Our trip from Maine to Nova Scotia started with a ferry from St. John's New Brunswick to Digby Nova Scotia. We were told it was the last ferry out, before the hurricane hit. Digby is a small fishing town, known for their scallops. As the fishermen readied their boats for the storm, we headed for scallop dinner before a long drive to Grand Pre where we would be staying. Along the way, we stopped for hurricane provisions - water, wine, beer! I started to notice that the highway wasn't grey, it was pink! Remembering the pink granite in Bar Harbor, I realized this must be coloring the concrete used for the highway. There would be normal grey/black road and then a patch of pink!
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| on way to Digby |
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| Our ferry to Digby from St. John New Brunswick |
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| fun art in Digby - scallop capital |
Grand Pre is the heart of the Acadian settled community in Nova Scotia and was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2012. It is a rural, farming community that has developed its wine industry the past decade or so. Rolling hills are surrounded by fingers of the Bay of Fundy. Large oak trees shade the streets, but after the hurricane, there are fewer of these.
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| farm on the Bay of Fundy near Grand Pre |
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| Memorial Church in Grand Pre commemorating deportation of Acadians by British 1755-1762 |
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| Grand Pre and area are known for their wine - looking onto Minas Basin, off the Bay of Fundy |
Saturday morning we knew our time was limited as Hurricane Dorian was to hit hurricane strength in the afternoon. We headed to the Wolfville farmers market where organic and heirloom vegetables and fruits were for sale along with wines, ciders, breads and knitted or crocheted items - some of which were being made there as people walked by. As many men as women were knitting!
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| heirloom tomatoes at Wolfville farmers market |
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| brewery in Wolfville church |
Because of the storm, few businesses were open - and no brewery or winery was available! But we did find the Annapolis Apple Cider store was open so we had to try all their tastings. That is until 2pm when they, one of the last businesses to be open, closed for the storm. We took our farmers market goodies and made our way to the car, getting drenched despite rain gear. We were ready!
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| Turk decides he likes cider |
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| lots of apple cider to taste in Wolfville |
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| Hurricane Dorian making her way in - view from our AirBNB room |
And then the hurricane hit. While it started raining and blowing in the morning, by 2pm everything closed. Electricity went off around 4:30, right after the Turk made our dinner. We sat on the floor looking out our big window at the Grand Pre view park with its 5 flags whipping in the winds. Our window seemed to bend in and out as I tried to hold it still with my spread out hand. Evening came and we could hear winds, rain, tree branches hitting things. The force of the winds made our bed feel like a small child was jumping on it....all night! The one thing that didnt seem like a hurricane was the temperature. Instead of hot, muggy air, we were able to sleep in 65 degree temperatures which makes a hurricane much more tolerable!
The next morning, with less fierce but still persistent rains and winds, our hosts brought us coffee, blueberry muffins and more blueberries for breakfast. A nice way to recover from the storm.
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| And the storm begins - notice the flags are flying the opposite direction from photo above |
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| The Turk's hurricane dinner. Organic salad, bread, handmade pasta with mushrooms- ingredients from farmers market. And wine! |
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| Storm chips are a Canadian thing - just chips in storm. |
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| trees burned from storm salt water |
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| guys cleaning up the road |
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| No power, no water - Homeowners brought us breakfast! |
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| found open brewery - Schoolhouse Brewery in Windsor, NS |
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| Thought this was a line for gas - nope: Tim Horton's coffee!! |
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| Canadian army out in force to help. Weird to see armored vehicle at gas station - woman soldier gassed it up and left. |
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| Luckett Vineyards - no electricity, but we walked around |
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| Luckett known for their phone booth in middle of vineyard - free to call anywhere |
We stayed 3 days and did not get power or water back. We spent our time walking trails, driving to the wineries to see their view - but not taste their wines since they did not open. The Turk helped clear roads one morning and we did find a brewery open in Windsor along with a Chinese restaurant. Our hosts invited us to Sunday dinner - homemade clam chowder from clams they had picked while in Prince Edward Island the week before. They used the camp stove - the same stove they used to make our coffee each morning. It seemed everyone had camp stoves, chain saws and there were many generators. It also seemed there was little drama about the storm. Except if you lived in Halifax where the city was hit hard....and people dont have chain saws.
