Blogs from Nova Scotia, Canada, North America - page 5

Our final port day before Boston on the Fantastic Voyage of the Vikings is upon us. It doesn’t seem like a journey that began for us about seven weeks ago; yet, here we are. Today we have a fairly early start and an even longer day planned, and our prospects for making it back for Team Trivia in the afternoon are not good. We head for the elevator which confirms for us that yes indeed, this is “Thursday”. /Sharon pushes “Deck 8” and we’re whisked off to the Lido Deck. These elevator buttons at time can be temperamental. Several times I’ve pushed a button, only to have the selection apparently de-selected, and had that repeated until someone would graciously press the button on the other side for me; or, I might try press and holding the ... read more

We took a drive to Scots Bay today with friends. Our plan was to walk the tidal flats in search of clams and cook them, hot dogs and marshmallows on the beach. The tide was still on its way out when we arrived. We drove around the area, stopping by Blomidan Provincial Park and snapped a few photos. Then we headed off to Scots Bay. There was a hand-written sign indicating that you should park back beyond a dead tree at the beginning of the roadway. The guy who actually put the sign there was at the beach and he told Gene that a few people had camped overnight down the beach and came back to have their car filled with nearly 3 feet of saltwater. Gene and Peter walked out to investigate the clam situation ... read more

It was a perfect day for a walk. We headed toward Bridgewater to a small area called Dayspring. There is a nice park with walking trails. We walked about 2 miles through the woods. Saw some amazing scenery, as we always do whenever we're out here. Also saw a small deer leap away as we startled it in the trees. Wasn't able to catch a photo of that or the squirrels who were upset we were walking past their trees. Wonderful afternoon!... read more

Two lighthouses today, this was the first. Chebucto Head is a Canadian headland on Nova Scotia's Chebucto Peninsula located within the community of Duncan's Cove. This area is just across the harbor from our next lighthouse (Terence Bay). The first lighthouse here was built in 1872. It was replaced by a second tower in 1928. That tower was demolished in 1940 and a new lighthouse and combined keeper's dwelling was built. The house remained the keeper's dwelling until the light was destaffed in the 1990s. The house fell prey to repeated vandalism after the Canadian Coast Guard cancelled the lease of the tenants who lived in and looked after the house. Eventually, a community group formed the Chebucto Head Lighthouse Society. One of their goals was to preserve the lighthouse and the keeper's house). Once they ... read more

We headed out this morning in search of a few lighthouses on the southeast coast. It was a fairly long drive (about 235 miles round trip), so we had scheduled only a few. The first one required us to walk out the rocky shoreline to get a good photo. The skies were cloudy, the breeze off the ocean was cool and the fog rolled all over the harbor. This lighthouse sets on the edge of Pubnico Harbour which is a deep, landlocked inlet found between Cape Sable and Yarmouth with the town of Pubnico at its head. I found some Interesting information on the first keeper. Matruin Amero was appointed first keeper of the Pubnico Harbour Lighthouse in 1853. The Annual Report of the Department of Marine and Fisheries for 1874 noted that the dwelling house ... read more