Road Trip, Day 10: Coasting Toward Halifax
DAY TEN: AT A GLANCE
Starting Point: Lunenburg, Nova Scotia
End Point: Halifax, Nova Scotia
Starting mileage: 189, 715
Ending mileage: 189, 815
Daily total (miles): 100 (exactly!)
Trip total (miles): 1520
We spent our Fourth of July in Nova Scotia, marking Day #10 of our three-week road trip through Maine and the Maritimes. This day’s itinerary took us from the historic town of Lunenburg to the capital city of Halifax. Our route included some of the most picturesque spots thus far, and some of the biggest crowds, too!
We began our day with one quick stop in Lunenburg on the way out of town to see one more attraction: a piece of the Berlin Wall. Luneburg is one of three Nova Scotia towns with a piece of the Berlin Wall (Truro and Dartmouth are the others). We’ve seen a piece of the wall before—at the JFK Library and Museum in Boston, Mass.,—and until I started writing this post, I had no idea there were so many segments of the wall scattered all over the world!
After leaving town, we made our first stop just a few miles away in Blue Rocks, a small fishing village. It’s every bit as cute and photogenic as I had read—and then some! The Lunenburg region website calls Blue Rocks “Lunenburg’s answer to Peggy’s Cove” and “a muse” for artisans and photographers. According to that site, “the fish shack sitting in the water is the most photographed building in the county.” No doubt, as it was the first thing I spotted—and quickly asked G to pull over the van so I could snap a few shots. And yes, I asked him to pull over again on the way out for a few more!
Blue Rocks is the kind of place that begs to be photographed, painted, and drawn—like so many other places we’ve visited on this trip. And based on a few of the signs I saw, the locals know they have their own slice of paradise there.
We eventually made our way from Blue Rocks to Mahone Bay—but not before a while spent photographing fish shacks, signs, and a blue dory that I became obsessed with!
In Mahone Bay, we visited a very cool coffee shop called The Barn Coffee & Social House; we ordered drinks (iced Americano decaf for me and an iced blueberry maple fog tea concoction for G) and I picked up a cute illustrated cookbook that caught my eye with its whimsy.
After stumbling upon a absolutely delightful place called The Biscuit Eater Cafe & Books, we also decided to stay in Mahone Bay for lunch. This cute little cafe is amazing—definitely one of the top meals thus far (don’t worry, there will be “Best Of” lists galore following the conclusion of our trip!). I ordered the blueberry croissant French toast, which was INCREDIBLE, and G ordered the Field and Farm Breakfast Bowl with eggs, sausage, roast potatoes, peppers, onions, and greens. It looked delicious, and he said it was. We’re so glad we stopped; if anything, we wish we had more time in the area, as we’d return—the menu had so much to choose from, and everything looked fantastic! Before leaving Mahone Bay, we stopped in at the Tea Brewery and picked up two iced teas for the road—Nova Scotia Blue Wild Blueberry Tea—and a tin to bring home.
On to our next stop—the memorial to Swissair Flight 111, which crashed on September 2, 1998 in the Atlantic, not far from Peggy’s Cove and Halifax. The flight, which originated at JFK in New York, was en route to Geneva, Switzerland. All 229 aboard the flight were killed.
There are two memorials in Nova Scotia to the flight and its victims. According to the information at the memorial, the two locations (Bayswater and this one, the Whalesback/Peggy’s Cove site) were chosen for their proximity to the communities that helped in the recovery efforts and because they have sight lines to the crash site and to each other. At Whalesback, there’s a short walking trail from the parking lot to the memorial, which consists of granite slabs overlooking the Atlantic. From the memorial, you can look out and see Peggy’s Cove, one of Nova Scotia’s most famous lighthouses. One of the granite markers is inscribed:
In memory of
the 229 men, women and children
aboard Swissair Flight 111
who perished off these shores September 2, 1998They have been joined to the sea and the sky
May they rest in pease
Just a few miles away is Peggy’s Cove. I have no idea whether “Peggys” or “Peggy’s” is correct, as I’ve been seeing both spellings on official Nova Scotia websites and brochures. For the sake of this post and my own need for consistency, I’m going to go with the apostrophe (you can take the English teacher out of the classroom, but…). Peggy’s Cove might be to Nova Scotia what Cape Neddick “Nubble” Light is to Maine—one of the most photographed lighthouses in their respective regions and typically crowded. Up until this point, G and I haven’t really had to deal with crowds. Sure, there are a few others at each place, site, or trail, but not crowds. Not until we arrived to Peggy’s Cove, that is.
As we made our way across the rocks, we marveled at those who seemed to disregard the plaque on one of the rocks!
Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse (also known as Peggys Point Lighthouse) definitely was busy on this warm, sunny day—our second full day of sun!!—and it was hard to get that “iconic” shot without a gazillion folks in the frame. Still, patience paid off for a few up-close shots of the light atop the rocks.
Peggy’s Cove, like Nubble in York, Maine, is a tourist attraction, and for good reason. And like Nubble, it sits at the end of a village. While the residents of each town have phenomenal views, they must also have to deal with the visitors who come by the busload to see their light. Crowded, yes…but for good reason. There’s something about a fishing village, shacks and boats, and lighthouses…
And with that, we were on our way to our final stop—Halifax, the capital of Nova Scotia. I’m not sure what I imagined Halifax to be like, but soon after checking into The Prince George Hotel, where we’d be staying for the next three nights, I felt hours away from all the sights and sounds that had dominated our travels thus far. We were smack dab in a city—a small urban center, but a city nonetheless. We parked the van, looking forward to a few days of car-free explorations, and set off down the hill to the waterfront and then to dinner. We ended up at Two Doors Down, which a staff member at the hotel had recommended, and we enjoyed a “traditional” Fourth of July dinner: burgers (and fries, of course). The burgers were quite good (though we should have asked for medium/medium-rare); the service was fantastic and friendly. Our first introduction to Halifax was a success, and we were ready to see what the next few days in the city would bring us.