All that glitters is not gold

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Geo: 44.6462, -63.5739

Day 9 –

Saint John, New Brunswick to Halifax, Nova Scotia

Today was not our best travel day. Several folks had suggested we check out Reversing Falls before we left Saint John. Reversing Falls are rapids where the Saint John River runs through a narrow gorge before emptying into the Bay of Fundy. The tides of the bay force the water to reverse against the prevailing current when the tide is high.

Sounds interesting; sorry to have missed it. We found the reviewing platform but saw only a few swirls in the waters below. Perhaps we were viewing at the wrong time.

We hit the road (NB-1) to Halifax. We exited at Sussex, home to 16 covered bridges. Checked out two and were on the road again. I like covered bridges. They remind me of that sad, sad book that I also like.

We passed through Moncton and crossed into Nova Scotia. We stopped in at the welcome center and the volunteer there suggested a scenic drive that included UNESCO World Heritage Site "Joggins Fossil Cliffs" and a promontory with lighthouse called "Cape d'Or". He said the drive was beautiful. It was not.

Joggins Fossil Cliffs is famous for its fossils from approximately 310 million years ago. I didn't manage my own expectations. I saw the word “cliffs” and assumed we would see beautiful cliffs overlooking the Bay of Fundy. Instead, we saw a museum of fossils … mud flats that reveal themselves when the tide is out … and jagged cliffs which I'm sure had fossils but they were difficult to see with the untrained eye. There was a guided tour scheduled but it was not on our time schedule.

After two hours on some pretty rough roads, we reached Advocate Harbor and its famous headland, Cape d'Or (i.e., cape of gold). There was a rugged 4-mile road that resembled some of the off-roading experiences we have had in Montana and Colorado.

But when we got there, what a surprise! It was the beautiful cliffs overlooking the Bay of Fundy I had been imagining at the last stop. Cape d'Or is marked by dramatic 660-foot cliffs overlooking treacherous tidal currents in the indigo channel.

Someone mentioned the former lighthouse keeper's home is now maintained as a guesthouse for tourists. It was a B&B at one time; not sure it still is. It says “closed” but that might be just for the season.

We then spent three hours getting from Cape d'Or to Halifax. Nothing against trees, but five hours of country roads with only an occasional peek at the sea were boring, especially after a week along the Maine Coast.

The good news? We are beginning to see some autumn color. Entire trees, mostly maples, were in their full fall regalia. It makes me hopeful that we will see some serious color in the next 10 days on our Tauck tour of the Maritime Provinces.

We checked into Prince George Hotel in downtown Halifax about 7 pm. We unloaded all of what we had accumulated for 10 days (including five 12-packs of Tab for the Tauck tour bus). We definitely resembled the Beverly Hillbillies arriving in town.

We dined at The Keg, which had been recommended on the Tauck Travel Forum. The steaks (yes, we had real food for the first time in 48 hours) were superb. It was a delightful meal.

TRIP SUMMARY:

In retrospect, we should have taken the ferry from Bar Harbor, ME to Yarmouth, NS. Because we really wanted to see Campobello, I decided against the ferry.

Knowing what I know now, I would have gone to Campobello and then returned to Bar Harbor and taken the ferry to Yarmouth. It would have been SOOOOO much faster (we spent 10+ hours driving from Campobello to Halifax, NOT including today's five-hour escapade) and it would have allowed us to do a second night in Rockport/Camden. Oh well, water over the bridge.

If you Google the directions for a drive from Gloucester, MA to Lubec, ME, it tells you that:

1. The trip will take just under six hours. Our trip took us seven days.

2. The distance between the two destinations is 348 miles, most of it along Interstate 95. Our trip (the U.S. portion only) was 715 miles, most of it along US-1/1A.

So, if you are in a hurry to get from Massachusetts to Canada, you can do it in a day. But that's not the path we chose. We chose the gorgeous rugged coast of Maine and all its glory. Well, not quite ALL its glory. We were about two weeks too early for the autumn foliage, but it was a spectacular experience, one that we are so happy we did. We can't even believe we waited this long to see this gorgeous state.

We rarely have plans to revisit places. There are so many places, and so little time. But we loved Maine. We envision a return trip some year in October, wandering through New England, playing some golf and taking in some of the same sights when all that glitters actually IS gold.

Thanks for traveling along with us.

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Photos

Patrick at covered bridge, Sussex, NB
One of 16 covered bridges near Sussex

Comments

[Nancy Y]

So glad to learn you enjoyed your explorations of Maine. You will find more to love on each visit - I have over 40 years of visits! But certainly more to come in the days ahead. Canadian Maritimes should not disappoint.