Nova Scotia Pictures

Nova Scotia

I have 3 of the greatest friends in the world. The 4 of us make up a group we like the call The Little Truckers. We went on our first trip together over 3 years ago and since then we have decreed that we will take an ATTS (annual trip to somewhere) until we die. DIE! This year we went to Nova Scotia, eh. Why you ask. Why not? It was absolutely beautiful! Picturesque if you will. We went over Labor Day weekend and it was a perfect time of year to be there. In preparation of our ATTS we usually try to read a novel that takes place where we will be vacationing. If you haven’t guessed what novel we read already you are either A. a dude or B. missing out on one of literatures greatest treasures: Anne of Green Gables.

On our first day in Nova Scotia we took a Ferry to PEI (Prince Edward Island) and spent the day enjoying the beauty of the island and the Anne sites. We went first to Green Gables, the house and land that inspired L.M. Montgomery to write her story. It was like walking into the novel; Haunted Woods, Lake of Shining Waters, Barry’s Pond and all. Next we visited Avonlea Village, again stepping into the story. The village was set up with a school, houses, church, gardens, farm yard, shops, etc. The characters from the book roamed the streets and at select times during the day acted out scenes from the book. It was so fun! There was even a pig race. I fell in love with Gilbert Blythe. He was adorable. Lucky Anne! After our Anne fun we enjoyed one of the island’s specialties: lobster. It was delicious. In fact I couldn’t get enough. I bought a live one in the airport and took it home to DC for dinner.

Day two of our trip took us on an amazing drive through Cape Breton, but not before stopping and taking pictures at a random house whose lawn was littered with painted wooden cut-outs of EVERY Simpsons character. The drive around Cape Breton was stunning. Alexander Graham Bell once said, "I have seen the Canadian and the American Rockies, the Andes and the Alps and the Highlands of Scotland; but for simple beauty, Cape Breton out rivals them all." We spent most of they day ooohhhhing and aaahhhhing and taking pictures at scenic stops along the road. It was beautiful!

The third day of our trip was spent in Fort Louisbourg in the year 1744, when the French had command of the fort. I loved this place! Everyone was in period costume and played their parts so well. Visitors are allowed to walk all over the village and explore the buildings, restored and original, without supervision. I love Canada! We even had a typical meal that would’ve been served in 1744. As a genealogist and history nerd, I love this kinda thing. Living history is awesome. One day I aspire to take part in some sort of historical reenactment. One day.

Day four was spent exploring Halifax. We visited the Titanic section of a cemetery and the Halifax Maritime Museum which houses the largest collection of Titanic artifacts. After which we were obligated to listen to Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On." Then we shopped around for some Canadian goodies to take home. Little did we know that the grocery stores were closed for Labor Day. Yeah were definitely not in the US.

Overall the trip was fantastic. If you get the chance to go to Nova Scotia DO IT!

Excuses

I hate excuses, but I’m about to give you a long list of them. These are the reasons I’ve neglected the blog all summer. I’ve been busy. REALLY busy. And I’ve had a A LOT of fun. So here it is. The reasons why I’ve not blogged / what I did this summer.

VA Beach – the boardwalk, a random firework show, the beach, and Elvis impersonators make for a great weekend

Kayaking – much harder to tip than a canoe and really fun

Camping – twice along the beautiful Skyline drive above the Shenandoah Valley

Tubing – there are few things more enjoyable than floating down a lazy river on a tube with a bunch of friends and cooler full of snacks in the tube next to you.

4th of July – What better place to be than DC? Fireworks, parade, food, fun and the Folk Life Festival.

Gettysburg – Huge Civil War reenactment. It was awesome. I felt like I’d stepped back in time. Cavalry, canons, Yankees, Rebels, bayonets, soldiers.

City if Alexandria Birthday celebration –fireworks!

Baseball games – incredibly on 2 different occasions my people were able to get free front row seats to Washington Nationals games in their bright shiny new stadium. We’re talking no one in front of us but the players. One game was even followed by a fireworks show.

DC – I just love visitors! It so fun to show people around DC. Arlington Cemetery, Tidal Basin paddleboats, Eastern Market, the Mall, the monuments, Mt. Vernon, etc etc.

Ghost Tour – nothing will beat the time that huge storm blew in and soaked Jordan and I as we ran from an old church grave yard, but I still keep going in hopes of something good.

NYC - I heart NY! I finally got to the Statue of Liberty, enjoyed some great NY eats, saw a show, shopped and enjoyed central park. Check me out on youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-cEN1CrFvw

Hiking – along a river with waterfalls and swam at the base of some falls, beautiful and so fun!

Berry Picking – I have no qualms about picking and eating blue, black and raspberries ANYWHERE.

Manassas battle field – another Civil War battlefield, but no reenactment.

Concerts - Melissa Etheridge, Brandi Carlile, the Indigo girls and Neil Diamond. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Neil Diamond! Seeing him live has been a life long dream of mine and it was exhilarating to have it come true, for real. Love him.

Farmers Market – Del Ray has the most adorable farmers market with the tastiest yogurt and European breads.

Missouri – Lubbs and I visited Dad in Collins/the-middle-of-no-where, MO. We went to St Louis and I went to the top of the Arch. We visited historic Fort Scott, Kansas, Cahokia Indian mounds, put on our own fireworks show (all varieties of fireworks are for sale all year long in MO), cooked, enjoyed some Kansas City barbeque and just hung out with our old man.

Gardening – if the #$%& squirrels would keep out I’d have a lot more to show for all the work I’ve put in. It has been a ton of fun to play in the dirt again after living in a high-rise apartment.

Babysitting – I just adore my nieces and they both had fun fun birthday parties this summer thanks to their super mom!

Sailing – It is so relaxing to just sit in a sail boat on the water and feel the breeze in your hair.

Grilling – mmmmmmm

Crabbing – at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware we caught ‘em and had a fiasco trying to get them in the pot for cooking but it turned out pretty tasty in the end.

Soccer game – DC United, they have a serious Latino fan base that was so fun to cheer with.

Star Gazing w/ Smithsonian Air and Space Museum – Only an hour out of the city and you can see so many stars! This was awesome. An astronomer/huge nerd took us on a “star tour” with his super power pointer light and showed us a bunch of constellations after which we got to look through a few telescopes at the stars and planets.

County Fair – The best part about this is the people; Carnies, Latino families and high school kids. Grab yourself a funnel cake and enjoy the show!

And not to be forgotten are eating, sleeping and on occasion working. It’s not over yet though. I just got back on Tuesday from a long weekend in beautiful Nova Scotia and here it is Saturday and I’m in the Denver airport heading to Utah for a week. I promise I really do work…sometimes.