We left Ottawa on August 5th headed for the maritimes. Barb and Paul’s Camper was parked in the Eastern Townships so a little detour to Warden was needed to get it hooked up and proceed on our trip. We headed north from Warden hitting Autoroute 55 then Autoroute 20. We made it all the way to Riviere-du-Loup and stopped off at the Wal-Mart there to spend the night. The parking lot was quite full of other campers.
The next day we made it into New Brunswick stopping off in Fredericton at Hartt Island campground. There they have a water park for the kids and you also have access to bicycles to ride along the Trans-Canada Trail. We were able to get some swimming in and then a good nights sleep, the next morning we took advantage of the bikes and rode downtown to pick up some things for breakfast at the Atlantic Superstore.
After getting stuck trying to back the camper up at a downtown Fredericton parking lot we decided to get outta town and head towards Moncton. A huge sign for Homemade Ice Cream beckoned us off the road about halfway where we indulged in some very good yet VERY expensive Ice Cream at McCabes. We got to Moncton and had supper at St-Huberts there, then we went looking for the location of Rebeca’s Grave (we were trying to include local ghost stories into the trip) we also checked out Centennial Park before spending the night at the Wal-Mart parking lot in Moncton.
Next day we set out to check out Magnetic Hill, although we didn’t roll the car up the hill we walked around and had lunch at the Wharf Village. Cindy, Paul and I also indulged in a tasting at Magnetic Hill Winery. We then set out for Nova Scotia. Upon arriving at the Nova Scotia Information centre we decided to take the scenic Glooscap Trail. Cindy, Sierra and Barbara took in a play at the Ship’s Company Theatre in Parrsboro. Paul, I and the kids found a site for the night at Five Islands Provincial Park while the women were at the theatre. Next morning we enjoyed watching the tide go out and found some shells on the sea floor.
From Five Islands we continued on the scenic route where we stopped in at the Masstown Market then continued on towards Halifax finding a camground in Sackville where we reserved for two nights wanting a little more time to take in the Halifax area.
Next day Cindy and Sierra got their Hair done at a local Hairdresser recommended by the Campground owner, then we headed out towards Peggy’s Cove, stopping in for a few minutes at the Swissair memorial site first then got the walking tour of Peggy’s Cove. From there we headed to Halifax to take in the Waterfront and Busker festival that was going on. For supper we went to Salty’s and sat on the patio overlooking the Halifax Harbour.
On Saturday we headed north back towards Truro stopping in at Stewiacke for gasoline and to check out the Mastodon. At Truro we took the Transcanada east towards Cape Breton and south at Sydney to spend the night in Louisbourg in a campground right on the water
It rained overnight and was still spitting an very foggy the next morning however the fog lifted and the rain stopped during our visit only to return around 5pm after they fired the last canon for the day. After Louisbourg we headed up to Sydney and spent the night in the WalMart parking lot on the west side of town. From there we headed for Baddeck and left the trailer at the campground there to unhitch the truck before starting out on the Cabot Trail.
Our first stop was at the Keltic Lodge where we enjoyed a drink and the view in the sitting room. We finally all got a swim in the ocean at the Ingonish beach then went for a hike to find the nearby Mary Ann Falls. We finished the day off with a birthday supper for Cindy at the Hiker’s Pub in Ingonish. As it was getting dark we were able to find a very affordable apartement to fit all of us at the Driftwood Lodge right on the water. We finished celebrating Cindy’s birthday with cake.
Next morning Cindy and Paul went for a walk on the beach and we went for a swim.
We then headed out on the Cabot trail again and took a wrong turn that took us to St-Lawrence Bay where we took in a whale watching cruise. Cindy had stipulated that we were to get our money back if there were no whales. We didn’t see any whales but did see some seals and jellyfish and of course our money back. For supper we stopped in at the Rusty Anchor for a nice meal. The next couple hours were spent getting back to the campground to pick up the camper and head towards PEI, stopping off for the night in Antigonish.
Woke up very early and hit the road to make the 8 AM ferry to PEI, the kids loved the ferry and we enjoyed breakfast during the 75 minute trip. After getting off the ferry I was getting anxious to find a gas station as I had put off getting gas due to much lower prices on PEI. After filling up we bypassed Charlottetown and headed straight to Cavendish where we visited Green Gables and Avonlea Village after which we headed back toward Charlottetown for the night.
Next morning we shopped around the Charlottetown harbour then went over to get lunch at Boom Burger and a tour of the Cow’s Creamery. From there we headed to Kensington and took in the Haunted Mansion which everyone agreed was the best haunted house we’d been to.
From Kensington a short drive took us to Summerside and supper at the Deckhouse Pub. That night we stayed at LinkLetter Provincial Park right on the water just a few minutes from Summerside.
Next morning we got up and took Confederation Bridge back over to New Brunswick where we headed for Hopewell Rocks and enjoyed walking on the Ocean Floor. Another short drive to Alma and Fundy national Park where we stayed our final night in the Maritimes.