{East Coast 7}

Another day, another drive. 

Today we are off to Barrington to surprise R's mom. He decided when we planned the trip that he didn't want to tell her we were coming, we would just show up at her door. 

Before we got there though, we had a few other stops along the way. 

Firstly, back to the LaHave Bakery. I realize that we were there 15 hours ago, but it's that good! Honestly. I really couldn't resist. We had some breakfast and grabbed some tea and treats for the road. 

Next stop, Shelburne!

Arriving in Shelburne meant that we had nearly reached our destination for a few days and I would finally get to see where R came from. It also meant seeing the historic waterfront.  Plenty has happened in this little town over time. Several movies and TV series' have been filmed here as well including The Scarlet Letter and The Book of Negroes. 

Having decided several weeks ago that this wasn't going to be a museum vacation, we skipped all of that and simple walked along the waterfront. R is bubbling with knowledge anyway so he keeps me filled in!

Back in the car and a short drive later we arrived at his mom's house. She was busy in another room when we arrived so we just sat on the couch and waited for her. R's little sister already knew we were coming so she sat with us and filmed the surprise on her iPad. 

When she came out it took a minute to realize what was happening. She first looked at us like we were there all along and then did a rapid double-take before dropping what was in her hands and lunging at her son! 

I was thoroughly amused if not a little bit nervous. This was the first time I could meet her!

A bit later on we headed to a cottage near the water to see other people and because we wanted to go swimming. 

It was one of those perfect days where it's warm but not too hot and there is just enough cloud to keep from feeling the burn. 

The beach we went to, Sandhills, was just perfect. Not busy and the water was so warm. By my standards anyway. R was freezing. The friend he brought with was cold too. 

Either way, we had lots of fun. I really enjoy poking the jellyfish, even though I probably shouldn't. 

To end our beach time we ended up clam digging!!! I can't tell you how excited I was about this because it was on my Nova Scotia 2015 Bucketlist ! I found it difficult at first, clams are fast at escaping apparently, but once I got the hang of it and picked up the pace I really had a lot of fun. We all came out with broken fingernails and cut hands, but that's always worth it for fun, and seafood.. 

Remember that perfect weather I was talking about, well it turned out not to be so perfect. Nova Scotia is so tricky, the same thing happened on my last trip. Everything seems perfect and peachy and then you get home only to realize you've been burned to a crisp!! This is nothing new for me I guess, my fair freckled skin just isn't meant for strong sunshine. Remember the Hawaii burns?! 

Anyway, after the beach and supper, R, his friend and myself all took a little driving tour around the area. They showed me where they hung out, the different places they lived and then took me to another beach, this time just to walk. I let them walk ahead and catch up with each other while I hunted for treasure on the beach. 

This trip has been amazing so far and I can't wait for more!

{East Coast 6}

After our long day of driving yesterday we slept in a bit before getting on with the next adventure. 

I was really looking forward to this one! 

We had planned to rent bicycles and spend the afternoon pedalling around Lunenburg. Generally speaking I don't ride bikes, but I've been really wanting to lately and Lunenburg seemed like the perfect place. Exploring the little streets and enjoying the waterfront!

Naturally because I was so looking forward to this, we had our first rainy day of the trip and weren't able to! 

If we were not on vacation this would have been one of those days that it's nice to just stay home in your PJ's, snuggling on the couch and watching movies! 

We certainly weren't going to be doing that now though! 

Having never booked accommodations more than a night in advance we decided that we would stay in Bridgewater a second night. With the room rebooked and payed for we finished getting ready and drove out into the rain in search of the day's activities. 

We planned to stop in Mahone Bay on our way to Lunenburg but it was raining so hard we didn't even get out of the car. I made a mental note to go back later if the weather improved, and we carried on. 

When we arrived in Lunenburg it was still raining consistently but not hard so we put up our hoods and made the best of it. 

The main touristy area by the waterfront is quite charming and adorable. Cute brightly coloured buildings, sweet little shops and tons of restaurants and cafes to choose from. 

Our first stop was breakfast! The Savvy Sailor is a tiny little cafe/restaurant that overlooks the water and serves delicious dishes. I had a lobster Eggs Benedict and I can solidly say that I would be very pleased to eat that for breakfast everyday for the rest of forever. 

All filled up with goodness and ready to conquer the rainy afternoon, we did just that. Checked out a few shops and considered buying a few things before quickly remembering that meant taking them back home across the country. We walked along the waterfront and read the names of the boats. Took pictures of the brightly coloured B+B's and eventually made a stop on the deck of Bluenose II. R was especially excited that we could go on deck and check things out. 

Having finished our rainy tour of town we decided to head back to Mahone Bay. Honestly, we only really went there to see the 3 churches along the water. It was a short stop. 

To finish our day we drove back through Bridgewater, past our hotel to LaHave. There is a specific bakery there that I wanted to go to and it turns out that in the same building is a skateboard shop that R used to spend time in as a teenager! 

It's the coolest building! The way it looks, the decor, location and even the smell. I seriously considered getting a job and not coming back out West! 

The fresh baked muffins, brownies and scones in the cafe were amazing. The skate shop is really unique and feels the way I want me dream loft to be. High ceilings, wooden beams, big windows looking onto the wharf and water. I really can't say enough good things about this place. 

Tomorrow we move further south! And eat more scones.. 

{East Coast 3+4+5}

The next few days were spent in the Fredricton area visiting my brother and his family. 

R and I spent lots of time playing with my niece. She has princesses and stuffed toys, a kitchen, a tent and plenty more. But her favorite thing right now is Toy Story. She especially loves Buzz Lightyear, Woody and "Yeehaw" aka Jessie. 

The family also has Chihuahuas. 3 adults and 4 puppies waiting to go to their new homes. Chihuahua puppies may just be the cutest things ever. The little one desperately wants to play with the puppies too, but she isn't exactly the most gentle girl, much like me. She waits until no one is looking, or so she thinks, and the she sticks her little head into the kennel and pets them. Or sometimes tries to pick them up. 

While her parents went to work on day 2 of our visit, we took my niece to the playground for some afternoon fun. She has no fear and no reservations about climbing up or sliding down anything. She's full of energy and always ready for fun. 

There's a marina on the river beside the park and she wanted to go down to look at the boats, so that is where we went. I realized pretty quickly that she also has no fear of the edge of the dock or the water either though so I had to keep a good hold on her. I'd rather not take an impromptu swim in the river because the 2 year old jumped in! 

She was pretty upset with me when I told her we couldn't play near the water anymore!

After getting lunch we brought her home so her other auntie could pick her up for the rest of the afternoon. And then we took ourselves for ice cream!!

That evening we went to a very delicious BBQ, met some family and enjoyed a special announcement and celebration. Congratulations! 

And the next morning it was time to leave. Not just my brothers house, but New Brunswick. We are moving on to the Nova Scotia part of our adventure!!

The drive to our next destination, Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, is about 5 hours. We also have plans to stop and see a few places along the way. 

First stop is the worlds longest covered bridge in Sussex, New Brunswick. Once we got near Sussex we realized the bridge would add another 60-80 minutes to our drive and so decided not to go.

Next is the Nova Scotia border and the visitor centre there. I love maps! Outside we took some pictures at the border sign and then carried on. 

Into our third hour of driving now we made a stop for some lunch at a restaurant I went to the first time I visited. Murphy's Famous Fish & Chips! Neither of us had fish & chips though. I had already planned to have clams if I went back, so clams is what I had!! They were every bit as delicious as I remember!

After lunch was the part of the drive that seemed the longest. Probably because we missed turns and got lost 2-3 times trying to get to Peggy's Cove. The important part is that we did eventually make it!

It's a cool place to see, but twice in one lifetime is probably enough. 

We spent quite a while there, walking around, taking pictures and enjoying the sunshine. We walked on the rocks, up around the lighthouse and down around the surrounding village. We had considered eating in the restaurant too but decided we could wait for our final destination of the day. 

Another hour down the road and we finally got to our hotel in Bridgewater. It's the cutest little place and right on the water. We both really liked it there. 

By the time we got there our 5 hour drive had turned into a 10 hour day with all the stops we made. Not to sound like I'm complaining, it was a great day! We ended it with a quick trip to Sobeys for some supper that we could eat by the water at our hotel. It ended up being too wet and cold though so we ate in bed! 

{East Coast 2}

For our first day of real adventure we headed right out after breakfast to make the short 45 minute drive from Moncton to the Hopewell rocks. 

Once we'd arrived and payed our way inside we made our way to a few lookout points along the way, took some pictures and just generally enjoyed the beautiful day. 

To get to the flowerpot rocks, the main thing people come for, you follow a path through the trees. It kind of reminded me of camping in Alberta! 

When we got to the platform overlooking the rocks it was still high tide so all there is to do is look and take pictures. We watched a group kayaking around the rocks too! 

The platform had a set of stairs that leads directly into the water during high tide and onto the floor of the bay during low tide. Obviously when it's high the end of the stairs are roped off, but you can still get pretty close. 

After a while we left this area to go walk on a nearby beach. As it would turn out, my love of sea glass was born here! We found several pieces and had lots of fun hunting for them. Just for fun we collected rainbow rocks too!

Having had our beach time fun we stopped back at the flowerpots to see where the water was at. It had gone about halfway down in the time we'd been away, but the sea floor still wasn't accessible. 

Back to the restaurant near the entrance of the park, we stopped for lunch and to kill some time.

Once again, back at the flowerpots. Finally the tide was low and we could walk out. It's pretty amazing to think of how high the water had just been and now I'm able to walk on the bottom, without even stepping in a puddle! We explored this way and that way, took countless photos, and had a continuous discussion about taking our shoes off and playing in the mud. 

                           

Eventually the urge was too strong and we ended up barefoot and muddy up to the ankle. The red mud is so perfectly slick and squishy, I swear it's made for bare feet!! 

In the end when it was time to put our shoes back on we had to wash the mud away in the cold bay water and "dry" our feet with the single napkin I happened to have in my pocket! It's all in the adventure though, and I loved every minute of it! 

In total we spent about 5 or 6 hours exploring the park. 

At some point during the day we decided to have supper in Shediac instead of Moncton and check out what was there. 

Our first stop was the worlds largest lobster, very fitting considering that Shediac is the lobster capital of the world. It's also the 25th anniversary of the giant lobster. We had our fun climbing on him and then spent some time checking out the area near by and picking up maps in the visitor centre. 

Now knowing how to get there, we drove over to the wharf in search of food. 

We didn't end up eating, but we enjoyed watching the fisherman and the sun setting behind the sailboats. 

New Brunswick is a beautiful place!

The Luckiest Day {East Coast 1}

After 3 months of planning and waiting, the day finally arrived. I've been wanting to go back to the east coast ever since I visited 3 years ago.

The initial plan was to try and see as much of Nova Scotia as possible in our 2 weeks and squeeze in a little time for New Brunswick as well. Before we left we decided that would be too rushed and so we changed up our plans. A few days in New Brunswick and then a more relaxed, leisurely trip around the southern half of Nova Scotia.

Our flight from Edmonton Left just before midnight on Saturday and was to arrive at 7am on Sunday. In theory this was a great flight. Get on, go to sleep, wake up in a new place and time zone and then just get on with the trip bright and early in the morning. And since I don't mind flying at all, I was quite looking forward to this.

Wrong. It actually happened where we got in the sardine can, sat uncomfortably, tried and failed to sleep, got off the plane feeling like it's 4am and then had to find our rental car and drive all the way from Halifax to Moncton. On the bright side, we landed half an hour early!

Our next bit of good luck came at the rental place. We had booked a little economy car because we don't need much extra space and it was cheap, but none were ready to go when we got there so we got a free upgrade to a 2015 Jeep Cherokee with only 21km on it! 

The initial excitment of arriving and getting our Jeep (+ Tim Hortons) kept us going on the 2.5 hour drive, but not long after arriving in Moncton that all started to wear off and we were ready to crash. Since it was only 11:30 when we arrived we couldn't get into a hotel room at the first few places we tried. We finally found a hotel with space and that would allow us to check-in right away so we rushed over. But by the time we arrived they had given away the room we called about!! Not to worry though, we got our second free upgrade of the day!! Standard room up to executive king! I probably could have stayed in that bed forever! 

After a rather long mid-day nap we got up and went for buffet supper at the casino. They have free memberships there and it gets you $5 off your meal so we did that first and then proceeded to eat to much. I'm pretty sure you are supposed to eat to much at buffets though, it's practically a rule. 

Still feeling pretty lucky we figured we should play while we were in the casino. 

2 rules. We only spend $5 and we cash out with any significant winnings. 

We found ourselves a penny machine and got started. It took almost no time at all and we were sitting back letting our 18 free spins play themselves out. In the end we won $50 and walked away very pleased!

To end our first day we walked around downtown Moncton where R pointed out this or that. He used to live there so he knows all the good places.

Before going back to the hotel for more sleep we watched the tidal bore! I had seen how high and low the water gets before, but I never watched the water rush in. It's pretty cool and I definitely recommend everyone see's it atleast once in their life. We even watched someone surfing it!!

More soon!