PEI to Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

LDays 51-53 of trip, Wednesday-Friday, July 30-August 1st

We enjoyed a few more days at the KOA Campground in PEI. We met some wonderful people, some of whom we may be able to connect with in future travels. 

Wednesday we enjoyed a morning bike ride, followed by driving around one of the island loops. Lots of,beautiful scenery...lighthouses, churches, and coastal views. Here are a few photos of our drive:

If you love old churches like I do, you'll enjoy these shots!

This was one of three houses that a couple built out of bottles! yep, glass bottles. 30,000 bottles per house. Now THAT's recycling for you!! 

This corner of concrete sticking out of the cliff...

used to be part of the foundation of this lighthouse. 

Needless to say, they had to move it back away from the ocean.

That night we had a wonderful dinner and played lots of music with our new friends Vivian and Dennis, from Bend, Oregon. We'll be meeting them next week in Halifax for more time together.

Thursday the 31st we did more exploration of the island. Found a great music shop, Long and McQade (a national chain in Canada). Here's Darleen who works there, and Aaron, who stopped in to jam a little on the guitars:

I know some of you are certain that I can't get out of a music store without buying n instrument. But I managed to this time! I did, however, buy a few books that have great traditional songs and fiddle tunes from PEI, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and all across Canada in general. 

Also found a wonderful fabric/craft/yarn store where I spent a happy hour and added to my mobile yarn stash. As much as I'm knitting up here in the North,I have to have plenty of material to work with!

here's Michelle, the manager, helping a customer:

Another lighthouse and a great walk along the beach...

...until we hit this sign. We did a quick U-turn, because I'm highly allergic! 

Here are a few more photos from that beautiful drive:

When we returned to camp, we found that another jam was scheduled in the Harmony Room. This one had a real treat for me. I've been reading about the champion fiddlers in the Maritime Provinces. One man came in and joined us, and it was apparent from the moment that his bow touched his strings that he was a stellar musician. When the jam was over I introduced myself and asked his name. here Curt and I had been playing all night with the famous Allison Inch from New Brunswick, and we didn't even know it. I was thrilled!

After the jam we had one more late night of visiting with friends, Millie and Wayne MacDonald, from PEI. We had such a great time with them, and I know we'll keep in touch.

And then up early yesterday morning to catch the 1 1/2 hour ferry from PEI to Nova Scotia. We hurried as we packed up camp, so we could make the long drive and be sure to catch the 11 a.m. Ferry. And we arrived almost an hour early, only to find that the 11 a.m. had broken down. We would need to wait till 1:15. Ah, well, the vacation plans weren't ruined. We parked our truck and camper in the ferry line and removed our bikes. Biked out to a nearby lighthouse, then found a funky little crab shack for lunch.

We visited with lots of people, and a musical duo even set up their microphones and amps and played for the waiting group. Altogether, it was a very pleasant way to spend a few hours waiting. 

Here's the front of the ferry as it arrived in port. You can see how huge it is compared to the people!

And our first view of Nova Scotia as we approached after an hour and a half on the ocean:

And a few photos of our LONG drive to the campsite:

We're still exhausted today from yesterday, so I'll stop now and continue the narrative after we've rested a bit! Blessings to all of you!