I HEART Nova Scotia

Okay, my title is a little misleading. We didn't actually end up seeing all of Nova Scotia, though it was originally part of the itinerary. We had planned to go from PEI to Cape Breton, down to Halifax for Shabbos, and then further south to a National Park called Kejimkujak or "Keji" by locals.

When we left Prince Edward Island, we had to take the ferry out, since they don't have a bridge on the eastern side of the island. It was quite tranquil and relaxing, and true to Nova Scotian style, a few fiddler players came out and played for everyone out on deck to help pass the time.

Just outside of Ingonish at a mountain top lookout.

Once we hit the mainland, we headed north east towards Cape Breton. I had booked us a campsite for a week in Cape Breton National Park. After our disappointment with Prince Edward Island, I wasn't sure what to expect from Cape Breton, but it definitely ended up being the highlight of our whole camping trip. 

Campsites can be tricky, since their websites do not often give you a full idea of what to expect. Cape Breton had several campsites within the Nat'l Park, so it was risk no matter where I booked. I knew I wanted to be out of the way from lots of people, so I avoided the west coast of the island where the larger more built up campgrounds were, but it was hard to find pictures online of what I could actually expect. Since then, I have learned to use Google to search by images! What a difference.

I reserved at the Broad Cove campground within Cape Breton National Park. This campsite, like some other National Parks will reserve a spot for you, but they won't actually give you the campsite until you show up at the front gates. Annoying on one hand if you really want a specific site, but kind of cool if you want to look around for the best spot. And though sunset was fast approaching (jeez, why do we keep doing this?!), we took our time to select a place that felt private enough for us and was close to the bathrooms. I didn't love our campsite, but it was near the end of the campsite near the ocean, close to the bathrooms, and while in an open area with little foliage, there were not too many people camped there.