Truro to the Cabot Trail

After spending barely 24 hours in PEI and sadly even less time in New Brunswick, it’s time to go back to Nova Scotia. 　

We weren’t planning to visit the South Shore during this trip at all but that meant missing out on seeing Ryan’s family so we decided to meet somewhere instead. Being that it connects so many areas of Nova Scotia, as well as being the best way to get to and from New Brunswick we decided that Truro was the best place.　

First thing in the morning after breakfast and check-out we made a short stop to see some of Ryan’s friends at his old job. Second breakfast was calling though so we were back on the road pretty quickly.　

In true Nova Scotia fashion it started raining right around the time we crossed the border out of New Brunswick and continued off and on for the remainder of the morning. For me, that just makes me love the province even more.

We met his family in the restaurant and got caught up while we ordered and enjoyed breakfast. Bacon and eggs for everyone else, strawberry waffle for me. With whipped cream. 

A little ways down the road is Victoria park, a massive green space within the city. Once you start walking you could easily forget where you really are and consider that you might just be camping in the mountains somewhere. 

Not far down the path is "Jacobs Ladder." A set of 176 stairs. 176 very skinny stairs. Ryan's sister, and I decided we should run up them. Not a race though, just to see if we could do it. We did surprisingly well, but what you can't see in these pictures, or in real life, is that the stairs extend beyond what appears to be the top. I haven't been so tired or out of breath in a long time.

When we were able to breathe and walk again we made our way, very shakily, back down to the bottom where everyone else was waiting. 

We continued our walk until we came to a waterfall. It was quite small however compared to what it could be with some more rain. 

After the falls we had more stairs to climb and a long downhill road to follow before getting back to the cars. We all had a great time visiting and catching up but each had places to get to. 

After our goodbyes, a quick stop at Superstore and then the gas station we hit the highway headed for Cape Breton. 

When we finally made it to the causeway my excitement flared up again. I loved Cape Breton the first time I visited and I couldn't wait to experience it again with Ryan. 

On the other side is a great visitor centre with plenty of people that are happy to help you get where you are going and suggest plenty to do along the way. The lady we spoke to recommended many things to do throughout Cape Breton, told us where we wouldn't be able to get gas, where road construction was and a bunch of other useful tips. Lastly she told us which road to take once we left the visitor centre. We did not take that road. 

It took quite a while before we realized that we weren't where we thought and it was a bit of a disappointment. Most of the Celtic things I wanted to see were on the other road. 

Accepting that we had missed those things we made new plans for where to stay that night and got ourselves there. We stayed in a tiny motel in a place called Margaree Forks about half way between Inverness and Cheticamp. 

After checking in, eager not to waste any time here, we drove to Inverness for supper and to check out the beach. Pinterest all but promised me that Inverness Beach would be great. It didn't lie. I could have stayed in this gorgeous place forever. 

Charlottetown to Moncton

Still a bit tired and certainly still sick we woke up ready to enjoy our first full day.

Our early thoughts led us to breakfast and we couldn't do much until that happened. I was a bit sad to be leaving our tree house but also really excited to get to Charlottetown.

30 minutes down the road we decided to get breakfast from a grocery store instead of eating out, that was a great choice. Not only is it a lot less expensive, but has potential to be a lot healthier. We got fresh fruit and juice as well as mini cereal (circa childhood camping) and milk. We weren't prepared to deal with the heat and humidity quite yet so we enjoyed out feast inside the car in front of the grocery store.

Can I also just say, buying produce in PEI is dreamy. I don't understand how it can be so much cheaper there and look better than ours. A+ PEI

Our full bellies prepared us for an afternoon of adventure through downtown Charlottetown. I was planning on doing a tiny bit of shopping, maybe getting some ice cream and enjoying the all around feeling of this lovely city. I knew how much I loved it from my previous visit 6 years ago.

As it turns out, it really wasn't what I remembered at all. Certain things looked right, but mostly it seemed like a brand new place.

When we eventually found a place to park and started walking it seemed like this whole area had very little to offer, unless you're hungry because then you are set. Restaurants everywhere! Little in way of shopping and tons of traffic.

We took our time walking down the streets and down near the water, then back up and along other streets. We had hoped to go inside Province House for a little history lesson but it seemed to be closed. Not long after that we decided that what we really needed was some Cows ice cream.

At the Cows Creamery factory our excitement returned! We love a good "your face here" photo and that was the first thing we did. And then hugged the big cow...

Inside the factory we did our little self guided tour. It's really just a video and then a hallway with windows where you can watch the staff make ice cream, butter, cheese and screen print T shirts. You can also see the room where the cheese is left to age. You also get a fun paper hat....

When we finished our tour it was off to the shop to buy a little souvenir, in the form of a shirt. That shirt still smells like ice cream and fresh waffle cones. I'm having a hard time convincing myself I should wash it.

And naturally, we got ice cream, the real reason for our visit. For some unknown reason I got apple pie flavor. It was good, but I'm really more of a bubble gum or Oreo kinda girl. We sat outside at a sticky bench in the damp heat and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

In the same area is an Anne of Green Gables chocolate shop and a few other stores. We walked around a few of them, tasted one of the chocolate covered chips and considered lunch before deciding against it.

Some plans changed during the day and as we tried to figure things out and make them go smoothly we decided to leave PEI and spend the night in Moncton. The plans didn't work out but we were both happy to be in Moncton anyway, if for no other reason because we got to stay at the Rodd Moncton again.

I'm telling you here and now that this is THE comfiest bed. Ever. And when you are tired out from a day of travelling, there is nothing better. I actually made a point of asking the lady working at the desk what kind of mattress it was, I love it that much.

After getting checked in we ran back outside in hopes of catching the tidal bore which can be viewed directly behind the hotel. Last year we watched a man surf, this year we didn't see anything, we had missed it by about 2 minutes.

Having skipped lunch in favour of eating ice cream we were both very ready to eat now. Ryan decided ahead of time where we would go and it was a convenient 5 minute walk down the street. Ryan got the steak and potatoes that he desired and I got sweet potato fries and delicious mussels.

After supper we took a walk down Main street, dipped in and out of a few shops and then turned off to Church street (which is actually a street full of beautiful churches.) Since our plans fell through we took our time wandering around before going back to the hotel for a bit.

We didn't stay at the hotel long before we got bored and ventured out again. This time we walked along the river with no destination in mind.

We didn't put this on the bridge, but it was so close that we thought it would be ok to borrow it for this picture. It actually says BRIAN loves Danielle.

Our walk eventually led us to a mall where we spent some more time walking without purpose and finally to a frozen yogurt shop! My favorite!!



East Coast Canada In A Day

It’s finally time for another trip to the beautiful East Coast of Canada! Honestly, I've wanted to be there again since the day we left last year.

This trip didn't start out quite like the last one unfortunately. I was quite sick, we had issues with the car rental and we were both exhausted since we weren't able to sleep on the plane. Despite those things we hit the road and tried to make the most of it!

The original “plan” was to go up to Cape Breton first, take the ferry to PEI, do PEI, take the bridge back and drive to Halifax to fly home.
In an effort to make some other plans work out we decided we would go to PEI first, and with no particular desire to go on the ferry (or pay $71 for it!) we drove straight from the airport to the Confederation Bridge in New Brunswick with just one quick stop along the away. We dropped into Wal Mart to buy enough cold medications, throat lozenges and Kleenex to cure a small army.

Just off the bridge on the NB side is a tourist/information/nature centre and that was our first stop. I don’t honestly remember if we really looked at anything much inside, I was too tired. What I do remember was the wall of heat and humidity that we had to walk through as soon as we opened the car doors which was in stark contrast to the cool crisp air we left back in Alberta.

Having been there once before I knew I wanted to walk along the beach that looks up at the bridge and gives the best unimpeded view.

It was exactly how I remembered it from 6 years ago. Red sand and shells everywhere. An old rustic looking lighthouse further up the beach and bridge for as far out as you can look. It's a lovely place despite the 100% humidity and 35 degree weather that day.

From the beach we got back in the car, cranked the AC and made our way across the long bridge.

If you've never been and the idea of driving across a 12km bridge seems intimidating or scary to you, don't worry about it!! It's pretty cool actually, and for the majority of the crossing you can't see over the sides so it doesn't really feel much like a bridge. 

Just on the other side is a lovely little tourist hub where you can find all the typical PEI treasures. You can buy a shirt that has been dyed in the red dirt from the island, have ice cream at Cows or get yourself an Anne of Green Gables raspberry cordial or some chocolate covered potato chips. Basically everything you would need to have a complete PEI experience. 

At this point we've been awake over 24 hours, I'm feeling sicker by the minute and if Ryan had to drive anymore he would have fallen asleep and steered us into the ocean. 

With the exception of the sickness we had a pretty similar experience last year. We drove straight to Moncton then. Unlike last year, and having learned from it, we actually booked our first nights sleep before we left home

. 

I found this adorable tree house on AirBnB for $30 per night and I was instantly sold. I couldn't wait for Ryan to see it so I could book. 

The tree house doesn't have much included. Climb the ladder and you find 2 chairs, open the door and you get an air mattress, night stand with lamp and a tiny trash bin. Nothing more or less than 2 exhausted travellers needed. There is a washroom in the house for guest use as well in case you were wondering.

As excited as I was to be in Eastern Canada again (finally!!) I couldn't do any exploring without sleeping first. Because of how congested I was the descent on the plane was extremely painful and my ears still hadn't recovered several hours later, I was pretty much half deaf. As it would turn out, my ears didn't recover for about 2 days after landing. The point I'm making is that between the sickness, exhaustion and how frustrated I was with my new deafness I couldn't wait to pass out in the tree house. 

We got about 5 hours of sleep off and on because despite how tired I was its still the middle of the day. Ready to venture out, our "landlord" recommend somewhere nearby for us to try and with a name like "The Lobster Barn" I wasn't about to complain about it.  We stayed just outside the seemingly tiny town of Victoria and that's where the restaurant was. We found it easily enough, sitting looking charming on a wharf. 

I had fish and chips! My plan going into this trip was to eat seafood everyday. Is that wrong??

After supper we walked around the nearby area, caught a lovely sunset and played for a minute in the soft red sand, stopping to collect a small handful before taking ourselves back to the tree house to sleep again. 

4 Years of Blogging

Another year of blogging has come and gone.

I started this little journey 4 years ago and so much has happened in that time, so much has changed.

When this all began I was packing for my 5 month trip to Europe. I wrote everyday while I was abroad and shared all my experiences. 

Since then I've been to the mountains in Alberta, Hawaii, through Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and many more places. 

My life has had significant ups and downs, drastic changes and many perfectly average days.

I've tried to make this space better, I've considered quitting all together and then I continued writing.

I hope all of you have, and still do, enjoy reading as much as I have enjoyed writing.

Happy 4 years, Out of the Nest!