Hey Mom, guess what? I went to Cape Breton and came back a hooker!
More accurately, I became a hooker-in-training. This wasn’t something I had planned in our itinerary or on my bucket list of things to do, but I became enamored by the art of rug hooking when shopping on Prince Edward Island. Growing up in Louisiana I had seen a few crafty examples of rug hooking but never had I seen this level of artistry. So I was extra excited that our next destination was Chéticamp, Cape Breton’s rug hooking mecca.
My first steps to becoming a hooker began with Betty Ann Cormier. I found her through Airbnb experiences and reached out to see if she was teaching any classes. Her group classes hadn’t started yet but she scheduled a private lesson for me at her home and it was one of my favorite afternoons of the trip. With our two looms facing each other and a hot cup of tea, Betty Ann introduced me to the history and basics of rug hooking. We shared family history and compared notes about the Acadians from our different perspectives. Her family was forced out but moved back to Nova Scotia in the 1700s and she is a 4th generation hooker. She has a true passion for preserving this craft and I was honored to have her as a teacher.
Eric and I spent some time visiting with Betty Ann’s husband while Eric helped him move a picnic table. She sent us home with fresh zucchini bread and suggestions for where we would see more hooked rugs and where we might find dandelion jelly. And this is where everything really began to connect.
At Betty Ann’s suggestion, we visited Chéticamp’s Les Trois Pignons Cultural Centre which houses a collection of Acadian artifacts and an impressive array of hooked rug art by Élizabeth LeFort.
After the museum we stopped for coffee, art shopping and some gossip at Freya and Thor. We met Clarence and his sister Sylvia, who filled our ears with places to visit in Newfoundland and places to find some Arceneauxs in Cape Breton. Cafe/art gallery owners Matt and Erin said they loved Louisiana when they visited during their long road trip through the states and we told them that Bellingham (where they lived previously) was our favorite town in Washington. William Roach was also there having coffee. William is the previous owner of the cafe, the man who constructed the buildings on the property and a talented folk artist.
Our new friend Sylvia suggested we visit Lola’s Hooked Rugs. Actually, it was more of a command as Sylvia is the kind of personality I love most – some people call it bossy, I prefer self-assertive. We were quite sure if we didn’t go then we’d be outed somehow and barred from Chéticamp for life. When we walked in the door and met Lola LeLievre, we realized that missing out on the chance to meet this delightful woman would have been a real tragedy. We learned that Lola is married to Clarence (Sylvia’s brother). We apparently outed him because we told Lola we had just seen him at the coffee shop and he was supposed to be home. He called while we were there and Lola put him on speaker so we could hear him get caught. I loved Lola, she exemplified the genuine warmth and willingness to share every personal detail that I found to be common here. It reminded me so much of home and the women I grew up with.
The business owners here are a tight knit group. From Lola we found out that Erin (of Freya and Thor) had bought one of Lola’s businesses – Last Chance Sandwich – which ensnares hikers before entering the national park, playing on the fear that they may run out of food. Best sandwiches in town AND they have a giant pickle mascot (made by a local artist we’ve already met…you guessed it…Mr. Roach).
By this time we have fallen in love with Chéticamp and I’m looking up real estate prices. So I asked Lola whether or not the young ones return. She said a lot of young people are choosing not to have children anymore and those few children that are born move off and don’t come back. The people who are moving in are mostly new to the area. Before COVID, Chéticamp was dying out but they’ve seen a resurgence of new people opening businesses. One exception to this rule is a local woman who has forged a successful jelly business.
During our long drive to Canada, we spent a night in a quirky little Airbnb in West Virginia and there was a jar of homemade dandelion jelly in our kitchen. Neither of us had ever seen or tasted it but it brought back fond memories of reading Brian Jacques’ books which often featured dandelion cordial in his epic Redwall feasts. We devoured that tiny jar in less than 24 hours. Fast forward to Prince Edward Island and Cape Breton which were covered in dandelion fields but we couldn’t find anyone selling the jelly.
Betty Ann (the hooking instructor) had given me the name of a jelly maker and Eric reached out to her through Instagram to schedule a pick-up at her home. We bought two jars of Jellied Sunshine (dandelion) from Jaymie Aucoin at Hopeful Homestead and she gave us an extra travel-size jar for free. She had boxes from Nuts.com in her workshop so we chatted about our mutual love for the company and she told us that the Mabou Farmers Market is the best in the area – we unfortunately were missing it by one week.
Twenty years ago I became enchanted with Cape Breton when I chose Love is So Rare by Aselin Debison for my wedding dance with my dad. I’ve been a fan of the music and multi-cultural confluence of this Nova Scotian island ever since. Now that I’ve been here, I am deeply in love with this place and can’t wait to return. Besides the people, it’s the little mundane things that endear me the most. Like the fact that people go to the local Co-Op grocery on Friday nights in the winter to socialize (or on stormy days). Or that French is their first language of choice and it sounds so much like the Louisiana Cajun back home.
It helps that our swankiest digs on this trip so far were in Chéticamp. Nestled atop L’abri Cafe, we had our own private oasis looking out to the ocean and could hear the soft rumbling of music and conversation each night as hikers dragged into the restaurant to revive themselves.
Our last day in Chéticamp was a beautiful day so we drove south down to Inverness and Mabou. We stopped at every beach along the way to walk and search for sea glass. Many businesses were still closed because we were here before the tourist season, which meant we only shared the beaches with a few local walkers and it was lovely.
Little did we know, beaches would be our only source for hiking for the remainder of our Cape Breton trip. The day we left Chéticamp and drove to Ingonish, government officials closed all trails throughout Nova Scotia. Wildfires were raging near Halifax, far from us, but all park resources and emergency crews were being diverted to fight the fires. We couldn’t believe how incredibly lucky we were to have hiked what we did before everything closed. Driving through the park that day, stopping at every viewpoint that was open, we met several crestfallen people. One couple had flown in from Germany that day and they came only to hike.
Not ones to dwell on things beyond our control, we embraced a slower pace and found every beach walk we could. We particularly loved Ingonish Beach and North Bay Beach which offered miles of walking. We also enjoyed excellent lobster rolls at Brookside Takeout and loved the food selections at Doucette’s Market, where we bought soup kits that fed us for 8 days.
While beach walking, we became fascinated by the sounds the ocean makes as it moves the rocks. It sounded like mini firecrackers or very loud Rice Crispies. The water on this side of the island was crystal clear and I can see why July and August are popular times to visit.
Before leaving Ingonish, we made the decision to shorten our Cape Breton trip and shift those extra days to Newfoundland. Our original plans had been to stay in Sydney for several days, allowing us to explore the city and hike near Bras d’Or Lake. With the trails closed it didn’t make sense to stay and the change would allow us to hike my ever-increasing list of “must hike trails in Newfoundland.”
We spent one night in Sydney near the harbor and had just enough time to enjoy the scenic drive from Ingonish. Along the way we stopped for lunch at The Dancing Moose Cafe where we were treated with friendly smiles and the most delicious pannenkoeken this side of the Atlantic.
We also stocked up on healthy provisions at The Other Cupboard Emporium just past the cafe. They tried to tempt us with a visit to the local church flea market and threw in some extra bison jerky. The owners were really nice and told us all about the not-so-secret after parties that occur during Celtic Colours in the fall. William McNally, we need to plan a family group trip for this!
Our last food stop before arriving in Sydney was supposed to be for a loaf of bread at Cedar House Bakery. I couldn’t believe my eyes when we walked in and saw they had chocolate cake with boiled icing (we call it 7-minute frosting). That is my favorite cake!! Mom makes it for me every year for my birthday and I’ve never seen it in a restaurant. A TV crew was there interviewing the owner and I sure hope they recorded my voice saying “Oh my God, you have my favorite cake! I came all the way from Louisiana for this!”
As I write this from Newfoundland, where we’ve now spent 9 days, I am so glad we altered our plans. With only a week left before heading back home, there is still so much we haven’t seen. I’m also sad that we left so much of Cape Breton unexplored, but I feel confident that another trip to this region is in our future. Chéticamp in particular is in my bones now and I’ll want to return so I can show Betty Ann and Lola my much-practiced hooker skills.
If you missed our hiking notes, you’ll find those at Trails and Tales of Cape Breton and a more thorough Cape Breton Highlands Hiking Guide on our Trips to Walkabout site.
