A group of Lehigh Valley travelers recently took a nine-day tour of Nova Scotia and the Maritime Provinces.

Barbara and Tom Campbell of Lower Macungie organized the trip through Premier Travel.

In addition to the Campbells, Betsy Hauser of New Tripoli, Peggy Libsch of Center Valley, Annie and Jules Horvath of Easton, Cynthia Dunton and Tom Callahan of South Whitehall; Kathy Laubach of Wescosville; Ruth Roberts of Northampton; Sharon Fourier of Bath Dick and Ann Mertz of Upper Macungie, Cheryl and Cliff Drubin of Groton, Mass., took the trip which started in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where they visited Halifax Public Garden.

This is designed as a Victorian garden with tropical flowers and serpentine paths, a band shell and statuary.

Nova Scotia was settled by the Scots, thus its name, which means New Scotland.

The influence of the early settlers is still felt there.

Nova Scotia has its own plaid. The colors depict nature which abounds: green for the forests that cover three-fourth of the landscape, and blue and white for the sapphire sea which surrounds it.

A visit to Peggy’s Cove is the perfect picture postcard with the large granite rocks, lighthouse and craggy coastline.

Peggy’s Cove is a typical fishing village along the South Shore where fishing boats and lobster traps are scattered along the wharf which attracts tourists and artists.

The Citadel, a star-shaped fort, offered an excellent view of the city and harbor.

The group visited Fairview Cemetery where victims of the Titanic are buried.

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic had an excellent exhibit of artifacts from shipwrecks including the Titanic and the Great Explosion of Halifax.

They then left Halifax to travel to Cape Breton Island.

“It was a beautiful drive with lots of lakes and evergreen trees,” Barbara Campbell wrote. “We visited the Alexander Graham Bell Museum where there were many of his inventions.”

Bell’s family immigrated to Canada from Scotland. He grew up in a scientific and creative family.

He had advanced ideas such as solar energy, green space, and changing salt water into plain water.

In addition to inventing the telephone, he invented the hydrofoil.

“We journeyed along the Cabot Trail, which is a circular tour, 180 miles long, which is part of Cape Breton National Park where one experiences forest slopes, picturesque Margaree Valley, and the Eastern shore with its coves and sandy beaches,” Campbell said. “We enjoyed a picnic lunch along the way. This took us most of the day.

“The next part of our tour was on a ferry that took us across the Cabot Strait to Prince Edward Island crossing the Northumberland Strait which separates Nova Scotia and New Brunswick from Prince Edward Island.”

Because of the warm waters, Prince Edward Island, 140 miles long, 40 miles wide, with a population of 140,000 people, has wonderful conditions for growing a variety of crops, especially potatoes.

The group enjoyed a lobster and mussel dinner the first night on the island. The lobsters and mussels were caught fresh daily.

The next day, the group continued its tour stopping at the College of Piping where they enjoyed Celtic music and dancing.

Later, they traveled through Prince Edward Island National Park with its varied landscapes: sandy beaches, sweeping sand dunes formed by wind and wave erosion along the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The highlight of their stay on the island was a visit to Cavendish to tour the Green Gables Farmhouse and Museum, the setting of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s popular novel, “Anne of Green Gables.”

The tour was like visiting with Anne and her family reliving her adventures.

That evening, the group attended the musical performance of “Anne of Green Gables,” which has been performed since 1965.

The charm of Prince Edward Island is the friendliness of the people, the cleanliness, with no litter or graffiti, and the lack of congestion.

The redness of the soil and beautiful beaches make the island a wonderful place to visit.

They left the island over the Confederation Bridge, the world’s longest bridge over ice-covered waters, truly an engineering marvel.

The group’s next stop was the Grand Pre National Historical Site to learn about Acadian history and the terrible plight of the people.

Their story was immortalized in the poem “Evangeline,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.

They stopped in Halls Harbor where the Bay of Fundy tides come in.

“We didn’t see the tides, but saw evidence of their height by the markers along the sides of the bay,” Campbell said. “Our final stop on the trip was Lunenburg, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Lunenburg is also the home of the Bluenose, winner of four schooner races from 1921 to 1931.”

As part of admission to the Fisheries Museum of the Atlantic, visitors can board fishing boats and see how the seamen lived and caught the cod which were a big part of their catch.

The museum has three floors. On the first floor is a salt water aquarium. The other floors have ship models, an exhibit on the Bluenose, a movie theater and much more.

Anyone who is interested in more information about trips may contact Barbara and Tom at 610-432-3313.