Our Trip to Nova Scotia in 2024!
Our glorious 10 day adventure really began while crossing the Atlantic on "The Cat!"
But let's start at the beginning ~ We gave ourselves plenty of time to drive up to the port at Bar Harbor Maine and found some interesting places along the way!
Like Connecticut's Maggie McFly's, which has tasty dishes & even better views! Like an old airplane that's suspended from the ceiling. It hangs in the middle of other memorabilia and is surrounded by plants that reach towards the ceiling. Later, once we arrived at Bar Harbor, we found a very nice spot to eat overlooking the water ~ The Chart House.
After lunch, we boarded The Cat ~ a catamaran ferry which holds 800 guests (and 200 cars) ~ and cruises along at 35 knots. It is truly a remarkable ship, and as you drive in, you park along the track that winds up and around the interior of the ship.
Once inside, there are luxury accommodations for the passengers, with 2 dining areas, a gift shoppe, a welcome center for tourists, and live entertainment at the front! We sat in wonderfully comfortable chairs where we could look right out from the bow of the ship while being entertained by a fiddle player who had travelled the world. On our way over, we saw 3 whales spouting, which was one of the activities on my bucket list! And 3 1/2 hours later, we landed in Nova Scotia!
We arrived in "Canada's Ocean Playground" ~ Nova Scotia!
Known for its natural beauty and maritime culture, Nova Scotia feels like it's remained unspoiled and protected from the changing sands of time!
Our ferry landed in Yarmouth, a town on the West side of the island. After we made it through customs with our passports stamped, we had a 2-hour drive over to Lunenberg, which sits on the Southern Shore.
Affectionately called "Fresco UNESCO" by the locals for its colorful and carefully preserved buildings, you could see what a treasure Lunenberg is. When I looked up to see why it became one of the 952 UNESCO "cultural world heritage sites," I found that it's "recognized for being the best preserved example of a planned British colonial settlement in N. America, with its original layout and wooden architecture largely intact," according to Google AI.
Island Explorations
Adventuring Day Trips!
From our home base in Lunenberg ~ we went whale watching and explored Mahone Bay & The Ovens!
Our Abode ~ The Ashlea House
We stayed at the historic Ashlea House bed & breakfast, where you could see the harbor. We had a beautiful room with a private bath, sitting area, fireplace & all the trimmings.
In the morning each day, Kim & Ed, our kind hosts, had all the couples gather for a 3-course breakfast! We always had a fruit & granola parfait to start, which was followed by a warm savory dish like a vege frittata, a ham & cheese stuffed crepe, or bacon & egg muffins. The dessert was a delicious accompaniment like a banana bread cake with cream cheese icing dusted with cinnamon, or an apple crisp, or a lemon cheesecake cup with blueberry topping.
During breakfast, Kim would ask each couple about their plans for the day & make recommendations ~ places we couldn't miss along the way ~ whether somewhere to eat or a must-see spot!
One of the things I didn't expect about Lunenberg was the world-class cuisine! Everything, pretty much everywhere we went, tasted chef-inspired. It was amazing. Our favorite place was The Beach Pea, which combined fresh seafood with unique Italian pasta dishes. Tom had this incredible cuddle-fish ink infused linguine dish (the pasta was dyed black from the cuddle fish ink) with sausage, veges, scallops and shrimp. And I had a swordfish steak with freshly seasoned veges (I didn't write down all of the details to record here, I just remember it was mouth-watering & we were nearly drooling! ;)
The Ovens Sea Caves
This 190-acre coastal forest is owned by the musical Chapin family. Harry Chapin was apparently a popular musician in the '70's. Today, his relatives perform each night to live audiences throughout the summer.
The Ovens is a beautiful and scenic combination of trails that line the cliffs and overlook the Atlantic. At the base are multiple sea caves. Some brave souls actually poured 2,000 buckets of cement along one of the outer edges of the cliffs so that guests could climb down to sea level and explore the caves ~ can you imagine!
There are many steps down inside the cliffs, and down to the caves, where you can hear a resounding boom echoing when the waves enter the caves at high tide.
There's also a beach where people actually found gold during the gold rush of the 1800's. Pieces of gold, and quartz in stone, are still said to be on the beach, where surprisingly you can still find guests searching for their treasure! We walked for miles along the fence-lined overlook and trail, down into the caves, and along the beach.
We were fortunate to also see the cliffs & caves from the water when we went for our whale watch! Take an aerial tour of The Ovens here.
Beautiful Mahone Bay
One of my favorite places we visited was Mahone Bay. With a quaint and charming feel, this little bayside town was like a hidden gem! It was the kind of place you could ride your bike around to visit, as unlike Lunenberg which is incredibly hilly, Mahone Bay is more like what you would expect from a seaside or harbor town.
It was flat with meandering paths that lead you to unexpected places, like the Aquatic Gardens, which I'm sure were spectacular to see in the Summer with all of the water lilies blooming!
Mahone Bay, like Lunenberg, had an old-world charm, with several quaint shoppes and eateries. Kim & Ed recommended that we stop at Oh My Cod! while we were there, as it's the most renowned restaurant in Mahone Bay and we were not disappointed! The owners were the best, very cordial and friendly, and the freshly caught fish was fantastic! We capped off our meal with homemade ice cream.
Our other favorite eatery on the island was The Knot, a pub in Lunenberg that looked like it belonged in one of The Hobbit movies! I was surprised by how tasty everything we had was there. Tom got his favorite brew on the island there, and we loved the nachos and my salad was inspired for sure.
Ashlea House ~ A Trip Back In Time
Our Time Out On The Water
It all began with a trip to The Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic in Lunenberg, where we not only got to go through the museum to learn about the history of the watermen of Lunenberg, but we got to get on-board one of the oldest working schooners, The Theresa E. Connor & The Bluenose II, "which raced to international acclaim!"
While I've been on the deck of a schooner before when sailing, I've never seen one below the deck in its original condition. It was quite a site! The kitchen was at the front of the boat and consisted of a sink, a storage compartment for the food, and a table with benches that were cut on an angle so they would fit in the front of the boat.
In the middle, the fishermen would fillet the fish and stack them into bags, sprinkling them with salt to preserve them in-between the layers. When the middle of the boat was full, they would stack the bags on the deck.
The back of the boat had the engine and the sleeping quarters, which were tiny little cubie holes cut into the side of the outer hull of the vessel. I couldn't imagine sleeping in them, I think I would've been afraid of claustrophobia! It gave me so much appreciation for what fishermen endured to feed their families. Since my Great-Grandfather on my Mother's side came to the U.S. from Cefalu Italy, I can only imagine what the working conditions may have been like then.
Our Whale Watching Adventure
Tom & I both wanted to get out on a boat while we were away. After we were able to explore The Bluenose II, Tom humored me & my desire to cross something else off of my bucket list with a whale watching tour!
We headed out for 3-hours on a local sight-seeing boat tour. And while we saw several harbor seals and sea birds, we didn't see any whales at that time!
Fortunately, we were blessed to see the spouting of the whales as we crossed the Atlantic, both ways, while we were on the ferry! On the way back into the states, I said to Tom, "you might have to speak whale with me to draw them to the surface!" And he kindly chuckled with me & obliged. In hushed voices, we did our best Dory impressions and summoned Moby Dick to the surface. And on the way home, we even got to see the whale's backs crest the surface!
It felt like such a blessing and something I've always wanted to see. We were told that they frequently see Fin, Pilot, and Minke whales from the ferry.
With Meaningful Detours On The Way Home!
South Portland, Maine
We headed back to S. Portland so that Tom could ride his 63-mile Lighthouse Ride and we were blessed with good weather. While he was riding, I decided to see if I could find a sandy beach! The last few times we've been to Maine, we've only seen beaches that are lined entirely with stones, like pebble beaches but with stones the size of river rocks. What a pleasant surprise to find a mostly sandy beach nestled in a quiet neighborhood this time! I spent a few hours there reading and walking in the surf, and while the water was cool enough to give you a chill & quicken your breath, I was surprised that I was the only one walking along in it. Most people were laying on the beach, except for one brave couple who were in the water up to their necks ~ talk about refreshing!
After the ride was over, we headed to our favorite restaurants. We went to Dockside after the ride for some fresh seafood, and Becky's in the morning, where all the locals go for freshly-made wild blueberry pancakes and muffins... Oh. So. Good.
Maggie McFly's & Unusual Trivia
As we made our way down South the next morning, we passed the time with some interesting trivia. As we drove through Maine, I told Tom about the strange story I'd heard about how Steven King was hit while walking through his town in Maine as he walked along the side of a side road reading a book. I looked up the facts ~ which were stranger than fiction ~ and Tom commented, "Let that be a lesson to you, never hit a famous author or you'll end up in one of his books!" Wink wink.
And as we drove through Massachusetts, we talked about Walden Pond, Thoreau, and the Transcendalists who started what would become metaphysical thought in this country. When we were in Connecticut, our favorite find was Maggie McFly's, which had all sorts of interesting memorabilia on display there in fantastical ways! (Like this airplane hanging from the ceiling ;)
Sweet Surprises
In Massachusetts, we met up with Paul, Tom's son, at a local eatery with lots of different kinds of cuisine. It was my first time meeting Paul, and Tom and I were both feeling a little nervous and excited as it had been a while since they last saw each other. We met at the local craft brewery so the fellas could enjoy a beer, then headed into the food court for some Cuban food.
While Tom and Paul were exchanging stories and updates, I prided myself on being the photographer and reminded Tom to share some stories with him that he had told me that Paul might not have heard before, like how excited Tom's Mom was when he was born since he was the first grandchild. We spent a couple of hours together and wished it could've lasted longer, but we had to get back on the road. So we contented ourselves with the idea of future plans & seeing him again around the holidays.
"Carpe diem, seize the day... Make your lives extraordinary." ~ Professor Keating in The Dead Poet's Society
"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." ~ Ferris Bueller's Day Off
How wonderful to weave together a vacation that was filled with activities that we both wanted to experience!
I read once that the diarist Anais Nin said that, "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." One thing I know about life is that time is fleeting and it goes by so fast!
I'm really happy to be able to capture this shareable memory here like this a time capsule. And I'm grateful to Tom for helping me to open my mind and heart to greater possibilities!
In closing, in her poem The Summer Day, poet Mary Oliver ends with this idea, "Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?" What a great question for all of us!
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