Dan and I started day 4 in Nova Scotia with a nice breakfast at the Olde Lantern Inn. Not only does Al own the b&b, he also makes a mean breakfast. We met a few of the other guests staying at the b&b including a couple from Fort McMurray (who were originally from France). They were interesting, and were also the couple who got the whole inside of Le Caveau restaurant to themselves the night before.
For breakfast I had french toast and bacon with fruit. Dan had the eggs benedict. om nom nom
After breakfast we set out, determined to see the difference between the tide coming in and going out in the Bay of Fundy. Sherry had helpfully provided a map for us marking the key things that we wanted to see; lobster, cheese and the look off for a spectacular view.
Our map for the day. I got cheese on it, which is why it has grease marks in the middle.
Our first stop was Fox Hill Cheese House where we sampled cheese and bought some cheese and crackers to munch on while we drove around.
Fox Hill Cheese House. Delicious cheese! om nom nom
From here we drove to find the Look Out where we were promised a spectacular view of the area. We got a little lost on the way so things got stressful, but with the help of our trusty GPS Sheena and my awesome navigation skills combined with Dan’s sense of direction, we found our way. The look out wasn’t very well signed. There were signs pointing in its direction and letting us know how close we were getting to it, but when we got there there wasn’t a sign for it so we almost missed the turn.
Finally made it to the look out. What a view!
Minas Basin from afar. We drove down to get a closer look.
Our snack of cheese and crackers from Fox Hill Cheese House. om nom nom
When we reached Minas Basin we were able to get out and walk around a little. There was a lot of red sand and we walked up to where the tide was slowly coming in. Even though the tide was slow, it came in quite a bit while we were there.
Standing in Minas Basin.
Looking out from Minas Basin.
After walking around and enjoying Minas Basin, we hopped back into the car and drove to Hall’s Harbour for a lobster lunch. We had lunch at Hall’s Harbour Lobster Pound.
Our view while we ate lunch at Hall’s Harbour Lobster Pound.
Me outside Hall’s Harbour Lobster Pound.
Lobster roll for lunch with coleslaw and fries. om nom nom
After lunch we walked around and explored the area. I’ve seen pictures of Hall’s Harbour before the tide comes in and the difference is really amazing. We were there after the tide had come in.
Me at Hall’s Harbour.
We headed back to Minas Basin to see the difference in the tide from the Bay of Fundy. What a difference!
Pictures showing the tide out and the tide in in Minas Basin. What a difference!
After this we went to the Grand Pre National Historic Site, which commemorates the Grand Pre area as a centre of Acadian settlement and the deportation of the Acadians. The visitor centre was really informative and the movie they showed helped illustrate the history of the Acadians and the circumstances around their deportation. I had learned this all in high school history, but it was a good reminder.
Us in the Grand Pre National Historic Site.
The site also had beautiful gardens and church modelled after an Acadian church. For the settlement here, the Acadian men were all asked to go to the church where they were told that they were being deported. The men were taken away first, then the women and children.
A statue of Evangeline and the Acadian church.
Inside the church there’s a list of the names of all of the Acadians who were deported. It was definitely not a proud moment in Canadian history and is something that we should never forget.
Next, we decided to get a snack. Dan wanted to find a McDonald’s so we could try McLobster (only available in the maritime provinces in Canada). I programmed the nearest McDonald’s in our GPS and off we went.
Dan could hardly contain his excitement at trying McLobster.
The McLobster actually wasn’t too bad. It has real chunks of lobster in it (not of the quality of some of the lobster we’d had on our trip, but not bad for McDonald’s).
With our McLobster mission complete we rushed back to the Domaine de Grand Pre winery for our wine tasting (also included with our b&b package). We were almost late for the wine tasting when we got stuck in traffic due to a four way stop. The wine tasting was really informative and we learned about the history of wine in Nova Scotia, the winery, the types of grapes grown and the process to make wine. I really liked the Castel, a nice red wine with a hint of spice, so we bought a case and had it shipped home.
When we got back to the Olde Lantern Inn we chatted with Al and his wife for a bit. They recommended going to a restaurant called in Acton’s in town for dinner, so that was our next stop.
Dinner at Acton’s in Wolfville was excellent. We had Acton’s Lobster Chowder, Fresh Digby Scallops with a Coriander Crust on Honey Marsala Sauce (amazing!) and cheesecake served with raspberry coulis. om nom nom
After dinner we went back to the Olde Lantern Inn where we watched Casablanca on VHS (they had a VCR player and a DVD player with a selection of movies. Casablanca was on VHS and Dan had never seen it so we watched it). And that was the end of our last night in Nova Scotia.
The next day it poured rain. I said that Nova Scotia was sad to see us go. We had another amazing breakfast by Al and then we were off.
Seafood omelette for breakfast. om nom nom
Rainy last morning in Nova Scotia.
At the airport, I was excited to find some giant lobster statues that I could take pictures with (my love for giant statues continues). Dan reluctantly took the picture.
Me and the lobster.
We hopped on the plane and headed to Newfoundland to visit our friends Aaron and Amy. Next up, a trip recap on Newfoundland and then a race report on the Warrior Dash!
Plain Can Be Lovely 