If you’ve seen the highway signs, then you know that Maine is “the way life should be” (no offense to the 603, but I tend to agree)—and Cobscook Bay State Park is certainly, in my mind, the way camping should be. I’m not sure how any campground—or campsite—will compare after this particular weekend.
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I’ll start off with this: I really, really, really wanted to fall in love with Bradbury Mountain State Park in Pownal, Maine, just minutes outside of Freeport. It’s close to home (just shy of 1.5 hours away), and my hopes were that we’d love it so much that it would become one of our go-to close-to-home parks. Unfortunately, such was not the case. And while I’ve had a few days to think about our one-night stay here at Bradbury, I still can’t quite put a finger on what I (we) didn’t love about the park.
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Well, we knew this trip would end at some point, right? And let’s be honest, two days of traveling home won’t really yield the most exciting blog posts, so I’ll save you all a favor and combine the days! On our visit to PEI last summer, we drove the entire way home in one shot—just more than nine hours of driving; I think it took us around 10+/- with stops. This year, we decided to break up the trip with a stop halfway, in Lubec, Maine—home to West Quoddy Head Light and the easternmost point in the continental United States.
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I can’t believe that this day, Day 19, marks the last day we’ll be spending in the Maritimes. Tomorrow, Day 20, we’ll begin the travels back home. With just one day left to enjoy in Prince Edward Island, we made sure to include a few sights that we didn’t get to during our first visit to PEI last summer. While we did a bit of driving, the island is pretty small; nothing is really too far out the way. The day went perfectly…right up until I was about to call it a night and head to bed…but we’ll get to that soon enough!
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As our trip winds down (ugh. don’t get me started), we’re spending two nights in Prince Edward Island, the island that made us fall in love with the Maritimes in the first place when we first visited last summer. This time around, we knew we had to include PEI on this year’s trip, even if for only a few days. While Charlottetown wasn’t originally on the itinerary, our change in plans made for a great excuse to return to the city that we enjoyed so much, even if afternoon/evening hours weren’t long enough to enjoy all that the city has to offer.
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Day 17 had us traveling from Chéticamp, Cape Breton to hit up a few more sights and sites in Cape Breton to leaving the island and heading back to the Nova Scotia mainland. While the day had us driving quite a bit, we were able to break up the trip with a few fantastic stops: The Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck, St. FX in Antigonish, and then Pictou Lodge in Pictou, where would be spending the night.
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Around every corner, the views just got more and more incredible as we made our way around the Cabot Trail heading toward the Skyline Trail, . As G navigated the van through the winding roads, I kept looking out both the front windshield and the rear window, ogling each view. We toured the Cabot Trail counter-clockwise, starting in Ingonish and ending in Chéticamp, so that we’d always be closest to the side of the water. Lots of folks do it the other way around and, honestly, I’m not sure one is “better” than the other. The views are stunning no matter which direction you’re headed!
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Day 15 of our three-week road trip through the Maine and the Maritimes would take us from Keltic Lodge at the Highlands in Ingonish, Cape Breton, to camping at Meat Cove Campground, way at the tip of Cape Breton Island. Man oh man, it was a day of fantastic views.
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We’ve only just begun our exploration of Cape Breton Island, and I’m so looking forward to what awaits us these next few days. While the rest of the Nova Scotia is incredibly beautiful, there’s something about the wild, untamed, rugged landscape of Cape Breton that—already—is drawing me in. It’s like California’s Big Sur, the Green Mountains of Vermont (if Vermont were on an ocean), and the cliffs of Acadia National Park all rolled into one. It’s what I imagine Scotland and Ireland to look like. Cape Breton, you are stunning. Absolutely stunning. And this is the just the beginning…
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Our destination for the night was Battery Provincial Park, located in St. Peter’s, not too far from the Canso Causeway that links Cape Breton Island with the rest of Nova Scotia. I’m always nervous about booking campground sites, as I never know if the location is good, if the bathroom is closer (or further away!) than it looks on a map, and what “privacy” and “shade” actually mean. The park has 53 campsites (we had site #8), and let me say this: it’s GORGEOUS. We had site 8, and an awesome view of St. Peter’s Bay.
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Our second day in Halifax began with another trip to the Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market; we had gone yesterday morning but advised that Saturday would be THE day to visit. And when we did, we had to get the cinnamon buns. Of course, I’ll take that kind of advice. And the cinnamon buns from Aly Mae’s were, in fact, deliciously amazing. I chatted for a bit with the woman working, and she confirmed what the market staffer told me the day before: the cinnamon buns are a hit, and they tend to sell out fast! How fast? She brings seven tubs of rolls for the market, each holding about 16 buns (total: 112 buns+/-), each looking absolutely delectable in their waxed baggies—, and she usually sells out by 10. Luckily, we arrived by 8, and we had our pick—literally, as she let us pick which ones. We wandered around a bit, picked up more root beer and assorted sodas from Garrison Brewing, and made our way back up the hill to the hotel. Sidenote: All the walking makes me feel just a *little* less guilty about eating our way through the Maritimes. Just a little.
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Initially, our plan was to hit the Halifax Seaport Farmer’s Market, visit the Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, have lunch, visit the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, and maybe even the art gallery. We were able to do everything but the Immigration Museum; Halifax has some incredible sights and museums, and, unfortunately, we couldn’t fit them all in and do each justice. Ah, decisions.
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