Maritime Canada. Our East Coast provinces, each unique.

You realize you are back in your familiar environment, islands near the sea, when you first smell the real, living ocean breeze at a tiny roadside stop on the backroads of New Brunswick...it's the same smell, salty oyster laden mud, as the breezes that surround my Denman Island home on our Westcoast.  Here in rural New Brunswick, we made a quick roadside stop  enroute to the natural phenomenon of the Bay of Fundy.  

 Ollie is the first of us to dip his toes in the red colored ocean water of this large Bay which has the claim to fame of having the largest height changes in tidal water of any body of ocean water in the world.  The water is colored by the sand/mud of the bay and I was soon to find out that this red colored earth is the trademark of another province yet to be seen. 

Hopewell Rocks are a provincial park where one can explore the ocean bottom and see the effects of tidal erosion on the nearby cliffsides.  

We spent our final night in New Brunswick in the Fundy National Park, which proved to be a great campsite but not one worthy of photos as we were in the trees, in a park that could have been anywhere in British Columbia, the climate and the plant life is very similar here.  It's a great National Park, and one where camping is nearing an end.  Many of the parks in this part of the world are set to close by October 1st, so we feel lucky to be here now while the weather is still good and the sites aren't crowded. 

 Heading east, our next stop was the small province of Prince Edward Island, home to the famous author Lucy Maud Montgomery of Anne of Green Gables fame, but more familiar to me was the scenes from years of watching Road to Avonlea with my family.  

Unlike the Westcoast where none of our islands are linked to mainland Canada by a bridge,  the province of PEI has a direct link with mainland Canada by a 13 km. long Confederation Bridge.  I was surprised that the siderails of the bridge were only the height of roadbarriers, and found myself quite grateful that we were driving with our truck and trailer on a calm, non-windy day.  The first stop as you enter PEI is the scenic roadside attractions at Borden-Carleton and Ollie seemed to sense that from here on, life would get a whole lot more photogenic.  

 It's like the entire island is one large farm, producing crops of either wheat/corn or potatoes, and it's leaning heavily to the potato production as Crop #1 are Cavendish potatoes...a large Canadian company where all things potato based are products. 

We had chosen a campsite in Cavendish, based on the recommendations of my Ontario friends Gaya and Jim who have lived in Nova Scotia operating a bed and breakfast in the Annapolis Royal valley for years.  In fact, their recommendations really helped us to see the most with the least amount of back-tracking all through the maritimes. 

Cavendish is in the center of Canada's Prince Edward Island National Park which runs for several miles along the northern shoreline of this picturesque province.  It's a seascape of red rock, ocean vistas and small perfectly kept villages.  

Lobster is the "king" of seafood here in the Maritimes...so although the traps were stacked outside the restaurant, we ate mussels and seafood chowder at North Rustico's "The Blue Mussel".  We chose to reserve our first lobster feast for Charlottetown, the capital of PEI, and the real birthplace of the notion of Canadian Confederation.  

Charlottetown has a rich history as the site where our forefathers planned the union of the provinces to defend Canada by "strength in numbers" against invasions.  Unfortunately for our visit, the Confederation Hall was undergoing extensive restorations, so we chose to do our own walking tour of the heritage buildings of downtown Charlottetown, a small city with no highrises, an old-time feel and limitless charm. 

We enjoyed our first "lobster rolls" on the waterside patio in downtown Charlottetown. 

We chose to see as much of the island as possible, so added a drive out to the far end of PEI, the East Cape to see the sites. 

Early the next morning we took the ferry from Wood Islands PEI, to Caribou/Pictou in Nova Scotia. 

Unlike PEI, Nova Scotia struck me as a province of vast forests, much undeveloped land and a lot of modern developments. 

Our goal was to see the Cabot Trail, a highway considered to be one of the top 10 highways in the world to drive and with Cape Breton's history of Scottish/French ancestry, the Acadian culture is a huge draw.  Celidh's are a nightly affair in many communities and the friendly small villages are a glimpse into a simpler, less hurried way of life. 

Driving to our first campsite, on the Eastern shore of Cape Breton, within the Cape Breton Highlands National Park proved to be a lot more challenging than we had imagined.  Perhaps it's pulling a trailer or just that we are not familiar with these roads, but the cliffside curves on the narrow two lane roads were a humbling experience, in spite of living in the mountainous province of BC, this a road more similar to the roads along the Meditteranean. 

We chose to celebrate our safe arrival to the campsite with a drink and appies and music at the famous Keltic Lodge which hosts a worldclass golfcourse and spa....perhaps in my next life.....

The next morning we continued our way around Cape Breton on the Cabot Trail, foresaking a much heralded visit to Meat Cove in order to preserve our truck and trailer for the second half of our trip. Gravel roads, deep potholes and narrow lanes are not for trucks pulling trailers. 

We spent our second night at another campsite in the National Park outside of Cheticamp and were much relieved to find that we had indeed completed the drive with no mishaps.  It was surprising to me to think that none of the travel literature we had reviewed had warned us of the quality of the road or the difficult driving conditions even in good weather we had experienced.  We learned that this is the "low season" for this park, and that in about a month when the fall colors are in full glory, the Celtic Colors Festival draws a final wave of tourists from all over the world to this little remote piece of heaven here on earth. 

Sunday we headed back to the urban destination of Dartmouth/Halifax to see this final large destination in Canada.  

Luckily, we had been told to stay in Dartmouth and use the harbor ferry to transit to Halifax on the other side of the Halifax harbour.  

Halifax's harbourfront walkway is a great destination and very well set up for tourism of all sorts. From the daily cruise ship visitors to people like us, there is a real feel of a harbour with life to enjoy. 

 The Sailing Vessel "Nyogi" is the largest sloop I've ever seen and it was attracting it's share of attention along the harbour pathway.  Maybe the TransAtlantic race season is happening or maybe this is just one stop on it's usual itinerary. 

 Lots of new construction is underway in Halifax...definitely the most modern and appealing city that we have seen in these provinces. 

 Canada's navy and coast guard have a regular presence in the harbour. 

 I had long heard of the Pier 21 Museum of Immigration that is a tribute to the role Halifax has played as an entry port for immigrants and refugees.  Canada grew with the immigrants who arrived here in large numbers from the end of the 1800's to the 1970's and today, it's role to accept and welcome refugees is an ongoing source of pride to me and others.  This museum, together with my previous visit to Winnipeg's Museum of Human Rights really seems relevant to who we are as Canadians.   I'm proud that our government has always realized that we are better with the mix of people who call Canada home. 

We chose to finish off our Halifax day at "The Bicycle Thief" with another lobster roll for me, a burger for Tom and more of the great craft beers that this province brews.  

If I had to describe what makes each of the Maritime provinces I've now visited unique, only 3 of the 4 as we've had to chose to not include Newfoundland on this trip for logistical reasons; I think I've developed a quick summary. 

Here's my quick reference guide for those of you who have not yet been to this far eastern part of Canada.  

1. New Brunswick is basically a continuation of Quebec, except now English is included in second place on all roadsigns and stores etc.  Staff still greet you in French but quickly switch to English when they see your blank response.  New Brunswick is conservative so that shopping on Sundays is not commonly available. 
2. Watching out for moose is the prime caution on all New Brunswick highways.  I saw signs graphically putting moose in direct collisions with autos on every road we drove..however, the legendary moose was never to be seen. 
3. Prince Edward Island once again puts English in first place with only the occasional French reference as "chemin" as well as "road" on signs.  
4. There are no wild animals to watch out for on Prince Edward Island roads...only church congestion signs to warn you as you near every one of the churches that dot this picturesque island.
5. Everyone in Prince Edward Island takes the role of living in a tourist mecca seriously.  Every farm and house is in impeccable condition with flowers, heritage colors on painted doors and gates and charm abounding.  It's basically a "Movie set" waiting for the right cast of characters. 
6. Nova Scotia road signs include the, to us Westcoasters, unknown "Gaelic" language as well as English and French.  
7. Nova Scotia is like BC in miniature.  There are miles of evergreen forests and many lakes.  The ocean provides the livelihood of many persons here as it does in BC.  First Nation's played a big role in the Maritime provinces and the place names pay homage to the European influence as well as  the various tribal cultures who first called this land home.  I could live here. 

So we are almost ready to depart Canada for the second half of our 10 week road trip.  Our planned route takes us to Boston via the Maine and New Hampshire seacoasts.  We have a departure date for US Historic Route 20 planned, immediately following a Red Sox homegame and our meet up with Tom's RV travelling friends from Memphis who will accompany us on some or all of US Route 20.  

Will Hurricane Florence "rain on our parade"..or maybe even worse,...who knows, but for now we are relaxing here in Halifax..getting set for our next adventure.