I’ve been wanting to visit the Maritimes for a while. I had a 5-6 week camping trip planned the summer of 2020, then, of course, COVID. Borders were closed. I was in New York when initially planning this trip to Canada. I was going to start with Montreal and head east, through the Atlantic Provinces, and take the ferry back to Maine. However, the Bar Harbor-Yarmouth ferry service ends October 10th so I decided to start here and end in Montreal so I could take my time.

Bar Harbor

I drove to Bar Harbor after leaving Lake Champlain. It’s about an 8 hour drive so I booked one night here and scheduled the ferry the next day.

The next morning I had time to drive the park loop in Acadia National Park then we walked around downtown, through the Village Green and along the beautiful Shore Path enjoying the views. I had a great lobster roll at Down East Deli and then stopped in for a couple of beers at Atlantic Brewing Company.

I met a nice couple, Kim and Mike. Retirees like me, they are also enjoying travel. They are trying to visit all the national parks, and they have a blog Parks and Pubs. We spent an hour talking about our favorite parks and some great breweries we’ve tried during our travels.

Around 1430, I drove over to the ferry terminal to check in. It was a very comfortable 3 1/2 hours, an easy passage. We arrived at Yarmouth around 1830. I definitely recommend The Cat ferry.

Yarmouth

Boo and I started most mornings with a walk to Frost Park, just down the street and then a walk along the waterfront, to the ferry terminal where we arrived Sunday afternoon. Frost Park used to be a local cemetery, first used in 1766 until 1865. It was renamed Victoria Park for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. The graves were not moved. There are very few gravestones remaining. I was surprised to see them scattered throughout the park before reading it used to be a cemetery. It became Frost Park in 1958.

Broad Brook Wetland Park was just a few blocks away and we walked there several times to enjoy this protected nature area. On other days, we found several area trails to hike, the isolated Chebogue Meadows Trail and the beautiful Forchu River Trail.

There are several nice museums in Yarmouth, the Yarmouth County Museum, Sweeney Fisheries Museum, the Firefighter’s Museum, all CA$5 for entry. I learned about different ship configurations and sails in the county museum and liked seeing all the old fire trucks in the firefighter’s museum. The small Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, attached to the visitor center is free and had some interesting pieces.

I picked up the guide for the Heritage Walking Tour while at the visitor center. It’s about a 4km tour of downtown, including the Historic District, Sea Captains Homes, and the Mercantile Heritage Walk. There are some interesting old homes and history.

I also picked up a map of the Evangeline Trail, and we spent an afternoon driving north and seeing the beautiful Smuggler’s Cove Park and Cape Saint Mary. Heading south I drove to the Argyle Township Court House and Gaol. There was a retired history teacher volunteering here and she gave me a great tour.

I did several short trips outside of town, including visiting the Le Village Historique Acadien. I had a lovely day here, and really enjoyed the area and the history. I tried the Rappie Pie in their restaurant. I had read about it in the guidebook; but the dish I was served looked nothing like the photo in the book. I was expecting more like a chicken pot pie and something a bit more solid. I would definitely not order again, a plate of gelatinous gravy with some chicken pieces. Tasteless. Just no.

I went out to Cape Forchu Lighthouse, twice. I wasn’t sure about the weather for the climb I booked on Friday, so we went out Wednesday to visit the area. We walked around Leif Ericson Park Trail and around False Harbor. Fortunately, on Friday the weather was also clear. I went out a little early so Boo and I could walk the trails again. I spent about 40 minutes in the museum on the second floor of the old keeper’s house before my climb at noon. There were beautiful views of the harbor.

I tried booking a Tusket Islands Tour while in New York, calling and asking to get put on a waiting list if he had one. I called again when I arrived letting him know I was in town for a week.

He told me again, no bookings, but called the next day telling me he had two couples book for that afternoon and could I make it out by 1400? Yes. Plenty of time.

It was perfect weather for a boat trip, I enjoyed hearing the history of the lobster fishing in the area, and, after a cruise through the smaller islands, we went to Big Tusket Island and had a delicious lobster and scallop chowder and were able to explore the island for a while. It was a lovely afternoon.

Restaurants and Breweries

• I didn’t eat out much, but had a good Korean pork sandwich from Gaia Global Kitchen. Many items on their menu sound good.
• Just down the street was Heritage Brewing with nice outdoor seating so Boo and I could enjoy the nice weather and a beer.

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  Before leaving I also visited Marco’s Grill & Pasta House and had the different “Donair” Pizza and a great Greek salad. Donair is a Canadian version of a doner kabob or gyro, but instead of roast lamb, the donair meat is made with beef and breadcrumbs, like a meatloaf, and instead of Tzatziki sauce, a sweet garlic sauce that they also call donair. It’s a bit too sweet for my taste, saw it on menus all over Nova Scotia but didn’t try again.

Lunenberg

On the drive from Yarmouth to Halifax, I stopped for a few hours in the beautiful UNESCO Heritage Site, Lunenberg. I scheduled a walking tour to maximize my time. I picked up a great chicken cranberry panini from Savvy Sailor before my tour. We started at the old Lunenberg Academy and walked all over town finishing up at the wharf. We visited Central United Church and also Saint John’s Anglican Church. Rebuilt to exact original specifications after a bad fire, it’s a stunning church. Even in the rain, it was a lovely tour.

I also wanted to stop and see the Interpretative Center on Oak Island; unfortunately, it is closed with no planned opening hours. Very disappointing, I really wanted to see Oak Island. My father and his brother, my Uncle Larry, read books about it and loved talking about solving the mystery. I’ve seen several documentaries and specials about the “treasure”, too, and would have enjoyed being there and seeing the exhibits.

Halifax

There is so much to see walking along the Halifax Harborfront Boardwalk, with beautiful views, restaurants, and several museums. I enjoyed the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21 at the Seaport. I took their tour, watched their immigration video then visited the other exhibits not part of the guided tour. The immigrants were often given food on arrival, one of my favorite parts of the video was hearing a young girl saying “their bread is bad” after given a loaf of Wonder Bread.

Also at the Seaport is the Farmer’s Market, but I missed a visit since it was closed the weekend I was there due to the weather.

There is a great Emigrant Statue close to the museum, “The pain of separation he overcame, with faith and hope his heart aflame” and also a statue to Samuel Cunard at the Seaport. I learned the shipping magnet and founder of the Cunard Line was born in Halifax, the son of a British merchant, a loyalist who fled the American Revolution and moved to Halifax.

Also along the waterfront are the “Historic Properties”, old shipping warehouses now with shops and restaurants and designated a National Historic Site.

There is a lot of history to enjoy in town. There are five sites that are part of the “Halifax Defence Complex” (I’m using the Canadian spelling intentionally): Halifax Citadel National Historic Site, Fort McNabb, Georges Island, York Redoubt, and Prince of Wales Tower.

My first morning in town, Boo and I walked up the hill and all around the Halifax Citadel. I also got to see the Old Town Clock. Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, arranged for the clock to “resolve the tardiness of the local garrison”.

I returned a few days later to visit the citadel. I was in time for the daily noon gun, I did a tour with a guide, and saw the special display for D-Day. They have a great interactive exhibit, Fortress Halifax.

We drove out to York Redoubt one morning, another part of the harbor defense. Built in 1793, it was used until WWII. The buildings are closed after Labor Day but there are many informational signs throughout the grounds and some great trails, Boo and I wandered off for a long walk though the woods after reading all the exhibits.

Unfortunately, the ferries to Georges Island were only running on Saturday and Sunday. And the weekend I was here, Hurricane Fiona decided to blow through Atlantic Canada and the trip I booked on Sunday was cancelled.

I spent several days throughout the week wandering the trails at Point Pleasant Park. Located on the southern tip of the Halifax peninsula, most of the trails are not only dog friendly, but dogs can be off-leash. Sailor‘s Walk, along the harbor is only open to dogs from 5am when the park opens to 10am. There are beautiful views of the waterfront. The Prince of Wales Tower, also part of the defense complex, is on a high hill in the park. I learned the British Government still owns the property but Halifax rents it for 1 shilling a year with a 999 year lease.

Fort Needham Memorial Park has a bell tower and informational signs about the 1917 Halifax explosion. I hadn’t heard about this event prior to reading about the park. The French freighter Mount Blanc, carrying a full cargo of many types of explosives, collided with the Norwegian ship Imo. It caught fire then exploded, killing almost 2000, wounding 9000, and devastated the city causing millions in damages.

There is more history about this event in the Naval Museum of Halifax I visited later in the week. They have one room on this subject, another on women in the Royal Canadian navy, and one about Arctic and Northwest Passage exploration and much more. No fee, donations only.

The downtown area is a great place to walk. I enjoyed the Peace and Friendship Park and the Old Burying Ground. The cemetery contains more than 12,000 graves, and many headstones, “constituting a unique Canadian concentration of gravestone art”, from 1749 to 1844. No dogs, but I was parked on the street in front when visiting Alexander Keith’s so put Boo in the car for 10 minutes while I walked through to look at the headstones.

I waited until later in the week to try to visit the Halifax Public Gardens, but they were closed for 4 days for storm cleanup. No pets allowed but Boo and I walked the perimeter one day. It was finally open my last day in town and I was pleased to have the opportunity to visit. I really enjoyed walking through these beautiful gardens. The Victorian style gardens were recognized as a National Historic Site in 1984, they have a gorgeous gazebo used as a band stand, a dahlia garden with many varieties, statues, and fountains.

I made it to Saint George’s Round Church Sunday. I had tried several times earlier in the week but it was always locked up. Built in 1800, it’s a unique circular church built in the “Palladian” style.

I tried visiting Africville Museum three times while in town. The hours on the website differ than the hours taped to the door but neither seem correct, every time I went out, the gates were locked. The park next door does offer a nice trail with multiple information signs about the history of the area. I heard from them the day after I left that the power was out from the hurricane and had been out for 4 days.

I walked past the Halifax Central Library a couple times without really noticing it then went looking for it after reading about it. Just up the block from the Old Burying Ground or not far from the Public Gardens, it’s a unique building. The design is said to resemble a stack of books, and was featured by CNN as one of ten “eye-popping” new buildings of 2014.

Outside Halifax

I spent a lovely afternoon at Peggy’s Cove. I enjoyed climbing over the rocks and around the lighthouse. I had a great fish and chips at Sou’Wester for lunch then took an hour boat trip with Peggy’s Cove Boat Tours, through the harbor and over to West Dover. Boo was allowed on the boat with me. He laid at my feet the entire trip, not sure if he was feeling seasick?

I drove over to the Salt Marsh Trail on Sunday. It had cleared off after Fiona and we had perfect weather for a long walk. This is a gorgeous man-made trail over the harbor, we walked most of the way to Lawrencetown, about 6 km out. Boo and I were beat when we did the roundtrip, but it is really beautiful. I highly recommend a visit.

Fisherman’s Cove is a colorful restored 200 year-old working fishing village. We enjoyed the walk along the boardwalk then out along MacCormacks Beach Provincial Park boardwalk, too. I visited the Heritage Center before leaving, a small but interesting little museum and browsed the shops.

Restaurants and Breweries

• Bicycle Thief A lovely location right on the waterfront, I had the wonderful lobster corn chowder and the tenderloin. All of it was delicious.
• Alexander Keith’s Brewery Tour. We heard a little about the history of the founder, and opening of the first brewery here about 200 years ago. It’s one of the oldest working breweries in all of North America. We had a taster of their coffee & cocoa stout. After visiting the ingredient room and brewing room we were in their bar, given a full pour of their IPA then had a choice of a few more for a second serving. We were entertained by lots of great music.
• I had a very large and rich treat at Beaver Tail, a food truck on the harborfront. I ordered the “Brwownie”. It’s large enough to share. Wish I had shared, I ate more than I should or needed but did throw about a third away. It was VERY rich. Glad I did a long walk after eating it.
• I picked up a great piece of cheesecake from Piece of Cake. All of their items looked fantastic so it was hard to choose. They are on the harbor front.
• My last day in town, I had some excellent chicken vermicelli from Beyond Pho after visiting the gardens.
• On the drive back to Halifax after walking the Salt Marsh Trail, I stopped at North Brewing in Dartmouth for a flight and their fish and chips. Patio closed and they wouldn’t let me sit out there even if I ordered to-go, so sat out there with Boo while he ate his dinner, then ordered inside. No dogs.
• Propeller Brewery was just down the block, dog friendly. Good beer, even if too many IPAs for me. They had some music when I visited.
• 2 Crows Brewery. Nice brewery and nice patio but took about 5 minutes for them to pour 4 beers for my flight. None of the beers were that memorable.
• Garrison Brewing is just off the harborfront, close to the Seaport. They have nice outdoor seating but dogs are also welcome inside. I liked their hefeweizen and tried their Georgia Peach while visiting. I had several of their cans I picked up from the store in Yarmouth and Halifax, too, Pucker Up, Queer Summer Brew, and Tall Ship. All of them were quite good.
• Good Robot Brewery Boo and I walked over here the evening after the hurricane. Their power was out so they were serving cans only. It was a bit cool but I sat on the patio; with their permission I pulled down a table and chair. Several other pet owners joined me there later. I liked all the beers I tried, the Ten Thousand Pound Pilsner, Thembot, a good sour, and Uncle Giggles.
• Nine Locks Brewing I stopped in for a few tastes after lunch at Beyond Pho. I had tried their Dirty Blonde in Yarmouth. They had a number of IPAs but I had a half pint of their red and a half pint of the watermelon blonde. I had liked their Dirty blonde but the other two were just average.
• Sourwood was just a block away and had some good ciders. They had a wine cider mix and gave me a taste but I ordered their sour.

Cape Breton

Ingonish

I drove about a third of the “world famous” Cabot Trail on the way to my AirBNB in town. I drove the rest of the 298 km trail on different days over the next week. My favorite areas were from Ingonish north to South Harbor and Pleasant Bay south to Cheticamp and on to Margaree Harbor. There are amazing views all along the entire trail.

Unfortunately, all the hiking trails in the national park were closed when I arrived because of Hurricane Fiona and didn’t open again until the day before I was leaving. I was disappointed but saw plenty of other trails in the area. However, many of those were closed, too. North River Trail and Red Island both were marked closed, but I started down the trails and they were impassable, covered with downed trees.

Cape Smokey Trailhead was not marked closed but the drive was gated off. Boo and I walked around and started the trail. I didn’t see storm damage but clearly it has not been maintained in ages, very overgrown and hard to get through all the bushes. Looks like it would be a great trail. Some of the locals I spoke with about this and other locations, said that is happening to much of their infrastructure, lack of maintenance. I certainly thought the roads were bad, and not from the hurricane, all over Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, too.

One day I took the Dingwall Road north to visit Dingwall Beach and the interesting little Saint Paul’s Lighthouse. There is a museum on site about Saint Paul’s Island, “Graveyard of the Gulf” and the shipwrecks and salvage around the island.

I also visited Neils Harbor and their lighthouse and drove the New Haven Road/White Point Loop off Cabot Trail to visit White Point and North Victoria Harbor. A very beautiful area. I wish there were more places along this road to pull over and enjoy the views. The road rejoins Cabot Trail by South Harbor.

Tuesday and Wednesday, I did finally get to enjoy Cape Breton Highlands NP and the trails that were open. Beautiful, I would have loved several additional days to hike more of the trails.

Restaurants and Breweries

• Saw ”stop for chocolate” signs on the way to my AirbBNB, so I did. After friendly greeting, the first question I got was ”dark, milk, or white?” They get right to the serious business of chocolate! Cabotto Chocolates has a good selection. I picked up some “puffins”, candied pecans with dark chocolate, and a 4-pack of truffles, also all dark chocolate.
• Clucking Hen Cafe & Bakery was recommended when I was buying chocolates. A couple days later, driving south on the Cabot Trail, I stopped in for lunch. Had a great chicken panini and a side of slaw and bought an apple and caramel dessert for later. All were delicious!
• I stopped in my first night at Andrew’s Pizza. Picked up a good combination. 12” was enough for two meals for me, not outstanding but okay pizza.
• When driving the Cabot trail, I stopped at the Big Spruce Brewing. Great location! Lovely views and good beer.

Sydney

I saw information about Celtic Colors after booking time in Cape Breton and my ferry to PEI but it sounded like a great experience and pretty good timing so decided to update my stays. I added a few days in Halifax then booked time in Sydney for the opening event and another concert. I enjoyed the opening event very much but did not like the acts at From Near and Far in Big Pond. In addition to many concerts there are other events, art and readings. I am glad for the opportunity to visit, but it is not something I would do again.

The Barra McNeils

Men of the Deeps

I was right on the Sydney Esplanade and enjoyed walking the boardwalk every morning with Boo. We also visited Wentworth Municipal Park, an attractive and peaceful place for a walk.

While in Sydney I wanted to visit Louisbourg Fortress but storm damage kept it closed until after I left. I did get to visit Baile nan Gàidheal or Highland Village. It’s a 50 minute drive from Sydney to Iona, through lovely scenery. The museum is very interesting, they offer a walking tour to follow the history from Gaelic Scotland in 1770 through the immigration to Nova Scotia during the 1770s to 1850s and all the changes, including the railroad, school house and more through 1925. There are “guides”, historical actors, in most of the houses and buildings to talk about the time period. Boo was allowed on the grounds and in all the buildings. There are beautiful views over Bras d’Or Lake.

I also visited Membertou Heritage Park, a small but interesting museum and I enjoyed discussing history with one of the employees.

Restaurants and Breweries

• I had some good pasta, the daily special at the recommended Governor’s Pub & Eatery. Dogs allowed on the patio.
• After visiting Membertou Heritage Park, I walked over to the Trade and Convention Center and had lunch at Kiju’s, the Rosemary Beef and Greens salad is excellent.
• Napoli Pizza was recommended on many sites, so I ordered one of their pizzas one evening. When I picked it up, I said hope the pizza is as good as all the reviews make it, the guy at the counter said, it is. Yes, it is. The pizza was excellent, a Chicken Delight. The 9” was still large enough to save half for later.
• I took the pizza over to Breton Brewing. Dogs are allowed on the brewery patio but it was raining, unfortunately, so I sat inside. Very loud, trivia night. I had a flight of great beers while eating then grabbed a few singles to go.
• I went past 7 By 7 when out walking Boo. It was just a block from my hotel. Their menu was hanging outside and sounded great. It was hard to choose, their spicy udon noodle bowl was tempting but I got their butter chicken, highly recommended by the waiter. It was great, with coconut and cashew rice. I had leftovers for lunch the next day.

*** All photos property of Lisa, not to be copied or reproduced ***