Peggy's Cove NS

The grandest of them all - the lighthouse at Peggy's Cove. Everytime I turned my head I had to take another picture. There's not much more that can be said. I share a few of the images here.

I'm in Halifax tonight and leaving very early in the morning to return home.

 

...... It's been a great vacation.

 

 

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Paradise - aka Mahone Bay

Funny how much more we appreciate the good times after the bad. Tell your friends, "Go the Fisherman's Daughter B&B in Mahone Bay". I am so happy to be here. This town is amazing, the people are amazing, the view is amazing. I have not posted a bathroom picture since the Camino, but check this out. And just being in this bedroom makes me smile.

There is a Tea Brewery here where I spent an hour and I even found a chiropractor who help me because my back has been killing me from driving.

But the very best part of all is everyone's friend 'Max''.

 

 

 

 

 

View from the B&B. The last leg of my trip starts tomorrow when I return to Halifax, but it before visiting Peggy's Cove.

 

 

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Lunenburg NS

Shelbourne is the prettiest little historic town. I Really enjoyed walking along the boardwalk by the water looking at museums and craft shops. I wish I had stayed here last night, but at least spent a couple of hours this a.m.

 

I do believe that Lunenburg is a tourist trap. I understand that tourism is probably their main source of income, but all the prices are higher than in Halifax, which doesn't make sense. $52 for whale watching? I'll watch a YouTube video I think. There are some pretty nice ships to see here though, so would definitely recommend making a pit-stop.

And not to be a complainer, (what would a vacation be without at least a couple of complaints?) but here is what I recommend about booking a B&B online.

1. Check the reviews before booking
   
2. Assume that if it costs $55 per night incl. breakfast that you don't want to stay there
3. Make sure it is IN the town your going to and not 10k out
4. If a very large host answers the door in a smelly and dirty wife-beater shirt it's not a good sign

And the worst thing is when you realize that you've booked this really bad place for 2 nights. I have to give 48 hrs to cancel the 2nd night, but at $55 I'm going to be outta here tomorrow. Mr. Large Host's girlfriend just arrived. Oh geez, I'm being too judgmental. The good thing, besides the price, is the view of the little boats across the road.

 

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Digby to Pubnico NS

Yesterday was quite foggy with a steady drizzle all day. I didn't mind because it gave this fishing town a mystical quality. Joe took me to see this balancing rock and I half expected to see a ghost ship break through the fog. Joe was such great company and we talked about everything imaginable.

This morning the fog was gone and I woke up to a beautiful sunrise. I would have loved to stay in Digby and hang out with my new friend, but rooms had been booked and reality was calling, so I said a sad goodbye. I then proceeded to get lost 4 times before remembering that I have a GPS! At one point I ended up at the fishing wharf. Sometimes getting lost can be sorta fun.

 



Tonight when I went out for dinner I had a nice surprise when this Nova Scotia Country Band started playing some toe tapping music :)

 

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The Long Way To Digby

It's about 120km or so from Wolfville to Digby. So it should take about 1.5 hrs to drive right? Wrong. It took me closer to 4 hrs because I thought I should be able to find a way to drive along the ocean. After crawling along gravel, bumpy, winding roads for two hours all I had to show for it was this picture of a lighthouse (and likely a few chips of paint gone from the rental). I finally decided that the only way I was going to make it was to find the highway. Easier said than done when you're in the middle of nowhere. I did make a few interesting stops along the way; one at Annapolis Royal and the other at Bear River. I toured the oldest wooden house in Canada, built in the 1700s and had a personal tour of the Bear River Winery. My tour guide Bonnie is from the U.S. and is about the 10th person who has told me that they came here on vacation and never left.

Now here I am in Digby and no, I did not take a photo of the scallops I had for dinner to make you envious. The B&B I am staying in is called Come From Away. How is it possible that each place I stay gets better? I have the most amazing view ever and a friendly (and good looking) host. Joe has a 14 year old Airedale 'Todd' who makes me miss my Daisy. It looks like I'm going to be out of here just in time before the annual biker rally next weekend when there'll be 25,000 bikers in town!

The docks here are specially built to rise and fall with the tides. In the picture the tide is fairly low. When it gets higher those steps will rise with the dock. Since there are Whale Watching tours here, and if I can get beyond my sea sickness concerns, it might be my plan for tomorrow.

 

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Wolfville NS and Area

L'Acadie Blanc Grapes

I only had two things planned for today; find my next Bed & Breakfast and visit a winery. I ended up visiting two wineries, 9 towns and meeting a well known local watercolour artist. When I pulled up the lane of the B&B I started to worry. No one was there and a note was posted 'be back at 3:00'. But what worried me was that the place looked like a dive that was very old with overgrown weeds. The web site made it sound luxurious and I started preparing my speech about false advertising. About 3:30 I met the owner and hesitantly went inside. "You can't tell a book by its cover" is an understatement, because this place really is beautiful.

In my bedroom there are two watercolour paintings and I soon discovered that the whole house was full of paintings by the same artist. I asked who she was and learned that 'Linda Backhouse' lived very close by; so I set out on my mission to find her. Nine towns later we met. Linda and I talked for about an hour and she explained many of her techniques as well as tips on other things to see in the area. Since I couldn't afford one of her actual paintings I bought greeting cards and bookmarks. This is just a photo of a greeting card, but you get the idea of her work. She told me I could come back and take classes from her so now another idea is brewing in my mind :)

 

Is it possible to eat too much seafood? Tonight Seafood Chowder and, because I'm on vacation , I introduce you to ...... Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake! I think tomorrow is going to have to be another walking day!

 

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Tired and Stuffed - Halifax Day II

I'm exhausted. But in a good way :) Walked and ate so much! I started out the day with waffles with warm homemade wild blueberry sauce and coffee at the B&B. Then to Halifax and onto the Harbour Hopper; a very expensive, but fun motor/amphibian tour.

Next was the Nova Scotia Art Gallery, where I saw the Maud Lewis exhibition. In case you don't know who Maud Lewis is, please check this out; It can't help but make you smile. The rest of the exhibitions were rather confusing. I never understand when large galleries feature art that honestly looks like crap. The one thing good that came from it was that I left there feeling like I was better at painting than most of them (or maybe I just don't get it)

Then onto the Public Garden where you see the most beautiful art ever, compliments of Mother Nature. I enjoyed myself here more than at the art gallery and happened to be present during the Dahlia exhibition. Am I sounding like a senior citizen when I say that? I don't care. When I get home I am painting Dahlias!

 

At the park at the mouth of the harbour I did lots more walking. I was so tired that I sat down to watch the ships come into the harbour and noded off. I wasn't sure if I was more tired or hungry, but the hunger won :) Even though I had eaten lobster roll for lunch (chopped up lobster on a bun); when in Halifax.....

 

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