Friday, May 24, 2024 (Day 18)

Baddeck, Nova Scotia / 7:13 a.m. / 11 degrees to Sydney River, Nova Scotia / 4:14 p.m. / 23 degrees for a total of 486.2 of driving.

As we left Baddeck, it was overcast and spitting rain.  We had a massive thunderstorm overnight with heavy rain, thunder and lightning.  

We drove past the Alexander Bell Historic Site in Baddeck.  

We stopped for gas in Whycocomagh at an Esso.  So surprising to still see “full service” gas stations.  This is the 2nd one we have stopped at.  We have also noticed thus far within Nova Scotia and Newfoundland that none of the gas stations have the requirement to pre-pay.  Those that we have stopped at anyhow.  

The weather is clearing up and the sun is coming out. 

What we have noticed is that Nova Scotia does have a similar issue as Newfoundland…pot holes.  Especially on the secondary roads we have travelled in Cape Breton so far.  

Need to be aware of the naming conventions when selecting which town you are going to with GPS.  For example there are many formats of Margaree…Margaree, South West Margaree, Margaree Forks, Margaree Harbour, Margaree Valley, North East Margaree…you get the idea.  😃

It is lobster season in parts of Nova Scotia, interesting to see the various fishing boats setting their traps and/or retrieving their buoys with their catch for the day.   

We drove the loop for Isle Madame, we enjoy checking out some of these neat little areas.

Next we did most of the drive around Bras d’Or lake.  This is a large beautiful lake.  We have discovered Nova Scotians love to cut grass, not just their lawn but in many cases 5-10 acres.  It looks great as everything is so lush and green at this time of the year. 

While touring Bras D'or lake, we turned too early in one case and found ourselves on gravel roads.  Not our favorite route to drive but in some cases they were better than some of the paved roads.  We think we may need to reduce some of our adventures on the secondary roads for our future travels. 







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