We were not really sure were to head next from here. But over the past 2 days we figured our next destination would be the Annapolis valley (before we also considered heading south to Yarmouth or north to Risser). The main reason was that we wanted to have a more relaxed way back to Ottawa and not ending up having to drive very large distances on the way back. So the Annapolis valley it was.
It was another nice day. We packed up the tent and decided to have breakfast in a Tim Horton's in Liverpool. The cream cheese bagels tasted good. We also filled up the gas there and shopped at a Sobey's for the next few days. I also went to the local post office to get stamps for Daniella's postcards. Liverpool downtown from the little we saw looked like an interesting town.
Our next destination was Digby. We arrived there around noon. While not being directly on our route, Margaret figured she wanted to try scallops there and had located 2 possible places. The first one was closed, so we had our scallops at Carla's Takeout. The place offered all sorts of seafood morsels, but we we both ended up ordering the scallops for which Digby was well-known. They were good and not pricy. The place was well frequented while we ate there. Adjacent to the takeout was Carla's Seafood Market. We also went into that shop and bought various smoked fish pieces for the next days. We also drove through Digby downtown, but did not park the car and have a longer walk. Digby has a large harbor with an active fishing boat fleet. Next time I would definitely spent a bit more time there walking the town.
Our next destination was Bunchberry Nurseries located between Digby and Annapolis Royal. Steve had mentioned that the Annapolis Valley had possibly interesting nurseries and I mentioned this to Margaret. Now that we were here, we took the time to visit one that was on the way and looked interesting. We spent about 1 hour there and had a good look at all the plants and facilities. The staff had time and was happily answering any question we had. The nursery has a very large selection on water/bog-plants, shrubs and trees. I was very close to buy a pitcher plant as a present for Zandra and Steve but opted out when we heard that it needed to be watered with rain water. That was not an option for us: we were still over a week away from Ottawa and we only had access to normal water at the various campgrounds. So we bought 2 other plants similar to ones we had seen in Kejimkujik NP for them. I was considering buying a hazelnut tree but it was too large and did not fit into the car. I finally selected a grape plant for our garden. We also bought some smaller plants for Margaret. Last but not least, I considered buying a rock with some Chinese/Japanese characters painted on it but opted out after hearing the price. I will definitely visit the nursery again if I make it into the area. I was an interesting place with lots of unusual plants.
10 minutes later we arrived at Annapolis Royal. Our first destination was the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens. We walked the whole garden: Very enjoyable. I liked their Innovative Garden section: It featured a small hot house, raised beds, a smaller pollinator section and a few interesting smaller trees in a confined setting to show visitors what a home garden could look like. They also had an interesting section of ponds, sections with large trees and a sections with native plants. I will definitely visit the garden again if I make it into the area. One of the better gardens I have seen in Canada. Clearly the climate in the Annapolis Valley is relatively moderate and plants grow well there. We spent probably 1 to 2 hours in the garden.
We also visited Fort Anne National Historic Site in Annapolis Royal. The entrance was free for us since we had the one-year Parks Canada pass. The site features a small museum that is worth a visit. It mostly focuses on the 1720 to 1760 time and the events related to Annapolis Royal. Back then Annapolis Royal was the main French town beside Louisbourg in Nova Scotia. The Annapolis valley was mostly settled by French farmers. Over time the British Navy/military subjugated the area and ultimately the settlements of the Acadian farmers were burned down and the people had to migrate elsewhere. The British governors did not trust the local Acadian population despite their intent to stay out of the European British/French quarrels/fights. We also walked the walls of the Fort. It is built in a star pattern that was invented by the French architect Vauban. All in all, we stayed about 1 hour in the fort.
Before leaving Annapolis Royal we walked the down area. The town has a set of old interesting houses. This was definitely a worthwhile walk. We visited the local German Bakery (located in one of the old downtown houses) during the walk and had cakes there. We also bought apple strudel and 2 large pretzels as a snack for the following days. Later, both the pretzels and the strudel turned out to be very good.
We then drove to Blomidon Provincial Park to camp there for the next 2 nights. The drive took us from the south of Annapolis Valley to the north-east corner of the valley. We drove through a number of smaller towns, then a section of a local highway and then again through a chain of small towns. These towns look neat and are surrounded by orchards (apple), lots of vegetable fields and even vineyards. Clearly the area is fertile and the climate moderate. In some sense it reminded me at South-East Ontario and Niagara. We arrived at the campground late and had to check-in via a phone call. The campground is located on top of Blomidon and offers superb views into the Minas Basin and the Bay of Fundy. We managed to watch sun down during a nice evening walk as well. Watching the night sky from the campground was also super duper. Both nights were clear.
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