Our round trip from the Isle Madame in Nova Scotia to Fortress Louisbourg was very moving. The social history from nearly 300 years ago has implications right through to today. Near the very end of our visit, we walked through an exhibit covering the reacquisition of the 18th century building skills/trades by 20th century contemporaries, by newbies and skilled alike. As one who spent his working life in multiple aspects of construction, I was gobsmacked.
“I do not know why a low idea has been attached to this word; it is to the trades that we owe all the things necessary for life.” Denis Diderot, French philosopher parks.canada.ca/lhn-nhs/ns/louisbourg
Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia in Canada
Day 13. Onto the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island, we are now in our travel rhythm, with the best roads yet to come!! Pack, ride, take in the vistas, settle into another stunning B&B, the Williams Beach House in Ingonish right on the Atlantic Ocean. A retired chef and his talented wife sold their restaurant after 25 years, built the B&B just before COVID, opened a weekend-only dinner service in-house, and just recently decided to scale back to only preparing meals for their guests. Just stunning-meals served on our 2nd-floor balcony overlooking the ocean.
The calm Atlantic Ocean off Cape Breton Island
Day 14. Starts with a walk on the beach with a calm North Atlantic offering a soothing soundtrack! Then off on the Cabot Trail for a few touristy sites. First up, The Groovy Goat! A working farm, animal rescue mission and fine goods for sale! Several years ago, the community rallied behind them after a tragic fire took everything, including the animals. Rebuilt and better than ever. Back on the road, up the stunning coastline. Now we’re talking!
Then inland to the Arts North Nova Scotia Artists’ Gallery. My oh my, at an arts center featuring local artists, we found our “thank you” gifts for our neighborhood support system as well as a few gotta haves for ourselves! And back south along the Cabot Trail coastline and another dinner with a view!!
The coast along the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island
Day 15. Cheeze…We must pack and RIDE the Cabot Trail, again!! We had a few kilometers to cover today, so left right after breakfast on the porch, again. Kim maxed out the route to cover two “detours” on our way to Pleasant Bay. If you are following along with a map, here goes: north on Bay St. Lawrence Rd. past Aspy Bay and Sugar Loaf to Bay St. Lawrence. We swing back northwest on Meat Cove Rd. until it turned to dirt just past Capstick. Our timetable didn’t allow for added adventure risks. All the way back to the Cabot Trail, over the North Mountain Look Off and to our roadside MacToimin Cottage in Pleasant Bay.
The weather prediction for the next day was awful. And it would be the only sour weather day we had the whole trip! So, we made haste and drove further south to take advantage to the sun and the vistas! A late lunch at the Rusty Anchor and onto Cheticamp to capture the ubiquitous shoreline photo of Cape Breton along the way.
Pleasant Bay on the western coast of Cape Breton Island
Day 16. The waterproof bike cover worked. We caught up with delayed “have to’s” and got ready for a very special night out for dinner. Kim found a spectacular establishment, the Woodroad Restaurant. Well worth the 75km/1:15 one way drive…Especially as the sky cleared just enough as we traveled south.
www.woodroad.ca for the complete Experience.
It’s a passion project of two brothers from very different backgrounds. One was in forestry and taught himself how to build a timber framed structure!! They used trees from the waterside property for some of the construction. The other, a stellar chef with a very talented wife who chose all the design elements. Altogether, they have created a one-of-kind experience. We were in sensory overload all night! I took 21 sunset photos during the cocktails, 7-course meal with wine pairings and after dinner chocolates. Oh my!!
Woodroad House restaurant on Cape Breton Island - spectacular dinner with sunset views
Incredible sunset over the St. Lawrence Seaway
Day 17. Pack and RIDE the Cabot Trail for one more day!! Back south through Cheticamp and then zig over to CA 19 at Margaree Forks. End of the Trail ride for us. Never fear, CA 19 has its own rewards! We pull into Inverness Beach, overlooking the famous Cabot Cliffs Golf Course. A Worlds’ Top 10 rated course. This day, a steady 30 mph wind was blowing in right off the water. Seems nobody canceled their T-time, but I’m sure they packed extra golf balls for when they ended up in the two-foot high rough!
Inverness Beach off the Cabot Trail
Famous Cabot Cliffs Golf Course overlooking Inverness Beach - note the people playing golf in 40-50 mph winds!
Day 18. Pictou is where one could take the ferry to Prince Edward Island. Famous for their muscles!! But we’re heading west instead, to New Brunswick and the Bay of Fundy! At nearly 100 miles long, there’s LOTS of water involved in the famous tidal action. Like 29-foot exchanges!! The Bay’s water even pushes the St. John and Petitcodiac rivers “backwards” with incoming tides!!
Our first stop is at high tide at Hopewell Rocks Provincial Park in New Brunswick. Well thought out, with easy accesses to viewing areas and equally challenging options for the adventurous! Every 24 hours, the Rocks and shore are stunningly different without 29 feet of water covering everything! They used to walk across the “bottom” to mine the rocks back in the early 1900’s!
The Bay of Fundy - highest tides in the world
Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy
Day 19. We stayed in Alma, a small waterside town adjacent to the Fundy National Park where we had lunch with a view of the Bay of Fundy. Ah, nature! Even the trees were cooperating with our schedule, starting to turn early due to the months long drought the entire Maritimes were suffering.
The leaves were changing ahead of schedule in New Brunswick - beautiful!
Day 20. We have two more days in Canada. Off we go to Saint John, primarily to catch the late afternoon brewery tour at Moosehead Breweries!! Our favorite beer for over 40 years, from the oldest brewery in North America, 1867. The convoluted beginning and ownership history, and the old-school brewing kettles were worth the tour alone. I jest; the beer tasting is why we were there!! And we weren’t disappointed. Though we only get the lager here in Florida, they have a dozen other options for sale elsewhere. www.moosehead.ca
We enjoyed our last night in Canada in the B&B Homeport Historic, from 1858! Quite the establishment, located amongst other historic dwellings. Perched atop a hill, the view toward the port is amazing! Once again, the breakfast was fantastic! And sharing a table with like-minded travelers always contributes to the good vibes. Beats the hell out of the Air “B&B” concept.
Day 21. What I had suspected to be a starter button issue turned out to be a failing factory battery in the GT+. Fortunately, we were in the largest city in New Brunswick and had several solutions to choose from. The swap out didn’t go as smoothly as I wanted, but well enough to allow us to make our way back to our friends in Maine. The last kilometers went by without a hitch along Maine Route 90 - great road! Another night of laundry and fine dining, and we were ready to face the 36° morning and loading the bike for the trip to Kim’s bro in Cheshire, CT…
And you are back to my STAR ’25 report in the October Gator Tale!!
–Van
View of the harbor at St. John's, New Brunswick from our B&B