Why Your Next Vacation Needs to be Cape Breton (photos!)

Yesterday Andrew and I just got back from a whirlwind romantic getaway to....

Cape Breton, Nova Scotia.

(Seriously, the best stout- Big Spruce Brewing which is a Cape Breton Brewery. This stout tasted like yummy delicious goodness with just a *hint* of chocolate. Perfection. As you can see by my expression I was very happy. We were at the Governor's Pub in Sydney)

I honestly have no idea why more people don't choose the Cabot Trail and various stops in Cape Breton as their #1 choice for a vacation. It's gorgeous.

We tried to keep the wastefulness to a minimum and what is interesting to note is that the regular 'hotel' we first stayed had things like composting, recycling bins, reusing towel policies and overt messages on reusing and recycling throughout the hotel. Whereas the pricey, fancy resort hotel had zero composting, minimal recycling, a wasteful nespresso (which I admit we used since it was free... and it tasted nasty- confirmed my dislike for all things 'Keurig') and heated bathroom floor.

What is a bit cray cray is that we're leaving tomorrow for a five day stay at my parent's cottage on a lake with minimal internet and cell reception. I cannot wait, even though I am exhausted. From one end of the province to the other (despite the deceptively small size of the province, it is about 8-10hours to drive from one end of Nova Scotia to the other...).

(Our first stop was at a little church on the Bras d'Or lake that I had discovered on my last trip to Sydney in the winter. It has the perfect view of the lake)

(Bras d'Or lake at Irish Cove. The water is brackish as it connects with the ocean... and it was WARM!)

I also made Andrew stop at Rita's Tea Room where it's basically a shrine to Rita MacNeil (who passed recently). I thought it was neat that they had her wardrobe trunks!

This was a low section of the highlands where you just start to get the impression of the furry mountains... breathtaking really.

This doesn't even begin to really show just how high up we were and the ridiculous rolling views of the highlands. Andrew was mesmerized. What is crazy is that there are little villages smattered all along the Cabot Trail... it blows my mind that people actually get to LIVE THERE.

On the other side of the Cabot Trail we stopped to do to the Skyline hiking trail. A National Parks lady was there with wildlife display. Andrew and I practiced lifting a "small" moose antler to show how strong we are.

UGH I AM STRONG!
(ps, Moose shed their antlers naturally every year, so no moose were harmed in this photo)

The view from the skyline trail... on the left would be towards Chéticamp. Ridiculous.

Tree! my one bit of yoga for the weekend

(The view from the top of the skyline)

On our way back from the boardwalk along the trail we actually saw TWO moose! They were young, and one was obviously male (from dangling bits) and not afraid of us at all. 

The view from our second, more pricey hotel balcony in Inverness. Behind us were the rolling foothills of the Cape Breton highlands.