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Some people think that Cape Breton was originally part of Scotland which broke away.  It has many of the same animals, plants and topography.  The Clans have claimed it with town, river, and pond names.  There are many annual meetings of the clans for singing, dancing, and lively Acadian music.

 

What would Cape Breton be without lighthouses? In the past, citizens of this community put a lantern on a pole to warn sailors of the cove entrance. Finally they were able to raise enough money to build a lighthouse.

 

Alan and I love going into the old Churches we find along the way.  Many are very simple and humble.  They often have the grave yards alongside them.  Sometimes the graves extend down to the sea cliffs.  Very peaceful.

With a plaque like this, we figured the inside might be interesting.

The church was literally decorated with the tartans from a least 10 clans.

Here are a few of the interesting churches we saw along the way.

The types of graveyards were often unique and we were amazed at how many churches were left open.

This crucifix seems to be a recuring feature in a majority of the grave sites we saw.

Here is our new friend Kristine. She works at the larchwood kiosk and has a Eurovan camper she loves. When she saw our van, she rushed outside excitedly! We exchanged van stories and how she loved living in Cape Breton. To make our visit more enjoyable, she told us of an authentic Acadian home-restaurant for us to explore.

We almost missed it since from the front it looked like the other houses. The owner cooks right out of her own kitchen. Her specialty is meat pies but her menu includes many items unique to this area.

Here is the menu.  She told me how she made the blood pudding and how tasty it is.  Well, we aren't very adventurous so we picked the Fricot Soup and the Chicken meat pie.  Maybe next time.......

Here is Mary Ann enjoying a very special chicken soup called Chicken Fricot. It was the best chicken soup she had ever had! It has potatoes and special seasoning called Summer savory.  It was delicious!!!

Alan enjoyed a chicken meat pie brimming with meat. The dough was like bread rather than crust.

The owner invited us to eat on the rise above her house. What a meal! What a view! What a special memory! We were the only ones there, it was magic!

This is a creative mural outside the coffee shop Kristine told us about.  It is called the Happy Frog and is in a group of shops that have an artist studio, gifts, and a patio complete with a Harpist!!! What a way to start the day.

We scored a great campsite right on the bluffs in the Cheticamp National Park.  This is a view of the sunset that evening.  We were pretty pleased until the wind kicked up during the night.  It was so strong that the van rocked and we felt like we were sleeping in a balloon!!!  Finally we pulled the top down, somewhat, and tried to sleep on the seats inside the van.  In the morning one of the campers said that this site had been shut down due to the wind 2 days earlier for campers safety.

After the wind, calmness and beauty!!

Met a family from Quebec that were taking time off from school for themselves and their two kids.  They were driving a Barth motor home from the 1970s.  They hardly knew that the wind had blown.

Another Cheticamp sunset.

Followed by a Cheticamp full moon set early the next morning.

This is another spectacular camping spot call MacLeod's.  Here we saw a group of people who leave their trailers on the grounds through out the winter.  They split up and go back home or to warmer climates for the winter.  The next summer they reunite their little village of friends.  Similar to the fishing villages of the past, we now have camping villages.

Next we move to North Sidney where we catch the ferry to Newfoundland.