Tag: maritimes

Canada Trip, 2016: The Ovens and Lunenberg

Michael RappaLeave a comment

In the middle of our long drive from Halifax to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, we stopped at The Ovens, a beautiful coastal national park featuring a hiking trail along a series of sea caves. We then had a nice early dinner at a little German restaurant on the side of the road before heading into the cute seaside town of Lunenburg for a walk. Lunenburg is another of those towns that made me fall in love with the Canadian Maritimes and fantasize about moving there.

Fans of Locke and Key may recognize both The Ovens and Lunenberg as filming locations for the series, though our visit was long before the show aired. I seem to have a habit of visiting places before a TV show begins filming there–years ago I visited both Split and Dubrovnik in Croatia before Game of Thrones had begun filming in those cities.

Click on any photo to open up a gallery.

View More Photos This Trip

Canada Trip, 2016: Hopewell Rocks

Michael RappaLeave a comment

These photos are from my visits to the Hopewell Rocks at both low and high tides. Walking among the rocks at low tide, you can tell by the shapes of the rocks how much the water rises at high tide. When I visited the next day at high tide, there were people kayaking around the same rocks that I had walked underneath on the previous day.

Click on any photo to open up a gallery.

View More Photos This Trip

Canada Trip, 2016: Franey Mountain

Michael RappaLeave a comment

The centerpiece of our stay in Cape Breton was our hike of Franey Mountain, an 1,100-foot ascent that took us between 3 and 4 total hours up and down. It could have been done more quickly but we took our time, soaking in and photographing the beautiful scenery of the Cape Breton Highlands along the way (as well as a pretty bird that I believe was a ruffed grouse).

There are two trails that lead to the top. The one we chose for the climb turned out to be the better one in terms of the views–we chose the other trail for the hike back down, which was much less challenging but also much less interesting from a scenery perspective. I don’t remember which was which, but if you’re looking at a map, the straighter looking trail is probably the less interesting one. Either way, you are likely to take both: one on the way up and the other on the way down.

Overall, it’s a beautiful hike. Climbers who reach the peak are rewarded with spectacular views of lush green mountains along a picturesque coast, as well as the opportunity to sign the hiker’s guest book attached to an Adirondack chair at the top. If you find yourself in Cape Breton, Franey Mountain is definitely worth a visit.

Click on any photo to open up a gallery.

View More Photos This Trip

Canada Trip, 2016: The Citadel in Halifax

Michael RappaLeave a comment

These photos were taken on a foggy and drizzly morning spent at the Citadel, a colonial-era fortification in the middle of Halifax, Nova Scotia, which remained garrisoned through the early 1900’s. In addition to photos of Citadel itself, there are also shots of the city viewed from up on the Citadel hill, as well as pics of a labyrinthine, life-sized replica of a World War I trench that we were able to walk through.

Click on any photo to open up a gallery.

View More Photos This Trip

Canada Trip, 2016: Cape Forchu

Michael RappaLeave a comment

On our final full day in Nova Scotia we spent a foggy morning at Cape Forchu. The following photos were shot at the Cape Forchu lighthouse and a nearby beach.

Click on any photo to open up a gallery.

View More Photos This Trip

Canada Trip, 2016: The Cabot Trail

Michael RappaLeave a comment

This is a collection of photos taken over three days during my drive along the majestic Cabot Trail in Cape Breton—considered one of the most scenic drives in the world—and for good reason. The northern portion in particular reminded me of the Scottish Highlands, which makes sense given that geological evidence suggests at least part of the island was joined with Scotland millions of years ago. This is one road trip you definitely want to add to your bucket list.

Click on any photo to open up a gallery.

View More Photos This Trip

Canada Trip, 2016: Cape Breton Cabin and Beach

Michael Rappa1 Comment

During the Nova Scotia leg of our Canada road trip, we spent three nights at a cute little cabin in northern Cape Breton. The cabin was owned by people from Holland, and at their Dancing Moose Cafe they make this delicious Dutch dish called pannekoeken, which is basically like a thin pancake or crepe made however you want it. The first two mornings I got mine with bacon (in my pre-vegetarian days) and onions baked in, and a fried egg on top. The third morning I got one with apple and cinnamon. If you find yourself in northern Cape Breton, look up the Dancing Moose Cafe–you won’t regret it.

The cabin is a nice place to stay as well, right on the beach, where we saw dozens of seals floating off the shore, one of which is featured in the photos below.

Click on any photo to open up a gallery.

View from our cabin property.
View from our cabin property.
The beach in front of our cabin: long exposure shot.
The beach in front of our cabin.
The beach in front of our cabin.
Seal viewed from the beach in front of our cabin.
The beach in front of our cabin.
Rainbow in the clouds viewed from the beach in front of our cabin.
The beach in front of our cabin.
Looking toward the Dancing Moose cafe (where our landlord made delicious breakfast).
Chickens owned by our landlord–fresh eggs for breakfast!
Our cabin.

View More Photos This Trip

Canada Trip, 2016: Cape Enrage and Fundy National Park

Michael RappaLeave a comment

The photos below are from my visits to Cape Enrage and Fundy National Park on August 29, 2016.

My wife and I first drove to Cape Enrage, where we enjoyed a delicious lunch next to the lighthouse before taking a walk around the grounds. They have rappelling and ziplining at Cape Enrage, but unfortunately the zipline from the cliff down the the beach was closed due to the wind. Bummer.

After leaving Cape Enrage we drove to Hopewell and hiked out to the beach among the famous rocks at low tide (this experience will be recounted in a forthcoming post).

During our hike back from the beach at Hopewell the skies opened and drenched us, but by the time we got back to our chalet in Alma, it was sunny again, so we headed out to nearby Fundy National Park for an early evening hike along a small waterfall trail. It was beautiful, like a stroll through Middle Earth, and peaceful—we had the entire trail to ourselves.

Later that evening we enjoyed one of the best pasta meals I’ve ever had (yes, in Canada!) at a place called An Octopus’ Garden Cafe. Pasta is made fresh with sauce customized exactly how you want it (I chose a spicy red sauce). Highly recommended. I would make a trip back to Alma just to eat there again.

Click on any photo to open up a gallery.

View More Photos This Trip

Photo of the Day: Cape Breton Beach (long exposure)

Michael RappaLeave a comment

I don’t often get to take long exposure shots while on vacation because it involves lugging around a tripod, but this beach was located just outside my cabin on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada, so it was a perfect opportunity to set up the tripod and try out the neutral density filter I bought last year. These types of filters enable you to take long exposures during the day without blowing the highlights. I’m still getting the hang of it, but I like the effect here of smoothing the ocean and blurring the clouds while keeping the rocks in focus, almost like a painting.

Date: 9/3/2016
Camera: Nikon D5100
Click for larger view

You can view more featured photos at my Photo of the Day Collection.