Acadian Coast

Thurston Campground, Upper Clyde River, Nova Scotia

We had quite the leisure morning since our ferry from St. John's New Brunswick to Digby, Nova Scotia didn't leave until noon. It was quite the swanky ferry too! Complete with wifi, movies, lounges and a Starbuck's cafe. What I liked best is that it was more of a floating museum with all kinds of interesting exhibits about Nova Scotia. There was a concierge on board who had more knowledge of Nova Scotia than I thought was humanly possible to retain. She loaded us up with maps, books, information on all the coves and nooks and crannies of Nova Scotia.

We crossed the Bay of Fundy which is famous for their incredible tides. It has the highest tide in the world, reaching over 50 feet! Every 6.5 hours or so the tide shifts.
Try navigating those waters! Also about 4 different species of whales live in this area. In fact, if you sign up for a whale tour you are guaranteed a whale sighting. As one person told us, "they love to show off, you will definitely see them."

By the time we disembarked in Digby it was close to 3 pm. We decided to drive route 3 which is the slowpoke drive down the Acadian coast through all the "towns." In reality the towns on the map were just groupings of houses clustered together near the sea. This area is beautifully stark and the houses in this area all have the same utilitarian hard scrabble look. Many homes were also proudly flying the Acadian flag.
There are no or very, very few shops, restaurants or services along this stretch.

Once we reached Yarmouth, the terrain definitely changed. Now, instead of a relatively straight coastline with the road hugging the sea, there were tons of long craggy inlets, much like the coast of Maine. We choose one finger to go down and it seemed very remote. The city of Yarmouth was pretty small, seeming like just a couple of blocks long. Again, it had a fishing, utilitarian look, nothing of the quaint look about it.

I planned on us staying at The Islands Provincial Park near Shelbourne. In reading some of the literature that the ferry concierge gave us I noticed that it didn't open until June 13th. oops. Time to try and find a campground after 7 pm. We have no cell and no internet, just the maps and literature to rely on. Reminds me of the days when we first started roadtripping. I located a private campground on the Upper Clyde River, "where the river meets the sea." Ned and I got kind of a kick out of this since every mile or so has a river that meets the sea. We pulled into the campground and as expected it's pretty much a dirt parking lot next to the river. It has showers, a flush toilet and good enough to call home for the night.

We were starving and the owner, Tanya, recommended a restaurant called "Anchors Away" that was just a few kilometers down the road. It also happens to be their opening night. Okay, we'll bite. (p.s. they have wifi which is allowing me to quickly write this blog and post it before heading back to the campsite). The restaurant is so local and very Acadian authentic. Our waitress, who is a delightful Acadian woman, was so patient with us explaining some of the local dishes. Ned had the Rappie pie with molasses, butter and brown bed and I had haddock fish cakes with chow-chow.
The rappie pie is basically a potato starch (grated potatoes that have the liquid squeezed out), layered with chicken then baked for 2.5 hours. Ned said it tasted like chicken pot pie, I thought it just tasted like potatoes. My fish cakes tasted like potato pancakes, (not a big fan) but I loved the chow-chow, which is pickled onion relish.
Everyone in this restaurant are locals and they are all greeted by name as they enter.
Some of the locals asked me where we were from, they said with my tan I didn't look like I was from around here. Haha. The folks here are just so friendly. One couple just invited us to come by their house and see the boat they were building, with their grandsons. "We're just ten minutes down the road." I've included a picture of Ned with our Acadian waitress, Nancy. Adorable.