My Delta First Class Flight Attendant welcomed me on board the aircraft with some prosecco as I settled into my flight for YYZ (Toronto Pierson International Airport).
Delta also allows First Class Passengers to select their meals prior to the flight.
I chose the grilled chicken salad for my lunch. The dessert looks like an ice cream bar, but it is actually a cake bar. LOL.
I was pretty impressed with Delta's First Class service compared to our other domestic carriers. I enjoyed both the "Pop Corn" chipsand the French style chocolate cookies during their premium snack service after lunch.
We rented a fully loaded Escape SUV for the trip in Halifax. It was equiped with navigation which helped since the roaming cellular service with Verizon was a little spotty at times.
Canada seems to run on Tim Horton's instead of Dunkin. LOL. I love the Timbits which are the donut holes that Tim Horton has. Blueberry is my favorite flavor.
Our first stop in New Brunswick was the Hopewell Rocks National Park. This place is a great location to witness the world's highest tides. Here are the stairs going down to the beach which is covered by water at high tide.
These rocks called the Flower Pot Rocks can be reached by foot during low tide. The tidal variations are that great in this area.
One can see how water is already blocking one of the stairs back up to the top from the beach area.
After touring Hopewell Rocks National Park, we found a great little restaurant to have a local Bay of Fundy lobster roll!
Our next stop was the Carleton Martello Tower in Saint John, which is the capital of New Brunswick. This tower was built in the 1800s as a way to defend the city from us Americans during the War of 1812. It was not finished until after the war however. LOL.
Here is a good view of Saint John and the harbor from the tower. Saint John has a great harbor that does not freeze so it was very important to Canada to get goods in and out of the colony in the 1800s.
There was a museum at the tower which featured artifacts from the 1800s including these early versions of 3D glasses!
The King's Square in Saint John. This part of town is called Up Town. This square was built as a public square during the colonial times, and they updated it with flowers and other plants later on.
The Loyalist Burial Grounds next to King's Square is where the British Loyalists are buried. These people fled the US after the Revolutionary War and settled in this area of New Brunswick.
The Reversing Falls in Saint John is where the Saint John River flows into the Bay of Fundy, but because of the tidal variations, the current changes direction during high tide to flow back into the river.
The Reversing Falls Restaurant has a Sky Walk on the roof which overlooks the area.
I was a little freaked out going on the Sky Walk since the waters below were churning so much and had whirlpools too. LOL.
We enjoyed a great seafood dinner at the Reversing Falls Restaurant.
The lobster bisque and Prince Edward Island Oyster was a great starter to my meal.
I had the fresh Haddock dinner for my main course.
The next day, we went to St. Andrews by The Sea. This is the old blockhouse there which was a coastal fortress.
The tidal variations in the Bay of Fundy can be seen well here. This is the area at low tide.
I was able to walk on the sea floor during low tide. The tidal variations can be upwards of 20-30 feet!
This is the lighthouse in St. Andrews.
This is an old historic Loyalist Church. Anglicans worship here even today.
HRH Prince Charles visited this church back in 1983.
I am sitting where HRH Prince Charles sat. Call me Prince Anirban :)
We went back to the Reversing Falls Sky Walk after St. Andrews so we could see the current flowing back into the river from the Bay of Fundy. It was pretty neat!
The Loyalist House is a good example of what a wealthy resident of Saint John would have. The Colonial Architecture features symmetrical elements.
The inside of the home which was built in the early 1800s had lots of furniture pieces from back then.
The only source of heat back then was the fireplace. I could not imagine how cold the homes must have been during the brutal Saint John winters!
This is how the lady of the house would keep clean back then. There was no indoor plumbing back then so a person would use the basin and have water in a pitcher. The bidet would help a woman keep clean also.
The Saint John Market is a must visit attraction also. I got some good maple sugar candy there for my wife.
Prince Street in Saint John has lots of historic homes which were turned into restaurants and shops. It is a popular hang out spot.
The town of St. Martins is just north of Saint John. I loved the covered bridges they had in the town.
This covered bridge was not OK to drive on anymore, but we were able to walk inside it.
While walking around St. Martins, we smelled some delicious waffle cones baking so we had to stop in the Octopus Ice Cream shop to get some ice cream!
The St. Martins area was so peaceful.
The lobster traps are stored out here.
The beach at St. Martins was really calm.
The sea caves in St. Martins were caused by the variations in the tides which eroded the rock. The cave is accesible by foot during low tide.
The next day, we drove to Prince Edward Island from Moncton, New Brunswick. Our drive took us along the Acadian Coast of New Brunswick where a lot of French speaking Canadians live.
The Confenderation Bridge connects New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island. It took us about 10 minutes to cross the Northumberland Strait to get to the island.
We took a scenic coastal drive that took us past old churches like this one.
We also saw lots of dairy farms and agriculture on the island which is often times called the Garden of the Gulf since it is relatively green compared to the barren lands of Labrador and Northern Quebec.
The coastal viewpoints on the island were really peaceful.
We visited the birthplace of Lucy Maud Montgomery, a famous author who wrote Anne Of Green Gables.
The inside of the house was like something out of a movie. That old stove warmed the house, was used for cooking, and even heated the iron.
We stopped for lunch at Chez Yvonne and had these delicious steamed Prince Edward Island Mussels. They are known for both oysters and mussels on the island.
Our next stop was The Green Gables Park which was the inspiration for the book, Anne Of Green Gables.
This is the actual "Green Gables" house.
I am standing by the old horse drawn carriage here.
Since I was in Canada, I had to have a Beavertail which is a wheat pastry with various toppings. I chose the Nutella one.
We took a scenic drive on the Prince Edward Island National Park road after the Green Gables Park. This rock with the hole in it was cool.
We headed to the capital city of Charlottetown next. This is the old Provinical House where the Articles of Confederation were signed . This document created the Dominion of Canada and united Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a confederation.
These are some historic row homes built in the 1800s in Charlottetown.
Victoria Row in Charlottetown has some nice restaurants and shops. It is a fun place to hang out in the warmer months.
The Cow's Creamery is a famous ice cream brand and shops throughout Prince Edward Island and the Atlantic Provinces too. The ice cream was good, but it was not my all time best ice cream choice!
This is a sign near the Charlottetown Wharf.
The Charlottetown waterfront was really scenic and peaceful.
This is an old canon at Victoria Park along the waterfront in Charlottetown. It stood guard against enemies back in the old days.
We stayed at the new Hampton Inn in Charlottetown which was the first Hilton property on the island. They treated me well as a Diamond guest. These are some salt water taffy and Canadian candy.
I decided to have a full lobster dinner in Charlottetown at Merchantman.
We drove back to Nova Scotia the next day after crossing over the Confederation Bridge again. They charge a toll of around $47 (Canadian) to cross back into New Brunswick from the island.
We crossed the MacDonald Toll Bridge from Dartmath into Halifax.
Our first stop in Halifax was the old Citadel which was a naval fortress built by the British to defend the city. The "guard" is wearing a Scottish regiment uniform since they were the original soldiers stationed here.
The citadel had these cool ship's masts.
Here is a view of the main barrack house from the walls of the citadel.
This is a look out area in the manmade hill from the citadel walls to see if any enemies were attacking.
Here is an old gun that helped defend the fortress.
I thought this was really neat. There were chimneys coming out of the hillside. The hillside was dirt on the walls which had rooms underneath.
We saw a firearms demonstration also. This guy fired blanks however.
I am in one of the rooms that stored gun powder in the citadel.
They actually had projectors back in the days before electricity! These slides were shown using a projector that had candles as the light source to project the image on a screen. I saw this in the citadel school house.
The citadel hires high school and college students during the summer months to do the historical reenactments at the citadel.
This is the Province House of Nova Scotia where the assembly meets to make laws.
Here is a meeting room inside the Province House. The chairs at the top are reserved for members of the royal family if they visit Canada.
This is the Government House of Nova Scotia. The Lt. Governor resides here. HM Queen Elizabeth appoints the Lt. Governor to represent her in the province. Her symbols are on the blue guard stands.
We went to Peggy's Cove next which is famous for these rock formations and the light house.
Peggy's Cove was very relaxing. It is the most popular tourist destination in Nova Scotia.
I could not resist taking a seat on a chair and taking in the views of the coast in Peggy's Cove.
We went to the Historic Properties in Halifax after we got back from Peggy's Cove which was about 40-50 minutes south of Halifax on the Atlantic Coast.
We had dinner at a seafood restaurant on the wharf area. I ordered the yellowtail tuna served rare with lobster and crab risotto.
Downtown Halifax was really safe and cool at night. This is the City Hall.
We decided to check out Gahan House which is a brewery based out of Prince Edward Island, but they had a location in Halifax too.
Halifax is known for craft breweries. Gahan House was founded by Irish immigrants in the 1800s. I was impressed with their beers.
I decided to have the strawberry ale at Gahan House.
Delta emailed me a few days before the return flight so I could pick my dinner selection for the first class meal service from Toronto to Salt Lake City.
We grabbed a snack in the Plaza Premium Lounge at Toronto Pierson International Airport before our flight back to the US. I had access as a Priority Pass Select member.
I settled into my first class seat after boarding the Boeing 737-800.
I went with the Asian style beef ribs for my dinner. They served us ice cream on this flight.
I took this picture of the sky over Salt Lake City as we were landing. I was sitting in the first row so I got a great view without the wings obstructing my image.
The Canadian
Maritimes have fascinated me for sometime now so I decided to plan a
trip out there for the week of Labor Day in 2019. When I was a
little kid, I remember how I would pronounce Nova Scotia "Nova Scott
Tea A." LOL. Earlier in the year, I won an award from my
company which let me pick a free airline ticket so I used that to book
this trip, and I upgraded to first class as well. Who flies coach
anyway? LOL. I departed for Halfiax, Nova Scotia, on the
Saturday before Labor Day from Sacramento at 6:00 AM. The flight
took me to Salt Lake City first where I connected to another Delta
flight to Toronto's Pierson International Airport. The trip to
the Atlantic provinces of Canada took the whole day however, and the
Atlantic provinces are four hours ahead of California also.
Overall, I was impressed with Delta's first class team compared to our other domestic carrier's premium class service. I was offered prosecco when I settled into my seat before take off. There was also a bottle of water at each seat. The seats were relatively comfortable like the typical first class seat. Delta passed out headsets by Billboard, but they were not noise cancelling so I used my own noise cancelling headphones. After take off, we were offered another beverage. I had some Woodford Reserve and diet. A few days before we left, Delta emailed me to see if I wanted to preorder my meal. I decided to get the grilled chicken salad. The food service was not anything to brag about. After the airlines took away food from coach in the early 2000s, they served that same coach food in the first class cabin basicly. They try to make it look better on china and have linen service including a tablecloth on the tray table, but the food quality is nothing like foreign airlines. We were offered premium snacks too after the lunch service as well as refills on our beverages. The premium snack options were pretty good. After getting to Toronto, we flew to Halifax on Westjet. Westjet was a major downgrade from Delta's first class, but Delta uses them as a code share carrier for the connection service to Halifax.
We decided to rent a fully loaded Ford Escape since we wanted navigation built in since the cellular service was a little spotty in Canada. Since I have an unlimited data plan with Verizon Wireless, I get free roaming in Canada and Mexico, but they limit my high speed data to only 500 mb. I was disappointed with Budget in Halifax as they did not have a Fastbreak kiosk where my car was just waiting for me. I had to wait in line only to find out that I should have just been able to cut in front of the "peasants" and get my keys from any of the two slow workers who were working that night. We headed to our Hilton property for the night to unwind after a long day of travel.
The next morning, we drove to New Brunswick to start our tour of the Canadian Maritime Provinces. I wanted to stop at a Tim Horton's to get some Timbits and an iced Americano. The Timbits are the donut holes at Tim Horton's, which is like the Dunkin Donuts of Canada. Their donuts are great, but the coffee is not as smooth as Dunkin Donuts. I am a coffee snob, and I need espresso based coffee in the morning instead of that drip crap. LOL.
Once we got into Moncton in New Brunswick, we could observe what people say are the world's highest tides. The Bay of Fundy is shaped in a way where the tidal variations are so crazy! It is like a bathtub where the water can be splashed from one end to the other causing a big variation in the water level at the opposite ends of the tub. We saw the waterways at low tide at first, but we could tell that the muddy flats are filled are water at certain times of the day. We went to the Hopewell Rocks National Park next. This park has these rocks called the Flower Pot Rocks which are accesible by foot at low tide. At high tide, they are covered with water as the tides come in. We got there right when it was changing from low tide to high tide so we could not walk out to the rocks, but we were able to be on the beach before the park employees asked us all to climb the stairs to go back up to the top of the cliff. One of the stairs was being covered in water already. It was really neat too see. After seeing the park, we had a lobster roll at a local restaurant. The lobster roll was fresh and so good!
We drove to Saint John next. Saint John is the capital of New Brunswick, and it was settled by British Loyalists who fled the US after the Revolutionary War. There are lots of historic buildings in this important port city. We visited the Carleton Martello Tower first. This style of stone fortresses were built by the British all over the world since they could withstand the canon balls that were launched off ships. The tower in Saint John was built during the War of 1812 since the British thought we would invade Canada, but the fortress was not finished until after the war was over. The tower was closed for renovations, but we visited the museum next door.
After the tower, we toured the Uptown area of Saint John which had a lot of historic Loyalist buildings. The King's Square is a public park that was decided to the British Monarch at the time it was built. There was also a Loyalist Burial Ground next door where many of the Loyalists who fled the US after the Revolutionary War are buried. After checking into our Hampton Inn by Hilton, we went to the Reversing Falls next. The Reversing Falls in Saint John is a great way to see the tidal variations of the Bay of Fundy also. At low tide, the Saint John River flows into the Bay with a lot of power creating whirlpools and other rapids. It is almost impossible for a ship or boat to cross from the river to the bay or vice versa. They have a restaurant above the Reversing Falls which had a cool Sky Walk too. The Sky Walk had some glass flooring so we could see directly below which was the water! It was scary at first. After seeing the falls at low tide, we headed downstairs to have dinner in the Reversing Falls Restaurant which is known for great local seafood. I ordered a bowl of lobster bisque to start before enjoying a Prince Edward Island oyster. For dinner, I had the local Haddock.
The next morning, we woke up bright and early to drive down the coast to the town of St. Andrews. St. Andrews is one of the most visited places in Canada. This picturesque seaside village has Loyalist buildings, an old blockhouse, and a light house. We arrived during low tide so we were able to walk on the ocean floor for a long ways and found lots of shells on the ground. The Blockhouse was an old fortress. The lighthouse was small, but it was neat to check out. The main business area of the village had some cool shops too. We visited a historic Loyalist Church also which is affiliated to the Anglican Faith. Prince Charles visited this church in the 1980s, and I sat in the pew where he sat. We got a long tour of the church before we explored some other historic homes in the area. For lunch, we enjoyed some clam chowder at a local restaurant on the water. We could see the pier and waterfront filling up with water now since it was becoming high tide. The wharf had boats during low tide which were on the ocean floor when we had first arrived in the town. It was so cool to see how the tides can vary so much!
After exploring St. Andrews, we went back to the Reversing Falls Sky Walk in Saint John to see the falls at high tide. We could see the water flow reversing direction into the river! It was so cool! A boat can only pass safely for about twenty minutes between the tides when the water levels in the river and bay are about the same. We went to the Loyalist House next in Saint John Up Town. This house was a good example of the colonial architecture of the 1800s which was known for symmetrical windows. The home had some original windows too. We got a guided tour of the house which had furrniture from the 1800s also. The homes were only heated by fireplaces back then so the guide said it was freezing cold during those brutal New Brunswick winters! There was no indoor plumbing back then either so there were wash basins and bed pans.
Our next stop was the historic City Market of Saint John. We got there just before it closed since Labor (Labour Day) is also a holiday in Canada. The Canadians still use the funny British spellings of many words like flavor, color, and labor. LOL. I got some maple sugar candy for my wife at one of the shops before heading out to explore Prince Street which is a fun hang out spot in Saint John.
We went to St. Martins next which is known for covered bridges and beautiful coastal scenery including sea caves. At low tide, these sea caves are accessible by foot. Our first stop was an old covered bridge which was now closed to car traffic. We walked across it however. While exploring, we smelled some fresh baked waffle cones so we had some ice cream. Afterwards, we saw the cool sea caves at the beach area of St. Martins before driving across another covered bridge which was still OK to use. St. Martins was a nice stop before we had to head up to Moncton for the night. The Hampton Inn up there greeted me as a Diamond guest with the typical snacks. We went to a local seafood restaurant up there for dinner.
The next day, we drove through the Acadian coast of New Brunswick. The Acadians are people of French descent who settled in Canada. Many were forced to flee to Louisiana and are known as Cajuns down there. I could see lots of homes displaying the Acadian flag which is a French flag with a yellow star in it. New Brunswick had both English and French road signs too. After driving along the coast, we got to the Confederation Bridge which allowed us to drive into Prince Edward Island. The bridge only charges toll on the way back. This long bridge over the Northumberland Straits took us about ten minutes to cross. It was not as scary as I had imagined going over open waters like that. Prince Edward Island is the smallest Canadian province.
We did a scenic drive on one of the coastal routes on the island which took us north to Cavendish which is the area that inspired the book Anne of Green Gables. I learned that a lot of Japanese tourists go there since that book is required reading in Japan so it inspires the Japanese to visit. The scenery was really relaxing and peaceful. We saw lots of dairy farms too. Prince Edward Island is known for mussels, oysters, and dairy. We had lunch at a local restaurant called Chez Yvonne. The steamed PEI mussels were so delicious. I got the fish and chips as well. Afterwards, we went to the Green Gables National Park where we saw the house with the green gables that the book was based on. The next stop was the Prince Edward Island National Park. The coastal views of St. Lawrence Bay was nice with the red dirt cliffs.
Eventually, we made it down to Charlottetown, which is the capital of Prince Edward Island. We hoped to see the Province House which is where the Articles of Confederation were signed in 1867 which created the Dominion of Canada. Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia banded together to be semi-independent of the United Kingdom. Eventually, Canada became a constitutional monarchy which recognized the UK Soverign as their monarch, but they had their own self government consisting of a Prime Minister and Parliament. The House of Commons in Canada is elected by the people. The Senate is made up of legislators appointed by the Governor General of Canada on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Governor General is the official representative of the Monarch. The Province House was being remodeled however. We did see the art gallery of the province before exploring Victoria Row which has some neat places to hang out. I tried some of Prince Edward Island's own "Cows" Ice Cream by the wharf before we explored Victoria Park which had amazing views of the waterfront. We stayed at the only Hilton property on the island, the new Hampton Inn in Charlottetown. They upgraded us to a large suite per my Diamond status. For dinner, I enjoyed a full lobster dinner.
The next day, we went back to Nova Scotia. After getting to Halifax, we toured the old citadel which was a naval fortress built on a hill. The massive compound housed soldiers and families. Originally, a Scottish regiment was stationed there. One could see the waterfront well from the look out points so if someone was attacking Halifax, they could easily defend the area. The citadel was really neat! I liked the views of downtown Halifax and the old clock tower too from the citadel. There were lots of students who worked at the compound reenacting what life would have been like back then. I even saw a shooting demonstration.
Our next destination was Peggy's Cove on the Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia. Peggy's Cove is the most popular tourist destination in Nova Scotia. The area has these rock bluffs and a cool lighthouse. I loved the coastal scenery too with the old fishing outposts and lobster traps. The drive back from Peggy's Cove was scenic too as we saw more lighthouses and cool coastline.
We enjoyed another great seafood dinner in the Historic Properties area by the wharf in Halifax that night. Afterwards, we went to a local brewery called Gahan House for some beer. Halifax was a cool place to walk around too at night. A lot of the historic buildings were lit up. We stayed in Dartmouth at the Doubletree that night. The room had a nice view of the harbor (harbour in British English).
The next day, I enjoyed my last Tim Horton's for this trip, and we headed to the airport in Halifax. Even though I was first class on Delta, Westjet was my first carrier so they sucked as usual. There was no Sky Priority service for me in Halifax. When we arrived in Toronto, we cleared US customs before getting a bite to eat in the lounge prior to the flight. After boarding the aircraft before the others as a first class passenger, I had my prosecco was I watched the other passengers get on board. Once we were airborne to Salt Lake City, we were offered dinner. I had the Asian beef ribs. The in flight service was what I experienced on the flight over to Canada too. Delta's first class flight attendants did a good job of making sure we were enjoying our flight. They kept offering us more beverages throughout. I also liked the hot towel service before dinner which is hit or miss in the premium cabin sometimes for domestic airlines. The premium snacks were good too.
Overall, I was impressed with Delta's first class team compared to our other domestic carrier's premium class service. I was offered prosecco when I settled into my seat before take off. There was also a bottle of water at each seat. The seats were relatively comfortable like the typical first class seat. Delta passed out headsets by Billboard, but they were not noise cancelling so I used my own noise cancelling headphones. After take off, we were offered another beverage. I had some Woodford Reserve and diet. A few days before we left, Delta emailed me to see if I wanted to preorder my meal. I decided to get the grilled chicken salad. The food service was not anything to brag about. After the airlines took away food from coach in the early 2000s, they served that same coach food in the first class cabin basicly. They try to make it look better on china and have linen service including a tablecloth on the tray table, but the food quality is nothing like foreign airlines. We were offered premium snacks too after the lunch service as well as refills on our beverages. The premium snack options were pretty good. After getting to Toronto, we flew to Halifax on Westjet. Westjet was a major downgrade from Delta's first class, but Delta uses them as a code share carrier for the connection service to Halifax.
We decided to rent a fully loaded Ford Escape since we wanted navigation built in since the cellular service was a little spotty in Canada. Since I have an unlimited data plan with Verizon Wireless, I get free roaming in Canada and Mexico, but they limit my high speed data to only 500 mb. I was disappointed with Budget in Halifax as they did not have a Fastbreak kiosk where my car was just waiting for me. I had to wait in line only to find out that I should have just been able to cut in front of the "peasants" and get my keys from any of the two slow workers who were working that night. We headed to our Hilton property for the night to unwind after a long day of travel.
The next morning, we drove to New Brunswick to start our tour of the Canadian Maritime Provinces. I wanted to stop at a Tim Horton's to get some Timbits and an iced Americano. The Timbits are the donut holes at Tim Horton's, which is like the Dunkin Donuts of Canada. Their donuts are great, but the coffee is not as smooth as Dunkin Donuts. I am a coffee snob, and I need espresso based coffee in the morning instead of that drip crap. LOL.
Once we got into Moncton in New Brunswick, we could observe what people say are the world's highest tides. The Bay of Fundy is shaped in a way where the tidal variations are so crazy! It is like a bathtub where the water can be splashed from one end to the other causing a big variation in the water level at the opposite ends of the tub. We saw the waterways at low tide at first, but we could tell that the muddy flats are filled are water at certain times of the day. We went to the Hopewell Rocks National Park next. This park has these rocks called the Flower Pot Rocks which are accesible by foot at low tide. At high tide, they are covered with water as the tides come in. We got there right when it was changing from low tide to high tide so we could not walk out to the rocks, but we were able to be on the beach before the park employees asked us all to climb the stairs to go back up to the top of the cliff. One of the stairs was being covered in water already. It was really neat too see. After seeing the park, we had a lobster roll at a local restaurant. The lobster roll was fresh and so good!
We drove to Saint John next. Saint John is the capital of New Brunswick, and it was settled by British Loyalists who fled the US after the Revolutionary War. There are lots of historic buildings in this important port city. We visited the Carleton Martello Tower first. This style of stone fortresses were built by the British all over the world since they could withstand the canon balls that were launched off ships. The tower in Saint John was built during the War of 1812 since the British thought we would invade Canada, but the fortress was not finished until after the war was over. The tower was closed for renovations, but we visited the museum next door.
After the tower, we toured the Uptown area of Saint John which had a lot of historic Loyalist buildings. The King's Square is a public park that was decided to the British Monarch at the time it was built. There was also a Loyalist Burial Ground next door where many of the Loyalists who fled the US after the Revolutionary War are buried. After checking into our Hampton Inn by Hilton, we went to the Reversing Falls next. The Reversing Falls in Saint John is a great way to see the tidal variations of the Bay of Fundy also. At low tide, the Saint John River flows into the Bay with a lot of power creating whirlpools and other rapids. It is almost impossible for a ship or boat to cross from the river to the bay or vice versa. They have a restaurant above the Reversing Falls which had a cool Sky Walk too. The Sky Walk had some glass flooring so we could see directly below which was the water! It was scary at first. After seeing the falls at low tide, we headed downstairs to have dinner in the Reversing Falls Restaurant which is known for great local seafood. I ordered a bowl of lobster bisque to start before enjoying a Prince Edward Island oyster. For dinner, I had the local Haddock.
The next morning, we woke up bright and early to drive down the coast to the town of St. Andrews. St. Andrews is one of the most visited places in Canada. This picturesque seaside village has Loyalist buildings, an old blockhouse, and a light house. We arrived during low tide so we were able to walk on the ocean floor for a long ways and found lots of shells on the ground. The Blockhouse was an old fortress. The lighthouse was small, but it was neat to check out. The main business area of the village had some cool shops too. We visited a historic Loyalist Church also which is affiliated to the Anglican Faith. Prince Charles visited this church in the 1980s, and I sat in the pew where he sat. We got a long tour of the church before we explored some other historic homes in the area. For lunch, we enjoyed some clam chowder at a local restaurant on the water. We could see the pier and waterfront filling up with water now since it was becoming high tide. The wharf had boats during low tide which were on the ocean floor when we had first arrived in the town. It was so cool to see how the tides can vary so much!
After exploring St. Andrews, we went back to the Reversing Falls Sky Walk in Saint John to see the falls at high tide. We could see the water flow reversing direction into the river! It was so cool! A boat can only pass safely for about twenty minutes between the tides when the water levels in the river and bay are about the same. We went to the Loyalist House next in Saint John Up Town. This house was a good example of the colonial architecture of the 1800s which was known for symmetrical windows. The home had some original windows too. We got a guided tour of the house which had furrniture from the 1800s also. The homes were only heated by fireplaces back then so the guide said it was freezing cold during those brutal New Brunswick winters! There was no indoor plumbing back then either so there were wash basins and bed pans.
Our next stop was the historic City Market of Saint John. We got there just before it closed since Labor (Labour Day) is also a holiday in Canada. The Canadians still use the funny British spellings of many words like flavor, color, and labor. LOL. I got some maple sugar candy for my wife at one of the shops before heading out to explore Prince Street which is a fun hang out spot in Saint John.
We went to St. Martins next which is known for covered bridges and beautiful coastal scenery including sea caves. At low tide, these sea caves are accessible by foot. Our first stop was an old covered bridge which was now closed to car traffic. We walked across it however. While exploring, we smelled some fresh baked waffle cones so we had some ice cream. Afterwards, we saw the cool sea caves at the beach area of St. Martins before driving across another covered bridge which was still OK to use. St. Martins was a nice stop before we had to head up to Moncton for the night. The Hampton Inn up there greeted me as a Diamond guest with the typical snacks. We went to a local seafood restaurant up there for dinner.
The next day, we drove through the Acadian coast of New Brunswick. The Acadians are people of French descent who settled in Canada. Many were forced to flee to Louisiana and are known as Cajuns down there. I could see lots of homes displaying the Acadian flag which is a French flag with a yellow star in it. New Brunswick had both English and French road signs too. After driving along the coast, we got to the Confederation Bridge which allowed us to drive into Prince Edward Island. The bridge only charges toll on the way back. This long bridge over the Northumberland Straits took us about ten minutes to cross. It was not as scary as I had imagined going over open waters like that. Prince Edward Island is the smallest Canadian province.
We did a scenic drive on one of the coastal routes on the island which took us north to Cavendish which is the area that inspired the book Anne of Green Gables. I learned that a lot of Japanese tourists go there since that book is required reading in Japan so it inspires the Japanese to visit. The scenery was really relaxing and peaceful. We saw lots of dairy farms too. Prince Edward Island is known for mussels, oysters, and dairy. We had lunch at a local restaurant called Chez Yvonne. The steamed PEI mussels were so delicious. I got the fish and chips as well. Afterwards, we went to the Green Gables National Park where we saw the house with the green gables that the book was based on. The next stop was the Prince Edward Island National Park. The coastal views of St. Lawrence Bay was nice with the red dirt cliffs.
Eventually, we made it down to Charlottetown, which is the capital of Prince Edward Island. We hoped to see the Province House which is where the Articles of Confederation were signed in 1867 which created the Dominion of Canada. Canada, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia banded together to be semi-independent of the United Kingdom. Eventually, Canada became a constitutional monarchy which recognized the UK Soverign as their monarch, but they had their own self government consisting of a Prime Minister and Parliament. The House of Commons in Canada is elected by the people. The Senate is made up of legislators appointed by the Governor General of Canada on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Governor General is the official representative of the Monarch. The Province House was being remodeled however. We did see the art gallery of the province before exploring Victoria Row which has some neat places to hang out. I tried some of Prince Edward Island's own "Cows" Ice Cream by the wharf before we explored Victoria Park which had amazing views of the waterfront. We stayed at the only Hilton property on the island, the new Hampton Inn in Charlottetown. They upgraded us to a large suite per my Diamond status. For dinner, I enjoyed a full lobster dinner.
The next day, we went back to Nova Scotia. After getting to Halifax, we toured the old citadel which was a naval fortress built on a hill. The massive compound housed soldiers and families. Originally, a Scottish regiment was stationed there. One could see the waterfront well from the look out points so if someone was attacking Halifax, they could easily defend the area. The citadel was really neat! I liked the views of downtown Halifax and the old clock tower too from the citadel. There were lots of students who worked at the compound reenacting what life would have been like back then. I even saw a shooting demonstration.
Our next destination was Peggy's Cove on the Atlantic coastline of Nova Scotia. Peggy's Cove is the most popular tourist destination in Nova Scotia. The area has these rock bluffs and a cool lighthouse. I loved the coastal scenery too with the old fishing outposts and lobster traps. The drive back from Peggy's Cove was scenic too as we saw more lighthouses and cool coastline.
We enjoyed another great seafood dinner in the Historic Properties area by the wharf in Halifax that night. Afterwards, we went to a local brewery called Gahan House for some beer. Halifax was a cool place to walk around too at night. A lot of the historic buildings were lit up. We stayed in Dartmouth at the Doubletree that night. The room had a nice view of the harbor (harbour in British English).
The next day, I enjoyed my last Tim Horton's for this trip, and we headed to the airport in Halifax. Even though I was first class on Delta, Westjet was my first carrier so they sucked as usual. There was no Sky Priority service for me in Halifax. When we arrived in Toronto, we cleared US customs before getting a bite to eat in the lounge prior to the flight. After boarding the aircraft before the others as a first class passenger, I had my prosecco was I watched the other passengers get on board. Once we were airborne to Salt Lake City, we were offered dinner. I had the Asian beef ribs. The in flight service was what I experienced on the flight over to Canada too. Delta's first class flight attendants did a good job of making sure we were enjoying our flight. They kept offering us more beverages throughout. I also liked the hot towel service before dinner which is hit or miss in the premium cabin sometimes for domestic airlines. The premium snacks were good too.