2013 Vacation Day 10: Monday...cross country tour

Today we made our way to Digby, as the plan is to get close to Digby so that Tuesday morning we can make an early trip to the ferry to St John, which leaves at 8:00am, but starts to load vehicles at 7:00am. Our day's route was to drive the secondary roads to Mahone Bay, then Lunenberg and across the centre of the province to the Fundy Bay side.
I have not been to Mahone Bay in decades. It is a lovely little town, with nice shops, galleries and artisans, all well supported by a thriving tourist trade. It is situated on the south shore, and is known for its 3 white churches that all face the bay.

the view as you drive into Mahone Bay

We went into the Amos Pewter Store. It is situated in a older building which has been renovated to maintain its original character, yet works well as a retail location. There is a demonstration area along the back of the store, which gives a great look at how the products are made and finished. Dale could not resist treating herself to the latest design of their pewter bracelets line.

Amos Pewter, Mahone Bay

Dale's new bracelet

We then drove the Lighthouse Trail route to Lunenberg, another harbour town. Lunenberg is known for its shipbuilding, and being the home of the Bluenose schooner, a ship so famous it is memorialized on the Canadian dime. Lots of very nice older historic homes from the 1800's, all very colourfully painted, and well maintained, or being renovated. The core has many interesting shops and cafes. We stopped and had lunch, walked around a bit more, then headed out.

Lunenberg, Nova Scotia

The drive through the centre of the Annapolis Valley was very quaint, with many tiny towns and great scenic vistas along the Annapolis River. At Annapolis Royal, there is a small hydro generating station that utilizes the flow of the tidal bore to generate electricity. One envisions a tide rising slowly, but as these are the highest tides in the world, reaching 26 feet high, and when funneled through a narrow opening, the effect on the water turns it into quite a rapid flow. Beyond the dams swirling water, there was a number of sailboats which appeared to be part of a sailing school. These were being towed by zodiacs through the fast-moving tidal bore water, most likely to simulate rough water sailing. Quite interesting to watch all the sailboats navigate the unusual water conditions.

the rush of the water and the howling wind it created, it was kinda scary

We are staying in Smiths Cove, a short hop to the ferry. The campsite is called Jaggers Point, and we are lucky to have a spot right by the beach. There is no one close to us, and the view of the bay is very nice.

relaxing after a long drive...

We seem to be right across from Digby. Digby is a coastal town found at the mouth of the Annapolis Basin, and is a deep sheltered harbour.  We wandered the beach for a while, searching for perfect rocks to bring home for our collection. Beach rock hounding is a very relaxing pass time. I actually try to find beach glass, rather than rocks. Certainly a more elusive discovery. A nice G&T while sitting on the beach in comfy adirondack chairs, then finished up some leftovers for dinner.

Talked to a nice couple while we were taking pictures of an awesome sunset.

our inside view, almost as good as the outside one!

From the high heat of the day, the temperature dropped to a refreshing coolness, which was great for sleeping. The Bay of Fundy is renowned for whale watching, so this may be a good activity for our next trip down.