From July 10th to the 24th, I had the opportunity to go for a two weeks summer vacation with my family and friends. We travelled through Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia (including Cape Breton), Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Day One - July 10th: We left Toronto at 6am and headed for Rivere Du Loup in Quebec. We figured that for the first day we can drive for a much longer period since we are all excited to be on vacation so we drove right through only stopping for lunch and the Welcome center to pick up some maps and information. We arrived at Rivere Du Loup around 6pm and checked into our hotel. We were all glad to finally be able to get out of the car and stretch our legs after almost 12 hours in it. We went out for some fast good at KFC (which by the way is call PFC in Quebec)and drove around the city checking out the sights and then it was time for bed.
Day Two - July 11th: We left Rivere Du Loup for Fredericton. On the way, we drove by Grand River to check out the Grand Falls,
and also to have lunch. There wasn't much of a fall because the river was quite dry that year however, we did get some neat information from the Welcome center.
Then it was forward to Hartland where the World's longest covered bridge was located.
We drove through the covered bridge twice. Since it was for single lane traffic only, we have to wait for our turn. While we were under the covered bridge, one of our friends made a wish for good weather throughout the trip and his wish actually came through for us!
Day Three - July 12th: We drove around the city of Federicton and left for Kings Landing Settlement. Kings Landing Settlement is a historical place and they have many interesting tools, houses and type of equipments that were used during the period. There were also guides in period costumes.
We moved on to Moncton passing through the Bay of Fundy and stopping at Hopewell Rocks. Hopewell Rocks was a hit with the kids. It was low tide when we reached there and we were able to walk on the ocean floor and see at close quarter the "flower pot" formation of the rocks. There were also several formation in the shapes of a dinosaur head and an elephant.
While in Moncton, we visited the Tidal Bore Park. The Tidal Bore is a natural phenomenon as a result of the record high tides of the Bay of Fundy. These high tides cause the water in Moncton's Petitcodiac River to raise with just one wave coming in from the Bay. Within an hour the river can go from a muddy river bottom at low tide to being filled to its banks at some 7.5 metre depth.
Day Four - July 13th: We visited Magnetic Hill. We drove to the foot of the hill, put our car in neutral and then we found that our car actually coast uphill ! I still couldn't figure that one out and we even stayed to watch other vehicles do the same thing. It was really interesting.
Our next destination was Shediac - Lobster Capital of the World. This is where the "World Largest Lobster" is situated. It is a very unique structure where you can climb on and take some nice pictures with it.
I wonder how many people can enjoy that lobster if it was a real one !...lol.
We then drove on to Irving Eco Centre where the sand dunes are situated. Here you can view the wild life of the coast. There are also various types of grasses. We returned to Moncton for a wonderful seafood dinner.
Day Five - July 14th: We drove from Moncton to Anne Murray's Center and then onwards to Charlottetown, PEI. We took the Confederation bridge which is 12.9 kilometre in length joining Cape Jourimain, New Brunswich to Borden-Carleton in PEI. It took us about 12 minutes to cross the bridge. One draw back was we couldn't see the wonderful view from the bridge because of the high guardrail.
We stopped at the Cavendish Figurines store and took some pictures dressed up as Anne of Green Gables. We also visited the Green Gables Visitor Centre.
We returned to Charlottetown for the night.
Day Six - July 15th: We drove around the east side of Prince Edward Island. We went to St Peter's Bay-Home of the Cultured Mussels, Greenwich National Park, took some lovely photos at Campbell's Cove Provincial Park
which is the best place for a picture with the red sand of PEI in the background. We stopped at Cape Bear Lighthouse which was the site of first Canadian Marconi station to hear the S.O.S. distress call from the Titanic. We also took our lunch at Basin Head Provincial Park. We visited Prim Point Light Station which is the oldest lighthouse on PEI. It was built in 1845 and is the only round brick lighthouse in Canada.
Day Seven - July 16th: We left PEI by Ferry for Cape Breton Island. We stopped at St Peter's Canal. It is one of the few canals in North America to use a tidal-lock system, compensating for the constantly changing water levels of Bras d'Or Lake and the Atlantic Ocean. We also visited Rita MacNeil's Tea house along the way to finally arrive at North Sydney for the night.
Day Eight - July 17th: We took a drive around the city and then proceed to Marconi National Historic Site at Table Head. It was here that Marconi proved it was possible to send messages across the Atlantic using electromagnetic waves instead of wires.
From there, we drove to Fortress of Louisbourg National Historic Site. This is one of the great French fortress. After the visit, we drove to Baddeck for the night. We stayed at Hunter's Mountain Cottage which has a lovely view .
Day Nine - July 18th: In Baddeck, we visited Alexander Graham Bell's Museum in town and then drove along the Cabot Trail of Cape Breton Island to Keltic Lodge and stopped there to admire the view and to have a dip in the ocean at a nearly beach. We then proceed to scenic Neil's Harbour
for a seafood lunch. We saw a school of pilot whales along the coast and that was a special treat because we weren't expecting it. We met a kind couple who were nice enough to let us see through their pair of powerful binocular at the whales !
Day Ten - July 19th: We left Cape Breton Island for Nova Scotia. In Nova Scotia we visited the Fundy Geological Museum, the Fairview cemetery where the Titanic Victims were buried.
Day Eleven - July 20th: We left Halifax for a tour of Peggy's Cove,
Mahone Bay, Lunenburg and of course returning to Halifax for a city tour. We just have to try Cows ice cream at Halifax's waterfront !
Day Twelve - July 21th: We left Halifax for St John in New Brunswick. We visited the Reversing Falls both in the morning and a little later to see the reversing effect of the fall. The phenomenon of the Reversing Falls is caused by the tremendous rise and fall of the tides of the Bay of Fundy, which are the highest in the world. The natural southward-facing opening of the Bay of Fundy receives the on rushing ocean tides directly like a funnel. The tidewater is normal when it enters the bay at its widest point. But the farther up the bay it travels the more it changes. It is, in effect, squeezed by the ever-narrowing sides and the constant shallowing of the bottom forcing the water higher up the shores. The low tide running out of the bay collides with the new, incoming high tide, combining forces to make a higher wave coming in.
We also took in the site of Old City Market and did a city tour by car.
Day Thirteen - July 22nd: We drove from St John to Bangor in Maine. We bypass St George in New Brunswick where we get to see the fish ladder for the Atlantic Salmon.
We stopped at St Andrews by-the-Sea for lunch. I also had the opportunity to see a Clam digger in action and he was nice enough to let me take his picture for my album. We also drove to the "Tidal Road" to Minister's Island. It is only accessible during low tide.
Day Fourteen - July 23rd: We left Bangor for Mount Washington. We drove to the top of the Mountain and it was great ! We had a great time worrying about falling off the edge of the road because it doesn't have any guard rail. The road uphill was 7.6 miles or 12.23 kilometers. At the summit it was 6,288 feet or 1916.58 meters. The highest wind recorded at the summit was 231 mph or 372 kph ! It offers a spectacular view at the top though. We also saw "the little engine that could" ! It is the Mount Washington Cog Railway. It is a coal-fired steam train.
We drove to "Old Man of the Mountain", a natural rock formation with a profile of an old man. The Old Man is actually a rock shoulder that sticks out of Profile Mountain. Five layers of granite ledge, one on top of each other form what appears to be the face of an old man, gazing eastward from the side of the mountain. The ancient formation is over forty feet tall.
We also visited Franconia Notch. We stayed at St Johnsbury for the night.
Day Fifteen - July 24th: We left St Johnsbury for Toronto but not before stopping at Waterbury's Ben and Jerry's factory for ice cream !
It was one of our best trips because of the beautiful places we have seen. It is definately a trip worth going !
