NY, NE, NB, PE, & NS Day 6
NY, NE, NB, PE, & NS
Day 06 - October 17, 2011 - Monday - Drive to Sydney, Cape Breton Island, NS, CA
The Monday morning sun comes up late in Charlottetown, but we were up at 6:15. We had breakfast in the hotel dining room and watched two young men fight with the waffle machines – hint to self: always spray the waffle iron with oil before pouring in the batter! What a mess….
We packed the car and left the hotel at 7:30 to drive to Wood Island to catch the 9:30 ferry. We traveled on Trans Canada Highway (TCH) 1 also called the Points East Coastal Highway. The temperature was 51 degrees, and it was raining and windy.
We made our first photo stop at the Birch Hill Free Church and neighboring grave yard to take a few photos of the sunrise at 7:50. Most of the fields have been cleared for winter and we could see the Georgia-like red soil.
Arriving at Wood Island at 8:30 we were the second car in line for the ferry. I took a few photos before it was time to board to cross the choppy Northumberland Strait.
Right at 9:30 the ferry from Nova Scotia docked with cars and trucks rushing to unload. The ferry holds 485 passengers, 155 cars, and 16 tractor trailer trucks.
The one way trip takes 75 minutes and the cost for us in a passenger car was $70. There are nine crossings per day and the NFL Line runs two ships until December 20th when ice prevents any ferry travel.
Caribou was our port on the Nova Scotia banks. We arrived at 11:10 and drove directly to the Visitors and Information Center (VIC) and received information and maps of Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island.
It was time for lunch so we stopped at Antigonish, home of St. Francis Xavier University. We chose McDonald’s and had their local McLobster lunch – a lobster roll made of North Atlantic lobster now in season. It was great!
We continued on TCH104 to the northern end of Nova Scotia and on to Cape Breton Island by way of the Canso Causeway, less than a mile drive over the Canso Strait.
Cape Breton was settled by Scottish immigrants and their culture is still strong on the island. The road signs are written in English and in Gaelic and there are many highland festivals throughout the summer.
It was 3:00 when we arrived in Sydney and our Quality Inn for the next two days. Our room has a view of the Sydney River and the hotel sits among the birch trees.
As is our usual routine, we selected our GarciaTrip photos and the log and then Gennie worked on her classes.
At 5:30 we left the hotel to explore the city. We found the Sydney Port with a huge Princess Cruise ship docked for the day.
Several people recommended the Governor’s Pub for dinner. It was a Scottish style restaurant with a variety of dishes. The meal was fine, but the Celtic music was very soothing and the best part of the evening.
We arrived back at the hotel at 8:30 and finished the journal and the photos for our first day in Nova Scotia.
Accommodations: Quality Inn, Sydney, Cape Breton, NS, CA
Comments
Oyster Fisherman
Lighthouse at Wood Island
NFL Ferry at Caribou, NS
Nova Scotia Welcome Sign
McDonald’s Lobster Sandwich
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