Photographs taken in August 2008 and edited for the classic old style look and feel. Peggy's Cove still has a traditional atmosphere.
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Evening Sail B & B |
Our Room |
Pictou Waterfront |
We flew into Halifax on a nice warm August day. Upon arrival, we rented a car and headed north towards our first stop, Pictou, Nova Scotia. We stayed at the Evening Sail Bed & Breakfast. It was a wonderful accommodation with comfortable beds and the breakfast was amazing, complete with some leftovers to take along for the day. Highly recommend this B&B if you have the chance to stop there.
Pictou is a quaint community with plenty of historic houses to see. The waterfront offers an array of restaurants and a few shops, along with a lobster hatchery and a tall ship. The marina was busy with various activities and offered us a chance to take in the atmosphere.
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Our travels took us to the PEI ferry the following morning. The line was not too long and we boarded quickly for the 75 minute trip to PEI. We chose to take the ferry to PEI and then the Confederation Bridge on the way back. Note that you only pay when you leave PEI, regardless of how you get there.
It was a beautiful day for the trip across the Northumberland Straight. We explored the ship a little but mostly took in the sights, sounds and smells of the fresh ocean atmosphere.
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Upon arriving at the wharf in PEI we were greeted with the bright greens of the grass against the deep red of the dirt. The contrast looked amazing and we now knew why so many people that visit PEI note its beauty.
We headed east from the ferry as our plan was to travel the coast line all the way around the island up to Cavendish which is about in the middle of the island on the North side.
Not many others traveled this way off the ferry, and it was nice to feel like we had the island and road to ourselves. Our first stop was along the road when we came upon a house with the laundry flapping in the wind with the ocean in the background. It looked like a tourism ad.
Lighthouses....and more lighthouses. We ventured to many of them.
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We stayed at the Cois Farraige Beside the Sea Bed & Breakfast in the Cavendish area. Very comfortable accommodations and a great cooked to order breakfast.
We did some hiking in this area both down to the beach, as well as along an urban path that followed the water's edge. Lots of lobster fishing in this area.
On a side note, it seemed that the town businesses closed early as we arrived just prior to 6 pm and attractions were closing. |
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Confederation Bridge - disappearing |
Bay of Fundy - Low Tide (very low) |
Dramatic cliffs & colors |
We traveled over the Confederation Bridge back to Nova Scotia. There was a lot of fog, so it was hard to tell that we were in the middle of the "water" while driving. Our GPS unit did show that we were though...once over the bridge, we stopped and managed a few photos of the bridge disappearing into the fog.
As the skies cleared up, we were traveling to Digby which is along the north shore of NS. This route is along the Bay of Fundy, where the world's highest tides are recorded. We managed to be along the route during low tide so we were able to see the stranded boats and literally walk along the ocean floor (the mud flats).
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Digby, NS is home to the world famous Digby Scallop Fleet. Lots of action in the harbor and this quaint little town had some unique shops and restaurants. This was also our base for traveling to Brier Island for our whale watching excursion.
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Our Charter Boat with Mariner Cruises |
Seal Cove - Just a short hike away |
Brier Island |
The trip to Brier Island involves using 2 small ferry barges (you stay in your vehicle) and Brier Island itself is quite secluded. There was 1 restaurant where we had a light lunch and then we boarded the boat for whale watching. Our 4 hour tour with Mariner Cruises was a lot of fun and also educational. There were many humpback whales in the bay and we had the chance to see a few of them including a baby close up.
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We drove around Brier Island and checked out a few of their lighthouses.
On the way back to Digby from Brier Island, we stopped for a hike of about 30 minutes to Balance Rock. It is a tall piece of rock that is balanced on its edge and was interesting to see.
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Mahone Bay, NS Churches |
Lunenburg, NS |
Peggy's Cove, NS |
Our travels from Digby back to Halifax took us south towards the Lunenburg area. We had lunch there and also checked out the Fisheries Museum. We also stopped in Mahone Bay to view the famous 3 churches there.
Our destination for that day was Peggy's Cove as our accommodation, The Oceanstone Inn, was located just a few miles from that small fishing village.
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Our room was located in this cottage. |
Our room. Small but comfortable. |
The Oceanstone Inn was a quiet set of cottages on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean. We hiked along the water's edge and enjoyed the peacefulness of the area.
The inn itself, although touted as being high end, was more of a moderate accommodation. Clean and comfortable, but had some areas that could have been touched up such as some rust in the bathroom, scrapes on walls and general attention to detail was lacking as a whole.
The included breakfast was very good and included fresh fruits and cheeses.
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Peggy's Cove is very picturesque and we visited it several times including during the sunset - although the sunset that evening was not too dramatic.
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We spent a day in Halifax and took in the waterfront. We also went on a harbor cruise on a tall ship.
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Follow the blue line.
We started at "B" and drove up towards the northeast through Pictou and across on the ferry to PEI.
Then along the eastern shore of PEI and back across the Confederation Bridge to Nova Scotia and headed along the Bay of Fundy to Digby and all the way to Brier Island (the furthest western blue line point).
After that we headed south across NS and then east through Lunenburg and to Peggy's Cove and Halifax.
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