If you’ve never been to Nova Scotia, start making your plans now. Trust me on this one. This is my fourth visit to “Canada’s Ocean Playground”, and I love it just as much as I did the first time around. Sunny, cloud-dappled skies, crisp autumn temperatures, and huge ocean swells with crashing waves made for a perfect day along Nova Scotia’s southern shore.
I’m trying hard to forget about last night’s turboprop flight to get here (and the looming return flight home). It wasn’t a horrible experience, but small spaces and I don’t exactly get along. It was a big enough plane (75 or so seats), but way too narrow and low-ceilinged for me. Couple that with sitting right next to the propeller and it wasn’t what I would call a relaxing flight. Fortunately, it was a quick hour and ten minutes to Halifax where I picked up a rental car, found my hotel, slept fitfully for a few hours, and headed off to explore Nova Scotia (after grabbing a bag of Timbits for breakfast at Tim Hortons!).
First stop: Peggy’s Cove. I wanted to get there early to beat the crowds and tourist buses and despite multiple photo stops along the way, I was able to get in some good pictures before the first busload of tourists rolled in. Peggy’s Cove has somewhere around 300 residents and is perched on a rocky stretch of shoreline surrounded on three sides by the mighty Atlantic. And mighty it was today, with wave after wave crashing against the rocks and sending salt water flying up into the air. It’s no wonder its most popular attraction is a navigational lighthouse on the highest rocky outcrop. Beyond the lighthouse, there is the pretty cove itself with fishing boats dotting its waters along with a handful of local craft and gift shops.
After spending over an hour in Peggy’s Cove, it was time to keep moving. I followed the shoreline along St. Margaret’s Bay before joining the main road to Mahone Bay and Lunenburg. Mahone Bay is situated along the bay of the same name and is famed for having three churches lined up along the water’s edge which are often photographed from across the bay. I walked around the town for a while before grabbing a sinfully delicious chocolate pastry (because the donut holes for breakfast weren’t nearly enough sugar for the day…) and relaxing in the loft at The Barn Coffee House. Then it was on to Lunenburg. Lunenburg is another seaside village with a large fishing fleet. I didn’t linger as long there, and soon I was heading back to Dartmouth for dinner and a little shopping before calling it a night.
Traveling with Laura 