Peggy's Cove And The South Shore

This was a different kind of vacation for me. Jessica and I flew to Nova Scotia and rented a car and rambled around on our own. I was worried about driving in an unfamiliar place. Jessica reminded me that If I can drive in Atlanta, I could drive anywhere. True.

She was the navigator, armed with a GPS and multiple maps. And with only a few wrong turns, we were fine. My only rule was that we were back "home" before dark. Jessica had done some research ahead of time to see what we needed to not miss. And we stayed the first few nights at Blue Forest B&B near Halifax and the host suggested things, too.

Jessica wanted to find local places to eat and on our first night, after a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant in Bedford, she spotted the Chicken Burger--the oldest drive-in in Canada--which had the Chicken Little ice cream bar in the back. And of course we had to stop. Little did we know that we would see more ice cream shops in Canada than we ever see at home.

Before we got to Peggy's Cove, we stopped at a memorial for the Swissair 111 crash of 1998. So many lives lost. I wonder how hard it was to respond to a disaster on this small winding road, miles from a town.

Peggy's Cove is definitely a "can't miss this" location. Truly one of the most beautiful places on earth. Just a tiny village in a fairly remote location. 

I had to stop and chat with a lady selling handknit caps and scarves. I'm thinking if I lived there I would have enough to sell, too. It's so far from anything else, I think there would be ample knitting time.

The lighthouse at Peggy's Cove is the main attraction here. And worth the effort to get here.

We then wound all around the shore line passing through tiny towns like Chester, stopping for lunch in Mahone Bay and then ending in Lunenburg, a beautiful town, popular with painters. We, on the other hand, found more ice cream. And another monument to lives lost at sea. This time it was ships that had gone down at different times over the years.

The entire day was a feast for the eyes. Everything was in bright colors. We saw so many homes in every color of the rainbow. My favorite were the ones painted bright purple. A beautiful drive all day.

Grandmother Gets Home

What a trip I've had! I had planned to blog some photos along the way but loading them onto the iPad and blogging from the iPad was just more taking more time than I wanted to spend. It was more important that I pay attention to the sights I was seeing.

But I do want to share part of our trip. Spending a couple of weeks with daughter Jessica was a treat. Hope we get to do it again one day.

Peggy's Cove

Lunenburg

Halifax

I'll share some more later. When I can remember where the photos were made!

School Starts

While I'm on vacation, Mommy is the blogger today:

Mimi asked me to write a guest post today. While she and Jessica are visiting with the Canuks, Big Sister, Baby Sister, and I have been busy.

Big Sister had her sixth first day of school this week – her last first day of elementary school.  Mommy missed her second first day of school in 20+ years. (She missed her first last year due to Baby Sister’s arrival.)

For the first time ever, this family of four got to take Big Sister to school. (While teaching, Mommy arrived at school extra early for the first day, so Daddy got to do the honor by himself.)  Big Sister was nervous and excited. Mommy was nostalgic and bittersweet. Daddy and Baby Sister were sleepy from not usually getting up so early.

At 6:15 a.m. lunch was packed, school supplies were organized, notebooks were labeled, treats for Big Sister’s teachers were wrapped, and we were ready to go. Here’s to the best school year yet!

We had a lovely day in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Harbor sail, maritime museum visit, brewery tour, and a wonderful dinner. Ummm, crab bisque.

I guess the purpose of travel is to learn more about the world than the spot where you live. I had no clue of how Halifax was tied to the Titanic disaster. And I didn't remember that the Swissair 111 crash in 1998 happened just off the coast of Peggy's Cove. The people here have such a tradition of helping others. We've learned much about the rich history here as we've enjoyed the beautiful views.

Tomorrow we move on to Prince Edward Island.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Location:Here In Halifax

Canada, Eh?

I wanted at least one great adventure before I get too old to have one. So this morning I'm posting from Nova Scotia. Jessica and I are here for a couple of days before heading to Prince Edward Island. Canada just might be the perfect place for my first passport use--a foreign country that isn't too foreign. I get to drive on the right side of the road and don't have to worry about another language. But the scenery is beautiful. The photos above were made at Peggy's Cove yesterday. And that is Jessica with her red scarf standing to the left of the lighthouse. I was so busy enjoying the view that I forgot to make a close-up photo.

Who knows, maybe I'll get the hang of this travel thing and we'll go again sometime. Time to go make a plan for today.


-Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Party Time

It was a polka dot explosion! The birthday girl, who turned one a few days ago, had her big day today, surrounded by grandparents, aunts, an uncle, cousins, friends and her great-grandmother with whom she shares a name. Baby Sister was happy and in good humor all day--a remarkable accomplishment. By the very end, though, she was glad to let me take her upstairs. About 30 seconds in the rocking chair and she was sound asleep. And to be honest, I was kind of glad to sit down, too.

Happy birthday, Baby Sister! What a wonderful year I've spent with you. Love, Mimi

Having A Ball

When I went to baby sit yesterday afternoon, I found Baby Sister giving her new "ball pit" a test drive before it gets used at her party. I do believe it's a hit. It doesn't beep or sing or require batteries. And she loves it!