AUGUST 19, 2011 – L AST TOUR DAY – ST. JOHN’S

We head off about 9:30 hoping to find Tim’s for a quick coffee & muffin. Before you know it, we’re downtown & end up in “Coffee Matters” for a great coffee & home made muffin. Directly across the street from our coffee stop was St. Thomas’ Anglican Church, the oldest church in the city, it was built in 1836 & survived the Great Fire of 1892 that destroyed most of St. John’s. Our first “stop” today is the Quidi Vidi Brewery, the home of the famous Iceberg Beer. St. John’s probably has the craziest roads we have ever seen & it took us more than one go ‘round to find the brewery. It’s hidden in a little cove, between the rocks, down a hill, on a two way street only wide enough for one small car!! We would’ve had to wait for 50 minutes for the next tour so decided to continue on our way without the tour.

Next stop, Signal Hill & Mile One of the TransCanada Highway. The road to the top of Signal Hill twists & turns to the summit, there were actually people running down & UP this incredibly steep & windy road. Once you reach the top & get out of the car your breath is taken away. To the east there is nothing in front of you but water, & to the west the St. John’s harbor. Today was a perfect day to be in this space – clear blue skies & +24. Since 1762 the lookout has been used by merchants, customs officials & the harbor pilot so they could prepare docking facilities for incoming vessels after receiving flag signals from the top of the hill. We climbed the stairs to the top of the fortress (only about 50 this time) & I’m hoping these are the last stairs I climb in Newfoundland! The fortress was also used as a hospital in the late 1800’s & it was where Marconi received his first transatlantic wireless communication in 1901.

We were lucky enough to find parking on Water Street (the main drag) & decided to walk & see the sights. The entire downtown core( & residential area just around the core) is filled with buildings dating back to 1893. The buildings are painted a variety of bright blues, reds, yellows, & greens and make the city look like a child’s doll house village. It’s now well after lunch & very hot, time to find a pub for a cold been. George Street is the swinging night street of St. John’s (your Electric Avenue so to speak). We find Green Sleeves with room on the patio in the sun. The special today is “Feather & Fins”, fresh cod nuggets & chicken wings, served with our favorite - fries with dressing & gravy!!! The beer was cold & the service friendly so it was a very enjoyable hour.

As we worked our way back to the car, we came across Trapper John’s – the “Screeching” capital of Newfoundland. It’s here you kiss the cod, down the screech & say a Newfie saying to become an honorary Newfoundlander. The ceremony takes place late in the evening, so I am afraid we will have to come home just plain old Calgarians even though we’ve spent 2 weeks on The Rock, eaten more than our fair share of cod, can talk like Newfies & well, we’ve not had the Screech but did show them how to make a good Cosmo!!









Our last stop of the day are the wine vaults. The Newman Wine Vaults tell the amazing story of the 300 year old connection between wine produced in sunny Portugal, aged in the cool climate of Newfoundland (the wine vaults) then shipped back for the aristocracy in England. For our $5.00 entry we also received a glass of port to sip as we walked through the vaults. Since they also sell a bottle of port from the vaults, we had to have one – after call, it’s called Newman’s Port!!

AUGUST 20, 2011 – A SAD FAREWELL TO THE ROCK

Argentia is the destination for today as that is where the ferry leaves for Nova Scotia. We still don’t know if we have a berth for the 13 hour trip so we are going to be there early. We’ve not been on this stretch of the TCH #1 & again Newfoundland surprises us with different terrain. Huge boulders dot the landscape along with a multitude of lakes and ponds.

As we sat in the line up for the ferry, about 10 ATV Quads pulled in. They were loaded with coolers, sleeping bags & gas cans. Seems there is a fellow who runs quad tours in Newfoundland. You leave Sydney by ferry, arrive in Port au Basque then traverse more than 600 kilometers across an old abandoned rail line to Argentia where you board the ferry which takes you back to Sydney. Apparently it’s great fun except when you only have 2 days out of 7 without rain! I’m sure glad John decided to buy a Mercedes & not a quad!!!

We finally board the ferry at about 2:20 & yeah, we get a berth. It’s a good thing neither of us are claustrophobic. Our “room” has two cots that are so close only one person can stand between them. We do have our own bathroom complete with shower so we can’t complain. It is however, the most expensive room we’ve had on our trip - $170 + tax (15%) plus the $375.00 for the ferry trip. As we walked around the boat the expense mattered less & less. Unlike the other ferries we’ve been on, seating was very limited, no big loungers just small round tables & benches & tiny tub chairs. Not exactly how you want to spend 13 hours. The seats were good to sit & have a drink while we watched the band play. The “bys” had their fiddles & played some good “steppin’ ” tunes.











AUGUST 21, 2011 – FINALLY, THE CABOT TRAIL

Since you arrive in Sydney at 6:30 AM this is by far our earliest day on the road. A quick stop at Timmy’s – like everyone else from the ferry – then on our way. We reached the start of the Cabot Trail about 7:30 and pretty much had the road to ourselves. The day was glorious, not a cloud in the sky & +25. We did the trail counter clock wise & at first couldn’t figure out what the big deal was about the Cabot Trail. We couldn’t see any water, just lots of trees & a very windy road. Then we started to climb, climb, climb and then the beautiful North Atlantic lay at our feet.

We stopped at just about every look off along the way and even found a beautiful little beach. We decided we needed to dip our toes & discovered some crazy Europeans who were actually swimming. The water felt like it was barely above freezing & here this “older” couple were, frolicking in the ocean.

Once you cross the top of the trail & head down toward Cheticamp, the scenery changes again & the coast line become much more rugged with steeper cliffs. I guess if we would have seen this before we went to Newfoundland we would have felt differently, but we weren’t that impress with the Cabot Trail.

Our lunch in Cheticamp on the other hand was outstanding. Lobster burgers were the special of the day, freshly cooked & shelled, served on a toasted bun. Huge pieces of claw & tail meat, no bidders, no fillers, just meat – delicious!!

Once lunch was done we headed for Antigonish for the night. We have done just about all of Cape Breton so it’s time to get on with the rest of Nova Scotia. We had a very low key dinner & were in bed by 9 o’clock.

AUGUST 22, 2011 – THE EASTERN SEASIDE

Well, we thought we were going to see the seaside, but the trees are so dense between the “Seashore” drive & the road that we only saw the water once in awhile. By the time we reached Halifax the wind had started howling & down came the rain. Since we need 2 MORE TIRES (fronts this time) we found a tire shop & arranged for them to order in whatever it was we needed & made an appointment for installation at 9:00 tomorrow morning. Luckily we found a wonderful hotel only a few blocks away & checked in on the Executive floor. I just love the Executive floor! Those big, snuggly bathrobes, designer water, turn down service & a 15 storey view of the harbor. Oh yes, and the hot tub. Since the rain was still coming down in buckets we opted to eat at the hotel. What a surprise that was. We’re trying to cut back so it was a bowl of soup & salad for me while John decided to try the fish broth.




My soup was a tomato curry, not creamy but with fresh tomatoes in a mild curry sauce, then loaded with big chunks of lobster & served with 2 small samosas on the side. It was outstanding. The salad was very different with wedges of beets, stuffed with goat cheese & then wrapped in phyllo pastry, served on a bed of pea pod vines. Also, outstanding.

John’s fish broth was equally different & outstanding. The large flat bowl had 2 large shrimp, a lobster claw, piece of haddock & a piece of chorizo sausage standing in a bed of couscous. When the bowl was set down we both wondered why they called this dish broth, then we found out. The waiter produced a pitcher containing the broth that he proceeded to pour into the dish. The broth was left on the table so you could add as much as you wanted. Outstanding doesn’t even cover how good this dish was.


AUGUST 23, 2011 - TIRES & TOURS & A BIG BLUE SKY

John left the hotel at 8:30 to get those tires installed & I headed for the laundry room. One thing I’ve learned on this trip is not to pass up laundry facilities or bathrooms.

With the laundry done & the new tires installed we headed to downtown Halifax to see the sights. Parking is really at a premium but we finally found a spot, plugged in our $10.00 for 3 hours & boarded the double decker tour bus.

Halifax is rich in history & our tour guide was quite the character at describing the events that established Halifax. We passed graveyards from the 1700’s, the beautiful city clock, a fabulous park, filled with Victorian gardens & a drive through the area containing all the mansions. One house belonged to the famous Oland brewery family. Apparently it was Mrs. Oland, being the good wife she was, who started making beer while her husband was off at work.

We also stopped at the Citadel & walked about the garrison. The fortress is manned with kilt wearing soldiers, pipers & ladies in period costume showing you how the soldiers lived in the 1860’s. We walked around the top of the Citadel with its beautiful view of the harbor.

After the tour, we strolled the boardwalk & sat at a lovely little pub for a snack & a beer while we watched the action in the harbor. As it was, our pub was sponsored by Molson’s so no Alexander Keith’s. Apparently, you can’t go to Halifax without a Keith’s so off we go to find the brewery. The old brewery was only a couple of blocks away & is located right on the water front in a wonderful old brick ‘set of buildings’. We didn’t do the tour, but the beer was good & cold.





AUGUST 24, 2011 – PEGGY’S COVE & DIGBY

Another beautiful blue sky day. It’s only a 40 km drive to Peggy’s Cove but the road was busy with traffic. When we got to the cove we understood why. What a magnificent sight! The huge granite boulders are swept smooth by the seas & you can climb about them all around the light house. There was a lovely young miss, kilt clad & playing her bag pipes at the base of the light house that just seemed like she belonged.

We spoke to some people in the parking lot who had driven to the cove yesterday afternoon only to return to Halifax because all the parking lots were full. Apparently if a cruise ship is in Halifax people get any mode of transportation they can; buses, rental cars, taxis & limo’s to go to Peggy’s Cove.

We climbed around on the rocks & watched the water wash away at the granite. There is a sign on the light house that warns people to be mindful of the strength of rouge waves & that many a life has been lost for not paying heed. As you stand out on the rocks it’s hard to imagine if people can’t read or if they are really just stupid. We watched a family with a toddler sitting right at the waters edge. Not five minutes went by before they were scrambling up & running as a huge rouge wave crashed just below them & doused them with water. After we had our fill of Peggy’s Cove we headed off toward Digby.

We decided to drive across country this time so we didn’t get to see the very south eastern shore of Nova Scotia. We are pretty much sea shore drived out anyway & we’re looking forward to staying in Digby for a couple of days & playing golf.

We found a lovely, old Victorian inn & checked into our suite, complete with a canopied bed. The bed looked far better than it sounded. Every time you turned over all you could hear was squeak, squeak, squeak!!! Good thing we didn’t have any neighbors.

After a drive to see where the golf course was located, we wandered the wharf & found a cute little dockside pub so we sat & watched the boats for awhile. The menu looked good, so we decided to go back for dinner too. A pound and a half of fresh lobster with a side of Digby scallops. What more could you ask for.

AUGUST 25, 2011 – DIGBY PINES GOLF RESORT

The sky is overcast but it’s +26, perfect for a game of golf. Luckily we were paired with a fellow who knew the course & was more than willing to share his course knowledge. The ball retriever didn’t come out of the bag, but extra balls were required because of the dense forest. They don’t call it Digby Pines for nothing! After golf, we went back down to our favorite dockside pub for a cold one & a snack. We asked our server about some large mesh pens we had seen in the water & she explained that they were “salmon farms”.





I had seen a “scallop pearl” in one of the shops, so I asked our server if she had ever heard of them. Low & behold, she was a Digby native & former “scallop queen” so told us the whole story of how scallops swim, produce pearls, & are caught. It seems that scallop pearls are very rare, as scallops have a very good filtration system that flushes most sand particles through the shell. This has been a very educational trip for us!!!

Our innkeeper recommended another restaurant for dinner & we had a very wonderful scallop dinner sitting on the patio. We packed up the car & were able to sit outside & enjoy a glass of wine before making it an early night (have to be at the ferry by 7 am). After watching the news about hurricane Irene, we’ve decided to alter our route home. Rather than driving home through Maine & then up to Detroit, we are heading back through New Brunswick, Quebec & Ontario.


AUGUST 26, 2011 – RACING IRENE

Not only did we have the squeakiest bed ever, at 2am, the thunder & lightening started, the wind started howling & the rain came down sideways. We were beginning to wonder if the weather man had miss calculated about the arrival of the hurricane! The rain had subsided by the time we got up at 6 am, but the 3 hour ferry ride across the Bay of Fundy was anything but picturesque. The fog was so thick so couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

Luckily, by the time we got to Saint John, the sun had broken through & it was a very beautiful day. We had set our destination as Cornwall, but by 6:30pm when we reached Drummondville we’d had enough. A hot tub, good dinner & a comfortable quiet bed was all we needed.

AUGUST 27, 2011 - TORONTO HERE WE COME

John made the phone call to let the kids know that gramma & grampa would be back in town for a couple of days. Since John’s sister was at her cottage, she left the key to the house for us & said, “see you Sunday night”. We arrived in Toronto sometime mid-afternoon. John insisted that I have the full travel experience so headed straight in on the 401. By the time we reached the “14 lane” width, the traffic (on Saturday) was at a stand still!! I’ve thanked John for the “experience” and will never complain about the Deerfoot again. After a very entertaining dinner with the grandkids, we enjoyed a quiet glass of wine before retiring for a good “sleep in”.







AUGUST 28, 2011 – TORONTO REST DAY

Caught up on laundry, repacked the trunk & got the car washed. John had to tip the guy at the car wash BEFORE he started on the car because of the mess of bugs every where. First time we’ve cooked dinner (BBQ & a salad) since June.

AUGUST 29, 2011 – THE REST OF THE WAY HOME

Another quiet day, planning the route home.