Nova Scotia Mainland June 21 22 23

June 21 -- After saying good bye to Cape Breton Island we made our way to Halifax along the southeast shore.  Fishing is definitely the principal means of life in this part of Nova Scotia.  Quaint fishing villages dot the rocky coast.  Much of the scenery is like northern Michigan or the UP.  At one point the road ended at a ferry dock – it was not real clear on the map, so we were a bit surprised.  The ferry captain said it happens all the time.  

Country Harbour Ferry Rte 211 Nova Scotia

It was a long day of driving and sight seeing, so we were looking forward to a day of walking around Halifax on Friday.

The weather was overcast and rainy most of the time we were on the mainland of Nova Scotia, so we did not take so many photos.  We walked all around downtown Halifax including the waterfront and the fortress at the Citadel.  In the evening we did a mini pub crawl to three pubs that had live music.  Unfortunately none of the featured musicians played maritime or Celtic music, but they were all entertaining.  

Historic Properties on the Waterfront in Halifax

View of Halifax from the Citadel

 

Saturday we left Halifax and drove along the southwest coast to Peggy’s Cove and Lunenburg.   The landscape in the Peggy’s Cove area is different from anywhere else on the mainland.  It is a barren rocky coastline that looks like a nuclear bomb was dropped there sometime in the last 50,000 years.  It is one of those things that you cannot capture on film. 

Peggy's Cove Lighthouse

Peggy's Cove

From there we drove down to Lunenburg, a well preserved 19^th century town that was a shipbuilding center and home to The Bluenose and Bluenose II, famous racing schooners (pictured on the Canadian Dime).  Since the weather was unpleasant, we headed across the mainland to our evening destination, The King George Inn Bed and Breakfast in Annapolis Royal on the northwest side of the mainland along the Bay of Fundy.   Faith, our innkeeper, made sure that our stay at the King George would be memorable.  She upgraded our room, arranged dinner plans for us and set up a great Victorian style breakfast before we headed out on our way.

Guests Leaving the King George

The King George Inn B&B Annapolis Royal Nova Scotia

 

The weather was still overcast and rainy on Sunday as we made our way from Annapolis Royal to Moncton New Brunswick.  We did spend some time identifying the historic buildings in Annapolis Royal and driving to Port Royal.  Champlain established the first settlement in Canada at Port Royal in 1608 and there is a reconstruction of the settlement on this site.

Reconstruction of Champlain's Settlement at Port Royal