Hi Emily (you too, Jim):
I know we promised to keep you posted on our golf here in northern Cape Breton, so here goes:
We’re staying in a cute place at the northern tip of Cape Breton Island that has an incredible view and a miles-long empty beach just down the road. Yesterday Charlie and I played Highlands Links. (That’s the one that I told you was rated the #1 course in Canada and 57th in the world.) You wouldn’t believe this place! It’s a links course, (Hence the name Highlands Links) so a number of the holes are on the ocean, but it also runs up a steep mountain valley along a river, so we got the best of all worlds. There are no condos, no cars, unbelievable fairways and some neat roller coaster greens. And get this: we not only saw a moose walking down the fairway ahead of us, but on the number 4 tee, while Charlie was teeing off, an eagle was perched in the tree above his head and three crows were dive bombing the eagle! With all the screeching and wing flapping, (and me laughing) I’m amazed that Charlie put his ball on the fairway. (Don’t tell him I said that!)
Anyway, we’re going back there on Friday. After we play Le Portage……..again.
Le Portage is perhaps the most underrated course we’ve ever played. Maybe that’s because it’s at the same end of Cape Breton as Highlands Links, but we were just amazed at the layout and condition of this course. It’s set up against the western mountains, with ocean views, wide, wonderful fairways and the best greens we’ve seen in Nova Scotia.
And the best thing is that our accommodations in at the “Top” of Cape Breton Island are not only midway between these two courses, but our drive to each of them is on the Cabot Trail, though Cape Breton Highlands National Park. When we were driving home from Highlands yesterday we actually had to stop while a mother moose and her calf crossed the road. And after we played Le Portage, we watched whales from the Cabot Trail, about a thousand feet above the ocean. (We’d reserved a whale watching cruise for Saturday, but Charlie heard about a kayak tour operator who may be able to take us right out to the whales, so we’re still investigating that. We’ll probably do both!)
Sooooooooo, the main reason I’m writing is to say that we’ve made tentative reservations for the four of us to come back here to the Top Cape Breton Island for mid-June next year. You two would just love golfing in all this beauty, and Charlie figures that if that eagle is around while Jim is teeing off, maybe Charlie can win back some of that money Jim took from him on our last vacation together.
Mark you calendar now!
Nancy
