A few weeks ago, my daughter Maggie and I decided to go on a camping trip to the east coast where I lived for the better part of the first 12 years of my life. It had been five years since I last visited the Maritimes. It was in the middle of the pandemic and I made the trip on my motorcycle.

It’s been 20 years since Maggie and I went there on one of our father/daughter vacations. She was 11 years old at the time, and was the perfect traveling companion.

In July, she asked me if it was possible to go back. It was one of those situations where, as a father, you have to ask yourself if you don’t go now, when, if ever, will the opportunity come up again. So I reserved a campsite at Cavendish National Park in PEI and another at the Wayside Campground near Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia where my brother and sister-in-law have an RV during the summer.

Skip ahead to August 16 and after packing the car, Maggie and I headed eastward. We managed to make it to Cavendish in under 12 hours, just in time to set up both our tents in the dark, which is akin to building Ikea furniture with the lights off.

Like I said, it’s been five years since I last visited Cavendish Beach and in the time since, the island was hit by Hurricane Fiona in 2024 which has left the beach almost and most of the campground unrecognizable.

The sand dunes which were a primary feature of the beach and which I used to play on for hours as a kid during family vacations, are all gone as are many of the trees that used to provide shade to most of the campers. The few trees that are left have been stripped bare.

Fortunately, about an hour away by car, lies Greenwich Beach where the iconic dunes were left completely untouched and where one is instantly reminded of what Cavendish used to look like.

While in PEI, I as able to reunite with Jan McNeil who worked for the Orléans Star as a sale rep when it was first launched in 1986. She left in the early 90s to run the Eastern Graphic with her brother Paul after their father suffered a fatal heart attack.

Besides taking a walk down memory lane with Maggie, my other reasons for visiting PEI was to enjoy a lobster feast at the New Glasgow Lobster Supper and search for sea glass.

The latter was delicious as always except for the fact that the all-you-can-eat apps, sides and dessert have been replaced by “a second helping” only. Thank goodness Maggie only had room for one piece of pie.

As for sea glass, the best place to find it according to Google is Souris Beach. Unfortunately, we weren’t the only people in search of the stuff. We also weren’t the only people to ask Google the same question. If there ever was sea glass at Souris Beach it had been picked clean long before Maggie and I ever arrived.

From PEI we decided to take the ferry across to Nova Scotia and then headed up to Cape Breton for a drive along the Cabot Trail which never disappoints.

Anyone who has ever driven the length of the Cabot Trail will agree that it is among the most scenic stretches of roadway in the entire country.

The day we drove up the Trail was one of only two days during our 10-day trip that the sun decided to show itself. The other was on the final day of our vacation.

Once in Cape Breton, we spent two nights at the Hide Away Campground in South Harbour. In between, we went whale watching out of Bay St. Lawrence which turned into a seal watching excursion when the whales decided to take that particular day off even though our captain has 30 years experience in the field and we were joined by a marine biologist who specializes in Pilot Whale behaviour.

We went with Oshan Whale Watch which is the same outfit we took in 2006 when we saw several whales and witnessed a school of dolphins feeding on smaller fish.
I think we might have jinxed ourselves on that one.

After we went seal watching Maggie took a nap and I ventured down a dirt road that ran past the campground and ended in a small parking area that turned out to be a five minute walk from South Harbour Beach – one of the most secluded and beautiful beaches I’ve ever been too in my life.

Before leaving PEI we stopped in at Charlene’s Family Restaurant in Whycoco-magh which is famous for its seafood chowder. Or so it says on their sign inside. Being a lover of seafood chowder, my curiosty and the grumbling in my stomach conspired to have me order a $28 bowl of stuff. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, it was a pleasant example of proof in advertising. If anything, it was even better than advertised and if you ever visit Cape Breton you should put it on your “must do” list.

From Cape Breton we made a beeline to the Halifax-Dartmouth area, where we stayed in my brother’s RV park. (Thankfully, they had some spaces for two “tenters” from Ottawa.

From Cape Breton we made a beeline to the Halifax-Dartmouth area, where we stayed in my brother’s RV park. (Thankfully, they had some spaces for two “tenters” from Ottawa.

The beauty of the Wayside RV Park is that it’s only 15 minutes down the road from Peggys Cove, which another place that should be in anybody’s top 10 of the most picturesque locations in Canada.

(If you wish to comment on this or any other View Point column please write to Fred Sherwin at fsherwin@orleansstar.ca)