Nova Scotia - Whiskey and Celtic Music/Halifax

August 27 - We take a tour and tasting of the Glenora whiskey distillery ($150 a bottle) - a very picturesque setting with a lovely inn and restaurant.  We learn the difference between single malt and blends, as well as whiskey, scotch, rye, and bourbon.  A stop in Judique at the Celtic Music Interpretation Centre was fun.  We do a self-guided tour learning to dance and play the fiddle (neither of us showed much ability).  There is live music as well to enjoy.

August 28-30 - We drive along the Eastern shore for a while, but it is very slow going and the road is not great.  Halifax is a nice city - very compact to visit.  We visit the Citadel, which is very much like that in Quebec City, but smaller.  There is lots of action with cannon firing and rifle firing by staff dressed in Scottish kilts. One great exhibit here is a mock-up of the trenches in World War I.  We are able to walk through the mock trenches and get a sense of WW I trench warfare.

We enjoy walking along the Halifax waterfront and seeing historic buildings.  We also visit the Hydrostone neighbourhood.  After a large explosion/fire killed many Halifax citizens in 1917, neighbourhoods were rebuilt to be fireproof with cinderblock construction. This area is now a very trendy place to live.

 Crystal Glass Blowing

We drive over to Dartmouth but accidentally take the wrong bridge.  Apparently, we are too heavy for the MacDonald bridge and need to use the Mackay bridge.   The commissionaire was not pleased with us at all!  We visit the Shannon Park area a Military Housing project where I lived around 50 years ago.  The military buildings and housing have all been torn down, but the school is still there.

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Nova Scotia: Finally on the Cabot Trail

Aug 24

Time to hit the Cabot Trail. We spend the day driving up the winding roads stopping along the way at a couple of overlooks. The views are okay, but the views along the Gaspesie drive was nicer. Our only stop of the day is a 1 1/2 hike in Cape Breton National Park (Middlehead). At the end of the trail when it was time to turn back, we were lucky enough to spot some small whales out to sea - Atlantic Pilot Whales we think. Our luck held as our last stop was to a boat dock which turned out to be where we spent the night.

Smoke from the fires in BC has affected the skies here too!!

Aug 25

Moved farther up the Cabot Trail to hike the Jack Pine Trail - a rugged hike thru a Jack Pine Forest. We then went on to hike thru two sugar maple forests, one ending at a pleasant little waterfall and the other one containing a replica of a Scottish crofters hut. This was used in Scotland to shelter a farmer and his herd from foul weather. We stopped for lunch at the world famous Chowder House in Neil's Harbour - it was definitely worth the wait. The place opened at 12:00, and when we arrived a few minutes after that, there were over 60 people in front of us.

August 26 - Day 3 on the Cabot Trail.  We hike the iconic Skyline Trail in the National Park.  What a great view from the end of the trail overlooking rugged coast, winding highway, and beach surf down the coast.  On exiting the park, we visit Inverness with its sand dunes and lovely boardwalk.

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