Over the sea to Nova Scotia and on to New Brunswick

We boarded the ferry (the MV Atlantic Vision) at 2.15, our cabin was even more spacious than on the trip coming over. This one had a porthole. I must admit I thought long and hard about sleeping on a ferry crossing, but the accommodation in Marine Atlantic ships are of a much higher quality than I expected.
We had a buffet dinner with a wide selection of salads and soup, followed by chicken, roast beef (carved), pork, fish and a stir fry collection. Desserts included cheesecakes, gateaux, fruit salad and chocolate brownies. Drew was feeling hungry and had two plates of starter, one of mains and three of dessert, I had one of starters and two plates of main. I went to bed at 10.00 (NST), 9.30 (AT), and slept really well waking at 4.30 (AT which is now the time zone we are in). The shower facilities on board are also good, with the only flexible shower heads on the North American continent. Unlike in the UK most US and Canadian shower heads are fixed to the wall, you can move them a little up-down and right-left, but not take them off and get to the more challenging parts! Hence my pleasure at having a shower head that does come off the wall.

We left the ferry at 6.25 and headed to Tim Horton's for breakfast. Drew had the Hot Breakfast Biscuit - Sausage, egg and cheese in a biscuit. I had an onion bagel with cream cheese. We then headed along the NS105 which travels through Cape Breton island on the other side of Bras D'Or Lake from the NS4 we travelled up over a week ago. The lake is still as pretty as it was then, at times we can see the road we travelled on before across the wide expanse of the lake. The thing that struck us both most forcibly is how different Nova Scotia is from Newfoundland. No craggy outcrops, no ever present mountains, no forceful sea. A calmer area with a more temperate climate.
Rather than waiting in North Sydney for their 11.00 a.m. Mass, it being Sunday, I had spotted a stop further on the route that had Mass at 9.30, this was at the town of Antigonish so we headed there and arrived at 9.20.  There is a cairn park in Antigonish, Drew visited it while I was in Mass. Apparently the McDougal’s, the Chisholm’s and the McIntyre's are proud of their Scottish heritage or so it says on their cairns. The Chisholm’s have even gone as far as stealing some rocks from Scotland, on their visit, and putting it in a cairn in the park with a notice saying so.
The cathedral in Antigonish, dedicated to the Scottish saint, St Ninian, is a lovely building. Dark stone of the outside, but light and airy on the inside. It has the first stained glass windows I have seen which open and let in air. The West of Scotland heritage of which this region is so proud is not well known to me. Unlike the Irish influence in Newfoundland, similar to the large Irish influence in South Wales' Catholicism, Nova Scotia's heritage is of the Catholicism of Glasgow and the Scottish isles, the tartan of St. Ninian is everywhere to be seen in the church and the surrounding buildings.  The Mass was joyful and the priest very focussed on us celebrating the love if Jesus in a personal way. The sermon focussed on the gospel about Peter being asked 'who do you say I am' and saying 'you are the Christ the son of the living God'. We are invited to the joy of knowing Jesus is the Son of God, the one who loves us and wants us to love others in return. How nice to have such a powerful yet happy message this Sunday morning.
From Canso Causeway to New Glasgow we are on 80 miles of route we have travelled before. You will have noted we have avoided going back ourselves as far as possible, but there didn't seem to be any other way we could get back from Newfoundland to New Brunswick and on tomorrow to the USA. Still the sun is shining it is 75 degrees Fahrenheit outside, so we can enjoy the route even though it is somewhat familiar. 
After New Glasgow we were on new routes, including our first Canadian toll road, which was only $4, we stopped for lunch in a little village called Oxford in Nova Scotia, 50 miles from the New Brunswick border. Oxford is famous as the Blueberry capital of Canada, hence the photos of the Blueberry factory. We stopped at the Parkview Restaurant and both had their special of the day Digby Scallop Dinner. The scallops, we had 10 each, were lightly battered and deep fried, they were served with fries, coleslaw, tartar sauce and a bread roll. We realised that the 'dark' chips - with skin on and cooked to the point of burnt - was a Newfoundland thing, as these were the first we had seen of what we would call normal colour for a week. Given Oxford's blueberry production Drew felt obliged to test their quality by finishing the meal with a Blueberry pie which had soft pastry that didn't overpower the natural flavour of the blueberries.

After lunch we drove on through the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border and on to the town of Moncton, where we are stopping tonight at the Future Inn. The temperature this afternoon raised to 85 Fahrenheit. Though there is a Future Inn in Cardiff
We had our meal tonight in the restaurant attached to the hotel, called Mavericks. Unlike many restaurants attached to an hotel this was not a chain. Indeed it had a very personable feel. The menu focussed on steak and fish. Most of the guests, like many people in this area, were French speaking as were many of the staff. Noticeably the majority of those eating there were not staying in the hotel, but locals going out for a night.
I eat from the summer seasonal menu and started with the Chicken Wings, these were served in a light seasoned batter with carrots and celery sticks and two dips - hot pepper and blue cheese. Really meaty chicken and strong flavoured dips. I then went for the renegade ribs. Unbelievably, they were actually as big as the picture on the menu shows. A huge side of ribs in a barbecue sauce - another opportunity for meat excess. This was served with a baked potato and carrots and broccoli. I suddenly realised that the requirement to saute all vegetables was a Newfoundland thing, as these were boiled with no fat anywhere near them!
Drew opted for the main menu and had Golden Onion Soup, this was a trio of onions in a beef broth with garlic croutons and served au gratin. This tasted freshly made, in the kitchens we could see from the restaurant. Drew then moved on to Pork Chops with a maple apple chutney topping, those were also nicely cooked and flavoursome. We went back to the room and to bed at 10.00 p.m. Having now slept a night here, I would recommend Future Inns to anyone travelling in the future.