The Maritime Provinces

The Willey Travel Guide:   Maritime Provinces (Part 2) - The Acadian Peninsula

Hayes House (Lounge)New Brunswick and the Acadian Peninsula:   We stayed at Hayes House (506-237-5228), a 1910's house built by the current owners family.  The house was beautifully appointed with a second floor lounge.  The twin room (C$58) we reserved was located on the second floor (the door on the right in the photo) and faced the Bay.  Unfortunately, views of the Baie de Chaleur were limited since the house is not on waterfront property.

We found that there were virtually no services or amenities in the vicinity of Nash Creek.  We noted this on our 15 minute drive back to Charlo to relax on the beach at Chaleur Beach Park.  The water itself was cold (despite being early August) and full of jellyfish.  We didn't realize at the time but the beach is known for the Eel River Sandbar which provides swimmers with the opportunity of swimming in cold fresh water on one side and warmer salt water on the other.

There was a small restaurant on the beach but we decided to find something closer to Nash Creek.  We ended out driving about 10 minutes past Nash Creek before we began to realize that there was nothing.  It was getting late and we were hungry.  Our hosts told us of the Bonaventure Lodge a few kilometres on the road to Charlo.  The Lodge was a hidden "old fashioned" motel resort with a good view of the Bay, though we were not able to enjoy the view since all the window tables were taken.  The food was good but not spectacular.

The next morning we awoke to an excellent breakfast of cheese souflée, potatoes, fiddleheads, ham, muffins, cereal and toast.  Scrumptious!

About 90 minutes after leaving Nash Creek, we arrived at le Village Acadien, located 10 km from Caraquet on the Acadian peninsula.  Le Village Acadien is a faithful recreation of a typical Acadian village in the middle of the 18th century, around the time of the forced expulsion by the British colonial rulers of the day.  The Village reminded me of Upper Canada Village in Morrisburg, Ontario though it appeared to be smaller in scale.

Robin House (Village Acadien)The costumed staff are very helpful and provide commentary in both French and English.  I personally liked the Robin house (see photo at left) where you can try your hand at fish net mending, like Christopher did or you can taste salt cod, which I did.  I also liked the area near the Gristmill and the Church.  We spent about 3 hours visiting the site and we were able to see everything without feeling rushed.   Arriving at the far end of the site around lunchtime, we ate at the food services area located in a small building.  However, the food was mediocre and was essentially fast food warmed up in microwave ovens.  There is a cafeteria in the visitor reception centre and there is also a small restaurant in one of the buildings that serves authentic Acadien cuisine though you need to make reservations and the wait appeared to be long when we passed by the building.

Leaving the Village we headed down the road toward Truro, Nova Scotia, some 400 km away.  We made good time since the highways in the Maritimes are in good condition and even the major two-lane highways are quite often "controlled access".  The speed limits are generally 10 km higher than in Ontario and Québec.

First Taste of Nova Scotia:   We stopped at the Nova Scotia Welcome Centre at the border.  The staff were very helpful and are ready to provide advice along with maps, brochures and the "Complete Guide for Doers and Dreamers".  There is also a nicely stocked souvenir shop.

Our accommodation that night was Ann's Farmhouse (toll free 800-603-7887) located in the country, south of Truro.  The farmhouse was a charming but isolated building at the end of the paved portion of the road from Hilden.  We had called ahead to let our hosts, Ann and David Pullen, know that we would be arriving around 6 pm.  Mr. Pullen wisely suggested that we stop for supper in Truro since there were no restaurants close to the farmhouse.   This tip saved us about 30 to 45 minutes of return travel time.  The Pullen's made us welcome and invited us to join them and the other guests (a young couple from North Carolina) for tea that evening.   We had reserved the Loft (C$50) since this had twin beds.  However, the Loft was not as nicely appointed as the other rooms and was very hot, despite a fan running continuously.  Breakfast consisted of fruit salad and plenty of blueberry pancakes.

Continued on the next page.

 

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