After driving off the ferry we made a somewhat long drive down to Peggy’s Cove. We planned to spend a couple of weeks visiting Dale’s relatives in the area, on both sides of her family. Booked into King Neptune Campground, which is very close to Peggy’s Cove.
A smaller campground, it is family run and they do a good job. We scored a primo site right on the shoreline, and it was fabulous. Virtually no trees anywhere, but this place is all about the water and the view. The awning did provide some nice shade to the side of the trailer. Amazing skies and stargazing at night, and the sound of the waves against the shore was very nice.
Drove over to Peggy’s Cove in the morning. Lots of tourists there, as it is a key destination for tourists. It has changed quite a lot since I was last here, Parks Canada has improved the roadways, built wide wood boardwalks, and a large viewing platform from which to take endless pictures of the lighthouse. Hard to take a picture without a multitude of people in it, but this is not unexpected. All sorts of independent shops and small restaurants make it easy to spend a few hours just wandering around.
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| distinctive building colour...distinctive pewter artistry |
As we are early risers, Dale suggested we hop in the car and take a quick drive over to the Cove. We are talking 6:00am, and sure enough, the place was virtually deserted. A few others had the same idea, but nothing like the hordes of the previous day. We were able to take all sorts of photos of the iconic lighthouse, from many angles, with no people. The early bird truly does get the worm.
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| classic scenes for decades... |
We had some great visits and fabulous meals with Dale’s cousin Don and his wife Lynn, and their family. So fun to get together and laugh and scratch.
After Peggy’s Cove we headed for Upper Tantallon and the Woodhaven RV Park. This is a classic big campground with a pool and all sorts of amenities. We got a nice site with full services, and settled in to do some more visiting with relatives.
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| sunglasses...thrift store score |
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| guinea hen...good lungs, big mouth |
One day we met Krista & Angelo, and headed to downtown Halifax, wandered the harbour front, then took the ferry over to Dartmouth and a funky little restaurant called The Canteen for lunch. It had a great vibe and the food was excellent.
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| this building welcomed many immigrants |
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| Halifax from the Dartmouth shore |
Our next stop was Smileys Provincial Park, in the Windsor Valley. Dale did some research one afternoon at the West Hants Historical Society in Windsor, while I explored the downtown.
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| great park, with a grove like setting |
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| Barley getting in his 10,000 steps |
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| cool sign in downtown Windsor N.S. |
Dale’s cousin Darlene and her husband Steve joined us for an evening at the Park, camping in their vintage Volkswagen Westphalia. They collect and restore older Volkswagens, and this is one of their projects. It was super cool to see such an old vehicle restored and made camping ready.
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| vintage Westphalia restored to mint condition |
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| tress illuminated by only the campfire |
Headed back to Upper Tantallon to do a little moochdocking in Lynn & Murray’s driveway. We had some wonderful meals and great visits.
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| perfect site |
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| some serious fog every morning...thick |
Later in the week we started the trek home. Our first camping night was in Moncton, but along the way we stopped at the Mount Allison University campus in Sackville, where we toured the Owens Art Gallery, and then the home, turned museum, of iconic Canadian artist Alex Colville. Seeing his home and studio was quite interesting, especially as he is one of our favourite artists. The breadth of his work is amazing.
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| Owens Art Gallery |
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| Alex Colville |
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| Alex Colville |
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| Colville built his own work stations |
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| remember these Centennial Coins...yup, Colville |
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| Colville and his wife |
The next few days were all about chewing up the kilometres to get back home. We took a leisurely pace, one night campsites to eat and sleep.
Such an amazing adventure, hard to imagine it has been 2 1/2 months exploring in the Alto, it is just so damn comfortable, and efficient, the time just flows by.
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| For an old guy, Barley was a real trooper on this adventure! |
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