Blogs from Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Canada, North America - page 7

Nun ja, fast. Aber ohne Frage ist es soweit: Der HERBST ist da. Schon vor einiger Zeit haben sich hier einzelne exzentrisch veranlagte Ahoerner leuchtendrot verfaerbt und ihre gruenen Verwandten ein wenig blass aussehen lassen. Heute morgen dann bin ich zum Sonnenaufgang wachgeworden- vielleicht weil die Sonne in mein Zimmer schien, vielleicht weil meine aus dem (unter weiteren Decken verborgenen) Schlafsack schauende Nase zu kalt war, sicherlich nicht von dem fruehstestens vormittags kraehenden Hahn. Auf jeden Fall schaute ich hinaus- und die Weide vor meinem Fenster glitzerte weiss und rauhreifig! Aeusserst huebsch anzuschauen, wenn es nur in meinem an sich wunderschoenen, lichtdurchfluteten, jedoch nicht isoliertem Raum etwa genauso kalt gewesen waere wie vor den Fenstern. Ausserdem ist es gerade mal Mitte September, und am Mittag davor habe ich noch barfuessig in der Sonne gesess... read more

July 26 - August 20, 2006 Saranac Lake, N.Y. - Louisbourg, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia 16,409 miles to date 2,853 miles this leg Today, August 20, we crested the eastern-most point of our round-the-continent road trip: Louisbourg on the magical tip of Cape Breton in Nova Scotia—what we consider a little piece of Ireland that has washed up on North American shores. The official longitude: 59 degrees, 58 minutes west of Greenwich. That’s 62 degrees of longitude (or more than one-sixth the circumference of the globe at that latitude!) traveled from Port Townsend, which lies at 122 degrees, 45 minutes west. We’ve turned the corner. From now on, every mile traveled is a westward one. We can hardly believe it. Cape Bretons justifiably consider their homeland to be the center of the universe, so when locals ... read more

Odometer: 36741km The Cabot Trail displayed everything promised. Vista after vista caused me to quietly exclaim inside my helmet. Seemingly organized rocky shores interspersed with narrow, sandy beaches met my expectations of what this coastline would be like. Inland there were lush trees giving way to scrub spuce and other hearty bushes reaching down to the shore. The road was a bit of an engineering wonder. Sometimes cutting through rocky outcroppings, sometimes twisting and climbing on the edge of a steep hill, and sometimes winding haphazardly along the coastline, it always offerred motorcycle riding fun. The tough part was handling the rough road. Although there were some new parts that had been recently paved, many of the older, twisty stretches had surpise potholes and bumps, all of which forced me to ride without taking the liberty ... read more

July19, 20, 2006. It was to be a 14 hour ferry ride that turned into 18 hours, one long day. We are back to N. Sydney, Nova Scotia. The mail, in the Maritimes and Atlantic Canada, has not been great, last year in Alberta and British Columbia it was more efficient. Oh well, we don’t need anything and it all can wait. July 21, 2006. N. Sydney to Louisbourg, Nova Scotia. The fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site of Canada, was once a busy fortified seaport. From its founding by the French in1713 to its abandonment by the British in 1768, Louisbourg was a place of significance in the Franco-British struggle fore empire. The history goes like this, the French founded Louisbourg, (no mention of the natives that lived here forever),in 1713 and established a ... read more

Ingonish Beach is our first stop, not a long beach but lots of pretty pink round stones. We decided to have brunch at the Keltic Lodge, and it was grand. As we drove around the Cabot Trail, we are now on the Atlantic side of Cape Breton and the views are incredibly beautiful. The Gaelic/Keltic School, in St. Ann’s, was our next stop. During the summer months, kids come and learn Gaelic, step dancing, bag pipes and more of the history and tradition of the Scottish folks. It is quite an elaborate place. Sydney Information Center, helped us figure out the ferry schedule and gave us the name of a campground, with directions for the grocery store, etc. A huge fiddle, the symbol of the Scotts love of music and dance, is on display in ... read more