After the cow thoughts in Montmagny, QC, we headed east along the south shore of the St. Lawrence River into the area called Bas-Saint-Laurent, which is where Chantal’s from. A quick visit with her brother in Lapocatiére, then to Riviere-du-Loup and south to Dégelis, home town of her mother, where we camped the night.

Next day we crossed into New Brunswick with only 1 night stay there before we entered Nova Scotia. My father and his whole family are from Sydney, Cape Breton and the last time I was here I was only 13. A long time ago (I won’t say the year). He and his siblings are all gone now so I had a special feeling for him on this trip. Actually, I was thinking of them all, especially Uncle Frank, Aunt Charlotte and of course, Uncle Mange. More on this later… much, much more.

We spent a few nights camping in the Northumberland shoreline, which is the region across from PEI. Then the Canso Causeway into Cape Breton, as shivers ran up and down my spine. Or was it just the old chevy V8 vibrations. And then we entered the Cabot Trail. Travelling the trail in a clockwise direction we spent the first night in a wide open campground, called Waves End, which sloped down towards the ocean until a cliff drop to the beach. So nice here we spent 2 nights.

Next day we headed across, through the forests and mountains of the Cape Breton Highlands, which is a National Park. Funny, we just recently moved to Collingwood to be closer to Ontario ski country, but the smallest of the Cape Breton hills would put Blue Mountain to shame. Coasting down these mountain road switch-backs in 2nd gear engine braking made me think about skiing a lot. Of course I rarely have the brakes on when I’m on skiis.

We finished up the Trail and made it to North Sydney, where the next episode will continue.

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The Thinking Minds Museum, Pugwash, NS (nuclear weapons disarmament)

The Thinking Minds Museum, Pugwash, NS (nuclear weapons disarmament)

Seafoam campsite

Seafoam campsite

on the way to Cape Breton

construction hold-up in the rain

Waves End campground (west Cabot Trail)

Cheticamp, NS – an Acadian community

Waves End campground (west Cabot Trail)

Waves End campground (west Cabot Trail)

Waves End campground (west Cabot Trail)

Waves End campground (west Cabot Trail)

Cape Breton Highlands

East Cabot Trail

East Cabot Trail

East Cabot Trail

East Cabot Trail

Broad Cove Campsite – east Cabot Trail

Broad Cove Campsite – east Cabot Trail

Broad Cove Campsite – east Cabot Trail

Broad Cove Campsite – east Cabot Trail

$50 lobster rolls lunch at North Sydney Subway (incl. tax)