Natural Beauty

The Canadian east coast. Best vacation ever.

Incredible scenery, down-to-earth people and a new appreciation for how beautiful our country is. Not to mention meeting some great musicians along the way. Every turn was a highlight, but here are a few to share;

*Peggy’s Cove. It’s a real-life postcard. Spent a Saturday night in Peggy’s Cove at the Sou’ Wester restaurant enjoying ‘The Saunders Brothers Show’, a true east coast kitchen party band. With a pint of Clancy’s in hand and a plate of fish cakes I enjoyed some great maritime music with sing-a-longs, spoons, mandolin and tons of laughs.  The guys in the band are super friendly and they gained a new fan (they play Toronto on June 19th!)

*Cabot Trail. I can cross it off my bucket list. Stunning coastline, rugged cliffs, twisty turns and deep canyons. The place is surreal.

*Deron Donovan at the Keltic Lodge in Ingonish. Deron is a Cape Breton songwriter and I had the chance to catch two of his shows : honest, heartfelt songs about his life. ‘Capers’ are very proud of their heritage and it shows up in a lot of their music.

*The Celidh Trail. This is a scenic drive along the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence where The Rankin Family and Natalie McMaster hail from. There is the Celtic Music Museum where you can learn to fiddle and jig, and at every turn a community centre that features music. TONS of musicians in the area, very cool.

*The cities – Halifax, Quebec City, Charlottetown. Halifax for it’s lay-out of the steep hill in the city, the Citadel and the views of the harbour. Quebec City for Old Quebec which, for my money, is the coolest part of any Canadian city. Charlottetown for it’s friendliness, small-town charm and Cows ice cream.

There were so many memories along the way – driving through the rolling scenery of P.E.I., the Acadians in Cheticamp, N.S., a Lobster Supper, the stormy ferry ride from P.E.I. to Nova Scotia, the stories from the locals about lobster fishing, artifacts from the Titanic at the Maritime Museum in Halifax, the Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick and even the St. Hubert chicken dinner outside of Montreal!

We live in an amazing country – beautiful scenery, diverse cultures and a rich heritage that is evident – especially the Acadians –  strong people, very proud of their french heritage and are still keeping their culture alive.

The one thing that sticks with me the most though is the friendliness of maritime Canadians – down-to-earth, laid back, easy going, funny and great musicians to boot. I can’t wait to go back again.

Thanks for reading, see you next time.

http://www.craigrobertson.ca