Destination Nova Scotia!
Route Day 1 Portland to Yarmouth, NS via the CAT Ferry
Me and Dawg ready to go. That’s Old’Dawg’ on the left.. Don’t want you getting it wrong by any means.. LOL! I do try to dress him up at times..We're in the Ferry staging area.
After packing on Friday before, we loaded the last few items and iced up for the run. Took us about 2 hrs to the the Ferry Terminal for the crossing. Intention is to take the Cat across and save the drive. Costs for 2 Adults and our Subaru Outback, $340 one way.
Pre checking in at the Terminal is suggested. It does help move things along, especially is there's a full boat. The attendants love it!
Once you enter the staging area, which you can at noon, you there till you board. This is a tarred parking lot, so if it's a hot muggy or very sunny day, be prepared!
The Cat showed up on time and disembarking happened pretty smoothly. Our loading was just as smooth and you do drive on, to the back, and they turn you around to face forward for departure. I was very curious how this worked.. Put on you parking brake, grab you goodies for the ride, lock your car and head upstairs to the passenger area.
First come first serve on seating. Some seats are yet they're up front and my experience is not the place to be. Balance of the seating is basically airline seats yet spaced out and roomy. There are also couches.. Several of them.
I will not say many but several seats are in groups of 4 (pairs facing each other) with a table between. This is what we chose in the Aft area. We had it to our selves as did many others. I did ask a crew member if it was a normal amount of folk onboard. Yes he replied. So plenty of room of seating.
Center cabin played movies for the ride, aft (where we were) the had Euro Sports playing on the several screens onboard. You can see one where ever you sit. The coffee shop and the deli shop were good, pricey but good. You can bring your on onboard. I brought my cooler with goodies and drinks for us. Shame they is not WiFi, so come prepared with what you want to do on your devices.
Out side decks are fairly small (for the size of the boat) and only the rear deck has seating. Nice to see Starboard was the smokers deck.
All and all, nicely setup. Now the ride!
Even on calm seas, 3-5ft swells, you are going to get tossed about a bit. The action is more side to side and there's no avoiding this. Our first 4hrs was rather calm and as we came into Nova Scotia we caught up to the storm and it got rocky! My wife had a tough time when it was calm, so that last 2hrs was pure hell for her. Outside was the only place she could maintain. The cold air was her only relief. For me, it was not till that last hour it hit me. Dramamine had worn off I guess. I'm told ginger tea really helps. I will keep this in mind if we do this again (which is highly unlikely).
Best why I can explain it is think of being in the widest plane you've ever seen, flying in turbulence and no seatbelt sign sign turned on.. In fact encouraging you to attempt to walk around. Good luck with that!
We were both very happy together off The Cat (otherwise known as The Vomit Comet). We stayed in Yarmouth that night.
We stayed at El Rancho, up the hill off the boat, take a left at the lights and a few miles down the road on the right. Decent place for the dollar, Would stay again. Free coffee in the office for the morning., small fridge in the room and WiFi. Beds were okay.. Motel beds, need I say more.
Off in the morning (9am) to start our trek up the Eastern coastline to Halifax.
Day 2
Normally a 3.hr drive but were coming up the coast on the Old Rt 3 so we can see what it looks like. Planning on 6hrs to get there. The road is a 2 lane and treed on both sides. As you passed through the Bays, you'd see the water. Outside of that, trees… Highest speed, 50mph.
What was dis-appointing was when you had a view, there was no place to pull off and enjoy. What we found was few and far between. We did manage to find 3 Lighthouses along the way and this really cool stone bridge.
We had to skip 3 others due to time. After 5hrs and checking the map I found we were only 1/3rd the way.. Time to hit the highway and make up some time.
Too cool to just drive by!
First Lighthouse! Couldn't find the road to it. This will become a theme for many of them as we learned.
Seal Island Lighthouse
Number 2 for the day
Nice spot for lunch, aye!
The highlight of the drive was going through Shag Harbor. The amount of little islands along the coastline made it a Kayakers haven! Soft ocean water with some many places to paddle around or stop on and enjoy!
8 points for me (and I'm tough going past 6..)
Fishing Villages along the way and turning down into the Wharfs is you best way so far to really see the water.
Okay, I give…. What’s the deal with the
BIG CHAIRS?
Seen quite a few on this trip..
Con to the trip was the stop in Lunenburg for eats. It was highly recommended to eat at The Knot in town. Hard to find, parking was interesting, place was muggy, food, well 5 points is pushing it. It's a Pub and maybe the burgers are better, but I was told the scallops were great. Not so much… Buddy, if those were the best you've ever had.. I have some suggestions for you.
The landscape so far is soft. What I mean is for the Atlantic coast line I expected some rather harsh coastal lands. So far, soft almost farm like, well just with a lot of trees. Sands like we have on our NH coastline, when there's sand, mostly small rock beaches. Many little islands spotted around that don't show on the map (Google Earth would show). I had no expectations of what was here, so everything is new. Be curious what's up the road..
Nights stay was at Still Waters B&B in Dartmouth.
http://www.stillwatersbandb.ca/home.html
Jim and Ann were very welcoming and eager to assist in anyway they could. Wonderful room, comfortable Bed, great shower, overall great experience there. Highly recommend to all. Nice restaurant right down the street, The Mic Mac. Reasonably priced, good service and good eats. Unexpected was the Nine Locks Brewery right next door. Few samples, quick tour, picked up a few for the next day's enjoyment.
Ann made a wonderful breakfast for us before leaving. Jim spend some time with me discussing the route and possibilities along the way. Yes a very nice stay indeed!
Highly recommended!
Destination Sherbrooke
And away we go. Day 3
Of course the seacoast route!
This day we hoped to catch a couple of the beaches.
One came recommended, Martinique Beach. It is a Provençal Park so well kept. Leads out to a backside tidal bay. Surfers out there playing in the cold water and the beach is mostly rocks
The gem of the day was a chance we took and well worth it! Taylor Head. This is not to be missed. You will not have the waves, but a beautiful sandy beach on a tidal bay. It was the second real score of the trip for us. Water looked like we were in the Caribbean, temperature of the water reminded us we were not..
At low tide you can walk almost all the way across!
Beautiful sandy beach!
A locals secret, now yours & mine as well!
Since I've taught as a young boy not stay anything if you have nothing good to say, all I'll say is, it's a bed for the night. Find another if you can. If you hope to eat in town, get there well before 6pm. They roll the sidewalks up at 6pm! Thankfully the Bistro next door opens at 7am for coffee. The restaurant the Lodge says they have, wasn’t running.
Up again for another day. This time headed for Truro.
Day 4
This run took us through some of the interior of Nova Scotia. Route 7 is a 2 lane road (as much secondary are) and decent as far as we've seen so far. GPS put us on the 348 and that's a Road less Traveled, and for a reason.
Typical of the bridges on the secondary roads
Traffic? What traffic?
Potholes would be an understatement.. You would lose a Mini Cooper in them. The cracks in the road had weeds growing through that actually should be mowed.. We came across a road crew patching the road about halfway through and thought they must have started from the other end. Nope.. Just as bad past them.. I laughed and wondered if they started in the middle. Worst is too think that what they were filling was worst than what we've been driving on. Finally, 10 miles out of New Glascow the road got better. Now as bad as the road was, we saw a very unique part of Nova Scotia. Hills, farm land, lumber land and some very interesting homes.
Saw several great examples on the drive all over the Island
That 1hr run went into 2.5hrs..
New Glascow is a full size town with Sobeys and a NSLC to stock up at. Re-stocked, hit Tim Hortons and on our way to Truro.
The run to Truro was on Rt 104, The TCH! What a welcome from the morning drive to actually use cruse control! Less than an hour were in Truro and checking in at the Holiday Inn, again after that last stay we felt we deserved it.
Truro is a cute town. Large enough without being to big. Nice downtown and worth going to. The Europium was a great little shop/café that you should stop into. The gal there was so pleasant and eager to talk and assist. Shame the Café was closed when we finally showed up. Would have liked to try they're homemade goodies.
The Nova Scotian Emporium & Fireside Tearoom Look then up!
Truro is known for the Tidal Bore. That was really cool to see and a must do in the area.
Basically the tide collects up in the Bays and Flats and finally breaks over in a rush up the river The Bore and fills. The causes a wave that is typically a little over a foot high. They told me they have seen it over two feet on certain full moons.
Day 5
Off in the morning about 9am (ish). Holiday Inn was quite a treat from that last one in Sherbrooke.. We headed out knowing Cape D'or was the place to see, yet there are two other Lighthouses along the the way we hope to catch.
Off in the morning about 9am (ish). Holiday Inn was quite a treat from that last one in Sherbrooke.. We headed out knowing Cape D'or was the place to see, yet there are two other Lighthouses along the the way we hope to catch.
So the first Lighthouse is a marketing tool. Once a true Lighthouse has been moved to this roadside attraction. The Masstown Market. Hey it was on the way and were tourists.
As we drive along the upper areas of the Bay of Fundy we’re driving past the Tidal Flats. I’ve seen Flats before, yet nothing this big!
It went on through several towns. As I’ve mentioned, there’s no place to actually pull over and view.Since there’s so little traffic, we just stopped ‘again’ in the middle of the road and took pictures.
We were under threatening sky's and didn't know what the day would bring!
Next in line was Five Islands Lighthouse. It's a Provincial Park and easy to find.
Along the way you're driving through the tidal flats. These are HUGE and quite the sight. Since traffic is light and no real spots to pull over, I just stopped in the middle of the road, stepped out and took a picture.
The Lighthouse park also over looks the tidal flats and saw several individuals clam digging. Thinking a very good meal is in our near future!
The next one Port Greville. This one looked tougher and when we stopped and ask at one of the Tourist Info Sites, they had no idea what I was talking about. Weird.. So we stopped again at a local store Dad's Store along the way. You have to stop here! If you like talking to locals it's a must. The gal there just went on with stories of the area and was so pleasant to talk to. She told us the story of the Lighthouse we were looking for.
So its told that the Lighthouse was stolen and taken to Cape Breton and on some individuals property. Spotted, ownership challenged and returned some 30yrs later. It now stands in town at a Theatrical Building, that if you didn't know it was real, you think it just another marketing ploy to get you to stop. Not so and would not have known it if not for the stop at Dad's Store. Stop there, buy something, ask her anything and be prepared to hang out for 1/2hr. So glad I did!
We found it!
Comes up you quick, just down the corner.
Nice beach here as well!
There’s a small Restaurant and campground there, right on the water. They also have cottages to rent.
Five Islands onward starts you out of the tidal flats and back into the Big Pond waters. Now you will see rising land from the sea which are very pronounced at low tide (as we had). The islands at Five Islands stood tall from the sea, yet the cliffs at Cape D'or was really what I was missing on this trip.
I've been told your not to take any of the pink sand from around here, but no worries. You car will be so covered from the drive in and out of the Lighthouse road you have plenty to take home. Leave you windows open and you wont even have to pack any.
Seriously though, it is a dirt road and fairly rough on a car. Slow going is the way.
You'll do the drive and reach the parking lot.
That Lighthouse had better not be it! Is this the original? Never did find out.
Well worth the trip down the trail, and back up. Here is a great view of cliffs and the harsh effect the Big Pond can have. Amazing rock formations and outcrops. Probably, to me, the coolest was the current effect on the water.
You have the main current flowing through Chignecto Bay, the flow that curves into Mina's Straight, plus the curve through Advocate Harbor and the Eddy effect flowing through the back bay just beyond the point. The convergence of all of this right at the point of the Lighthouse at Cape D'or.
Ya, I had to look it up.. There was so much turbulence of that point, in such a specific area, ya I had to know why.. Now you do as well. You're welcome, my pleasure!
The drive up from there brought more of the secondary roads and 1 lane bridges Ive become used to now. Many small villages/towns, lots of treed areas and seemingly few people. Here your going to run into the farmer tractors and logging trucks, still not many cars.
Now there's a great camp with a view!
The stay was in Amherst and took about 6hrs will all stops included.
Amherst also brought another great meal at no other than Duncan's Irish Pub!
Headed home. Goodbye for now Nova Scotia!
Google claimed 9.5hrs and that was real close. With our stops along the way, 10hrs. Mainly gas and supplies. 3.5hrs you hit the Border in St Croix. Comes up on you quick once in town (no real town there). The TCH was a joy to drive, yet once off it, back to those 2 roads again. Same to be said on the US side, just a few more cars. Very small small crossing, yet we were the only car and very smooth crossing.
Rt6 in Maine is what we have become used to for roads and gets better as you approach Rt95. What surprised me was is as soon as we hit the Turnpike… cars! I mean lots of them! Compare it to weekend traffic back home and it's noon on. Thursday.. 6.5hrs to home from there.
Quick stop at Tuckaway Tavern for a BBQ for dinner and arrive home.
Notes/Feelings
The trip was planned to use The Cat on and off the island. High season starts on July 1st so our plan was to travel back June 30th and save the $150 (each way on high season). That made the planned route up the East coast and down the West coast. We gave up the west coast to drive back.
The Cat doesn't save time. All in and all, time waiting, boarding and dis-embarking the ship it actually takes more time, only a couple hours and you don't drive. The drive was pretty good in our Subaru Outback and even with gas & meals much cheaper.
Up to you, but I now say drive! Stay in Amherst, NS first night (Super 8 was nice) and venture forward from there.
The East coast can be skipped. Halifax is a question to see or not. Very big city, kinda like seeing Boston, Ma. For me, I say do the Cape D'or, stay in Truro (catch the Tide Bore) and head north on the Highway to Cape Breton. Cape Breton we didn't have time for and wish we did. Really do believe that's where you see the coastline. Cape D'or will show you the tidal flats, but the North shore has the scallops.
Seafood is plentiful everywhere. Happily not all fried as we found on the back roads in NFLD. We found the seafood to be a little sweeter than we get in NH, yet very close in flavor. More expensive due to the taxes, but worth every penny. Well, if you love seafood as we do that is.
The East coast did get us the Gem of a beach at Taylors Head. Eats were good, yet got better as we headed west.
In the populated areas finding a place to stay should be easy. In the rural areas I do suggest
Booking ahead, they fill up and the next town or place could be miles away.
Most folks there are friendly and if you stop the right one, take out your chair.. You're going to be a while! They love their island and happy to share it with you. Due to my Maritime heritage, most folks old not tell I wasn't from there. Yes, they do speak the language. Because of my playfulness with folks I brought out some fun conversations.
I'm sorry to have missed the run along the side of the Bay of Fundy, but even the next run up there I'll head for Cape Breton.
A little salt water fishing from shore was hoped and did pack the 9wt rod (and assortment of of flies) to do a little. No license required for salt or brackish waters. Maybe if I got serious about it and talked to more of the locals, I could have found a place to fish. The shoreline, where we did get close enough, was either rocky or just too shallow. No matter, we had plenty to do!
Great Trip! I will go back!
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