Nova Scotia
Will be heading to Nova Scotia and surrounding areas. Starting point eastern panhandle of WV Will be leaving 3rd week in June. Open to all suggestions on: Where to stay Best route wh...
Forum Discussion
Nova Scotia is a great place to visit – beautiful, historic, with a good bit of animal life and fantastic seafood. We have spent more time in Newfoundland but still have spent a fair bit in Nova Scotia especially Cape Breton. We prefer less civilized (read fewer people, less density) so our preferences for the Atlantic Provinces are NL, NS, PEI, NB.
What to do and where to visit? I agree with prior posts re Louisbourg, Halifax, and of course, Cape Breton (which is almost a different province). History is everywhere and we have seen whales, moose and black bear. August is the scallop festival in Digby and they are delicious. Lobsters are easy to come by and very very good.
Some favorite memories:
We camped in the marina at Canso (northeast of lower NS). Toward evening we noticed a lot of excitement and asked what was going on. Some locals had caught a 600-pound tuna and were literally dragging it behind their small wooden boat back to the dock. The whole town turned out to greet them. What a sight. They winched it out of the water, cut off the head, and it weighed over 300 pounds. They flash freeze it and sell it to Japan for sushi – big $$$.
Took a zodiac whale watching trip from south of Digby (in mid August). My favorite ever whale watching trip (and I have done dozens of them) but my first in a zodiac. We left from Long Island (I think) with Zipping Zodiac; there were two couples and the driver/guide. We ended up amongst a pod of 4 humpbacks (I love humpbacks) and two of them actually swam under the zodiac (or at least parts of them did). I could not reach/touch them but we were at eye-level and it was so exciting. We were close enough to smell the fish breath when they exhaled and we also were ‘lucky’ enough to see one poop! Yes big blob (didn’t smell) of what looked like brown straw rose up next to us and the guide had to tell us what it was. LOL.
One place we camped at had the local high school band come and play bagpipes on Friday or Saturday nights. They marched thru the campsites and ended up near the water where we brought our chairs and gathered around a bonfire while they played. It was Havre Boucher Hyclass Campground but I don't think it is like that now; seems we tried to go back and it was not the same.
One year we traveled around the perimeter stopping at smaller towns and camping in out of the way places. Met some interesting locals and did not feel so much like ‘just a tourist’. I should mention that we travel with a dog and that has ‘broken more ice’ than any other thing in our travels. Looking for places to walk the dog and enjoy the scenery has enabled us to meet locals. Axel, a beautiful Vizsla, was the sweetest dog in the world and loved kids especially little girls. He would let them try to ride him or pull his ears; it didn’t matter. His unusual breed (at the time there were not that many around) was a draw for adults. Our current German Shorthaired Pointer is mostly white with a brown head and draws a lot of attention. She is hyper but loves everybody and thinks they should love her back! LOL. She too has enabled us to meet folks especially at dog parks where we took her to run off some of that energy.
Hope you have a wonderful trip.
Diann
What to do and where to visit? I agree with prior posts re Louisbourg, Halifax, and of course, Cape Breton (which is almost a different province). History is everywhere and we have seen whales, moose and black bear. August is the scallop festival in Digby and they are delicious. Lobsters are easy to come by and very very good.
Some favorite memories:
We camped in the marina at Canso (northeast of lower NS). Toward evening we noticed a lot of excitement and asked what was going on. Some locals had caught a 600-pound tuna and were literally dragging it behind their small wooden boat back to the dock. The whole town turned out to greet them. What a sight. They winched it out of the water, cut off the head, and it weighed over 300 pounds. They flash freeze it and sell it to Japan for sushi – big $$$.
Took a zodiac whale watching trip from south of Digby (in mid August). My favorite ever whale watching trip (and I have done dozens of them) but my first in a zodiac. We left from Long Island (I think) with Zipping Zodiac; there were two couples and the driver/guide. We ended up amongst a pod of 4 humpbacks (I love humpbacks) and two of them actually swam under the zodiac (or at least parts of them did). I could not reach/touch them but we were at eye-level and it was so exciting. We were close enough to smell the fish breath when they exhaled and we also were ‘lucky’ enough to see one poop! Yes big blob (didn’t smell) of what looked like brown straw rose up next to us and the guide had to tell us what it was. LOL.
One place we camped at had the local high school band come and play bagpipes on Friday or Saturday nights. They marched thru the campsites and ended up near the water where we brought our chairs and gathered around a bonfire while they played. It was Havre Boucher Hyclass Campground but I don't think it is like that now; seems we tried to go back and it was not the same.
One year we traveled around the perimeter stopping at smaller towns and camping in out of the way places. Met some interesting locals and did not feel so much like ‘just a tourist’. I should mention that we travel with a dog and that has ‘broken more ice’ than any other thing in our travels. Looking for places to walk the dog and enjoy the scenery has enabled us to meet locals. Axel, a beautiful Vizsla, was the sweetest dog in the world and loved kids especially little girls. He would let them try to ride him or pull his ears; it didn’t matter. His unusual breed (at the time there were not that many around) was a draw for adults. Our current German Shorthaired Pointer is mostly white with a brown head and draws a lot of attention. She is hyper but loves everybody and thinks they should love her back! LOL. She too has enabled us to meet folks especially at dog parks where we took her to run off some of that energy.
Hope you have a wonderful trip.
Diann
