Eric Stendal

Date: Thursday, 10 September 2026

City / Region: Halifax, NS –> Sydney, NS

Weather: the weather is 17° and very rainy with wind gusts of up to 60 km/h

Morning Summary

Not a terrific sleep last night – we woke up a few times but we’re all ready to go now to drive up to Sydney. Even Maggie is all packed up and ready to go!

It’s raining steadily right now. A few more sips of coffee and then I’ll have to start lugging everything downstairs and out to the car.

We left Halifax and are making our way towards Sydney and we’ve stopped in Waverley to grab a coffee and use the facilities. The wind gusts are up to 60 km an hour and a couple of times the car was hydroplaning so we’re taking a very slowly.

Afternoon Summary

The scenery around us was full of rolling hills and mountains with lakes, streams, waterfalls, and wet roads with rain. Sweeping rain was seen blowing across the trees in front of us while we were driving. It was quite pretty to see.

The drive was a tad stressful due to the winding roads and puddles of standing water that pooled in lines on the road where your tires drive. It forced us to slow down and drive more judiciously. We couldn’t believe the number of motorists blowing by us at high speeds.

We arrived in Sydney and made our way to our hotel to check in. We’re staying at the Simon Hotel. It’s a great dog-friendly hotel and our room is more akin to a little suite; it’s very cozy and roomy.

We brought our stuff up to the room and got Maggie settled. Shelley and I then headed out in the car to drive around to see what Sydney had to offer. There sure were a lot of pubs and places to eat.

A Regency line cruise ship was in port and therefore there were extra vendors on the harbour-front who were opened to accommodate them. We took advantage of this and did some snooping through the various shops. Shelley bought a few bracelets (beautiful ocean pearl and cosmetic jewellery type bracelets – one with a letter “S”). I bought nifty mug that was made in the shape of a whale. Quite cute.

Evening Summary

We heard from one of the vendors that the restaurant in our hotel was one of the better ones in town. So we elected to dine there tonight. It’s called “Trio” and the food was delicious. Nice atmosphere. It reminded us of “Pebbles” restaurant back in Sechelt. Dad and Jeanne were in mind at supper tonight. They would have loved a place like that. I ordered some Grand Breton scotch (locally made) and it really reminded me of Dad.

I ordered steamed mussels. I hadn’t had that in so many years. They were excellent. The plate looked huge when it arrived at the table, but when you get right down to it, there was just enough as an appetiser.

Shelley ordered the special – a breaded chicken patty with some chutney and melted provolone cheese. The breading and the chutney were to die for, she said. It was so good we recommended it remain on the menu and the manager told us it will be on the Fall menu to start – yay!

After supper, we retired up in our room and snuggled with Maggie between us on the couch and watched one of Shelley’s favourite movies, “P.S. I Love You”.

Finishing up the blog and then heading to bed. Will figure out what we will do tomorrow but I think we’re going to hit Louisbourg for sure.

Photos

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Daily Highlights

• Our best moment of the day was finally getting here after such bad weather that we had to drive in.
• Our funniest moment was me discovering that I could use my distance glasses held in my hand like a magnifying glass to see where we were on the map I bought in Halifax.
• The biggest surprise for us was seeing on the map how far we’d travelled in Nova Scotia but the distance travelled did not seem to equal the time. It felt like a short drive to cover so much ground.
• We learned that the rest of Cape Breton should be good to drive through even after their bad storm last week.

Logistics

• We travelled from Halifax, NS through to Sydney, NS where we stay the night.
• A couple of souvenirs from here. Might purchase more tomorrow.
• Check out Louisbourg Fortress timings and maybe fit in Glace Bay too.

Closing Thoughts

It was a stressful time of driving with an appropriate amount of ‘rest stops’ for us. Maggie would NOT go pee in the rainy grass but rather waited for the comfort of her pad in the hotel room!

We enjoyed the drive through the winding country side and I sure liked being near the open water again. Reminded me of BC a lot.