Touring Tips From The Farmhouse Inn, Part 2

It’s been a hectic month and we’ve been so busy touring around Nova Scotia in between hosting our own guests at the Evening Sail, that there’s hardly been time to sit down and get caught up on my writing!

We’re just back from a quick visit to Chester and are heading up to Cape Breton this weekend, but in the meantime, here are the rest of Andrea Kelly’s tips for the Canning area…

Andrea partners with Ross Creek Centre of the Arts which presents plays outdoors in July and August at their Two Planks and a PassionTheatre set outdoors on 178 acres of farmland.” They are committed to creating unforgettable experiences through one of the oldest mediums that exists: the theatre. This year’s productions are As You Like It and an adaption of The Iliad. Check the Farmhouse Inn’s website for packages.

The Evergreen Theatre in Margaretsville, a 36-foot square, 115-seat theatre, which started out as the Evergreen Baptist Church, is well worth checking out for excellent music!

The Blue Beach Fossil Museum on Bluff Road in Avonport has the largest fossil collection in Atlantic Canada. Make a trip there and start your own collection and talk to Chris ...he is amazing!

The ArtCan Cafe in Canning serves a fabulous lunch and will soon serve dinner and if you need a special gift from Nova Scotia, stop at Denise Aspinall’s Pottery Shop on the Main Street of Canning“.  (you can watch a video of Denise at work here).

And Andrea’s best advice?...“On your way home from Annapolis Royal, be sure to stop at Jonny's Cookhouse in Berwick for the best hamburger and ice cream anywhere”.

We took her advice and both agreed that Jonny’s is the kind of place you see on all those fun tv shows like Diners, Drive-Ins  and Dives . I went straight for a wonderful strawberry milkshake – the kind that still comes with the silver cup and all the extra shake that wouldn’t fit in your glass. Unfortunately, the shake was so filling that even though Mom and I split the Sweet Maria burger (local meat & smoked bacon, homemade bun, sweet chile sauce, grilled pineapple and seasoned mayo), we didn’t have enough room to try one of the nine (yes, I said nine) different kinds of poutine. The True Newfie (made with beer fries, gravy, homemade Newfoundland bread dressing, mozzarella cheese and more gravy) sounded too good to pass up. I don’t even know what beer fries are, but I really wanted to try them!

They don’t have a website, but they are open Tuesday to Sunday, 11am to 8pm, year round! Located at 4287 Highway #1, Berwick, you just take exit 15 off 101 and turn south onto NS-360 for about 3 km. Turn right on #1 (which is west, I think?) and it’s just around the corner.

I’ll have lots of great ideas for a visit to the Annapolis Valley a little later on, but next time (for a change of pace) I think I’ll share some of the out-of-the-way places to hit on the South Shore, with a rundown of our visit with Suzi at the Mecklenburgh Inn in Chester… and please, the next time you’re in Canning, be sure to stop in at the Farmhouse Inn and let Andrea know you found her advice helpful…

Talk to you soon,

Michelle

Touring Tips From The Farmhouse Inn, Part 1

Heading down to Annapolis Royal last week to visit friend and fellow innkeeper, Andrea Boulding, we got distracted (as you do on the best road trips) by the fun things to do in the Wolfville area.

Even though it was still off season, almost all of the shops and restaurants were open so we decided to stop at a place that many of our guests have suggested to us over the past few summers - The Port, in Port Williams. The Port is a gastro-pub, built by a group of locals who thought the town needed a place for high quality food and a more adventurous beer selection. They serve their own micro-brewed beers produced on site and have live entertainment several nights a week. I had the pulled pork sandwich (excellent), while mom had the lobster club with sweet potato fries and we both lamented the cool weather which kept us from sitting outside on their pretty river-side patio overlooking the Cornwallis River.

After lunch we popped in on mom’s friend-of-a-friend, Andrea Kelly, who owns the Farmhouse Inn B&B in nearby Canning. Mom had previously met Andrea through Linda Barkhouse, a talented valley watercolorist whose work is displayed at the Farmhouse, and we wanted to touch base with Andrea and see if she might share a few of her personal recommendations. We caught her on her way out the door, but in the manner of consummate hostesses everywhere, she just laughed and ushered us into her warm kitchen. We spent a lovely hour talking shop and, more importantly, discussing the great secret spots in her area. In fact, she gave us so much great information that we’ll only have room for half of it in this post!

For those of you unfamiliar with the little town of Canning, it’s about 10 minutes out from Wolfville  – halfway between the town famous for Acadia University and the even more famous Bay of Fundy, home to the highest tides in the world. Like much of the Annapolis Valley, the Canning area is filled with pretty farms, rolling fields and more recently, quite a few wineries and vineyards.

We won’t have time for all of her good touring advice but here are a few of Andrea’s suggestions..

“Visit all the wineries in the area (there’s a bunch), and definitely talk to Janet at Blomidon Estate Winery just down the road from the Farmhouse Inn) who gives a very educational tour. Pick up a bottle ...take a picnic and relax in their vineyard.

Viewing the tides is THE big attraction here...the tour books suggest Halls Harbour to experience the high and low tides but there are many other magnificent places for different and amazing experiences...like Scott's Bay (my favourite), at Kingsport Beach you can have an ice cream cone while you walk way, way out on the mud flats, and a trip out to Blomidon Beach with a stop at Delhaven at low tide is a must.

Also a MUST when visiting the Valley is a trip to The Historic Site at Grand Pre . Make sure you continue down the road to Evangeline Beach....in July you can watch the migrating birds as they stop to feed at low tide before starting their trip to South America.

Also don't miss the serene site of the Deportation Cross at Horton Landing”.

Wondering about Andrea’s best advice? -  We’ll have that in our next post, so check back in a few days (or sign up for email notification!) and be sure to drop us a line to tell us if you’ve tried any of these great ideas…we’d love to share your stories and photos…

Talk to you soon,

Michelle