Wife and I recently returned from an eight-day road trip, revisiting some places that we’ve previously enjoyed . While it’s said that you can never go back, all of these locations were on our “let’s go back someday” list, so we gave it a try.

Our first stop was over in Maine, at Acadia National Park. We lived near there for several years not too long ago, and made many trips into the park, and into Bar Harbor. This was a one day trip. I planned to hike up Dorr Mountain, and Wife was going to spend time visiting some of the shops in town. This is probably the best time to visit Acadia, after Labor Day but before the invasion of the leaf peepers.

After Wife checked out the stores and picked me up from my walk, I learned that nothing much had changed in Bar Harbor, except now it costs a minimum of $4 to park at the street meters. Parking has always been at a premium in the small downtown area, and now we get to pay premium prices. She said all of the “secret squirrel” spots we used in the past are no longer available, and it was as crowded as it ever was. There were two cruise ships in the harbor that day.

We cruised around the park a little, enjoying a picnic lunch at Seawall, and then stopped at the Visitor Center. From there we made a trip to the rocky shoreline, including a visit to the famous Thunder Hole, which wasn’t thundering much while we were there.

Dinner was at The Chart Room in Hull’s Cove. I remembered it (correctly) as a reliable place to get a decent meal, albeit somewhat of a tourist trap. What isn’t on Mount Desert Island? 

The next day was a Friday, and we used most of it traveling to our next destination, Halifax, Nova Scotia. It was a seven-hour drive, mostly along highways NB1 and the Trans-Canada after crossing the border from Calais, Maine.

When crossing the border, I had an interesting conversation with the Canadian border agent. When I replied in the negative to the standard “Do you have any guns, knives, marijuana or nuclear weapons with you”, he asked if I “carried” back home. I was non-committal with my answer, wanting to keep the crossing as smooth and low key as possible. Then the agent said: “I’d carry if I could, but I can’t because Canada”. 

I’m still wondering what prompted that comment.

We arrived without incident at the Best Western Plus Chocolate Lake Hotel in Halifax, where we’d spend the next two nights while revisiting the city. Normally I don’t plug hotels, but I’ll make an exception here. Despite the gawd-awful parking around the building, it turned out to be a great stay. After checking in we had a light dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, which was good.

Mid-morning on Saturday we drove the 3 miles to the Halifax waterfront. Some of the neighborhoods we drove through were quite nice, reminiscent of the better neighborhoods in Portland, ME back when I lived there before the turn of the century. But as we approached the Citadel and descended down towards the harbor, things became seedier, and a bit ragged around the edges.

The last time we were here was at least 11 or 12 years ago, and both Wife and I recalled a much more vibrant and clean environment. Not so much anymore. Seemingly each street corner was occupied by a panhandler, and many buildings looked in need of repairs, or at least a good cleaning and painting. Many signs looked faded and worn.

Our first planned stop of the day was the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. This is a fabulous museum, with informative displays covering the seafaring history of the North Atlantic from colonial times through present day. The Titanic exhibit was excellent, as was the presentation of the Halifax Explosion of 1917, which leveled parts of the city. There were exceptional models of many famous vessels. We both enjoyed the time spent there- well worth the visit!

We wandered around Lower & Upper Water Streets for a time, checking out the waterfront boardwalk and some of the harbor sights. We then decided to take a recommendation that came our way the previous evening and explore Peggy’s Cove, about 25 miles southwest of Halifax.

The ride to Peggy’s Cove didn’t take too long once clear of the city. The road reminded me of old Route 6 on Cape Cod back in the day. When we arrived, it turned out to be a typical seaside tourist venue, but in miniature- it’s a very compact area. The highlight of the area is a lighthouse surrounded by some of the smoothest granite I’ve ever seen. There was a large parking lot for visitors, one restaurant and six tour buses from Viking Cruises. It was crowded.

After checking out the lighthouse and surroundings, we walked down the lone street where we found a street vendor. Being lunchtime or thereabouts, Wife & I each had a hot dog and watched the antics of the gulls swooping around. Then it was time to go!

On the advice of a local we spoke with, on the return trip we stopped at Terrence Cove. This is the site of a memorial to the many that died when the S.S. Atlantic sank nearby in 1873. The story is worth knowing, as is a visit to the overgrown cemeteries near the monument.

We arrived back at the hotel in time to enjoy watching a wedding from our room overlooking Chocolate Lake. Apparently this lake was formed from an old quarry. We saw many people swimming in it. We did not.

As our final Halifax adventure we drove back into town that evening for dinner at The Old Triangle, a well-rated Irish pub featuring Irish cuisine (I know, those two words look weird together). The food was good, the service great and the Smithwick’s cold. We had a great time.

Sunday dawned cloudy and somewhat gloomy, as it is wont to do on the coast. Our plans for this day were to travel up to Cape Breton Island. We decided to go downeast on “Trunk 7” towards Sherbrooke and then Port Hawkesbury, the first town you come to when crossing into CBI. Our destination for the evening was Whycocomagh.

As we traveled out of the Halifax metro area and into very rural territory, the weather started to clear. It was shaping up to be another fine day. Our first stop was at the Prince Alfred Arch in Tangier. Prince Alfred was the second son of Queen Victoria, and paid a visit in 1861.

From there it was on to Sheet Harbor, where we stopped for supplies at a local grocery store. We continued down the coast to Sherbrooke, where we turned to the north towards CBI. But not before stopping for a roadside lunch at the Sherbrooke Picnic Park on that river. It was right across from the St. Mary’s River Association Museum, which, unfortunately, was closed. The scenery was excellent.

We followed the St. Mary’s for a time. By now the day had become bright and clear, and very warm- in the 70s. Not bad for late September in the Maritimes. We made a final stop at Pomquet Beach before pressing on to Port Hawkesbury. There were folks swimming in the 60°F water. We did not swim here, either.

Arriving in Whycocomagh around dinner time, we checked into an older, but nicely maintained motel overlooking one of the many bays of Bras d’Or Lake. Then it was time for dinner, and there was no need to discuss where we would be going. If in Whycocomagh, the only place to consider eating is at Charlene’s Family Restaurant. It is where the best seafood chowder on the planet is made- full stop! My personal discovery of Charlene’s dates back a decade or so ago, and finally had the opportunity to return. The chowder was still fantastic.

The next morning arrived yet again with clear skies and bright sun, but according to forecasts wasn’t destined to remain that way. Rain was expected. Wife and I didn’t let that affect our plans for the day, as she wanted to visit a museum and a shop in Cheticamp while I walked the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton National Park. We gassed up the car and headed towards the park entrance, about 90 minutes away.

Arriving at the park mid-morning we made a quick stop at the Visitor Center to pay the nominal entry fee. Then Wife deposited me at the trailhead. She went back to Cheticamp for the museum and shopping. I walked the trail- it was brilliant. There was no rain until a light shower appeared just as I was completing the hike. A link to that video is at the end of this post.

Once I was successfully retrieved, we stopped at a roadside picnic area within the park for a quick lunch before continuing around the park’s peninsula towards Ingonish Beach, where we’d be spending that night. I’d chosen the picnic area poorly, as the mosquitos were quite fierce. They drove us back into the car where we finished our lunch. Then it was off on the Cabot Trail, which is the name of the road traveling the circumference of the park.

Being the end of the season, the traffic was light. We took our time on the road, and stopped at several turnouts and overlooks to take in the sights. We arrived at Ingonish Beach around 4PM and checked in at the Skyline Cabins, another place we found deserving of a plug. These cabins were exceptionally well-done and we enjoyed our stay. They’re located conveniently near a grocery store, a good restaurant and this:

The next morning, Tuesday, was again  bright and sunny. We certainly hit the jackpot for good weather on this trip. Our plan for that day was to reverse course and again drive through the park on the Cabot Trail as we began to track homewards. Almost immediately we stopped at Green Cove to walk a very short trail out on the rocks. 0.1 miles long! I’m glad we did, as we got a really good view of sea lions lounging about not far away.

Then it was back on the road. I filmed this traverse, and at some point will post a video of the drive. It’s extremely scenic. We stopped here and there to take in the views, but didn’t dawdle too much. Home was a long way off.

I conveniently engineered the day’s journey to have us back in Whycocomagh around lunchtime, and yes, we revisited Charlene’s. More seafood chowder for me, and fish & chips for she. The perfect final meal in Cape Breton. Then it was time to continue rolling for home.

The rest of the trip was simply about getting home. We stopped Tuesday night in Sussex, near St. John, and the following day completed the trip home across New England on a very warm Wednesday, completing our eight-day journey.

This was a fine trip, revisiting a few places we’d enjoyed in the past. Bar Harbor and Acadia were exactly as expected- more crowded, more touristy and more expensive, but still beautiful. Halifax was disappointing, but we enjoyed incredible sights along the coast that we’d missed on previous trips. As for Cape Breton Island, that was fantastic. It’s a long ways from here, but I think it’s well worth the trip.

To close out this long post, my conclusion is you can “go back”, but don’t expect anything to be the same. Some places will change for the better and some for the worse, while many will fall somewhere in between. And our perspective alters, for we change as well.

I hope you enjoyed reading this, and thanks for stopping by!

Here are the videos of my hike of Dorr Mountain in Acadia National Park and the Skyline Trail in Cape Breton National Park: