Day 4 - 241 -- Road Adventures

Travels down 'new to me' roads filled the day. A friend and I headed to Cape Breton to drive the back way to Louisbourg -- we went out the Fleur-de-lis Trail (on the south and west coast and cross country) and came back along the Bras D'or Trail (runs along the west side of the lake). The scenery was lovely both ways. We stopped at the Fortress of Louisbourg, which has been restored to the mid-18th century French fort during the war with the British for what is now Canada. After two major sieges in the mid-1700s, the French withdrew. It was used as a place for the British to gather troops and supplies for the Siege of Quebec, which culminated in the Battle of the Plains of Abraham -- where the nation began. It seemed a fitting visit for the 150th year since confederation. We ate lunch at one of the period restaurants in the fortress. I had split pea soup with bread made in the local fortress bakery. We ate from pewter dishes with only a large serving spoon and a huge napkin to tie around your neck. With the bend in the lip of my spoon that was less helpful since the spoon dripped badly there <smile>. They bottle their own rum -- Fortress Rum -- which we sampled in a rum cake -- very yummy. About 1/4 of the original walled city has been rebuilt and the rest will remain as it is. There have been many archaeological digs in the area. Much of the original stone was used to re-build. The place does take one back in time -- all site staff are dressed as armed forces or towns people. It is a true treasure.

On the way home we drove the Bras D'or lakeshore route. We stopped in Big Pond to visit Rita's Tearoom -- had tea and a take on the English cream tea scone. Tasty. Rita was a prolific singer/songwriter from the small hamlet. The tearoom is a former one room school house that she had rebuilt for her home and then made the Tearoom. The place houses all her musical history -- gold and platinum albums along with many great photos. We arrived late -- 20 minutes before closing, but they did let us pause for tea and a snack. The drive along the lake was lovely in the evening sunlight. The sky was an amazing blue and the lake was smooth and calm. We tried to capture the beauty of the expansive vistas. Even panorama mode wouldn't take in all we could see, but it did capture some great memories.

I settled on two songs to share today. The first was for the lovely views along a river on our way to the Fortress. It was written by a local songwriter, Alistair MacGillivray. The version here is sung by a Canadian singer with an Irish group. The video has a couple of views of the river. The second song is one that ran through my mind today as we toured more of Nova Scotia. It is sung by Rita. The video for this one shows sites from around the province with a quick one of the stone buildings of the Fortress just before the 3 minute mark. Enjoy!

Song for the Mira -- Anne Murray with Celtic Woman

She's Called Nova Scotia -- Rita MacNeil