Nova Star-Yarmouth, NS to Portland, ME

The sun was out for our trip across the water.  Thank goodness for that, because yesterday was really a lousy day to travel in a boat.  The ship was huge.  We had no problems driving on board.  There were not that many vehicles.  Both Portland and Yarmouth have high hopes for this ship.  Ferry service used to run from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, but it was discontinued four years ago.  The impact in Nova Scotia was great.  They are hoping that this new service will bring more tourists to the island.

Nova Star

If you are traveling from Portland, it is an overnight trip.  There are cabins on board, plus lots of seating areas, restaurants, movie theater, and a casino.  If you are traveling back to Portland, it is a day trip that takes 10 hours.  The day was beautiful and the seas calmed down.  As we were leaving the harbor, we passed Cape Forchu light, which looked much better today.

Cape Forchu from the Nova Star

We spent most of our time in the Piano Lounge at the front of the boat.  Drinks and food were expensive, as you would expect.  We brought on sandwiches for lunch but had dinner in the buffet.  It was good food.  The view, of course, was nice.  We saw no whales, but a few sea birds.  The TV's on board were showing World Cup soccer.  You could get internet for $10/hour.  The staff was very nice.  I hope this boat survives; they are marketing it as a getaway-go over and come back, or go over to NS, stay a night and then come back.  And for the Canadians, go over to shop. 

It was a long, but peaceful trip back to the US.  We stayed overnight in Portland, drove to Fishkill, NY the next day, and then home.

Coastal towns-Peggy's Cove, Lunenburg and Yarmouth, NS

We drove to Peggy's Cove from Halifax.  It was not too far.  We really hoped for a beautiful sunny day, but that was not to happen.  The best photo's were at high tide, which we were aiming for, but the mostly overcast day did not offer up the best photo opportunities.  Also, for a very small town, in the shoulder season of tourism, there were quite a few huge, articulated buses disgorging tourists at the site.  We were a little disappointed in the place.  Perhaps too much hype.  The lighthouse was beautifully set on the rocks and you could see why it was most photographed in Canada.

We traveled to Lunnenburg, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  I think this was our most favorite stop on the trip.  A beautiful town, with lots of color and a fascinating history.  After visiting a town called Blue Rocks, which we decided it was more interesting than Peggy's Cove with less people, we went to the Lunnenburg tourist center.  The ladies there suggested we startd our walking tour of Lunnenburg with St. Johns Church.

Blue Rocks

Blue Rocks

What an amazing story surrounding this beautiful church.  It was built in 1753 and in 1840, Gothic features were added.  On Halloween night in 2001, it burned.  The church was declared Provincial Heritage Property and was studied and photographed before the fire.  The community came together and decided to rebuild the church.  All the work was done locally except the organ, which was rebuilt and the bells, which were sent back to the original foundry in New York.  What an amazing story of rebirth.  The young docents were quite proud to tell the story of the work done.  It is a beautiful Carpenter Gothic structure.

St. Johns Anglican Church

We walked downhill to the harbor to see the rest of the town.  Wonderful buildings that were restored and beautifully painted.

At the harbor, someone suggested we go around to the other side and up the hill for a great view of the town.  The hill was home to a golf course, which was very steep, but quite spectacular in its views of the town.

In addition to the views, we saw deer running across the fairways and osprey nests.  The place where we stopped to take pictures was near a tee that had a periscope that golfers could look through to see if anyone was in the way along the fairway.

Lunenburg is home to the Blue Nose II, a replica of Blue Nose, a sailing ship from the 1920's and 30's that won sailing competitions.  It is now Nova Scotia's sailing ambassador, except that it undergoing renovations that have hit major money in cost overruns.

We realized this was a place that we could have spent several days discovering.  On the list of places to come back to, this rates quite high.

We left Lunenburg for Yarmouth, where we would catch our ferry back to the U.S.  We found our campground and went into town to check out the ferry terminal.  It was rainy and windy and foggy, all at the same time.  We drove out on a peninsula to see the Cape Forchu Light.  This is described as an "apple core" light and is built of concrete.  We did not see it until we came into the parking lot, so thick was the fog.  We toured the museum and had a nice conversation with two college students who were working there for the summer.  There was a tea room that was open and a little shop and a quite nice museum.

Cape Forchu Light

Cape Forchu Light

As we drove back to Yarmouth, we passed a boat yard, where fishing boats were docked and lobster traps were pulled out of the water.  The lobster season had just ended in this part of Maritime Canada.

We drove back to our campground, where the sun was out. 

Sherebrook to Halifax, NS

Off to Halifax with bouts of bad road and bouts of bad weather.  We found our campground in a suburb of Halifax.  We had a difficult time leveling the trailer, in part because it was pouring rain.  Got a new site which worked.  We decided to check out the ways to get to downtown Halifax.  The best way was by ferry across the harbor.  We found the terminal and checked it out.  Also learned that on weekends, parking was free. 

Next day, it still was raining, but supposed to clear up.  We headed to the ferry; lots of parking available.  As we got on the ferry, the rain let up.  We could see the city, which was invisible yesterday.  It was a short ride and we were at the dock in no time.  We decided to visit the Museum of the Atlantic, which was right on the wharf.  What a great museum!  You know it is good when you learn quite a few facts about a variety of topics.  One was the story of the convoys sailing the North Atlantic during WW II, how they were configured and how they were covered by air support.  The areas that lacked coverage gave the German wolf pack an opportunity to attack the convoys.  Once air coverage became better and forced the U-boat to stay submerged,  the fewer ships were destroyed.

The other interesting exhibit was describing the explosion  in Halifax harbor during WWI when a munitions ship exploded -it was the worst explosion in history until the A-Bomb in Hiroshima.  This happened in 1917, resulting in thousands dead and much of the town destroyed.

Upstairs was a Titanic exhibit.  Among other artifacts, there was a deck chair from the ship on display.  Titanic dead were brought to Halifax.  Survivors were taken to New York City.  The exhibit had lots of info on the White Star line and other transatlantic cruise ship companies.  There were many model ships that were beautifully done on display.

Deck chair from Titanic

 We had lunch from one of the food stalls along the waterfront.  I thought this chalked message was interesting.

After lunch we trudged uphill to the Citadel.  Both Mike and I thought that there would be a clear view uphill to the Citadel from the riverfront, but that was not the case.  The city intervened, with tall buildings often obscuring the fort on the hill.

There were lots of young college students working as costumed interpreters at the Citadel.  We were greeted by one as we entered the fort.

We took the tour which took us into the rooms in the wall or ramparts.  You could also climb up to the top of the wall and walk around the fort.  Very reminiscent of other star forts of the period.

View looking down to the harbor from the Citadel.

We decided to have dinner on the other side of the harbor, since on Sunday the ferry stopped running at 6 o'clock.  Had a great dinner of lobster at the MicMac restaurant in Dartmouth.

Ferry Terminal in Dartmouth.

Louisbourg to Sherbrooke, NS

It was cold our last night in Louisbourg, down to the 30's .  Leaving  Louisbourg, we drove back up to Sydney, then back to Port Hastings, where we crossed back to the main part of  Nova Scotia leaving Cape Breton behind.  We drove back to the town called Antigonish ( pronounced Annigonish) and then south towards the Eastern Shore and the Atlantic Ocean.  We stopped for the night in Sherbrooke, at a campground on the St. Mary's River.  It was a beautiful spot.  Sherbrooke Village is a former lumbering, shipbuilding and goldmining community that has historic buildings and period dressed interpreters.  We did not stop here, but our campground was very close to the sawmill, powered by a water wheel, which still operated.

View of mill from our campground

Sawmill

Peaceful view of St. Mary's River at low tide.

Cape Breton Highlands to Louisbourg, NS

Off we went back down the crazy road than rose and curved and dropped and was badly paved in spots and smooth in other places.  Smokey Mountain was the culprit.  We crossed the end of St. Anns Harbor and up the other side, which was a long haul up but great views down the side toward both the east and the west.  We traveled here before on our trip to Newfoundland.  We stopped at the lookovers and reminisced a bit about that trip.

Glassblowing shop along the way

Englishtown harbor

Sea Island Bridge

We drove around Sydney and down to Louisbourg.  It was a beautiful sunny day, but the wind was really howling.  We found our campground and parked and then went out to the Fortress.  That would be the Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site.  Founded by the French in 1713, Louisbourg was a fishing center on the trade routes between North America and Europe. This is the largest reconstructed fortified town in North America.  It is an amazing site.  There are costumed interpreters and demonstrations of trades, cooking, etc. as life was almost 300 years ago.

The Fortress was captured by the British in 1745 and they held it for 3 years, when it was returned to the French at the end of the War of the Austrian Sucession.  The British captured it again during the Seven Years War (French and Indian War) and it was destroyed.  In the 1960's and 1970's it was partially rebuilt.  The project gave work to unemployed miners.

It is "shoulder" season and many of the buildings were not yet open.  School groups were everywhere.  It is a great place for kids to explore.

The town of Louisbourg seemed like a ghost town as we drove through it to our campground.  No real grocery stores closer than Sydney, 40 km away.  Many shops and restaurants were closed.  We did find one restaurant open, the Station House, with a very outspoken owner by the name of Marlene.  She told us the tourist trade has been down for years and the locals feel as tho the Fortress (in high season) is
undercutting the local shops by serving food, etc.  However, if you visit the Fortress before July 1, you have to bring your own food or hope the small shop serving drinks, cookies and soup does not run out (of soup, as it did on our visit).  We left the Fortress and went back to the Station House for lunch.  We had gotten a take out dinner there the night before.  Fishing is still important here, but not as big an industry as when the train came to town and the coal mines were flourishing.  The locals are hoping that now the ferry is running again from Portland, ME to Yarmouth, the tourists will return.

Broad Cove-Middle Head hike and Celtic Music @Keltic Lodge

We had breakfast out this morning then we were off to hike Middle Head, which stretches out behind Keltic Lodge.  I thought it would be a good walk as it is described as a 2.4 mile loop with elevation change of 35-150 feet.  So, we went up and down, with the path full of tree roots and stones.  Glad to have the sticks.  The reward was the view at the end.  We were fascinated by a colony of sea gulls and their nests and chicks.

We had dinner at the Keltic House so we could enjoy some Celtic music before we left Cape Breton Highlands.  It was an enjoyable evening; sorry we had to leave early, but tomorrow we were leaving so had to pack up.

Broad Cove, Mary Ann Falls and Warren Lake

We woke to a beautiful warm morning.  We set off for Mary Ann  Falls- a 6.5 km drive on a dirt road.  Nice thing about these falls, the parking was within 200 meters.  We took steps down to the bottom of the falls and realized the better view was on the uphill trail.  Back up 51 steps and uphill to view the falls.  They were nice but not too full of water.  The water was dark brown, red, from tanic from trees.

Mary Ann Falls

We drove back down the hill and out to Warren Lake.  We walked the path in headnets as it was warm enough for black flies to swarm.  We could only go 1/2 way around the lake because the bridge was out.  Met a German couple who brought their camper over because they said it was cheaper than renting one here.

Warren Lake

We drove back to the main road and north to Black Brook Cove, a nice picnic area and cobble beach with a waterfall dropping down to the beach.  Mike tried to photograph the waterfall.  The tide was low but coming in and he had to clamber over rocks to get a good shot.  It was an amazing sound to hear the ocean waves moving the rocks in and out. 

Black Brook Cove

Black Brook Cove and waterfall

We wanted to see what was south of us before pulling the trailer over the road.  If there were lookovers, it was easier to do with just the car.  So we headed south and went as far as South Haven.  This is where the highway turns north.  Stopped for ice cream and WiFi.  We drove a bit farther north to Englishtown and took the ferry back across St. Ann's Bay.  We thought it would be a good short cut for tomorrow, but the approach to the ferry was too steep for our trailer.  It was a nice 5 minute ride across the neck of the bay.  We are resigned to a slow drive over steep and curving bad roads to leave Cape Breton Highlands.

Englishtown Ferry

We took a walk after dinner around the campground.  As we were leaving our trailer, we saw a crow grab something from a picnic table that campers were using.  He dropped it and we picked up a package of cheese.  Took it over to the couple and we talked for awhile.  They were from Quebec and had some meat cooking on the outdoor grill.  Didn't that crow watch us talking then swoop down and grab the meat right off the grill!  Luckily our new friends laughed and did not seem to be too distressed that their meal disappeared into the sky.

It was cool at night; glad to have our little heater, but crawled into bed under our blanket and comforter and we were toasty warm.