Tucked away in Earltown’s Cobequid Hills, Sugar Moon Farm is a family owned sugar camp renowned for its maple products, especially its pancakes and the liquid gold you pour on them. I’d taken Highway 102 north from Halifax and on the way made a pit stop in Truro to visit the Glooscap Heritage Centre. The Mi’kmaw are Nova Scotia’s Aboriginal people and this museum celebrates their culture and legends. Afterwards, a small hike in Victoria Park, where I barely made a dent in its 1,000 acres of natural beauty, got my appetite going.

Open year-round, Sugar Moon Farm’s log cabin restaurant with its seasonal and local menu attracts visitors far and wide. It’s as popular for its food and tours, as for its access to hiking and biking trails, skiing, and snowshoeing. The only thing better than working out is the reward of eating good food afterwards.

There’s good stuff cooking at Sugar Moon Farm.

Quinta Gray who runs the business with her husband let me sample the cream of their crop. A bit of a maple freak, I fell for a mid-season harvest and some of the best stuff I’ve ever tasted. Along with fresh-baked biscuits with maple butter and some maple baked beans, I made quick work of a stack of stoneground organic wholegrain buttermilk pancakes. Their all-you-can-eat service kept any pangs of guilt away. Throughout the year Sugar Moon features chef nights to showcase some of Nova Scotia’s finest. Day or night, single or traveling with a family, it’s a sweet spot for a getaway and I left trying to figure out how to make that happen.

Celtic spirit isn’t hard to find in New Glasgow.

A visit to the riverside town of New Glasgow, founded by Scottish settlers, found the culture and spirit of this Gaelic community alive and kicking. At the indoor-outdoor New Glasgow Theatre, two young girls in green plaid skirts performed a traditional highland dance. Their black leather laced slippered feet whispering across the worn and weathered wooden planks of the gazebo. A festival town, one of its most popular attractions is The New Glasgow Riverfront Jubilee. Held every August, it showcases domestic musicians and is a great way to get turned on to old and new sounds in its lovely outdoor setting along a lazy river. Camping, B&Bs, and more traditional hotels accommodate the thousands of visitors who gravitate to this town throughout the year for its music and hospitality.

Next Stop: On the road and headed for Antigonish, known for its Highland Games, beloved St. FX University and…food.