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North America » Canada » Nova Scotia » Cape Breton » Baddeck
September 14th 2008
Published: September 14th 2008
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Sunset Carriage ride at Acadia National Park
Saturday, September 6

When we started out on Saturday morning, everything was wet from showers in the night - the first bands of rain going out ahead of tropical storm Hannah. We ate breakfast at a Perkins just across the line into New Jersey.

In New York, we drove through the Bear Mountain State Park. The clouds were sitting on top of the mountain, so the road to the lookout was closed. We took the Bear Mountain bridge across the Hudson River. For a while we drove through the countryside - with forest and large lakes. In Carmel, NY, we stopped for lunch and ran our errands - an optician to put the lens back into Mother’s glasses, a Radio Shack for an electrical adapter, and an A&P for Mother’s grocery store fix.

Most of the day we drove on the interstates - trying to stay ahead of the storm. Originally, we had planned to stay in Gloucester, MA. But when we considered that Hannah was supposed to hit the coast of New England during the night, we decided not to go out onto the coast. Instead we stayed in Amesbury, MA - just a few miles inland. There was supposed to be a seafood festival in the area, but because of the storm, there were rooms still available. The clerk at the hotel recommended that we eat at Michael’s Harborside in Newburyport for a seafood dinner.

Mother ordered a stuffed baked lobster because she thought it would be easier to eat. Guess what? She still had to pick out the meat from the claws. The lobster was huge and filled with enough seafood stuffing that we both ate the leftovers for dinner the next day. The food was all fresh and delicious.

During dinner, Hannah caught up with us and it rained during the night.




Sunday, September 7

There were a few clouds left from Hannah, some scattered showers and lots of wind. We drove through New Hampshire and into Maine on the interstate. From Brunswick, we drove along US 1. We made a stop at Sherman Lake and had a morning snack - sticky buns - but we ate in the truck instead of at the picnic tables because of the wind.

In Camden, ME, we drove down to the public landing. I stopped by a framing gallery to say “Hi” to friends of Mary & Don Thompson of Black Mountain. Camden was hopping with tourists out and all the businesses open. North of town, we drove up the Mt. Battle Auto Road at the Camden Hills State Park. The views from the summit were amazing. We were looking back down on the harbor we had just left. From the observation tower, the 360 degree view showed the sea dotted with islands and the hills along the country side.

In Lincolnville, we stopped at the Lobster Pound Restaurant. Today I had a soft shell lobster and Mother had lobster Newburg. It was all very good - not the quality of Michael’s the night before but still good.

In the afternoon, we checked into our accommodations for the next two nights at Edgewater Motel & Cottages in Bar Harbor, ME. It is really in Salisbury Cove before you get to Bar Harbor. All the facilities have a view of Frenchman Cove - in fact most, including our room, are right on the waterfront. It is a lovely spot to just sit and enjoy nature.


Monday, September 8

Today was our day to explore Acadia National Park. When we were here 15 years ago, it was foggy and raining the entire time. Now we have sunshine and bright blue skies. First stop was the Hull’s Cove Visitor Center. It is so nice to have a senior citizen along - Mother can just show her Golden Age Pass and we have our permit to the park.

We took the Loop Road - as all the other visitors did also, stopping at numerous overlooks to view Bar Harbor and the islands in the surrounding bays. At Sand Beach, I started to go down the steps and a man asked me if I had enough time to go down. I asked if the tide was going in to prevent it and he said, “No, it’s time for the bus to leave.” I told him I did not have to worry about the bus since I was driving a truck. It was near low tide and the waves were still coming in forcefully - a leftover effect from Tropical Storm Hannah. Thunder Hole was making small booms with the occasional larger blast as the waves came crashing into the narrow chasm in the rocks.

We drove into Northeast Harbor and took Sargeant Drive along Soames Sound - the only fjord along the eastern US coast. Down the other side of the sound, we drove to Bass Harbor Head Lighthouse and explored the lovely village of Soamesville.

Now it was past time for lunch. I had read that the best place to eat lobster was at the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound. Everyone else read the same thing. We could not find a parking space at 2:00 p.m. So we decided to go the Bar Harbor Lobster Pound, where we had eaten the last time we were here with our English friends, Alex & Phyllis. The lobster was just as delicious as before, cooked in sea water outside under the pine trees.

Cadillac Mountain is the highlight of the park and the highest point on the Eastern Coast. We drove the winding mountain road to the summit and I took a short walk around the top.

Our only scheduled activity for the day was a sunset carriage ride to the top of Day Mountain. Our driver, Dave and the horses, Rocky & Pete, took 10 of us up the gravel carriage roads to through the woods to see the views from the top of the small bald. We sat in the middle facing two men, Rich and Dave. It was an enjoyable experience with their conversation and the driver’s jokes.

Tuesday, Sept. 9

We were up early to catch the Ferry to Canada. The Cat is one of the supper ships of the world taking 750 passengers, 250 cars & 10 motor coaches. It is a monster size catamaran that cuts through the tops of the waves and puts out two twenty foot high rooster tails behind it. The old ferry took 8 hours. Thank goodness this one only took three. I was sea sick before the first hour was over. It is amazing that when you are throwing up into a little white bag, everyone lets you move to the front of the line for the bathroom.

We left Yarmouth immediately we disembarked from the ship and headed east and north toward our destination of Mahone Bay. Part of the way we drove along Highway 3, which is the old road through all the coastal villages. We stopped in Barrington at the visitors center. The kind lady there directed us to a bank and a restaurant in Barrington Passage just down the road. Mother had shrimp and asked for cocktail sauce. It seems that the locals do not use seafood sauce, so they did not have any. But surprise, surprise - they serve iced tea and it is sweet iced tea.

We used the expressway for part of the trip to make better time. When we reached Lunenburg, we detoured through the town just to see what was there and we drove through Mahone Bay. Then we started our search for our cottage in Martin’s River. The directions were that it was #92 Silver Point Road. On Silver Point Road the numbers go from 86 to 96. There is no 92. After driving down to where the road made a sharp right turn and narrowed to one lane, we went back and tried the road on the other side of the river. All the numbers there were odd ones. Finally, we drove back to Silver Point road and stopped at #96. The kind couple there said they only knew of one house that was rented out and it was at the end of the one lane road. So we continued, past the sign that said private, no entrance and sure enough, there was the cottage #92 on Beach Point Road. It is a nice two bedroom cottage with a dock on the bay behind the house. There are lots of flowers in the yard. The owner works in Bridgewater, about 20 miles away, and has a tiny little cottage to the side of the main one where she comes down for weekends.

Wednesday, Sept. 10

Today, the plan was to go to the site of the Acadian Village of Grand Pre and out onto the Blonmidon Cliffs. We drove on Highway 3 to Chester and ate breakfast at the Kiwi Café. I walked up the hill to the post office to purchase stamps. If you mail 6 cards at a time when you buy the stamps, they take the 13% tax off the cost. Stamps for the US are 96 cents each. After purchasing 6, we decided all other postcards will be mailed in the US on the way home.

We drove over to the Bay of Fundy on the west side of Nova Scotia. I toured the Grand Pre grounds and Memorial Church. The story of the “Upheaval” or removal of the Acadian people in 1755 was very touching. “Evangeline” from Longfellow’s poem is the tourist symbol for the area.

In Wolfville, we ate lunch at the Blonmidon Inn, a fine Victorian Mansion. The lobster chowder was full of large chunks of lobster and potatoes. Mother & I both had a salad topped with stir fried scallops and veggies. We finished up with blueberry desserts. After all of that we could have taken a nap, but we headed out toward Cape Split with a stop at the Fox Hill Cheese Farm. We also stopped in Port Williams to see the Cornwallis River. Most of the river was just red mud as the tide was out - the tide changes between 20 and 30 feet from high to low. We stopped at a place called “The Look Out” where you could see for miles. This area is part of the Annapolis Valley and is full of farms and orchards. There were produce stands all along the main roads. For dinner, we bought fresh baked bread, sweet corn, cherries, plums and pecan tarts at a farm market. We drove to the end of the road at Scotts Bay. I was going to hike part way to Cape Split, but the recent rains had made the trail into a series of large puddles and streams.

We arrived back at the cottage at sunset and cooked our corn and enjoyed the fresh fruit.


Thursday, September 11

I took a morning walk just shortly after sunrise - a lovely way to start the day. We did not venture very far from our cottage at Martin’s River today. We started off with a drive down Oakland Road to Mahone Bay. Two deer crossed the road in front of us along the way. Approaching the head of the bay, we stopped to take pictures of the Three Churches that are the symbol for the town. Next we stopped at the Amos Pewter Shop and Factory. The employees demonstrated all the different steps in producing the pewter items. Of course we bought too many of their shiny items.

Next I went to the Settlers Museum, which showcases the history of the community, especially the founding German families that came into Mahone Bay in 1754. I asked the gracious docent if she had any information on the Strum family. There was one paper saying that Jacob Strum was the first of his family in the area. (Jacob Strum was my great, great, great, great uncle.) She also pointed out that the large island closest to town is named Strum Island. After a visit to the bank to exchange some money, we headed down the coast.

We headed out to the Ovens Natural Park. The Ovens are sea caves caused by faults in the rocks. I walked along the path at the top of the cliffs and down into two of the caves. The tide was out so there was just a gentle wave action in the caves.

For lunch, we stopped at a roadside trailer called the Lobster Wagon outside of Lunenburg. Mother had a lobster and I had the fish and chips. The batter on the fried fish in this area is soft - not crisp & very different from what I expected.

In Lunenburg, I visited the Fisheries Museum but did not spend much time looking at the exhibits. My main purpose was to visit the South Shore Genealogical Society. I asked for information on the Strum family. The file contained several papers about the Jacob Strum family - just what I was looking for. Before heading back we drove down the Blue Rocks Road to see the fishing village at the harbor.

Jacob first settled in Shelburne, but he did not like that area and soon moved up the coast to Mahone Bay and Indian Point. In fact he may be buried at Martin’s River - which is where we are staying. He traded with the Indians and did ship building. On the way back to the cottage, we drove by Indian Point, where he owned a house named “Green Shutters.” We stopped at the Indian Point Union church which stands right on the end of the point. It was interesting that there was a house with green shutters on the hill overlooking the church.

In the St. Martin’s Cemetery at Martin’s River, we found the grave for a George Strum and his wife Zenobia Sophia. Also the information said that several of Jacob’s daughters married Eisenhauers. There was a Jacob Eisenhauer buried there also.

We had stopped at the grocery store in Mahone Bay and cooked our own dinner at the cottage.


Friday, September 12

This morning my walk was over the other side of the point along the Martin River. There was no wind so reflections in the water were fascinating.

We headed north along the coast after having breakfast at the cottage. Our main destination today was Peggy’s Cove. We stopped to see the William de Garth carvings of the inhabitants of the village into the 30 foot long granite wall in his backyard. Large rounded boulders are the dominant focus of the landscape. The lighthouse stands upon an outcropping of these huge rocks at the edge of the sea. This is one of the most famous tourist sites in Nova Scotia and you could tell that from the number of people there. The fishing village had numerous piles with numerous lobster traps. Mother got her lobster fix for lunch and we both enjoyed some delicious seafood chowder.

It does help to have a GPS navigating system when trying to find your way around an unfamiliar city - like Halifax. I went to the Archives and Records of Nova Scotia to see if I could see Peter Strum’s Bible. They brought me out a Bible to look at. After I left, I realized that it was not his. I had seen an article from the newspaper about the Bible but had not read it well. The Bible they gave me to look at was only 4 x 6 inches. Peter’s Bible is a huge one. Maybe someday I will go back and see the right one.

With the help of the navigator again, we drove up to the Halifax Citadel - the fortress built in the 1800’s. I walked around there for awhile and saw a demonstration of a rifle firing by the costumed guards. I climbed up on the ramparts and checked out the view of the harbor and the city.

We drove back along the coast to our cottage and fixed a sandwich for supper


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