Seafood in December

The McMahon's Restaurant in Wallace, NS.  We made our way there on Saturday afternoon, and it was worth the drive!!

 

Cass says... This was my first visit to this restaurant and I was not disappointed.  I made the risky decision to order a lobster sandwich platter, in December.  It was great!!  Lobster was cooked properly and was very tasty.  Fries were great. Coleslaw was yummy!  I did find the music a little loud, I prefer it playing softly; but the food and the view (it being right on the water) more than made up for it.

Prices were economical and looks like a great place to take your family.  I'll be going back for sure!  Cannot wait to see it in the summer and maybe sit out on the deck overlooking the water.  4.5 / 5 Crowns

 

 

 

King says... It was my second time at the restaurant. I'd ordered the two piece fish and chips previously on my first (and solo) visit and was thoroughly impressed. So much so that I practically dragged my partner there for a second visit. I again got the 2 piece fish and chips, and was wowed again. Staff was excellent, ambiance was warm, the view is spectacular, and the food ... the food is exquisite. Well portioned, good pricing, surprisingly quick (it's a small town, so the place wasn't too busy when we went). I will definitely go back. Highly recommended. 5 / 5 Crowns

 

Balancing Rock Hike

The Balancing Rock... located on Long Island, just past Tiverton NS.  A drive and a ferry away, it is a hike from the road out to the shore.  It was the next stop on our vacation this year.

 

Cass says.... For years I have seen pictures of this balancing rock and wanted to go.  Living in Nova Scotia and not getting to see the awesomeness we have here is just wrong!  Finally after all this time, we went to Tiverton to hike out to stand in awe at the Balancing Rock!  There is a 2.5km (return) trail that leads you through the woods, mostly level with boardwalks.  It reminded me of being in my own fantasy movie.  Then when you get to the coast there is stairs... a lot of stairs... leading you down to the viewing point.  The stairs are sturdy and well built.  Standing on the platform looking out at St. Mary's Bay and this towering rock... I am in awe!  We took a little snack with us so we sat and ate while taking in the view.  I could have stayed for hours looking at the water and rocks... and avoiding the climb back up the stairs!  It was exhausting but worth every second!  If you enjoyed your time there, and the view, the park operates on donations, there is a box at the trail entrance.  My experience was awesome, some day I hope to go back and go again!  5/5 Crowns!

King says .... I knew nothing about this 'Balancing Rock' that she mentioned, and agreed to have a road trip to go see it. So not having any pre-conceived notions about it, it was a great adventure. We drove to it, and honestly drove past it as we (meaning I) missed the signs and had to turn around and go back. The reception area is not that large and couldn't have held more than 7-8 cars, so it's small scale. At the main entrance to the trail are a couple of rustic bathrooms, and a few picnic tables and some information on both the trail, and the balancing rock. There is a donation box at the front as the whole thing is unstaffed, and upkept by volunteers only (no Gov't grants available?). The trail itself is quite long, but not overly difficult terrain so wear good shoes, and I'd bring snacks of some sort as well. The trail part has a couple of large, long boardwalks with a few signs along the way detailing some of the flora and fauna. Although kinda wet in a few places with a few small puddles, it wasn't hard terrain, but it's longer than you think. After the trail is the downhill part where it's not difficult or steep, but it's a lot of steps. I counted over 250 to the end to see the balancing rock. At the end is a wonderful view of the ocean and of course the balancing rock, with a few benches to relax on (and enjoy the snacks). Also noteworthy is that there are no rest stops or benches along the main part of the trail until you reach the hilltop near the end where it goes downhill. It's a good thing to have a bench at the top of the 250 stairs going back up before you go back along the trail. The trail itself is very well maintained, and was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. It's a long walk and you should expect to take a couple hours to complete the jaunt, but it's well worth it, and I would go again. 5 Crowns.

Cove Oceanfront Campground

The Cove Oceanfront Campground is located on the west coast of Nova Scotia in the Fundy Shore and Annapolis Valley region in the village of Parker's Cove.  We stayed there on the first night of our vacation.

Cass says...  When we arrived at the campground, I was initially impressed, the office clerk was pleasant and recommended our campsite as one of her favourites, the pool looked inviting on the very warm day we were having, and the view of the Bay of Fundy was fabulous.  When we were looking at the sites and prices, they were over-priced, there were only a couple of the cheapest $30 sites, but they were in terrible spots,  so we went with the recommended site and paid an unbelievable $50 for it.  However, we decided it would be our treat and it was too late in the day to try and hunt down someplace else... and that pool looked so good!  We made our way to our secluded site, which "looked" great.... only one problem... half of the site was swamp, running water from a small stream had soaked half of the site and my shoes!!  The back part of the site was higher ground and dry.  We took a quick look at the neighbouring sites and they were wet too.  We decided to make the best of it and set our tent up on the dry hill.  We enjoyed the pool, it was clean and warm.  The bathroom/changing room was clean.  We had a fabulous sunset which was worth it's weight in gold... but we could have seen it from a less expensive campground, or drove to the wharf.  We had a good nights sleep and packed up in the morning.  Before leaving we stopped at the bathrooms for showers and to get ready for the day... they charge $0.50 for 6 min of hot water in the shower.  No mention of THAT in their Doers & Dreamers Guide ad, and no mention of that when we checked in!  There was also only 1 shower and 2 toilet stalls, I am glad it wasn't a weekend.  The great pool and sunset does not make up for swamp site and pay showers.  I give it 1.5 / 5 crowns based on my experience there.

 

 
King says... The drive into the campground was interesting as it's at the bottom of a steep hill where you have to make a 90 degree turn at the bottom either left or right. Better pay attention while driving.The actual campground itself was warm and inviting, it's well kept and groomed on the grounds. It is quite neat, and the office also has a small canteen where you can get your basic campground necessities. The stuff in the store was overpriced, but honestly I have yet to find a campground canteen that isn't - I expect that. We spoke with an Employee who was quite knowledgeable about the campground and it's amenities. Upon her advice we picked one of the sites with a terrific view of the ocean, and paid the premium price for a good site ($50 per night). We paid for some firewood, which is delivered to the site at 7pm, and proceeded to the campsite. The campsite itself wasn't overly large, but it was near a fresh water tap, and close to the bathrooms. The site itself was soaking wet, over 50% of the site was sloshy. The wood was delivered on time, even the Employee was hesitant to walk on the site once she saw all the water and happily let me take it from the road back to the site. While the pool facility was excellent, again very neat and well kept, it's not deep (no more than 7 feet at the deepest part) but that's ok. The pay showers was more than a mild irritation however. Paying a premium price for a substandard tenting site was one thing, having to pay for a hot shower the next day was too much, and I complained about the soggy site and the paid showers, and was frankly ignored.

Honestly, I think that this park is more geared towards RV's and the tenting was likely added as an afterthought. The view of the ocean, and sunrise/sunsets is amazing and that's what you're paying for. However, considering that we've been to other, better sites for less money, I can't give this one a good rating. This campground gets one crown from me.

If you choose to visit this campground, we sincerely hope you have a better experience than we did.

Sincerely,
King & Cass

Saltscapes Restaurant

The Saltscapes Restaurant and General Store at Millbrook Power Centre Truro, Nova Scotia is a grand way to start our first blog entry.  We arrived and made our way though the general store to the restaurant and were seated right away. Since we didn't shop at the General Store part of the business, the review is for the restaurant only.

It is here we discussed this idea of a reviewing blog, as we make our way to different parts of Nova Scotia and hopefully expanding out to other parts of the Maritimes.  We are so excited to be doing this and sharing our experiences with you.  So let us begin...





Cass says...  I am in love with this restaurant!!  It has such a comfortable feeling, real wooden chairs, big fireplace, lots of natural light and great décor, lots of antiques!!  Then there is the menu, I really wanted to try a bit of everything.  I settled on the Maple Chicken Breast Dinner, a grilled double chicken breast, with a maple glaze, for $17.  The menu is a bit pricey if you have a big family... but totally worth it!  One of the things I really liked, and you don't see a lot of, is the extensive sides, I could choose 2 sides with my dinner and it was hard, everything looked so good.  I settled on Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Maple-Glazed Carrots.  While we wait for our meal, a basket of biscuits was delivered to our table, I think this is a wonderful touch.  We didn't have to wait too long for our meal, a good time to enjoy the décor, great conversation and the clouds outside that looked like they were going to open up any minute for a summer shower!  The meal... wonderful!  I enjoyed every mouthful!  I had a wonderful experience and meal here, I will be back!  Now ladies, if you are anything like me, the condition of the bathroom is important.  As women, we often judge a restaurant by the bathroom... fair? maybe not, but it is what it is.  I report that at my visit, bathroom was clean and stocked with supplies.  Nothing worse than empty soap containers or paper towel!! My experience here deserves 5 crowns! 

King says... I will try to consider everything I can without being too wordy. Initial impression was great, not hard to find, easy to park and make our way in, very inviting from the outside. We were seated right away, although I suspect on a busy day, you may have to wait a bit before being seated. The server was professional, and cheery, and sat us at a 4 person table, where she gave us our menus, we ordered our drinks (no alcohol for us) and were given the complimentary biscuits. They were terrific BTW and gave us just enough time to figure out what we wanted for the main course. We both ordered the maple glazed chicken, although we both ordered different side dishes. What I thought was great was that we got to choose 2 from several different side options - always a plus. I asked for the hand-cut fries, and fishcake. Both were very good, and well portioned. The meal was great, although my glass had some sort of "gunk" on the outside. (If I had to guess, I'd say that the glass was machine washed and it was baked on) Although a little expensive compared to some other restaurants that we've been to, it's WELL worth it. After the meal, we had some left overs to take with us, like I said before well-portioned, the server put it into a take-home box which appeared to be recycled paper (rather than poly-styrene) which I thought was amazing. The ambiance in the restaurant is very relaxed, but not lazy. The decor and furniture was rustic, but well maintained and cared for, and real, not the cheap stuff. The background noise was minimal, and the radio was just loud enough to hear without drowning out conversation. And oddly noteworthy was the molasses on every table. My experience was terrific, near perfect except for the dirty glass which I can overlook. To be fair, the server may not have noticed, and I didn't mention it, and I'm sure she'd have corrected it had I brought it up. Five Crowns.

In the end we are full and happy, who could ask for more!  We agree that this restaurant is great and we hope that if you visit you have a wonderful experience too!

We hope that you will follow our blog and share it, we are looking forward to sharing with you our experiences at restaurants, accommodations, campgrounds, and attractions around Nova Scotia.

Sincerely,
King and Cass