Family road trip begins in about a week and a half. We’re packing the car with clothes, a large cooler, a tent, and whatever else and driving east. Some hotels, some camping (nothing crazy, just overnight). Participants include myself, Mrs. Simmer, Simmersons #1 and #2 , aged 11 and 5 (almost) respectively. Here’s the quick itinerary.
Days 1-5: Drive to NY and Boston from Chicago area - have some friends there, so we won’t go into that. Day 5 (night): Camp in Arcadia National Park, ME (site reserved) Day 6: Drive to Moncton, NB (Hotel) Day 7: Drive to Antigonish, NS area (Caribou Munroes Provincial Park-site reserved) Day 8: Drive to Meat Cove (cabin reserved)
**Day 9: **Drive to St. Peters - Battery Provincial Park (site reserved) Days 10 and 11: Drive to Halifax, spend a couple of days in and around the city (Hotel) Day 12: Ferry from Digby to St. John, then spend a couple days driving home.
How does this sound for pacing? Once we get to Nova Scotia, the distances are all around 200 miles or less. We haven’t really decided too much on what specific things to do when not driving. Part of the fun of a vacation, actually, but… anyone have any must-see (eat) suggestions, or just tips on interesting things to see along the way? Places to avoid? Anything particularly interesting for kids? Hiking is an option, but we’ll probably want to keep it fairly easy for the sprouts. We’ve got some liturature, done a little research, but I’d love to see what the Dope turns up.
Well, if you’re passing by Lunenburg, you might swing down by the waterfront. There’s a couple old sailing ships down there that might be able to bring you on board and show you around. One of them is quite close to my heart. And it’s just a nice, small, fishing village; could be a good lunch stop. Keep an eye out for Ellen Page.
Sounds pretty good. Definitely do Maine first (if at all) because once you see Nova Scotia, Maine becomes lame. Definitely go off the highway to as many of the small towns along the coast as possible- drive the coastal highway and look for the advertisements to the restaurants and museums. Lunenburg is really just one of a dozen similar towns on the coast.
If you are in Moncton you should pop out to see Hopewell Rocks. It is about 30 minutes from Moncton and I would say a pretty impressive site. If you had more time I would suggest Fundy National Park or Kouchibouguac National Park (both about 1-1.5 hours away). Beautiful scenery and Kouchi has a great beach.
I’d say PEI is a bit out of the way. It is about 1.5 hours away and it would cost $50 to get off the island. On the other hand, if you drove out over Confederation Bridge and through the island you may be able to take the ferry from Wood Island PEI to Caribou NS. From there it is a quick drive to Antigonish. PEI is definitely a must visit with very picturesque coastline drives.
Either going through NB or PEI, right before Antigonish is Pictou NS. If you have any sort of knife obsession (outdoor or kitchen) then I recommend Grohmann’s Factory Outlet as a stop. They have very high quality knives and you can get factory seconds with small blemishes at 1/2 price.
I disagree with Disheavel’s comment that Maine is trumped by Nova Scotia. In some ways I much prefer Maine…
I think 1 day/night in Acadia is not nearly enough. Have you been up there before? Absolutely beautiful area with plenty to see. I might shave a day or two of Halifax and add it to Acadia. You can spend a day in Bar Harbor, half-day on a boat, also check out Cadillac Mountain for amazing views.
I second the Lunenburg idea, especially if you like waterfront and old boats.
Having driven through Nova Scotia and New Brunswick more than a few times, I’d say that the pacing seems fine. Pity you won’t have more time in Cape Breton though–driving the Cabot Trail is a treat.
A couple of other things:
– Seconding Peggy’s Cove and Lunenburg. Be careful at Peggy’s Cove though, if you’ve got kids–the sea washes up on the rocks, making them slippery, and there are no guardrails.
– In Halifax, HMCS Sackville is a WWII Corvette (Atlantic Ocean convoy escort warship), which has been restored and is now a floating museum. Kids, and many of us adults, find it fascinating to see what our fathers and grandfathers went to sea in, back in the war.
– Also in Halifax, spend some time in the Historic Properties, by the waterfront. Plenty of interesting little shops and eateries.
– Saint John NB is not large, but it has many old and interesting buildings, and some nice parks in the heart of the city. Plan on taking a walk through downtown (maybe your hotel would have a walking tour map). There are a number of nice places to have lunch downtown as well.
– The Reversing Falls in Saint John are fun to watch; and as I recall, you can take a boat tour “up” the falls at high tide (which is what causes them to reverse). The kids might like a boat ride–it’s less walking!
The rocks look really cool. That’s a definite possibility.
Have not been to Acadia before. Unfortunately we have reservations at various campsites and hotels (although relinquishing a $25 campsite fee would not be that big of a deal). We will, however, likely be driving back through the area on our way home, and have given ourselves plenty of time, so perhaps we could linger then. Maybe an incentive to come back someday, too. I agree it’s a lot of driving, and I might feel differently after we are well into our trip, but we like driving, and are often anxious to see as much as we can. At least I didn’t go with the very cheapest rooms at some of these hotels, so if we really love a place we can cancel our reservations without too much of a penalty.
Thanks, Spoons! A lot of good stuff there. I had meant to post this weeks ago, but I didn’t. One thing that struck me as I was making campsite reservations was the availability. Even a couple of weeks ago it seemed like there was no shortage of nice-looking sites in the provincial parks. Does Nova Scotia not get overrun by us tourists? Do they stay out of the parks? Doesn’t seem like it would be off-season. Or do they wait 'til the last minute?
Skyline Trail in Cape Breton Highlands National Park is an easy hike. Its not too far from the Cheticamp entrance We came within fifteen feet of a bull moose who couldn’t have cared less that we (or five or so other people) were there. A little further on on the same trail we saw a cow and a calf browsing. They also seemed unconcerned. The views from the point are great.
We never made it to Meat Cove last year since, two days before, there was a flash flood that caused major damage and washed out bridges. As a matter of fact, our whale watching trip was cancelled as the boat was being used to ferry medicine and supplies (and politicians) to the scene. If you have a chance to take a whale watching trip, especially on a Zodiac, I suggest you take it. West coast will get you pilot whales, east coast porpoise and bigger whales (we saw humpback and a minke). If you find yourself near Nell’s Harbor after Meat Cove and its lunch time check out the chowder shack near the lighthouse. Good food and great views. Cape Breton is beautiful. Reminded me of Ireland.
FYI, the water temps were in the 70s. I expected much colder but it was great. Especially since there was a major heat wave going on.
halifax had a rather famous explosion. i still can’t forget the memories of the eye doctor who worked there in the wake of the explosion. there is a rather good exhibit in the museum.
also halifax is where quite a few of the titanic passengers are buried. the cemetary is an interesting visit.
I like Atlantic Canada, would love to plan a trip back there. Recommendations:
In Maine, you’ll likely have to pass through Bangor - maybe check out the Cole Land Transportation Museum, I’ve found that to be very enjoyable. Also, just outside Acadia NP, there’s the Oceanarium and Lobster Hatchery, which is interesting to see.
In St. John, New Brunswick, I’ll second the Reversing Falls recommendation, and also recommend a tour of the Moosehead brewery, if they still give them. In Moncton, don’t miss Magnetic Hill.
If you do decide to detour to PEI, there’s a place in Cavendish my wife and I loved called the “Great Island Adventure Park.” It’s a bit juvenile, but seems to be pretty unique. I don’t know if they’re open these days - I think that varies from year to year.
In Nova Scotia, the Grohmann Knife factory in Pictou is pretty cool. It’s worth checking out just for the double-take you get when looking at the building (I’m not going to ruin the surprise for you). If you can avoid driving through the town of Oxford, though, I’d recommend doing so; they seem to have the slowest drivers in North America. I realize that as a New Yorker, I’m probably less patient than the average person, but I don’t recall ever feeling that way about any other town.