2009-06-02
We spent 3 nights at Monkton New Brunswick taking in Hopewell Rocks, on the Bay of Fundy, for two days, one at low tide and one at high tide. When the tide is out you can walk on the ocean floor among large carved rocks jutting from the sand. Most of them have trees growing on top of them hence the name flower pots was given them. When the tide is in sea kayaks roam around the same rocks you were just walking around. The Bay of Fundy has the worlds highest tides. At Alma just 24 miles south of Hopewell Rocks we stopped to see the harbor where the fishing boats were setting on the bay floor and the water was about ½ mile out. When the tide comes back in they will be as high as the pier. It looked really strange to see them sitting there.
Well we made it to Nova Scotia, crossing from Monkton New Brunswick. We stopped at the information center where a Lass in a Scottish Kilt greeted us with a bagpipe serenade. She played her pipes for each new visitor as they walked from the parking lot. What a nice way to be greeted! We took the scenic drive along the coast by harbors and quaint little villages along the Strait of Northumberland, stopping at a Lobster pound in Port Howe to pick out big ones for supper that night. The sales lady there taught us lobster 101. You turn them over and under the tail, the female has two little soft round disks and the male has rigid little paddles. The male lobster has larger claws and the female has a larger tale and red roe (eggs) that take up to a year and 6 months to reach the tail. Norms was a 3 lb male and cost $19. I got a pound of Halibut and dipped it in butter. It was poor mans lobster and tasted just as yummy to me! I even had enough to enjoy it the next day. Our next stop was on Cape Breton Island where we took the northern loop of the Cabot Trail enjoying the beautiful coastline. We stopped at harbors talking to the fishermen, hoping to buy fresh lobster off the boats. We were a little late in the day as most of the boats had already come in and trucks were waiting on the docks to buy their lobsters as soon as they docked.. I believe most of the boats contract all of their catch to one buyer, but one fisherman did say if he hadn’t already sold his catch we could have bought some. Instead I found a bakery that had wonderful huckleberry pie.
Sunday we visited Alexander Graham Bells Museum in Baddeck. He lived here for 37 years in Beinn Bhreagh, his home on an island off Beddeck. His descendents still own the family home. His wife was deaf and he devoted much of his life to teaching the deaf to speak. His wife, Mabel, was one of his students. At Beinn Bhreagh he worked with many other inventers such as Glenn Curtis, on aviation, and air boats, and many other inventions to improve upon other things such as Edison’s phonograph. I found the museum especially interesting. We also drove the south eastern leg of the Cabot trail stopping at Lewisbourg where there is a recreated fort, and village similar to Williamsburg. It was cold and windy, and late in the day till we got there so no touring for us, we decided to pick that up on the way back.
Monday June 8th
We arrived at the parking lot for the ferry crossing from Sidney Nova Scotia to Port aux Basques Newfoundland at 9:00am for a 11:30 am crossing The time passed quickly, as we have the comfort of home to wait in. The crossing was smooth, taking about 6 hours. There is a cafeteria on board were we had lunch, and we had a large table for 6 to sit and play joker, the boys won all but 1. They also were showing movies and had sleeping berths you could purchase. There were quite a few trucks aboard and we spoke to one trucker who comes across three times a week with a truck full of cars.
Our first stop was the visitors center where we learned they are seeing lots of large iceburgs up north near St Anthony, so we will be heading that way.
Our first campground was J T Cheeseman Provincial Park, just about 8 miles from the ferry. It was a lovely wooded park with a nice walk to the Gulf of St Lawrence. We stayed 3 nights and explored the southern road to Rose Blanche lighthouse built of granite in 1873. It was restored in 1999 by the townspeople and a lovely guide filled us in on the lives of the lighthouse keepers.
I’ll end here so I can send this out while I have good Wifi. Hope you are all enjoying your summer.
Hugs to you all,
Lois
Flower pots at hopewell rocks

Fishing boat at Alma, When the tide comes in it will be peir height.