+100 to everything! Let me add, don't miss New Brunswick, the less visited province in the Maritimes, if you can spare the time. five days or ideally a week will easily get you to all the main places to see.
In the '50s and'60s I spent my childhood summers in a small town called Shediac, but later moved on to Toronto and New Mexico and now Tasmania, Australia, as far removed from a Canadian childhood as one could imagine. Such is life, as the Aussies say.
So Keith's strikingly beautiful images brought back a flood of memories of my languid summers in the Maritimes. So little seems to have changed Down East. A visit to Atlantic Canada is like going back three, four, even five decades in time, to a slower, more calm life.
In September and October we will be returning to Atlantic Canada, my first visit in 12 years and for my partner, the first time.
Our plans are so far tentative but we want to travel slowly.
First, we'll fly to Halifax, for a few days. It's a unique place with much local color and folklore and offers many opportunities to the candid photographer willing to get out and walk the city streets. The locals ("Haligonians") are courteous, friendly and very hospitable to visitors. We want to do one or two day trips out, but not too far. I found Peggy's Cove was overhyped in 1979 and I hope it has improved, but it has many photo ops, pretty if cliche'd.
Then on by car to Cape Breton, one of North America's small corners of earthly paradise. Sydney on the east coast has little to offer, but we will see Baddeck and Louisbourg with its French fortress dating to 1750. Ancestors on my mom's side landed there and settled in French Acadia (Grand Pre) before moving to New Brunswick, so there is a family connection there.
On to Prince Edward Island and Charlottetown. PEI is small and can be "done" as a day trip, but it's a world far removed from the hurdy gurdy of big cities even like Halifax. Keith, did you eat a PEI lobster roll? They are highly addictive, generally available everywhere, not cheap but affordable.
Onwards. Across the Strait (avoid the new bridge and opt for the slower ferry if you have the time) to New Brunswick and to Shediac. This pleasant small town hosts a lobster festival in August, and is laid back and almost serenely quiet at other times. Ideal for slow photography. French Acadian culture, farming and fishing.pleasant scenery, water views, fishing harbors with small docks and boats, good food. The local beaches are almost Australian, sadly autumn is too cool to swim. I have no family in Shediac Cape now and I'll be visiting with an Asian partner, two aliens with no fixed itineraries or plans.
Then to Saint John, with a brief stop in Moncton, a charmless industrial center with an muddy river and a tidal wave aptly named The Bore. Meh.
Saint John is interesting, a sea port with a colorful, even lurid past. Louis Mayer and Walter Pidgeon grew up there. The city center is compact (and walkable) and Old World charming, with the oldest farmer's market in Canada. few tourists, well worth a day and night. Nearby St Martin's, a fishing village on the Bay of Fundy, is right out of Scotland and an easy day trip, with a stark gravel and stone beach, fishing boats typical to the Bay (much like Shediac) and a covered bridge. Pleasantly bucolic, et tres tres photogenique.
In all, a long trip, heavy with nostalgia and for me, deja vu. I'll shoot updates to my archive of Ektachromes and Kodachromes from the '60s-'70s, this time with a Nikon D700, and my Rollei TLR bought in "Sinjon" 1966 and used a lot there.
As many others have confirmed (see Keith's images), the Maritimes have many stunningly beautiful places to photograph. Out of July and August the three provinces (New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI) will be literally all yours to enjoy. Fewer tourist amenities but you can enjoy local services at local prices. Food is surprisingly good. Distances not great - Halifax to Charlottetown, 200 miles, to Shediac 70 miles, to Saint John 70 miles, to Fredericton 50 miles. go by car if you can, as flying to anywhere in Canada will cost you akidney, some limited train services from Montreal or Halifax (via Moncton), inter city buses but these limit your photo stops. The car is the way to go.
Roll on September, and my first two lobster rolls with lettuce, tomato and fresh mayo and a glass of cold Sauvignon on the waterfront in Shediac.
