Note:
This is a repost of the FULL POST broken out by attractions and provinces. If you’re looking for a quick and dirty summary guide with cost breakdowns, click HERE to get in and out with the golden nuggets.
Day 8
Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy. If the minimal planning I did thus far seemed smooth sailing, this is where the flaws of lack of planning showed and bit us in the behind. If I could re-plan this portion of the trip, the itinerary for the next 3 days would look very different. Alas, this is where the adventure led us.
Stop 15: Cape Clear, Cape Breton Highlands National Park
Drive Time: ~1.5 hours from Baddeck. Here is what you need to know about Cape Clear: It’s absolutely gorgeous. Simply breathtaking. You must visit!*
Friendly Warning*:
Here is what you need to beware about Cape Clear: Bring physical maps and pre-load your Google/digital maps. There are no cell services and be prepared for a bumpy ride. If you are in a sedan, skip this and pay for a tour.
We got new tires for Bobby in preparation for the road trip, yet, my butt was clenched, and my shoulders were still tense for the entire ride leading up to Cape Clear. I wish I could say the same about Ben, but I think he was having fun. I, on the other hand, have well-established I’m a worrier, and that’s precisely what I did.
The road condition is, I don’t know, off-roading conditions? At one point, we were purely driving on rocks. My suburban girlie lifestyle where I only drove to the grocery stores did not prepare me for this, and I wasn’t even the one driving. I was convinced a tire would pop or something at the bottom of the car would peel off on the rocks, and we’d be stranded with no way to call for help. It’s an understatement to say I was both scared and worried shitless.
We met some cute free-ranging cows, though, so that was nice. I kept the window closed in case the cows were in a feisty mood. We also saw half-bloated dead deer carcasses, that was less nice.
After a dozen times of me wanting to call off the ride and ask Ben to drive back, we finally stumbled our way to Cape Clear.
“Dammnnnn” was all I could manage before forgetting about the hardship of getting there and becoming mesmerized by the view. I can’t describe the sereness that washed over us when we stood at the lookout point. Here are some pictures, but they do not do Cape Clear justice.
On our way back from Cape Clear, we wanted to go to another lookout point, but the reality very much differed. We gave up after becoming very lost without physical maps or GPS signals. We drove up and down the rocky road for about 1.5 hours searching for the lookout point and another 1.5 hours before finding our way back to a spot with signal. Once we got back on the main road, I never thought I’d be so happy to feel the smoothness of paved concrete.
Stop 16: Glenora Inn & Distillery
Drive Time: ~1.5 hours. How does one calm one’s nerves after going for an unprepared off-roading trip?
Why, whisky tasting, of course! Well, Whisky tasting for Ben, food binging for me; we all have our vices.
By no means at all a must-see spot unless you are in the area already. I planned these brewery and distillery visits in exchange for skatepark visits. Some attractions for Ben, and some attractions for me; some call it a compromise, I call it a win-win!
Stop 17: Skyline Trail (Failed Attempt) + Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Highlands National Park
Unsatisfied with how things ended at Cape Breton in the morning, we decided to try again after dinner. This time, we downloaded the entire map of Nova Scotia, and we were prepared to go to the Skyline trail to watch the sunset. The only problem? It was 6 P.M., we were 1.5 hours away, and the trail takes 2-3 hours to complete. To add salt to the injury, we drove past the visitor center without knowing we needed a park visit pass, and there was no chance of returning to the visitor center and finishing the trail before dark.
For peace of mind, we decided to try again the next day.
Friendly Tip:
For any trails within Cape Breton National Park, a park pass is required. You can purchase it either online or at the visitor center. Yeah, I’m sure this is a no-brainer, but I didn’t know due to my lack of planning. Don’t be like us!
Thankfully, the path we took this time was the main entrance of Cape Breton (Cabot Trail). Not only were there smoothly paved roads across the winding mountains but there were also lookout points along the drive where we could stop to admire the sunset. I think humans are innately wired to appreciate an orange-setting sun. There is a burning desire that we cannot look away.
In the presence of such a beautiful scene, Ben and I embraced each other in a half hug, surrounded by mountains on the left and the sea on the right. We rested our heads together and enjoyed the quiet moment. I was grateful that despite things going off track, we still managed to find joyful moments throughout the chaos simply because we had each other.
We attempted to get going before dark, only to stop not too far from a beach near the exit of Cape Breton.
We listened to the waves wash up the shore and retreat through the pebbles. More quiet moments of the sunset were enjoyed, until Ben started walking along the shoreline, seemingly searching for something.
With hands on his hip, he looked back and asked, “You think my glasses will wash up here?”
I drove us back to the Airbnb on winding mountain roads that day after dark.
Day 9
Friendly Tip:
Cape Breton’s weather forecast is extremely unreliable, so take it with a grain of salt when planning activities. We tried to accommodate the weather forecast 24 hours ahead since it appeared it would rain every day. In reality, it was only rainy for one night. We wasted a lot of time driving back and forth between attractions trying to time the weather. The silver lining is that the view is always spectacular!
Stop 18: Fortress of Louisbourg, Nova Scotia
Drive Time: 1.5 hours from Baddeck. For the first half of the day, we went to the Fortress of Louisbourg, a National Historic Site with partial reconstruction of an 18th-century French fortress.
Friendly Tip:
Make sure to go to the visitor center instead of following Google Maps. They have shuttle buses running that will take you to the historical site. If you follow Google Maps, you will find yourself lost without a signal! The fortress is open until 5 in the afternoon, and you can easily spend the whole day there if you want to look through everything.
We tried some authentic 18th-century cuisine. The rabbit stew was sooo delicious.
Stop 19: Skyline Trail (Failed Attempt), Cape Breton Highlands National Park
When we began the drive back to Cape Breton, wanting to catch the sunset, everything proved against our odds of making it. Nevertheless, we still drove the 3 hours, praying the GPS overestimated the drive and hoping we’d get lucky.
Well, you can tell what happened by the title. This ain’t no movie where the main characters make it against all odds. Nope, just two struggling millennials who failed at planning. We did have a beautiful sunset the day before, so it wasn’t all a lost cause.
We got to the visitor center right before they closed at 8 p.m. to purchase a park visit pass. The admission clerk was surprised at how late we showed up for a hike and exchanged glances with the park ranger as we laughed and shrugged, saying we’d give it a shot anyway.
In the end, the park ranger recommended a closer and shorter trail near the park entrance because there was no way we’d make it to the Skyline Trail in time.
Feeling bummed, we walked towards Bobby, and I felt the clerk’s gaze on us and their silent exchange of glances as we left. They probably judged us to be some dumb city kids, and they were 100% right.
Storytime
By the time we got to the trail entrance, it was pretty clear we had no chance of sighting a setting sun. The whole sky was covered with a dark sheet of gray with low rumbles in the distance. Nonetheless, we took an umbrella as a precaution and stepped into the woods. There was a heaviness in the air, but not because of the oncoming rain.
“Don’t you feel like we could have planned this better? Why did we drive 3 hours to come here when we know we won’t be able to see anything,” I said begrudgingly, feeling nauseated from the amount of driving we did for the past two days leading up to now. We drove 8 hours a day when we were supposed to be sightseeing, that was a lot of valuable travel time we wasted.
“Who should have planned better? Who are you referring to?” Ben replied defensively.
For the first time since the start of the road trip, of us spending 24/7 together for 9 straight days, we began bickering.
I started to answer. “I just feel like -“
“Ow!” Ben flinched and smacked his head. I was about to continue, but Ben smacked his head again and ducked lower. That’s when I noticed a couple of giant black flies hovering above his head.
We didn’t think much of it and continued walking. The trail was only 3 kilometres, and we were already a kilometre in. Why stop now? We did, however, pause our conversation to concentrate on swatting the flies away. We managed about another 500 meters before the one-off buzzing became a constant, and soon, a swarm of black flies bounced energetically above Ben’s head, each diving in for a piece of his scalp.
“Oh gawd, we should head back!” I said, scared. We didn’t walk, we RAN. The two of us covered our heads as we jogged, cautiously jumping over protruding roots. It was the longest 1.5km run of my life, and while we were being chased by black flies, I started cackling. My initial sourness dissolved as I found the humour in this bewildered situation. Ben, on the other hand, wasn’t so lighthearted with his head covered in bumps.
By the time we got back to Bobby, it was dark, and the rain began to drizzle. The feeling of defeat soon washed over me, clearing the little humour I found about the situation. Annoyed at how things turned out, I began the 1.5-hour drive back on the lampless rainy roads.
The park ranger and the admission clerk were right. Who did we think we were but some dumb city kids that didn’t understand the force of nature? Better planning next time.
( I don’t have a single picture of this part of the journey, that’s how bummed we were lol)
Day 10
Stop 20: Skyline Trail (Beautiful Success), Cape Breton Highlands National Park
Day 10 is when we neared the end of our journey in the sense that it was time to start the drive West. Having felt grossly tired of the unnecessary back-and-forth driving between Day 8 and 9, the chances of giving Skyline Trail another try felt slim. But, at last, you can tell by the subheading that we indeed gave it a third try, and the third try, friends, turned out to be extremely beautiful, partly because of all the previous failed attempts. It gave our trip the climactic ending that I’ll remember fondly. But first, another story time.
Storytime
As I approached the last year of my twenties, my sleep grew light and sometimes non-existent, especially when I felt anxious or stressed from real or perceived threats. I say perceived because I’ve caught myself sobbing purely from imaginative events. What? You do that too? Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone, we can be psychos together.
On the 10th night of the road trip, I lay on the Airbnb bed in Baddeck feeling the familiar anxiousness drowning my brain. The weariness always starts with making a mess of the head before making its way down to the heart, making the heart heavy while forcing the drumming beat to go quicker. Then, the chaos travelled down from the spine, spreading to the limbs, and before I knew it, I’d find myself curled up in a ball with cold sweat covering my limbs. My eyes would be tired, signalling the desperation for sleep, but my mind would be wide awake, murmuring, whispering, and denying any chance of rest.
Our travel plans didn’t quite pan out how I wanted in the past 2 days. We’d driven over 2,000 kilometres to experience a sense of failure. I could tell myself that we’d just come back another time, but that’d be a lie. A lot of things that are undone are often left for later, but that later will realistically never come. We can only experience certain things once at a specific time, and this road trip experience will likely be one of them. It’s better to soak in the moment than to hope for a second chance.
On that 10th night, regret and guilt filled my core as I ruminated on the lost opportunities. I drifted in and out of the door of sleep as the night went on but never fully stepped through. By 5 A.M., I was wide awake again. Not wanting to disturb Ben any longer with my tossing and turning, I slipped out of the Airbnb and into the morning air, being on my own for the first time since the beginning of the trip.
The rain from last night left the morning air with an edge of crispness. The birds chirped, and the air resembled the freshness of Cape Clear. If liberation and exhilaration can be used to describe the feeling of a breath of air, that’s how I’d describe it.
With an added spring to my steps, I walked down the slight hill towards the center of Baddeck, a quaint little town nestled quietly against the backdrop of high mountains covered by swirls of fog. The serene and enlightening sight cleared away the ruins in my mind left behind by anxiety; my heart felt light again, and my limbs were as warm as the thought of gratitude on Thanksgiving. Last night’s dread and guilt were almost washed clean.
At half past seven, the Outdoors Store’s open sign was on. Surprised by how early they opened, I strolled over because I wanted to check them out for the past 2 days. I just never got the chance. To my further surprise, the doors were closed but unlocked. I thought I shouldn’t be there till I found the sign on the door, “If you need to purchase anything outside of working hours, I live right around the corner. Give me a ring, and I will be right there.”
Bewildered at the open invitation, I walked into the empty store stocked to the brim and immediately felt the awkwardness of being in a store with no employees; I felt like I was snooping and I shouldn’t be there at all. It was a strange feeling to learn how trusting the people of Baddeck were, and I immediately wished I was a part of something like this with relentless trust.
As inviting as it was, I couldn’t find anything I wanted to purchase. I exited the shop and headed further down the streets, and I was delighted to find a bustling coffee shop that served breakfast. As I browsed the store, I was greeted by many signs with “I had Chowder for breakfast” written on it.
“Do you guys actually have chowder for breakfast?” I pointed to the signs after deciding on the sandwiches for the drive back to Ontario.
“We sure do!” The barista answered cheerfully.
“Then let’s add a chowder!” I matched his enthusiasm.
“Here, I will take a picture of you.” He handed me the sign without waiting for a response.
For a split second, all I could remember was how I barely slept. I rolled out of bed in capris and Ben’s sweatshirt. The one day where I decide to go out without braiding my hair or fill in my brows, and somebody offers to take a photo of me. I probably still had sleep in my eyes.
“Oh, what the heck.” I interrupted myself in my own mind, muting the voices all at once and handed over my phone.
In the depth of a silenced mind, I smiled.
The barista captured a special moment for me where for the first time in the 2 months that I’ve turned 29, I stopped trying to pretend I wasn’t entering my 30s. In the photo, I look and felt 29, and I felt a sense of acceptance and relief. At that moment, I was as happy as a clam (chowder) in my bare skin and sweats.
Hell to the fucking yes.
I returned to the Airbnb feeling re-energized, and when I locked eyes with Ben, who had finally woken up, we knew we ought to give the Skyline Trail another chance before leaving for New Brunswick, even if it meant we’d have to drive for 8 hours straight. We packed our bags in a swift motion after finishing the delicious chowder and loaded the car. The park pass we purchased last night expires at four in the afternoon, so even though everything felt like it was going wrong for the past two days, things felt like they were somehow clicking into place, as if that was the plan all along. The human mind, or my mind at least, makes up all sorts of reasonings in the face of randomness. What can I say? I’m a romantic at heart.
The Skyline Trail turned out to be my favourite attraction of the trip. It was simply beautiful, unworldly, and indescribable. I’m glad we gave it one more try and persisted in saying yes to all the ups and downs of adventures, regardless of how we got there.
Satisfied with immense gratitude, we hopped in Bobby and began the drive home.
Kate LSY 
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