Spent 10 touring Nova Scotia and PEI with my family and thought I'd share some thoughts for those who might be considering a trip.

First off, I would say that it's a great place to visit with great people. You always hear, "people are so nice" - maybe cause we're giving them money ?! - but in the case of the east coast, it's really true. Service at almost every turn was exceptionally friendly.

We started our trip on the Cabot Trail, Cape Breton at Baddeck. This is a wonderful spot - great water side cafe's and inns. The Best Buoy had a great lobster sandwich and quite a serviceable Jost (Nova Scotia) chardonnay. We then hit the Alexander Graham Bell museum. My favourite area was his work on hydrofoils and the life sized replica of the HD-4 (the sixty foot long hydrofoil that set the speed record of 70.86 mph in 1919). A close second was his work on flight. From the museum you can see across the water to his mansion where he worked with his large team. Can you imagine, having a coffee, looking over the water and seeing what crazy thing they were trying in the early 1900's? Quite a renaissance man.

From there we drove to Ingonish and the Keltic Lodge. This is a spectacular property on a point, but unfortunately, I think the hotel is starting to show it's age. While the grounds are great, the rooms are just ok. We ate at the Atlantic Restaurant and front of house consisted of no one over 18 years of age, and they were understaffed. The food was alright. The golf and the hiking were pretty good though.

The next day we veered off the Cabot Trail to explore the way to Meat Cove (the very northern tip of Cape Breton). This drive was well worth the detour as we saw some spectacular coast line, homes and isolated farms. A quick dip at the beach at Margaree Harbour (beautiful) and then supper in Mabou at the Red Shoe Inn. This is a pub owned by the Rankin sisters and is reknowned for their non stop entertainment. The food was very good as was their wide array of micro-brew beers. I found the wine lists in Nova Scotia wanting, but never had a problem finding a good beer. Next stop PEI....