Trip Report!! ABD Canadian Maritimes: Nova Scotia/Prince Edward Island/New Brunswick 8/25 - 9/1/24 - Updated 4/11/25

[*WDW*Groupie*]

I'm glad that you enjoyed some Timmie's soup . Tim's is practically an institution here!

 

[Eastridge]

Thanks for the update. I wonder if the rooms that ABD provided did not have room safes. I thought room safes were part of the requirement to be an ABD hotel.

 

[sayhello]

Thanks for the update. I wonder if the rooms that ABD provided did not have room safes. I thought room safes were part of the requirement to be an ABD hotel.

They did not. That's what prompted me to find out it's concierge level only. Others on the ABD who weren't on the same floor did not have safes, and when I had the regular ABD room when we returned for the last 2 nights of the ABD, that room also did not have a safe. I wasn't too happy about that. I have no idea if it's an actual requirement for an ABD hotel. Seems not!

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

Day 1 of the ABD: Meet Me in the Maritimes - more around Halifax and the start of the ABD.
Sorry it's taken me so long to get to this point! I'm hoping to post more frequently now.

I was reading through my little pre-trip thread I'd done, and realized that I'd left that thread with me going to Peggy's Cove for my first full pre-day. But the tour got cancelled by the tour company a couple of weeks before my trip. I could see on their website & on Viator that they had cancelled all of their Saturday departures for the rest of the year, so my assumption was that they probably lost the tour guide who did the Saturday tours. But that's just a guess. I'd had a hard time finding a tour that would take a reservation for a solo traveler, and I'd been a bit on the fence over such a long travel day, so I took it as a sign, and rather than scramble to try and find another tour just decided to see more of Halifax. And I really enjoyed it. I did receive a full, immediate refund, which *is* one of the benefits of booking through Viator. They are very good about that.

Anyways, this day started with breakfast at the ToGo cafe at the hotel again (they really had some delicious overnight oats & pastries) and a meetup with our Adventure Guides. One of our Guides was the fabulous Kira, who I knew from last year's New Zealand ABD. There had been some confusion when I posted about this just prior to my ABD how Kira was able to Guide this trip, because Canada is very strict that only Canadian Guides can lead tours in Canada, and none of us thought Kira was Canadian. Turns out that Kira's mother is Canadian, which qualifies Kira for dual Canadian citizenship and a passport. So she's allowed to do the tour. Our other Guide was the (very Canadian!) Josh. A real sweetheart! Had a wonderful conversation with the two of them until others started showing, and then decided I needed to share them!

I headed out to revisit another place I remembered from my previous visit to Halifax 30 years ago, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. I remembered that they had a really cool light from a lighthouse, and a lot of artifacts recovered from the Titanic. And I'd read they'd also added an exhibit about the Halifax explosion.

The lens from the Sambro lighthouse in Halifax Harbor. The lens was used there from 1905 to 1966 when it was replaced with an electrical beacon.



I started with the Titanic exhibit. It was a fascinating combination of photos and stories and actual bits and pieces recovered from the Titanic. The ships that went out to help save (and recover) the folks from the Titanic mostly came out of Halifax. Some of the artifacts were picked up as they sailed around recovering people and bodies, and others, I believe actually washed up on shore much later.



This photo taken on the deck of the Titanic, juxtaposed with a deck chair that was later recovered, is a bit sobering. According to the plaque, the two women in this photo survived, but the man with them did not. You can see deck chairs stacked on the deck behind the plaque.



A couple of pieces of the stairway railing, as shown in the photo.



A lot of the artifacts were kept for years by the sailors who recovered them, and eventually donated to the museum. It was understandably a hard task for these sailors, and folks kind of looked the other way when they held on to these objects.

The plaque here says "Keepsakes made from notable shipwrecks are an old tradition in costal communities. The crews of the Halifax ships commemorated the catastrophe by creating many "wreckwood" objects. William Parker, the ship's carpenter in Minia, made this cribbage board from a piece of oak from Titanic. (The Minia was one of the ships chartered by the White Star Line to search for bodies in the aftermath of the sinking.)



A lot of folks who died in the sinking of the Titanic were buried in Halifax. It was a fascinating and very sobering exhibit.

They also had a large exhibit of ship models. They were quite large and very beautiful.





As you can see, it was another gorgeous day, and the Museum is right on the waterfront!



Next on my list was the exhibit on the Halifax Explosion. I have been fascinated with this event since my previous trip to Nova Scotia, when I took a walking tour of Halifax that included many sites of significance to the explosion.



The Halifax Explosion occurred on the morning of December 6, 1917, when two ships, the SS Mont-Blanc and the SS Imo, collided in Halifax Harbor. Unfortunately, the SS Mont-Blanc was a munitions ship loaded to the gills with explosives being transported from New York to France during WWI, and it caught fire and the munitions exploded. It devastated a large area of Halifax, killing and maiming thousands of people. 1600 buildings were destroyed by the explosion and fires, and debris was found miles away.

I realized I did not take many photos in this exhibit. Most of what is there is twisted metal remains of the ships and buildings. The plaques point out what the items *were* and showed examples so you could sort of see what the distorted item was.



It was winter when the Explosion happened, and the cold and snow made recovery and help difficult. Trains full of medical personnel and supplies were sent up to Halifax from Boston, which created a bond between the two cities. There are a few bits and pieces left behind these days, such as a metal pipe still left embedded in the wall of St. Paul's church. It was quite the disaster!!

Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

After I finished at the Maritime museum, I headed to lunch at another seafood restaurant that my driver from the airport had suggested, the Five Fisherman (in the green building on the left). I walked in, but the entrance was a little confusing. Turns out the Five Fisherman was upstairs, and not open for lunch, but the attached Little Fish Oyster Bar was open, so I decided to give it a try.



The six folks at the table next to me were sharing an amazing array of seafood. They seemed to be really enjoying it!

I settled on a lovely lobster and asparagus dish. Service was kind of slow, but the food was excellent!



After lunch, I decided to head down to the waterfront for dessert - to try the Cow's Ice Cream that @*WDW*Groupie*
had recommended.



There was quite a line. It wrapped around and went out the door. But it was well worth the wait!!



Cownadian Maple. Maple ice cream with a maple swirl and chunks of maple cookie. Extremely yummy! Josh later told me it was one of his favorites. They had quite the gift shop! This was my first taste of Cow's but would definitely not be my last!



I then just enjoyed the waterfront area. I took the stairs up to check out this interesting art installation. The stairs were part of the art.





I think you might have been able to go up in it at some point, but not anymore.








Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

I wandered around, and did some shopping (I bought an adorable Halifax onesie for my sister's first grandchild, whose shower I was headed to pretty much directly after this trip). Most of the shops were *ridiculously* expensive, but it was fun to look!

Some cool artwork and some funny shop names (Another Shop and Stare by the Stairs).







It was then time to head back to the Marriott to meet up for our Welcome Dinner!

Since they stopped giving out duffle bags, I'd been bringing one of the many duffles I have at home with me to use for things I want to carry back and forth to the motorcoach with me. But I realized I'd forgotten to pack one for this trip. I'd mentioned it to the Guides when I talked to them that morning and they procured this adorable bag for me to use!



I do not have any photos from the welcome dinner, which is totally not like me! I *believe* it was in a restaurant in the little historic shopping area next to the Marriott, but I'm not positive. Bad me! Met up with everyone, had a lovely dinner. There was a family of three (Husband, wife & adult daughter) that looked sort of familiar, like they might have been a family that was on my Greece trip ten years before. I have to admit, I was a bit hesitant to ask, in case it wasn't them (which I know it's silly, but there you go). Spoiler - it *was* them (the daughter asked me). After dinner I then headed off to bed, ready for tomorrow's start of the Adventure!

Up Next: Day 2 - Maple Staples - Sugar Moon Farm & off to PEI!

Sayhello

 

[rebeccam31]

Day 1 of the ABD: Meet Me in the Maritimes - more around Halifax and the start of the ABD.
Sorry it's taken me so long to get to this point! I'm hoping to post more frequently now.

I was reading through my little pre-trip thread I'd done, and realized that I'd left that thread with me going to Peggy's Cove for my first full pre-day. But the tour got cancelled by the tour company a couple of weeks before my trip. I could see on their website & on Viator that they had cancelled all of their Saturday departures for the rest of the year, so my assumption was that they probably lost the tour guide who did the Saturday tours. But that's just a guess. I'd had a hard time finding a tour that would take a reservation for a solo traveler, and I'd been a bit on the fence over such a long travel day, so I took it as a sign, and rather than scramble to try and find another tour just decided to see more of Halifax. And I really enjoyed it. I did receive a full, immediate refund, which *is* one of the benefits of booking through Viator. They are very good about that.

Anyways, this day started with breakfast at the ToGo cafe at the hotel again (they really had some delicious overnight oats & pastries) and a meetup with our Adventure Guides. One of our Guides was the fabulous Kira, who I knew from last year's New Zealand ABD. There had been some confusion when I posted about this just prior to my ABD how Kira was able to Guide this trip, because Canada is very strict that only Canadian Guides can lead tours in Canada, and none of us thought Kira was Canadian. Turns out that Kira's mother is Canadian, which qualifies Kira for dual Canadian citizenship and a passport. So she's allowed to do the tour. Our other Guide was the (very Canadian!) Josh. A real sweetheart! Had a wonderful conversation with the two of them until others started showing, and then decided I needed to share them!

I headed out to revisit another place I remembered from my previous visit to Halifax 30 years ago, the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. I remembered that they had a really cool light from a lighthouse, and a lot of artifacts recovered from the Titanic. And I'd read they'd also added an exhibit about the Halifax explosion.

The lens from the Sambro lighthouse in Halifax Harbor. The lens was used there from 1905 to 1966 when it was replaced with an electrical beacon.

View attachment 923182

I started with the Titanic exhibit. It was a fascinating combination of photos and stories and actual bits and pieces recovered from the Titanic. The ships that went out to help save (and recover) the folks from the Titanic mostly came out of Halifax. Some of the artifacts were picked up as they sailed around recovering people and bodies, and others, I believe actually washed up on shore much later.

View attachment 923185

This photo taken on the deck of the Titanic, juxtaposed with a deck chair that was later recovered, is a bit sobering. According to the plaque, the two women in this photo survived, but the man with them did not. You can see deck chairs stacked on the deck behind the plaque.

View attachment 923187

A couple of pieces of the stairway railing, as shown in the photo.

View attachment 923188

A lot of the artifacts were kept for years by the sailors who recovered them, and eventually donated to the museum. It was understandably a hard task for these sailors, and folks kind of looked the other way when they held on to these objects.

The plaque here says "Keepsakes made from notable shipwrecks are an old tradition in costal communities. The crews of the Halifax ships commemorated the catastrophe by creating many "wreckwood" objects. William Parker, the ship's carpenter in Minia, made this cribbage board from a piece of oak from Titanic. (The Minia was one of the ships chartered by the White Star Line to search for bodies in the aftermath of the sinking.)

View attachment 923189

A lot of folks who died in the sinking of the Titanic were buried in Halifax. It was a fascinating and very sobering exhibit.

They also had a large exhibit of ship models. They were quite large and very beautiful.

View attachment 923190

View attachment 923191

As you can see, it was another gorgeous day, and the Museum is right on the waterfront!

View attachment 923192

Next on my list was the exhibit on the Halifax Explosion. I have been fascinated with this event since my previous trip to Nova Scotia, when I took a walking tour of Halifax that included many sites of significance to the explosion.

View attachment 923194

The Halifax Explosion occurred on the morning of December 6, 1917, when two ships, the SS Mont-Blanc and the SS Imo, collided in Halifax Harbor. Unfortunately, one the SS Mont-Blanc was a munitions ship loaded to the gills with explosives being transported from New York to France during WWI, and it caught fire and the munitions exploded. It devastated a large area of Halifax, killing and maiming thousands of people. 1600 buildings were destroyed by the explosion and fires, and debris was found miles away.

I realized I did not take many photos in this exhibit. Most of what is there is twisted metal remains of the ships and buildings. The plaques point out what the items *were* and showed examples so you could sort of see what the distorted item was.

View attachment 923196

It was winter when the Explosion happened, and the cold and snow made recovery and help difficult. Trains full of medical personnel and supplies were sent up to Halifax from Boston, which created a bond between the two cities. There are a few bits and pieces left behind these days, such as a metal pipe still left embedded in the wall of St. Paul's church. It was quite the disaster!!

Continued in next post.

Josh is engaged to my guide Jessie that I had for this trip. She’s SO lovely and spoke so highly of Josh that I knew he had to be great.

 

[sayhello]

Josh is engaged to my guide Jessie that I had for this trip. She’s SO lovely and spoke so highly of Josh that I knew he had to be great.

Yes, Josh talked a lot about Jessie, also. They're not allowed to Guide together because of their relationship, but they seem just fine with that arrangement! If I remember correctly, I believe they've purchased a home in Nova Scotia.

Sayhello

 

[rebeccam31]

Yes, Josh talked a lot about Jessie, also. They're not allowed to Guide together because of their relationship, but they seem just fine with that arrangement! If I remember correctly, I believe they've purchased a home in Nova Scotia.

Sayhello

They have indeed! They seem to have a very healthy relationship.

 

[Mikey15]

Canadian resident who loves the east coast, joining in!

Love what I’ve seen/read so far,

 

[sayhello]

Canadian resident who loves the east coast, joining in!

Love what I’ve seen/read so far,

Glad you are enjoying the report! I really love this area. More up soon!

Sayhello

 

[sayhello]

Just a little update from Day 1. Looking through the Adventure Guide's photos, I did remember that our Welcome Dinner was, indeed, in a restaurant walking distance from the Marriott on the Waterfront. I remember sitting next to one of the families (a husband & wife, grandmother, and 2 daughters.) One of the daughters currently lives in England, and her coming to join the family was a surprise for her sister. Unfortunately, her flights got delayed and messed up, and she arrived just prior to the Welcome Dinner, and was pretty jetlagged. But they were a fun family! With some Googling, I *believe* the restaurant was called Pickford & Black.

Anyways, on with today's report!

Day 2 - Maple Staples - Sugar Moon Farm & off to PEI

So we started this trip out with a not-too-early bag pull. We weren't really doing anything in Halifax at the start of this trip, as we would be returning to Halifax for a couple of days at the end of the trip, and would do things there at that time. So bags out at 8am, a buffet breakfast in the hotel restaurant starting at 6:30am and meet in the lobby at 9:20am.

We played some games on the ride out of Halifax. I believe it was a trivia game, and our team one! There were various Canada-themed items for prizes, and I got this very Canadian hat!



After about an hour and a half drive, our first stop was at Sugar Moon Farm. They manufacture maple syrup and various maple-related items. They also have an attached restaurant.

Our amazing Guides, Kira and Josh in front of Sugar Moon Farms.



Our intrepid motorcoach driver, Justin.



We started off with a tour of their maple syrup production barn, where we got a lesson on how they turn sap into maple syrup in their "tree to table" process. Man, it smelled amazing in there!



After the tour, they had some different maple syrups for us to taste, which were, of course, amazing!



We then headed into the restaurant where they had places set up for us for our brunch/very early lunch. Lunch consisted of wonderfully flaky biscuits with maple butter and then sausage, pancakes and baked beans all infused with maple. It was all delicious. Not sure what the option might have been if you didn't like maple, but I didn't hear anyone complain!





We then had time to hit the gift shop that had various sized jugs of maple syrup along with maple-themed items. I bought a maple lip balm, and I will be quite bereft when it's used up, because the flavor is really luscious, and they don't sell it online!



Once we were all done with our purchases, we headed out to where they had an area set up to show us how to make maple candy on ice. I think the idea is normally they make it on snow, but here they had a pan of ice, and they dribbled maple syrup onto the ice, and then we wrapped it around a popsicle stick as it hardened. Also very yummy! They also had our pin for the day there on the pan for us to take.



Then it was back to the motorcoach. Our next stop was in the small coastal town of Pictou, where we had a short pit stop (and also a place where we could buy some soft serve ice cream if we wanted).



Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

Pictou was very quaint & picturesque. They have an area where they are building a replica of the historical Ship Hector. The plaque gives the story behind it.



From Pictou, we then headed up to Caribou on the coast of the Northumberland Strait to catch our ferry to Prince Edward Island.

We arrived a bit early, so while our motorcoach waited in the line, we were able to get off and walk around and check out the ferry building that had a cute little gift shop.



Eventually, our ferry arrived. As it pulled up to the dock, the nose of the ship actually lifted up so that the cars, buses and trucks could just drive on.



So as we saw all the vehicles driving off the ferry, we re-boarded our motorcoach so that we could ride it onto the ferry.

Once inside, we weren't allowed to actually ride in the motorcoach, so we all got off and headed upstairs to watch the scenery and enjoy the sun and fresh air.

Ship ahoy!



As you can see on this map, our route is the shorter one from Caribou to Wood Islands.





I will warn you. If it's sunny when you take the ferry and you want to be outside, definitely bring some sunscreen! Although it doesn't look like it, the sun was pretty intense on the deck! Fortunately, someone else had brought some and happily shared!



It was an *extremely* calm crossing. No problems with any sort of sea sickness whatsoever.

After an hour and fifteen minutes, we approached our destination - Prince Edward Island (PEI)!! I loved this little lighthouse!



Below is a shot of our ferry as we drove away. Unfortunately, a couple of weeks after this, our ferry, the MV Confederation, had a mechanical failure and hit the wharf, punching a hole in its side that had it out of service for over 3 months. The really unfortunate part is that the only other ferry they have was undergoing repairs that took way longer than they should have, so the island was without ferry service for all that time. (There is a bridge you can drive to get back & forth, but if you're not going to the western part of the island, it's not as convenient.) I assume if this had happened while ABD was still running trips that they would have just taken the bridge, but it definitely would have required some serious re-arranging of that day. Which would really have been a shame if it included skipping the next activity - our time at the very cute lighthouse we'd seen from the ferry!





Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

We spent a little more than an hour at the Wood Islands Lightstation. It was in a beautiful setting! After a brief introduction to the site from the local docent, we were free to spend the time going through the cute museum in the Lighthouse building, taking turns climbing up to the top of the lighthouse to see the view and have a photo op taken by Josh, taking photos of the surrounding flora and doing some craft activities (they had kites you could color and fly and/or wonderful bubbles you could blow).









Climbing up to the top of the lighthouse (it was much steeper than it looks, with very shallow treads!)



The view from the top. I'm not sure what the purpose of the smaller building originally was, but they'd turned it into a snack bar.





A cool little model they had of the lighthouse.



Folks outside, making kites & blowing bubbles.





Continued in next post.

 

[sayhello]

It was really just a fun, laid-back, pretty care-free time at the lighthouse, and very enjoyable.

After we finished up there, it was back to our motorcoach, and off to our hotel for the next two nights, the Rodd Crowbush Golf & Beach Resort.

The Rodd Crowbush was a bit of an odd hotel. It was definitely on the older side and had some quirks, but it wasn't too bad. It's the #3 Best Hotel on Prince Edward Island according to Trip Advisor, so I'm assuming it's one of those cases of it being the best that's available in the area we wanted to be in.





This night is normally the Junior Adventurer night, but since this was an Adults Only trip, they didn't have that, but we could show up at our leisure and have dinner at the hotel restaurant (included). The service was *AWFUL*!! We ended up waiting like an hour and a half to get our food. The food wasn't bad, but it was mostly cold by the time we got it (at almost 9pm!) It was definitely an odd experience. We let the guides know about it. I may have gotten it backwards, but apparently, somehow wires got crossed, and they thought we were all coming together at a set time, and were waiting for everyone and just not prepared. It honestly doesn't make sense, as they'd been running this trip all summer, but who knows! Hopefully they'll have this all worked out by next year!



While we were waiting to be served, I did get a couple of nice shots of the golf course leading down to the beach area from the restaurant.





Up next, a day I was really looking forward to: Day 3: Kindred Spirits - around PEI and the world of Anne of Green Gables.

 

[DollyM]

Thanks for doing a trip report. This is the second time I've recognized people from one of my ABDs on yours. I keep expecting to see people from earlier adventures on mine, but so far I haven't.

 

[sayhello]

Thanks for doing a trip report. This is the second time I've recognized people from one of my ABDs on yours. I keep expecting to see people from earlier adventures on mine, but so far I haven't.

You're welcome. Now I wonder who you recognized! I've seen people from previous ABDs a few times (I'd have to count, but I think it's 3 or 4), but not too many. It's definitely the exception and not the rule!

Sayhello

 

[DollyM]

You're welcome. Now I wonder who you recognized! I've seen people from previous ABDs a few times (I'd have to count, but I think it's 3 or 4), but not too many. It's definitely the exception and not the rule!

Sayhello

It was the woman in the gray Nike t-shirt and her husband to her right in the group picture in front of the lighthouse. They were traveling with another couple on my August 2022 Wyoming ABD. I think I also see the other couple in the picture near them on her left.

 

[sayhello]

It was the woman in the gray Nike t-shirt and her husband to her right in the group picture in front of the lighthouse. They were traveling with another couple on my August 2022 Wyoming ABD. I think I also see the other couple in the picture near them on her left.

Yes, they were traveling with another couple on this trip, also.

Sayhello

 

[StephPlum]

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.