Talk to me about Nova Scotia

[cs]

My wife has started planning the 2003 family vacation, and it looks like she wants to go to Luneburg, Nova Scotia. She says we can go in July and be there for the Wooden Boat Festival. We will try to fly in and rent there. Any advice or opinions wanted.

Chad

[Donn]

Chad:

You'll love Nova Scotia. I was only there once, and I drove...in a full sized Jeep Wagoneer. Drove from Cleveland to Connecticut, then along the shore to Bar Harbor. Spent a day driving around Acadia, and then took the ferry across the southern Bay of Fundy (of high tidal range fame) to Yarmouth. Drove all the way out the south shore ( and thru Lunenburg)to Cape Breton Highlands, then back on the north shore and crossed into New Brunswick. The trip home was up the coast of NB, All the way around the coast of Gaspe, and back down the south shore of the St. Lawrence.

Didn't have nearly enough time for Nova Scotia, but thoroughly enjoyed it. Old fishing villages and more wooden boats than you can imagine. When we landed at Yarmouth, we came in beside an old wooden fishing boat, with the crew hanging off the port gunwale cleaning the catch. The entire portside aft hull was stained with fish blood, and hundreds of gulls were swirling and diving. A most memorable scene.

[ 03-20-2002, 10:17 AM: Message edited by: donnwest ]

[imported_Sean]

Chad;

I have lived (and sailed) in this province most of my life. I started when I was twelve in a fifteen foot dinghy and graduated to my current old wooden sloop. I've had lots of chances to leave for work but I just can't do it. This place offers some of the best boating and wooden boat builders in the world.

Things to check out;

- The Maritime Museum in Halifax.
- the folk festival in Lunenburg in August
- Mahone Bay
- Hubbards on the South Shore (good small boat scene)

All the best on your vacation.

[Ed Harrow]

Chad, all that I can tell you about going to Nova Scotia is to be darn careful before you head out... SWMTMH and I were going to Nova Scotia for vacation and the day before we were leaving I put scratch to the whole thing... Makes my legs twitch just thinking about it. Gorgeous place. You'll love it. smile.gif

[Roger Cumming]

My only advice would be to carefully inquire as to why she wants to go there. Several of my married friends (all New Yorkers), independently, and at different times, decided to take a vacation in NS. All of their marriages ended in divorce! No one could say why, or how this happened. And, as I recall, in each case it was the wife who turned out the husband. It became the place to go if you wanted out of your marriage. It remains a mystery. None of the husbands were boat nuts. I, myself once traveled there with a female companion, and, needless to say, things never workd out between us.

[Donn]

Interesting, Roger...my only trip there was with my first (now ex) wife. But it was my idea to take the trip.

[rodcross]

Jeese! After Roger's warning, I don't know. I was going to say, cs, you'll love it. I don't think I'd stay in Lunenburg, though. There are a bunch of B&Bs in Mahone Bay and Chester and they are a little less industrial towns.

Nova Scotia gives the impression of being small. It isn't. You're going to find yourself driving longer distances than you had anticipated.

The sailing around Mahone Bay is unbeatable.

[reddog]

Well Chad,you'll just have to come on up and find out.Believe me you won't be disappointed.
Check out this site and send for the free guide.It'll give you some ideas and time to plan:
http://www.gov.ns.ca/tourism.htm
Let me know if you decide to come this way as we are only five minutes from Mahone Bay and Lunenburg is jest ovar thar.
Cheers;Earl

[mmd]

Visiting Nova Scotia causes divorces, eh? Must be 'cause once you glimpse perfection it is unbearable to live with mediocrity. :D

On a more serious note, I must take exception to a previous writers comment that Lunenburg is "industrial"; although there are two manufacturing firms at the bottom of the harbour (both marine-related)and a sefood processing plant at the mouth of the harbour, one can hardly call a town of 3500 souls that is designated a world heritage site and whose major source of revenue is tourism an industrial town. There are no smokestacks belching smoke or railyards full of graffittied boxcars and rusting equipment around here.

I agree that renting a car would be a good thing. There are so many interesting places within 15-20 miles of Lunenburg, and traffic is minimal so being unfamiliar with the area is not dangerous. Check out the tourism guide address posted above - it is a good info source. Are you bringing kids? Drop a line when your plans firm up a bit & I'll help with "local knowledge" if I can.

Michael

[Donn]

Chad:

Compare airfare and car rental prices in Maine when researching the trip. I highly recommend the ferry ride from Bar Harbor. Fly into Maine, and rent your car there, then use the ferry to go back and forth to NS. Acadia is a great place to visit, too.

[cs]

Getting a lot of good info here. Thanks. I've forwarded over to my vacation planner (i.e. wife). She is excited about trying to make this trip happen. It has even perked her intrest a little more in the boat I'm building and she is starting to push me to get it finished.

I like the idea of flying into Maine and taking the ferry accross. I will pass that onto her.

She picked Luneburg because I beleive that is where the Wooden Boat festival is.

Keep suggestions coming.

Chad

[Tom Dugan]

We did the circuit almost exactly as Donn did on our honeymoon 11 years ago. (Still married, thankyouverymuch.) My best man and I drove to Boston and left the car at a hotel, then flew home. Four days later my bride and I flew into Boston (she on the 2nd half of BM's ticket)and drove north. We took the overnight ferry from Portland. (Naturally, I had booked one of the best cabins). :D Spent 11 wonderful days, then took the ferry from Yarmouth back to Bar Harbor and the rest of coastal Maine. Leave time to do that!

-T

PS - Check with the car rental company about traveling into Canada. If it's a sticky issue, the other option might be to take the ferry across and rent a car at Yarmouth.