In June 2014 we finally made one of the trips that had been on our list for several years. We flew from Detroit to Manchester, New Hampshire where we picked up a rental car. The six hour drive across Maine brought us to the New Brunswick/Maine border. The next day we drove through New Brunswick to Nova Scotia. Enroute we stopped at Hopewell Rocks in the Bay of Fundy. the Bay of Fundy is famous for its very high tides. We were fortunate in that the tide was out so we could walk around on the ocean floor. Our stop for the night found us to Truro, Nova Scotia. we are sure Truro is a nice city but we were shocked to find that the first two restaurants we tried for dinner closed at 7 pm! Obviously the locals eat early!
The next day’s drive was to Digby. We had planned to go on a whale watching tour either that afternoon or the next morning. Thanks to the helpful B&B owner, we learned that since it was early in the season, our choices for our whale watching trip were severely limited. She located one that was operating that afternoon and we made a very fast drive, which involved catching two ferries, down Digby Neck to get it. We had a marvelous experience. Just when we thought the trip was a washout, our boat captain spotted a humpback whale. The photos show just how close this huge mammal was to our boat! She/he was obviously curious about us as it circled our boat for at least 20 minutes, surfacing periodically to get a better look at us.
From Digby we crossed to the Atlantic side to Lunenburg, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Lunenburg is a cute town with some very colorful buildings. It is home to the Fisheries museum of the Atlantic and the Bluenose of racing schooner fame.
From Digby we drove to Baddeck in the Cape Breton Island part of Nova Scotia. The next day found us driving the circular Cabot Trail. Unfortunately, the rainy weather hampered our plans to do a number of the hikes that are just off the road. We did get a few in. This area is known for its Scottish heritage, including music and language. It would be a great place to visit after the tourist season gets in swing about July 1. Unfortunately, we arrived in Baddeck too late both days to visit the Alexander Graham Bell museum there. Oh well, another trip.
Our return found is backtracking to Manchester. We did have time on the drive back to swing through part of Acadia National Park for our lunch stop.
There aren’t a lot of pictures of much of the territory. While rolling tree filled hills are scenic, they make for very boring photos. That are a lot of trees in Maine, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. All lovely to experience, but lousy for unique photo opportunities.
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