Good bye New Brunswick--Hello PEI and Nova Scotia
We saw Hopewell Rocks at low tide and saw all the amazing natural formations. We headed east to Moncton and Shediac. The Confederation bridge was another great experience and what an engineering feat!
PEI
I found a cheap cottage at a campground just 500 metres from Cavendish Beach and so we settled in for 3 days of exploring "Anne's land." Our cottage was a little too close to the outdoor pool and all the noise so we moved to a deluxe trailer back in the trees. I got to do my laps in the pool and have a quiet oasis to return to. We were in a farming area and the golden wheat and green potato fields were so beautiful next to the red roads. Ed let me bask in every "Anne of Green Gables" experience--from the historic reproduced home now expanded to include a barn and 2 walks, to Montgomery's homestead --now just a stone foundation-- to the actual musical in Charlottetown.
We toured to the northwest part of the island and even saw the area where Stompin' Tom Connors lived with his grandparents. The sulkies were racing in Summerside and so we had a nice afternoon there. We also feasted on lobster. This prairie girl didn't know that the meat in the claws was way better than that in the tail!
Nova Scotia
We drove to Digby to take in the nearby Port Royal Habitation--a small settlement built by Samuel de Champlain around 1600. The Mi'kmaq people formed a friendship with the French and helped them survive the harsh conditions. We liked all the objects that you could touch from the kitchenware to the forgery tools (it was so cool to feel the furs too) and the reproduced clothing you could put on. The settlement had a wood fence around some of the buildings for protection-it enclosed a kitchen, bakery, quarters, guard room, well, wine cellar, storeroom.
We took in the charm of Lunenburg. The Bluenose II was missing from the harbour because it was in drydock for a re-fit. We enjoyed an amateur show with singing, dancing, and good acting about the history of Lunenburg.
Peggy's Cove was next. I have great memories of this cove from over 35 years ago. All those years ago a flautist filled the air with mystical music. Now it was a bagpiper. Very moving against the wind and waves of the Atlantic.
Some say Peggy's Cove was named after St Margaret's Bay and some say it was named after a tale of a woman rescued from a shipwreck. Six fishermen families started the settlement and some are still there. The incredible boulders all around were left from the Ice Age as glaciers pulled back over the cove. We sat in the white rock zone eating our picnic and taking in the breathtaking scenery. We had been stuck out on the highway for half an hour before as the road in front of the entrance was being paved. The wait was so worth it!
Cape Breton
We had the luxury of the car and decided to take off to Cape Breton to take in the Cabot Trail. We stayed overnight in a gorgeous B&B on the way and felt like a honeymoon couple. We stopped at Baddeck to take in the fantastic Mabel and Alexander Graham Bell Museum. We had no idea that he was such a wild inventor--his creativity went way beyond the magic of the telephone. We had some wind and rain during the 3 days but the views from Cabot Trail were stunning. It was a little nerve-wracking to drive to the top of the highlands and see only a few feet in front of you as the fog crept in all around. We couldn't do any hiking because of the weather but made many stops at the viewpoints called "Lookoffs. " It was a tiring 5 hours on the trail itself but absolutely
memorable. I will never forget the road signs in English and Gaelic.
We loved the Louisbourg Fortress, 30 minutes from Sydney-the costumed interpreters were so entertaining and we got to witness a public trial of a soldier who had stolen a bottle of wine. We enjoyed the great marching pipers and drummers. We had to take a bus to get out there--the site was just ruins from the 1700's and the Federal government re-trained miners to be carpenters and stone masons and they rebuilt the entire fortress. We saw the photos when at times there were 150 ships in the harbour waiting for their precious cod to go to France.
We are now in Halifax and plan to go to the Maritime Museum to learn about the WW1 Explosion and memories of the Titanic disaster. Tomorrow we will go to the Citadel and learn about military life there.
Thanks everyone for coming on this trip around the world with us. We have so appreciated your emails. We fly Halifax to Victoria August 14--plan to stay at Don and Lucille's for a few days while we set up our happy house. We are so looking forward to hugging all our family and friends!
Our last blog,
Love
Esther and Eddie