Getting from Yarmouth to Halifax is pretty simple. The trick is figuring out what to see along the way. We chose to go via Annapolis Royal, then across the peninsula to Lunenburg, Mahone Bay and Peggy's Cove, then up to Halifax. About 250 miles and 6:00 in the car.
First stop, Fort Anne. The British were always skirmishing with the French and Mi'kmaq in Nova Scotia. Much of it happened here.
On the way out of town, we stopped at the Botanical Gardens.
Then across the peninsula on 80 miles of bad road to Lunenburg. The secondary roads in Nova Scotia are about as much pot hole patch as they are smooth asphalt. Lunenburg is an old British settlement and ship building town. It's the home port of the Blue Nose II. (more later!) The town also had a number of historic buildings. Most notably was the St. John's Anglican church. It had a disastrous fire in 2001 and has been completely restored. It's a beautiful building. A nice tour is available for $5.
St John's
Small, but very substantial, bank.
One the way to Peggy's Cove, we drove through Mahomes Bay - no relation to the KC QB, thankfully.
Not sure what's happening here....something, something purple flowers.
...then on to Peggy's Cove, which didn't disappoint!
Yep! A lighthouse!
Avoid the black rocks!
Colorful houses
The harbor at Peggy's Cove
Beer art
NS wine
After a dinner at Sou' Wester, we headed our Halifax Airbnb, after a brief stop at Walmart.
We stayed a whole day Acadia National Park...because we like the place so much. All of us had been there fairly recently and were left wanting, so an extra day there seemed like a good thing. The morning weather was supposed to be iffy, so we postponed our ebike rentals until afternoon. As it turned out, the weather was good all day. So after breakfast at the hotel, we headed out for the park.
The rain had moved out.
A stop at Great Meadow
Well, dam!
Moose!
Then we headed into town for our ebike rental. The last time we were in Acadia, we rented ebikes and rode for 3 hours in the rain and fog. Impressive, but not exactly fun. This was a chance for a do-over.
Along the carriage roads.
Nice day for a bike ride!
Look ma! No hands! Only counts while riding? Never mind!
We stopped at Jordan Pond and decide to stay for lunch on the lawn. It was a bit of a wait, but worth it.
Jordan Pond House
The Lawn
Iconic popovers and jam on the lawn - hard ice tea on the way!
We then pedaled back to the bike shop in Bar Harbor, taking the scenic route, and arrived a bit later than the shop expected us. They were supposed to tell us "be back at 5", but failed and we thought "be back before they close at 6". They weren't happy, but no harm, no foul.
The bikes were great! They flatten out the hills on the Acadia carriage roads like they are nothing. We highly recommend renting good, mid-drive ebikes at the shop in Bar Harbor. Just be back by 5!
We headed back to the hotel for dinner. Patti and Sue went to see if they could get lobster rolls to go while Don and Tom held down the view from the hotel room patio. It took a while. It seemed there was a detour in the restaurant via the bar.
When you send them for takeout...
...meanwhile on the veranda...
So, we ate our lobster rolls and decided we needed desert. Maine is known for blueberries and they had blueberry pie. Yes, please! With blueberry ice cream on top. It didn't last long enough for a picture....
The view from the hotel restaurant
Good password!
We didn't need to get to the ferry for Nova Scotia until 2 PM. Plenty of time to explore Acadia.
Thunder Hole. More of Gurgle Hole this day.
Wild Iris
After a quick burger for lunch in Bar Harbor (Lobster place in Hulls Cove was closed on Mondays!) we boarded the ferry. The CAT ferry makes the trip to Yarmouth in 3-1/2 hours. It was built for inter-island service in Hawaii, which failed, bought by the Navy, then leased to the Bar Harbor - Yarmouth ferry operator. It operates with water jet propulsion, like a jet ski, and runs at nearly 50 mph.
Boarding
The specs
On board
Under way
Departing Bar Harbor
Arriving Yarmouth
After waiting a good bit at border control (Boy, I miss the old days...) we headed to the hotel. Except, it wasn't our hotel. At least not today. Our reservation was for the wrong day and it was booked today!
They suggested the "other" hotel in town - the Rudd Grand. How good can it be when the Hilton - Tru is booked and they have rooms? Turns out, quite nice - and cheaper - and walkable to restaurants.
We walked over to Rudder's Seafood House and Brewery and had their Hot Lobster Roll - Nova Scotia style creamed lobster served on a soft roll. Fabulous! Who knew?
Yarmouth harbor view
View from hotel. CAT ferry in background.
The next morning, we walked to breakfast and then hit the road.
