Here's a continuation of our summer photos! (See the first post here.) Above we see Rebecca playing with some of the chickens that Grampa sells at the store.  He receives orders and a couple times a year distributes baby chicks for growing!  Naturally, the girls love them.

Sporting the boogie board!  They loved heading out into the water in the waves of Inverness Beach.

Below you see Sheena relaxing at one of the scenic points on the Cabot Trail, Cape Breton Highlands National Park.  Her and her cousin Karen took a camping trip and explored the areas of northern Cape Breton.  One of their hikes was to Fishing Cove, a popular destination for backpackers as well.

Sheena took this photo of the view from Jumping Mouse Campground, near Bay St. Lawrence and north of Cape North.  Both her and Karen highly recommended this spot for camping outside the national park.

On one of the cooler wet days in Brook Village (where we couldn't go to the beach), we took the girls to the Louisbourg National Historic site in eastern Cape Breton.  Fortress Louisbourg is a restoration of an 18th century French fortification.  There are actors that portray roles in costume and really make it interesting for those visiting.  

 

Here's the entrance to the Fortress.  Shortly before passing this gate, we were interrogated by the guard to make sure we weren't English subjects acting as spies or smuggling weapons.

The girls even had a chance to dress up in period costume.  This particular house was for a lord, where servants kept up with the house work and cooking.  It was neat to see how many layers of clothes they had to put on.  Clothes had to be warm in the 18th century with the wind and storms of the Louisbourg area!

Louisbourg residents even had animals that they had to tend to, including sheep.  One of the residents let us feed the sheep some tasty weeds from a garden nearby.  

It appeared that most visitors to Louisbourg visit the fortress itself, but what we found was there were beaches that were also part of the historic site.  These seemed little visited and were absolutely beautiful.  We walked the soft sand and explored for a while.  Rebecca didn't seem to mind the frigid Atlantic water.

A fun day exploring the fortress requires a jump for joy! 

We decided to spend more time in Louisbourg and explore a lighthouse at another part of the historic site on the other side of the harbour.  The lighthouse is built on the site of the oldest lighthouse in Canada.  It was mesmerizing watching the power of the ocean hitting the rocks all around the coast.  We also had near perfect evening light for our photos.

Here is the Louisbourg Harbour lighthouse.  This view is looking toward the fortress.

Another sunny day and we're back in Inverness Beach for boogie boarding in the waves.  These girls spent nearly an hour and a half braving the cold water and riding the waves.  

Below you see the girls lined up for another fun run in Inverness, during the Inverness Gathering Festival.  This was quite the accomplishment for them.  Both girls ran in a 1.5 k fun run, then ran and walked the 5 kilometre race following the fun run.  

Here's Rebecca running along the race track.

Abby is keeping pace as well and almost finished!

It was also Sheena's first 5 km race.  Here they all are after finishing the run!  Abby is a proud little one after her accomplishment.

Here's Rebecca finishing her 5 km run.  She was signed up for the walk, but decided to run instead.  She ran with the adults and teenage kids.  Needless to say, they had a fun and complete day of exercise and Grandma treated them to a breakfast at the Coal Miner's Cafe.

It was a busy day ahead for the girls as they were recruited to sit in the Legion truck for the festival parade.  It was a first to be in a parade float and they were excited to get T-Shirts as well.

What did everyone do with their beach treasures afterward? Well, Sheena helped out making seaglass art.  This one below was made and designed entirely by Abby.  The blue glass a rare glass find.  The pots are made out of smooth pottery pieces also found on the beach.

 

Sheena made the above picture with seaglass and small pebbles also found on the beach.  She really has a knack for this type of art.  

After arriving back home to New Brunswick, we had visitors from Virginia Beach.  Sheena's friend Lauren drove to Belleisle and brought her three children as well.  Sheena spent the days taking the group to local fun spots, including one of our favorite exploration beaches at Duck Pond Rd beach in Gardner Creek.  The below photos show some of the rocks you can explore and a freshwater creek leading into the Bay of Fundy.  

Here's the gang gathered under our tree fort.  They spent a few days at their 'restaurant' serving dirt coffee, sand cakes and chocolate mud desserts.