First of all a huge thank you to each of you who wrote your ideas for our trip...we had all the notes from the forum with us. The Super 8 Motel in Bangor was exactly what we had hoped for: clean, decent, friendly, close to the airport, and inexpensive. It was a stroke of luck ( because of the Canadian Thanksgiving) that we also made reservations there for our last night before flying home. Every room in Bangor was filled with people shopping in Maine to avoid the tax in Canada.
A few observations from us USA folks: there were few road signs (eg. "a curve ahead") and when there was, we knew to expect a "S" curve or a hairpin curve...we saw 2 police cars our whole trip: one parked in town and the other driving...no whales, no roadside billboards, and no fresh lobster: the season had ended. "Esso" gas stations, and many, many old toilets sitting on the roadside on Rt. 2 between Parrsboro and Truro, we figured there was a special pick-up for household items.
The places we stayed: Bar Harbor Motel, The Homeport Inn (B&B) in Lubec, Me, The Maple Leaf Inn B&B in Parrsboro, the Ashlea House B&B in Lunenburg, the Sea Winds Motel in Digby. We would highly recommend all of them with the exception of the Sea Winds: it was just ok, and there were many others that we'd have preferred.
Where we ate: The Chart Room in Bar Harbor, the Bare Bones in Parrsboro, Trattoria's in Lunenburg, the Fundy Restaurant in Digby...all were delicious.
We planned each day when we woke, and realized very quickly what you all had been telling us: we would only have time for a piece of NS. We were blown away with the beauty everywhere we went.
Our highlights: The breathtaking beauty from the top of Cadillac Mountain at the Acadia State Park in Maine... a huge antenna farm near Aulac, NB, with a Rhombic Antenna, other antennas, 7-8 towers, each 300-4-- ft high, etc. (Joe is a ham radio operator and was fascinated with the "farm")....the grounded work boats when the tide was out...Cape D'or and the view from the top....the moose crossing signs...adjusting to metric measurements with distance signs and speed limit signs...Halifax Harbour...the tides swirling in and out at several places with the "pink" and sometimes rust color water...Fort Anne in Annapolis Royal...the Pumpkin People dressed for the season...((we had been told of the 9:30pm tour of the graveyard at Fort Anne and missed it since it doesn't happen on Fridays, Saturdays, or Mondays))...our favorite picturesque town: Lunenburg. A picture from the Golf Club there is worth 1000 words....the magnificent Anglegan Church that burned in 2001 and was rebuilt ... the Indoor Market Place in St. John, NB.
We throughly enjoyed our week, and, as you were all telling us, we could easily have stayed a month to begin to see it all. The leaf color was beginning to peak on our last day there. We became informed of some of the history of NS at Fort Anne. People everywhere were friendly and helpful.
Thanks to each of you who gave us input.
Joe and Cathy