Our next leg on our Atlantic Canada adventure was to explore the Cape Breton area of Nova Scotia. This leg had two parts to it - with and without our Massachusetts buds... Our friends from back home, Alyson & JT, had been wanting to explore the northeast area of Nova Scotia as well, and with some finagling they were able to sync their summer vacation with our itinerary so that we could do so together! And the icing on the cake of this schedule was that we were able to celebrate Alyson's birthday together this time...
EDITOR'S NOTE: For my devoted blog-ee's you'll remember that Alyson had joined us for MY birthday last year in Georgia and she was also the brains behind the big crazy surprise birthday visit in Iowa during our first year on the road (see the blog posts from May '21 titled "The Birthday SHOCKER" & "The Happy Visit" if you missed it!)
This was the first time JT had been able to join us during our adventures so he got the honor of adding the Nova Scotia sticker on the trailer! Alyson & JT also brought their dog, Juneau, with them which added a layer of fun and love to our days (as well as some limitations on trails etc... that we could visit). But, needless to say - with the well behaved goofball along, we didn't mind the restrictions! We got to experience some live Celtic music in the village of Judique, we visited the World's Largest Fiddle on the Sydney waterfront, and on Alyson's birthday we drove the infamous Cabot Trail (counterclockwise of course - because that's the way to do it for the best viewing). We started the day at a bakery we had heard about to get some yummy cinnamon rolls because, well - isn't THAT the best way to start a birthday?! Unfortunately, by the late afternoon we had some mega fog roll in so we not only had some limited scenic views but some nail biting driving by poor Karl in the thick-as-pea-soup-fog on the mountainous curves! But, we survived the nail biting afternoon and then went out for a yummy birthday dinner after the fog had passed.
The campground (Waves End RV & Campground) which we stayed at during the latter half of their visit had a few things going for it - good location, front row to sunsets, beach access to the Atlantic, and a geodome for Alyson to spend her birthday night in! While visiting, Alyson & JT had been staying in Airbnb places that were close to our campgrounds. But the fact that THIS campground had a geodome that was opening for its maiden voyage on Alyson's birthday was simply too good for them to pass up! The only "problem" with the plan was that pets were not allowed in the geodome... so we got to have a sweet sidekick in our trailer for a pajama party! The next morning we had a nice little walk on our rocky beach before our buds had to hit the road to begin their journey back to civilization and the real world. It was a good visit with good people and made us grateful not only for their place in our world, but for the fact that WE didn't have to rush back to civilization!
Karl and I had another five days at the campground after our friends departed for the states. The weather cleared up and heated up and we got in some hiking and some more sunsets (which I restrained from posting tons of pictures of here since it is SUCH a major production for me to upload pictures for this blog with limited wifi and/or cell reception). We went on some more scenic drives and met some nice people (and pups) at the campground. We also drove to a campground on The Cabot Trail that was owned by a gentleman we had met while camping in Florida. This campground was "The Hideaway Campground & Oyster Bar" which, (as you can guess), had some some vvvverrrry yummy oysters. We drove their for lunch one day since we wanted to support them but hadn't camped there simply because the location we chose was better for our time with our friends. It was definitely worth the drive!
We were pleased with our campground choice, not only for the amazing sunsets, but we were really impressed with the owner for going out of his way to help people. He hooked us up with a mechanic working out of his home to do oil changes (since finding a place that would answer the phone or have availability was futile). He helped one of our neighbors who had a mega issue with their trailer secure a mechanic who could service them in a town en route to their next destination. Oh, and he hooked us up with the freshest most delicious snow crab legs I've ever tasted! His father-in-law "knew a guy" and was able to get them fresh off the boat during a VERY time-limited snow crab season! He steamed them up for us and ooh-la-la were they sweet and yummy...we didn't even bother melting butter to have with them! Yep - good people, good food, good scenery, good times...
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