Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island

(Purchase a print of this image here: ERPImages.com)Growing up on the West Coast produced an interest in all things on the opposite side of the continent. That being said,  I think I have had a particular fascination with the Maritimes since Anne Of Green Gables made its appearance on public television. But more than that, with a name like Robicheaux and a father born in Saint Martinsville, Louisiana I also have a direct relationship to  early Nova Scotia, or more correctly, to Acadia as the seventeen century French settlers called it. Besides, there is something appealing about a place called the "Maritimes" that conjures up thoughts of hidden harbors, boats, lighthouses and all things nautical. So this October,  my wifes travels provided us the perfect excuse to visit the intriguing land of the Mi'kmaq, the First People.Because my primary interest photographically and historically was from Annapolis-Royal around the Yarmouth through Shelburne, to Lunenburg and finally Peggy's Cove; the West and Southwest parts of Nova Scotia,  I allocated the bulk of our time there. However, hearing how spectacular Cape Breton was, I figured we could make a quick trip around the Cape at the beginning of our venture, thus planning to generally circumnavigate Nova Scotia in a counter clockwise direction beginning and ending at Halifax. It wasn't a bad plan, but as trips always do, one can not always be assured of good weather, particularly in the shoulder months of  seasonal changes. As it was, we were too early for the fall colors at Cape Breton and had to contend ourselves with Hurricane  Ophelia. Driving virtually all of the Cape in the storm, we spent our third night in Cheticamp, a very nice French speaking community settled primarily after the Great Expulsion. That evening we braved the 50 to 60 mph winds and driving rain for some lobster and snow crab to the accompaniment of Celtic violin music. At Louisbourg were we stayed our second night, we were advised that almost everyone who lives in Cape Breton is a musician or artist and I can believe it. With the various organizations devoted to Celtic music, one can count on finding a place were it is played. The image below is of the Enragée Point Lighthouse between squalls.  Under the original travel plan, we would have spent more time on Cape Breton, but as luck would have it, I was increasingly harassed about Prince Edward Island; "Arn't you visiting PEI?" Really, you aren't going to see Green Gables, the place where Anne lived?" So, under the modified plan we spent 3 fantastic days on PEI, staying along the Gable Coast at Malpaque to be close to the harbour there as well as French River, New London, and the Rustico harbours. As some friends of ours pointed out, PEI is only about 140 miles wide, so it is quite easy to make it to the various parts of the island. But what really surprised me was that our house in Seattle is farther north, 47.37 latitude than the place we stayed on the North Coast of Prince Edward Island, 46.33 latitude.As an example of how warm and gracious the people of Prince Edward Island are we found that we were on PEI during Canada's Thanksgiving and worried about where we were going to eat that evening. The hostess  at our B&B, The Noble House in Malpaque, invited us to their dinner and we had the chance to meet a good number of the locals. That day was probably our sunniest of the trip with the US temperature of around 82 degrees. What a great dinner and a fun time.  Of course we had to visit Green Gables as a special promise to a couple of sisters at St. James Cathedral who are avid Anne of Green Gables fans. But the funniest moment was when I was standing outside the entrance, a taxi Dodge van pulled up, the right side door slid back, the man pointed his camera out the door and took a picture while still sitting, the door closed and they drove away.....Not exactly my kind of experience.From Prince Edward Island we crossed the Confederation Bridge for a stop at Grand Pre' where there is the memorial to the French who were driven out of Acadia and the statue of Evangeline, Longfellow's heroin.  Since the early Robichaud's came to Acadia around 1650's, somewhere in my past there are relatives who lost their farms as well as relatives during the Great Expulsion. It was a rather sobering feeling to think about that experience and to equate those times to now when we in the US are thinking of doing the same thing to the people who have recently settled in the US from Latin America.Annapolis-Royal, formerly called Port Royal is the oldest continues settlement in North America north of St. Augustine in Florida. It is also a town that has suffered the most military attacks and the most fought after real-estate in North America; a total of 13 military attacks, mostly between the British and the French. This is where the Robichaud's came from France and settled and it was our settlement for that evening. Driving from Grand Pre'  to Annapolis Royal, one can understand why the land was so important, one of the  primary growing areas of Nova Scotia. Outside of Annapolis Royal is an example of an early French settlement to explore as well as the earthen Fort Anne right in downtown Annapolis Royal.   Now for some photography and off to Yarmouth, but first a quick stop at Digby for their world famous scallops.  Yarmouth is at the end of the two primary highways from the East, 101 from the northern parts of the NS and Truro, 103 from the souther route. In the 1870's, Yarmouth was the second largest seaport in Canada and it is still mostly and industrial center.  Cape Forchu, or "forked tongue of land" was named by Samuel de Champlain in 1604 but it had to wait until 1839 for its lighthouse. The original lighthouse tower was replaced in 1962 by the current, "apple core" design, which was the first of this type of structure in the world and was so designed to easily handle the winds of the area. Yarmouth and Yarmouth bay are still significant working harbors.  The whole southern coast, or South Shore of Nova Scotia is a maze of bays, estuaries, harbours, beaches, parks, lighthouses, mills  and places to explore. But with limited time, we had to force ourselves to sample the highlights. So we made our way to Lunenburg a popular tourist town full of shops, art galleries and very good restaurants. Lunenburg is also an interesting sea port town as well as a ship building hub where the Bluenose and Lunenburg dories came from. Lunenburg is visually a rather stunning town with its many red port-side buildings which to me are similar to some scandinavian towns. However, the real prize of the area is the little harbour of Blue Rocks and the surrounding area to the southeast of Lunenburg.   The area from Lunenburg to Halifax is particularly filled with interesting little towns with amazing art, harbours, restaurants and fun places to explore. These places include Mahone Bay, Chester, the Aspotogan Peninsula, the Eastern shore of St Margarets Bay and that area between St Margarets Bay and Halifax. Our last stop, Peggy's Cove lies at the Southeastern end of St. Margarets Bay.Peggy's Cove is a uniquely picturesque spot both for its small fishing cove, boathouses and vessels as well as for its charming lighthouse which sits at the head of the cove on the areas granite shoreline. However, the general area around Peggy's Cove is generally not typical of  Nova Scotia's topography. It has a rocky, glacially scrubbed landscape with sparse trees, bogs, granite outcrops, blueberry bushes and other hardy vegetation. As a testament to of its uniqueness, the area is deemed a preservation area to protect its rugged beauty which also restricts the expansion of Peggy's Cove. However, protected Peggy's Cove is, it suffers from being only 43 kilometers,  or about 27 miles from downtown Halifax. Consequently it is a quick jaunt for the busses from the tour boats and their passengers. On our last full day at Peggy's Cove, it was the beneficiary of 4 cruse ships, approximately 10,000 tourists and around 200 tour busses spread out over the entire day. Fortunately I got all my pictures in the early morning and then we were off  exploring West Dover, Indian Harbour, Boutiliers Cove, Long Cove, Northwest Cove and such similar places.   The trip was two weeks and it quickly came to an end. I feel we barely scratched the surface of what Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and the Maritimes had to offer. The people are wonderful; warm, inviting, friendly and always willing to help. There is a lot of scenery with roads easy to drive. There is also a lot of open spaces to explore. All in all, it was a wonderful trip and I look forward to returning, perhaps in the spring when their multicolored lupines are in bloom. But that will have to wait a while as we now have other places to visit higher on our priority list. But for those looking for a very nice vacation spot close to home, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island should be high on your list.For other images of this trip, please visit my gallery at Photoshelter here: Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island Gallery