Ships – Page 2 – Just An East Coast Girl

Christmas By the Sea 🎄⛵🐳⚓️

All the way from the “Christmas Tree Capital of the World”…

It’s Christmas by the Sea this weekend!

Image courtesy of Peter Zwicker Photography Bacalao Studio. He does amazing photography!! Check out his website.

http://www.bacalaophoto.ca

We don’t have snow yet but I think this photo truly represents “Christmastime in Lunenburg” I live 20 minutes from Lunenburg, one of Nova Scotia’s well known Historic towns. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Town. People come here from all over the world .

This weekend in Lunenburg it is their Heritage Christmas and Christmas By The Sea.

There are actually 3 Christmas Festivals in towns close by this weekend, not to mention the small communities having events and then there is the Victoria Christmas at the Citadel and Lighting Ceremonies at various spots in Halifax. And of course I want to go to all so… yesterday I stopped into Mahone Bay for Father Christmas Festival pics and we drove to Lunenburg today. Tonight is Bridgewater’s Christmas On The LaHave complete with fireworks. These are the local ones. Next year I think I’m gonna take in some of the events in the city I haven’t seen.

This morning we bundled up, picked up some coffee and drove to Lunenburg.

Lunenburg is a well known fishing town by the sea, it is the HOME of the Bluenose II, and so much of the Christmas traditions and decorations revolves around that. It is also very beautiful!

And a few at night…

We didn’t get chance to take in the festivities, the lighting of the vessels, the Christmas by the Sea market and crafts and food tasting, we didn’t see the parade or the tree lighting at the bandstand BUT we got some beautiful pictures of a very special place…Merry Christmas from one of our favourite towns by the sea…

Vacation is over…back to work!

The last day of David’s Fall vacation. What to do? Another gorgeous day and the leaves are still so beautiful. James was actually up early to capture this beauty at the old train bridge in Bridgewater.

We decided another drive…a Sunday drive …a different route…a different part of the coast. We are so blessed to live in a province that has coast on all sides.

We skipped church today and left early so it wouldn’t be a late day, took Abby for a short drive to Nana’s ( she LOVES the car) and headed to the valley.

We took Hwy 8 passing Kejimkujik National Park on the way. We wanted to see the site of the really bad forest fires this summer. Such devastation.

Saw this beauty after all the brown and char from the fire.

This drive put us in the quaint town of Annapolis Royal. We walked around Fort Anne and downtown, then crossed the causeway to have lunch at Vicki’s.

After lunch it was out to the coast to Port Royal, Habitation , Victoria Beach and Digby Gut. We thought we could get all the way around the coast on this area but there were no roads so we had to back track and cross over to Parker’s cove. This is a lovely area over looking the Bay of Fundy. I would love to have a cottage here. We followed this route along to Hampton, Port Lorne and Port George before cutting across to Middleton and then catching Hwy 10 home to Bridgewater.

We had a gorgeous day to do a little more sight seeing. It was a wonderful vacation exploring more of our own province. A place where tourists from all over the world visit especially in the Fall.

And it’s back to work for David.

We were actually heading off to bed at 9pm when he got a call from work with a major situation and he had to go in. Technically he’s still on vacation but it’s back to work!

Today I am getting back to my routine and cooking up a special Birthday dinner for our sweet daughter who is 27 today!!! Whoa! How can that be?

david-laura-james Have a great week friends!

It was a beautiful day for a drive…

This afternoon we went for a beautiful drive along the coast…a different road, a new route in a place we haven’t been before. There’s something about old weathered boat and lobster sheds that grab my attention.

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How many of these kind of pictures do I need? Sorry, I love them.

We ended our day at the waterfront. Five cruise ships in port today and lots of people around. I love walking the boardwalk.

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Nova Scotia’s Ambassador

The Bluenose

Nova Scotia’s Beautiful Schooner

Seats are sold out for cruises this season, BUT We just had to have a tour!

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Here are a few pics from the summer of 2016 as she’s out and about. A few of the pics are mine ***but most are favourites other wonderful Nova Scotia photographers have captured. I just had to share…

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Such a beauty!

ACROSS CANADA DAY: 7 July 16~ Badlands & Hoodoos and Pearls & A Pirate Ship

This morning we left Calgary and headed for the Badlands! Drumheller and the Hoodoo trail to be exact. This is such a cool area just an hour and a half outside of Calgary. What is really cool is the way the landscape gradually changes as you get closer to the badlands. We went from flat land with roads that you can see for miles lined with beautiful green and yellow. The canola crop is in full bloom and it’s amazing. As you get closer it gets a little hilly and then all of a sudden you are in the Badlands!

Badlands are dramatic landforms that develop an intricate network of deeply incised, narrow, winding gullies and occasional fantastically shaped hoodoos. Steep, often precipitous and densely rilled slopes almost devoid of vegetation are striking evidence of the forces of erosion.

Hoodoos (aka fairy chimneys and earth pyramids) are tall rock pillars created from soft sedimentary rock (sandstone) topped with a harder rock which is more resistant to time and the elements like wind and rain. Over time the weather creates 4 to 7 metre tall red rock pillars shaped like mushrooms. The hoodoos are easily identified. These hoodoos are a symbol of the Canadian Badlands in Alberta, Canada. Aboriginals in the 18th century used “hoodoo” ( not voodoo) to communicate with evil and supernatural forces. They believed the hoodoos were evil giant gods turned to stone by the Great Spirit. It was really cool to see this!

After a quick lunch at a picnic spot along the way…

it was on to Edmonton. To West Edmonton Mall. We just HAD to go back! I wanted to see what changed in the last 29 years. There’s a huge pirate ship, the Santa Maria ( an exact replica of Christopher Columbus’ flagship for his first voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492). And it is here at this spot, One of the special memories I have of our visit to West Edmonton Mall in July 1987 was choosing an oyster and inside was a beautiful pearl…a bluish one. David had the pearl put in to a ring as a 1st year Anniversary gift for me. I still have it BUT I don’t wear it often because the ring part has worn a little bit over the years.

My pearl ring from West Edmonton Mall 1987

I think that started my love for pearls and I am so fortunate to have many beautiful strands from China. Maybe I should have done this again for our 30th Anniversary, after all it’s the suggested gift 😛

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There’s a skating rink, an amusement park, mini golf, a Fantasyland hotel, a wave pool…all these things I remember. It was fun to go back!

There are also shops and many stores at West Edmonton Mall BUT really…who goes to shop?

On the way home we stopped very quickly to see our niece Rachel, Gerald & baby Kiet in Airdrie.

and the outlet mall, Cross Iron Mills.

To end another wonderful day we had a great visit with a very dear friend ( she’s like family) Amber. She used to baby sit our kids and is very close to our family. She know lives in Crossfield so she came to visit at our hotel and I totally forgot to get a picture…

Another great day but I need to get to bed and rested. Tomorrow starts our “romantic two days” that are celebrating our Anniversary.

Picturesque Places

I love when family and friends come to visit. It usually means that we get to show them the most picturesque places in our area. I never tire of this…

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We had a fabulous day!

Adventure Awaits…

I picked up a copy of the 2016 Nova Scotia “Doers & Dreamers” book as well as the Culinary Guide.

Oh the possibilities & choices….

I love our East Coast province ❤ and I love summertime to explore and see and try new things!

This is such a great picture captured by a local photographer… Catherine Rose Photography.

Enjoy your last day of June!

Step back in time this weekend

A gorgeous summer weekend and off we go to Liverpool for a Historic Festival.

(And a little snack of Lil’ Orbits donuts)

What are Privateer Days?

Privateers were privately owned ships that were authorized by government to raid ships from other countries – “a form of legalized piracy on the high seas” The men who served aboard these ships were also referred to as “privateers.” After the American Revolution, American privateer ships ranged up and down Nova Scotia’s South Shore, ambushing merchant shipments, disrupting commerce, and occasionally stealing ships right out of Liverpool’s wharves. Desperate to defend their homes, their families, and their livelihoods, many leading citizens of the Town of Liverpool petitioned the British government for the right to retaliate against these ocean raiders. In 1777, these citizens were granted authorization to launch privateer ships of their own. Liverpool quickly emerged as one of British North America’s leading privateer ports, eventually deploying more privateer vessels than even the much larger city of Halifax. Although privateers no longer roam the seas, and the day of the great sailing ships has passed, Liverpool’s significance in maritime history lives on in the town’s nickname to this day: PORT OF THE PRIVATEERS.

Privateer Days is the Annual Festival in Liverpool to celebrate and remember this colourful privateer heritage.

It was fun to watch this small reenactment along the waterfront with a gun salute and cannonball fired!

Complete with pirates 😀

Liverpool even has Privateer fire hydrants 😛

Beautiful Saturday…finally!!

What a beauty of a day along the South Shore! We had to get out and enjoy it. It helped that we had friends visiting from New Brunswick that used to live here 27 years ago!

Our friends had a great day seeing some familiar spots and we had fun being tour guides.

“LIVE” in Lunenburg

Canada Am is LIVE in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia this morning!

This letter was sent out by Tourism Nova Scotia

How cool is that?

Jeff Hutcheson, sports and weather anchor for the CTV morning show for the past 18 years announced his retirement earlier this month. Known as the “king of the remote broadcast “, Hutcheson is hitting the road for his final cross-Canada tour and has chosen Lunenburg for his last stop.

So, I debated …”Do I go, or do I stay?” Go in to Lunenburg? It’s only 20 minutes from my home. It would be so much fun to see this broadcast LIVE. OR…do I stay at home and watch it with my favourite coffee in hand like I do every morning. Canada Am is actually part of my morning routine. Hmm?

I actually decided to stay home, just because I knew it would be a cool broadcast and I didn’t want to miss it. You know how watching something live works? You go just for the fun and experience of it all but you don’t actually really see the show.

So…Here are a few pics from home lol

Cool…I see Colin in the crowd!

Talking with the Captain of the Bluenose II

East coast music live in Lunenburg:

As much as I would LOVE to be in Lunenburg for this, I know I am seeing more at home in front of my TV. Excuse the fuzzy pics!!! Better if I was there in person. 😛

Premier McNeil presents Jeff with a Bluenose II Crew jacket as an honorary member of the crew 😀

Hey, it’s our friend Adam Bower from The Grand Banker and one of the Banker chef’s cooking up “The Lunenburger” ( I actually saw Adam’s Mom Marlene and wife Cristina in the crowd too) So cool!!

It was such a great broadcast!! A perfect job promoting touristy Lunenburg and area.

Jeff Hutcheson from Canada AM with Lunenburg Mayor Rachel Bailey

Thank you Jeff for choosing Lunenburg as your last remote broadcast before you retire!

And that’s a wrap for the Month of May! 😀