Peggy's Cove

Five years ago, when the band I used to be in was doing an east coast tour, we stopped in Peggy's Cove. I remember being completely overwhelmed by its beauty. We played on the rocks for hours, mesmerized by the waves.

I don't know why I didn't take any photos back then.

When my family made the trek out east again this summer and stopped in Halifax, the one thing I insisted we see was Peggy's Cove. I knew I had to go back there.  I couldn't even explain why we had to.  The beauty of Peggy's Cove is beyond what I can describe with words, and I am a writer.

Somewhere along the way, a roadside sign read SHOTGUN & DINNER $60.  I was really curious about it but we did not stop.

Near the Welcome sign in the parking lot, a man was selling birds, but not real birds to my slight disappointment, as they were works of art made out of metal and stone.

The beauty of Peggy's Cove is a little surprising, given the rather barren landscape. There are no large trees here due to the lack of topsoil, and rain washing away what topsoil there is.  The salty air blown in from the ocean doesn't help either.  What does grow well here? Carnivorous plants.  This is all on the first sign when you enter the village.

But despite all this, the entire place is breathtaking.

Ice cream in a magical place

Rocher Percé, the Pierced Rock

Tales from my family's cross-country road trip

On the road, my dad kept going on about how we had to see this pierced rock.  I hadn't heard of the Rocher Percé, which indicates that I clearly do not have enough French Canadian friends, so I was wondering what my dad was talking about and why everyone was so excited about a rock.

It actually turned out to be a pretty big rock.

We pulled into the little town of Percé to see this famous pierced rock, a giant rock formation that rises out of the sea as though the sea gods wanted to mess with sailors and freak them out with a giant rock that looks like a sailing ship.

Although the whole village has developed a tourist industry around this rock - with a tourist wharf, dozens of restaurants, auberges and camping spots, and really, one of the loveliest towns we've visited - but the area around the legendary pierced rock itself seemed somewhat unprepared for tourists.  A flight of stairs leads you down the cliff towards the beach but stops abruptly, leaving you to scramble down the rest of the cliff's boulders on your own.

Then you make your way across the rocky beach, careful not to sprain an ankle on the rocks (with your flip flops, if you are me), because God knows they won't be able to carry a stretcher up those stairs. 

I mean, I assume these stairs went somewhere at some point, right?

these stairs: out of order. Please take the elevator instead. 

It's actually a fun adventure, but the seaweed and the dead crabs on the floor remind you that the tide is out, and will come back in and pin you up against the bluffs. Sometimes people don't realize that and walk across the sand bars at low tide to walk right up to the Rock...only to be stranded when the tide comes back in. If I lived in the village, I would start up a water taxi business, ferrying back tourists too stupid to read the tides. Or I'd build a boardwalk and charge a toll.

Obligatory pierced rock selfie

We had a lovely sandwich picnic on the other side of the cliffs overlooking the rocks, and then continued driving along the coat past many beaches and other picturesque towns. I love Quebec.