Saturday, May 16, 2009

Day Trip to Queensland Beach

This is the May long weekend. But it's supposed to be rainy for most of it. So today I decided I would take the kids on a short daytrip to a very popular beach. Queensland Beach is just on the Halifax side of Hubbards. Beautiful sand, but when the tide is in there isn't much room. Lots of young adults go there in the warm weather - it's "the" beach to strut your stuff! Before leaving home, we packed a picnic so the kids wouldn't get cranky from hunger. Pita bread and tortillas, peanut butter, carrots, and juice. Even though it was overcast, it was quite warm - 16-18*C. I was a bit overdressed, as I thought it might be a bit chilly from the wind coming off the ocean. I didn't try the water, but the kids took off their shoes, rolled up their pants, and dove into digging the sand :) They had such a blast, we're looking forward to making a trip to another beach as soon as we can. I'm not keen on going to the beaches when they're crowded with people, it's just too noisy and hard to keep track of the kids... But during the off-season, beaches are a wonderful place to spend a couple of hours :)
On the way home, we dropped into a lawn & garden center - it was the first weekend they were open this year :) I chatted with the owner (I love dealing with small businesses) and he gave me a bit of gardening advice. I bought mostly herbs and edibles - basil, parsley, lemon thyme, sage, oregano, mint, yellow cherry tomatoes, roma tomatoes, romaine and mixed lettuces - along with a couple of monarda (bee balm) plants and a small-leaf rhododendron. I didn't take pictures of them yet. I will try to do that tomorrow before transplanting them. The herbs will be going into pots so I can bring them into the house in the fall to use into the winter as long as I can. I will probably put the tomatoes into large pots as well, as I don't have my raised beds built yet.
Do you have any beaches that you like to go to? Are there any spots in Nova Scotia that you'd recommend to take a family for a daytrip? We're kind of in the middle of the province, so it's not more than 4 1/2 hours or so to anywhere in Nova Scotia. I'd love to hear of your favourite spots to take the family, that isn't overly touristy :)

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"The path to happiness may be paved with tranquil solitude."

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