Annapolis Royal, Nova ScotiaJul 23, 2012
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Arriving at the Hockey Museum
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Windsor Hockey team
| Departing St. John for Nova Scotia on July 17 we did not have an overnight destination. We weren’t due at By the Bay B&B near Peggy’s Cove until the following day. This was unusual for us since I am a man of advanced reservations. I don’t like to be caught driving late at night looking for lodging or ending up in an undesirable venue. Once, years ago, I remember driving virtually all night in Oregon without finding a vacancy. We were headed to Windsor, the birthplace of ice hockey and a small museum commemorating the event. I figured we would find decent lodging somewhere in the vicinity. Using the address in the AAA Tour Book and our GPS we arrived before lunch only to learn that the museum had moved. A local pointed us in the correct direction to the Haliburton House, the estate and museum of Judge Thomas C. Haliburton, Canada’s first internationally acclaimed author. While Lynda heard about Judge Haliburton I combed the hockey displays including hockey sticks carved by Mi’kmaq Indians, wooden pucks cut from tree branches, early hockey nets, and skates that clamped to boot and shoe bottoms. There were lots of memorabilia from Nova Scotia hockey clubs and some from the NHL. Not far from Windsor were Wolfville, home of the Acadia University and Grand Pre’ and it’s National Historic Site, an interpretive center celebrating 400 years of Acadian culture. We instead decided to drive on to Annapolis Royal farther down the north coast that was on our “to see” list. Arriving in mid-afternoon we drove the L-shaped St. George Street through the center of town. The town is located along the Annapolis River that feeds into the Bay of Fundy. Coming into town we passed several interesting looking B&Bs. After our initial pass we decided to try the Bread and Roses B&B about a block and a half from the commercial section along the riverfront. Lynda went in to determine availability and rates. Happily we were offered a first-floor room with ensuite bathroom and elegant furnishings for $119CA. After settling in James, our host oriented us on things to see and do, and places to eat. One highly recommended activity was the “Ghost Tour” of the old cemetery at 9:30PM conducted by a local historian with all carrying lanterns among the graves of people interred there for as long as 300 years. This was Lynda’s kind of activity, not mine. She decided it was too late for her this day. Beside that for me I was wary of mosquitoes and I don’t believe in ghosts. That’s the truth! For dinner James recommended the Café Compose’ overlooking the river. We both selected the scallops which were perfectly prepared with excellent accompaniments including the best spaetzle I’ve had in a long while. Although we were not in a dessert mood we asked to check the menu. Aha! The Austrian owner /Chef had prepared a Sacher Tort, the classic Viennese dessert made famous at the Sacher Hotel. We couldn’t refuse to try it for nostalgic reasons, our wonderful visit to Vienna in 2004. We split one serving and, subject to a memory lapse, believed it to be superior to the one we had at the Sacher Hotel. The next morning after breakfast we walked the grounds of Fort Anne, Nova Scotia’s capital until 1749. Then we followed the local map of historic buildings, went to the Farmer’s Market, and browsed several shops along St. George Street. Before departing for our B&B on Nova Scotia’s south coast we had a lunch of sorts at a German Bakery – apple strudel and ice cream. It was in lieu of dessert at dinner that evening. “Eat dessert first, life is short” – or made shorter if you do that maybe? We found Annapolis Royal a lovely spot and could easily have spent a few days. It is not (or was while we were there) a hubbub of activity. Rather it is an idyllic setting with lovely old buildings and friendly people where one can unwind. I’d call it a sort of natural valium. From Annapolis Royal we drove south on Hwy. 8 to our next stopping point, the By the Bay B&B on Peggy’s Cove Road in Glen Margaret, about 45 minutes southwest of Halifax. We will be there a week seeing the sights in the area, meeting Rick and Deb’s cruise ship on the 24th, and preparing for the next phase of our journey. I’ll write about that in a few days. |
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