Road Trip Part I - Still in NS - IgoUgo Nova Scotia Journal

Midtown Motel Yarmouth

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Hotel | "Midtown Motel"

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We went to the Midtown Motel in Yarmouth after I found it on the Check-ins Nova Scotia Website. The price for a double room (two double beds) was C$75, and they advertise that they are 2 minutes away from the ferry terminal to the US. Sounded good to me.We arrived at the hotel, and it lived up to its Internet promises. At check-in, the clerk tried to sell me on getting two adjoining rooms instead of the one she had reserved for me (two adults, three kids). The two adjoining rooms had one double bed and one single bed each and a bath shared between them. Although this would have been nice, I couldn’t justify the extra $50 at this point, so we stuck with the room we had booked.Althou...Read More

We went to the Midtown Motel in Yarmouth after I found it on the Check-ins Nova Scotia Website. The price for a double room (two double beds) was C$75, and they advertise that they are 2 minutes away from the ferry terminal to the US. Sounded good to me.

We arrived at the hotel, and it lived up to its Internet promises. At check-in, the clerk tried to sell me on getting two adjoining rooms instead of the one she had reserved for me (two adults, three kids). The two adjoining rooms had one double bed and one single bed each and a bath shared between them. Although this would have been nice, I couldn’t justify the extra $50 at this point, so we stuck with the room we had booked.

Although it was a bit squishy for the five of us, it worked just fine. The room had cable TV, so the kids got to watch Teletoon before going to sleep. That was the only in-room amenity.

We asked if they provided a wake-up call, and the clerk gave us an alarm clock. There were no phones in the room and no alarm clocks in the room.

The bathroom was divided oddly but practically. The door divided the toilet and shower from the sink, but there was no door between the sink and the bedroom.

We arrived at the motel just after supper, so after we got checked in, we took the kids for a walk. Just a block up the street was an elementary school, so the kids could play on the playground for a few minutes. After a long drive in the car, it was just what we all needed. Mom and the 8-year-old took a longer walk down to the waterfront and back.

The motel has free ice in the office, and there was an ice bucket and four glasses in the room. The clerk also provided us with several extra towels, which we made good use of thanks to the 4-year-old. They also have a small canteen available. The motel also provides free coffee to guests in the morning, but only between 8 and 10am. This is great, but we were supposed to be at the ferry terminal by 8, so we didn’t make use of this service.

Being a fairly old motel, we could hear noises most of the night. We could hear pipes creaking and when adjacent rooms were running water.

Yarmouth is a fairly small place, but we had no problem finding a drive-thru for breakfast and coffee anyway. Then it was off to the ferry.

Their website is available at nsonline.com/midtown.htm.

Also, we liked it well enough to stay here again on the way back home. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on September 10, 2006

Midtown Motel Yarmouth
13 Parade St
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia B5A 3A5
(902) 742-5333

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Carta Restaurant

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Restaurant | "Carta"

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Carta is cute little restaurant in a mall (which consists of about four stores) in Chester. As the owner pointed out, Carta is Spanish for map, which is reflected in both the décor and the menu. The ceiling is covered in maps and National Geographic magazine covers. The menu lists items from around the world, including Mediterranean, Indian, British, and North American dishes.The restaurant is very small, with only eight tables, and the kitchen is in the corner, separated from the rest of the restaurant by a half wall, so you can see in and out, but not much of the actual cooking. The chef is the restaurant owner and the waiter. The only other staff member is the greeter/cashier—the chef’s w...Read More

Carta is cute little restaurant in a mall (which consists of about four stores) in Chester. As the owner pointed out, Carta is Spanish for map, which is reflected in both the décor and the menu. The ceiling is covered in maps and National Geographic magazine covers. The menu lists items from around the world, including Mediterranean, Indian, British, and North American dishes.

The restaurant is very small, with only eight tables, and the kitchen is in the corner, separated from the rest of the restaurant by a half wall, so you can see in and out, but not much of the actual cooking. The chef is the restaurant owner and the waiter. The only other staff member is the greeter/cashier—the chef’s wife.

The atmosphere of the restaurant was unusual to me, with the wife seating us, waiting several minutes, and taking our orders. She brought mom a coffee immediately “instead of waiting for her husband to do it.” Several minutes later, she brought juice and milk for the kids in ceramic mugs with straws. Then a few minutes after that she arrived with the baby’s drink of water in a paper cup. Finally, my iced tea arrived several minutes after that.

We ordered some samosas (Indian fried pastry stuffed with potatoes and vegetables $5.99 for two with homemade plum sauce), an order of fish-and-chips ($11.50), and a hamburger platter ($8.99). Both the hamburger and the fish came with ‘homestyle’ fries.

We enjoyed the samosas; they were not overpoweringly curried and the plum sauce was fine. After that, the meal went downhill.

The fish was the thinnest piece of fish I’ve ever been served. I usually pull some of the fish out to give the baby, but that was impossible. There was actually more batter than fish, which was amazing, since the batter was also very thin. The hamburger was good and had cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes on a very large whole-wheat bun. The 8-year-old enjoyed it, and there was enough to share a quarter of it. The fries were tasty enough: our only big complaint was there were not nearly enough of them. Each of the plates had about eight fries. Normally ordering a two-piece fish-and-chips for me and the 4-year-old would more than suffice, but I was really glad we had the samosas first this time.

The 8-year-old complained about the milk. He’s not used to 2%, but it was very warm. Milk needs to be ice-cold. Although the table next to us raved about the iced tea, it was obviously made from a mix. I overheard that the owner is planning to open a new restaurant closer to Halifax (probably in Bedford) because he has a lot of customers from the area who enjoy the restaurant. Perhaps I hit it on a bad day, but I sure won’t be eating there again. Read Less

Member Rating 1 out of 5 on September 10, 2006

Carta Restaurant
54 Queen St.
Chester, Nova Scotia
(902) 275-5131

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Peggy's Cove

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Attraction

Historic Marker Photo - Peggy's Cove, Halifax, Nova Scotia

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Mom, the kids, and I made a stop at Peggy’s Cove on our trip around the south shore of Nova Scotia. Peggy’s Cove is one of the most photographed areas of the province, and with good reason. The natural rock formations are amazing.Before you get to the actual village, you enter the Peggy’s Cove Preservation area, where you can see the natural rocky terrain, and it is quite an unusual site in NS. A little farther along, you reach the turn to Peggy’s Cove village, population 40 according to the sign at the entrance.There is a visitor’s information centre where you can get brochures and read the history of the area. In a separate building there are washroom facilities of a sort. In fac...Read More

Mom, the kids, and I made a stop at Peggy’s Cove on our trip around the south shore of Nova Scotia. Peggy’s Cove is one of the most photographed areas of the province, and with good reason. The natural rock formations are amazing.

Before you get to the actual village, you enter the Peggy’s Cove Preservation area, where you can see the natural rocky terrain, and it is quite an unusual site in NS. A little farther along, you reach the turn to Peggy’s Cove village, population 40 according to the sign at the entrance.

There is a visitor’s information centre where you can get brochures and read the history of the area. In a separate building there are washroom facilities of a sort. In fact, there is an outhouse. Because the area is environmentally sensitive, there is no modern plumbing. The outhouse is built with the ‘hole’ dug about 20 feet deep (according to Mom). There is a sink to wash up, but the water is not potable.

We left the information area and drove up to the restaurant/gift shop parking lot, which is much closer to the famous cliffs and lighthouse. The lighthouse has a working post office on the ground floor where you can buy stamps and mail letters. Any letters mailed from Peggy’s Cove will get stamped with the lighthouse postal mark, kind of neat. The kids and Mom braved the climb up onto the rocks to look at the sea. I opted to keep the baby a bit closer to terrafirma.

Mom was very disappointed that she didn’t see the famous ghost on the rocks. The story goes that about 100 years or so ago, a woman jumped off the rocks in despair after learning that her true love had been lost at sea. The ghost reportedly only appears on nice summer days, which it was when we were there. I figure she didn’t see her because she was looking too hard.

Just up the road from the lighthouse is the site of the memorial to Swiss Air flight 811 that crashed just off shore about 5 years ago.

The drive out to Peggy’s Cove requires leaving the main road and driving outward for about a half-hour. The roads are a bit narrow and curvy, but fairly well kept. There are lots of bus tours that can take you out from Halifax, too. Peggy’s Cove is about 40km from Halifax, and it seems like it should only take about 30 minutes, but it is closer to an hour because of the low speed limits and curves. It is a site (and sight) that is well worth the drive. Read Less

Member Rating 4 out of 5 on September 10, 2006

Peggy's Cove
(45 minutes down the Halifax shoreline)
Halifax, Nova Scotia

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Old Town Lunenburg

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Attraction | "Lunenburg, Nova Scotia"

On the Docks Photo - Old Town Lunenburg, Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

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Lunenburg is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the only one in Nova Scotia. It is a lovely historic village and is most famous for being the birthplace (OK, building site?) of the Bluenose, that famous schooner that shows up on the Canadian dime.We decided to stop at Lunenburg on a whim as we drove past all the signs on the Highway saying things like “World Heritage site”, “Home of the Bluenose”, and “Bluenose II in port”.The Bluenose II is a replica of the original Bluenose and you can take a tour on it or charter it. Tickets are on sale just outside of the Nova Scotia Fisheries Museum. The time of day we were there however, the ship was not in port. I heard someone else say that she...Read More

Lunenburg is a UNESCO World Heritage site, the only one in Nova Scotia. It is a lovely historic village and is most famous for being the birthplace (OK, building site?) of the Bluenose, that famous schooner that shows up on the Canadian dime.

We decided to stop at Lunenburg on a whim as we drove past all the signs on the Highway saying things like “World Heritage site”, “Home of the Bluenose”, and “Bluenose II in port”.

The Bluenose II is a replica of the original Bluenose and you can take a tour on it or charter it. Tickets are on sale just outside of the Nova Scotia Fisheries Museum. The time of day we were there however, the ship was not in port. I heard someone else say that she had seen it leave port, but that was as close as we got to it. Well, we bought a post card with its picture on it for the 4-year-old.

The Fisheries Museum seemed like it would be interesting and the kids wanted to go there, but it was getting late and we still had a long drive so we skipped it. It costs $9 for adults and $3 for kids. We have enjoyed all of the other Nova Scotia Museums from the same family and I’m sure it would have been lovely, maybe some other time. The gift shop was quite large and had a good assortment of NS stuff. It had postcards from several other nearby locations, including Chester, Mahone Bay, and Peggy’s Cove (which we bought also).

Adjacent to the giftshop was an ice cream stand, so we decided to get some cones. Always go with the waffle cones when available is my motto, so we did. They had about 8 choices of flavours, everyone had grizzly tracks (Farmer’s Dairy’s vanilla with chocolate and caramel bits), but I opted for the Dublin Chocolate (irish cream flavoured). They were good, but mine had some little bits of ice flecks. The waffle cones were also kind of crumbly. However, ice cream is ice cream and we enjoyed it.

We parked just inside the town at a little parking lot and walked down to the museums. The first place we saw was the public restroom facility. It was restrooms just sitting there, with no information booth. Struck me as kind of odd. The information booth was quite a bit further along.

It was a lovely day so we really enjoyed walking along, looking at the sites. We had to keep our stay short because we had a long drive still to come. In hindsight, we should have driven a little further along to take advantage of the historic views, but we should also have taken the first exit off the highway. Ahh well, live and learn. It added about an hour to the trip from Halifax to Yarmouth, including the ice cream.
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Member Rating 3 out of 5 on September 10, 2006

Old Town Lunenburg

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

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Catferry

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Attraction | "Bay Ferries"

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The Cat is a fast ferry that travels between Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and either Bar Harbour or Portland, Maine. We chose to travel to Portland.The trip takes about 6 hours, which is much quicker than driving, but it took us all day to drive to Yarmouth, so I’m not sure we save much time. The Cat traveled about 41 mph during our voyage. On board the Cat there are several lounge areas where you can get snacks, watch movies, or play cards. It is important to always have a deck of cards when you get on a ferry. You have lots of time to kill. We were sitting in the aft deck, which was fine for the most part. The 4-year-old selected the table based on the colour of the chairs, so we ended up sitt...Read More

The Cat is a fast ferry that travels between Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and either Bar Harbour or Portland, Maine. We chose to travel to Portland.

The trip takes about 6 hours, which is much quicker than driving, but it took us all day to drive to Yarmouth, so I’m not sure we save much time. The Cat traveled about 41 mph during our voyage. On board the Cat there are several lounge areas where you can get snacks, watch movies, or play cards. It is important to always have a deck of cards when you get on a ferry. You have lots of time to kill. We were sitting in the aft deck, which was fine for the most part. The 4-year-old selected the table based on the colour of the chairs, so we ended up sitting near the door that kept getting opened for people to go onto the outside deck. The air that blew in was cool, which was fine, but also smoke filled, no so great. The only place you can smoke on the ship is on the small exterior deck, but somehow, the wind kept blowing the smoke at me.

The ferry played 3 kids movies in the kids lounge – Curious George, Over the Hedge, and Madagascar. There were two other movie lounges, one played The Producers. Mom and the 4-year old watched Curious George for a while, but that was about it. Most of the time we sat at the table and played cards or drew pictures.

We had bought our breakfast on the way so we ate it. We had lunch from the cafeteria. We decided that more breakfast was the way to go, and so we had French toast, coffee, a biscuit, hash-browns, bacon or sausage, and baked beans, all for about $6.95. It sounded like a much better deal than the lunch specials. The 8-year-old had his heart set on pizza, as usual, but they didn’t have any by 11:15, so he settled for a hot dog, which came with a bag of chips. We noticed that there were pizza slices later in the day.

The biggest problem was the cost. It was $800 return for the voyage. (C$922). That seems like a lot because you have to pay it all at once. When you compare it to the C$50 or so you pay for the 1 hour 15 minute crossing from NS to PEI, it seems kind of high, but then, this boat goes a lot faster.

The kids had fun but by the end of the return trip 2 weeks later, they had definitely had enough of ferries for quite some time. More information is available at www.nfl-bay.com. Read Less

Member Rating 3 out of 5 on September 10, 2006

Catferry
58 Water Street
Yarmouth, Nova Scotia B5A 1K9
(902) 742-6800

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Road Trip Part I - Still in NS

Midtown Motel Yarmouth

Carta Restaurant

Peggy's Cove

Old Town Lunenburg

Catferry

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