Well, off we were to Nova Scotia and I had a few things that I had on my mind that I wanted to experience. Pretty silly things, but truly something that we would always remember and be able to share. Perhaps they are on your list as well. I wonder. Do you have a bucket list? I do. Maybe I will ask for yours one day and compile a centralized bucket list for the group. Anyway, here were mine for Nova Scotia. 

1. See the Tidal surge coming into the Bay of Fundy.
2. Take some incredible whale photos from a boat.
3. Travel the Cabot Trail – many say it is the most beautiful trail in North America
4. See a moose and take incredible photos

Well, I guess I’ll get right to the end…….1 out of 4. Disappointing but this trip was worth it. But we did see an American Bald Eagle! I’ll keep you reading the rest of the blog by not letting the “cat out of the bag” just yet of what we actually did and saw.

One of the reasons we selected Nova Scotia was the distance from New York. It’s only a 2 hour flight and you pick up an hour in time! I had forgotten that they were in Atlantic time.  We prepared well for our trip, flights, hotels and things to do and see. I swear by Hotels.com. They really give you some detail on each place and for every ten nights you book you get a free night. Our plans to drive each day would keep us quite busy. Originally we were going from Halifax to the Bay of Fundy and Yarmouth to the Cabot Trail, until I mapped it and discovered Nova Scotia was a lot  bigger than I thought.

We started our trip in Halifax. What a beautiful city! Not surprisingly, almost 50% of the people that live in Nova Scotia live in Halifax, just about 500,000. It is a beautiful bustling European looking city. Construction is going on galore and the gathering point of the city is the downtown pier area where the restaurants, bars and shops abound. Our hotel, the Marriott Harbourfront Hotel was located right in the heart of it on the waterfront. Great place, great location! It pays to be a rewards member as well, free parking and upgrades to the room are a great perk.

After checking in, first stop was the Citadel, sitting high on top of the city. This fortress protected the city since 1749 and through the discovery and colonization periods of North America. They continue to have reenactments of the changing of the guards as well as the cannon firing and many other participatory things to do, such as shooting a 125 year old musket – which Betty did not get to do. Although it was late in the afternoon, we stayed almost until closing. They were preparing for Canada Day, which is their celebration of the joining of the colonies of Canada, which consisted of Ontario and Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick over 150 years ago on July 1, 1867. 

The next morning, after seeing the weather and deciding to sleep in, we started our trek towards Peggy’s Cove, which is only about 40 minutes away – the backroads way! As we drove, the weather got better but we really didn’t expect much change. Well as you can see in the pictures, it was almost a total whiteout. Although the rain stopped, the fog – the white rocks – the white lighthouse – became almost invisible to the eye. Peggy’s Cove is a quaint little fishing village that has one of the most beautiful lighthouses, of all 160 or so, in Nova Scotia. It is also well known for the memorials to Swissair Flight 111 which on September 2, 1998 crashed into St. Margaret’s Bay with the loss of all 229 aboard. 

Even with the fog, there was a peaceful feeling there. A place where you wanted to sit and let your mind wander. The massive stones worn from the ocean beating upon it for many centuries let you walk around and see the lighthouse from all angles. Betty did a little bit of meditating sitting on the edge, in the fog looking out over the ocean. Truly a peaceful picture. 

Our overnight spot was in Lunenburg. This historic town was designated a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site in 1995. This designation ensures protection for much of Lunenburg’s unique architecture and civic design, was settled back in 1749 by Protestants migrating from the Rhine region of Germany, France and Switzerland. So, I felt a little at home here. The architecture, the flowers and colors of the houses truly makes this one of the most beautiful photo spots in the province. We had a nice bed and breakfast here that was one block from the harbor, which like probably in most Nova Scotia coastal towns is the center of the city. Keep in mind that this is a province that is surrounded by water and therefore has used the sea as its basis for its economy. There are lobster pots EVERYWHERE! Speaking of lobster, Betty had a lobster dinner here, looking out over the harbor. We just enjoyed the casual environment, watching the sun settle into the hills behind us and lighting the harbor up with a glow.

The next days journey took us away from the coast line through the center of Nova Scotia to the west where Grand Pre and Wolfsville became our center of attention for the next 2 days. It turns out that there is also quite a bit of farming, both dairy and livestock, but also surprisingly, wineries abound on the western portion of the province. Grand Pre has a history that many of us in the US do not know although it is a part of ours as well.

Just a little bit of history, with help from the tour and Wikipedia. The Acadians, settlers from France, who settled in Grand-Pré in the mid 1600’s, built dykes there to hold back the tides along the Minas Basin on the Bay of Fundy. They created rich pastures for their animals and fertile fields for their crops. By the mid-18th century it was the largest of the many Acadian communities along the coastline of Nova Scotia (Latin for “New Scotland”)

During the French and Indian War the British and French were fighting over Nova Scotia and the British began the systematic deportation of the Acadians because they thought they were supporting the French. In 1755, the men and boys of the area were ordered into the church on September 5.  They were informed that they and their families were to be deported as soon as ships arrived to take them away. Some Acadians escaped the deportation and continued their resistance of the British throughout the expulsion campaigns. Before the first year was over, however, more than 6,000 Acadians were deported from the Bay of Fundy region. Many villages were burned to the ground to ensure the Acadians would not be able to return. Thousands more would be deported in the second wave which involved the deportation of the Acadians from Cape Breton and Prince Edward Island (1758). The deportation continued until England and France made peace in 1763. In all, 12,000 Acadians were deported. Many Acadians died from drowning, starvation, imprisonment, and exposure.

Most Americans had not heard of this until the publication of Evangeline, an epic poem published in 1847 by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, detailing the story of the deportation of the Acadians. The suffering of the colonies and immigration existed not only in the colonies but also in the Canadian provinces as well. It seems the search for freedom, happiness and enjoyment has been around for centuries and continues to this day. When you walk around the monument and grounds in Grand Pre, you can almost feel the people, their hardship and suffering.

Our stay was in Wolfsville, a small college town, in a beautiful old Bed & Breakfast called Tattingstone. They had a pool and an absolutely magnificent sun room where breakfast was served. Delicious. Wolfsville, I like the name already, is home to many wineries and the college of course. We took a ride to the Minas Basin. Our first look at the Bay of Fundy. This is where the tide rises and settles over 25 feet twice per day. Sad to say we did not see the wave come in, but we did see the extent to which it subsides. Take a look at the pictures in the gallery.

The next day we headed up to Baddeck and the Cabot Trail. Baddeck is a beautiful seasonal destination. In the winter it becomes somewhat desolate due to the weather and the mere fact that there is not much to do if you cannot spend time outside enjoying nature. On the way up to Baddeck, we scheduled our whale watching trip for the next morning out of Cheticamp. This is  a small village on the northeastern side of Nova Scotia where the whales come in from the north to the warmer waters to breed and feed. We were told to select a charter that “guarantees” a sighting. Who does that? It’s nature! There are no guarantees!

Well, we spent three hours on the rubber dinghy boat and saw….very little. How disappointing is that? Sometime close to the end, I didn’t see it, but he pointed into the distance and said there was a minke whale. I said to myself, there goes my guarantee, and I didn’t see anything. Well, just before we docked, he apologized and directed us to the office to get our refund. It was really very nice, but I would have rather spent the money and seen some gigantic whale breach the water to the side of us and me just snapping photos as fast as I could! Well, maybe next time.

The rest of the day was spent driving up the Cabot Trail. It spans for over 300 kilometers, that’s about 185 miles for you non-metric folks, most of it along the coastline of Cape Breton Island. The views of the ocean, mingling with the forests and mountains is truly a site to behold. As you are driving, you want to stop at each and every turnout to take a photo or two. I believe that’s why they tell you that it is a 2 to 3 day drive. I did want to see a moose on this trip. There are over 1,000 moose in the park, but it seems that you really need to go hiking early in the morning or at dusk to see any. This trip was not a hiking trip for Betty and I. We were on a mission to see as much of Nova Scotia as we could.

As we returned to Halifax to catch our flight back home the next day, it was interesting to see the difference in weather from morning to afternoon, from rocky ocean coastline to inner mountaintop. We travelled through sunshine and warmth, fog and cool drifts of air from the ocean to rain and cold. Yet we were not swayed in our thoughts of how beautiful this province of Canada is. The people were helpful in every aspect and friendly as can be.

I would encourage you to visit this lovely Canadian province. Travel the roads, stay at the inns, eat the delicious foods and experience a simpler time slower. A time for relaxation, not the blowing of car horns. A time to sit back and watch the fog roll in from the ocean and create a view that you will not forget as it encapsulates the lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove.