New Brunswick/Cape Breton/Halifax for a week - Page 3 - Calgarypuck Forums - The Unofficial Calgary Flames Fan Community

GreenLantern · 09-14-2016, 05:44 AM

I have to say we quite enjoyed Saint John. We got some great tips from Tim to view the city and did them in the right order, it really set the tone for the visit. It is definitely a rustic city, but they've done a great job of revitilizing large parts of their 'uptown' and Micaroons is the first actual craft beer I've had on this trip. The type of stuff I am used to from Sask, small brew but very specific and intense flavors. Parts of the city were very blue collar, but again being from Sask I don't mind that at all. The harbour was very cool and Brits eatery was the best food we've had so far. Neat city for a one night visit, glad we went.

Today we make our way to Cape Breton to drive the Cabot Trail, anyone have any recommendations for that leg of the trip?

Fuzz · 09-14-2016, 06:21 AM

Where are you staying? It's going to be a long driving day. Port Hood has a nice beach area if you want to stop and stretch the legs for a bit. It's down by the RV Park, Sunset Sands. We ate here:

http://clovehitch.ca/

It was quite good, for the area. Nice little patio too.

glenoradistillery.com

Is just off the highway. It's OK Scotch, not the best but a nice stop. We didn't do the tour.

Cheticamp is the next decent sized town. We stayed in Pleasant Bay, there are some seafood places up on the hill, but I think that was about it for eating there. We did a whale watching trip, not worth it IMO.

If you are into hiking and have time, the Skyline Trail is a really cool view. You would need a few hours though. We didn't have time to go all the way north, and it doesn't sound like you will so just stay on the highway and head back south. Ingonish beach on the east side is a nice stop as well.

GreenLantern · 09-14-2016, 07:03 AM

We are driving straight to Baddeck tonight, won't get there till late but that is ok because it puts us in perfect shape to do the Cabot Trail starting Thursday morning. I'm going to drive the whole thing in one day, I know it is tight and we won't be able to stop everywhere, but thats ok weather is supposed to be cool and windy as heck anyway. And it is either get an express version or no version at all. I am planning to do the Skyline trail, says 2.5 hours for average shape, so I think my wife and I should be able to make short work of it. The hike in we will take our time, and the hike back we will most likely run it.

Another quick stop along the east coast is Green Cove, looks pretty neat and is a short hike in. Those are the only two planned stops, I just know that I need to be at Skyline by about 3 PM to give us enough time to get further down the trail for the sunset then back to Baddeck shortly after. I'm debating between just stopping at Margaree harbour or going a little bit out of the way to Inverness beach.

Fuzz · 09-14-2016, 07:21 AM

Skyline trail...3/4 of it is in the trees and fairly flat so if you are fit you can move pretty quick. Watch out for moose, we saw one in the distance but there are lots of places I could imagine them hanging out. We did the loop but if you are short on time I'd suggest the out and back. You aren't going to miss much, other than possible animal spotting.

You could probably do it in a bit over an hour. You should have time to drive the whole Cabot trail and do those hikes. Enjoy!

TheAlpineOracle · 09-14-2016, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

We are driving straight to Baddeck tonight, won't get there till late but that is ok because it puts us in perfect shape to do the Cabot Trail starting Thursday morning. I'm going to drive the whole thing in one day, I know it is tight and we won't be able to stop everywhere, but thats ok weather is supposed to be cool and windy as heck anyway. And it is either get an express version or no version at all. I am planning to do the Skyline trail, says 2.5 hours for average shape, so I think my wife and I should be able to make short work of it. The hike in we will take our time, and the hike back we will most likely run it.

Another quick stop along the east coast is Green Cove, looks pretty neat and is a short hike in. Those are the only two planned stops, I just know that I need to be at Skyline by about 3 PM to give us enough time to get further down the trail for the sunset then back to Baddeck shortly after. I'm debating between just stopping at Margaree harbour or going a little bit out of the way to Inverness beach.

Be careful driving at night in the Maritimes, especially around marshes or other places with water in the vicinity. There are moose everywhere and they tend to come out a lot more at night. Moose collisions are pretty frequent there. I actually like to avoid driving once it gets dark there.

On the odd chance you see one on the road, make sure to drive behind it and not in front of it. They'll ram car for no reason, and I think it's peak maiting season there. Such a unintelligent animal.

GreenLantern · 09-14-2016, 10:45 AM

Ya I've actually been in a truck that hit a moose before, we were going pretty slow though so it got up and ran away, but there was no warning. It isn't like deer where at least you can see the eyes at night. We have a lot of moose crossings in sask so I'm pretty used to it but I'll definitely exercise caution. Unfortunately night driving couldn't be avoided to be able to fit in the Cabot trail. Thanks for the heads up. A moose in rut is a very dangerous thing I'm hoping to not see any on the skyline trail. They are pretty common in the area I grew up in, literally the area of the city, walking down the alleys and feeding in the parks. Nice to look at but as you said easily upset with a lot of weight to throw around, and actually deceptively quick for a big animal. The way they can move through the bush so fast as well is pretty crazy.

Doing field work around kananaskis I've seen prints that go down over four feet into the snow and the moose never left a stomache print. My cabby in Moncton was talking about a dad and son that just hit one around there recently to, both died. Hopefully we have good luck.

TheAlpineOracle · 09-20-2016, 04:10 PM

Did you end up getting lit up in Halifax?

GreenLantern · 09-21-2016, 01:40 PM

Yes Halifax was a lot of fun, although 2 days was enough time there. The pubs were great, but being with my wife we mostly stayed to some of the quieter spots like Obladee and Stillwells. I think I had about 20 different IPA's though through out the week combined with various other beer. I only got to hit about a third of the breweries/brew pubs I wanted to as well, just not enough time. I did enjoy the historic side of things as well, we went to the museum and read up about the Halifax explosion, pretty powerful stuff. I learned that they still give a Christmas tree to Boston every year as a thanks for their support and supplies.

Best part of the trip though was Cabot Trail/Cape Breton by a large margin. If we do this trip again I will be allotting much more time to that island. Thanks again to everyone who helped with suggestions and those who withstood my barage of personal messages.

Fuzz · 09-21-2016, 01:43 PM

Did you get out on the Skyline Trail? Was it windy as all ####?

GreenLantern · 09-21-2016, 01:52 PM

Yes and yes, that day it was actually gusting pretty bad I think up to 60km/hr. But it was a straight north wind, so it wasn't that bad on the boardwalk, the area around Ingonish though was windy. There were also people coming and going and just walking where they wanted including right past a sign that says DON'T LEAVE THE BOARDWALK and down the peninsula further. I just don't understand people. The goats path they have worn into that part of the view is ugly and clearly visible in every picture, this is why they ask you to just stay on the boardwalk. I felt like throwing them in the ocean but figured I would get in trouble.

Fuzz · 09-21-2016, 02:40 PM

People are the worst.

Maritime Q-Scout · 09-21-2016, 05:02 PM

Glad you loved our little piece of Heaven out here.

I also don't understand people that leave the boardwalk and go where the signs say they shouldn't. Every summer there are several people that are swept into the Atlantic Ocean at Peggy's Cove. Doesn't matter that there are signs and warnings that it happens, people still think "well I can beat the ocean!"