Day 5 - Around Cape Breton Island

Yesterday I had found out that our whale watching expedition was cancelled, so we decided to head over to that side of the island anyway, as I'd read that Cheticamp was a charming fishing village.  It was a long ride there, over an hour, and we stopped at a gift shop just outside of the town.  We were talking to the cashier there and told her of our plans.  She looked at us like we were crazy and asked why we weren't driving the Cabot Trail.  To my understanding, the Cabot Trail goes around the whole island and is 186 miles long.  However, she explained that the prettiest part was just north of Cheticamp, and suggested we go as far as Pleasant Bay, about 35 minutes.  So, we decided to do just that.  We were glad for the suggestion as Cheticamp was not especially charming and had nothing to see and the drive to Pleasant Bay was gorgeous!  Enjoy the pictures below!

                                                           This is the view of Pleasant Bay

Here are some pictures from the gift shop where we stopped. 

Once we reached Pleasant Bay, we turned around and headed back the same way we had come (there aren't a lot of roads here).  The plan was to go to the Glenora Distillery and have lunch and they have music (a ceilidh) from 1-3.  But when we got there, it turns out that they don't serve lunch or have music till the end of June.  Another disappointment.  So we turned around and went back to the last town we passed, Inverness, and stopped in a cute restaurant where we had poutine, among other things.  

You can feel your arteries clogging while you eat it!

After lunch we went back to the Distillery for a tour.  The grounds there were beautiful, the tour was very interesting, and the whisky was good, if you're a whisky drinker, which I am not.

At last, we started the hour long drive back to our cottage, and when we arrived the internet was off again.  Fortunately, our host got to work on it and it was fixed later in the evening.  Meanwhile, we set off for dinner at the Main Street Bistro in nearby Baddeck.  Some of what we had was a scrumptious seafood chowder and mussels!  And, while I didn't get music at the Distillery, the restaurant had music!  

This was across from the restaurant.