Cape Breton Island - Inverness Beach - 8/16 & 8/17

We haven't had much phone or internet access lately, which is a mixed blessing.  We typed this post (off-line) at our Inverness Beach Cottage.

Thursday 8/16 we departed the Stuart House Bed & Breakfast in Lorneville, N.S. (outside of Amherst).  We figure it is going to be hard to top the two days we spent there. But we got on the road early for one of our longer drives.  We were probably 10 minutes from a village called Pugwash, but a visit there would have added at least an hour to our day.  Pugwash is one of the areas where Gaelic is the primary language.  We should find a lot of that on Cape Breton Island, too.

After a few hours of driving, we stopped for gas and ice.  There happened to be a Tim Hortons/Dairy Queen there, too!  I think Tim Hortons owns DQ and Wendy's in Canada - not sure about that.  Anyway, this DQ had poutine - which is what I had.

DQ Poutine

It was back to the highway for a few more hours.  This wasn't the most scenic drive - mostly forest and farms - so there was a lot of this going on...

Z sleeping away the ride

Things got a little more exciting as we approached Cape Breton Island - lots of water and nice views.  Then we crossed the causeway and arrived!

Crossing the causeway

We made a stop right on the island at the welcome center.  The welcome centers througout our trip have been awesome.  They provide tons of information, but they also will make calls for reservations or whatever else you need.  This one provided babysitting if you wanted to spend time looking at all the information and make reservation.

Before we get to the Cabot Trail on CBI, we head out along the Ceilidh Trail.  This is a coastal route that goes through tiny coastal villages where Gaelic is the main influencing culture.  It really feels like a mix of the Scottish Highlands and Ireland.  Lots of folkmusic and dances, etc.

We drove into Inverness where we are staying 2 days at a beach cottage.  The "beach cottage village" is about a mile outside of town.  There is also an area for RV campers here.  We are staying in a cluster of 15 cottages on a small cliff overlooking a sandy beach.  It's pretty great.  The airy cottages have a small kitchen and bathroom, a nice big deck and easily sleep 5.

Beach Cottages

A short walk through the dunes and down a short slope and we are at a beach!  The beach is on the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It is sandy, but also has many smooth pebbles and rocks.  Another interesting feature is a stream comes down out of the hills and passes through the beach into the ocean.  The girls love swimming in the stream and letting it float them out to the gulf!  We had two beautiful days at the beach.  Thursday night a storm moved in late and there was a lot of wind and rain.  By 9:30 am the sun was out and drying everything out.  I took a short drive into the town of Iverness to check out the town and small boat harbor. Here are a variety of pictures from these two days -

Walking to the beach

Finding sea glass

Em and Grace swimming in the strait

Early tomorrow (8/18) we are beginning our drive of The Cabot Trail.  We will be ending the day at the remote area call Meat Cove.  Here's hoping we don't run out of gas!