Holiday!

Wow, it's been a busy week! What have we been up to? A lot!

Wednesday was Canada Day. The kids spent the morning playing with their friends, C cut the lawn clover, and I was busy packing for our trip the next day. My friend and her hubby have a boat and they invited us to go sailing with them for a few hours. So we packed up and headed over to the marina. We cruised around the harbour and then out into open water. We saw quite a few seals which was really cool. Unfortunately S started saying her stomach felt funny so we headed back in. We had a great time and really appreciate our friends taking us out on their boat!

Wednesday night there were suppose to be fireworks for Canada Day but since we had to get up early for our trip the next day we decided not to go. It turned out to be too windy that evening for the fireworks so it wasn't such a big deal that we didn't take the kids. They were pretty tired from a hard day of play so they were okay with it too.

Thursday we got up early and took the ferry over to Nova Scotia. The crossing was smooth and there was a nice breeze blowing. I was glad the seas were calm because when it's rough it can cause my vertigo to act up. Being on our friends' boat didn't bother me the day before except when we were stopped. We arrived safely in Nova Scotia and started making our way towards Cape Breton. We stopped along the way and had lunch at a place called Mother Webb's. If you get the chance, stop there. They have a simple menu but it is tasty.

We made our way up the Ceilidh Trail. Along the way we stopped to enjoy the views. This was one of them:

By the time we reached the cottage we were staying at, S was saying her stomach was feeling bad again. She kept saying she was going to throw up and eventually she did a few times. :-( Not how we wanted to start our holiday! Thankfully once she got it all out she said she felt better. I don't know if she was feeling carsick or if she ate something that didn't agree with her. She got a good night's sleep and woke up the next morning feeling all better. 

Friday - since S was better we decided to head out to the Cabot Trail and make our way up to the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. C wanted to hike a specific trail - the Skyline trail. We decided to give it a try. We parked and started making our way up the trail.

This doesn't look so bad...

The first part of the trail was easy, as you can see. It was pretty much a road. We followed it around until we came to a picnic shelter where a ranger was set up with information about the wildlife we could potentially see along the trail. The kids were excited to see how big moose antlers and skulls can be. Too bad we didn't see any moose this trip! But we did see a skunk on the way to the ferry (we didn't get sprayed!)

After listening to the ranger for a while, we started on the trail. It was narrower than the beginning but still a good sized trail. We hiked along and at the time the trail seemed fairly flat. Yeah, not so much. Coming back up the trail was a gradual climb. It was tough at times because I am out of practice for hiking (thanks winter) but I made it. As we hiked along, these are some things we saw.

I liked how the ferns and flowers were growing up around the stump

It's hard to tell from this picture but we're hiking along the top of a mountain

Yellow flower

These little white flowers were everywhere. I wish I knew what they were!

A pretty little waterfall

Eventually we came out of the trees and realized just how far up we were.

Egads, is that the road down there?

How high up are we?

Yeah, we're up high and that's the ocean out there

This is a boardwalk that goes down to some viewing platforms

Looking out at the ocean

Yeah, that is high. I think I will stay right here, thank you.

C and the kids went down there but not me!

There was a boardwalk that went down to viewing platforms. I stayed on the first one because I have a fear of heights, to the point that I have had panic attacks before on things like Ferris wheels. C and the kids went down there but I decided that it was better for me to stay up on the top rather than have a panic attack in front of the kids. The views were spectacular from where I was and I could pretend that I wasn't standing on the edge of a mountain. :-)

After this we headed back to the car, which was a good long hike uphill. We drove around a bit more and then headed back towards town. We stopped for supper along the way and then made our way back to our cottage. Everyone was worn out from that hike. It was fun but hard work! It was an early bedtime for everyone.

Saturday we headed the other way on the Cabot Trail and went to Baddeck. C got a cool new hat and I got to visit Baadeck Yarns. I'll do a yarn blog tomorrow to share what I bought. There were lupines blooming everywhere (both here on PEI and over in Cape Breton). I just had to get a picture of them because they are so pretty.

After lunch, we made the decision to drive the whole way around the Cabot Trail. A lot of the way was just beautiful wilderness but we did stop along the way at some of the overlooks. At this one we managed to spot at least one Minke whale. I couldn't get a picture of it because it was too far away but it was a really neat experience to see one in the wild.

After that we continued around the trail until we found a place for ice cream and a beach that the kids could play on. J was a crazy man and went into the icy cold water. S stayed on the shore because the water was too cold for her. I don't blame her! C took the kids to explore a waterfall that was next to the beach. 

We finished the drive with supper at a tasty restaurant and then headed back to the cottage. It was another early night since we were all tired from all the driving!

Sunday we headed back home. The ride on the ferry was nice and no one got sick. It was good to be back home. The kids immediately went out to the trampoline and wore themselves out. I think they missed the trampoline!

Monday (today) we got back into our regular routine. C went off to work and I took the kids out to find new shorts (not a whole lot of luck there). We went to the grocery store because we needed some groceries at least for the next few days. We also went out to a place that sells homemade baked goods. The Sugar Shack, run by Borrowed Kitchen, is run by the mom of one of S's classmates. All weekend long she was making lemon meringue pies. Since we were out of town I couldn't get one but I sent her a message and she was able to make one for us today. It looks delicious!

I also made some semi-homemade muffins. I used a blueberry muffin mix but I added strawberries to them. I had one and it was pretty darn tasty. We'll see what the kids think tomorrow morning.

The kids are pretty tired right now. Our neighbour invited us to come swim in her pool and we spent about two hours there. A good time was had by all! I think the kids will sleep well again tonight. I know I will!

Okay, I think I'm all caught up now. Tomorrow I will be sharing pictures of all the lovely yarn I have acquired recently. Until tomorrow then!