Sonya's Blog - Day 84 - Exploring Ingonish and area

Sonya’s Blog - Day 84- September 14 - Exploring around Ingonish

It was pretty dreary this morning, but that was okay. The kids needed to get some schoolwork done and it turned out to be a good time because in no time it was pouring rain. Isaac is being very difficult about getting his work done without complaining and acting like he has the worst life ever. It is really getting to be too much and he was told so this morning. He was, of course, upset as he does not like to be yelled at. He cannot see that he would be spending 6 hours at school if he wasn’t here with us. We are asking for a few hours of solid work so we can then get to our exploring, which is like a field trip everyday. He worked much better after the yelling session. Let’s hope he continues to just work well because it is getting exhausting and we are only in the middle of September.

The rain finally stopped after 1 and we headed out. We stopped almost immediately because Blake and I needed lunch. The kids had leftovers from a previous supper, but Blake and I had nothing. The kids were happy because they got some pie. We stopped at the Bean Barn Cafe and Deli. The food was okay, but their “homemade” pies were not so great. The Coconut Cream pie was pudding with Cool Whip (or something very like it) topping. The Lemon Meringue didn’t even have Meringue topping, it was the same whipped topping as on the Coconut Cream. Disappointing:( I didn’t have any pie because it is not really my thing, but I do make it for Blake and the kids once in awhile and this pie did not measure up.

We then went to check out more sights because we knew that would be spectacular. Our first stop was Lakies Head. There were several interpretive panels discussing the migration patterns of Whales, Leatherback Turtles, Eels, Atlantic Salmon and Sea Birds and the challenges these animals face. The rocks were spectacular, as were the views. I have a nice picture of the boys on the rocks.

Our next stop was just down the road and was called Green Cove. There were many interpretive panels here as well that described the geological formation of the rock and the challenge that greenery has growing so close to the ocean. Some more spectacular scenery and pictures.

We then headed up the road a little further and came to a beach at Black Brook. When we got on the beach we could see a waterfall at the one end of the beach. I hiked over there to check it out and Natasha and Blake followed. Isaac was busy building a sandcastle for his Explorers Book that is available for kids in each National Park. The waterfall was really cool with great rocks for climbing on and getting close to the falls. We had the falls on our left hand side and the ocean on our right, what a spot. We got some great pictures and had lots of fun climbing around the area. Isaac finished his sandcastle and then came over to explore with us.

After we were done goofing around at the waterfall we went back to the beach and got some pictures. We were able to get a family shot with our names in the sand. The nice lady that took our picture was from Medicine Hat, which we found amusing. We came all the way to Cape Breton and an Albertan took our picture. Isaac got a picture of his sand castle, which he needs for his Explorer Book. These books challenge kids to find certain items in the park and complete tasks, in the process they learn lots of interesting things. We have a love/hate with them. We love them because they are educational and they keep Isaac interested in the area we are in. Hate is a strong word, but our reticence comes in because Isaac gets super obsessed with them and wants to do every single activity laid out in the book. He actually does not need to complete every activity to get his completion prize, but he likes to. We need to set up his schooling more like an Explorer’s book, we would have less fights!

We decided to drive to Neil’s Harbour as I wanted to see it. It was a super small fishing village, very quaint. We were not there long, but the road continued on along the coast so we decided to take it. It went on for about 45 minutes and then hooked back onto The Cabot Trail. The scenery was amazing, but the road was super narrow and sometimes we were very high up and driving on the side of the road that overlooked the cliff. There were no turnoffs to get pictures, so we will just have to remember them forever. I don’t remember the names of all the little villages we went through, but it was all amazing.

Once we came out on the Cabot Trail we decided to head back towards Ingonish and think about supper. The fog was getting thicker as the day wore on and it looked like it was going to rain again. We decided to head to the store and just pick up some fresh fish and veggies and head back to the cabin for supper. We were in luck because they had fresh salmon and haddock so that was perfect for us. We bought some veggies and headed back to the cabin. The rain started right after we got back, so luckily we have a covered porch for the grilling portion of our meal. I prepared the veggies and haddock and Blake grilled the salmon and these large portabello mushrooms I had bought. Everything turned out really well and it was a great supper.

After supper, Natasha did the dishes while Isaac tried to get some of his blogs posted. After some complaining he finally managed to get 2 online, it was a miracle! Natasha headed over to the cabin office after doing the dishes to pick out a movie from their library. They came back with Cannonball Run and we sat down to watch it. I haven’t seen it since I was quite young, but it was still funny. Isaac like Roger Moore, who played himself, but in his James Bond character. It was a pretty silly movie, but still funny.

Sonya