Family Time on the Banks of the Bras d'Or Lakes

I love Iona and the areas around the Bras d'Or Lakes, but I don't spend a whole lot of time there.  Perhaps that will change since my sister moved home and her little family has a summer place there.

I was looking forward to finally seeing her place the day I hopped in the car and made the long drive there.  Actually, the drive is usually not that long but I took a little detour because I had to stop at my friend's trailer in Jersey Cove to pick up something I forgot there a few days earlier. 

Instead of taking the 125 and exiting towards Boisdale or St. Peter's, I exited onto the Trans Canada Highway.  After my stop at Jersey Cove, I turned right onto the TCH and took the exit to Little Narrows.  After a little ferry ride, it was a short drive to Iona.

I was given directions on how to get there and they didn't sound too complicated.  I found the road I had to turn down or at least I thought it did.  I found out later that there were two roads with similar names.  I took the wrong one, of course.  I got lost, made some wrong turns, ended up back on the main road and had to call someone to meet me and lead me to where everyone was waiting for my arrival.  

 My little nephew was the first to come greet me. A little game of run around the tree and peek-a-boo and it was off to the nearby beach where we spent the rest of the day.

It was a warm evening and I had my swimsuit so I went for a dip.  No one else wanted to come in with me because there were so many jellyfish but I didn't really care.  I just brushed them away and kept an eye on them to make sure they weren't getting too close. 

That day was the first time I used my underwater action camera.  And yes, it worked perfectly!  I got some pretty neat pictures of those jellyfish from underwater.  

When the sun started to dip towards the horizon and the air started to cool, I retreated back to the beach to dry off .  I sure tired out quickly running after my little nephew.  He just never stops.  He's back and forth to and from the water's edge, back and forth to the edge of the forest, rolling around in the sand with his dinkies and just being a little ball of energy.  I got a little break from the action when I took a relaxing stroll down to the end of the beach with Dad.  

When it was almost dark, we piled back into the cars to go back to home base.  Everyone had an SUV except me.  Everyone pulled out of the sandpit just fine except me.  First, I got stuck and had to be pushed out.  That was fine until I was driving down the gravel road and started hearing a scraping sound that sounded like something was being dragged beneath my car. One look under the front end and I could see that I had torn off the engine shield.  A "perfect" end to what was a perfect day up to that point!

Long story short, we temporarily tied the flimsy metal up as best as we could and I drove home with no issues except for when the low-hanging piece hit a high part on the road.  I took it to my backyard mechanic and he had it fixed in no time.  Nothing like car repairs when you least expect them!

 

 

And Just Like....Summer is Almost Over for Another Year

It's been such a busy summer that I didn't have time to post about any of the wonderful things I've been doing!  I'm never home except to sleep or get ready for work.  Most days, I head out somewhere to do something immediately after work.  I pack a lunch, take it to work with me, store it in the fridge and it's fresh and ready to eat on the way to whatever adventure awaits.  No time wasted here.  Summer is short and I enjoy every moment of it.  That means my laptop is hardly ever turned on.   

It seems like just yesterday I was packing up my car with camping, swimming, hiking and paddling gear.  I finally broke down and bought an action camera to capture all the memories I knew were coming with all the things I had planned and family coming home from Alberta and I swapped my winter clothes and gear for warm weather adventures. And now it's the end of August already.  They say time flies when you're having fun.  I can certainly say that there's plenty of truth to this because I had an incredible summer.  

Summer was interesting in Cape Breton this year as we saw the province implement a very strict fire ban that also banned anyone from entering forested areas to prevent wild fires.  Nova Scotia and the rest of eastern Canada has seen some pretty big fires recently and one here would be devastating in so many ways.  

The extreme heat and dry conditions started early and I almost had to endure the entire summer with no air conditioning in my car!  Fortunately, I was able to get it fixed before I took any long road trips. While it was a bummer to not do any hiking, I found plenty of things to do outside the woods.  Paddleboarding on the Mira, swimming at Dominion, Black Brook and Ingonish beaches, scenic drives around the Cabot Trail and to Main-a-Dieu, roaming the streets and alleys of the Fortress of Louisbourg, hanging out in Iona with the family, riding the gondola at Cape Smokey, sunset walks by the ocean, swimming in my sister's pool, a long weekend in Margaree and Cheticamp, taking in the festivities at Festiville Baddeck, enjoying a visit from my sister who came all the way from Alberta and, of course, watching my little nephew growing up and learning new things. 

Although the calendar might say summer is winding down and signs of it are all around - leaves are starting to change, kids are heading back to school and the lifeguards and are on their final shifts at the beaches - I still have summer-like activities planned for weeks to come!  This weekend, I plan to go camping in the Highlands and I'm hoping for warm enough weather to do some swimming at some of my favourite beaches.  Paddleboarding on the Mira is done for the year but I'm thinking of trying out the dragon boat paddling that's being offered nearby.  When the woods reopens, I hope to get to the top of the gondola at Cape Smokey in Ingonish to do some hiking, kayaking and biking.  In mid-September, I'm taking a road trip to Mahone Bay.  

The only thing missing this summer and the one I will miss the most if it doesn't happen is my annual camping trip in Framboise with Dad.  Because of the fire ban, we were unable to go.  If it lifts very soon, we might get a late-summer trip in but it doesn't look good.  Dad doesn't like camping later in the summer as the nights get too cold.  If the fire ban doesn't get lifted in the next couple of weeks, I might convince him to just suck it up and camp in the Provincial campground in St. Peters for the night.  At least we can say we got out and we are close to all the things we like doing in that area. 

 

A Cape Breton Family Road Trip

"I'll only go for a drive if it's not for too long" was the response my sister gave my father when he proposed we go on a father/daughters day trip somewhere on Cape Breton Island.  Years ago, my father loved going for long drives but now that he prefers to just go from point A to point B, he seemed pleased with this.  "We'll, where would you girls like to go?". My suggestions of Inverness or Ingonish was too far and my sisters suggestion of Louisbourg was shot down because it's always too cold and foggy there.  We all agreed that there wasn't much to do in Baddeck that time of year and The Cabot Trail was out of the question!  There really was only one other area of the island we could go.  Well, it was actually several areas that were interconnected via a series of back roads.  Dad suggested the route.  He said it wasn't a long drive.  He was wrong. 

With no destination in mind, we just drove and ended up on the 125 Bypass and than onto route 4.  I think Dad was hoping we would go to his favourite spot in Framboise but instead of keeping straight in East Bay, we decided to head towards Iona.  Not a bad choice; it's a beautiful drive through Northside East Bay, Eskasoni and Grand Narrows.  However, in Eskasoni, we found ourselves unsure of where to go next. 

"How about we take the ferry at Little Narrows, drive up the Trans Canada Highway and take the Turn-off to Orangedale, drive through Marble Mountain and stop in St Peter's for supper before taking the back way home through Framboise" dad suggested.  "It shouldn't be too long of a drive" he reassured my than 7-months pregnant sister who made it clear she was not in the mood for a terribly long day on the road. 

I love the drive through Northside East Bay and Eskasoni in the fall when the leaves are starting to change.  Really, any drive along the Bras d'Or Lakes is nice any time of year!  We passed through Eskasoni and almost made it to our first destination when we met a road block. Odd since we did not see any signs indicating there was a detour ahead. A road maintenance worker  confirmed that yes we indeed had to turn back the way we came. I remember many years ago a friend pointed out that I don't pay enough attention to road signs.  I guess the same can be said for my father and my sister.  None of us noticed the sign 15 kilometres back that warned of a road block ahead.  There was even a big flashing arrow pointing to where we needed to go to make the detour around the area where the work was being done. 

We finally made it to Grand Narrows and Iona.  We took a little break to enjoy the views from the high parking lot at the Highland Village Museum before moving on.  Once we made it across Little Narrows on the car ferry, we drove west along the Trans Canada Highway before making the turnoff towards Orangedale and Marble Mountain. 

The road that goes through Marble Mountain and area has been described as one of the worse on the island and we discovered that that was indeed true!  Potholes so big I thought the car would fall apart or we would end up in the ditch trying to get around them!  

Somehow, we made it across that bumpy old road intact and drove into the pretty little town of St. Peters. At Louie's Cosy Corner, we sat down to a hearty meal and relaxed before making the final leg of the journey.  We had two options to choose from: head down Route 4 along the Bras d'Or Lakes or take the "back way" through one of the most rural areas of the island through Grand River, Franboise, Forchu and Gabarus. We choose the back way.  Why not at that point.  We had already been on the road much longer than we intended so why not make the most of it?

We stopped at one of our favorite beaches and stretched our legs near Grand River. It's so peaceful in this part of the island.  All you can hear is the wind howling through the trees, the seagulls squawking  and the waves crashing ashore. We took our time going over that incredibly bumpy highway known as the Fleur de Lis Trail (it was almost as bad as the road going through Marble Mountain) and watched for deer and other animals that often come out in the early evening. 

It was dark when we got home. Tired we were but also satisfied with the lovely day spent together.  After all, with a new baby and winter on the way, it could be a while before we get another chance to hit the road together!

 

 

A New Trail, an Old Trail and some Big Waves

I may not have traveled all that far this summer, but I certainly had the opportunity to do a lot of new things.  In particular, I got to hike a few new trails and explore some new places I had never explored before.  One of the new trails I hiked was at the Ben Eoin Provincial Park.  I actually didn't even know there was a trail there.  I'd been to the park many times but I guess I never noticed the sign pointing to the trail leading up the mountain.

I arrived at the  park in mid-afternoon and ate my lunch before heading up the hill.  It was a beautiful afternoon for that late in September.  There was hardly any wind, it was sunny and the air was just right - not too hot and not too cold, just comfortable. Perfect hiking conditions.  I was the only person there that day and I found that both strange and disturbing considering it was the weekend and the weather was so fantastic.  I can't get my head around the fact that so many people would rather spend such a splendid day in a mall buying material things they don't need when they could be outdoors enjoying the spectacular beaches, trails and natural surroundings of one of the world's most beautiful islands.

With my lunch done and all ready to hit the trail, I made my way up the mountain, not having any idea how far the trail went or how long it would take to get up the hill and back down.  The trail was quite steep for a while until it leveled out.  I swam, walked and biked all summer so I'm quite fit.  The only thing bothered by the incline was my bad knee which seems to act up going up hill and even more so going down hill.

The trail isn't very long but it's nice.  Tall trees with sunlight coming through made it look almost like an enchanted forest.  And the views!  Spectacular!  A clear straight view down to the Bras d'Or Lakes and there happened to be a sailboat right in the middle when I arrived at the top. I lingered for a short while before heading down, which was more difficult on my knee than going up.  I made it safely though.  Instead of driving back the same way I came, I went through Northside East Bay and onto Eskasoni and eventually arriving in Iona and Grand Narrows.

I stopped to rest and enjoy the view from the Highland Village parking lot before continuing on my way.  While driving along the road leading through Boisedale, I came across another road that I thought ended up in George's River.  I had heard about such a road so I took it and got to see an area of the island I don't recall ever seeing before.  And yes, it did end up in George's River and eventually back to the 105 and the route home.

The next day, I ventured to the other side of the island and ended up in Louisbourg at Kennington Cove Beach.  Weather warnings were posted warning the public that the surf around the island would be high that weekend.  Louisbourg is the perfect place to safely enjoy high surf.  And yes, the waves at the beach were very high!  And the water was still warm too.  Not that I went swimming but I couldn't help but put my toes in the water for what just might be the last time this season.  

That evening, I took a sunset stroll to the old fort near the Lingan Wind Farm.  I miscalculated the time it would take to get in and out and ended up walking out of there through some thick forest at night.  It was just starting to get dark when I arrived at the shore and I lost track of time while taking pictures and looking for deer in the field.  It seemed like it took three times longer to walk out than it did to walk in.  Every few feet I would hear something move in the woods and wonder if it was something that could have me for me lunch or just a branch moving in the wind. 

I Compiled a List of the Best of the Best and here is the final List of my Favorite Places

Lingan Wind Farm – In the mid-80’s, a large, unsightly and dirty power generating station was built along the shore of Lingan Bay. Today, that generating station is being phased out and replaced by cleaner energy, including windmills which have already been put up in the area. The Lingan Wind Farm is located along that same shore and a gravel road runs alongside those mills to create a very nice walking trail along the shoreline. I love to walk this trail right to the end where there are old barracks perched near the cliffs and the view is spectacular.

The Road that Passes Through Donkin and Port Morien – I love this drive and it is the one I probably do the most often on my daily coffee run. Shoreline, beaches, scenery, wildlife (I often see bald eagles, deer and foxes along this road), very little traffic and its not very far from where I live. What else could one ask for in a daily coffee run?

The Church in Cheticamp – I’m not religious but I often make a stop at this church on the main road in Cheticamp and its something my family has always done whenever we pass through the community. As a child, my mom always took my sisters and I in there to light a candle at the alter and it was said that if you made a wish on one of those candles, it would come true. I don’t know if it was pure coincidence but some of those wishes did come true. The church is old and beautiful inside and its almost haunting in how quiet it is and how every little sound echoes in the stillness within.

The Walking Track at 14 Yard – To many people, exercise sounds like work but for me, it is a necessity. I exercise everyday. It keeps me healthy and disciplined and reduces stress. My daily 5 kilometer walk ( or job depending on how I am feeling) around the track at 14 yard is my escape. It gets me out of the house and lets me escape for an hour into a world of just me and my music (I bring my ipod along with me). This hour allows me to not only do something healthy, but to think and reorganize my thoughts or just go off into another world with my favorite songs setting the backdrop.

The Canso Causeway – A landmark accomplishment on any road trip; on the way out of Cape Breton, it signifies two hours knocked off the journey and a traditional rest stop at the Big Stop gas station and restaurant. On the way home from any road trip, it signifies that I have reached home. Home is always on the Port Hawkesbury side of the causeway even though my house is actually two more hours of driving. On any particularly long trip, the causeway is a sign that I am on that last homestretch!

St. Ann’s Look-off – Near the top of Kelly’s Mountain on the right side heading west is a rest stop that doubles as a scenic look-off over St. Anne’s Bay. I stop here almost every time I pass through the area to eat lunch and enjoy my coffee while looking out over the scenic view that consists of rolling hills, a large bay and distant fields.

Fort Petrie- located only ten minutes from my home, I often go to Fort Petrie to watch the boats come and go in Sydney Harbour and the sun set over the vast horizon. I often see the Newfoundland ferries heading out to sea and wish I was onboard so I, too, could be headed to The Rock and my former home where many of my friends are still living.

Water St., St. John’s, NL – I love main streets in cities. They are so exciting and colorful. I’ve walked many colorful main streets in many cities around North America but none really compare to the main street in St. John’s, Newfoundland. Water St, is a fairly long and narrow street that runs through the downtown district of the city. With it’s colorful and old buildings, unique local shops, numerous cafes catering to every type of coffee drinker, every type of restaurant and live music venue you can think of, professional and amateur buskers displaying their talent to the masses and tons of little parks and benches to just sit and relax, there is no shortage of action on this street. I love to go down there early in the morning and sit on a bench with my coffee and a book. In the evening, I like to just walk the street listening to the music, people-watching and just enjoying the colorful sights and sounds around me.

Grand Narrows/Iona – For some reason, I don’t travel to this part of Cape Breton as much but it is still one of my favorite areas of the island. While I usually prefer to be near the ocean and mountains, it is nice to be lakeside and in “softer” surroundings once and a while. And besides, the Bras d’Or lakes are much like an ocean in size! I love how quiet this area of the island is and how there are less people wandering about. There are so many places to just sit and relax and not have to worry about there being crowds around. I love the little wharf area in Grand Narrows where there is also a little rocky beach and a dock. Sometimes there are even little country markets where you can buy some fresh produce and homemade sweets and listen to some fiddle music.

The Drive Across Newfoundland – Yes, I know, this is not really a place but it is a route that I often take when traveling from my home in Cape Breton to the city of St. John’s in Newfoundland and each and every trip across (and there have been dozens) has been memorable in one way or another. The drive starts in Port Aux Basques and heads along the Trans Canada heading east. Along the way, there are mountains, small towns and villages, scenic look-offs, valleys, rivers and strange places with interesting stories behind them. Take, for example, the Wreckhouse area. No one lives in this beautiful, barren valley surrounded by mountains and there is a reason for that; its too windy! When the winds in the Wreckhouse area are at their highest, traffic comes to a standstill and anyone brave enough to try and pass through may end up in some trouble. Large transport trucks have been known to be blown over by these winds. I usually take the DRL bus across the island and many interesting stories and memories have come out of those many trips. New friendships, bus breakdowns, broken heaters, lost luggage, drunken and rowdy passengers, off-the-wall conversations with complete strangers, near run-ins with moose and snowstorms are just a few of the interesting things I recall!

The Cabot Trail – Again, not a specific place but a scenic drive…one of the most scenic drives on the planet! And that’s not just my opinion, the trail has been voted as such by many travel publications numerous times over the years. A trip around the trail is one of my favorite things I look forward to in the warmer months. I get up early. Load up the car with lunch and beach supplies and go for the day or overnight depending on how much time I have to work with. I go around via Cheticamp, stopping in Inverness and Margaree along the way and spending some time in the village of Cheticamp. I than make my way over the mountains and through Pleasant Bay and Cape North towards Ingonish where I will, again spend some time at the beaches and hiking trails. The drive is peaceful even when there are many people around. Windy, narrow roads snaking over mountains and through valleys and along rugged coastline. It’s heaven on Earth!

And Finally…My car! – I don’t know what I would do without my 2009 black Sonata. The begin with, it’s everything I wanted in a car. When I went car shopping, I was looking for a spacious, black car with a sunroof and great-sounding stereo. The first car I eyed was the one I ended up buying. It had those things and more. Of course, I was smart about it and test drove some other cars around the city but I came back for this one. I took it on a long road trip the first weekend I had it and it met all my standards. Good handling, no weird noises, comfortable…Now it’s my sanctuary. It not only gets me to work and back every day, it gets me out of the house when I am tired of sitting around in one place, it takes me to all my favorite places and beyond and it is where I retreat to when I am having a bad day. I just get behind the wheel, crank the stereo with my favorite tunes and drive off into the unknown and that is my cure-all for any bad day!

Oidhche nam Bocan - A Night of Spooks at The Highland Village

As a child, I loved Halloween. I may have even loved Halloween more than Christmas. I looked forward to the night mom drove my sisters and I (and any friends who wanted to tag along) to my Grandmother’s neighborhood in town where there were more streets and more houses. More streets and more houses meant more treats and we usually ended up with three times as many pillow cases full of goodies as the kids who trick or treated in the sparsely populated village where I lived.

I moved to St. John’s, Newfoundland right after high school and my love of Halloween was taken to a new level with the grown up version of the celebrations that took place during the famous George Street Mardi Gras every year. Thousands of people dressed in costumes, that they must have worked on since the day after Halloween the previous year, came out and crowded that little street for the entire weekend closest to Halloween.

Now I that I am even older, trick-or-treating and large booze-fueled festivals like Mardi Gras, have been replaced with quieter activities that don’t involve waking up with a sick stomach from eating too much candy…or from drinking too much beer. Last Halloween, myself and a couple of friends dressed up in last minute costumes, drove to a graveyard in the country and took some Halloween-themed pictures and played hide and seek with a playful fox who happened to be roaming around. This year, I left town and ventured into the country for another different kind of Halloween celebration.

The Highland Village in Iona is a mostly outdoor museum depicting life as it was when the Scots first began settling the area. The area, which includes the villages of Grand Narrows, Iona and Christmas Island, lies along the shores of the Bras d’Or Lakes and the drive there takes one along a long stretch of deserted country road. During the day, especially in the fall months, the drive is peaceful and relaxing with colorful trees lining the road with old country farmhouses, many of them long deserted, tucked away near the treeline of large fields where one can often see deer grazing. At night, that drive has a kind of spooky feel, particularly if you are familiar with the folklore and many ghost stories that have been retold over the past few hundred years and passed down to future generations. I heard many of these stories so, wanting to partake in some Halloween-themed activities that didn’t involve heavy partying and knocking on doors begging for treats, I opted for a night at the Highland Village where a themed event called “Oidhche nam Bocan” or “Night of the Spooks” as it translates from Gaelic to English. For a fee of $12.00, the event included a nighttime tour of the Village with lanterns, skits, a storytelling session, tea and coffee, sweets and some traditional entertainment.

The tour started with a group of about twenty people sitting in a round circle discussing some of the history and outlining what we would be seeing throughout the night. We were then led outside by a guide who took us up the hill. The night was cool and breezy and the trees made an eerie sound when they moved in the wind. There was no moon but the sky was clear and filled with stars. There was no natural light and no cars speeding down the nearby highway so the combination of dark and quiet gave the feel of stepping back in time to when many of the luxuries we have today didn’t exist. A couple of characters dressed in period costume lingered around at the edge of the trail and behind buildings and made the experience seem even more authentic. We entered the first open building where a fire was lit and a few actors acted out a skit for us. These skits involved actors in period costumes acting out excerpts of popular folklore stories of those long gone days.

The walk through the village continued like that for about an hour ending in a meet-and-greet type setting in a hall near the main entrance. There were baked goods, tea and coffee and seats set up for everyone to relax and take in the next segment of the night. While everyone was getting settled, a fiddler played some traditional Scottish tunes. The storytelling segment was quite interesting because the stories were first told in Gaelic and translated into English. There are still a number of people who speak that mostly dead and forgotten language on Cape Breton Island and, even though I cannot understand a single word of it, I am still intrigued whenever I hear someone speaking the language of my ancestors. I learned many things that night and, although I’m sure my ancestors must have had valid reasons for believing the things they did, it still seems strange that anyone would believe in such things as forerunners or changelings. Nevertheless, their beliefs made for an interesting alternative to the bar scene that seems to be a major part of many grown up Halloween celebrations and, after experiencing the Highland Village at night, I am now determined to make seeing in the day a priority for next summer.