Well folks, Kim has now made her way to Halifax after 4 days on Cape Breton Island. She said Cape Breton is a very special place and loved every minute of it. Kim spent two nights in the Acadian village of Chéticamp and the next two nights in the town of Baddeck. She had to make a few adjustments to what she did during the day, based on the weather, but she certainly kept busy.
She had a long travel day getting to Cape Breton Island from PEI, which included taking a ferry. When she arrived on the island, she stopped at the visitor Centre for some suggestions on what to do on the way to Chéticamp….and off she went!
First stop, the Celtic Interpretive Center for lunch and Celtic music entertainment. This was Kim’s first “live” Celtic music and it was awesome. Two musicians…one playing fiddle, the other piano, which is the classic, Cape Breton tradition. Kim spent a couple of hours here,
Next…off to Inverness beach.
The guide and the internet told her this is where she can find a lot of sea glass…..but I think she just found a bunch of rocks.😜 well, maybe a couple of pieces of seaglass. A storm was coming in while she was on the beach…photo opportunity!
The weather looked promising the next day, so Kim decided it was a good time to drive the Cabot Trail and do the Skyline Trail hike. Between the length of the trip, road construction, the filming of a Nissan commercial and numerous photo stops, this was a full 7 hour day…..and she still went on a guided sunset hiking tour in the skyline trail.
Here are just a few photos along the Cabot trail
The Skyline Trail is in Cape Breton highlands National Park and the hike started at 4:30. The weather wasn’t cooperating to see the sunset…that’s okay…the skyline was still beautiful and the guided tour provided a good overview of the park and their conservation efforts. It was very cold though and part of the hike back was in pitch dark. Kim said it was a little scary and a bit “Blair witch” project.
Well…the next day promised rain….so this was a shopping day! There are many talented artisans on the island and Kim supported their efforts :). She also found an amazing bakery in Chéticamp ….the smell of fresh baked bread …mmmmmm…..the pastries, croissants and cinnamon buns…..she needs to take me with her!
Onwards to Baddeck….a bit further south. She stayed at a wonderful guest house called the worn doorsteps. The owners were so nice, and gave her some good recommendations..they also gave her big hugs when she left…isn’t that nice!
So….the next day the weather was pretty good…and after some debate, Kim made the decision to make the 2 hour drive to Neil’s Harbour to do a hike called White Point. She overheard someone talking about it and it had great reviews online. It didn’t disappoint. The entire walk was on the top of the cliff with vistas of the coastline. If you go here, do this!
After the hike, she stopped in at a restaurant called chowders in the small village of Neil’s harbour and had a lobster blt…..
That night Kim went to a kitchen party! This was one of her favorite experiences in the Maritimes so far! Also know as a ceilidh (social gathering), in Cape Breton there are 2 musicians…fiddler and piano player, and people get up to dance. This ceilidh takes place every night in a small hall in Baddeck. They stop between sets to take questions from the audience, and we all learned more about the history and culture. Kim loved this!
The next morning before she headed to Halifax, she went to the Alexander Graham Bell museum. Now, Kim isn’t always excited about museums, but this one gets enthusiastic paws up! We all know that he invented the phone…..but he also invented many other things, or improved on other inventions.
Kim also signed up for a white gloves tour. It turned out to be a private tour, because she was the only one! Donna, her guide really brought to life the history of Alexander graham Bell. Kim was able to see and handle the artifacts.
Kim said one of the coolest things was seeing the “records” that Bell recorded for playing on the old phonographs . He recorded them in grooves in wax. Unfortunately they were so cracked and damaged, they couldn’t be played…..until 2012 when a university figured out a way to digitize it. Kim heard the recording Bell made in the 1800s….surreal! If you go here, make sure to sign up for this tour!
The trip wouldn’t be complete without lunch and a lobster sandwich on rye…..she told me she is still enjoying all that seafood. Lol! I get it….fish and seafood are my favorite thing too.
Later folks! Teddy
My Teddy Tales aka Freddy’s Fables 