Travel The Secret Canadian Life Of The Scotia Prince. By Colin Sargent.

a place too oddly wonderful for facile, 'magaziney' descriptions. Nova Scotia is neither 'upscale'nor'downscale'; it's totally off the scale. Take the Maryland Eastern Shore and chutney it with a gorgeous admixture of French, British Empire, Gaelic, and Scottish influences, and you're on your way. As you drive along the "invisible" coast that faces Maine across the Bay of Fundy (the Scotia Prince runs a nearly parallel course from Portland to Yarmouth ... many Mainers forget that their view of England is blocked by Nova Scotia!), huge white churches appear and disappear out of mirages set against deepblue, crashing ocean views, thousands of scallop boats (Digby is world famous for its "Scotia gold"), tall, narrow "Novi" gables, and - prepare yourselves, waterfront investors - FOR SALE

They're off! The international two-man dory races always draw a crowd during the Fisheries Exhibition held in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia.

Humpback and other whales prowl the waters off Nova Scotia all summer long and are often visible from the decks of the Scotia Prince.

SIgnS.

For better or worse, it seems as if the entire circumference of Nova Scotia waterfront is for sale! With low-tech scrutiny, we counted over 200 bold oceanfront lots or houses for sale as we drove the 50 miles from Yarmouth to Annapolis Royal. And the prices? Close your eyes and open wide: In "downtown" Annapolis Royal, formerly the historic French settlement of Port Royal, there's a three-story white house fronting the saltwater Annapolis River. Three bedrooms, a wrap-around porch hanging over the water, a nursery, and a view out of National Geographic are all surrounded by a white picket fence with a "Wee Deal" real estate sign on it, telephone (902) 245-4785. The house

This year's Exhibition takes place September 23-27. is 5 houses away from the famed Kings Theatre and gallery district and has a view comparable to one you'd have on the Kennebunk River, on the ocean side of Chick's Marina. One hundred yards to your left is a colorful cluster of scallop and fishing boats. To your right, a pretty view of the Annapolis basin and, even more fascinating, the only tidal electric power generating plant in North America (see the letter from the editor in this issue), a modem structure that is quite pleasing to the eye. This pilot pro. ject generates 20,000 KW and lights up 1 percent of the province of Nova Scotia! They'd never find you up here! Price for the house is $57,900 Canadian, which works out to $37,635 U.S. Price for the power generating plant is $55 million Canadian.

Tiny Annapolis Royal is the top drawing card on the Bay of Fundy. Only an hour from Yarmouth on the Evangeline Trail, it's a bed-and-breakfast haven where British culture has been curiously, and deliciously, marooned. Two strong entries are Bread •and Roses, 82 Victoria Street (the name comes from a 19th-century women's mill rebellion - "We won't work for just bread. We'll work for bread and roses!") and the Queen Anne Inn, both steps away from the wondrous Annapolis Royal Gardens. Bread and Roses is a perfegly restored Victo. rian brick mansion, with grand fireplaces and museum-quality antiques inside. $48 Canadian for a double, complete with country breakfast of breads, jam, and fresh eggs. The Queen Anne Inn costs $53 Canadian, including continental breakfast, or you can opt, as we did, for a full breakfast (fried tomatoes, eggs, marmelade, sausages, bacon, bran muffins, coffee, toast) for three, which cost $8.75 Canadian. The Queen Anne is the former William Ritchie mansion, commissioned in 1868 as a wedding present for William's son, Norman, and the beds are so soft there that you can dream your way into another century. We even enjoyed the rusty water (like at my grandmother's house) that filled our elegant tub. Emerging from the grandmother water, we learn at breakfast that the beautiful vertical stalks of maroon, purple, and white that cover the Nova Scotia countryside like a heathery sweater during summer are called lupins.

And then, at breakfast, a minor breakthough insight: on our Nova Sco-

tia fresh cream dispenser (creme veritable) is written the words "duree prolongee," extended life. Here in Annapolis Royal, there is a sort of extended life, something like Brigadoon, where you live forever undiscovered in the maritimes and bump into lost souls like Rex Harrison's son, Noel, at the exceptionally fine Newman's Restaurant in town. What's Noel Harrison doing here? Performing in "Adieu, Jacques ... " at the Kings Theatre, a reflection on the life and death of Jacques Brei, conceived and performed by, you guessed it, Noel Harrison: "The first time I saw Brei was in a smoky bar in Knokke-IeZoute in Belgium. Knokke-Ie-Zoute is on the North Sea ... " The following week, Kings Theatre willpresent "White Lies and Black Comedy," diverting stuff for a town of a few thousand residents.

The Royal Gardens here are astounding, and ev~n the roughest sensibilities will be sweetened after pawing through the helianthemum nummularium (splashes of pink and yellow) and tradescantia virginiana rosea (purple).

For more color, try searching for amethyst, quartz, and agate, which abounds on the Digby beaches. And be sure to try Newman's Restaurant, 218 George Street, Annapolis Royal, (902)' 532-5750, another marooned bit of the British Empire, replete with a matched pair of 7-foot ivory tusks passed down for a century or so to the owners, who have international cuisine experience and a sensuous approach to fine dining, way beyond what you'd expect to find in a town this size, and featuring Grand Pre, Nova Scotia's own wine, a wine of surprising quality which is grown, fermented, and bottled in Evangeline's hometown, honest to Longfellow. -Gaelic, forgotten bits of language.

Digby scallop boats at the end of the world.

Phrases like "I think I'll tow that alongside for a while before I pull it onboard," meaning, 'I'm not sure I believe what you've just said.' "Starfish and coffee, maple syrup and jam; apple trees, tangerines, and a side order of ham." The words are from a song by Prince, but I suspect he had to bed-and-breakfast his way through Nova Scotia before finding the inspiration!

To book passage on the Scotia Prince, call (207) 775-5616.

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