Nova Scotia

Wow, it's Tuesday and I haven't been able to post anything! This will have to be brief, but...

We arrived around 2 pm on Saturday. With the exception of 6YO getting sick, again, all went well with the flights, etc. As we were descending to the Halifax airport I was really surprised to see so much greenery. I knew that the airport was outside the city a bit, but this looked like wilderness! It was gorgeous. We got our rental car, found the hotel, and walked down to the waterfront. Perfect temperature, perfect weather, perfect city...! I'll skip all the details (e.g., fabulous seafood) in the interest of time. If I can I'll add more detail later.

On Sunday - Canada Day! - we got up and drove to Peggy's Cove, Mahone Bay, and Lunenburg. If you've ever seen a photo of the Nova Scotia shore you've no doubt seen photos of this area. It is as impressive as you would expect. 6YO was in seventh heaven running around the rocks at Peggy's Cove. I'll try to post pictures another time. We had a great lunch along the water - more seafood - in Lunenburg and then made our way back to Halifax. That evening we attended the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo which was different, but wonderful. Hopefully more on that another time, too. It got out around 9:55 pm and, as we were walking the few blocks back to the hotel we could see the Canada Day fireworks over the harbour begin. Turned out that the hotel had left the rooftop patio open late so we hurried to the roof and watched the rest of them. This was our first full 24 hours as permanent residents in Canada - when we landed we weren't there 24 hours - what an incredibly wonderful Canada Day!

On Monday morning we took the Theodore Tugboat cruise around the harbour, had lunch, and then started for Port Williams. We stopped briefly in Windsor, one of the places that claims to be the birthplace of hockey, visited Fort Edward, and got on the road again. We stopped again in Wolfville, home of Acadia University, and then made for Port Williams. On the way we stopped at a little farm market and picked up warm shortcake biscuits, strawberries, and whipping cream for our hosts - and a few other treats, too. By about 5 pm we arrived in Port Williams at the home of C, A, E, and L, a family that has already made the move from Minnesota to Canada. 6YO was having the time of his life - actually running around in a yard with trees, etc., not being "observed," and... finding snails, and more snails! We later had a nice dinner/visit and turned in for the night. Whew!

This morning we went down to Chester Basin/Mahone Bay where they keep their sailboat, which is getting its final prep to be put back in the water. 6YO, who is quite taken with L, the 10YO, had an absolute blast hanging out at the docks, finding rocks, shells, watching the fish, etc. After getting back the three of us took a short drive to Kingsport to drive by the vacation home of a friend from the UK. We spent a few minutes at the beach across the street - again 6YO was in heaven. Then we drive up to the Look Off where we could see great stretches of the Annapolis Valley. As you've seen me write before, I'm not even going to try to describe how beautiful it all is. Just take my word for it.

We all went for a delightful dinner in Kentville - yes, more seafood - and then came back to the house. 6YO and P are asleep and I decided to take just a few minutes to post something! Tomorrow we're going to Moncton, NB - hopefully via Shediac, NB which opens its annual lobster festival tomorrow. We'll see how the time and weather go...

So, yes, Nova Scotia is just as beautiful as you've ever heard. Green, green, green and we've had very good weather. A few showers here and there, but mostly blue skies, white clouds, and perfect temperatures. The next few days should be a little slower so hopefully I'll be able to post something with a little more depth. But, at least you know we're here and having a great time!

On to New Brunswick!