We packed the car on Wednesday morning and set off on the road less traveled, hugging the coast from Tanatallon round to Lunenburg. We drove along the craggy windswept coast dotted with wee fishing villages - stacks of lobster pots and multicoloured boats lined up at the wharfs.First stop was a Remembrance Day service in some small town. The wind was freezing and whistling through pretty much everything! We listened to the national anthem, speeches that got blown away in the wind and the local songster singing 'White Cliffs Of Dover' and what sounded awfully like a Canadian take off of 'And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda' before the kids lost it a bit and we headed back to the car. Was nice to stop and mark the day though.
We drove on, pausing at the Swiss Air Flight 111 memorial. I have very vague memories of seeing the Peggy's Cove lighthouse during the TV coverage of the crash. The kids enjoyed the time out of the car - even if it did take us longer to get geared up than we spent out of the car!
First real tourist stop was Chester - gorgeous little fishing village, wharves, fishing boats, cute houses and reflective water :) Its a big holiday destination apparently and even in late Autumn I can see why.
Next stop was Mahone Bay - its amazing how these little settlements remind me so much of Iceland - particularly Siglufjordur with its flat-pack Norwegian houses in a variety of colours. The colours are amazing - pink, yellow, bright blue, startling purple, nothing seems too bright or unreasonable for house paint. Love it! Mahone Bay seem to have an awful lot of churches too - five or six within stones throw as soon as you enter the town. The bay is also home to Oak Island - which apparently is home to some treasure of some sort and a curse for anyone who tries to find it. If you desperately need to know more the current owners are up to season three (at least) of a tv show following their search. http://www.history.ca/the-curse-of-oak-island/ There you go :)
Our destination for the day was Lunenburg which is one of several UNESCO sites in Nova Scotia - it earned this recognition for being the best example of planned British colonial settlement in Canada. It is a grid laid determinedly by the British over whatever shape the damned Canadian landscape happened to take. As a result there are short super steep streets that must be a nightmare in winter and long rolling o'er hill down dale streets connecting them up. The architecture is pretty awesome and the whole place is just gorgeous.
We went to see if the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic was open, but like pretty much everything else it had shut up for winter. Wandered around the wharf for a bit slowly freezing then back into the car for a drive round to the golf course (which affords fabulous views of the town across the water). The golf course was locked up (surprise!) so we took pictures from the gate, but didn't really do it justice. Drove up to the Lunenburg Academy for a look at the now abandoned Victorian school that overlooks the town. It is a historic place and quite an imposing building! the kids took advantage of the playgrounds to burn off a bit of energy and I took a look around the old graveyard that borders the building.
The weather had improved marginally so we parked up in town and took a walk. I took multitudes of photos of the colours and wonderful buildings. The St John church was rebuilt in the last 15 years after it was 'ravished' (according to the plaque outside) by fire - amazing to see a building like that build in its original condition. The UNESCO status probably a nightmare for planners in the county....We took advantage of the log fire in the chalet that night! Lovely and cozy :) The kids did some leaf rubbings, taking it in turns to tear out into the freezing cold and find a leaf :)
Next day we packed up and headed for Keji. We stopped for groceries and a look at an old navy hulk in Bridgewater. Drove on thru the obligatory Nova Scotia forest and arrived at the national park just after lunch. We stopped in at the visitors centre (closed) and had a bit of a drive around to get our bearings. Saw a deer and her babe standing by the road on the way in :)
We were just heading off when we spotted a porcupine lumbering along the road. He wasn't the best looking specimen - didn't have many quills at all on his back half and wasn't moving too fast at all - but we'll take him as a check off on the list! Better than roadkill raccoons anyway...
Our accommodation for the night was a wilderness retreat and it was just gorgeous. The chalets were snugged back into the trees over looking the river and they had built a boardwalk along the rivers edge connecting the chalets and the main complex. We walked the boardwalk before it got too dark, then holed up in the chalet with another log fire. Unfortunately the fire was too good and the chalet too small - we nearly cooked!
It rained over night and the river was misty in the morning. I got out to take some pictures, walking the boardwalk in the light rain was probably the highlight of my trip :)
Next day we tidied up and packed the car between rainstorms and avoiding the squirrel that was obviously relocating his nut stash from one side of the drive to the other :) Fortunately the rain stopped as we were heading out, treating us to some stunning views of the sun cutting thru the trees. We headed back into the park and did a couple more walks - a little nature walk to test the weather that had closed in again, and up to Mill Falls where I would have expected to see a bear fishing for salmon....
We reluctantly left the park and headed up to Annpolis Royal where we visited the (only? largest? I
forget) tidal power plant in Canada before heading into town and finding a playground. After a bit of a play we walked up along the coast to Fort Anne. I couldn't keep up with quite who built in and who it repelled, but it seems most famous for repelling the French, who were at some point later all deported out of the area for not swearing to abide by the English Crown. The history of the place seems riddled with French/English/Mi'kmaq hostilities... I think it is really only safe to say the English came out of it all on top. We walked back thru town and headed out to our accommodation for the night which of course is world famous in Canada for its pygmy goats and onsite rabbits. Kept the kids entertained anyway!
Saturday we packed up and headed off for New Ross. The wind and rain were back so we were not sure if we were just heading home or not! Matt had planned us a circuitous route through the back roads which was interesting - unbelievable how much junk people out there collect around their houses and sort of stuff into the trees that fringe their houses... 
Our target was Ross Farm, and it wasn't raining when we got there, so we put on ALL our warm gear and braved the cold. It was really interesting - house dating 1817 barely changed inside, complete with period dressed lady doing needlework by the window. She gave us freshly baked biscuits and told us about the house. In the hall I found some sleigh bells that made my day! They sound just like you would imagine Christmas in the snow to sound - magic! We spent a while standing in the workshop (near the fire!) talking to a period dressed bloke about the farm and surrounding area. He introduced us to their cattle and horse which was pretty awesome too. After checking out the old machinery we headed out to out first family diner experience (baloney on pizza bleeeuuurgghh!!!) then home to sort piles of washing and collapse!
Was an awesome time to go and see the country - will have to go back in the spring/summer to see it all green!
No raccoon but the porcupine almost made up for that :) Would have for certain if he had quills....
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