We left PEI around 7:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning, August 23, for Hopewell Cape, New Brunswick, Canada, to see the rocks that have been carved by the drastic ocean tides in the Bay of Fundy. It was a dreary, rainy day and we weren’t sure how the visit would go, but we moved along with our plan to see the rocks. It took about two hours+ to get there and, yes, of course, it was raining when we arrived. We bought our tickets to see the rocks and also to take the shuttle thinking it would keep us dry until we got to the observation deck. Wrong! It was a 8-seater open golf cart, but the drivers were entertaining. At least my rain jacket was long enough to keep my seat (mostly) dry! We arrived at the observation deck and started down the (at least) 5 set of stairs to the beach and this is what I saw …
The tide here varies by about 50′ twice a day and, as a result, the rocks have been carved by the sea to look like a bunch of flowers … that’s why they are called the flowerpot rocks! So cool ….
Here are more photos:
It was really a fascinating place to visit and should be on your bucket list, especially on a pretty day! That said, there were lots of people there that day and only the first of 3 parking lots was full. With sunny weather, I imagine, it would be packed!
We left Hopewell Cape and started our drive into Nova Scotia for the next 2 days in the Antigonish (AN ti go nish) area at the north end of the southern island of Nova Scotia. We had a reservation for a 2-night stay at an AirBnB. The drive was pretty non-eventful but the rain continued to fall until we passed the Truro area on TC-104 (Trans-Canada 104).
We’ve come to learn two major differences between Canada and the US while driving the highways in Nova Scotia. First of all, the exits are numbered in sequence and are not based on mileage as ours are now in the US. This would be okay but there are also extremely few distance signs letting you know so-and-so town is so many kilometers away. And, by the way, I love driving 110! (which is only 68 miles an hour) 😉
The other thing is that their exits don’t have (normally anyway) the eateries and gas stations like we do. The exits only have signs similar to this …
We were especially fond of and could identify with the ? in the middle! The other thing is the ‘services’ are normally in the towns and not really at the exits. You might find one here or there that has a gas station and a restaurant but the restaurants are true restaurants and not fast food. Sometimes there will be a station and, say, a Subway together but the sign won’t tell you what’s there–you have to exit and see. Oh, and you pump your gas first and then go in to pay, –like we used to before everyone started driving off without paying!
After traveling across the island to wonderful views of evergreen trees and more and then more evergreen trees, we arrived in Antigonish about 3:30 p.m. in one piece and fairly sane. We had called our host to expect us and she greeted us and showed us our accommodations. The apartment was a little rough and was without AC, which, with the humidity, was very uncomfortable. Maureen shared that with Jyotsna, our host, and she offered to let us move without holding us to the payment since we were unsatisfied with the space. We were certainly pleased with her, though, and hope she does well with the AirBnB. I think she must lease it as a student rental during the school year, as it has that ‘look’ and there is a University nearby.
With Jyotsna’s help we found accommodations at the Coastal Inn a few miles away in the direction we would be traveling; so, we were okay with the move. It turned out to be a drive-up motel (which is very normal here) but the beds are wonderful; so, we are happy campers!
We had one day in this area before moving on to Sydney for the wedding and decided to drive up the Ceilidh Trail (pronounced, ke-lee) along the western side of Cape Breton.
Maureen and I both have Scottish and Irish heritages and found the whole Scottish feel in this area a lot of fun. We left about noonish and drove up to Inverness and saw stunning views of the coast along the way.
We decided we’d never seen that little bush before that was growing around the Welcome Center. It’s really pretty! The picture on the left is from the northern Island looking over the Canso Strait.
We continued our trek north along the coast to beautiful views of the water.
The view of me on the bridge was taken at Inverness. The last one is off the coast as we drove back south and the sun was beginning to set.
We stopped for lunch at the Celtic Music Center in Judique (ju-dic) and were able to enjoy the traditional Celtic, toe-tapping, music by a duo who were really good. I’m trying to find out their names and will share when I get that information. Anyway, they were extremely good and the so was the food!
We knew we wouldn’t see any lighthouses; so, decided we would seek out the churches along the way. So many look to be very old and we loved the cemeteries with the old gravestones that were almost always adjacent or nearby.
We haven’t been successful in getting the lobster we had heard was so abundant here but came to find out the lobster season is in June and July and the fishermen are no longer fishing for it (sad face). On the way back yesterday we wanted to try one more time but couldn’t find a good seafood restaurant that was open. That’s another thing, during the week, everything closes at 5 p.m., including some of the restaurants! We did see one pharmacy that was open till 9 in Inverness but the gas stations closed as well! (By the way, gas stations are few and far between here!!! You really have to plan ahead.)
We ended our day by having dinner at Mother Webb’s across the road from our motel and here’s a picture of the best steak and baked potato I’ve had in a while!
Yummy!
No wonder the place was packed with locals! I guess it didn’t hurt that I had 3 glasses of wine either. We shared how much we enjoyed our meal with the manager Tony and he gave us glasses — beer mug for Maureen and a wine glass for me — with the Mother Webb logo on them as souvenirs. He was very nice and the whole staff was helpful and upbeat. A great meal and we will definitely recommend it to those who we meet at the wedding this weekend that live here or are traveling around!!!
Barbara's Travel Blog 