Taking the Ferry To Nova Scotia-Trip Part 3

   Hi everyone. Happy Sunday. I hope you're having a wonderful weekend.

  Today I want to share another post from my trip last month when my husband, myself and our 2 dogs headed up to Nova Scotia. I've shared the beginning of our trip when we visited Maine (Maine post #3, Maine post #2, and Maine post #1), but now we were heading for the main goal of our travels which was Nova, Scotia, Canada. 

   We had 2 options to get there. One, we could have driven further up the coast of Maine, crossed over into New Brunswick and then traveled in our car  down into Nova Scotia. Or two, we could take the ferry from Bar Harbor, Maine across the Gulf of Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.  We chose the ferry for a couple of reasons.

  One, it saved us several hours of driving to get to and then to get home from our destination, and two, when I booked our passage back in the spring they were running a sale on the cost of the ferry so we decided to jump on that. If my husband and I were both retired the extra driving time probably wouldn't have made a big difference, but, since my husband is still working full time, the amount of days he could take off were more limited. Plus, taking the ferry added a bit more adventure to the trip. 

   The ferry, known as the Cat, runs in the late spring, summer and early fall from Bar Harbor, Maine over to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. It's a high speed ferry, and  the trip takes about 3.5 hours. Of course you still have to get there early and line up to board, and you still have to wait for everyone to board before the ferry can leave. And when you arrive, you have to wait your turn to unload and then go through Canadian customs. (Or if coming  the other way, through US customs.) 

   If ever do take the ferry, just know it leaves on time so you can't show up at the  last minute to board. Going over to Yarmouth, it was not a full ferry. When we came back it was.

    We had the dogs with us, as did many other people. They are not allowed on the upper decks of the ferry (unless they are service dogs). Plus you are not allowed to go back down to your car during the journey. They gave us a bright yellow tag to put on our dashboard because someone from the ferry service walks around and checks out cars with animals in them. They also take your cell phone number and will call you if they see anything worrisome.

    We wondered how the dogs would make out, but there was no need to worry. Both times (going over and coming home) they were sound asleep when we got back to the car. Of course our 2 dogs are both senior dogs and sleep a lot, plus they are used to traveling in the car. They know we'll be back to them if they are in the car.

     We found a table for 2 at the front of the ferry on our first trip. I bought myself a glass of wine ( it was after 3 in the afternoon) and a bag of popcorn for us to split. My husband didn't want a drink or I would have gotten him something also. 

At the start of the journey I enjoyed the views out the windows.

   Once out of the harbor, my husband went to stretch out on a bigger seat, so I put my feet up, read for a while and relaxed. 

And before I knew it we were coming into Yarmouth.

  It was evening when we arrived, and with the one hour time change, it was dark by the time we drove off the ferry and made it through customs. We knew this was likely going to be the case so we had booked a hotel for the night right in Yarmouth. 

  That's it for me in this post. Tomorrow for T I'll have another travel post.

  Have a super weekend and start oft he new week ahead.