Day 53 - Wednesday, July 24 - Ceididh Trail

Travelling today along the Ceilidh Trail we pass the sign to Mabou.  

We are on our way to Inverness to see what there is to see.  It is not far and within an hour we are there.  First stop the info centre.  Three very nice students greet me and I ask them what should I see here today.  They go on to tell me what is special about Inverness.  They are having Harness Racing tonight. Hmm, interesting.  I ask about the signs as I was curious about them.  

It seems that Cape Breton and the north eastern part of Nova Scotia's mainland are posting bilingual signs.  To keep the culture and language alive the provincial government is supporting Gaelic educational programs in communities, public schools and universities.  On any roads that pass through communities that were traditionally Gaelic the signs are in both English and Gaelic.  So awesome to keep the heritage! 

So off to the boardwalk along the ocean.  So beautiful, with the waves gently slapping at the shore.  I have to put my hands in the water and feel that salty substance.  Lovely!  

Inverness has a long beach and so sandy.  We climb back up to the boardwalk and wander some more.  Along the walk there are some pretty wild roses.

We walk further down and come across a dedication to those that came from Scotland and lost their lives.

As we round the corner we see a public beach with a lifeguard and children playing in the sand.

Oh those lazy, hazy days of summer!  Along the dock are some pretty old boats - Dan called one of them a relic!  We also saw piles of crab traps (we think they were, but no one to ask).  They were pretty huge! 

Back in the Geo and off to explore the town.  Dan's looking for coffee.  We are driving and driving and no coffee to be found, just beautiful scenery, so rural and peaceful.  We get to a place called East Lake Ainslie and there is a museum.  So why not, it is at the top of a hill and it is the MacDonald place.  Mr. MacDonald came from Scotland and was the merchant and the postmaster in the village.  He built this house for his son and the farmhouse is 150 years old.  The homestead has been in the family for 180 years. 

  

The rooms are furnished as they were and the outbuildings contain farm tools and equipment as well.  I found some of the kitchen tools interesting - especially the wooden potato masher - it could double as a weapon if necessary!  The potato masher is the cylinder looking wooden utensil near the smallest bowl.

The sink area was also interesting.  The metal basket hanging on the wall was called a soap saver - when the soap was very small you could put it in the basket and swish it around in the water for more suds!  

The house was lived in for many years and kept up with the times - as you can see by the light switch.  

Dan found the cookstove unique as it had two fire boxes.

 

Here is the bed that the married couple would have shared.  Just look at the wooden springs - does not look very comfy to me.  Maybe that is why all farmers were early risers - back hurt so bad they had to get out of bed!  

Going to museums sure shows how the people back then had to figure out the easiest ways to do things with very little to work with.  Interesting.  Would we manage as well as they did?

Well we should carry on and find our lunch spot.  As we continue to drive we discuss the solitude that is around us - no houses for miles and then one or two.  Lots of farms and lots of nothing in between.  We also note that there are a lot of farms for sale that look like they have been abandoned.  Here is one place with lots of land that needs someone to look after it.  

And a view of the land around us. 

Another place looking for people to take of it - this one just outside Mabou. 

We have finally reached the Glenora Distillery.  Time for a bite to eat and then a tour of the distillery.  It is a beautifully landscaped property with a brook running through it.  Just drink in the beauty of this, remembering it is in the middle of nowhere.  

We enjoyed our lunch outside and then had a tour of the distillery.  It seems that they have been making whisky for 24 years now.  All of their equipment was purchased from Scotland.  In fact the two stills they have were purchased from the Bowmore Distillery on the Isle of Islay!   

The water in the brook is very good for making the whisky.  3 things go into the single malt whisky and that is water, yeast and barley.  We had a taste of the 10 year old whisky and it is a bit lighter than the Scotch Whisky we tasted in Scotland.  But the cost is a bit out of my realm - $150 per bottle and up.  Well it was interesting anyway.  

So back to our camp we head.  Dan sees a road to a falls and decides to take off down to see what is there.  The road is gravel and full of potholes but then all of a sudden the road is paved!  Hmm. Wonder who lives here to get these benefits, but soon back to gravel, washouts and more potholes.  Well it seems like we will never get there so we turn around in a gravel pull out and head out.   

We get back to camp and set up outside for dinner.  Dan is doing BBQ steak, tiger shrimp, potatoes and veggies and dip.  Well he is cooking - I am prepping.  

We went to the beach tonight to see the sunset.  It was not as spectacular as last night, but it was peaceful and lovely.  A lot of kids playing in the ocean tonight.  

Time to retire.