Very Glad to Be Home!

We've finally made it home! It was a fun two weeks, and we really appreciated being able to stay at Martin and Emily's for so long!

We thought we'd better update everyone on what happened out yonder on the isle'o'cape Breton.

So we drove out and on to the island... That took a while.

We moseyed on up to the Glenora Distillery - maker of Canadian single malt whiskey - paid a little bit of money. They walked us down a hallway, gave us a shot of whiskey, and said "Thanks for visiting!" Just like 'em to treat us like a bunch of scots...

As it turns out... Steph doesn't actually like Whiskey on its own. "It burns" she said.

Some interesting facts we learned about whiskey - You're actually supposed to smell it. The glenora brand sits in wooden barrels (which Jack Daniels or someone like that uses first), and sits in a barn for something like ten years... During that time, the wooden barrels absorb some of the scents of the neighbouring countryside, and so Glenora's whiskey is said to have a bit of an apple scent. So go ahead and smell your whiskey!

Another interesting thing... The whiskey 'mix' gets boiled twice. The alcoholic evaporation is collected, and then boiled again. After the first time it's boiled, it's approximately 30% alcohol. After the second time it's boiled, it's approximately 75-80% alcohol.

Then they add water before they put it in a bottle at approximately 40% alcohol.

The Cabot trail was nice scenery. Here's Steph on the 'Skyline' Trail which didn't really live up to its name... it was more like the "7 km of walking through a forest, and 100 meters of ocean view trail". Steph is sitting on the 100 meters of boardwalk on the trail where you can actually get a really nice view of the surrounding ocean and valleys. Steph is at the limit of how far we actually able to go out on the 'boardwalk' though - because there were high winds that day and the warning on the signs said "Don't go out on the boardwalk in high winds". Apparently you can get blown off the boardwalk. And possibly off the cliff... ( a couple that went out after us, didn't read the sign, and found out the hard way...)

This is me, on the trail. Carrying an unfortunately heavy back-pack full of raingear that we didn't need or use.

Below, is me in the forest of 350 year old trees. They're old, so they're protected. Hence, you can't journey into the center of the Cape Breton Highlands National Park...

Below, is Steph, at a picturesque stop called Black Cove.

And below, is Mary Ann Falls. On the Ingonish side of the park.

And this, is just some random guy fishing. But it looked like a good picture.

We didn't go whale watching because it was too windy, so our boat reservation was cancelled. Apparently they don't take you out onto the ocean in a Zodiac when it's windy. That day it was like 30 km/h winds. so that was disappointing.

And we Don't recommend doing the Cabot Trail just before heading home. Because it's just way to much driving.

Oh. And don't take the Eastern side of New Brunswick on the way home. It's boring. Unless you're going to stop in all the small towns.

Oh. and Steph doesn't like Quebec as much as she used to think she did, but we'll blame that on all of the driving.