Finishing the Cabot Trail: Artisans, Steeler Fans, Fiddles, and Alexander Graham Bell - August 19

Another fun day Sunday - this one ended with us watching the Steelers game in Port Hawkesbury, NS which is, of course, the perfect way to end any day.

Leaving Meat Cove

But first, we had to get out of Meat Cove alive.  This meant safely navigating the dirt road along curving mountain cliffs.  No need to mention that we did, in fact, make it back to the Cabot Trail safely.  The van only slipped once on a steep section.  The tires are pretty worn as it is and I'm thankful it hadn't rained the night before.

The easy part of the road

We were happy to return to the Cabot Trail - this time driving along the East coast of the island. It was nice to see the Atlantic Ocean - the only vast body of water we are used to - and the rougher waves on this side of the island.

Green Cove

A quick stop at the Green Cove "look off" for a refreshing break -

Another danger sign - Emma and Grace are obsessed with these

Stripes of pink granite in white granite

Steelers!

I'm not saying this was the highlight of the trip, but I did manage to run into a Steelers fan along the Cabot Trail! She was in her game-day black & gold when we stopped at the market where she worked.  Of course, I had packed a terrible towel (just never know when you'll need one!), so Jean was roped into taking the picture.

A little shopping

We had great map - which was a sort of companion to the Cabot Trail - showing local artisans along the way.  We stopped at a few until I could no longer take the sight of Jean swiping her card at the counter.  On the plus side, if you receive a Christmas gift from us this year (ha!), there is a good chance it will be from Cape Breton Island.

Great hats and hand made clothing here

On the way into Wildfire Pottery (our favorite)...

... and on the way out (yikes!)

The Wildfire Smartcar - cool flames, fun parking sign

Visit their website -  Wildfire Pottery

The Gaelic College of St. Anne's

This beautiful college (gaeliccollege.edu) is a center for Gaelic culture - language, music, history, etc.  We happened by on the day of the annual gathering of the Cape Breton Fiddlers' Association.  Lucky us!  There was traditional Cape Breton fiddle music from 2-7pm, though we could only stay for a bit. 

The campus

It was rainy so the music was held in the Great Hall

The Great Hall also serves as a museum of the clans

Here are a few clips -

Baddeck and the Alexander Graham Bell Museum

Our stop at the Alexander Graham Bell Museum (info here) was a welcome surprise.  We debated skipping the stop and pushing through to Port Hawkesbury since it was getting towards late afternoon.  We were rewarded with a great time and a great museum (beautiful setting, too).

We learned a lot about A.G.B. - primarily that for a good part of his life he was obsessed with tetrahedrons, kites, and flying machines.

Baddeck

Alexander Graham Bell Museum

It happened to be Aviation Day - free cake!

Zola's beaver friend - National Park Mascot

Decorating kites

Flying a kite... more or less

Tired out again :)

We left Baddeck and made our way to Port Hawkesbury - where we had pizza and crashed!  I'd tell you where we'll be the next few days, but we have no plans or reservations yet!  We are probably heading to Halifax soon and then there is likely to be a ferry after that.  Thanks for following along!