Lighthouses, Fort Louisbourg and the Cabot Trail

Time to catch up!  On our way to the ferry to go from PEI to Nova Scotia, we took a side trip to Point Prim.  It is the oldest lighthouse on Prince Edward Island.  When we got to the ferry, we were early, so we took a drive to see the lighthouse near the ferry.

Point Prim

 Ferry Lighthouse

Another really interesting thing we saw driving to the ferry was fishermen in one of the bays, searching for shellfish.  We're not sure if it was oysters, clams, or mussels, but it looked like hard work.

On our first full day in Nova Scotia we decided to visit Fort Louisbourg.  It is a National Historic site and it was a really interesting visit. The fort is actually a reproduction, but it is so authentic you'd never know it. It was originally built by the French, but was taken by the English, then eventually turned back over to the French.  There are craftsmen, soldiers and townspeople dressed in period costumes who tell you their stories and demonstrate their crafts - kind of like Williamsburg.

Close to Louisbourg is another lighthouse.  This one was a reproduction of the oldest lighthouse in Canada.  We could have spent days just visiting lighthouses. There are lots of them!

After our Louisbourg day, we spent the night in Ingonish. I'm not sure, but I think this is where we camped in 1973. I was excited to swim in the ocean for the very first time!

This time I only got my feet wet.

The Cabot Trail is one of the most beautiful drives in North America.  It winds around the coastline through much of Cape Breton Highlands National Park. We read that there were 24 scenic pull offs on the drive. We kept track and we stopped 26 times to look and take pictures! Needless to say we spent hours on this drive.

We took a short hike at one of the stops and visited a reproduction of a Scottish crofter's cottage.  Jim liked it and decided it should be our next residence.

Notice the road stretching out ahead of us.

One of the prettiest stops on the drive.

We spent so much time on the drive around the Cabot Trail that when we got to the Glenora Distillery, where they make single malt whiskey, we were too late for a tour, but we had a really great dinner there.  We also thought we were too late to visit the Celtic Music Center, but they were having a Ceildh (a gathering). so were open later. We stayed and enjoyed some wonderful fiddle and bagpipe music. It was a long, really great day!