A "Me" Day at Crescent Beach

Today was an absolutely beautiful day here in Nova Scotia :) The forecast was calling for a high of 26C here, and I decided to get out of the house all by myself while the kids were in school and take a little road-trip! It was glorious! I do enjoy taking the kids on mini-adventures so they can see all of this beautiful province (and so I can see it fresh through their eyes), but going on a solo road-trip is a different experience altogether.I decided to go to a beach I've never been to before. It's called Crescent Beach and it's in Lunenburg Co., just outside Petite Riviere. There was a bit of delay getting there, as there was a road crew re-paving a section of Highway 103 and it was down to 1 lane of traffic. But the wait wasn't too long. I stopped shortly past the re-paving at a bridge to take some photos of the Mushamush River, then headed on. I actually got lost trying to get to the beach ... I was following the directions that Google Maps gave, and ended up on a dirt road that brought me back to the highway going back the way I came from! So as soon as I realized the problem, I turned around and stopped following Google's directions ;)When I got to the beach, it practically took my breath away! It was an amazing sight - unlike any other beach I've seen in NS. It stretched farther than I could see with gorgeous sand. I wish I had gotten on the road a bit earlier so I could spend more time there. It's definitely a place I'd like to take the kids to later.Crescent Beach is a 4 km crescent of sand, and it forms a natural causeway to the LaHave Islands. It was weird, though, as I noticed a car drive right down onto the beach as I was getting out of the van. Perhaps in the summer, when they are more people on the beach, the cars can't get on the sand. I certainly hope so, anyway... And the wind off the water was perfect. I like it warm, but even 29C is a bit too hot for me, but the wind off the Atlantic waves cooled it down just enough that I was comfortable.

I hope you enjoyed the little tour :)
Until next time,

Happiness Thought of the Day:
"You don't have to fight or struggle to gain happiness."

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."