The McCabe Family Nova Scotia Road Trip 2017

After a picnic lunch at The Hopewell Rocks, we headed to Fundy National Park . This national park is located in New Brunswick on Canada’s Atlantic Coast. In addition to seeing the world’s highest tides in the Bay of Fundy, the park offers hiking trails through Acadian forest, leading to thundering waterfalls, freshwater lakes, and scenic river valleys. All of us hiked the Dickson Falls trail together, and then only Conor and I hiked the Caribou Plain trail. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Fundy National Park, and I would certainly recommend a longer visit than ours. At the start of the Dickson Falls trail At the Dickson Falls On the Caribou Plain trail At the end of the Caribou Plain trail

We left Halifax early so that we would have enough time to walk the ocean floor at The Hopewell Rocks , which is located along the coast of the Bay of Fundy, home to the world’s highest tides. We got there with more than enough time to walk on the ocean floor (you are allowed to walk 3.5 hours before and after low tide), but we didn't have enough time to stay to see high tide. These photographs tell the story.

We checked into our hotel (the Chateau Bedford, the same place where we stayed on Saturday night), took a brief rest, and then grabbed dinner at Jim's Family Restaurant, a diner-type establishment nearby. I hadn't had any pie for quite a while, so I was very pleased when I saw that they served homemade coconut cream pie for dessert. Our waitress recommended the pie. So, needless to say, after a delicious dinner of grilled pork chops, salad, vegetables, and apple sauce, I had a piece of pie which was very good.

After our picnic lunch, we hit the road again and started our journey home. We switched hotels to the Chateau Bedford near Halifax to give ourselves a jumpstart for tomorrow's trip to the Bay of Fundy, the Hopewell Rocks, and the highest tides in the world. On our way to the hotel, we took a brief detour to the Grand-Pré National Historic Site , a sorrowful site which commemorates the Expulsion of the Acadian peoples in the second half of the 18th century and pays tribute to Acadian culture of the 17th and 18th centuries.The Expulsion occurred during the French and Indian War and was part of the British military campaign against New France. The site is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Acadian removal was made famous by the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem Evangeline . In front of the Memorial Church Statue of Evangeline Bust of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Chart showing the Expulsion In the Parks Canada red chair again!

After leaving Bridgewater, we headed back to Kejimkujik National Park for some daytime fun canoeing on the Mersey River. It was a beautiful, sunny day, and we even saw a painted turtle during our time on the river. After about an hour or so in our canoes, we called it quits and enjoyed a picnic lunch at Merrymakedge Beach. And of course, I insisted on taking the obligatory photograph of Conor and Clare in the red chairs when we arrived at the park. Merrymakedge Beach

As we sometimes do on a road trip, we changed things up a bit. So, instead of driving the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia to Yarmouth (and gazing at still more lighthouses!) and then up the Bay of Fundy coast towards Wolfville, today we decided instead to spend our day in Kejimkujik National Park. Here's the route we took.

In 2010, Kejimkujik National Park was designated a Dark Sky Preserve , and provides "one of the best places in Nova Scotia to bask in the celestial wonder." So tonight we all made a nighttime trip to Kejimkujik National Park to visit the sky circle and gaze at stars in the sky. Unfortunately, there was just a bit too much cloud cover for optimal viewing, but we did manage to see some stars and it was a fun trip enjoyed by all. We were also visited by a deer while we were in the sky circle. When we arrived at the park, I insisted on a photo of myself in one of the Parks Canada red chairs. Conor reluctantly obliged.

In 1995, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, was designated a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization World Heritage Site. Lunenburg is on the famed "lighthouse route," so we stopped there after our visit to Peggy's Cove and before reaching our hotel in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. Lunenberg is also the home of the Bluenose II , a replica of the original Bluenose fishing schooner.  The original Bluenose was launched as a Grand Banks fishing and racing schooner on March 26, 1921, in Lunenburg, and its image has adorned the Canadian dime since 1937. On the Bluenose II On the Bluenose II The original Bluenose on the Canadian dime An example of the historic architecture of Lunenburg

After leaving Peggy's Cove, on our way to Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, we stumbled upon the Swissair Flight 111 Memorial. I got out of the car to view the memorial to the flight which, on September 2, 1998, crashed into the Atlantic Ocean at the entrance to St. Margarets Bay, Nova Scotia, about 5 miles from shore, roughly equidistant from the tiny fishing and tourist communities of Peggy's Cove and Bayswater, Nova Scotia.

Our next stop after Halifax was Peggy's Cove, made famous by its iconic lighthouse, ostensibly the most photographed lighthouse in the world. It was very chilly and quite blustery, and we stayed just long enough to snap some photographs and view the lighthouse and ocean.