Cape Breton, Nova Scotia

Two lane bridge road and adjoining railroad.

My paternal grandmother was born in Cheticamp at Cape Breton in Nova Scotia so I was especially excited to make my first visit this part of Canada. Wayne has been good to indulge me in all these family connection places as I knew he would. We disembarked the ferry and at Pictou and began the drive up the northeastern shore planning to stop about halfway to overnight. Big problems lay ahead, unknown to us, of course. The road alternated between "horribly rough" or "smooth and really narrow" and we veered off onto the sandy shoulder many times. I was glad Wayne was driving.

A campground we had tentatively selected at Inverness was the destination. However, we arrived to find no space for us and we were instructed to turn the rig around on the grass. Within 10 feet of a successful turn around, Mona's tires began to spin on the soft grass. When we stopped, the tires seemed to sink into the boggy soil. Long story short: We were stuck in mud up to the axle and we were there for the night -- space or no space. 

The proud owner of this delimma.

Our RV Roadside Assistance service came to the rescue just before dusk after we ate our "gourmet" peanut butter and banana sandwiches. A friendly Frenchman, Louis Levelance, his son and granddaughter, arrived in a Ford F-350 SuperDuty pickup loaded with a 4-wheeler and several new large appliances (they had been shopping when the call came). Mr. Levelance attached a chain to Mona and pulled her out of the mud and onto the adjoining pavement in just one short tug. Everyone was thrilled with the success.

By this time a beautiful sunset was occuring over the Northumberland Strait and the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

We were given permission (with a $30 fee) to stay the night there on the spot -- no power or water. We gladly paid the fee and stayed right there on the campground roadway.  It was a comfortable night with the moonlight and the light was beautiful reflecting off the ocean.

All's well that ends well. The next morning, we pulled out early and continued our travel toward Cheticamp. The scenery was breathtaking.

Cheticamp is a seaside village

This church dates back to the days my grandmother would have lived here.
Maybe she went to church here!