Places We Visited in Maritimes

We travelled quite a bit on our drive through the East Coast of Canada. In total we drove more than 1800 kilometers. There are many places worth seeing in Maritimes, but here is the list of all places we visited on our trip:

1. Halifax, Nova Scotia
2. Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia
3. Saint John, New Brunswick
4. Hopewell Rocks National Park, New Brunswick (drive through only)
5. Charlottetown, Price Edward Island
6. Brackley Beach inside PEI Provincial Park, Price Edward Island (drive through only)
7. New Glasgow, Nova Scotia
8. Mabou, Nova Scotia (drive through only)
9. Cheticamp, Nova Scotia
10. Cape Bretton National Park, Nova Scotia (drive through only)
11. Baddeck, Nova Scotia

Day Nine - Coming Home

Today is the day we return home to Toronto. After a spectacular last night in Halifax we slept in and enjoyed breakfast at the hotel. Soon after a check out and right before we had to return the vehicle we took a final stroll through the streets of Halifax.

We went to the Alexander Keith's Brewery. The tour of the brewery included a reinacment of 1800's lifestyle at the brewery complete with pints of freshly brewed beer. After aenjoying a few pints we headed to the boardwalk where a hit a glimpse of Busker Festival that's held this weekend in Halifax.

At 2:30 we returned our "East Coast Mobile" to the rental place which officially ended our journey through the Maritimes. We took the bus to the airport and then it was time to come home.

Quirky Things We Learned About Each Other On This Trip

As we travel through the Maritimes we discovered a few new things about each other.

1. Andrey puts milk into his coffee before sugar or even coffee.

2. Alex and Andrey are very organized.

3. Katia and Alex take care of finances at home.

4. Andrey and Sveta love sweets while Katia and Alex don't care for sweet stuff but love salty treats.

5. Andrey and Alex dress the same without coordinating with each other.

Trip Highlights

As we travelled through the Maritimes we saw many different places and experienced many different things. However, we will always remember those little things and inside jokes that will make us smile.

1. Booster Juice!!!! - Sveta was super excited when she saw Buster Juice at the Halifx airport.

2. That's a real bird...!!! - Sveta proclaimed when she saw a raven sitting on the wall of the Citadel
in Halifax.

3. There are no signs on this road!!! - Andrey screamed while we were driving along a really scary road to Annapolis while it was raining.

4. Chto eto takoe zelenae?! - Asked Katia immediately after Alex finished explaining that the green stuff inside the lobster was its liver that was considered by many a delicacy.

5. Get to the choppah (schwarzneger accent) - for some reason we all kept saying it throughout the trip...

6. Take it, it's yours!!! - gesture and phrase from Troy we all applied randomly through out the trip.

Day Eight - Completing The Circle

Today was our last full day of the trip, so we wanted to make sure that we make the most of it. We woke up early, had a quick bite for breakfast and hurried to make it to the boat tour of a little bird island off the coat of Cape Breton.

This bird island is famous for its birds and various wild life living/nesting there. Puffins - small rare bird species- are a main attraction. However, we also got to see bald eagles, gulls, seals and many other interesting bird species. The trip was lovely and we all enjoyed sunny weather.

After the boat tour we went to the Bell Museum where we got to learn more about famous Canadian inventor. Our next destination was Halifax, which was about 3 hours away from Baddeck, and so we drove straight there while enjoying beautiful scenery of Northern Nova Scotia.

When we arrived to Halifax we took a strall through the city streets and dined at the same harbor where we ate when we first arrived to Halifax. We also enjoyed fireworks dedicated to the festival celebrated in Halifax today - what a perfect conclusion to our trip.

INFO ABOUT DRIVER(S):

Andrey was our driver for the day and he did an outstanding job driving through the scenic route of Northern Nova Scotia. Alex drove in Halifax.

Superheroes of the East Coast

As we travel through the East Coast of Canada we discovered that each one of us has a special power that makes us all superheroes.

We came up with the following names and descriptions of super powers for each one of us:

Andrey - Wisdom Wizard
Andrey is a Wisdom Wizard because he knows a lot of facts about our destinations. He always has an answer to our questions.

Katia - Zoom Archer
Katerina has the power to eternalize our memories for the generations ahead with her handy photo camera.

Alex - Eagle Eye
Alex ensures safe journey and foresees future obstacles on our trip by making sure our reservations, bookings and appointments are in order.

Sveta - Moon Singer
Sveta eternalizes our trip memories in writing every day at night by blogging.

Day Seven - Off The Grid

We woke up early to amazing warm weather. The ocean at our doorstep looked even more magnificent. We had a quick breakfast and drove directly to Cape Breton National Park, which is by far the most stunning place we have seen on our trip. Today turned out to be the best day of our vacation and here is why.

We booked a boat tour for whale watching in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The boat went out into the open water about 20 km away from the shore. We didn't see whales for about an hour or so and were ready to turn around and leave, but then we suddenly saw a family of about 10 whales right beside our boat. We saw Pilot whales up close and were able to take some amazing photos. That was a very interesting experience, we all loved it.

After the tour we had a picnic right on the cliff overlooking the ocean. What a great view!!! After a tasty lunch we drove around the park and went to the beach.

On our way to the beach we made a stop at a hiking trail. We took this scenic route on foot and saw a small waterfall hidden in a valley in the middle of a dense forest. After this little detour we carried on with the trip to the beach.

The beach was located at Ingonish Bay and was situated directly on the Atlantic ocean. Clear sand and warm water were a perfect recipe for a swim. This time all four of us swam in the Atlantic ocean!

We felt like we were in a Canadian paradise. The nature was magnificent, the weather was spectacular and none of us had cellphone reception! Cut off from the outside world we drove through the park's curvy roads.

Once the sun began to descend we drove to our next destination - the village of Baddeck - where we would spend the night.

INFORMATION ABOUT THE DRIVER (S):

Andrey was the capital of our "East Coast Mobile" today. He drove the car while alex helped him with the directions.