Trip Report!! ABD Canadian Maritimes: Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island/New Brunswick 8/25 - 9/1/24 - Updated 3/22/25

[sayhello]

Enjoying your trip report and seeing some familiar spots. I did my own Maritimes trip last year and drove across the Confederation Bridge ( I was coming from New Brunswick) and took the ferry from PEI to Nova Scotia. It is a cool ride. Not sure if they do it all the time, but there was a guitar/ fiddle duo playing in one of the inside sitting area. So I split my time between inside and outside.

Thanks! Glad you're enjoying my report! We did the opposite, taking the ferry to PEI, and driving the Confederation Bridge to New Brunswick (coming up in a bit!). I don't *recall* there being any music playing on the ferry, but hey, my brain is not always the best! I think I would have spent more time inside if there had been music, though!

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[sayhello]

Day 3: Kindred Spirits - around PEI and the world of Anne of Green Gables.

So I totally have to admit that this day was one of the ones I was really looking forward to. I am a *total* Anne of Green Gables geek, and have been for a long time. The options for this day was one of the things that decided me to take the ABD version of this trip vs. the Tauck Maritimes trip. I had seriously considered both!

Even though I wasn't a big fan of this hotel, the setting was rather pretty! (This is basically the same view as from last night, looking over the golf course to what I assume is the clubhouse and the Gulf of St. Lawrence in the background).



We were given a leisurely morning at the hotel (my notes say meetup was at 11am!) You could arrange to do whatever you wanted at the resort (golf, spa) but I just chose to sleep in & do a bit of wandering. I don't know if anyone availed themselves of the resort's amenities before our meetup. We drove a short ways across the top of the Island toward Cavendish, the area of PEI where Anne of Green Gables author Lucy Maud Montgomery spent much of her life, and which she fictionalized as Avonlea and it's surrounds. We spent some time at the Green Gables Heritage Place, which, among other things, had the house that inspired Green Gables. It was the home of cousins of LMM's grandparents, and she spent a lot of of time there and in the woods surrounding the area. She lived nearby with her elderly grandparents after her mother died when she was young.

We had some free time to explore the house and wander the woods ourselves. There was a self-guided tour of the woods set up with plaques describing how different locations related to LMM and her life. A lot of these areas inspired her writings.





The rooms were staged & decorated as they might have been when LMM visited as a child.







Puffed sleeves!



After checking out the house, we headed out through the gardens to the path into the woods. It was really a gorgeous day!





There were a few different loops you could take through the grounds ("Lovers Lane" or "the Haunted Wood") and I was definitely slower than everyone else as I stopped to read each and every plaque as I passed it, trying to keep an eye on the time to make sure I gave myself plenty of time to get back to the house for the meetup time.



Continued in next post.

 

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After we finished our explorations, we met up to board our motorcoach and head to the small "recreated" village of Avonlea. It was made up of historic buildings relocated from around the area to make a quaint little shopping and eating area.



We were given around an hour to eat OYO and shop, and were told after that to meet up at the old school house (which LMM had at one time taught at). A few of us chose to eat at MOO MOO BBQ Grilled Cheesery. It had an array of various grilled cheese and/or BBQ meat sandwiches and plates, which you could pair with things like tomato soup and mac & cheese. The cheese and butter used were from Cows creamery (I'm assuming it's the same Cows as the ice cream, which was also there!) I had a fancy grilled cheese with a side of mac & cheese and a cream soda. It was all quite yummy. Some people ate at the French "La Rose" Bistro, but that was a sit down meal, and took the entire time in the village. They did say it was quite good.

We did some wandering around and I did some souvenir shopping (had to pick up a few Anne of Green Gables things!).





We, of course, bought some Cows ice cream (this was some sort of double chocolate, and totally delicious!)



Then we all headed over to the old school house. Kira and Josh had a very cute surprise for us there that I won't spoil, but it was *loads* of fun!

We then loaded back up on the motorcoach and headed off to the Anne of Green Gables Museum.



The Anne of Green Gables Museum is built on the farm owned by LMM's Aunt Annie and Uncle John Campbell. She spent a good portion of her young life visiting her cousins who lived on this farm, and even lived there for a while and was later called "Auntie Maud" by her younger cousins. The museum was started by the wife of one of those cousins, and the farm is still owned by the Campbell family. On our way in, we stopped and picked up our step-on Guide, who was a member of the Campbell family.



She gave us an overview of the museum, and told us we'd be planting potatoes, touring the home, and if we did well with the planting, we'd get cookies and lemonade! (Spoiler, we did get some! )



Continued in next post.

 

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A man meant to be Matthew (elderly brother & sister Matthew & Marilla Cuthbert adopted the orphan Anne) told us about planting and growing potatoes and showed us how to plant a piece, and we got to hoeing and planting!





Interestingly, they were local purple potatoes.



After that, we headed into the farm house where we could wander the house/museum. We also took turns riding in tractor-drawn carriages that took us around the very pretty grounds.





Part way through, my water bottle, which I *thought* I had the strap around my wrist, fell out of the carriage. Everyone was quite worried about it, but the carriage behind us managed to not run it over, and I was able to walk over afterwards & retrieve it! And it was not at all damaged and it didn't leak! Best water bottle ever! (That's it, teal & purple, lying on the path!)



I then checked out the house/museum.





Like the Green Gables house, it was furnished as it would have been when LMM lived there, with some of her belongings displayed.





Continued in next post.

 

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We then headed over to another building where we had the promised cookies and lemonade. We then had a photo op with Anne herself!





After we finished up at the museum, we returned to the motorcoach again and headed up to Cavendish Beach on the shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.



They had an overlook there that looked down on the very pretty (& fairly busy) beach.

Folks hung out on the overlook or went down to the beach (some dipped their feet in the water) and also explored the nearby Dunelands marsh area.









Continued in next post.

 

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The Dunelands (more marsh land than dunes, at least in the boardwalk area we walked in) was very beautiful and peaceful. The dunes that surrounded parts of it were grass-covered for the most part.





Next, it was off to dinner! On our way to the restaurant, we made a quick stop at the cemetery in Cavendish where Lucy Maude Montgomery MacDonald was buried.





Dinner was in the Garden Cafe at the Prince Edward Island Preserve Co.



We arrived a bit early, so we were given time to walk & wander the beautiful "Gardens of Hope" they had there.







The Cafe area was really sunny and pretty in a rustic way. Very nice.

I believe we had pre-ordered this meal. I don't remember exactly what this was (some sort of lasagna or seafood dish, maybe?) but I remember it was delicious.



We had a local musician story teller entertaining us during dinner. He was absolutely fabulous!! Funny and engaging, and just really fun.



After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to pack up and head to bed. The next morning we were off to New Brunswick!

Next up: Day 4: Clawsome Adventure - We head to New Brunswick!

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[sayhello]

Day 4: Clawsome Adventure - We head to New Brunswick!

Today was a travel day: from PEI to New Brunswick. Again, not a really early morning. Luggage out at 8am, departure at 9:20am.

While packing up for the transfer, I unfortunately found that the zipper on my suitcase had been damaged. I have no clue when this happened, as it had unzipped OK when I unpacked it. It might have been the transfer from the hotel in Halifax to the motorcoach or the motorcoach to the hotel in PEI, or maybe it just spontaneous combusted after all the years of stuffing it, but when I went to zip it up this morning, I found it had separated and some of the teeth were damaged, so that I could not get it zipped up. Fortunately, I had a couple of ABD suitcase straps, so I strapped it together and let Josh know what had happened. When the bellman came by to collect my suitcases, he knew about it and asked which suitcase it was, so that he could hand-carry it to the motorcoach, which I thought was nice. I was going to have to look into finding a replacement suitcase, as I really couldn't keep traveling this way, and I CERTAINLY could not fly home with the suitcase damaged as it was. But that would have to wait until later.

Honestly, as much as I loved PEI and my Anne of Green Gables day, I was really puzzled. Everywhere I read and all the people I talked to said how gorgeous PEI was. But unless we somehow managed to avoid the beautiful parts of PEI, I was honestly unimpressed. The areas of the coast we visited were nice enough, but nothing spectacular, and as we headed southwest across the island towards the bridge to New Brunswick, most of what we passed was farmland that looked very much like areas of Ohio farmland. And while I love Ohio, I would never describe it as gorgeous. I guess I should do some googling or something to see which areas *are* gorgeous, it just seems like that would be part of the discussions. Oh, well! (Spoiler, I found the areas we visited in New Brunswick to be FAR prettier than PEI. But maybe that's just me!)

Anyways, off we drove across PEI. As I said, our target starting out was the Confederation Bridge, an 8 mile long bridge that crosses the Northumberland Strait between PEI and New Brunswick. It took a little over 10 minutes to cross. It's the longest bridge in Canada and, according to Wikipedia, the world's longest bridge over ice-covered water. The Adventure Guides put on some adventurous-sounding music as we crossed (I'm pretty sure it was from some Disney attraction, but I couldn't tell you which).

Leaving PEI from Port Borden.



Once on the bridge, it was water as far as the eye could see.

Once we arrived in New Brunswick, we parked in a visitor's area for the Cape Jourimain Interpretation Centre, got off the motorcoach, and walked to a vantage point to get photos with the beautiful, incredibly long bridge as a background.



We were then given some free time to take more photos and explore the immediate area.

It was *windy*, and it had a bite to it, but was still enjoyable.







Next we headed off for about an hour's drive to Pointe-du-Chêne on Shediac Bay for our next activity: the Shediac Lobster Boat Experience and Lunch. We were the only ones on the Lobster boat. By the time we loaded up, it was misting pretty heavily, and it turned into a fairly steady rain while we were on the boat. Luckily, the boat was pretty enclosed, so we were fine. I think there was an area topside, but we weren't able to take advantage of that and that was fine.



The guys running the boat were pretty funny, and taught us about lobster fishing, and the lobsters themselves (they had a trap out in the water, and had some of us help pull it in, where there was (miraculously!) a lobster in it. It was actually a lobster they kept in the trap so that they could pull her in & use her for the presentation (Lisa the Lobster) but it was still pretty funny.









They had a couple of the Adventurers learn how to put the rubber bands on her claws so that they could safely handle her for the presentation.



Continued in next post.

 

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After that, they taught us about the proper way to cook and eat a lobster and we had a most delicious lobster lunch and some very yummy maple cookies.





We then docked and headed back to our motorcoach to continue our travels. On the way through town, we stopped for a brief photo-op with none other than the Giant Lobster statue. It was still drizzling rain, so it was a *brief* stop. Climbing on the lobster was a bit treacherous what with it being wet and all, but with a little help, we all managed to get some fun shots.





While we were heading to our hotel, Josh said he'd do some research and see what he could find about a place for me to get a new suitcase. We did a little arts & crafts project during the next leg of our journey and eventually arrived in Moncton and our hotel for the next 2 nights, the Delta Hotel by Marriott Beausejour.

It was a nice hotel. Nothing fancy, but large and clean with a nice view of the town.











While I was getting settled in, I called the trip insurance company I had a policy with for the trip and asked them if replacing my damaged suitcase would be covered. He couldn't give me a definitive answer, but he felt that it most likely would be. Then Josh messaged me a photo of some suitcases at a local Staples that was about half a mile from the hotel. It was dinner OYO this evening, so I figured I'd head to the Staples, get a new suitcase, then hit someplace nearby for a quick dinner.

Since the weather was beautiful in Moncton, and it was still fairly early, I decide to walk to the Staples. It was extremely pleasant out. Unfortunately, when I got there, it turned out the suitcases were quite large (I use a medium-sized checked bag) and were actually 3-piece sets nested together, and extremely flimsy. It was really more than I wanted to pay for a suitcase where I'd probably have to abandon 2 of them (would cost a LOT to check them) and would honestly not get much use out of due to the quality, size and lack of features. I mean, I would buy them if I *had* to, but I was hoping I wouldn't have to.

So I did some googling and found that there was a luggage store at a Shopping Mall another 1/2 mile or so down the road from the Staples. When I googled the shop (Bentley) they had a Samsonite suitcase that was precisely the size I wanted and had all the features I liked. So off I set, and eventually found the store. The suitcase was WAY more than I normally would pay for a checked bag (I've seen how those things get handled!) and an ungodly shade of rose pink, but at this point, beggars couldn't be choosers, and I bought it. I knew I'd at least get a lot of use out of it. I was hoping the cost would at least partially be covered by the trip insurance. (It was! They didn't cover the entire cost of the suitcase, as my insurance had a daily limit for luggage & contents damage/loss, but it made the price of the suitcase WAY more reasonable).



Continued in next post.

 

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By that time, I was pretty hungry, so I decided to just hit the food court at the Mall for dinner, and had a nice grilled wrap and some timbits at Tim Horton's. (Along with a panic attack because I couldn't find my credit card for a bit!)





It was still gorgeous out (along with a stunning sunset) so I decided to walk the mile back to the hotel. I suppose I could have called an Uber or something, but I honestly didn't mind the walk.



I eventually made it back to the hotel and messaged Josh that the Staples suitcases hadn't worked out, and thanked him profusely and let him know about the shop at the mall and that I was all good as far as a new suitcase was concerned.

And the view from my room was even nicer in the twilight!



Next up: Day 5 - Tides and Trails - The Bay of Fundy

 

[Mathmagicland]

an ungodly shade of rose pink, but at this point, beggars couldn't be choosers, and I bought it. I knew I'd at least get a lot of use out of it.

I think it is prime territory for some travel stickers! And you certainly should be able to pick it out on the airport luggage carousels.

 

[sayhello]

I think it is prime territory for some travel stickers! And you certainly should be able to pick it out on the airport luggage carousels.

I'm not big on stickers, but I may have to start. And picking it out on the carousel is my one consolation for the color!

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[Donalyn]

No one will miss you! I like it.

But I've always liked having unique colored luggage - makes it a lot easier at the carousel. We have had Burton brown/cream zebra print luggage for decades now, and the girls' luggage has a very bright pastel watercolor painting look. You can't miss us at the airport. We definitely get looks from people, but I like them and I've never had to worry that someone will accidently grab my black suitcase by mistake.

 

[sayhello]

No one will miss you! I like it.

But I've always liked having unique colored luggage - makes it a lot easier at the carousel. We have had Burton brown/cream zebra print luggage for decades now, and the girls' luggage has a very bright pastel watercolor painting look. You can't miss us at the airport. We definitely get looks from people, but I like them and I've never had to worry that someone will accidently grab my black suitcase by mistake.

Oh, I'm not against uniquely colored luggage at all! The one that broke was a sapphire blue. My carryon is a bright red. I just happen to hate this particular shade of rose pink. I think it's butt ugly! But I'm sure I'll get used to it eventually!

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[Mikey15]

Still really enjoying your write-up!

Love Moncton & the Bay of Fundy area so I’m looking forward to the next chapter too!

 

[sayhello]

Still really enjoying your write-up!

Love Moncton & the Bay of Fundy area so I’m looking forward to the next chapter too!

I'm glad you're enjoying it! I'm hoping to have the next bit up soon. It was a really great day!

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[sayhello]

Day 5 - Tides and Trails - The Bay of Fundy

This day, our day in New Brunswick, ended up being one of my favorites of the trip.

It was an early morning (no, that was NOT my favorite part!) 6:30 breakfast and meet up at 7:30am. We were instructed to wear long pants and closed-toe shoes. Hiking boots were suggested if you had them, but not required. (I wore mine, and was glad I had them).

We headed out on our motorcoach, and were among the first at the gate, waiting for it to open to allow us into the Hopewell Rocks Park.



The order of this day can vary a bit depending on the tide schedules for the Bay of Fundy. The Bay of Fundy has the highest tidal differences in the world. That means that twice a day, the level between low tide and high tide can vary by as much as 60 feet.



When we arrived at the Hopewell Rocks the first time, the tide was not quite at *full* high tide, but we could see that the rocks were all out in the bay, surrounded by water. I'm pretty sure they had it timed so that the kayakers would be out there at full high tide, but they wanted all of us to see it at high tide so that we could contrast it to low tide when we came back later in the day.



Then it was off to nearby Broadleaf Ranch. The canoeing and horseback riders were split into 2 groups. Those of us who were canoeing first were taken to the place where we'd be canoeing with guides from the ranch. The kayakers went off with the Adventures Guides to do their thing at the Hopewell Rocks Park.







I was paired up with the daughter from the family I'd been on the Greece trip with. I have to admit she and I were really busy working to keep up and all, and I did not think to get any photos while we were actually out canoeing. Which, paired with the fact that we didn't have either Adventure Guide with us meant there are no photos of us actually canoeing. I kind of miss that, but it was still a beautiful time, and I *really* enjoyed it!

Next, we headed over to the area where the horses were kept for the horseback riding. We were all matched up with horses, and they were very careful and thorough about getting the saddle and the stirrups all adjusted properly so that we were all comfortable and ready to go. While I had *really* enjoyed the horseback riding in Iceland, I felt *WAY* more secure on this horse than I had on the Icelandic pony. I don't know if the difference was me, or the saddle, or the way it was adjusted, but I had zero fear of falling off this horse, unlike with the one in Iceland.

It was a really gorgeous day! There was a bit of a nip in the air, but layers took care of that. It was beautifully sunny and blue-skied. It had been seriously windy at the Hopewell Rocks earlier, but that had died down, fortunately.

That's me in front in this photo.



My horse was named Jenn.



These horses definitely had some personalities! The one behind me nipped at Jenn's tail a few times, making her understandably jump. Fortunately, she was very gentle, and I was fine. The leader separated them. A couple had to be reined in a few times as they got interested in grass just off the path.

We just did a long ride in a row like this up and around the grassy areas of the ranch, while our leader described what life on the ranch was like. It was a very pleasant, fun time!

Afterwards, we headed back and then got to visit our horses in their stables before heading up across the road to the Ranch buildings where we were to meet up with the kayaking group and have lunch.



Broadleaf Ranch operates Guest houses for people who want to stay there, and there was a restaurant on the property, also.



Continued in next post.

 

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Kira inviting us in!



Lunch consisted of a soup and sandwich buffet. Most everyone had tomato soup, but since I can't eat tomatoes, they had a bowl of potato soup for me. They had multiple different types of sandwiches and wraps, and you were able to choose which ones you wanted. There was also dessert. It was all very tasty.



After lunch we headed back to Hopewell Rocks Park, where we met up with our naturalist (whose name I have unfortunately forgotten). He was EXTREMELY knowledgeable about the Hopewell Rocks, and it was fascinating to listen to him!

He started off with an explanation and short demonstration of what causes the extreme fluctuations in the tides. I believe these folks were the sun and the moon and the earth.



Then we headed back to the overlook we had visited first thing in the morning. Even though we knew the tide was going to be seriously lower than it had been during our first visit, it was still shocking to see just how much difference had occurred in just a few hours.

Just to remind you: Almost high tide:



MUCH lower tide:



We headed down the stairs to the now exposed beach below.



This is when I was glad I had my hiking boots on, as it was rather muddy and rocky down there.





Continued in next post.

 

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Our naturalist took us hiking down the beach, explaining the history of the various different rock formations we were passing.





It was all so crazily bizarre and beautiful and hard to comprehend how this was all created by the rise and fall of the tides coming in and going out twice a day, every day for millennium!



We couldn't have asked for a more gorgeous day!



Our intrepid Adventure Guides, Kira and Josh.



I believe this one is known as the Flower Pot Rock.



This whole area was underwater at high tide.



We then spent a little time in the Interpretive Center there, watching some videos and just wandering around.





Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

After that, we headed back up off the beach and went to a few different outlooks to see various views of the areas affected by the tides. The tides not only rise and lower a tremendous amount vertically, they also go in and out horizontally up to 3 miles! So by later in the afternoon, the water was quite far away from the cliffs!





After that, we headed back to the hotel in Moncton.

Kira let us know once we were back that if we wanted, we could meet up in the lobby in a little bit and walk to a local ice cream parlor that they loved for ice cream on the Mouse. The weather was still gorgeous, and it was a really nice walk to the ice cream shop with some very pleasant conversation. The shop had a very nice assortment of flavors. I don't recall which one I got, but I do recall that it was very popular and very delish!





My spoon broke! So sad!





Good stuff, and a nice treat!

We then headed back to the hotel, and were told to meet up again in the lobby at 6:50pm to walk to the restaurant for dinner. I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but it was another seafood delight. We did have some choices. I chose the scallop appetizer and the whole lobster (again! Why not? We'd already learned the proper way to eat one!) It was a pretty nice restaurant, and the food was *very* good!

*SO* yummy! I wish there'd been more of them!



There *were* green beans with it, so I did have some actual vegetables!



After dinner, we had a very pleasant twilight walk back to the hotel. It was a great end to a very full and yet not crazy busy day. It was then up to the room to start packing, as the next morning we were heading out, back to Nova Scotia and Halifax!

Up next: Day 6: The First Canadians

 

[Donalyn]

Sayhello - what are you planning for 2025?