Pictou, Nova Scotia

Pictou has been our home for the last 11 days. We arrived at this quaint northern Nova Scotia town, expecting to spend only 2 days here. We fell in love with this town of 3,800. Our campsite has been the biggest draw but the town also offered many attractions. The easy 4 mile drive to town was very convenient, and everything we wanted was available. The library offered free internet, as well as WiFi, there was a grocery store that was stocked as well as any in L.A., and nice restaurants and several pubs. The town itself has a small main street of only a few blocks, but it is situated right on the water with a lovely view of the harbor.

The town itself was settled by Scottish immigrants who sailed here on the ship Hector in 1773. There is a replica of the ship in the harbor that is available for touring. We couldn’t imagine that 179 people sailed to Nova Scotia on this ship. The Scottish influence is very much in evidence in this area. They have many fairs and festivals here celebrating their heritage. The shops in town sell many items from the different clans and the light posts each have a different clan symbol on them.

We have enjoyed the seafood, locally grown blueberries and fresh vegetables available from a nearby farm. We do most of our own cooking but we have sampled some of the restaurants, a coffee shop and a pub for the local beer. The liquor can only be bought from provincial liquor stores and is more expensive than the other provinces. They have a good selection of wines from many different countries, even California wine.

We have a suggestion to anyone traveling out of the states. Check your charge cards to see if they add on a fee for foreign transactions. We have been using our credit cards in order to keep track of our finances and only recently became aware of the extra fees charged to us. We have been able to use our charge cards everywhere and for everything.