Shediac, New Brunswick to Antigonish, Nova Scotia – 26 June 2023

We had a brief two night stay in Antigonish, Nova Scotia at Whidden Campground. Antigonish’s claim to fame is that it is home to St. Francis Xavier University one of Canada’s oldest and most prestigious universities. Gorgeous university buildings and a couple of impressive old Catholic cathedrals. Also the only spot in town where there was a Starbucks. Jax got special attention when he was served his pup cup by one of the staff who came outside to the car to give it to him. Antigonish also hosts the oldest continuous highland games in North America. Unfortunately, we were just going to miss it as it was happening on July 2nd.

The following day we headed for the Tourist Information centre in Antigonish hoping to learn a little about the area. the Information Centre turned out to be just a bookcase of brochures in the local library. So I just walked up and down the street taking photos of some of the murals and interesting sites instead. We then headed to Beaver Mountain for a hike. The hike was supposed to provide sweeping views of the city but a few of the trails were closed. So we just walked as far as we could in drizzling rain looking for the viewpoint, which we couldn’t find, and then headed home again after picking up some groceries.

A couple of interesting facts I learned about this province: –The name Nova Scotia means “New Scotland” in Latin. The largest ethnic group in Nova Scotia is guess what – the Scottish, followed closely by the British. The flag of Nova Scotia has a blue Saint Andrew’s Cross on a white background, with the Royal Arms of Scotland in the centre. Scotland’s flag, on the other hand, is a white Saint Andrew’s Cross on a blue background. People from Nova Scotia are often called “Blue nosers”. This slang term was first used back in the 1760s, and most likely refers to early Nova Scotian sailors who would get a blue nose from being out in the cold weather. The other theory is that the term refers to the early settlers who would eat a lot of blue potatoes and herring.