It kind of felt like groundhog day. We awoke to the same scampering of feet above us. Although, since it was a Saturday, the kids weren’t rushing off to daycare. I guess Sarah and Trevor let them watch several of their favourite tv shows to let us sleep a bit longer. We eventually got up to join them for breakfast around the TV, and were totally entertained by their favourite shows: Alphablocks and Numberblocks. After eating, we set the camera up and managed to get a group shot of everyone. One for the memory bank! The kids had lots of birthdays to attend that day and we had a lot of driving ahead of us. So we said our goodbyes and left at 9:15. It sure was nice to get the chance to stay with family. We look forward to hosting Sarah and family when they decide to make the trip west to Ontario.
Our first stop after departing was the Memory Lane Heritage Village Museum in Lake Charlotte. This quaint little tourist attraction had a perfectly functioning Tesla charger, which was part of our original plan to stop here. The barn beside the charger had a poster on it that gave a brief history of the evolution of cars leading up to the electric vehicle, which was a great added touch. The museum itself was really fabulous! Well crafted and laid out. A self-guided tour allowed us to browse each of the different buildings on site and experience what life was like for a Canadian living the coastal life in rural Nova Scotia in the 1940s. An added touch was three roaming sheep on property as well as three adorable barn cats. At the end of the tour we learned that the museum puts each of the cats up for adoption at the end of each season and gets new ones for next year. If Katie wasn't so allergic to cats, I would have seriously considered putting my name in for adopting the grey one. It was soooo friendly and sweet!
Next stop was Taylor Head Provincial Park. After parking in one of the several lots to choose from, we utilized the quiet space to change into our bathing suits, not without some complaints from the kids about “privacy” and “don’t look while I’m changing!!”. We had a short hike down through the woods and then up over a sand dune that reminded us of the entrance to our beloved Sauble Beach. As we crested the dune, we discovered a beach even prettier than we expected - a private oasis of quiet, calm water and white soft sand. Katie said the ocean looked like it came off an all-inclusive vacation pamphlet. I called it a little slice of heaven. We had read about a trailhead at the north end of the beach and made our way there. The kids were not as excited about the hike as I was, so we hiked a small portion of the trail to check out some of the lookout points. However, it was clear that I was the only one excited about this hike, so after a while, we turned around to appease the crowd and keep everyone happy. When we got back to the beach, we were quite hot from the sun and exercise, so we appreciated a dip in the ocean. Although the water was chilly, it wasn’t quite as numbing as the water at the beach we visited the day before. We met a man that was running past us and ended up having a conversation with him. He was a local and swims at this beach regularly. He explained that this was actually pretty warm water and that it gets even warmer towards the end of August and beginning of September. We could have spent all day there if we had the time. More core memories made.
Before we arrived at Taylor Head, I took a picture of the map in the car and sent it to an old colleague of Ryan's who I remembered had moved out east a few years ago. I asked her where she lived, and between dicey connections, our messages finally went through while we were stopped in Sheet Harbor at a restaurant called the Slippery Oyster. It turns out Maria was 8 minutes away from us in Beaver Harbor - in the exact direction we were headed! What are the chances!? She had invited us to grab some burgers on our way past the grocery store and stay for a BBQ. Unfortunately we didn't get that message until after we had ordered our food, but we still made the stop off at her house to say hi and see her property. And boy what a property it was! We arrived to find her and her teenage son, Leysom, having a leisurely day, enjoying the weather, doing some gardening. We got a full tour of the house she had worked closely with the architect to design and with the builders to build and decorate. Truly unique, and perfectly cozy and beautiful with her personal artistic touch. While we toured she was sneakily pitching the idea of joining her in the decision to move out East. LOL. It sounds like the change of pace is a huge plus, with the obvious benefit of being so close to the ocean with the views. We even talked about how hockey could still fit into our life… which it could. I guess you just get used to driving an hour to and from everything, including the grocery store. While we were touring outside, we got to see an Osprey feeding its young in a nest close by. She also told us about how she enjoys kayaking from her place across the bay to one of the islands (I made a mental note that we would definitely be doing that the next time we returned for a visit!). We finished the tour by getting to meet her adorable chickens that they house and benefit from on a daily basis at breakfast time. I soooo wish we could have stayed longer, but we still had a drive ahead of us and didn’t want to be setting up camp in the dark. So we gave hugs goodbye and vowed we would be back one day.
The stop in Beaver Harbour changed our plans slightly. We decided to skip past Sherbrooke Village and drive straight through. Before arriving at our campground in Baddeck, we stopped at a Co-op grocery store to pick up some essentials. When we arrived, the kids were thrilled to see that this campground was like some of the KOAs that we had stayed at on our previous road trip, including a heated pool and a playground. At this campground, you can actually book a serviced site with a dedicated charger beside it, another factor in our decision to camp here. The charger was the same brand as what Sarah and Trevor had at their house - Grizzl-E, so we knew it would charge the car fast. We collaboratively set up the tent and got a camp fire going too. Supper was “frogs on a log” (banana with peanut and dried cranberries) with a small container of pre-washed, pre-cut veggies and dip. Unfortunately the pool was closed, but the kids went for a walk together to check things out while Ryan and I enjoyed the peace and quiet of the campfire.
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