Sight-seeing – Page 6 – Just An East Coast Girl

Peace & Love Around The World! 🕊

It’s November 25th…ONE MONTH TIL CHRISTMAS!!!!

which also means it’s time for the Annual Father Christmas Festival in Mahone Bay. This Festival is one of my absolute favourites! It really puts me in the mood and excitement for ALL THINGS Christmas.

It’s the little rituals and traditions in the small communities along the South Shore that I love and appreciate so much. This year’s theme is Peace & Love Around the World. 🕊 I like the dove ornament from 1991. It really captures the theme for this year.

In previous years when we go to the festival, David & I would grab a hot drink and wander around beautiful Mahone Bay and look at the many Father Christmas displays placed there by local business and committee members. However, today, David’s back is TOTALLY messed up! Yes, he periodically has problems and yesterday he came home from work walking with an S curve! There go my big plans for this weekend. He’ll be on the floor and on his back much of the weekend trying to get it straight.

Off to Mahone Bay I go, just to get some pictures because the displays are truly beautiful and today it’s not so crazy busy with people.

I missed strolling along hand in hand with my husband, but I was happy to get the pics and we’ll have other years to continue our tradition. He just needs to get that back FIXED, like NOW!!!!!!

I picked up my 2016 Pewter Christmas Ornament, like I always do at the Father Christmas Festival. This year it is a Cardinal. ” There is no better time to catch sight of a cardinal than in the winter, when his brilliant red plumage contrasts with the brightness of a freshly fallen snow. The more vibrant his crimson colouring, the more likely he will find a lifelong mate who can join him in singing rich, cheerful duets to bring sunshine even on the coldest and darkest of winter days. We all have unique qualities to celebrate. Stand out and stand proud. Make the world a brighter place.”

It is these simple pleasures that make me feel truly blessed for the peace and love we have in our country!

And Just for FUN…

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A quick stop tonight to get them with lights. It’s just so pretty!!

Hot off the Press!

The first shipment has arrived!

Our youngest son James enjoys photography! He takes beautiful pictures as he travels. He travels almost as much, if not more than my husband and I. Just for fun he thought he would compile a few of those images, ” Dramatic Skies” into a 2017 Calendar. This is the first time he’s done a calendar and they turned out great! A perfect idea for Christmas gifts. There are photos from Canada, China, Brazil, Cuba, Australia, and of course a few from Nova Scotia.

I can’t wait to put mine up!

DWTS

Do you watch Dancing With The Stars? This is the cast for Season 23.

It is one of my favourite shows to watch…it reminds me of my Auntie Bea. It was her favourite show and she never missed an episode. Tonight is the season 23 finale!

There were a lot of favourites to watch on this season and tonight a winner will be chosen between the final three. I loved watching all three of these couples but two of them were so good all through this season and it’s hard to decide who I would like to see win.

The finale is held at the magical place called “The Grove” in Los Angeles. What a beautiful venue.

Will it be Laurie Hernandez, James Hinchcliffe or Calvin Johnson Jr.?

I’ll be watching tonight!!

——a little bit later….

O WOW!!!! That was THE BEST finale ever! It was so worth staying up til midnight to see it.

And the WINNER is…

Laurie Hernandez & Val

Yay!!!!! Goodnight all 😀

Not to be seen again for…many more moons?

Today is the Biggest and brightest supermoon in over 60 years!! (supposedly)

You’ve heard me say before I wish I had a camera that could capture the moon in a way that it’s as real as gazing up at it! I LOVE full moons. When I look at them I know friends and family all over this world are looking too, and it’s the same moon and somehow…it just brings us a little closer together.

Here are a few of my favourites that other wonderful local photographers shared.

Photo by Ronald Smith at Hirtle's Beach — Photo by Ronald Joseph Smith at Hirtle’s Beach, NS

Lloyd Westhaver- Mader's Cove, NS — Photo by Lloyd Westhaver- Mader’s Cove, NS

One of my favourite photographers captured these two in Halifax this morning…

And of course one from China. This photograph is from Beijing BUT it really reminds me of the bridges in the park where I always walked when we lived there. See…same Supermoon!

Thank you so much to these wonderful photographers. Your talent and ability is awesome, so we all can enjoy this spectacular beauty! Don’t forget to look up!

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!

Three Churches

Mahone Bay is a small town located on the northwest shore of the south shore of Nova Scotia. It is famous for it’s 3 iconic, frequently photographed, picturesque, “seen on postcards” and ornaments churches. I have photographed them many times and in many seasons.

The town also has a number of upscale shops and restaurants, festivals and events which almost universally are designed to appeal to the tourist trade. Mahone Bay is a great little town to visit, shop, and have lunch.

We are in Mahone Bay often as David’s parents live just outside of town. We also get our Abby girl’s special peanut butter treats at the Dog Shop there.

Today we were driving through to do a couple errands and we couldn’t help but snap a few pictures. It’s the tail end of vacay and we need to take advantage of such beautiful days!

Such an interesting skyline in the harbour…

Then a quick drive along Shingle Mill Rd. The colours here prompted a quick photoshoot.

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I have been enjoying these days so much!! Exploring and hanging out with my husband is THE BEST!!! What am I gonna do when he’s back to work next week? screen-shot-2016-10-13-at-4-48-58-pm

Enjoy your weekend !

Art Amazed

There is a maze being built close to my home. It is due to open sometime in 2018. I love seeing the progress as I drive by and decided to get a closer look hoping the artists and creators would be on site so I could ask a few questions. However, this time they weren’t, so I just took a peak…a bit closer than driving by.

It’s so cool. I love the inspiration and creativity that goes into stuff like this!

How High Do Your Tides Rise?

Nova Scotia’s Bay of Fundy has bragging rights to the Highest Tides in the World!

Twice each day the Bay of Fundy fills and empties its 160 billion tons of water creating the highest tides in the world. In 1975 The Guinness Book of World Records listed Burntcoat Head in the Minas Basin, Nova Scotia as the site of the greatest average tide of 47.5 feet with an extreme range of 53.6 feet.

Today we went to Burntcoat Head. This spectacular place has been on my 2016 list of places to visit since our son James was there and photographed this place.

Below are two of James’ photos…

13482923_818760718223947_3763846001643129102_o Yes, amazing right?

Today we went!

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Well…my pictures weren’t quite like James’ but we had fun at this amazing place!

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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The CHURCH at Grand-Pré

Today is Sunday. Canadian Thanksgiving Sunday and I wish I was off to church with James and David but I’m not able to this morning. There is just so much to be Thankful about living in our beautiful country. Days like yesterday when you see the beautiful “Colour of Fall” on display against a gorgeous blue backdrop is one of many reasons.

One of our stops yesterday was Grand-Pré in the Annapolis Valley. Grand-Pré is a rural community in Nova Scotia. Its French name translates to “Great Meadow” and the community lies at the eastern edge of the valley on a peninsula jutting into the Minas Basin surrounded by extensive dyked farm fields, framed by the Gaspereau River and Cornwallis River. Grand-Pré was made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem Evangeline. On June 30, 2012, the Landscape of Grand-Pré was named a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The church and statue at Grand-Pré are beautiful to photograph.