In which I get a taste of the Anapolis Valley and the Bay of Fundy
Breakfast of smoked salmon bennies then a walk on the boardwalk of the Halifax waterfront – always pleasant.
Looking up to Citadel Hill from the waterfront with town clock in background
Petunia baskets are very common and very effective!
Back to transport my monstrous luggage pile to the front of the hotel, having arranged a large taxi to take me to the airport hotel. Lovely cabbie, who helped me shift the pile and we had a nice chat enroute to the airport. I was able to check in to my hotel room within 1/2 hour of arriving, even though it was only 10:30, which was a bonus as I’d expected to be orphaned until I returned from my visit with Julie. Julie and I had worked together 29 years ago on the “Study in Africa” trip where we spent three months in Kenya with a group of university students taking upper level courses; she was the archeology professor and I was the medical person looking after everyone. We last saw each other in Vancouver about 8 or 9 years ago when she was enroute to Quadra Island to visit relatives, and it turned out she had another cousin living a block from my mother. When she retired 6 years ago Julie started to plan a move to Nova Scotia and now lives in Cambridge, a small town near Wolfville in the Anapolis Valley. She picked me up at the airport hotel about noon, and we had an interesting day catching up, and visiting her new surroundings (not so new perhaps, as she drove from Calgary to Nova Scotia nearly a year ago). It was about an hour’s drive away, with a stop at a friend’s garden (fantastic, she could have been on the garden club tour anytime!!) and a coffee shop started by new immigrants (It was called “Just us”, a spoof on “Justice”). We visited a Unesco World Heritage site, Grand Pre, still apparently retaining it’s status! on the shores of the Minas Basin, part of the Bay of Fundy with its’ world famous 40′ tides. Indeed the difference between high and low tides was astonishing.
All this sand is covered at high tide
Lots of iron in the soil in Nova Scotia as well as PEI
the beach itself was surprisingly quiet – long weekend in Nova Scotia as well as BC. The bluff on the far side is the north boundary of the Anapolis Valley.
Minas Basin from South Hill
Grand Pre Beach. The area of Grand Pre was where the Acadians were forcibly evicted by the British and retains a strong Acadian culture today.
Grand Pre beach – tide starting to come in
Minas Basin and the start of the Anapolis Valley from North Hill
We had lunch at a gastro pub on the waterfront and managed to get in just before a group of 18, thankfully out on the deck so that we were a bit protected from their noise. I know from the past two weeks that 14 can make a lot of noise at a table! A last chance at fish cakes, but not nearly as good as those at the Bluenose on my first day.
It was interesting to see Julie’s house, with a pool in the backyard and garden renovations ongoing. She’s had a lot done to the house to make it more useful for her, and seems very happy there which was nice to see. After a good tour around we sat and yakked for a bit more then headed back to the airport hotel for tomorrow’s departure. I promised to come back enroute to my next Maritime destination, Newfoundland 😊. I missed visiting another friend near Bridgetown who is there for the summer at a cottage on a south shore lake, about 1.5 hours out of Halifax – some day I’ll make it there!
And so the trip comes to a close, with the business of travel (getting from A to B) looming large. Not looking forward to shlepping all the luggage back tomorrow! But we will get ‘er done.
Learnings from this trip:
My favourite Nova Scotia expression: “Get it in ya” (translation hurry up and eat, we need to go).
Rolling wet laundry in towels and standing on them before hanging up greatly speeds up the drying time.
Always pack extra bike tools even if you don’t think you need them.
AC units in hotels make great white noise machines.
The end.