Nova Scotia - The South Shore (Part 1)

The Ovens Natural Park

On Thursday, we drove south for about 4 hours to get to our next campground, The Ovens Natural Park.  It was rainy and dreary again and the roads were severely bumpy (as is the case with the majority of roads around here), but we finally made it just around noon.  Michaela wasn’t feeling good that morning so that made the drive even more challenging.  By late afternoon, she was herself again and we were thankful. 

It is off season for this campground so there is hardly anyone here.  We don’t mind though.  It’s kind of nice having the place all to ourselves.  It’s like being on a private beach with an awesome view.  The front windows of the RV look straight out over the water. 

 

 

The Ovens campground has several natural sea caves that you can hike to.  Some of these caves were enlarged when the gold rush hit this area in  the 1860’s.  After lunch, we hiked the trails and went into the caves.  The boys thought it was pretty neat but Michael sure didn’t want to stay in them long.  We could see where rocks had fallen in some areas and he didn’t want us to be the next casualty!

 

While walking the trails, we saw a lobster boat just off shore checking it’s traps.  We were able to get a few pictures of them hauling up the traps.  The waters here are full of lobster and whales.   We were told that the whale watching tours come right past where we are staying.  We haven’t seen any yet but hope to before we leave on Saturday. 

 

We made a simple dinner at the RV and then went for a walk on the beach .  It’s not sandy here but rather very rocky.  The ground is a mixture of granite and strange stacked rock that looks kind of like slate.  It’s like thin layers of rock stacked together vertically.  It will sometimes break off when you step on it.  You have to be careful where you step or you will fall or get cut.  We found lots more of the same small shells we saw in Bar Harbor but nothing big this time. 

 

 

 

A Day of Rest

     Today, we took a day to just rest up a little and catch up on the laundry.  There was rain in the forecast for the entire day and we all just needed some time to relax.  I woke up around 8:00 but the others didn't wake up until around 9:45.  Even the kids were more tired than they realized.  I enjoyed the quiet time to myself.  I wrapped up in a blanket and read a book while listening to the rain on the roof.  It was quite pleasant.  Once the others got up, I made a good breakfast of biscuits, bacon, eggs, and sliced apples.  I guess you could call it brunch since we didn't eat until 11:00. 
    
     We gathered up the laundry and took it to the facility on the campground.  They only had two washers and two dryers.  The jeans filled up both washers and we still had several more loads to do so we decided to go to a laundromat in town and just do it all at once.  That ended up being almost as bad as just waiting for the machines in the campground.  The laundromat was very small and the dryers were horrible.  We probably spent almost $20 on those crazy machines.
     Here's an interesting side note.  The washers took two "loonies" to start (and no, I'm not referring to Michael and myself).  What is a loonie?  It is a Canadian one dollar coin.   Isn't that funny.  When we checked in at the campground, the owner was telling us about the washers here and he said they took loonies.  I didn't have a clue about what he meant so I asked.  He laughed and showed us the coin and then changed our American currency into some loonies to use in the machines.  The smallest Canadian bill is the $5 and they no longer use pennies either.  Totals are rounded to the nearest 5 cent. 

     After the laundry was finished, we went to Tim Horton's for a sweet treat.  Tim Horton's is basically the Canadian version of Dunkin' Donuts.  We each chose a couple of donuts and they were certainly delicious!

 

Next, we drove back into the wharf area in Digby to go to the fish market. This was our first experience with a place like this. It was just a little small building right near the pier. They get the scallops, fish, and lobster right from the fishermen and sell it to the public. It definitely smelled fishy in there! We bought 2 pounds of fresh local scallops and some haddock. We brought it back to the RV and cooked dinner. We had a delicious feast of pan seared scallops, red skin potatoes, zucchini and onions, and garlic bread! Yum, yum, yum!

Digby, Nova Scotia

 

This morning we started the day off with breakfast at McDonalds and then drove into the community of Digby.  This town is famous for it's sea scallops.  The little wharf below is often completely filled with scallop boats.  Today, most were out fishing so there were only a few to see.  I love the reflection of the boats on the water. 

 



 



 

 

We had lunch in town at a little restaurant that overlooked the wharf.  Business was slow so we had the waitress all to ourselves.  She was very friendly and told us all about the area.  She also showed us a collection of scallop shells in the restaurant and gave us a sample taste of some caught locally.  They were delicious!  Tomorrow, we plan to buy some fresh scallops at a local fish market and cook them ourselves.  Yum!

 

 

We finished lunch around 2:00 and decided to drive out on the little strip of land known as "Digby Neck".  We planned to drive to the end and then back stopping at a few neat places along the way.  Plans changed when we ran into road construction and two timed ferries.  There are two areas along the strip that require a ferry crossing.  These ferries only cross once per hour so we waited about 40 minutes to cross the first one.  By the time we got to the other side, it was after 4:30.  We were planning to go on to the very tip of the strip but that would have required us to cross the other ferry and then come all the way back crossing both ferries again.  Since the day was almost over and there were no places to eat our there, we decided it would be best to head back to the RV.  

We passed this little cove and just had to stop and take a picture.  The houses are sitting right at the top of the rocky shore.

We stopped at another little cove and took this picture.  The tide was starting to come in.  You can see how high the tide normally comes up by the green algae marks on the rocks. 

Took these two pictures while waiting for the ferry.

 

 

Even though we were rushed for time to get back to the ferry, we decided we couldn't leave the area without at least going to see the famous Balancing Rock.  What we didn't know was that the trail to get to it was about 1.5 miles long (one way), through a bog, and finished with almost 300 steps down to the shore.  To top it all off, it started raining while we were walking the trail.  It was definitely more adventure and either Michael or I were looking for but the kids didn't seem to mind it.  Isaiah said, "Now this is what I call vacation".  Maybe it would have been a little more fun if we had been in mud boots and rain coats.  I had on white tennis shoes and we had one umbrella.  We were pretty wet by the time we got back to the car but I'm sure we'll remember that walk for a while.

 

I couldn't resist getting this shot.  Michael and Michaela were struggling to get a piece of the rock for a souvenir.  I'm just glad he didn't slip over the edge!

The famous Balancing Rock.

We finally got back into Digby around 7:30.  We went back to the Walmart, picked up the RV and drove to a campground called Jagger's Point.  They have a very good Internet signal so I should be able to keep up with the blog.  We will stay here tonight and tomorrow night and then move on the the south shore of Nova Scotia.  It's supposed to be raining tomorrow so we'll probably use the time to catch up on laundry and rest a little. 

CANADA!!!

On Saturday morning, we went to a pancake breakfast on the KOA campground.  For $2 each, the kids got special pancakes, sausage, fruit topping, and juice.  What a bargain!  The man cooking the pancakes was a “Pancake Artist” and he did a wonderful job.  Isaiah had him make a moose.  Michaela chose a butterfly, and Jeremiah chose an eagle.  The kids had a great time and it was a good breakfast too. 

 

 

The eagle picture from the day before.

 

After breakfast, we closed up the RV and headed north to Canada.  About an hour from the border we stopped at a tiny rest area and got all of our documents ready to hand to the guard.  We also finished off the food that couldn’t cross the border like the apples, bananas, strawberries, and eggs.  When we got to the border, there was only a few cars going through so we didn’t have to wait at all.  The border agent was friendly and had a good sense of humor.  He looked over our documents and asked us a few questions about the nature of our trip.  Then he told us to go inside the building so they could do a background check since it was our first time in Canada.  We went inside and gave the documents to the agent there.  He took a quick look at them and us, didn’t run the background check, and told us we could go on our way and to have a pleasant trip.  They didn’t even look inside the Jeep or the RV.  Very smooth crossing.  We just hope it is that easy going back into the USA. 

 

 

 

 

 

It seemed a little strange reading the road signs once we were in Canada.  We had to get used to seeing the speed limit in km/hr instead of miles/hr.  Most of the road signs are written in both French and English which helps. 

We drove all the way to an area called Hopewell Cape in New Brunswick before stopping for the night.  We found a campground called Ponderosa Pines and pulled in around 10:00.  The manager had just gone to his house but some friendly campers told us what to do.  We found the manager and he was nice enough to come and check us in and show us to our site.  The people here are very friendly and laid back.  They don’t seem to get worried or upset about anything. 

 The campground is only about 1 mile from a very popular place called Hopewell Rocks.  This area is on the Bay of Fundy and is a natural land formation where the tide rises drastically.  The tide can rise as much as 45 feet or more.  We wanted to go to Hopewell Rocks at both high and low tide so we got up early on Sunday morning and went to the park.  They weren’t open yet and it was more than a mile to the area we wanted to see so we decided to go and have breakfast and then come back once the park was open.  Well, we did look for breakfast, but didn’t find any.  There are almost no businesses in this area.  The closest grocery store is about 40 minutes away and there are no gas stations.  We turned around and went  back to the RV for a delicious bowl of cereal.  We were all tired so we ended up taking a nap instead of going right back to the park.  I guess all of the miles on the road finally caught up to Michael and I.  After lunch, we went into the park and saw the area at low tide.  It was so neat!  We were able to walk around the area that is covered by water at high tide.  The kids had fun looking for interesting rocks and shells and exploring the caves formed by the water.  One of the park rangers was demonstrating how to build balancing rock structures.  Isaiah was intrigued with that and had to give it a try. 

 

     When we left the park, we drove into a little community called Alma.  It was still low tide so we were able to get a picture of the boats sitting on the ground in the harbor.  The fishermen have to plan their trips in and out with the tide or they will end up stuck!  While we were there, we saw a little bake shop that was just full of activity.  The local residents just kept coming to the shop so we decided there must be something good in there.  We went inside and bought  some of their famous sticky buns (hot out of the oven) and they were delicious! 

 

     When we paid for the sticky buns, we had to use cash since they didn’t accept many credit cards.  I handed them a $20 bill and was shocked when the lady handed me my change in Canadian currency.  I had forgotten all about  being out of the US.  It looked like play money to us.  This was our first cash purchase in Canada and it seemed strange to see the Canadian currency. 

 

Next we went across the street to a little convenience store/restaurant/grocery store.  Yes, all three in one.  That’s the way things are done here.  They were selling a seasonal delicacy for this area….fiddleheads.  They are the young fronds of the ostrich fern and they are eaten like vegetables.  They look like the scroll of a violin thus the name fiddleheads.   You cook them by steaming them and then tossing them with butter, salt, and pepper.  The kids loved them. 

                                              These are fiddleheads growing in a field.

 

    The next day, we closed up the RV and went back to Hopewell Rocks to see it at high tide before leaving the area.  It was interesting to see the difference in the landscape.  We left there and drove all the way to Digby, Nova Scotia.  It was a long, long drive.  It took us about 10 hours total including a couple of stops to eat.  Since it was around 10:30 when we arrived last night, we ended up just staying in Walmart’s parking lot last night.  That was the first time we haven’t been in a campground since we left.    

 

This morning, we were able to find a McDonald’s that had free Wifi so I was finally able to update the blog.   Today we will explore the coastal area of Digby.  Hopefully we’ll see some whales or seals.