Acadia, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

Here are some of the highlights of our trip to Nova Scotia. We began by flying from Kansas City to Portland, Maine. From there we rented a car and began our road trip. We stayed at a place called Eden's Village near Acadia and began our sightseeing at the Bass Harbor Lighthouse.


We got there around sunset, so the lighting was perfect for pictures! From there we made our way to Bar Harbor for an alfresco dinner.

The next day we drove through the loops of Acadia National Park and stopped for a carriage ride at Wildwood Stables on roads that were designed for the Rockefeller's private use. Our guide asked us where we were from and when we said 'Kansas' he said he rarely had people from there. The very next people he asked were not only from Kansas, but lived right in our neck of town -- Spring Hill! We did not know them, but we knew a lot of the same people.

We had lunch at a place called Jordan Pond--soup and sandwiches followed by tea with "poppers"--a favorite puffed pastry in the area.

We spent a couple hours in the afternoon relaxing on a sandy beach, then visited a place called Thunder Hole. When the tide was coming in, the water would rush into this hole and make a loud sound like thunder.

                                  Thunder Hole

Our next destination was a quaint little fishing village in New Brunswick, called Alma. We had to drive through Fundy National Park to get there.

We also visited the Cape Enrage Lighthouse and the Falls in Fundy National Park.

That evening we went to Hopewell Rocks at high tide. The tide was already in when got there and kayakers were floating through all the rock formations.

The following day we went to Hopewell Rocks at low tide. It was a very windy day! As you will see, people are walking all over the ocean floor.

After that we decided to go horseback riding. The place we went to looked very much like scenes from the TV show 'Heartland.' Our guide's name was Ty. At one point in the ride, a few dirt bikers came up behind us and all the horses bolted, every horse galloping in different directions. That got our heart rates up for sure. Here is a pic of that bucolic place.

This covered bridge was right next to the horse pasture.

This birch lane was also in the same vicinity.

Somewhere between New Glasgow and Antigonish in Nova Scotia, we stopped off to do a crazy 2000 foot zip line down a mountain side. Needless to say, we survived.

Ceilidh Country Lodge is where we stayed in Baddeck, Nova Scotia. These are the grounds of the lodge.

One of the highlights of this part of the trip was driving the Cabot Trail. The following are scenes along the trail.

Waves hitting rocks                                                             

                                 

                               Beach

                                                  Along the coastline

 St. Lawrence Bay

Dingwall

It was a long day, but so much beauty! Our next destination was Peggy's Cove. There are two legends behind the name of this cove. The first has been more generally accepted because of its romantic and dramatic appeal. The story goes that a schooner was wrecked on Halibut Rock off the lighthouse point. in a "southeaster" which produced sleet and fog on a dark October night. The ship ran hard aground with high waves washing her decks. Some of the crew climbed to the masts, but the waves washed them into the boiling sea. Everyone on board was lost except a woman who managed to survive the turbulent seas, swam ashore and was finally rescued.  Her name was Margaret and she married one of the eligible bachelors of the cove. People would come to visit "Peggy of the Cove" and before long, they began to call it Peggy's Cove. Here are some village scenes.

Here is the other less popular legend of Peggy's Cove. In 1996, two ladies from North Dakota arrived at the cove with startling news. They agreed with the previous shipwreck story except for one major difference. In their story, the person who survived was a little girl too young to remember her name. Somehow she was miraculously washed to shore. The family who adopted her named her Peggy. These two women had a picture of Peggy as an older woman. Whom to believe???

Our final destination in the area was Lunenburg. It was a beautiful place and we spent a day there. This was our last day in Nova Scotia. We spent part of it kayaking on the Atlantic which was really fun. 

On our drive back through New Brunswick, we went off trail to view several covered bridges.

You may not be able to tell, but the above picture is a side view of the world's longest covered bridge.
After our bridge tour, we drove back to Portland, Maine to begin our trip back home. Hope you enjoyed this journey with us and if you ever get a chance to go up that way, you know what to see!