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Nova Scotia: Day 1

It was hard, but we had to say goodbye to PEI today. On our way to the ferry, we still had a few hours to soak in more island life, so we made the most of it by grabbing some scones from MacAulay's Bakery, enjoying some coffee at Kettle Black, swinging by the Charlottetown Farmer's Market (where we snuck in some chowder, crab cake, and apple twist), lounging at Point Prim Chowder House, and doing a quick wine tasting at Rossignol Estate. Ok, we squeezed in a lot, but that's how much we loved Prince Edward Island! Nova Scotia has a really tough act to follow!

The ferry ride took us across Northumberland Strait from Wood Islands, PEI and was pretty painless. We reserved our spot online the day before, and arrived at the ferry terminal with 30 minutes to spare, which was plenty of time. During the 75-minute journey, we were entertained by a folk singer who strummed songs on her guitar and sang of life in the Maritimes. I couldn't have asked for a more pleasant ferry experience - definitely more memorable than BC Ferries! We were fortunate to have caught the 2:45pm trip, which offered the onboard entertainment (the 1:00pm ferry would have had it too).

Once we docked at Caribou, Nova Scotia, we made a beeline for Cape Breton Island. All was going according to plan until we hit construction just before Antigonish. They were repaving Highway 104 and only had one lane open, so they basically closed the highway in one direction for half an hour, then switched directions. That was enough to throw off our schedule of checking into our bed and breakfast before dinner. To ensure we wouldn't miss dinner, we redirected to Baddeck for some lobster supper. The wait was less than 15 minutes before we were seated at a table, with chowder and Cape Breton mussels served shortly after. The food was comparable to what we had in New Glasgow, PEI, except that we didn't have the option of choosing whether to have individual lobsters or share a giant lobster. This time, we each got our own lobster, just over a pound, and had the 4-course meal of appetizers, salad, lobster, and dessert. The dessert was better - freshly baked, warm strawberry rhubarb crisp. 

Stuffed silly, we made our way through the dark and windy roads to our bed and breakfast along the Cabot Trail. I was kind of scared that we might run into a moose, but the roads were clear enough with the only annoyance being the misty rain. The path leading up to the house reminded me of where we stayed in Salt Spring Island - a grassy road through forest, winding up to a beautiful home, lit up to welcome visitors. As soon as we stepped up to the door, our host let us in and showed us to our room, humbly describing the furniture that he had built, introducing us to their cat, and promising a sumptuous breakfast in the morning.

For a second first impression of Nova Scotia, not forgetting our friendly taxi driver, this has been pretty darn good. Let's see what tomorrow brings!

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