July 2015 – Nova Scotia is a big island, and we sampled some of the most scenic and quaint areas on the South Shore as well as on the Northumberland Shore. But Nova Scotia is probably best known for the Cabot Trail in the far northeastern corner that takes in the dramatic coastal views on Cape Breton Island.

Our first glimpse of the dramatic Cape Breton coast on the Cabot Trail

Many people tackle the 185 mile Cabot Trail scenic drive as a daytrip, starting at one of the more southern towns and driving around the loop either clockwise or counter-clockwise. We debated for a long time how to do this drive more slowly to take it all in.

Where to start? Locals told us that the best parts were on the northwestern and northern parts of the loop. Which direction to drive? Seasoned travelers suggested we go counter-clockwise so we could be on the shoreside of the road the whole way. Could we take the buggy and park it somewhere and do shorter trips? Well, the Cabot Trail itself is has many sharp twists and turns and a rumored 23% grade somewhere. The road can also be quite rough, especially after a tough winter like this past one.

In the end we decided to start from the French town of Cheticamp and to drive the truck by itself clockwise as far as we could manage in one day and then turn around and drive back.

Just a few miles outside of Cheticamp the Cabot Trail became truly dramatic. The land rose up in steep hills and mountains, and sheer cliffs dropped off to the sea. The Cabot Trail clung to the edges of the cliffs offering us stunning views as we drove.

Wow! The Cabot Trail snakes along Nova Scotia’s highlands
on Cape Breton Island

It turns out that this is moose country, and no sooner did we turn away from the coast for a moment than we spotted a moose by the side of the road. It was early morning and the moose raised her head to check us out as we drove by. She watched us approach and stood stock still. Just as I got my camera aimed, however, she bolted and vanished into the forest.

We hadn’t been on the road half an hour when we saw a live moose!
But we didn’t get a great pic, so this will have to do!

We stopped at Pleasant Bay to have a look around. This is a small fishing village that is home to a fleet of colorful lobsterboats. Life was pretty quiet there in the morning hours, and not a soul was around.

The Cabot Trail passes several quaint fishing villages. Pleasant Bay is lovely.

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We took a detour at the top of the island to explore some of the remote communities that dot the far northeastern end of Nova Scotia. As we drove the final miles of the little bumpy road into Meat Cove, we wondered if we’d taken a wrong turn somewhere, but when the view opened up we knew why the locals had sent us out here. It is spectacular!

Gorgeous Meat Cove has a campground set high on these cliffs.

There is a campground overlooking the water that seemed absolutely enchanting. Our rig wouldn’t have fit, but for truck campers and popup tent trailers, a few days here would be a heavenly getaway.

Now that’s a camping spot!

A popup or truck camper is ideal for this classic spot in Meat Cove.

A picnic with your truck camper and a friend’s tent right there on the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean — what an incredible spot to stay for a few days!!

Right out of a brochure!

We continued on the Cabot trail and stopped here and there to take pics of the views. At one stop we noticed a bunny watching us from beneath the protection of a bush. He quietly munched the grass and kept an eye on us while we crept closer and closer to get better and better portraits of him. We completely forgot about the view behind as we each took 100 bunny shots!

This little bunny had no fear of us at all!

The road to Bay St. Lawrence lured us to a sweet fishing harbor filled with colorful lobster boats.

Bay St. Lawrence is a charming small harbor.

Back on the Cabot Trail, as we passed Asby Bay, we found ourselves driving alongside marshes and flat landscapes with the coastal mountains rising up in the distance.

Traveling the Cabot Trail in the vicinity of Aspy Bay, we saw flat lands and salt marshes.

Quaint fishing villages dot this entire coast, but perhaps the most lovely was the little harbor at White Point where the lobster boats were painted in primary colors.

White Point is home to a fleet of colorful lobster boats.

Neil’s Cove, just a little further on, was pretty sweet too!

Cute Neil’s Harbor was our turnaround point.

We turned around at this point and headed back to Cheticamp. As we drove along the dramatic twists and turns just north of Cheticamp that make the Cabot Trail famous, we stopped and took a stroll on the fantastic pebble beach. Looking up towards the road, we saw an RV flying by. A young girl was grinning and held her hand out the window to wave at us!

A true joy ride.

The stones and driftwood on this beach were very engaging. The perfectly flat shale stones were ideal for skipping, and there were enormous driftwood logs everywhere. Between the beach and the road there were bushes that were just covered with vivid pink flowers, and as I began trying to work these beautiful flowers into my photos, I kept smelling an absolutely exquisite smell.

Beautiful pink flowers filled the bushes near the beach.

After a few minutes, I finally put two and two together and realized that the deliciously sweet aroma that kept wafting around me was coming from these flowers. They were beach roses!

The flowers turned out to be roses.
What a fragrance they had!

Nova Scotia had given us some beautiful images, but we were ready to continue our journey. For the first time in months, we turned the buggy in a westerly direction!

As we were leaving, the fun and crazy parting shot we got from this corner of the world was of a front yard filled with cut-outs of The Simpsons. What a hoot!

Lawn art depicts Homer, Marge, Bart and scenes from The Simpsons

Nova Scotia’s roads had been very hard on our rig. We have always had a funny way for judging just how bumpy a ride had been: after we parked the trailer, if we opened the trailer door and found the table leaning on one of our chairs, then it had been a rough ride! Out west this happened perhaps two or three times in a season. In Nova Scotia it had happened every day. We had reached the point where we put spare pillows on the chairs to give the table a soft landing!

More troublesome, however, was that our rear trailer axle was bent and needed to be repaired. We decided to do this repair in Bangor, Maine, and have described the event here.

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Our most recent posts:

More of our Latest Posts are in the top MENU above.

More info about the Cabot Trail and Cape Breton Island:

• The Cabot Trail – Tourism Website
• Where are these places? – Google Maps

More blog posts from our RV travels in Nova Scotia:

• Canada RV Travel Tips – RVing Nova Scotia & the Canadian Rockies! 08/16/15
• Cabot Trail Highlights – Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island 08/14/15
• Nova Scotia’s Northumberland Shore – The Quiet Side 08/06/15
• Mahone Bay & Blue Rocks on Nova Scotia’s South Shore 08/02/15
• Lunenburg, Nova Scotia – Pretty As A Picture! 07/31/15
• Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse, Nova Scotia – Reflections At Sunset! 07/24/15
• Fireworks for Canada Day and the 4th of July – EXPLOSIVE!! 07/02/15

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July 2015 – Nova Scotia is a big province and many of the most popular places to visit are spread far apart. The South Shore had delighted us with three beautiful places all in very close proximity: Peggy’s Cove, Lunenburg and Mahone Bay and Blue Rocks.

On the opposite coast on the north side of the island, we spent some time exploring the Northumberland Shore.

Pictou Harbor at sunrise.

The town of Pictou is a quiet town that is a little off the beaten track. While wandering around the waterfront we were surprised when two different locals come up to us to tell us about the area. One told us about the beacon from a lighthouse that is on display and showed us a photo he had taken years ago when the beacon was still atop the lighthouse. The other handed us some tourist literature. Both expressed hopes that we’d stick around a while.

Historic street in Pictou, Nova Scotia

At the heart of the small waterfront there is a replica of an old ship, the Hector. It is a three masted ship that brought the first wave of Scottish highlanders to Nova Scotia in 1773. 189 people were crammed aboard this boat to make the voyage across the Atlantic. The shocker is that it is only 85′ long!

Immigrant ship Hector carried 189 Scots to their new home.

Nova Scotia was settled by the French in the 17th century as part of Acadia, a colony of New France, in the northeastern part of modern day Maine and Canada’s Maritime provinces and parts of eastern Quebec. The Scottish came to Nova Scotia 100 years later, but unlike the French who didn’t continue populating the area with more boatloads of people, the Brits came in ongoing waves, and they soon outnumbered the Acadians by a large margin.

Pictou

In the end, the conflict between France and England over the territory in northeastern North America ended with the British in control and the Acadians being exiled. Some Acadians went to Louisiana, and we now refer to them as Cajuns, while others scattered or steadfastly hung on as best they could in the northeast.

Many towns in Nova Scotia towns identify deeply with their Scottish or French roots, and they celebrate their unique and distinct histories.

Historic building in Pictou, Nova Scotia

In Pictou, a lovely path winds its way from town out along the waterfront and we enjoyed a bike ride by the shore.

Pictou has a lovely walking/biking trail from downtoan.

Heading west from Pictou, the coastal road between Tatamagouch and Caribou Island was another lovely drive.

Over the years, we had heard from several sources that Nova Scotia was an awesome place for boondocking, and we really looked forward to finding little spots here and there to tuck in and go exploring. However, I don’t know why it was, but we didn’t have the kind of luck that other people seem to have had, and we found it difficult to find good spots in Nova Scotia. We did see one fifth wheel parked in an ideal spot overlooking the Atlantic near Seafoam, but it appeared to belong to the guy who owned the land!

What a great spot!

Here and there we found wonderful little harbors with lobster boats or pleasure boats moored inside. The colors were captivating.

Lobster Boats at Toney River on the Northumberland Shore

Sailboats on the Northumberland Shore

The Northumberland Shore has lots of farmland, and we saw some lovely spreads as we drove around the area.

Beautiful farmland in the Northumberland Shore on Nova Scotia’s north coast.

Getting out onto some of the more remote roads, the traffic lightened up considerably, and we found ourselves sharing the road with a big old tractor!

A tractor sets the pace as we drive on these country roads.

Then we saw an RV go by that was all done up in wild colors.

A Class C with a crazy paint job drives past us

One scenic drive that we enjoyed went from the town of Antigonish out to the lighthouse at Cape George.

Cape George Ligthouse

A little further north was the delightful shoreline of Ballantynes Cove where lush farmland sits on a plateau overlooking the ocean. At the water’s edge, the land falls away in red cliffs.

Ballantynes Cove Nova Scotia Canada

Mark spotted an especially beautiful wildflower in our wanderings.

The town of Antigonish had a fantastic fireworks display on Canada Day (July 1st) and we had fun catching the explosive colors on camera. At the northeast end of town we found Antigonish Landing, a little hiking and biking trail that goes along the water for a ways.

The walking and biking trail at Antigonish Landing

We loved the churches all around Nova Scotia, and we found a beauty in Antigonish.

Church in Antigonish

Sometimes in this blog I find photos that I forgot to include with a particular post, and this next church is another beauty that is actually in Peggy’s Cove:

Church in Peggy’s Cove.

The Northumberland Shore is not as quaint and heavily visited as the South Shore destinations of Lunenburg and Peggy’s Cove, but the towns are lovely and less touristy.

As a note to RVers headed to Nova Scotia, perhaps the thing that surprised us most was that it takes a lot of driving to get from place to place. Studying the map ahead of time and planning where to drive and leave the RV and where to drive the tow vehicle or toad on daytrips is very worthwhile.

We had both thought of Nova Scotia as a fairly compact island, when it is actually very large and expansive. We found ourselves driving 100 miles a day to get to the places we wanted to visit, and even then, we discovered we were barely scratching the surface!

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Our most recent posts:

More of our Latest Posts are in the top MENU above.

More info about Nova Scotia’s Northumberland Shore:

• Northumberland Shore of Nova Scotia – Tourism Website
• Where are these places on Nova Scotia’s Northumberland Shore? – Google Maps

Other blog posts from our RV travels to Nova Scotia:

• Canada RV Travel Tips – RVing Nova Scotia & the Canadian Rockies! 08/16/15
• Cabot Trail Highlights – Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island 08/14/15
• Nova Scotia’s Northumberland Shore – The Quiet Side 08/06/15
• Mahone Bay & Blue Rocks on Nova Scotia’s South Shore 08/02/15
• Lunenburg, Nova Scotia – Pretty As A Picture! 07/31/15
• Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse, Nova Scotia – Reflections At Sunset! 07/24/15
• Fireworks for Canada Day and the 4th of July – EXPLOSIVE!! 07/02/15

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July 2015 – Nova Scotia’s south shore served up some wonderful scenery during our RV travels there, with the beautiful lighthouse at Peggy’s Cove lit up at sunset and the classic seaside village of Lunenburg. So, we decided to take a drive along the coast to the village of Mahone Bay and the tiny hamlet of Blue Rocks.

Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia

Mahone Bay is a small town that hugs the shore, and we walked along the waterfront taking in the pretty views.

Waterfront views.

Mahone Bay

Mahone Bay is a tiny strip of a town with just a few buildings, but they were very attractive.

Mahone Bay has some cute eateries and shops

There’s also a bandstand on the water’s edge.

The distinctive church in the center of town.

Mark spotted a shop called The Tea Brewery, and being an avid tea drinker, he headed on in. This place was filled with canisters of exotic teas, and he got into a lively conversation with the shopkeeper about tea leaves, tea types and how to brew the perfect cup.

The Tea Brewery is dedicated to all things TEA!

From Mahone Bay we took the coastal road past Lunenburg to Blue Rocks. Summer is very short and very much treasured in this part of the world, and on the way we passed a place selling colorful lawn chairs that looked very inviting. They had enough seating for an outdoor summer concert!

Ready for a summertime party!

Our first glimpse of Blue Rocks was a tiny cove where there was a pile of beautiful new lobster traps that were built in the traditional style with rounded wooden tops, although this style seems to be very much in use in Nova Scotia today.

Our first glimpse of Blue Rocks, Nova Scotia

A lobster boat was anchored in the small bay.

A lobster boat in the bay at Blue Rocks

We didn’t see anyone around except a few tourists like ourselves who were enjoying the scenery — and it was lovely.

A cove in Blue Rocks.

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This is a quiet and scenic spot on Nova Scotia’s south shore

The cove opened up to a small rocky beach where a family was picnicking.

A family enjoys the beach at Blue Rocks

We turned a corner and there was a small harbor where some people were coming in from a kayak ride.

Kayakers paddle in to shore in the Blue Rocks harbor

Blue Rocks, Nova Scotia, isn’t far from the big city of Halifax, but the serenity of this little cove made it seem worlds away. Lobstermen live a simpler life harvesting their catch from the sea, and they have been doing it pretty much the same way for generations. The fast pace of modern society doesn’t exist out here.

New lobster pots built in the traditional style ready for launch.

Old retired lobster pots that have served their time.

We continued our drive along the shore and came to a really fun little ferry crossing. This is the LaHave – East LaHave Ferry that zips back and forth across a very short distance. There are lots of little ferries like this down in these fingers of land and peninsulas on Nova Scotia’s south shore. We didn’t take it, though, and instead turned north along the LaHave River. Next time!

Cars board the 10 minute ferry from LaHave to East LaHave.

Just a bit further up the coast, we passed St. Mark’s Place, a wonderful church that stands proudly on a spit of land overlooking the water.

The church at St. Mark’s Place has a fabulous view

Nova Scotia is a big province that can be daunting to try to see in one short trip by RV. Which way to go and what to see?? Little scenic daytrips like this one were jewels in our travels there.

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Never miss a post — it’s free!

Our most recent posts:

More of our Latest Posts are in the top MENU above.

More info about this area:

Nova Scotia’s South Shore – Tourist Website
Where are these places in Nova Scotia? – Google Maps

Other blog posts from our RV travels in Nova Scotia:

• Canada RV Travel Tips – RVing Nova Scotia & the Canadian Rockies! 08/16/15
• Cabot Trail Highlights – Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island 08/14/15
• Nova Scotia’s Northumberland Shore – The Quiet Side 08/06/15
• Mahone Bay & Blue Rocks on Nova Scotia’s South Shore 08/02/15
• Lunenburg, Nova Scotia – Pretty As A Picture! 07/31/15
• Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse, Nova Scotia – Reflections At Sunset! 07/24/15
• Fireworks for Canada Day and the 4th of July – EXPLOSIVE!! 07/02/15

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June 2015 – After a heavenly few weeks in Downeast Maine, including a daytrip to Campobello Island in Canada, we crossed the border into Canada “for real” at the small town of Calais, Maine. The province of New Brunswick is very large, and it took us a while to decide whether to dash through it to Nova Scotia or to take our time.

The huge tides and seascapes of the Bay of Fundy beckoned, but in the end we decided to hightail it to Nova Scotia, a place we had both wanted to visit for many many years.

We’re here!

The island of Nova Scotia is a large province too, extending some 300 miles from end to end. We had had visions of encircling the circumferance of the island very slowly, and started out doing just that along the northern shore.

The farmlands and low lying, flat lands of that coast were pretty, but we we had quaint fishing villages and craggy rocks and lighthouses on our minds more-so than farms, so we quickly changed gears and made a dash for the southern coast. We landed at Peggy’s Cove, which is about as quaint and cute a fishing village as there can possibly be.

The small community of Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia.

This is a tiny hamlet of just a few buildings surrounding a very small harbor that contains a handful of boats. As we walked along the docks, the fishing boats seemed to hover on glassy water.

A picturesque scene at Peggy’s Cove

Each building was lovingly maintained to utterly quaint perfection, including the little coffee shop that looked out on the small cove.

I love a cute coffee shop!

Lobster traps were positioned along the wharf, and an old deteriorating dory made a wonderful photo op with a red lobster boat in the background.

Lobster pots

There were ideal photo ops in every direction.

This is an artist’s haven, and a few steps up a hill we came across an artist recreating the picture perfect harbor scene on his canvas. We joined a small throng of people taking photos of him!

What a lovely spot to set up an easel and let your creative juices flow!

Just a few steps further on we found another artist, and the throng joined us to photograph her too!

The artists — and everyone else — were loving the charming scenery and landscapes.

This is an idyllic little seaside village that is a photographer’s or artist’s true delight. In some ways it was almost a little too perfect, but we were loving every minute of strolling the very short street that goes from the harbor to the lighthouse.

Before the lighthouse came into view, we could hear the mournful sound of a bagpipe in the distance. As we turned the corner, the lighthouse appeared and the bagpipe player was suddenly right before us. He was wearing a kilt and had an open donation box near his feet. Behind him a couple was taking a selfie of themselves with the lighthouse in the background.

We heard the forlorn sounds of the bagpipe long before we spotted the player

We were enchanted by this sweet postcard of a village, if just a little put off by its so perfect perfection and the crowds of tourists arriving from the row of buses that were squeezed into the small parking area. But as the daytime turned to late afternoon, something truly magical happened.

The sky turned grey and black, and beneath the heavy clouds the sun suddenly put on a spectacular display at the lighthouse.

Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse becomes the centerpiece of a celestial light show.

Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse is one of the prettiest lighthouses in Nova Scotia — perhaps the prettiest — and to see it with such a stunning backdrop was a true gift.

The sun bursts through the clouds

As the sun set, groups of kids, couples and families all came out onto the rocks to watch it drop into the sea behind the lighthouse. And what a show they had that night.

Lots of families and couples and kids sat on the rocks to enjoy the sunset.

Once the sun dipped below the horizon, the sky lit up in shades of peach and orange. Kids were playing all around, suddenly full of energy, and their silhouettes were delightful.

Weeeee!

The rocks around the lighthouse glowed orange, and the lighthouse began to flash a vivid red.

The light flashes in the last moments of daylight.

We were both in awe to be experiencing such a dramatic sunset in such a breathtaking location.

As the sky grew dark, we sat down on the edge of the rocks and looked out at the sea, holding each other in a long embrace. After all those years on a boat, neither of us will ever look at the sea in quite the same way again.

The chill of nightfall began to steal over us as the waves crashed on the rocks below, and the black, open ocean lay in front of us the way it had so many times before on our long overnight passages in Mexico.

Those days seemed like a lifetime ago, but suddenly the memories were just an arm’s length away.

“I can’t believe we were out there,” Mark said suddenly.

“I know — I can’t believe we did it either!” I added.

“I was terrified for four years,” he confessed.

We stood up to go and suddenly noticed some tidepools behind us creating beautiful mirror images of the lighthouse in the water.

We stared out at the darkening sea, sharing a deep sense of awe. We were in awe of the scene, in awe of life, and in awe of having dreamed a dream, made it come true, and come out of it alive, unscathed, and forever changed.

Reflections at Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse

Lucky 7

What a precious and unique moment that was at Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia — a sunset we will never forget.

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Never miss a post — it’s free!

Our most recent posts:

More of our Latest Posts are in the top MENU above.

More info about Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia:

• Peggy’s Cove – Tourism Website
• Where is Peggy’s Cove? – Google Maps

Other blog posts featuring lighthouses:

• South Haven, Michigan – A Lighthouse Brings Crowds at Sunset
• Lighthouses of Lubec & Campobello – The Quoddy Sisters!
• Oregon’s Heceta Head Lighthouse – Where the Buggy Got Stuck

Our RV travels in Nova Scotia:

• Canada RV Travel Tips – RVing Nova Scotia & the Canadian Rockies! 08/16/15
• Cabot Trail Highlights – Nova Scotia’s Cape Breton Island 08/14/15
• Nova Scotia’s Northumberland Shore – The Quiet Side 08/06/15
• Mahone Bay & Blue Rocks on Nova Scotia’s South Shore 08/02/15
• Lunenburg, Nova Scotia – Pretty As A Picture! 07/31/15
• Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse, Nova Scotia – Reflections At Sunset! 07/24/15
• Fireworks for Canada Day and the 4th of July – EXPLOSIVE!! 07/02/15

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