HOT SPOTS THAT GET YOU TO PEI - PART DEUX

As stated in my previous instalment of this blog, there are a few ways to get from Ontario to PEI. You can zoom down in a couple of days, if that's your inclination, or you can take your time and stop along the way. We did justice to New Brunswick, at least I hope we did, last time. This time let's make a few stops in Nova Scotia and see what this beautiful Province has to offer.

To visit Nova Scotia from the Canadian route you have to go through New Brunswick and take a ferry from St. John, NB to Digby, NS or drive across the border to Amherst on the NS side. Ferry Information - Click Here. There is also a ferry service between Yarmouth, NS and Portland, ME.
Let's talk about Digby, NS.  It's located on the Bay of Fundy, overlooks the Annapolis Valley, has a small population of about 2,100 people and is well known for the amazingly delicious, world famous Digby scallops. Captains Cabin Restaurant - Pictures of Scallops and other great seafood. We were in Digby just long enough to have a look around this very cute little town and to have a wonderful lunch at the Captain's Cabin Restaurant where we had.......what else.......Digby Scallops.

Cut across the Province and you find yourself in tourist heaven:  Peggy's Cove Coastal Region - Lots to see and do. In our RV we have stayed, several times, at a beautiful resort in Hubbard Beach. Here are some photos in and around Hubbard Beach.

A really pretty B&B/Restaurant at the entrance to the RV Park at Hubbard Beach

The Bay at Hubbard Beach

Private little beach a three minute walk from our RV site.

From Hubbard we are extremely central to all the good stuff this area has to offer. Chester, Mahone Bay and Lunenburg. Each of these little towns is worth a good long visit as is the drive down 103 that takes you along this incredibly beautiful shoreline. On the other side of St. Margaret's Bay you will find Peggy's Cove, one of the most photographed towns in the world with the iconic light house, brutal waves crashing on the rocks and thousands of tourists.

Chester: This is one of those pretty little towns that makes you want to pull up stakes and settle down in this quiet little town on the water. It's charming beyond belief, Chester is known for a relaxed lifestyle, magnificent homes, fabulous gardens and the backdrop for many television productions and movies.

Homes on the Bay.

Mahone Bay:  Another little beauty, right on the ocean, tucked way off the beaten path and offering a full day of wandering through the little streets of this tourist town. Population is a meagre 1,000 but this little town really hops in the summer with some great restaurants and pubs and B & Bs ready to make you welcome. We had lunch at a little place called Oh My Cod on their dog friendly patio which suited us to a T.

Oh My Cod. On the patio.

Good atmosphere, right on the main street.

The food? Excellent.

The Bay at Mahone Bay.

Mahone Bay.

Lunenburg:  Lunenburg is a MUST if you are touring Nova Scotia. The town is beyond cute,it's  hilly, has good restaurants and, of course, is the home of the Bluenose II. Everything you need to know about the Bluenose II here.

Unfortunately, The Bluenose II was being refurbished while we were in Lunenburg in 2016 and no guests were allowed to go aboard. I tried to take as many pictures as possible from as many angles as possible of this magnificent ship,

Old Town Lunenburg is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site and is a surviving planned British colonial town. Guided tours through the historic district will have you believing in the spirits of those lost at sea. The streets are jammed with unique shops and restaurants that blend in with the aesthetics of Lunenburg. Don't miss the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic and end up at the famous Bluenose II.

Homes, businesses, restaurants along the waterfront in Lunenburg.

For some reason, we always seem to find really good restaurants where ever we go and Lunenburg was no exception. We had a memorable dinner at a restaurant called Fleur de Sel and the next morning a breakfast of fish cakes (yes, fish cakes for breakfast) at a little coffee shop called Shop on the Corner where you could also get a huge selection of gift items and baked goods.

Peggy's Cove. On the eastern shore of St. Margaret's Bay you will find the world famous Peggy's Cove. Peggy's Cove is a tiny little hamlet of less than 1,000 residents but the numbers swell with tourists in the summer. Peggy's Cove, at one time, subsisted on the fishing industry until, after World War II, tourism became its main support. The municipal government has severe restrictions on land use and land development is prohibited in order to stop false inflation of property values that could hurt locals.

Close to Peggy's Cove is the memorial in honour of Swissair Fight 111 that crashed into St. Margaret's Bay in September of 1998 killing all on board.

The memorial stone.

Couple of photos when we were there on a gloomy and foggy day.

Photos taken on a more sunny day.

A suggestion if you are visiting Peggy's Cove, and why wouldn't you, is this: Give yourself plenty of time. This place is full of tourists - seriously full. Parking spots are at a premium and you may find yourself driving around for an hour looking for a parking spot. Be patient, enjoy what this little hamlet offers to the world and buy an ice cream to reward yourself for your patience.

With so many Nova Scotian experiences still waiting to be told this is going to be a two-parter. I've yet to show our experiences and the merits of the Bay of Fundy, Halifax, Cape Breton, Antigonish and Springhill, the home of Canada's little song bird, Anne Murray. Until next time.

SOME HOT SPOTS THAT GET YOU TO PEI

Prince Edward Island is a destination unto itself and you may just want to get there as quickly as possible. After all, there are beautiful beaches, stunning scenery, great pubs and restaurants and little towns to explore and enjoy once you arrive.  If that's the case, then just zip down the highways, stop for a couple of nights and voila, you are there.

But, supposing you're one who wishes to visit other fun and entertaining spots along the way to PEI. Perhaps you have a hankering for a long slow drive with stops along the way where you can spend a few hours, a day or even a couple of days before reaching your ultimate destination, PEI.  Can anyone recommend some good places to spend some time between southeastern Ontario and PEI? Well, here I am to do just that.

There are a few routes to choose from; you can pass through Quebec, New Brunswick and/or Nova Scotia or you can choose to go through New  York, Vermont,  New Hampshire, Maine into New Brunswick and PEI. Whichever route you choose, I'm here to point out some nice spots for you to see along the way that are tried and true by us. No options is right, it simply depends on what you want to see along the way. I am taking you through Quebec, into New Brunswick and onto the Confederation Bridge to PEI this go around. Enjoy.

Taking the Canada Route: Because we are in an RV and take our home along with us, we tend to stay outside of cities. This allows us to be near a city without having to maneuver through city streets but we get to visit the cities. For us, our first stop has always been in Levis, Quebec. We have stayed at a particularly nice RV Park called Camping Transit Link to Camping Transit Here a couple of times and would not hesitate to go back there. We liked this place a lot and it was close enough to the actual town of Levis that getting to shops for food was easy. Levis, itself, is an interesting town with interesting architecture, great restaurants and more. Click Here for Information about Levis Should you be driving without an RV and decide to stay in Levis, you can take a ferry to fabulous Quebec City.  Click Here for Information about the Ferry

I would suggest, though, if you are not camping or in an RV you really would want to make Quebec City a stop. It's been said visiting Quebec City is the next best thing to actually going to Europe. If you can't afford Europe go to Quebec City and pretend. Link to Quebec City Tourism Site . I can not even begin to extol the virtues of spending time in this city. There is just too much to see, too much to do, too many options of where to stay and too much excellent food to talk about. Let's not even talk about the amount of Canadian history wrapped up in one great package called Quebec City. I would heartily recommend staying in the old city, within the walls, and taking the time to walk around and slowly enjoy everything it has to offer.

These pictures of the old city were taken on a summer trip to Quebec about six years ago but I can assure you, nothing has changed.

You will want to spend some time in Kamouraska, Quebec while you're at it, You will understand why it is named one of the 20 most beautiful towns in the Province. It's peaceful, colourful, well maintained and just really pretty. We were unfortunate with our visit as there are no RV parks in that area so we were unable to visit the town at our leisure. We did drive in, pulling the RV but there was no place that would allow us to park the RV and get out to tour. We ended up double parking, Erik at the wheel, while I ran into one of their many gourmet shops to pick up smoked salmon, coquille st jacques and other goodies. There are lots of little boutiques, chocolatiers, fish and seafood stores, and tons of little cafes. Here are some photos of Kamouraska and a link to their website.
Link to Kamouraska Here.

We were truly disappointed that we couldn't spend more time there. Driving around this lovely little town pulling an RV was not nearly enough time but, I must say, the salmon and coquilles st jacques was well worth the risk of getting a parking ticket.

New Brunswick has a pretty good highway system that allows for easy travel through the Province to get to PEI but don't be in too much of a hurry. New Brunswick offers some really nice places that merit a visit before you cross over to the red sands of PEI.  We have stayed in a number of places in New Brunswick over the years including Grand Falls, Nacawic, Fredericton,  St. John, St. Andrews and St. Stephen..

Grand Falls is a town just inside the border from Quebec where a good friend of ours lives. It's a small town of about 5,700 and is home to Ron Turcotte the famous Canadian jockey who rode Secretariat to the triple crown in 1973. He had an impressive career until a riding accident left him a paraplegic. The town of Grand Falls has a beautiful bronze statue of Ron Turcotte front and centre in the town square.

These are the falls of Grand Falls. Pretty impressive.

Fredericton is the capital of NB. For having a small population of only about 58,000 people, you will find lots of history, markets, art and good eating whether you favour pubs, family restaurants or fine dining. One of our favourite restaurants anywhere is a restaurant called Brewbakers that we have been to a few times. It is world class. Click to see Brewbakers Restaurant website.

Nackawic Click for information about Nackawic. Have you ever discovered a little jewel in the middle of nowhere and wondered why more people haven't discovered it or why there aren't thousands of people exploring your little jewel. Well, that's Nackawic. We found the most lovely RV park called Sunset View Campground that enchanted us. Very few sites, each row elevated for unobstructed views of the gorgeous St. John River and a swimming pool that no one but us was using. There was something about this little RV park that really took our fancy and we would not hesitate in recommending it to anyone who wants to get off the beaten path.

The Pool at Sunset View Campground. We swam after dark when no one was looking.

St. John is Canada's oldest incorporated city, historic and sits on the Bay of Fundy across from Digby, NS. It's an interesting city with plenty to see and do. Open six days a week and selling everything from soup to nuts and, of course, fresh seafood the St. John City Market is a good way to spend a day. If you are a history buff there is no shortage of ways to immerse yourself in the history of the region. St. John is an exceedingly interesting city and pretty to boot.

The market

St. John, New Brunswick

St. Andrews and St. Stephen kind of go together as they are so close geographically and offer much the same thing to tourists. Sun, sand, lobster. St. Andrews is bustling with experiences with lobster rolls, fine dining, seaside camping and luxury accommodations. There's fishing, whale watching and golfing all nearby. Our RV Park was almost in the  heart of downtown St. Andrews and sat right on the ocean. It was divine. Click here to see our RV Park Walks along the beach, walking distance to the downtown area and beautiful scenery. One of the highlights of our stay in this beautiful spot was discovering they have a music room where locals come on a regular basis and play their instruments. There was a piano on site and Erik got the opportunity to jam with an incredible Maritime fiddler and a couple of guitarists.

Close to St. Andrews is St. Stephen and the home to Ganong Brothers Chocolates. This place is amazing. Anyone who knows me or Erik will know that anything chocolate is amazing in our world. Here is a link to their website Ganong and below are pictures I took inside this old time candy store. Anyone recognize the chicken bones?

Beautiful, huh?

Our little sampling of delicious chocolates.

Once you've been around NB to your heart's content and are ready for PEI you are now ready to experience the Confederation Bridge, that incredible feat of engineering Information about Confederation Bridge. It's surreal crossing the bridge, summer or winter.

Confederation Bridge

We've also done the trip via the US and through Nova Scotia and have some tips for you travellers who would prefer an alternate route than the one described here. Want to know some good places to visit in Nova Scotia? Well, look no further than my next blog which will be coming soon,  very soon.

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT PEI

In this installment of my blog, I have made it my mission to dispel some common misconceptions about Prince Edward Island that some of you may have heard and/or believe. Having lived here now for three whole months don't you think this makes me highly qualified to do so?

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND IS FLAT: 
This is a misconception that even we had. The topography of PEI is certainly not mountainous. There aren't any 'real' mountains but it is not flat. It can accurately be described as very pretty rolling country that affords some panoramic views, especially if you overlook the ocean. Not everyone can or does live close enough to see the ocean, even on little PEI, but no matter. A view of rolling countryside, whether green in the summer or snowy in the winter, is a great second best and well worth a look.

A winter scene looking across fields. 

The road we have been driving daily.

Why, there's even downhill skiing. Yup. There sure is. Link to Brookvale Activity Park. The Laurentians have no cause to worry, nor does Whistler, but if you want to do a bit of downhill skiing within twenty minutes of home, look no further.

The ski hill on a week-day.

In addition to Nordic Skiing, there are X-country trails.

Another winter scene across the fields.

Summer in PEI

Pastoral and green in summer.

Fields of green with blue ocean behind.

THE LOCALS ON PEI CAN BE ALOOF:
Another myth we are happy to dispel. We were warned that people 'from away' (which we are) can have a difficult time meeting locals. Perhaps we have been lucky, perhaps we were just at the right place at the right time; we did make an effort to get to know people. Through tennis I have been lucky enough to meet some really fun tennis players and made friends with a few of them.

Having lunch at the home of a couple of tennis players. Great afternoon.

Erik is on a pretty regular schedule playing music at a few Seniors' Homes in the area with the expectation of meeting other musicians who also play there. The staff and the residents are extremely welcoming to him.

Sorting out our mailbox for our new home, Erik went into the local little Post Office. The people we bought the house from never had mail delivered there so Canada Post is unaware of the existence of our house.The conversation went something like this:

Clerk, with a big smile:                 Hi. How are you.
Erik:                                               Hi. I need to set up mail delivery for 14 Andi-Lee Court. The                                                                  owners there now had their mail delivered somewhere else.
Clerk, with a big smile:                 Sure, happy to help.
Voice from out back:                     We got something for you already. I'll bring it out.
Clerk, with a big smile:                 I'm just filling in for Gladys. She fell down and broke her arm.
Erik:                                              On the ice?
Clerk, with a not so big smile;      Yup, on the ice. You have to be careful out there.
Erik:                                              You sure do.
Clerk, with a big smile.                 Where you coming from?
Erik:                                               We  moved here from Ontario. Moving into our new house on                                                                Friday.
Clerk, with a big smile:                 Welcome. You sure picked a pretty spot to live.
Erik:                                               Thanks. We think so.
Clerk, with  a big smile:                 Here's the key for your new post box. Enjoy.
Erik:                                                Will do. Thanks.
Voice from out back:                       Have a good day.

Contrast this with the last time you tried to deal with Canada Post Corporate online or via phone.

This has been our experience in stores, in pubs, at the Spa where I am a member and at every Senior Home where Erik has played. Everyone is friendly and charming and more than welcoming to us folks 'from away'.

WINTERS ON PEI ARE HARSHER THAN ANYWHERE ELSE:
I am thinking my last blog, We Experience a PEI Winter Storm, has partially dispelled that myth but if it hasn't, let me say again. The winter we are having is no different than winter in Ontario. It snows, it doesn't snow, it is cold, it gets colder, it warms up, it is windy, it is balmy. The snow melts, it rains, the snow comes back again. The winds here are something else, I will say. They are fierce and strong but other than that, winter is winter.

The difference in these two photos is a mere ten days. Snowed in we were, then it melted and rained, and boom. Gone.

MARITIMES ARE ONE BIG CHUNK OF LAND:
Lots of people tend to lump the Maritimes together; probably because of the small population, but combined Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland have a land mass of  500,531 km sq and a population of 2,333,300. Now, I know that Newfoundland is not considered part of the Maritimes but let's be fair to the Newfies and include them in our little group today.

I will hazard a guess that the reason for this misconception relates back to the weather. Bad weather in the Maritimes is a bit of a fallacy as each Province has its own unique climate and microclimates within it. Even here on our little island we have areas with more snow than others, and there can be a storm on the west of the island only. So, a blizzard in New Brunswick doesn't necessarily mean a blizzard in Newfoundland. When there is freezing rain in Newfoundland it doesn't mean there is freezing rain here in PEI.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND CLOSES DOWN IN THE WINTER:
Ha ha, just kidding. Everything outside of Charlottetown does pretty much close down for the winter. Except for a few of the small towns where you can go get groceries or find a family style restaurant, you need to go to Charlottetown for pretty much everything else. And what a fine town Charlottetown is. Beautiful, historic, lovely harbour, great parks, pretty houses and an abundance of restaurants, pubs and shopping for such a small city.