My province. Such a beautiful place.
Ok something we NEVER do is stop at the tourist information centre between New Brunswick in to Nova Scotia. I mean, why would we? Nova Scotia is our home.
This vacation we stopped, just for FUN, and it is a lovely information centre and rest stop for tourists visiting our province.
WELCOME to Canada’s Ocean Playground!
It’s back to work early this morning for David. We had such a wonderful two weeks exploring our beautiful province. A place where tourists from all over the world visit and return year after year. We are blessed that’s for sure!
YESTERDAY, We spent our afternoon enjoying Lunenburg. One of our favourite towns very close to home. We had a leisurely lunch on the waterfront at The Old Fish Factory with our youngest son ( he works there so it was nice for him to be off working hours and join us). Then we got dessert at David’s favourite spot, Sweet Treasures. And enjoyed strolling the streets browsing some shops and just enjoying the afternoon together.
BEAUTIFUL Lunenburg
And today it’s back to work, and back to routine for me.
Today is July 13th. 13 more days and it will be ONE YEAR since we’ve returned from expat. July 26th we flew home from China. I gave myself a year…a year to adjust…a year to eat and do whatever I wanted…because of what we missed being away…
That year is over…pretty much. NOW, it’s time to stop procrastinating, time to stop dwelling on the fact that China will always have a piece of my heart, and Brazil will always be fondly in my memories of our time there. It’s time! TIME to stop procrastinating and live my life to the “fullest” here and now and find what truly makes s me happy here!!!
Have a great Monday my friends and the start of a brand new week!
I LOVE Festivals and Special Events in the Summer. Picturesque Lunenburg has a few such events during the summer. This weekend was the Annual Lunenburg Festival of Crafts.
Nova Scotia’s most talented craft producers and local artisans. The festival includes traditional Lunenburg food and great entertainment. There are so many “crafty” people in this province. I especially love to see and talk to vendors that are recycling things or “young entrepreneurs” that are earning some “summer money”.
Haha and part of the fun of craft fairs is sampling all the tasty products! ( James and David love this part)
If you’re driving in the area, you will notice a couple more local craftsman…crafting the colourful Adirondack chairs! I love them. We have one and I would really like to add a couple more to my collection along with a rocking chair. Hmm? So many choices and so many colors!!! Decisions.
Dragon boat racing is observed and celebrated in many areas of east Asia. They are traditionally held as part of the June Dragon Boat Festivals all over China. However, when we lived there we searched all over our area to find such a thing to observe, with no luck. They were mostly held in Southern China the years we lived there.
What I didn’t realize, is that for the last 18 years there has been Dragon Boat Races in our own backyard. Well, you know, close to us… in Dartmouth at Lake Banook.
This year July 11 is the 18th Annual Manlife Dragon Boat Races.
Dragon Boat Racing is the “ultimate” in team paddling races! The crew of a standard dragon boat is typically 22, comprising 20 paddlers in pairs facing toward the bow of the boat, 1 drummer or caller at the bow facing toward the paddlers, and 1 sweep (a steerer) standing at the rear of the boat. Dragon boats however vary in length and the crew size will change accordingly, from small dragon boats with 10 paddlers up to the traditional boats which have upwards of 50 paddlers, plus drummer and sweep.
It was a lot of fun to be at this event today and see the racing. There was even a small performance of Chinese culture…dragon dance, Chinese ladies dance, and a young guy playing the erhu with a bit of an east coast fiddling style!
After the races, we decided it would be fun to eat at “The Great Wall”, a Chinese restaurant in downtown Halifax. It was lovely authentic atmosphere and what made it perfect was that there was a family beside us visiting from Shanghai speaking Chinese and eating “the Chinese way”
The whole experience just made me smile! A great day.
We took our Volvo off roading…
out to one of the very tips of our province, to Cape d’Or.
I was curious, I wanted to see what was there.
This place is absolutely AMAZING for views!!
Cape d’Or is located at the north point of the entrance to the Minas Basin.
There are dramatic 200 m cliffs on the western side and 30 m cliffs on the southern side overlooking treacherous tidal currents in the Minas Channel. The Cape was named by French explorers (Cape of Gold) because of the bright copper deposits. Most of the Cape is heavily forested, but the areas beside and above the lighthouse are cleared and grassy providing excellent long-distance views in good weather.
There is also a restaurant and accommodations at this point which in my opinion would make a relaxing getaway! Could you imagine watching the sun rise and set in such a place?
How many we don’t know for certain. In the coal age…
These exposed layers of rock reveal the world’s most complete fossil record of life in the “Coal Age” when lush forests covered Joggins on the coast of Nova Scotia.
The swamp forests produced massive quantities of organic matter that, over years, created the coal deposits for which this period of history is named. Embedded in 15 kilometres of accessible coastal cliffs, rare fossils reveal details of life in the “Coal Age”.
The tide was coming in when we visited so we had a little time to explore the beach and look for fossils.
Interesting!
Have you ever wondered what was on the bottom of the ocean along the coast? What was lurking under that muddy water in the Bay of Fundy?
We enjoyed a day trip adventure to Hopewell Rocks in New Brunswick.
Hopewell Rocks or Flowerpot Rocks, are rock formations caused by tidal erosion. They stand 40–70 feet tall. Located in the Bay of Fundy, where the World’s Highest Tides make for interesting adventures, the base of the formations are covered in water twice a day. And if you are there at low tide… it is possible to view the formations from ground level, while walking on the ocean floor!
High Tide at the Flowerpots at Hopewell Rocks…
And the same place at Low Tide…so AMAZING!!!
And we enjoyed a couple hours walking on the Ocean Floor at low tide…
ooey, gooey, deep rich reddish-brown MUD!!
Home to the highest tides in the world, the Bay of Fundy is a 270 km long ocean bay that stretches between the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia on Canada’s east coast.We took a drive along the coastline of our beautiful province and a bit of the coast in New Brunswick that borders the Bay of Fundy. There are so many interesting little spots ( which I will blog in separate posts) It is really quite amazing to view at high tide and low tide. BUT underneath all that…as David says…
it’s just MUD!
The Sea Caves called “the ovens” are amazing especially at high tide when the water is washing in and out and creating cannon like noises. However tonight, it was low tide, and even though the views were spectacular it didn’t quite have the effect if it were high tide.
It’s a beautiful spot to go for a walk and enjoy the ocean anytime.
Beautiful pristine water, white sandy beach. One of my favourite beaches along the South Shore and today was a gorgeous day. It’s the kind of day you want at the beach and was perfect to show our nephew and his wife. She has never been to Nova Scotia let alone step foot in to the Atlantic Ocean. We were so happy to be able to show them one of many reasons Nova Scotian’s are proud of their beaches.
Lovin’ our beach day!
Just An East Coast Girl 