Family Trip to Prince Edward Island & Nova Scotia

Continuing our vacation week with Michael’s parents, we left Bar Harbor early for our 385 mile, plus a border crossing, beeline to Prince Edward Island. It was a long day but the windshield views were great and we made it without any issues.

PEI is connected to the mainland Nova Scotia by the 8-mile Confederation Bridge that only opened in 1997. It is the longest bridge in the world that spans an ice covered body of water.

As soon as you get to the island the landscape turns to peaceful rolling hills of farmland. As we made our way to Cavendish on the north central coast, we said “Hey, this looks like Ohio”. But these fields are mainly potatoes and there was a lot of blooming lupine at this time of year.

It was Father’s Day, and we celebrated at the Blue Mussel Cafe in North Rustico. In addition to potatoes, PEI is known for their famous mussels and oysters which are so delicious at the source!

We took the coastal route back to Cavendish and the golden hour really highlighted the pink-hued cliffs and sand that PEI’s northern beaches are known for.

The next day, after breakfast at Tides and Tales, we headed to the Cavendish section of PEI National Park.

We walked across the boardwalk over the Lake of Shining Waters, which might sound familiar if you loved Anne (with an E) of Green Gables like I did as a kid. Author LM Montgomery lived in Cavendish and it inspired her beloved books.

PEI also has the highest concentration of lighthouses in North America. The only one we got close to was Cove Head and it sure was a beauty.

We made our way an hour east to the Greenwich section of PEI National Park to hike the Greenwich Dunes trail. This spectacular 3 mile hike includes a long floating boardwalk and access to a gorgeous remote beach.

After the hike we headed to Charlottetown, the capital of PEI, home to under 40K people where the tallest building is the St. Dunstan’s Basilica. We had dinner at Prince’s Corner Shop and fudge made from potatoes (sounds strange but so yummy and supposedly healthier) for dessert.

The next day we traveled to our next destination, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. When you imagine a charming coastal town in Nova Scotia, Lunenburg is exactly what you’re envisioning. It was founded in 1753 and became a world class fishing and shipbuilding port. The entire town is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because its the best preserved example of a planned British Colonial town in North America.

Michael’s parents treated us to a Lunenburg harbor sailing adventure that evening. Unlike the big schooner we recently sailed on in Newport, RI, this smaller sailboat tipped over so far in the wind that we had to hang onto our seats and it was so much fun!!

We were lucky that Canada’s most iconic sailboat, the Bluenose II, was docked at its homebase in Lunenburg that day and we got the chance to walk around the main deck. The original Bluenose was a fishing boat that was also an undefeated racing champion for two decades until it sank.

The next morning we explored the town, starting with the Fisheries Museum, then St. John’s Anglican Church, the shops and galleries, and the Lightship Brewery. The Lunenburg restaurants that we enjoyed were Beach Pea Kitchen, Hodge Podge, and Salt Shaker Deli, all solid choices but apparently I was too focused on eating to take any photos.

The next day our great luck with the weather ran out. It was our last day together and we planned to visit Peggy’s Cove and Halifax, Nova Scotia’s capital.

Seeing Peggy’s Cove lighthouse in the fog was fitting but I do wish we had been able to see and photograph the picturesque fishing village better.

Next, we made our way to the Halifax waterfront. After checking out all the artwork along the water, we saw a restaurant with firepits and decided that was the best place to have an afternoon snack of oysters.

On our way back to Lunenburg, we stopped in Mahone Bay for dinner at Betty’s at The Kitch. Mahone Bay is known for these 3 churches in a row along the waterfront, but I think we counted at least 7 churches in this tiny town.

The next morning, after a fantastic week, we said goodbye to Michael’s parents. Since we still had the weekend, there was time for one more stop, tidal bore rafting on the Shubenacadie River.

The Bay of Fundy, between New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, has the largest bore tides in the world. This phenomenon happens when the tide enters a shallow bay or river creating an extreme rise in water level. The Shubie River is the only place where you can raft, on a motorized zodiac boat, as the tide races over the sandbars in the river. You can see the river and a sandbar before the tide came in on the bottom right photo.

The next photos were taken in the same area as the tide rose, but don’t accurately show what we experienced because we couldn’t hold onto the GoPro and the raft at the same time. For half an hour we rode a rollercoaster of waves that were up to 10 feet high. It was crazy fun!

Next up is far away Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.