The map shows the route and the 12 places we stayed: 1)Mt Blue, ME 2)Bar Harbor, ME 3)Shelburne, NS 4) Peggy's Cove 5) A highway campground 6) Ingonish, Cape Breton Island 7) Meat Cove 8) Cheticamp 9)Five Islands 10) Saint John, NB 11) Moosehead Lake, ME 12) Gorham, NH.
 

The trip from Burlington to Bar Harbor is longer than you might expect.  We were not willing to spend 10 hours driving in one day, so we took our time and camped half way at Mt. Blue state park in western Maine.
Our next  stop was Bar Harbor in Acadia National Park, Maine.  The town was swamped with tourists, but we really enjoyed our drive around the park. We only had one day to visit the park since our goal was to spend as much time in Nova Scotia as possible, but we packed a lot into that one day. This included time on a nice sandy beach (cold water) and some really good hiking.  We would like to return to spend more time exploring  the park.
Acadia, by-the-way, is the only national park in New England.  It also claims to be the first place in the U.S. where the sunrise can be seen.
 
 

We decided to take the high speed "Cat" ferry from Bar Harbor to Yarmouth, NS.  The name Cat comes from the fact that it is a catamaran ship.  It has four large diesel engines that pump water through jets in the stern.  During some tests, the Cat has been clocked at 90KMH.  On the day we crossed, we probably reached 40 MPH.  The speed was not that noticeable except that it cuts the crossing time from six hours to three.  As you can see, this is no small boat - it can carry over 200 cars and 900 passengers.

We started our drive through Nova Scotia on what is called the "Lighthouse Trail".  This route follows the south-east shoreline.  It is relatively flat and rocky with many small fishing villages.  Our first stop was Shelburne, a town that was first settled by loyalist who fled oppression in the colonies.   We stayed at a provincial park that overlooked Shelburne harbor (third largest natural harbor after Havana and Sidney, Australia).  Shelburne is a beautifully restored villiage.  The film "Scarlet Letter" was filmed there.  A very interesting museum and one-time dory shop was really interesting.  It didn't take long to realize how important fishing is to the Nova Scotia economy, both in the past and now.  

Initially, we planned to spend every third day or so at a Bed and Breakfast or Inn.  But we soon realized just how comfortable the Westy is and we only spent one night at a B&B.  Kathy is especially fond of the Westy.  She is anxious to take another trip soon.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Nova Scotia has some wonderful beaches like this one.  The sand is incredibly fine and packs nicely into sandcastles or other sculptures.  The water is surprisingly warm compared to the ocean in Maine.  I'd say it is about the temperature of Lake Champlain in June.
 
 

Everywhere we went along the coast, there were quaint fishing villages like Lunenburg and Peggy's Cove.  Peggy's Cove is built on rugged rock and is very popular with the tourists.  It wasn't easy to get a photo without a crowd of people in it.  We stopped in Halifax for a few hours to tour the fine maritime museum there.  

We found the people of Nova Scotia to be very friendly and relaxed.  The pace of life is much more relaxed than what we experience back home.  Some say Nova Scotia is what New England was like 50 years ago.
 
 
 
 
 
 

Thinking we didn't have enough time to see more of Nova Scotia, our plan was to head back from Halifax to Digby on the south-east coast to catch a ferry to New Brunswick.  But, we ran into so many people who said we should not miss Cape Breton, that we decided to do the loop around the island.  Are we ever glad!  Cape Breton Island is a rugged place with incredible views from what is called the Cabot Trail - the road that circles the island. 
Everywhere we went, we ran into people traveling in Westy's.  One couple urged us to visit a village off the main road called Meat Cove.  As we approached Meat Cove, the road became progressively narrower and rougher.  We weren't sure it was such a smart thing to do, but when we reached Meat Cove we were in awe.  A young girl showed us to our campsite - a spot 10 feet from the edge that dropped 200 feet to the ocean.  It rained all evening and night.  Were we ever glad we weren't in a tent on the wet ground!  We were able to grill chicken and cook vegetables without getting wet.  

The next morning we awoke to the sight of whales playing in the ocean below.  When we climbed a nearby hill to get a better view, we even saw bald eagles!
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

On the western side of Cape Breton we stayed in a French community called Cheticamp.  Almost everywhere else, people speak with a Scottish accent, but here the people are very French.
 
 

We often left the main road for more scenic routes.  That slowed us down quite a bit, but we saw so much more like this beautiful farm scene.
 
 
 
 

What is a trip to Nova Scotia without seeing the famous tides of the Bay of Fundy.  They say the tide can rise as high as 40 feet.  We didn't get to experience that, but we did get a sense of the tide's magnitude.
 

We crossed by bridge to New Brunswick and spent one night near St. John.  New Brunswick is very much like Nova Scotia, but more urban.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

From New Brunswick we broke up the remainder of the trip into three legs.  Our first stop was at Moosehead Lake, Maine.  Kathy and I camped there shortly after we were married nearly 30 years ago.  It is a beautiful part of Maine.  This is were I had to spend some time bleeding air out of a failing hydraulic clutch.  
 

Our last night was spent in a state park near Gorham, NH.  It is near the cog railroad that makes its way up Mt. Washington - the highest mountain in the eastern U.S.

It was then just a short trip home.  In Vermont, we stopped at a restaurant/bakery we recently discovered in Marshfield - "Rainbow Sweets".  Eating there is more than just an eating adventure.  The characters that own the restaurant provide the patrons with a little drama as well.