I just got back yesterday from a trip to Canada! In case you noticed I was gone, I would have said something before I left but I actually didn't even know if I'd be able to go until a couple days before! We rented a 12 passenger van and there was just enough room for all of us that went! We were gone for 4 days, and we did EVERYTHING that could possibly be squeezed in in that time! It was really wonderful! We visited Prince Edward Island first, then took a ferry over to Nova Scotia and saw the Cape Breton Highlands before heading back towards New Brunswick and stopping at Hopewell Rocks! This is going to be a looong post, but I think you'll enjoy the pictures. It was all even more beautiful than I could have imagined! This was what the road looked like for about 80 miles through New Brunswick...lovely but I don't know what we would have done if we had got a flat tire or something. there was almost no traffic, and our cell phone didn't work! We did see a couple of moose. Some of the people we were travelling with were from Ohio, so they were really excited! We watched the sunrise over PEI Tuesday morning. We had the beach all to ourselves which was so peaceful! Here it comes! I must have taken around 20 pictures just of this hole in the rock! Those rocks are a little scary... Some kind of evening primrose, I think... I have no idea what these flowers were, but they sure were beautiful and fragrant too! I'm pretty sure this was Queen Anne's Lace, not the poisonous hemlock. It grew in dense groups along the roadsides and in fields all over the island. Just another shore view... We saw several lighthouses... We were surprised and slightly disappointed that there weren't any big waves on the beaches of PEI, but it was still very nice. I waded across this very rocky pool, and my foot came within about 18 inches of a small lobster! I started looking a little more carefully after that! And the next day we saw this 11 pound lobster at the Garden of the Cape museum in Monatgue. Our guide said a lobster this size could take off your hand, and even a small one could break your finger! Yikes! Farm country at its best... We visited Green Gables in Cavendish. It was funny that I had just finished reading Anne of Green Gables (for the 4th or 5th time!) when I found out that I might be able to go on this trip! Anne's room... Here's "Bonny"... The parlor. I was excited to see the little concertina on the table! The gardens were very pretty too. The Haunted Woods. I wish I could have walked Lovers' Lane as well, but didn't have time. Indian Pipes at the edge of the trail... This is where L. M. Montgomery is buried in Cavendish, PEI. On Wednesday we took the ferry over to Nova Scotia. Looking back towards PEI on the ferry! The view from our motel room in Cape Breton... The next morning we started out for Cape Breton Highlands national park, but couldn't resist stopping a few times to admire the rocky beaches... Come to think of it, most pictures I've seen of Cape Breton show it to be very foggy and wet. It certainly was when we were there, but we thought it gave it a character all its own. A magnificent cliff in the Cape Breton Highlands... We were all busy admiring the mountains when it suddenly dawned on us that there was the sound of water rushing somewhere nearby! We thought it was a waterfall and went to look, but found this lovely little stream instead! I had a lot of fun photographing the water! The views were just incredible! Another rocky shore... We even got to see some seals. It was kinda funny to watch them just riding the waves and looking around at all the visitors. They seemed quite unconcerned! Another beautiful but rocky beach... We even went whale watching! I wasn't sure which I was most impressed by, seeing whales up close, or the views of the mountains enveloped in fog! The first thing we saw as we left the shore was this bald eagle! We saw lots and lots of pilot whales. They came quite close to the boat and there was even some kind of microphone under the water so we could hear them "talking"! We also saw one minke whale in the distance. Here's a little video I took... And then it was time to head back towards the New Brunswick border. We were thankful that we got into the park when we did, because the way back was even more foggy and we would have missed a lot of the views if we had come later! There were still some impressive views, though! We stopped at Hopewell Rocks on the Bay of Fundy on the way home Friday morning. It was almost at low tide, so we were able to walk on the ocean floor! And do a bit of climbing :) These yarrow plants were high up on the cliff...there's something about a plant growing amongst the rocks that always touches my heart! More rocks... And here's the Bay of Fundy at low tide! The sandpipers were having a feast... Another view, showing how far the water has receded. And it was still another 2 hours or so until low tide! The fishing boats get grounded during the day! It was a perfectly lovely time and I really wasn't ready to go home, but at least I know I'll cherish the memories we made the rest of my life!
8 Comments
Elsa
8/19/2018 11:10:51 am
Sounds like a heavenly trip! Loved reading about it and seeing the pictures! So happy for you that you had this opportunity! :)
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You covered a lot of ground in 4 days! Looks like it was a beautiful trip with lots of good company. Loved the whale video, I've not been on a whale watch in many years. The fragrant pink plant is Bouncing Bet, or Soapwort (Saponaria officinalis). Great post, Joanna!
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Haha, we sure did! We were usually up and on the road by 5 am and packed in everything we possibly could. It was wonderful! I got a little sick on the whale boat, but not too bad. It was fine while we were moving, but whenever we stopped the waves rocked the boat a lot and my stomach wasn't very happy!
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Glenna
8/20/2018 06:01:39 pm
Thanks for the photos. It brings back many memories of my childhood. I grew up in New Brunswick and had many trips to the Rocks and to the Cabot Trail in Nova Scotia. My first trip to PEI was by ferry from New Brunswick, but the ferry is no longer in service, about 10 years ago a bridge was built over the St Lawrence Seaway and of course their is a fee to go over the bridge, no fee to go over the bridge to get to PEI but you have to pay to leave the island.
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I'm glad you enjoyed the photos...it must have been a wonderful place to grow up! We loved it!
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AuthorI am a passionate gardener and seed-saver, who also enjoys playing the violin and accordion, running, spending time with my 4 golden retrievers, keeping chickens, photography, and reading. Archives
March 2019
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