring on the side of humanity.   

The IMax type simulation of riding through a coal mine was pretty cool, not like getting jostled around on a Spaceship at Disney, but there were coal dust simulated steam clouds and a bit of bumping on the benches as you descended into the coal mine.  We came too late for the actual tour of a coal mine, but the hour we spent here was certainly eye-opening.   The $20 entrance fee would allow you to Harvest Host in their very quiet along the river parking lot, although we had decided to continue further as we wanted some electricity and stopped at the River Ryan Campground which was perfect after a long drive day on the very bumpy Marconi Trail.  First we stopped at the Sandbar in Dominion which had been recommended by our Triangle Pub Bartender.  It seemed like the only happening place in this wharf town, and we had a beer before heading to River Ryan.  The Sandbar had also hosted several official Kitchenfest events and the quaintness perhaps would have made it quite nice, but still it was quite a way out there.

Fleur-de-Lis Roadway Trail

With bad weather on the horizon, we had decided to stop back in St. Peters to have an evening of music with our new friends Gordon and Ann Marie. They are such  nice people !!

We had decided to take the South-eastern  Fleur-de-Lis Roadway  trail to travel to St Peter’s,  maybe get in a quick hike, but it too was very bumpy and not really scenic.  We were gonna do a Morrison Beach Trail leg stretcher hike along the way, but the turn onto Pig Point Dirt road revealed a huge water filled pothole covering the road, and we could only imagine getting stuck in the mud out here in the boonies. So we just carried on to St Peter finally getting on to the nice smooth Trunc(state highway) 4 and back to civilization and Battery Provincial Park where we got a first come site.  

Battery Provincial Park, St Peters

This was a really nice campground with lots of views and great facilities and even a bit of cell coverage. The best part is that you are so close the town of St Peters to walk our ride bikes to get to the Bras D’Or Inn or to MacBouch’s Pub(never got there) and also a Foodland Grocery store (really yum local strawberries), coffee shops and other eateries on the Trunc 4 that passed through. And don’t forget to book a sailboat trip with Gordon at Richmond County Boat and Adventure Tours.  We really like St. Peters, but maybe it was mostly because of the people we met here.  

Cheticamp (back on the West Cabot Trail)

We were back on the Cabot Trail to  Cheticamp Campground after making some excursions to Louisbourg and Sydney, and St Peters, but green requires rain and we were expecting a few days of it.  We thought it wouldn’t be bad to head to Cheticamp because restaurants and pubs were a  5 mile drive into town.  We had already been to Doyman’s Pub for a Kitchenfest event and heard that they have music going on all the time.  Luckily, we gotten in the other popular Cape Breton NP hike on Acadia Trail.

Acadia Hike, Cape Breton Highlands NP

This was a 5 miler with 1746 ft of gain and that usually takes us about 3 ½ hours.  There were several outlooks at the top where you could see the expansive coastline and a beautiful wooded section that ran back and forth over a stream with nice wooded bridges.   

The first 1/2 mile we were going through much dead trees (they had a spruce bug problem several years ago and were affect somewhat by those hurricane winds too which caused trees to die and topple all along the cleared path, evidently moose knocking down smaller trees are a problem too) At the top the path made it through head high bushes with no shade trees a bit overgrown.  The outlooks seemed so far away and for that reason did not strike up the “Ah” factor.   Perhaps it was a cloudy day, although I guess we were lucky not to have fog.  

Although this was pegged as a popular hike we did not see any other hikers.  The nice thing about this hike is it starts directly at the Cheticamp Campground.  

Well the rain was here and after a campout at the visitors center getting some much needed Wifi for Acadia Reservations and a software update for the HP, we headed into town to eat at L’abri Cafe.  This was a delightful cafe with beautiful views and we sat at the bar and got to talk to a nice couple from Ontario followed by a super old couple who have lived in the area for 40 years as well as in the States.  They told us about the single day outdoor Broad Cove Musicfest on the west side of Cape Breton near Inverness, but it was on the last day of the Stan Rogers Fest, so no can do.  And they even had Cereal Killer Oatmeal Stout on Tap ! John was in heaven.  We then stopped at the Doryman’s where locals night had a band and several guests came up to join during the second half of their show.

The next day, we moved to the visitor center parking for Wifi and talked to more people who raved about Newfoundland and who told me about the Blueberry Mountain Trail. Skies are still cloudy, and nothing would be seen for a hike, so off to the bakery and into  town for music. Le Gabriel‘s this time with a single guy playing guitar that would go into the next song immediately changing rhythms perfectly. He did a lot of songs we knew and could sing out to our hearts desire as we were in the back high table area quite alone. Then John wanted to stop at Doryman‘s on the way home and had another hour of a fantastic entertaining, single guitar player, Louis Arsenault !  Cape Breton and Cheticamp has lots of music!

Doryman’s Tavern

Mary Fraces and Michael Leahy with parents,  Natalie MacMaster and Donnell Leahy.  These four and one other pianist played for 4 hours.  Mary Frances has her own gigs with her little brother and a whole electric guitar and drum band. The YouTube advertising shows her playing the violin while dancing in a black sparkly pants suit. Not quite traditional, but intriguing and lots of fiddling energy..  Here at the Doryman in Cheticamp,  she and her brother were returning to Cape Breton where the mom evidently is well known and played here as a child,  but the advertisement was for Mary Frances  and Michael and guest parents.   The crowd knew mom, Natalie, and her husband, Donnell was a vertuose Fiddle player as well.   

What an incredible show as family members switched in and out, Michael played guitar, accordion and violin and Mary Frances violin and Piano, and they both danced.  I had seen Mary Frances gig advertisement earlier and then the whole family was set to come to the Dorymans, and grandma even came up to talk to us. It was an exceptional show of traditional music and dancing, but we learned there are slight differences between Acadia and other traditional dancing and music.  There was a lot of energy here ! Unfortunately we won’t be around to see Mary Frances and her other band.  

 L’abri Cafe

This had been an afternoon concert and we had to stop at our favorite L’abri Cafe.  They had really beautiful outdoor seating, but not in this weather. 

I had a tofu quinoa dish that was amazing and a stroll along the gravel road right behind the cafe to some amazing sunsets especially since we hadn’t seen the sun for days !

The Acadian Rug Hooking Museum, Cheticamp

We were bummed that the Aucoin Bakery was closed on Sunday as we headed out of town, so we decided to drown our sorrows and the Rug Hooking museum.  We learned more about Acadian History and how the British had pushed them around when they were in control, but many settled here on Cape Breton to escape.  Move over Persians, the community started rug hooking and eventually marketed their rugs and became well known. It was how they kept busy during the winter months with many people working on a single project.  Elizabeth Fort became well known and has hooked rugs of many presidents and dignitaries. And I guess they returned many to the museum where we got to see them. So many extraordinary pieces.   

Inverness Beach Village

We have ventured off the Cabot Trail for good. It was the first full-on sunny day and we immediately headed to the ocean which was a short 200 yards down a path after hanging every damp towel and even our pillow cases out for drying.  The ocean was so incredibly calm and clear on the west central side of the island.  

We have been to so many places with crashing waves and not certain if the water or air was coldest (not our swim tune), and no sun. There are many huge 5th Wheels at this park that are permanently moored (Many have large wooden decks and potted plants).  There is one other tent trailer and us. We have a little ocean view through two RVs, but are smack behind a big rig for the most part. The bathroom facilities are like a newly renovated house with white tile and clear glass shower walls.  There are no trees between sites, just a 12 foot piece of green grass.  Even though there are record highs of 85 degrees this week it is still comfortable with little humidity and ocean breezes.  

We finally got our inflatable floatie seats and sat in the luscious ocean for hours during the heat. First day was so calm and we stayed until sunset and there were beautiful reflections off the ocean.  The sunsets are incredible,  

The second day it was blowing, but warm and perfect for bumping along in the waves to keep cool as there was a heat wave here too, and we had just done a 4 mile beach walk.

The beach goes on for 2 miles and we did a nice long walk and found little pieces of sea glass.  

19 Brewery and the Whit’s Public House are less than 1 km walking distance, and we even found a walking path that was just off the main road from the campground right onto a boardwalk.   We had one of those late nights at Whit’s enjoying Marie Ann Perrely who we will also meet at Stan Roger Music Fest as she is playing for the Gospel Hour on Sunday. She certainly has a gift of singing with soul.   And John so loves wing tipped chairs. 

There is also a CoOp Grocery, gas station and several cafe/breakfast type places and the Celtic Shores Bike trail where we rode 5 miles inland to Lake Ainslee.  This bike trail runs south from Inverness about 90 kilometers to Troy and is very flat and gives a peaceful ride on gravel.  Although the actual campsite was nothing to write about, it was so close to that lucious beach, excellent showers, laundromat, decent Wifi at the office and restaurants that it is perfect for us. I would stay here for a whole week if not a month!

The campground sits between the Cabot Shores and Cabot Cliffs Golf Course, so it is very quiet and Links like with all the dune grass and beautiful fairways in the background. They look hard but beautiful, no electric golf carts allowed here.  

Red Shoe Pub, Mabou

This is probably the most famous pub run by “The Rankin Women Proprietors” on the island where the Rankin Family of musicians reigned. Nine of the twelve children performed with the family band at different times all over Cape Breton Ceilidhs with youngsters replacing elders as time passed.  In 1999 they decided to split to pursue individual music interests. Two of the original Rankin Family Band have passed, Michael has taken his music all over and we saw him at the “Big Bash” at the Celtic College where the crowd sang his song at the top of their lungs.  The Red Shoe is evidently a song.  The funny thing is Melody, the fiddler who taught us dancing, was playing at the Red Shoe and danced too. If we can get you know who out of bed we could attend a 10:30am square dance class. Didn’t happen.

Celtic Music Interpretive Center, Judique 

A last hurrah of lunch and music on the way to mainland Nova Scotia.  Funny same young pianist and now he also played fiddle. John had the best ever fish chowder.   

Celtic Shores Trail Ride

A beautiful 10 mile ride to earn our beer at the Half Cocked Harvest Host Brewery in Antigonish. We decided to leave Mabou early in favor of not having pouring rain all night.  This part of the trail was along the coast and the overcastness made it really nice.  This was near kilometer marker 20 in contrast to the kilometer marker 90 in the Inverness Area.  

SoLong Cape Breton

We are on our way to Nova Scotia Mainland, but have found the Cape Breton people to be extremely friendly and love all the music.  We have lots more hiking to do on the west side of the Cabot Trail,  Gypsum Mine Trail, Blueberry Mountain and others in the National Park, and going into Cheticamp for music and good food.  The Broad Cove – one day festival in Broad Cove at St Margarets 3 kilometers north of Inverness has been going on since 1957.  There is a Banks Schoolhouse Music Festival in August too.  invernessarts.com seems to be a well maintained website for all types of goings on in Cape Breton from music to Highland Games to Square Dancing.  Canada’s Musical Coast – a coastline shaped by music (canadasmusicalcoast.com)

Also has a lot of info. There was a really nice annual magazine” (Sunset Side of Cape Breton) explaining the regions and events – definitely try to find it when you get here. We  definitely like the sunset side best, except for Jack Pine Hike and Louisburg in the east side of Cape Breton.   Also get a copy of the Cape Breton Island Map.  It is really useful for an overview especially when there is no cell coverage. 

The most beautiful was our perfect camping spot at Meat Cove looking out over the rock outcroppings, and kayaking to the waterfalls, but only paddling and two hikes are available, otherwise R & R.   Inverness Beach Village is ideal in so many ways although the specific campsites are a bit close with no trees, but the ease to the ocean, and the walkable town make it a perfect place for VanGoers.  Cheticamp lends itself well to hiking and music for when it rains and would set up for a week there.  One day as many songs say Return to Cape Breton is on the list although we will need to build in Newfoundland and Quebec City next time.  

Cape Breton

Meat Cove, Cape Breton

Cabot Trail

Skyline Hike

Cheticamp

Blueberry Hill Trail Head

Pleasant Bay Overlook, Cabot Trail

Black Brook Cove Beach

Jack Pine Trail

Neils Harbor, slightly off Cabot Trail

White Point Lookout, slightly off Cabot Trail

Broad Cove Campground

Kitchenfest

Louisbourg Fortress – a 2 Day Detour

Sydney

Triangle Pub, Sydney Harbourfront

Big Fiddle, Sydney Harbourfront

Louisbourg Fortress

Marconi Trail, Glace Bay

Miners Museum, Glace Bay

Fleur-de-Lis Roadway Trail

Battery Provincial Park, St Peters

Cheticamp (back on the West Cabot Trail)

Acadia Hike, Cape Breton Highlands NP

Doryman’s Tavern

L’abri Cafe

The Acadian Rug Hooking Museum, Cheticamp

Inverness Beach Village

Red Shoe Pub, Mabou

Celtic Music Interpretive Center, Judique

Celtic Shores Trail Ride

SoLong Cape Breton

What were we thinking driving from DC to Maine in one day, on a Friday, no less.  Multiple traffic stoppages. The 527 mile trip should have taken 8 hours but instead it took almost 12 hours and we just arrived at the Harvest Host Brewery missing the band and beer for the evening.  Luckily the parking area was well marked and very flat so we parked in the rain that had started and slept until  9am when the sun came blaring in.   I had spent two of the last three weeks sleeping in a tent on the June Gloom cool coast of California on various cushioning devices for these old bones. Highlights were of course life long learning lessons with the Radlers and seeing my Vista Family and Duke, but also riding on the beach and up close and personal with a hang glider.  We did one or two nice weather days. 

 It is always a nice thing to be in one’s own bed, even if it is like a cave since all our gear is hung about.  Vinny is home! We have no other but we are happy.  John also says he sleeps the best within Vinny. 

Our decision to visit with Jazmine and Tony in Alexandria caused us to have to beeline to Canada as Bay of Fundy National Park reservations are not to be taken lightly.  Maine,  Acadia and rest of New England will be undertaken on the way back as we do our “Chasing Colors Tour” in the Fall.  We made it over the border with a 30 minute wait in line with no issues and into the beautiful green rolling country with no traffic on this Saturday. It  always exciting to waking up to a new place when you have arrived to your campground in the dark.  The humid 85 degree weather of Virginia went into low 50’s last night when we arrived to the grassy huge tree Headquarters Campground at the Bay of Fundy. 

Bay of Fundy NP, New Brunswick Canada

Headquarters Campground

Full HookUps with beautiful huge trees and grass on all sites, very hot nice showers and laundry facilities that may come in handy with the chocolate mud hike in the Bay.  A 200 yard zip down into the town where we found our Kayak Tour, general store, restaurants and even the Holy Whale, a church turned brewery.   All our needs met.  There is a set of steps half-way up the incline that leads right to the Campground so this is really convenient if you want to get out a bit and not walk your bike up the short but steep incline.

Matthews Head at the Bay of Fundy 

It’s a kayak tour.  When I went looking this was the only afternoon one and double bonus it was going to be sunny too.  Matthews Head as seen in this photo of a some Matthew that was a conservationalist and just really well loved person  in the town was honored when the people decided to rename this rock trail after him.  We landed on the stony beach for a talk and a snack (homemade chocolate chip cookies).  The wind was blowing fiercely and the tide was coming in so there were very little photo shooting from the forward kayak position.  I had to help keep us going and this was definitely the hardest sustained kayak experience I have had.  And coming out from the beach there were waves to boat and luckily the wind had not changed and we blew back to our launch site.

We also learned about Sasha, Amanda’s service dog.  Amanda is severely allergic to scents from products and Sasha is trained to sniff people and inform Amanda if they are such perpetrators.  Since she has had Sasha and trained her, she has only been in the ER once whereas she was in multiple times per year for extended stays prior.  And what a sweet German Shepherd.  As with most tours, guides, both two and four legged were delightful.  

Matthew Head Trail

We never did see Matthew Head silhouette  from the trail above,  only from the water when we went kayaking.  We must have been standing on his head because we never saw the little flower pot island in the distance from the shore when we kayaked.  

This was my favorite trail because it had spots of grass and sun where we saw no moose, but then it got quite cold and misty at the bluff and then there were canopy covered soft dirt and roots with that really green cover to which you could get up close. It was a lovely 2 ½ mile hike and I didn’t even trip on all those roots.     

Holy Whale Brewery  in Alma

Time for a beer at this church turned Brewery, we also experienced this phenomenon on Vancouver Island. 

Luckily they had a Milk Stout and we exchanged phone numbers with Diane and Ed, their adorable dogs Hank and Gus, who were Eagle Fans originally from PA, and now living in Florida.   They were out to see all the National Parks and were going to take the ferry to Newfoundland.  They had been to 50 National Parks in the last 3 years even though Diane was still teaching.  Looking forward to hearing about Newfoundland experience it is really far up there and I heard it rains a lot so decided not to undertake this time.  Also we stopped where we had launched, there was a beautiful huge public pool overlooking the Bay of Fundy, but it was not opened yet although it looked perfectly inviting.  But good new we found a taxi parked here (Uber Lyft don’t seem to be available).  Evidently it a nationwide Canada thing with an App.  John has it securely downloaded for when we have cell service and we should take a tumble and need a ride home.  We are preparing for everything. 

Dickson Falls

This outing began with a bike ride that 1 ½ mile bike ride to the train head.  The hills here are a bit high for our quad only powered bikes, I think I will start a thing and call them Q-Bikes.  This was one of the first times I really though that an E-Bike would be handy as we had to dismount and push for about 300 yards up a doozie of a hill.  I’m sure it took some brake life off these old Q-Bikes on the way down.   The most remarkable thing was the bright green moss plant, looked like a mini clover type plant. It really was a stark contrast to the natural colors.  

The hike was quite the manicured trail, up wooded steps and the part of the trail to get closer was closed off. 

Tipsy Tail Restaurant, Alma

Time to ride back into Alma and try some lobster at the Tipsy Tail.  I had a lobster roll which was quite good, but since it is like a tuna salad only with lobster meat, I am not so sure the extra expense of lobster was better than chicken.  Definitely better than tuna in my book because it did not have that yucky tuna smell that I refuse to let loose in Vinny.  

They had a nice Radler beer that was not so sweet like others we have experienced.  But the most notable was this corn on the cob that was grilled then dipped in a curry coating and deep fried with some white queso type drizzling. Now that was something I have never eaten before.   Back to the Holy Whale where John was hoping to get a Decaf Coffee as they had a coffee bar their too, but it seems like decaf is not a Canadian thing because they didn’t have it at the Tipsy Tail either.  Well didn’t that cup of coffee keep us awake all night. 

Moosehorn to Laverty Falls Hike

Some people we had met at Dickson Falls recommended this hike and to make sure and take it counterclockwise if you don’t want the uphill rocky scramble. That means at the trailhead doing the Moosehorn first as it intersects with Laverty.  Down, Down over many rocks and tons of roots.   The erosion of the water has created several natural swimming holes for a summer cool off.   Never tripped but one time while getting down from a higher boulder I did a little butt plant only about a foot boom on the dirt so didn’t even hurt.  A six mile hike beautiful hike and we were tired. 

Hopewell Rocks

Flower Pots and the milk chocolate sea is the thing that goes on.  Here the tide is over 50 feet and the large amount of sea water the ebbs and flows over 6 hours or so stirs up the sandstone dirt that washes back and forth to sea.  

Seems like the net effect is dirt out as one can see the erosion from the sea floor at low tide and the expansive milk chocolate water. 

This is certainly much more dramatic and beautiful than the erosion when there are no bluffs like in the places like Florida or Louisiana.  And then there are places that just won’t erode creating these tiny islands that have trees and vegetation and look like flower pots at low tide.    

It is a privately run tourist attraction ($15 a head) and our Canada National Park Pass is no good here.  They place a safety rope across many of the bluffs at low tide so you don’t stand right under some falling dirt that could happen or more dramatically a branch or tree that could come crashing to the sea floor while people are wandering.

They are planning on a slow process for this because the tourist facility has a huge parking lot and our June Wednesday seemed to be less than half capacity.  The visitor center and restaurant is huge and quite nice with an outdoor deck.  Really nice new facilities so hopefully mother nature will keep this economy rolling for many more years.  The $15 covers two days so you can come back a second day if you have missed one of the tide times.  Certainly an interesting experience. At high tide, there is a kayaking tour that one can take through the chocolate sea.   yuck!

Camping at Fundy

The people here are quite nice and yesterday met 2 couples  at the group fire pit (no site firepits here).  The Bay of Fundy National Park has loads of 2 – 5 mile hikes that are beautiful and suitable for us, but we had to drive to get most trailheads. The town of Alma, although cute with a general store and fuel, is suffering from lack of servers and there are plenty of help wanted signs out. It was nice being able to ride and there or you could take the about 9 flights of steps from Headquarter Campground that put you right near town.  Going into restaurants it seems like there are only about 2 servers running around like crazy and the brewery only had one.  The pizza place closes at 6pm so make sure to grab one early and take it to the brewery is the plan for next time.   Next time we would try the Alma Lobster Shop which was off the main street near the water, but you need to BYOB, so stop at the Holy Whale first.  The outdoor porch looked lovely.  The bugs in general weren’t too bad except in the evening and Off did the trick.  We were able to get decent coverage with our cell booster and  evidently the Rec Area at Chignecto Campground has Starlink Wifi.  Lake Bennet Campground may be a nice alternative too and would we could paddle there. The Wolfe Campground was closed  for the shoulder season, but opened up the day we left.   The camping facilities were excellent.   We still have found no moose in Canada !! but cute little red squirrel decided he wanted to ride with us 

South Kouchibouguac National  Park,

Road Bikers paradise with over 60 km of flat gravel paths many tree covered that go in the woods and along the Kouchibouguac River with no cars driving along side for the most part.  The paths weave in and out several parking areas where there are bathrooms and usually some type of covered building with a wood stove that would be perfect for a downpour or warming during  snow shoeing, cross country skiing and fat-tire biking in the winter months. 

Luckily the Canadian summer days are long and we rode right out to Kelly’s beach and saw the most beautiful sky reflecting on the marsh.  There is a 200 yd boardwalk that crosses the dunes and gets you to the dunes on the Atlantic Ocean where you walked on the beach.

Beautiful sunset that evening with the many birds and an egret that was just hanging out for hours. 

Wow,  does that eastern Canadian wood burn really good. Unlike a visit to the woodpile to pick up in the west, we bought plastic wrapped sacks that were water protected and super dry.   

The rain was coming in the afternoon so we slipped in a bike ride and walk along the river going more inland with the mosquito population growing too.  Off and keep moving is the ticket. The drizzle started just as we got back.  The campground is huge and with our cell signal booster we have some decent coverage and I actually streamed a youtube channel about RV travelers in Nova Scotia. It rained pretty much all Sunday and into Monday morning.  By afternoon there was clearing and onto the bike path once again.  Stopping again to go across the dunes at Kelly Beach for a 1 mile beach walk.

Continuing onto the the Salt Marshes and finally to where there is the best SUP launching spot at Callanders Beach.  Yeah the evening was perfect for a fire which seems so rare these days.

The next day we waited several hours at Callanders Beach, St Louis Lagoon, today for the blue sky that was to appear at 5pm.  

We had started having faith in the weather reporting because last night, didn’t it say at 9pm the rain would start again, and at 8:57 it did just that ! There  was still much June gloom on the ocean all day, but inland the sky has been blue for many hours and we just need to put our patience pants on.  

The St Louis Lagoon was very windy and not ideal for 60+ stand up paddlers.  So we loaded the blown up paddle boards in the van and went to Major Kollock’s creek where we had a nice paddle down, but it was low tide and we didn’t want to go flipping over into the muddy water upon running aground or into a root, so we turned around after a kilometer.  

Headed back out under the bridge to the Lagoon, it was still quite windy and still not pleasant SUP weather.  The takeaway is low tide is not optimal for small streams.  

The weather has been rather cool and there is no desire to splash around, but paddling is quite pleasant without sun beating down.

We had one last chance to paddle, before the next day of  rain that was forecasted,  and we had planned to leave. Trying to paddle up the Kouchibouguac River against the wind and tide and waves was tough, although the weather was  warmer. We landed on a nice sandy beach less than 200 yards from where we put in. The water was surprisingly warm, but the wind and the waves were getting worse.  

It was time to call it quits and do the laundry instead which was conveniently located near where we had parked.

The  Kouchibouguac Park is really nice for sunsets,  bike riding and the camping spots are huge.  Some are wooded, some a few trees and some full sun(not that we saw much of that).  We had decided to cut our week stay to five days as we found a brewery enroute to the Kitchenfesting that we were planning for Cape Breton at the end of the week. There are no towns nearby so all must not be forgotten.  The goal of riding to a restaurant or brewery was not possible as many paths just went to small mosquito ridden trails. The boardwalk over the marches and onto the dunes to do a beach walk was nice and the sunsets were beautiful.   

Although we see a lot of Canadian Park Cars rolling all over the campground, Canoe/Kayak rentals and Snack Bars seem to be closed at least during the week with nor sign saying when they are open.  The washrooms were excellent.   The mosquitos were particularly bad and it is safe to say I would probably not return to this park again in the summer.  Snowshoeing or cross country would be interesting, but I doubt we would ever come to Canada in the winter. Oh well onto Cape Breton, but first a stop at the Giant Lobster 

We were heading to Nova Scotia to a Harvest Host called Half Cocked Brewing (the cocked refers to chicken as it used to be a chicken farm).  

The owners were extremely nice and the place was dog filled. They had a wonderful stout and the food truck had excellent french fries and burgers. This was the first time we ordered french fries and a long time. They were delicious and better yet the Wi-Fi was excellent for backing up our devices and finishing my blog post.  There were several other Harvest hosts camping, and we had a delightful view of the countryside.

New Brunswick, Canada

Bay of Fundy NP, New Brunswick Canada

Headquarters Campground

Matthews Head at the Bay of Fundy

Matthew Head Trail

Holy Whale Brewery  in Alma

Dickson Falls

Tipsy Tail Restaurant, Alma

Moosehorn to Laverty Falls Hike

Hopewell Rocks

South Kouchibouguac National  Park,