07/19/13 - Pictou and Drive to Cape Breton Highlands National Park, NS

Pictou is about 20 minutes west of New Glasgow and it is the landing point of PEI-NS Ferry.  Since we were there in the early morning, we only witness the peaceful harbor and waterfront boardwalk.  We did not stay long and we started our journey to Cape Breton Highlands NP.

Our lodging arrangement is a B&B in Pleasant Bay which is on Cape Breton Cabot Trail north of Cheticamp, NS.  We entered Cape Breton Highlands NP just north of Cheticammp.  Before we entered the NP, we stopped by the La Boulangerie Aucoin bakery for the famous fresh croissants (according to recommendation from Tripadvisor). On the way to Pleasant Bay, we visited Skyline Trail.  It was highly recommended by quite a few tourists.  However, the weather was not helping on that particular afternoon.  The trail leads from the trail head to the coastline via a pretty easy trail.  The scenery is good, but it is not enjoyable with rain coming down on you.  At the end of the trail, there is a multi-level deck taking you all the way down closer to the ocean.  However, it was too windy and rainy to walk all the way down.  We only ventured down halfway and rushed back to the trail head in the rain.  On the way back we did spot a couple of mooses hiding under trees to get away from the rain.  That was the only time we spotted large animals in the NP.

The Gulf Breeze B&B is the first B&B we stayed on this trip.  Unfortunately, it was not a typical B&B.  It is just a room with limited accommodations and we have to go to their associated restaurant to have breakfast.  It was not a good experience for our first B&B lodging.