Nova Scotia

We awoke to a beautiful morning.  The sun was rising over the clear water across from our tent.  We took our morning slowly, having some coffee and planning our day.  We were to head towards the ferry that would ship us from Wood Islands to Nova Scotia after a quick trip to the legislative building for, what else, a few pix of the dogs.

The dampness of the night also kept us from heading out quickly.  The rain fly of the tent was dripping wet and being under the shade of the trees had kept it from drying.  We detached the top and moved it over towards a tree which was in the early morning sun.  We each took a shower in not the most cleanest of bathrooms, but it sufficed.

I continued to shake the rain fly trying to quicken the pace of the drying and eventually was satisfied with it's state and folded it up.  The tent, kitchen, food and bedding were all packed and then the dogs, always anxious about the start of day, jumped in the car.

Back down to Charlottetown we drove, found a Doris Day spot at the Legislature Building and walked towards the entrance.  It was a Monday morning and the area was busy with pedestrians and workers around the building.  I entered the building to see some of the grandeur which I hoped PEI would offer.

It was a simple building with plain white walls.  There was some ornamentation, but not too much.  The picture below did show some former time when the people provided the glam.

The dogs had gotten used to me taking them one by one to take their portrait with the buildings.  I must say, BJ does not seem to appreciate it much anymore.  Alas, the life of a TravelingDog!

We were right on time to catch the Northumberland Ferry to Nova Scotia.  I tend to not make reservations for these journeys as we never really know when we would needing them due to complications or changes on the road.  To date, I have never been let down.  We were roughly within the first 10 cars to arrive and only had to wait about 45 minutes before boarding.  Time for another dog walk and to check out the terminal.  Not much to see, BTW.

We were directed onto the ferry and led to the first spot which meant we would be the first to get off.  Score!  We grabbed our items which we would use for our 70 minute journey to Caribou.  Camera, check.  Computer, check (had to check the budget).  Cribbage board & cards, check.  "Be good boys!" Check!

We headed up to the deck, found some roomy seats on the ferry and settled in.  We each took turns checking out the different levels and taking snapshots of the areas surrounding us.  We moved our seats to get some breakfast and before we knew it, we were in Nova Scotia.

There was no real agenda and when we got off the ferry we just drove south towards Truro.  Our intention was to check out Halifax and head towards Digby to take the next ferry back to New Brunswick.

We stopped at the Glooscap First Nation to get some gas and to check out their museum & store.  I still had my mother's $100 canadian bill for my 2013 moccasins.  I found a great pair along with some additional soap with fragrances of cedar and sweetgrass.  This could actually be called the Soap Tour considering how much we now had in  our car. 

Behind the museum and store stood this amazing, tall statue of Glooscap, the first human.  I mean TALL!  He stands at 40' along the roadway for all to see.

Next, we headed towards Halifax, the capitol of Nova Scotia.  We had a little bit of trouble finding the Legislative building as it was not called by that name.  It was named Province House we learned.  It is situated on a busy street in the downtown area by the coast.

The day was Monday and also a holiday.  Different provinces call this holiday different names.  Nova Scotia calls the first day of August Natal Day.  Basically, everyone wanted a holiday in August so they made the Civic Holiday.  Gotta love Canada!

It was also the day of the Halifax International Busker Festival.  We found this out by trying to find the information area and landing ourselves in the middle of it.  It was quite the experience walking through the jugglers, mimes and other oddities.  I got the information I needed and we quickly left the area.  It truly can be difficult when you have two dogs traveling with you.  They define what can be done and what can't.

We found Province House a few streets away.  It was behind a tall black iron fence.  Tom decided to stay in the car, sort of over the whole capitol thing.  I took my trusty camera and took a few shots inside and out.

One spot that I did want to see as well was Peggy's Cove.  Not that far from Halifax, we arrived on the rocky shore within a 1/2 hour.  It is one of the most popular spots to see in Nova Scotia.  That was proven when we tried to find parking.  The lot was packed with cars and busses.

People were crawling over all of the paths and smooth rocks.  There was no chance of a lone lighthouse on an outcropping like we had in Manistique.

It was a nice stop and after stopping in the gift shop we headed back onto the road.  First traveling down the coastal road and then heading inland as the winding road was going to take a very long time to get anywhere.

The drive was picturesque, traveling through small towns and wooded areas.  We eventually made it to the Western side of the island and that's were we stopped for a bit.  We had to.  We were driving without a destination which annoys me to no end.  We were going to camp overnight but the day was closing around us.  We were not sure about the ferry and if they had room or not.  We new there was one at 8 in the morning.  I saw a phone booth (how odd to see them) and stopped the car.

After a fairly quick call, a decision was made.  We would head to Digby and catch the ferry in the morning.  As we approached the small coastal town, the sun was just about to set and it was going to be a beautiful sunset.  Tom spotted a sign for a reserve right before the town, so I figured we would get some petro and then watch the day turn to night.

I didn't know that the reserve was 10 miles down the road.  I also didn't know that there were two gas stations and, with the first one unattended, we headed to the second one.  Another 10 miles down the road, except this one dirt and gravel.  We never did find the second one.  Turn back around, another 10 miles.  Gas up and then another 10 miles back to the main road.  Needless to say, no sunset for the TravelingDogs.

We searched for a place to stay.  There was one that was listed right by the ferry, but we never did find that one.  It was very dark when we finally found a small motel called the Siesta Motel.  We checked in with the older woman at the desk and settled in for the night.  Well, I did.  Tom headed out to try and find some food to bring back to the room.  He did, although the pizza was nothing to write on a postcard.  Canadians sure don't know how to make my kind of pizza.

The following day we planned on taking the ferry and it would also be the start home.  We were the furthest East we could go.  Now it's time to start heading West.  Actually South and then West.  But home was coming.