Fortress of Louisburg

Trip Odometer: 240 km
Price of Gas in the Maritimes: 141.8

I (Anna-Lee) really looked forward to Fortress of Louisburg becasue we had studied a lot about the French and English and Louisburg before we came. I enjoyed going into all the different houses of the people I had read about like the Governor and the Captains and the Engineer. It was neat to know it was a specific person's home, not just any old Captain. The home really belonged to a person they know lots about. Everything in the home is a model of what his real family really had in their home. Records show a complete inventory of specific items - even toys for the children!

This was a Captain's home. He had two day servants.

My favorite part was doing needlepoint bargello in a flame pattern. I also learned how to do lacing and caligraphy! 

Once this is done it would be put on a stool or bench. Anna-Lee wished she could have returned  to do more, but they closed before we could get back!

Turkey feathers were used as the quills.

The bakery baked 350 loaves of bread today and sold them all! The soldiers would get one loaf of bread as their rations and it had to last 4 days! We got to lift one of the loaves they would have gotten. It weighed 6 pounds and if you knocked on the top it was like a brick! They had to dip their bread in something in order to be able to eat it!

We also saw the soldiers do a musket drill - it was loud but not nearly as loud as the cannon!

See the cannon on top of the wall way up there. Read Monica's part as to where Dave got her!

 

This is a hole in the wall - a casemate - that acted as storage, a prison and also to hide the women and children during a siege.

Dad helped me (Monica) to be able to do some of the Fortress, but a lot of it was not wheelchair accessible. There were quite a few buildings that they decided not to ramp in order to keep them the way they were. Mom was disgusted with that decision as they chose to have modern toilets so she thought it was a bit of a cop out. However, Dad got me some places that likely a wheelchair had never been - like up on the wall with the cannons overlooking the fields.

Mom didn't want to look at times to see where Dad was taking me, but she forced herself in order to get some pictures!

 

The building in the background is where the governor's quarters was, the soldiers barracks, a chapel, and the prison!

A 40 foot drop to the left of the edge of the wall where Dave is standing. Anna-Lee does not seem to have any issue with heights on this trip! She has made Mom's heart lurch a few times!

He also helped me to be able to try both the needlework and  the lacing by moving furniture and turning the needlepoint frame!

The more lace a woman wore, the higher class she came from as it was only something someone with free time and the ability to read and do math could do. One inch of lace took one hour - once you were good at it. This lady was so nice. As we were leaving she came running out to give us a bookmark of lace in the pattern the girls had worked on to take home with them.

Dad got to play one of the games the soldiers would have played back then. Anna-Lee tried it out too.

We had a really interesting tour as well. Did you know you can tell a true gentleman by the way they stand? A true gentleman turns his one leg out so his calf can be seen. A muscular calf indicated he had spent time dancing on his toes which meant he had free time and money.

There were so many people at the fortress in costume and they had a lot fo knowledge about the people, the history, and how to manage daily life.I really liked how they talked to us about all sorts of stuff. History like this is fun!
 

We are closing the place down with this picture and it's starting to get a bit chilly. Very windy on the Atlantic Ocean and Louisburg is right n the tip of Cape Breton. Mom's comment as she took this picture was "Smile and try and pretend you're not cold!"

Cabot Trail

Trip Odometer: 300 km and 11 hours! 

 "Confidentiality in Cape Breton means only half the village knows about what is happening to you." Quote from ER Doctor in Cape Breton.

We were on the Cabot Trail a long time! So long that we came home in the dark and saw a moose! That was very exciting for me as I (Anna-Lee) had never seen one before.

I also climbed all over the place on the Cabot Trial. That is why we took so long.

One of the many observation points.

We went on a 7 km hike on the Skyline Trail. 

Anna-Lee took this photo along the Skyline Trail.

It was beautiful. Well, most of the trail was kind of boring, but we finally got to the amazing part where there was a long board walk and lots of steps.

Dave got Monica down all those steps and then we stopped on the lower platform you can see. Anna-Lee kept going down as it became more of a staircase rather than step platform.

I was the only one in the family to go down all the steps. Mom, Dad, and Monica watched me from above.

Anna-Lee thinks there were about 80 steps. It is hard to get a feel for how high up she is in a photo. Notice there are NO railings anywhere!

Mom and I also went on another trail and walked out to Green Cove which was a short board walk out to a rock island.

Climbing the rocks at Green Cove.

It was fun. So fun that when we got back I took Dad! It wasn't wheelchair accessible at all so Monica stayed in the van. There was a sign there that said be careful that the waves don't knock you off the rocks! The waves weren't that big today.

I learned about erosion today. When we stopped for lunch there was a part roped off on a cliff overlooking the ocean. There were signs that said "Danger due to erosion."

Erosion area

 
 Dad made it possible for me (Monica), to do the Skyline trail. I went in my manual chair and he pushed and pulled me up and down the board walk steps.

Here we come.

It was amazing. We were up so high looking straight down on the valleys and ocean and roads.

A little disconcerting with no railing!

Looking the other direction.

It was a lot harder doing the return trip as it was mostly uphill and everyone had already walked 3 1/2  km! but we did it. 

Back we go. The boardwalk was about 1/2 km, the rest of it was crushed gravel. There was another 4 km to the trip back tat we did not go on as it was considered "rugged."

We stopped in Pleasant Bay for lunch/dinner. I am getting to really like mussels!
 

We ate at the Rusty Anchor. Yum.

We were all pretty tired on the last part of the trip. Mom got a bit silly and started singing Down by the Bay. She got a video of us all doing our part.
 

Sun setting on the Cabot Trial with a low heavy full moon.

We ended the trip with the full moon reflecting off the ocean. It was a pretty neat trip.
 

Puffins, Seals, and Bald Eagles

Cape Breton is so beautiful it almost looks like a painting. This is on our way to our boat tour.

I (Anna-Lee), got to see lots of puffins today. We went on a boat tour out into the Atlantic Ocean! The waves were huge! I thought we were going to tip over, but the captain seemed completely unconcerned. He didn't think it was much at all and told us about one time when the waves went right over the front of the boat, over the top and down over the back of the boat!

We got out to Bird Island, and saw so many different birds and seals.

These are Razorbills. They are called "Penguins of the North". They are like Puffins but have black heads. The water was calmer on one side of Bird Island than the other.

We saw about 100 puffins and they were all in the water right at the boat! They are smaller than I thought. We were told that they stay a lot in the water because they are afraid of all the bald eagles.

Puffins! They are actually about the size of a crow but they look mall in the water.

We saw about 30 bald eagles in total! 

Bald Eagle! It was hard getting photos as the boat was going up and down and side to side! As a matter of fact it was hard just to stand upright let alone take a photo.

The puffins are so cute bobbing and flapping in the water. 

One neat thing was about the cormorants. Unlike ducks who sit on the water, cormorants are not that buoyant. Only their neck and head stick out of the water and the rest of their body sinks below the water. But, they can dive 60 feet below the water to fish!
 

Flying, swimming, perching, waiting, fishing, sunning.... birds everywhere!

We also saw lots of gray seals. The female is spotted. They don't eat puffins because they don't like feathers in their mouth.

They are so cute poking their heads out of the water, but apparently they are quite vicious and can take an arm off if you get in the way!

We also went to another ceilidh tonight. It was different than the one in P.E.I. but lots of fun. The girl was a really good fiddle player and we bought one of her CD's.
 

Our boat. It was quite the effort to get me on. There was a very narrow door so my manual chair had to be collapsed, Dad carried me down, a few steps, Mom held me, then the manual got put together with the back and cushions and I got put in. The dock is in St. Andrew's channel connecting Bras' d'Or Lake and the Atlantic Ocean.

I (Monica), sat on the small little deck out on the back of the boat at the beginning of the boat trip and  was bounced around all over the place on the Atlantic Ocean! I got wet with the splashes and thought that was pretty neat. Mom and I were laughing, but I kept sliding off the bench and Dad would have to come and reposition me! My chair wouldn't fit through the door or on the deck it was so narrow.
 

Mom's brain is still going up and down with the waves hours later!

The waves were enormous in my opinion. We were told it was because nothing is in the way to stop the wind and so the waves just accumulate. We also were in an area where there were three different currents traveling in different directions which causes eddies or whirlpools. It was quite a ride! I didn't feel perfect but I wasn't sick either! Twice when I was back in my chair inside the cabin my right side wheelchair wheels left the floor with the rocking! Yeehaw, air born!

Mom held on to the wheelchair, but if I'd tipped I would have just landed hanging on to the captains wheel!

I had trouble seeing some of the birds that were huddled in dark crevices in the rocks, but I sure saw lots of puffins all over the surface of the water. Waves would appear to swamp them, and then they'd appear again and shake out their wings.

Seals were everywhere too peeking up at us from the water or sunning themselves on the rocks.

It seemed like we must have seen 200 seals. They were all over!

There happened to be a sailboat race today, and as we were waiting for our boat tour, they passed by us.

The sailboats came from all over North America for the "Race the Cape" sailboat race.

And, I learned that Bras d'Or Lake (which Baddeck is on where we are staying), is the biggest salt waster lake in North America.

The ceilidh was great tonight. It is so relaxed with them and the audience talking back and forth to one another. I learned that ceilidh literally means "A visit,", but is interpreted to mean "kitchen party," as they occur in people kitchens, living rooms and halls like we were in (a local parish hall right across the street from where we are staying)! People from all over come and we had people from Ireland and Israel  in the audience tonight!

In Cape Breton we are told to stomp not clap to the music. It is hard not to do both! Very lively!

Baddeck is an interesting tourist place. It basically closes down on Sundays - even their gas station - which is a bit of a surprise when one is not use to that! Let's just say we need to get to a gas station before we go anywhere tomorrow!

P.E.I. to Baddeck NS

Trip Odometer: 342 km + 29 km aboard the ferry.

A very common sight on the P.E.I. farms. Irrigating the potato crops.

We chose to take the ferry out of P.E.I. today instead of Confederation Bridge. It was wheelchair accessible - they left lots of room behind our van for Monica to get off and they have an elevator up to the main deck. Monica could move around outdoors. 
When we got ready to go back down to the van we discovered the elevator broke! But they fixed it in time. Yay!

Before we got on I (Anna-Lee) counted the number of cars that came off. There were 168 including 3 big tour buses! The ferry is two stories high. We were on the upper top deck of cars.

This is the ferry we are to take arriving and unloading both decks.

 

That's our van aboard the Holiday Island Ferry! They were so helpful with Monica\s wheelchair.

 

Farewell P.E.I. A view from the ferry as we left.

It was really windy as we entered the channel into Caribou NS. Once we docked, one of the workers threw the garbage bags over the rail into the bin - but he missed and one of the bags went into the water. That was sad.

We drove a long way through trees but as soon as we got to the Causeway to Cape Breton Island the landscape changed to water and cliffs!
 

Baddeck Marine near the Inn we are staying at.

We took a nice walk after dinner down to a wheelchair accessible boardwalk along Bras d'Or Lake where we are staying for the next few days.
 

Just like John A McDonald\s statue on a bench was in Charlottetown, Alexander Graham Bell and his wife Mabel are here in Baddeck.

I (Monica) liked the ferry ride. It was a pretty fast boat and the breeze was nice. There was a person playing the guitar on board too. Anna-Lee and some others saw jellyfish in the water. I didn't but did see a couple boats including another ferry.

This would be the Confederation ferry Monica is watching.

We got to our hotel and had dinner here. There was a person playing music here too. Lots of Irish songs, and mussel songs, and seaside songs. As we ate out on the deck thunder and lightening started! We were under cover but other people had to go inside and it wasn't airconditioned. It was really hot (32 degrees). 

Sun, hot, sprinkles, rainbow and thunder all at the same time. A very nice dinner.

There was a ceilidh happening right next door and we could hear some of the fiddle music when we started our walk but we wanted to be in bed early tonight so we will go another night. They have them every night here. Our walk was fun and we beat the rain back to our inn, but just barely! It is thundering still.

Goodnght from Baddeck.

Last Day in P.E.I.

Morning time at the cottage. Breakfast, checking emails and blogging. Most mornings Anna-Lee plays outside with the kids in the cottage next door ages 2, 6, and 9. Ironically, we discovered they are from the same city in Ontario we live in!

After some confusion of what we should do the last day here with it raining and windy and us wanting an early night to pack and prepare to leave tomorrow, we decided to explore the north east shore. There was so much we hadn't seen or done yet, but another exploring drive on a gloomy day seemed a good idea.

Anna-Lee spotted this bird and nest on a telephone pole after just a few minutes on the road. Later in the day she spotted another just like it. When Linda got close to take the picture it started to "chirp" and eventually took off showing it's huge wingspan. Dave researched tonight and believes it to be an osprey.

 As we arrived near Charlottetown we realized a wrong turn somewhere had occurred. We weren't suppose to be near Charlottetown AGAIN! Actually, more than one wrong turn had occurred, but we'd corrected the others. By the time we backtracked it was getting a bit late to get out to East Point and actually return home before 11:00 p.m.!

So, we decided to attempt the wheelchair accessible beach.
But the only two beaches that are accessible are within a Provincial Park which meant - we'd have to pay.

At first we turned around and said "NO," but eventually we figured it wasn't worth the stand. So, we turned around and went back.

Anybody home? The saga begins at Brackley Beach.

Only to find out the beach didn't have the key to get the beach wheelchair. Anna-Lee and Linda stayed at the beach while Dave and Monica went to the campground to get the key.

Alone on the beach drawing in the sand. Sand dunes on the right, ocean on the left and lots of red sand in between. (The red is caused by iron in the sand or rusty sand - maybe the reason for the town's name of Rustico!). Tide is strange here. Depending on the moon, the tide can actually stay relatively constant at both high and low tides. Very unlike the Bay of Fundy.

But they didn't have the key. "Go back to the kiosk at the beach." they said. "OK." so D and M went back to the beach. |No, we don't have it, go to the campground."

It was discovered they lost the key to get into the room where they store the chair.
So, onward we went to second beach.

Another new experience. Anna-Lee thinks this is a very "nifty contraption." And it had warm water.

We went to the campground again and got the key for the second beach.  But where do we find the door the key fits? After all it's a gloomy day and no one is around to ask. 
 

Alone again! A couple people came and went but for the most part the beach was ours. This one is called Stanhope - where the first Scottish settlement on P.E.I. occurred.

As you can tell, we did find it and the day turned out OK after all.

Anna-Lee had her opportunity to push the chair too.

Dinner on the way home, an awesome playground for a few moments and homeward bound.

Centennial Playground North Rustico, P.E.I.  Never seen anything like it. At least 2 acres of play area. This section was like a fitness gym for kids. The other hit was the teeter totters.

Anna-Lee's eagles eyes spotted more osprey, a red fox and a couple blue herons on our drive back to the cottage.

Fox seem to be fairly prevalent here and interestingly the other day Dave and I (Linda) saw a silver fox. P.E.I. used to farm silver fox for their fur back around 1910 and again up until the 1970's and has a very wealthy district due to the history of the silver fox fur industry.

And no, we did not get home early.