Location: Blacksburg,
Virginia
This is embarrassing. We haven't posted anything since July! Sigh. Guess we just got too busy traveling and having fun with friends and family. So now we'll have to play catchup (again?!?!) with a few highlights and a lot of pictures. We had such a wonderful time in Canada! Here are a few of the highlights.
We visited the Fortress of Louisbourg. Primarily constructed between 1720 and 1740, Loiusbourg became one of the most extensive (and expensive) European fortifications constructed in North America. Taken by British colonists in 1745, it was returned to France in 1748, then captured again by the British in 1758. After long years of neglect, about 1/4 of it has been rebuilt as a living history museum with costumed docents and great re-enactments. We really enjoyed our visit.
We stopped at the St. Peters canal and lock (the southern entrance into the Bras D'or Lakes) which allows a protected shortcut for boats wishing to travel to and from Newfoundland. We met 2 boats, both double-enders similar to our old Rachel. The first, "Grace", was from Matlock, England 20 miles from where Julie grew up. While we were chatting with them, the second boat, complete with our dinghy Belle's little sister on the bow – couldn't have looked more like "Rachel" - pulled into the lock. They turned out to be from Wendell, Massachusetts and knew Mark's cousin Molly. Talk about serendipitous!
After dealing with some refrigerator issues, it was time to continue our trip. Cape Breton Highlands was another stunningly beautiful and magical place. It's a national park and contains the famous Cabot Trail – one of the world's premier scenic drives.
We spent 10 days there slowly working our way around the cape.
Lots of precipitous overlooks, lovely trails, wildflowers, wildlife, and spectacular views. Julie even got to see another moose, this one a bit more close than the last one a few years ago!
We ended our trip on the Cabot Trail at Baddeck, where we visited with other cruising friends. Alexander Graham Bell lived here and we visited the Bell museum. We never realised he had invented so many things!
One quick aside about Baddeck. There is a bronzed statue of Alexander and Mabel Bell sitting on a waterfront bench overlooking the harbour. Apparently in heavy rain, sometimes umbrellas appear over them. And we hear that, during periods of really high water, they have been spotted wearing life jackets!
We went sailing with our friends on the Bras D'or Lake, and went hiking and exploring for waterfalls. Great time with great friends.
Back in the spring we had made plans to meet other boating friends in New Brunswick in August, so it was time to start heading south. We wished we'd had more time to explore Nova Scotia, especially Cape Breton, but that'll just have to wait until another time.
The friends we were meeting had already done all the research and made reservations, so we just tagged along. It turned out to be a great time.
We met them at Deer Island where the "Old Sow", the world's largest tidal whirlpool lives. We got to see the huge gyre created by the currents, but since it wasn't a moon high tide, the whirlpool didn't form. But watching the flotsam swirl around and the seals and cormorants hunting in the currents kept us well entertained.
Then it was on to the ferry to Grand Manan Island for some cliff top camping at the Hole in the Wall Campground. Seriously – "cliff top". No kidding. With the RV perched on top of a 200' high cliff, we heard the whales breathing in the night and watched whales, porpoises, and other sea life pass right near the rocks below. Amazing. Unfortunately, after 30 years of operation, the cliff top sites are all being closed down at the end of this season. We're lucky we got a chance to stay there.
Saying goodbye to our friends, we made a quick return to the US, then back into Canada to visit Campabello Island, summer home to Franklin D. And Eleanor Roosevelt and their family.
We had a great time visiting the houses, attended "Tea with Eleanor", and got in some more wonderful whale watching. Apparently this has been the best summer for whale watching in many years, and we definitely made the most of it.
By
then Mark's mum was visiting family in Maine so we headed back into
the US and stopped to visit more friends and family as we passed
through on our way south.
We
finally arrived back in Blacksburg after nearly 3 months and over
6,600 miles. We're still very happy with our 'No Sails' (we've been
living "aboard" full time for almost 7 months now) and are
planning an extended trip out west this winter. Until then, we're
spending our time catching up with family and friends and doing
maintenance on the RV and at our house.
We'll
be back on the road again in November. See you then!
