Labour Day Weekend in Cheticamp

Since I moved back to Cape Breton almost six years ago, I developed a yearly tradition of taking a road trip every Labour Day Weekend. Usually I end up going on these road trips by myself and usually I go around the Cabot Trail or to Halifax. A few years ago, I went to Digby and stayed at the Digby Pines resort for a night. This year's Labour Day weekend was a little different. I still went away for the weekend but this time I had company.

A friend of mine has a birthday that falls on the Labour Day long weekend. This year she wanted to go out of town for a weekend so she asked me if I would like to join her. I love a road trip and a few days out of town so when she informed me it would be a 3-day long birthday celebration at a bed & breakfast is Cheticamp, I jumped at the chance.

While there is no doubt the weather in Atlantic Canada can be unpredictable any time of year, it's at it's most unpredictable during the late summer and fall. It can do anything that time of year. It can rain one second with temperatures in the high twenties and within a mere few hours be below 0 and snowing. This is especially true of long weekends. It always seems that the weather takes a turn for the worse right before Victoria Day, Canada Day, Labour Day and Thanksgiving. What a surprise we got when this Labour Day weekend arrived and the forecast was calling for warm temperatures and sun all weekend. While I wasn't totally convinced this would remain the case for the next three days, I tried to keep a positive attitude while I was loading up the car with the weekend's provisions.

We reached the Cheticamp Outfitters B&B in mid-afternoon. Check-in was a breeze as our host Veronica set us up in a cozy room with a fantastic view. The property is set quite a ways from the main road and the closest neighbor is quite a ways away too so there is virtually no noise around the property.

Cheticamp Outfitters B&B

After we unpacked, settled into the room and had a tour of the property, we went for a drive and a nice walk on the beach. Plage St. Pierre is a beautiful sandy beach and on this day, it was perfect for wading into the crystal clear waters. Although the air was a little cool with the wind coming from the northwest, the water was still very warm. On this day, there were no rocks or seaweed so it was perfect. We walked the entire beach before heading into the town of Cheticamp to grab something to eat at Wabo's Pizza.

Plage St. Pierre, Cheticamp

For the longest time, I thought Wabo's Pizza only served pizza. It wasn't until a few years ago when I stopped there to get something to eat that I realized they have a pretty extensive menu, pizza being just one of those items. On that occasion several years ago, an item on the menu caught my attention; deep fried cheesecake. I tried it and fell in love. My intention was to order it for dessert that night and to introduce my friend to the wonderful world of deep fried cheesecake...but it wasn't meant to be. The sit-down restaurant area was closed when we arrived so that left us with the pizza take-out upstairs. We ordered a medium pep & cheese pizza to go. A couple of beers on the porch enjoying the clear night sky and peace and quiet of the country before heading to bed and that was how day one of Labour weekend 2016 went.

We awoke early the next morning and headed upstairs for breakfast. Now usually, when I get an included breakfast, it's a few pieces of fruit, some toast and maybe some cereal and juice. Well, the breakfast at Cheticamp Outfitters was certainly nothing like that! Eggs whatever way I wanted, the fluffiest and quite possibly the most delicious pancakes I've ever had along with homemade muffins, toast and juice. Put it this way; I didn't have to have lunch the three days I stayed there because breakfast kept me going until dinner!

I was hoping for at least one last beach day of the summer and it came that second day in Cheticamp. After breakfast, we headed down to the Frog Pond Cafe and grabbed some coffees for the road and embarked on a mission I've been wanting to do for a few years; search for the Cheticamp Gypsum Quarry. For years, no one would tell me where this secret swimming hole was but nothing stays secret for long with the internet! Someone let the cat out of the bag and with the newly-posted directions all over the internet, I was able to find it very easily. It was nowhere near where I thought it would be and was in an area that I drove by all the time. A fifteen-minute hike took us to the quarry which, I must say, is a very nice body of water surrounded by high cliffs. Of course, I forgot my camera in the car so I don't even have the proof that I finally found it after so many years. You'll just have to take my word for it!

The Frog Pond Cafe in Cheticamp

We didn't swim that day at the quarry as the water felt very cold. Instead, we drove to Chimney Corner Beach near Margaree. Chimney Corner has been my favourite beach as of late. Any time I go there there's no rocks, no seaweed and no jellyfish...except this day. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen as much seaweed on any beach as there was on that beach that day. The piles were almost as tall as me. We waded into the water a bit but were too grossed out by the large amount of debris floating around and thousands of these strange little green fish swimming around us. We dried off and drove toward Inverness to see if we would have better luck there.

Massive piles of seaweed on Chimney Corner Beach

By the time we got to Inverness, the air had cooled so we didn't bother changing into our swimsuits before going down onto the beach. We walked for a bit enjoying the last rays of the early evening sun and collected some beach glass. (I've recently developed an addiction to beach glass and pick up every piece I see. I recently found a piece of rare blue glass, which is the equivalent to winning the lottery in the beach glass world). The water looked rather cloudy, rough and rocky until we got to the end of the beach closer to the wharves. There, the water was crystal clear much like the water you see in pictures of beaches in the Caribbean. No Seaweed, no rocks, so jellyfish. It looked very enticing and when I put my feet in to check the temperature, it too was much like the waters of the Caribbean. That did it for me. I decided right than and there to go back to the car and change into my swimsuit and go for an evening duck. The cool air made the water seem so warm that it ended up being more than just a duck. The sun was setting when I got enough nerve to leave the warmth of the early-September ocean and brave the chilly, evening air. I soaked up every moment of that refreshing swim thinking it would be the last one of the year. Little did I know that more than month later, I would again be again taking a dip in that exact same spot. We've certainly had a nice fall this year on The Cape!

Some sort of stone monument built by beachgoers at Inverness Beach

That evening, we were supposed to meet friends at Le Gabrielle for supper. Our little jaunt in the ocean set us back a little and we were running late. In fact, we were so late that we didn't have time to stop at our room to change! Into the restaurant we strolled with our damp swimsuits under sundresses, sandy flip flops and dripping hair. We got a few stares from curious onlookers but things like that don't bother me anymore. The older I get, the more I realize that opportunities need to be jumped on when they appear as they may never arise again. The conditions were perfect for that evening swim and it's a memory I will never forget. I'm willing to accept a few stares from total strangers I will never see again in order to jump on an opportunity like that.

We sat in the lounge area at the back of the restaurant where some live music was being enjoyed by a fairly large crowd. I ordered some delicious nachos (some of the best nachos I've ever had actually!) and enjoyed listening to a mix of modern and classic rock mixed with some traditional Acadian songs. Later, back at Cheticamp Outfitters, I retreated to the porch and cracked open a beer to enjoy on that clear, crisp evening. I was only sitting there a few minutes when I heard a very loud commotion in the bushes a few feet away. I didn't stay out there long enough to see what it was. I bolted inside and stayed inside until the next morning when the culprit revealed himself. I was sitting on the porch checking my email and phone messages when I heard a commotion in the bushes a few feet away from me. Yes the same sound and the same bushes as the night before. The brightness of the morning sun made me more bold and I stood up, eyes on the bushes to await for the creature to make an appearance. With the amount of noise being made, I was expecting a coyote or a bear or something fairly large to come out. I waited...and waited....and out popped a rambunctious little chipmunk! Imagine. A little chipmunk scared me enough to send me running indoors! He ran around in circles knocking everything in his path over. Little flower pots and ornaments went flying. He stopped and stood up on his back legs, took a good look at me and retreated to a hole in the ground.

The rambunctious little chipmunk that frightened me the night before he posed for this picture.

First on the agenda for our last day was a hike of the Skyline Trail. I've done this trail hundreds of times over the years but my friend had never done it. I agreed to take her which was no problem for me since it's one of my favorite hiking trails. I often take people on hikes along this trail. So much so that I think I should be officially named the Skyline Trail Ambassador. Cape Breton Island experienced a record-breaking year in tourism for 2016 and the traffic that lined the road near the trail head of the Skyline was one of many indications of just how many tourists were around at any given time. I'd never seen so many cars parked along there before. The trail itself was the same. People everywhere. Crowds of people of every nationality on the planet. I heard languages that I didn't even recognize and saw license plates I had never seen before in these parts. For example, I saw my first Alaska license plate in Cape Breton this past summer. New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada, Arkansas and Texas were some others I spotted multiple times this past summer. That day on the trail, I spotted my first moose of the season. Poor thing was being tortured by tourists. I stood watching as, one by one, people left the trail and went into the woods where this poor moose was trying to get some rest. They got right in his face with their cameras. It was a bull too. I tried to explain to several people that it was very dangerous to be getting that close to a bull moose but to no avail. This has always been a problem on The Skyline Trail where moose are fairly common. It hasn't happened yet, but it won't surprise me one bit when I someday hear that a tourist got mowed down by a giant bull moose who finally got tired of having a camera shoved in his face.

Since we were already in the area, I drove to Pleasant Bay to show my friend where Gampo Abbey is. She had heard there was a monastery somewhere around the Cabot Trail but didn't know where. I love going to Gampo Abbey, especially after a long hike or drive. It's such a quiet, relaxing place with little nature trails and spectacular scenery.

Gampo Abbey

We drove straight to Cheticamp Island after our restful stroll at Gampo Abbey and tackled another hike we had heard about in the area. I never attempted this one before so I was quite excited to be hiking a new trail. There was some confusion as to where it started and what way to go once we came to a fork in the trail but we managed and got to see some great views. Part of the trail winds around one far end of the island around a grassy area and along rocky cliffs. An old graveyard lies near the trail and someone obviously still takes care of it although the headstones date as far back as 1846.

The old gravesite near the hiking trail on Cheticamp Island

On the way home that evening, I planned to stop at the Dancing Goat to grab a coffee and snack for the road. I thought that place never closed but lo and behold, it was shut down that night when we drove by. Disappointed, I decided to do the next best thing; Make a detour to Baddeck and get some of that ice cream I love in the little ice cream shop on the main street. Thankfully, that was open. After a little walk around the town, we were on the home stretch and unfortunately, close to the end of the Labour Day long weekend.

Part of the oceanside trail on Cheticamp Island

Some More of my Favorite Place Near and Far

Baddeck Boardwalk – It doesn’t matter where I’m going – around the Cabot Trail, to Halifax or just for a drive along the Trans-Canada Highway – I always stop in Baddeck, even if it is just for five minutes. One of the things I like to do when I stop in the little village is grab a coffee and drink it on the boardwalk that lines a part of the harbor. I can sit there and kick my feet in the water and watch all those luxurious yachts float by and wonder what famous person might be enjoying some time away from the limelight in the peace and tranquility of little Baddeck where no one realizes who they are or pays any attention to them.

The Driveway at Anamaya – I’ve only been there once and may never be there again but I will always remember going for my nightly strolls down the driveway to Anamaya Yoga Retreat in Montezuma, Costa Rica, a place I had the opportunity to stay at for a week last year. The reason I loved taking this stroll every evening before bed? The calm, warm, tropical air, the sights and sounds of exotic animals and insects going about their nocturnal business and the quiet and peaceful atmosphere that was only compromised by the distant sound of the waves crashing on the Pacific coast below.

The Drive over Cape Smokey Mountain – I spend most of my summer in Ingonish, Cape Breton so I’ve driven over Cape Smokey hundreds of times. I often hear stories of tourists hiring local drivers to take them over the mountain because they find the hairpin turns and high cliffs terrifyingly dangerous and I often take people over that mountain because I know that road like the back of my hand. I’ve driven it in the winter, in thick fog, in heavy rains, in thunder storms and on clear summer days. I’ve driven it in the morning and in the dead of night. Every trip is different and I never get sick of that view from the top, no matter which way I look!

The Skyline Trail – I drove past this hiking trail hundreds of times before I decided to hike it myself…and I am glad I finally did! Nature, scenery, wildlife – this trail has it all and the best part of it is the end where the sea meets the sky and a boardwalk spirals downward toward the rocky coastline where whales can be seen frolicking in the surf below. I can sit there until the sun goes down and what a sight it is to see a sunset from that place!

The St. John’s Battery – Right at the bottom of Signal Hill at the end of the trail and right before you enter the little village at The Battery are some old army barracks. The barracks cannot be entered but there is a little hill right beside it that leads to the top of the small building and a flat concrete surface. When I lived in the city, every morning before the sun came up, I started the walk around that trail and rested in that spot to watch the sun come up and the boats come and go through the narrows. Some evenings I went there to watch the sun go down or just admire the spectacular view of the city at night with its distant city sounds - so close but yet so far away.

The Joseph and Clara Smallwood ferry – This ferry is no longer in operation, I made the crossing between North Sydney to Argentia, Newfoundland at least a hundred times over the years. Although I may have sometimes dreaded impending trips across The Gulf, looking back, I have very fond memories of some of those eventful crossings. Impromptu bands made up of traveling musicians from all around the world getting together for jam sessions in the bar, last minute excursions across “just for something to do”, card games with new friends made in the cafeteria area, long talks with complete strangers on the outside deck and even life-long friendships made simply by being stuck on a ship together for all those hours and having nothing else to do! Sometimes the seas were rough and I would retreat to “my spot” on the seventh deck – a reclining chair in the Baccalieu lounge, way back in the corner away from everyone else and in view of the TV in case I wanted to watch whatever was on.

Corner of Bond and Prescott, St. John’s – I moved away from home for the first time when I was 19 and made my new home in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Although I had several apartments during the twelve years I lived in the city, the last one I lived in is the one I will always remember the most. With so many run-down, outdated and expensive apartments around, I was lucky to find this near-perfect gem at a decent price and in a good neighborhood that was close to everything. The apartment was located right downtown but far enough from the main roads to be surprisingly quiet. It was only a short walk from my work and all the other services I needed. It had been just renovated right before I moved in. It had wood floors (I hate carpet). It was high off the ground on the third floor of a house that was at the end of row of attached houses which meant I didn’t have to worry about floods or dampness. And it had a spectacular view of the downtown area and the harbor which allowed me to watch the sun come up over Signal Hill and the boats come and go.

Black Brook Beach – I visited this beach with friends many years ago and have been returning every summer since. It is one of my favorite beaches on all of Cape Breton Island. When I was younger, I loved the main part of the beach where the waves are quite large and all the young people tend to congregate. As I got older, I started to migrate to the lesser used side of the beach where the waves are smaller, the water is calmer and there are less people. This beach has everything; several hiking trails, some look-offs, picnic areas, a waterfall, freshwater swimming area and a beach with warm water, lots and sand and hardly any jellyfish!

Jasper National Park, Alberta – The Rocky Mountains were something to see for sure but it was Jasper National Park that won my heart in the end. In comparison to the other mountain towns in the Rockies, Jasper was more to my expectations in terms of ruggedness, untouched beauty, nature and wildlife. The lodge was exactly how I pictured a Rocky Mountain Lodge to be and that fresh, mountain air made me feel so alive and in touch with my surroundings.

Gampo Abbey Monastery – I heard this place existed but no one ever seemed to know where it was located. I found it one day quite by accident when I decided to drive down a road I had never been down before. I was driving through Pleasant Bay in Northern Cape Breton when I noticed a sign for Red River Road. It looked vaguely interesting and I had some time to kill so, out of curiosity, I turned down. I passed over a small bridge and continued on a windy, country road that soon turned into a gravel road that ran between some rolling hills and the ocean. I soon realized what the road led to when I happened upon a Buddhist shrine on the left-hand side of the road. Not much further passed that was a small parking lot. I parked the car and wandered around and found a little trail that went into a wooded area along a little brook. Little Buddha statues were scattered around the area and I soon happened upon the monastery itself; a simple facility right on the water. The area was so peaceful and immersed in nature that I could see why the area was picked for the sight of a Buddhist monastery.

Getting Lost While on the Road - An Opportunity to See New Places or Just a Hassle?

I will never understand why some people make such a big fuss when they get lost on the road. I mean, I understand getting lost on your way to work or to an important appointment isn't an option but when you're on a road trip and you have a window of time available to do as you please and the open road in front of you, why wouldn't you want to go off course and see things you otherwise would never get to see? Some of my best travel memories started with a wrong turn, misguided directions, a malfunctioning GPS, a map read upside down in the dark or my innate sense of curiosity getting the better of me so my car instinctively veers off into unknown territory waiting to be explored.

I rarely read maps. They're too much of a hassle, they take up space in my car, its too much work to fold and unfold them and most times, it is either too dark to read a map or I don't feel like pulling over to read the small print of a map that is probably not even updated anyway. I do have a GPS. It's a nifty little tool for when I have to find a specific place in a hurry. I have tried to use it on road trips to disastrous proportions that had me more lost than I was before I turned it on.

If I have time to kill, sometimes I "forget" my GPS at home and set out in search of a specific destination and get lost in the process. This is all part of the adventure, right? Like the time I wanted to find Cape Clear in the Cape Breton Highlands. The road system up there is confusing at best, with wood roads going off into every direction with more roads going off those roads that turn into ATV trails or foot paths. There are no signs and everything looks the same; trees, trees and more trees...until I finally found Cape Clear and one of the most spectacular views I have ever seen!



I like to drink coffee but, for some strange reason, I can only enjoy it if I'm in a moving vehicle. So in order to avoid that withdrawal headache that comes in the mid-afternoon if I don't get my fix, I have to jump in the car, fill up a thermos of some home-brewed coffee or hit up a local coffee shop. I can't bring the coffee home to drink and I can't just sit in the coffee shop or park the car and drink it; it just doesn't taste the same unless the car is moving and I am going somewhere. Sometimes I drive around town a few times or to a nearby town and just go home once my cup is empty. More times than not, I pick a street I have never been on before and drive until I can't drive anymore. I wouldn't know about some of the beautiful beaches, parks, rest areas and scenic places to watch a sunset or moonrise if it had not been for this innate curiosity I have to explore the unknown.

My map and GPS-free travels have taken me to many memorable places I would never have known existed if I had followed strict paths to my intended destinations. I'd heard there was a monastery in Cape Breton but no one ever seemed to know where it was whenever I asked. I was driving through Pleasant Bay along the Cabot Trail one summer afternoon when I decided to turn onto a road I'd never been down before. When the pavement ended, I thought about turning around but, as it always does, curiosity got the better of me and I kept driving along that road that wrapped around the rocky coast of Northern Cape Breton until...I happened upon the monastery I had heard about. Gambo Abbey, tucked away in a remote corner of the island I thought I knew like the back of my hand!

I was both excited and nervous at the prospect of driving in a large city in the United States for the first time. I picked up my rental car at McCarron International Airport in Las Vegas early on a Thursday morning with intentions of driving around aimlessly in the desert for three days, happening upon whatever came my way. A GPS did come with the car and I thought it might be a good idea to use it to at least get myself out of the city limits but I first had to return to The Luxur Hotel where I was staying to pick up my supplies for the weekend. The GPS already had an entry for "LAX" which was the name of the hotel bar at The Luxor. With the GPS set for "LAX", I set out into the morning rush hour traffic. It was only after my GPS took me onto a 16-lane highway heading west that I remembered the Los Angeles International Airport also went by the name LAX. After dodging lightning speed traffic and frightening lane changes that almost had me killed on the I-95, I did make it, in one piece back to my hotel and, again, set my GPS to take me outside the city limits. The nifty little gadget did its thing and soon I was cruising through The Mojave with nothing but wide open spaces for miles around me. Since I didn't want to get too lost out there in that unforgiving and sometimes dangerous landscape, I availed of the setting that would only take me on paved main roads. This is where the nifty little gadget epically failed. And where do you think I ended up with nightfall only a mere few hours away? After letting the GPS guide me down a few dozen paved roads that seemed like they would lead somewhere, the pavement ended and turned into a gravel road in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Now, if you have ever been out in that desert at sunset, you know the feeling that comes over you when you realize that soon, that sun will go down and darkness will come and you may not see another car for hours or days and there isn't a single house or streetlight anywhere for miles in some places. This was one of those places. And there are snakes, poisonous ones...and scorpions, serial killers and the odd UFO abduction. So what did I do? I took that GPS and tossed in the backseat and enjoyed the moment I found myself in. I will never forget that experience for as long as I live. There is not a sound out there in that vast, open space, barely a breath of wind and when the sun sets, its like the whole desert is on fire. At the time, I knew it would be a moment in my life that I would talk about and remember for many years to come!

I did find my way out of that maze of gravel roads and over the next few days, I found more off-the-beaten-track places that I would have missed if I'd used the GPS to take me straight to my final destination of Death Valley National Park. The Valley of Fire, Area 51, The Extraterrestrial Highway (where much of the UFO activity over the United States is reported) and a stretch of deserted two-lane highway surrounded by beautiful mountain ranges that led to the California state line.

When I approached Las Vegas a couple of days later on Saturday night, I reached for the GPS and set it to take me on a route that would have me skip driving down The Strip and take me straight to my hotel...and that nifty little gadget failed miserably once again. I followed the directions and ended up guess where? At the opposite end of The Strip on a Saturday night. I don't think I need to explain to you what Las Vegas Boulevard, AKA The Strip, the biggest party street in the world is like on a hot, Saturday night...I'm sure you get the idea. My hotel was at the complete other end and once I was locked into that chaotic gridlock, I had no choice but to continue down that entire strip of flashing neon lights, drunken pedestrians coming out of everywhere, climbing on roofs of cars, taxi drivers trying to push their way to their next paying customer while trying to figure out what lane I should be in to avoid making yet another wrong turn into the unknown. But you know what, when it was all said and done and I made it back to my hotel, kissed the ground and thanked my lucky stars that my unwanted detour down the Vegas Strip on a Saturday night didn't result in me or anyone else getting killed, I gave myself a little pat on the back; now I can say I drove down one of the most famous streets in the world. I wasn't a passenger in a stretch limo or taxi cab. I drove it myself and it was very interesting to say the least.

Over the years, I've had many mapless/GPSless adventures that took me to some of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. While driving through the Rocky Mountains of Banff National Park, I turned onto an interesting-looking road just outside of Canmore and discovered the beauty that is Kananaskis Country.

A trip to The Magdelan Islands in Quebec saw me venturing onto a country road lined with sand dunes that, upon walking over, revealed a beautiful stretch of sandy beach that went for miles.

In the days pre-911, when crossing into the United States from Canada didn't even require a passport, a last-minute decision to take the "scenic" route home from Montreal led me on a misguided but eventful journey through Upstate New York and Vermont at a time of year when the fall foliage was at its most colorful. A random drive up a gravel road in Framboise, Cape Breton led me to a abandoned Victorian-era house with the front door wide open. Looters had already ransacked the place years before but there were still some interesting things laying around like some newspapers from the 1930's and furniture and clothing that had been left there by the previous owners who, it seems, must have left in a hurry. On a trip to the Southern Shore of Nova Scotia, I made a wrong turn while trying to find the town of Lunenburg and accidentally ended up at Oak Island, also known as The Money Pit, the island made famous by repeated attempts to extract pirate treasure that is said to have been buried there by Captain Kidd.

Not all of my wrong turns were made in a car. One of the most beautiful beaches I had ever laid eyes on was found quite by accident after I jumped onto a public bus in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico and went in search of some Mayan Ruins to explore. I exited the bus just outside Tulum, found some ruins, explored them and than did what I usually do when I find myself in a new place. I found a road that looked interesting and walked down it until it came to an end...and revealed the beautiful Playa Santa Fe. Completely surrounded by giant sand dunes, completely covered in soft, white sand and completely deserted. Another slice of paradise found...quite by accident!