Canada, Trips

Mahone Bay

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I still remember my breakfast at the Finer Diner on the morning we left Peggy’s Cove. It was a delicious corned beef hash, and it may have been one of the best meals of the whole trip. And that’s counting a lot of lobster.

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And it didn’t hurt that this was our view during breakfast.

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One of the things I love about having a rental car and driving on vacation is stumbling along places like Mahone Bay.

Three-Churches-Mahone-Bay

I really want a floating house on a lake. Is that too much to ask?

Floating-Home-Canada

I also loved all of the colorful houses and wished that I could take pictures of them all!

Colorful-Houses-Mahone-Bay

Purple-Green-House-Mahone-Bay

Gingerbread-Veranda-Mahone-Bay

Luckily, there were plenty of colorful, beautiful houses in Lunenburg, our next stop. And I had plenty of time to take photos there.

Canada, Trips

Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse (with a sunset)

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Even though I liked the fog when we first arrived in Peggy’s Cove, I was thrilled to see it dissipate just in time for the sun to set. Erica and I quickly drove back to the village from our motel up the road. Along with just about everyone else. The rocks were packed with people also wanting to take a photo of Peggy’s Point Lighthouse at sunset.

This is only a few of the people there.

This is only a few of the people there.

And I can’t blame them. I mean…

Peggys-Point-Lighthouse-Red-Lamp

Peggys-Cove-Lighthouse-Sunset

It was pretty incredible! And if we were patient, the crowd would clear enough that we could quickly snap a few photos sans people. Except this one couple.

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They really took their time, posing for lots of photos of each other, and basically trying our patience. But we persevered and they finally moved on. Phew.

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We stopped at the memorial for the Swissair Flight 111 crash that took place off the coast in 1998. It’s a little unsettling how many memorials to crashes we found along the coast, but it was a really peaceful place with a beautiful view.

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Peggys-Cove-Lighthouse-Distant

Canada, Trips

Peggy’s Cove

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We knew about the lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove, of course, but I didn’t expect to also find such a cute town. I kind of fell in love with it.

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One of the residents of Peggy’s Cove, William deGarthe, carved this monument to the fishermen and the community.

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Fishermens-Monument-Details

Something I loved about these fishing villages is that, while tourists flock to them, they are still living villages. When we were in Cavendish at Avonlea Village, I was disappointed that the colorful lobster buoys hanging the side of a fast food restaurant weren’t authentic. They were exactly what I had pictured, but they were artificial. It was much more satisfying to see the real tools used. And they were just as colorful.

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As we drove back to our hotel, I spotted this cottage with the yellow door and had to stop. I want to live here.

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Canada, Trips

Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse (in the fog)

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At first, I was disappointed that Peggy’s Cove was all fogged in. We ate lunch and hoped the fog would lift. It didn’t. But it didn’t take long before I realized that I loved the fog and wind. It made everything so dramatic.

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We loved just hanging out on the rocks and watching the waves crash. Our friends from the ferry had warned us not to step on the black rocks, though, because you could be swept out into the ocean if you did that. Duly noted. We definitely stayed off those. More from Peggy’s Cove later.

Canada, Trips

Terence Bay Lighthouse

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In our quest to visit every lighthouse on our route, we made a slight detour during our drive from Halifax to Peggy’s Cove to see the Terence Bay Lighthouse. On the way, we came across a memorial to the shipwreck of the SS Atlantic. It was such a peaceful spot, especially in the fog.

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Erica read up about the shipwreck of the steamship that happened in 1873. Out of 950 people on board, more than half of them perished. However, the number would have been much higher if it hadn’t been for the courageous efforts of the people near Terence Bay.

We could barely make out the lighthouse across the harbor in the dense fog.

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We drove closer to the lighthouse, but it still took some scrambling over rocks and through water to reach it. It was worth it.

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Such a perfect little spot, especially on a foggy morning.

Canada, Trips

A Stroll Through the Halifax Public Gardens

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Out of all the things in Halifax, I was looking forward to the Public Gardens the most. Public gardens promise all sorts of material for a photographer, and the one in Halifax certainly made good.

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I loved coming across so many people in the garden taking a break from their day and reading on benches.

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There were so many beautiful spots in the Halifax Public Gardens. I wanted to claim them all for my own.

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But this spot on a bench hidden under tree branches was my very favorite, especially with the light shining just so.

Hidden-Spot-Halifax-Gardens

Canada, Trips

Halifax Citadel

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You can’t really miss the citadel when you visit Halifax. It’s atop a large hill in what seemed like the center of town. To be honest, I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to visit it, not least because I didn’t know for sure if it would be worth the hike up the aforementioned hill.

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However, the walk up wasn’t too bad, and I think it was definitely worth it. I had the good fortune to visit with Dr. Erica Morin, professor of American History, who also happened to grow up near some forts in upstate New York, so it was like having my own private tour guide.

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Canada, Trips

Halifax Harbor

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From the wilds of Cape Breton, we traveled to Nova Scotia’s capital city, Halifax. We arrived in the late afternoon, so after we checked into the hotel, we wandered down to the harbor (or harbour, as the Canadians would write). We passed by the Old Burying Ground, so of course we had to stop because I love a good, old cemetery.

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It was a really pleasant walk down to the harbor, and I loved seeing some of the historic buildings.

Historic-Halifax-Buildings

Historic-Halifax

But it didn’t compare with the view of the harbor.

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It was a perfect evening to relax near the water.

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Floppy-Lamp-Posts-Halifax-Harbor

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It was a promising introduction to Halifax.

Canada, Trips

The Cabot Trail in Cape Breton (Part 2)

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After leaving Ingonish, we continued traveling along the Cabot Trail. Basically, it was just beautiful vista after beautiful vista.

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We veered off the Cabot Trail and headed north to the very tip of the island and stopped where John Cabot (or Giovanni Caboto) first landed in 1497. We hooked around the tip and saw a sign for Meat Cove that we couldn’t resist. I mean, doesn’t Meat Cove just sound charming? Well, maybe charming isn’t the right word, but the landscape belies its pragmatic name and is definitely charming perched along the rugged coast.

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This is where the road really starts curving.

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When you stop near the top and look out in either direction, you can see the road furling out like a ribbon beyond.

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We stayed the night in Cheticamp and stopped in to listen to music. It was incredible! I was so impressed by the skills of the musicians, one of them seemed really young, too.

https://www.instagram.com/p/5supwdnIBf/

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We stayed in an oTENTik cabin in the Cape Breton Highlands National Park. The cabin was very spacious and cool inside, but the real charm is the outside with its cute deck and colorful chairs.

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20_Cheticamp-Otentik-Cabins

We had thought about hiking the Skyline Trail that morning, at least for a bit, but it was so rainy and foggy. I’m not super outdoorsy, so it was easy to decide to skip the hike and keep driving. We did stop into a bakery in town for some donuts.

21_Aucoin-Boulangerie

We bought the donuts to go and ate them in the car. They were so delicious that we considered turning around to buy a dozen, but decided that was a little extravagant. I regret that decision to this day.

There was still a lot of road to see. Not to mention moose!

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Our final stop in Cape Breton was the Glenora Distillery. We stopped so Erica could pick up a present for someone; I wasn’t expecting such a photogenic place.

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When planning our trip, I really didn’t know how much time to plan for Cape Breton. We basically had two days, which was fine for driving it, but if I were to return, I would definitely plan an extra day or two so we could have spent time on our porches or maybe hiked a little (a very little).

Canada, Trips

The Cabot Trail in Cape Breton (Part 1)

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You know I love a good road trip. Part of that is a good road to travel. The Cabot Trail in Cape Breton is regularly included in lists of the best roads to drive, and it didn’t take long to discover why.

We started the route in Baddeck. Well, just outside Baddeck. We stayed the night at the Bras d’Or Campground in the quaintest little cottage.

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When Erica and I were planning our trip, we had big ideas about our little camping outings. In fact, Erica even packed the trunk with a cooler and skewers for roasting hot dogs and marshmallows. I imagined sitting out on that screened porch and watching the light slip away. But we got into town late and it was much easier just to visit one of Baddeck’s restaurants. We decided, though, to try and catch the sunrise. So I set my alarm for way too early. It was a foggy, cold morning so we bundled up and headed down to the lake.

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What we didn’t expect were the mosquitos. So. many. mosquitos.

https://www.instagram.com/p/5suXTxJPAj/

We gave up on our attempt to view the sunrise. And continued to find mosquito bites all over our ankles, shins, arms, etc. over the next few days. I still love the idea of sitting back in these Adirondack chairs. Mosquitos gotta ruin it all.

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We traveled the Cabot Trail in a counter-clockwise direction because that put us on the side of the road with all the views. We first stopped in Ingonish. We saw the Keltic Lodge high on the cliffs and decided to drive in for a closer look.

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If I were really wealthy, I would summer here. (I’d do a lot of things if I were really wealthy.) It was so beautiful in Ingonish that we decided to pause our road trip and spend an hour or two at the beach. We changed into our swimwear and pulled up a patch of sand. The water was still too cold for us to do more than dip our toes in, but a little people-watching, a little book-reading, a little sunbathing was just perfect.

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After an hour or so, we were ready to head out again.

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There was still a lot of road to travel before we reached our next lodging. But I think this might be a good place to stop for now.