Aug 4 - 6 Annapolis Royal, Digby, Nova Scotia

Weather  10 degrees cooler at our campsite which was right on the Bay of Fundy - 85 down to 75, cool at night and foggy in the a.m.

Our campground Ocean Cove at Parker's Cove had the nicest view right on the edge of the water.  The sites were tiered so each row had an unobstructed view.  Only negative was the price was so much more than we have ever paid anywhere in the last year, $74 a night.... but what a view.  We sat a couple of days just in our lawn chairs and watched the tide go in and out and enjoyed the sunset.

There was a wharf right next to us and the tide would actually drop about 25 feet and put the boats right on bottom and then in 6 hours the water would be back up, simply amazing to watch.

Low tide

Low tide

High tide

We took a ride down to Digby which has the largest scallop fleet anywhere,  nice little fishing town and we did try the local seafood which has been great everywhere on the east coast.

Scallop boats along the far pier, lots of sailboats in the centre docks.

July 30 - Aug 3 Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

Weather Warm about 80 and cool at night 65, two rain days
Trying to find Big Rig friendly campgrounds in the Lunenburg area is a hard one, but we did find a spot called Little Lake Campground that fixed us up with a couple of spots; the owners were the sweetest people you have ever met.
Your surrounded by water out here and we had a storm move in from Boston that stayed in the area for a couple of days.  We did some reading and baking and R&R.   The first day out we were in Lunenburg when we spotted this license plate.  Isn't it the best!
No Boss, No Mortgage, No Worries, No Paycheck.  "Retired".  We laughed about it for the rest of the day.

There is a beautiful coastline scenic road from Lunenburg to Peggy's Cove.  It weaves in and out of the small little fishing harbours and stays right on the waters edge most of the way.  Everything is rolling and green and then a couple of miles before you get to Peggy's Cove the terrain changes drastically to large rock formations and boulders all of granite.  The Cove is still a very sparse old fishing town with a bit of touristy stuff thrown in, but not too much. 

Just a few miles down the coastline is the memorial for the Swissair flight that went down out in the water and 229 people lost their lives - no survivors.  It had every name engraved on two stone markers that pointed out to the trajectory of where the plane went down.  From the rocky outcrop where I am standing you can see Peggy's Cove in the distance.

One thing that amazes us is how "fat" the seagulls are!!!!   Look at this guy.

July 26 -29 Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Island

Weather: We waited out another rain day and then had two nice days, the day we did the Cabot Trail was beautiful 80 and sunny.

In Cheticamp we saw many fishing boats and whale watching boats, I just happened to spot one with A.J.'s name.... and I just had to snap a picture.

Sir A.J.

The Cabot Trail is considered to be one of the most scenic drives in Canada, it travels around the edges of Cape Breton Island and is about 186 miles/310 kilometers.  Views are breathtaking, roads are challenging and you will want to take the whole day to see it.  We left from Baddeck at 9 am and returned about 6 pm at night.   We stopped so many times that we lost count but you simply have to see it all !

July 24, 25 Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Weather  One rain day then next day 75, still cool at night 60's
The good thing is we planned an extra day or so every location we moved to and that allowed us a rain day here and there.  With the motorcycle you don't have as much fun out in the wet so we usually lay low and wait out the weather, so far it has worked out good.
Baddeck is a beautiful little town on Bras d'Or Lake, famous for Alexander Graham Bell who had his summer home here. 

The harbour was filled with sailboats and was picture perfect.

There are several scenic drives here and one is called the Ceilidh Trail.   If you follow Celtic music you might know the Rankin Family who are from a tiny village along this roadway.  We stopped for coffee that their restaurant The Red Shoe Inn.

Just a few kilometers down the road is the only Canadian Single Malt Whiskey Distillery ~ Glenora.  

We had a delicious lunch with Whiskey sauce ribs and tried a shot of their scotch.  Here is a picture after the drink, ha ha.

July 23 Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia

Weather  70's, cool at night
The topography changes when you enter Cape Breton Island, the Welcome Centre tells us that it is similar to the Highlands in Scotland; we will have to get over to see our in-laws and then we would know if it is true.

The land has rocky shorelines, rolling farmland, with valleys and many lakes, rivers and streams.  Lots of green and trees and apparently moose are seen often; but we didn't see any!

A good part of the island has all its road signs in two languages; Gaelic and English now that is a different bilingualism than we are used to!   There is also a Gaelic College the only one in North America.   They teach the Gaelic language, kilt making, weaving, step dancing, music, bag piping and so forth.  It's kind of cool that they are maintaining their heritage from when the land was settled by the Scottish in the late 1700's.

We were constantly thinking of our son-in-law Kevin and his Mom and Dad knowing they feel right at home here. 
Rug hooking is also a popular old craft here, some of the rugs go for thousands of dollars.  One small rug of 2' x 3' from an artisan could take them 2 or 3 months to complete.   Instead I bought a little kit to make a hot pad :)

 The other thing out in the East Coast is that you seldom see regular grocery store chains except in the big cities.  You have to watch for markets or Co-ops.  Most little towns still have bakeries too which smell so wonderful when you drive past you just have to stop.

Can't say we have noticed many butcher shops but there fish markets in every village and cove and harbour.  We went into one the other day when they were closing and the fellow had 2 whole lobsters that he cooked and did not sell so he made us a deal to  for $20, the two weighed in at close to 3 lbs total.   Boy were they good!!!   One went on the BBQ that night to warm up and dip in butter and the other one made a Lobster sandwich the next day - to bad Billy doesn't like lobster:)

This week our home campground will be near Baddeck at the Cabot Trail Campground.
The entrance was on a gravel road and through a bush but once inside it was a nice quiet spot to stay.