NS Adventure 2014

Our family recently went on a trip to the Halifax Regional Municipality to visit my brother and sister in-law.  It was an awesome adventure which included some down time, great eats, and awesome scenery.  Peggy's Cove is worth the hype and when you finish it off with a stop at the White Sails Bakery and Deli, the day trip can't be beat.  The kids can no longer go to Halifax without stopping at what our daughter calls the "Bubble Factory" better known as the "Discovery Center."
In Dartmouth we enjoyed Shubie Park which is an awesomely designed green space not far from our hosts home. 
All in all, an awesome adventure.

Lessons Learned to Live By

Even on a cold day the postcard setting of Capstick Cape Breton was comforting.

NOTE: This is a version of a column I had published in the Kings County Record recently.  Maybe sometime soon I'll get to printing the entire journal entry here.  The trip was full of life lessons and I absorbed some great stuff that I haven't forgotten.  Obviously I haven't provided all the lessons here but I hope I have presented an entertaining view of some of what we learned.

A few years ago now, well maybe over a decade ago, I guess, I spent a long weekend trekking through Cape Breton Highlands National Park.  That trip resulted in many great memories of some fantastic winter scenery.  That’s right, winter scenery.  My buddy Pete and I left his home in Antigonish to spend three winter nights touring the Park.  I could go on and on about the trip and the adventurous spirit that we set out with.  Heck the drive back to Antigonish after our trip was an adventure in itself that would require more space than I have here.  The biggest thing that I took away from that memorable venture however, Pete and I wrote down a list of lessons learned.  I was flipping through some journals and albums the other day and found this list of lessons. 

In all Pete and I wrote down 21 lessons.  I laughed as I noted the first lesson we had written down.  “Instant potatoes, Ready Made Bacon, Lipton’s Soupworks are all very tasty.”  When winter camping, most food even bad food tastes great.  That is likely the lesson here.  Lesson 9 also referred to food but in a different manner.  Pete packed in some maple syrup and didn’t pack it in a bag and in the cold weather it broke open inside his pack.  Luckily, in the winter time, bears hibernate otherwise we could have been dinner.

Pancake ice on the shores near Ingonish.

Number 10 on the list might be appropriate considering the weather we’re having now.  “Remember to get weather forecasts before hike, but don’t let weather change your plans just your preparation.”  We had crazy weather as it went from 4°C to -14°C within an hour as we climbed out of our tents on the first morning.  Everything changed to ice in minutes.  While it was difficult it also added to our adventure and we adapted well.  I also liked the way we worded that lesson.

One lesson I still haven’t learned made number 7 on our list “Always scout out area very well before erecting tent, place in area of less wind perhaps, don’t jump the gun.”  This lesson came from our first night as we pitched our tent on the first tent platform at Fishing Cove and later, after supper, we found a much better tent location. I still though let my trail weariness steer me astray on this one.  Now that I have re-read my list maybe next time I’ll remember.

My feet are usually warm, and I’m not bothered that much by cold feet.  Pete however claims lucky lesson 13.  “Socks, socks, and more socks, = happiness in winter.”  I agree fully with this lesson, and find it very important to have dry socks when you crawl into your winterized tent for the night.  Warm feet result in a better sleep when you’re winter camping, and sleep is good no matter what season you’re camping in.

Small fishing piers dotted the coast lines and added color to the winter scene.

Number 19 on the list refers back to our drive home and states “Don’t be scared to be spontaneous.”  We took a back road and we didn’t even mind getting lost.  It resulted in Pete taking his first trip on a cable ferry and it was Cape Breton so the scenery was spectacular.  

There were numerous other lessons we took from our trip but I have highlighted some of the key ones here.  We originally wrote the lessons by candle light while sitting in a warming hut along the Cleyburn Valley Trail on the east side of the Park.  As I write this my mind wanders back to that evening as we sat next to the warm fire.  My whisperlite stove is brewing tea and Pete and I simply smile.  I think I need to go camping soon.

Rugged coastlines dominated the Highlands and we wished we had more time to explore.

A Whalen Getaway

Earlier this summer the Whalen family all got together and took a family trip to the western shores of Nova Scotia.  We were fortunate enough to know some fine folks with a cabin along the Northumberland Strait just outside of Trenton.  When I say this was a family trip, I mean multiple generations of Whalens all heading to the same location; three generations to be exact.  Even though there would be a cottage, some of us would end up sleeping outside and likely be all the better off for it.

No vacation can start without first reaching your destination and the drive to Chance Harbor, our planned paradise, would take about 3.5hours.  Since the kids, the dog, and enough bedding, clothing, toys, and games for 5 days were all in the car with us, it was going to be a long drive, or at least I thought it would be.  We made stops in Salisbury, Sackville, and Tatamagouche but the time seemed to fly for us.  The kids were incredibly patient and even the dog traveled well.  We only got turned around on one occasion just before we arrived and only because I missed the private road sign to our cottage.

The cottage was a small two bedroom, one bath cottage nestled on a point overlooking Chance Harbor.  We didn't actually have a view of the harbor, but then again, it isn't really a harbor as it is a small river that is backed up behind a sandy isthmus.  In the end it wasn't going to matter as we'd spend most of the time at the mouth of "The Harbor." The weather was almost too hot but trust me we were not complaining.  We soaked up the sun, the sand, and the waves.

Our first night was spent exploring our new surroundings and getting comfortable in our home for the week.  For me that meant setting up a tent and spreading out sleeping bags for five.  My son and daughter, my two nephews, and my father would all be sleeping in the tent the first night.  We enjoyed a brief bonfire that first night but everyone was tired and bedrolls and bedrooms called. The dog would sleep with my wife in the cottage along with my sister and my mother.  It would later prove advantageous to be sleeping outside as the cottage was extremely warm through the night.  The dog added a further frustration to those in the cottage as she paced back and forth wanting to check on those outside.

The next morning we lazed around and knew we had no where to be and relished in that reality.  When I say we lazed, I mean we didn't eat breakfast until close to 10am, we walked a slow pace to the beach where we tanned and used as little effort as possible to entertain the kids.  Just a note, hermit crabs will entertain 7-16 year old boys for well over 2 hours.  The beach was expansive with the river coming in on our left and the beach head on the other side a large isthmus of sand.  We couldn't resist crossing the river and exploring the beach there.  The water on that beach was now the Northumberland Strait and we could wade out a long ways but had to be wary of the currents and under tow.  We kept a close eye on the kids here and after a short time and swim we moved back to the other side of the river again and started building sand castles and chasing crabs again.

That night we gathered around the camp and told stories and laughed.  We let the kids sit and listen in and I'm sure this will sit in their memory banks for a long time.  I still have memories of such times with my parents and they have had a large influence on how I've developed, whether positively or negatively.  Oddly this type of gathering, away from home, is rare for our family.  Moments like this are usually had at the Whalen homestead.  I'd like to have more of this type.

The room in the tent for night two was a little greater as Shaylee slept with her Mom.  This was quickly compensated for when it was decided the dog might sleep better outside.  The dog quickly found a spot next to Seth and was asleep in no time and stayed that way the whole night.  Before the rest of us were asleep my youngest nephew also decided to move inside to sleep closer to his mom.

Hot is the best word to describe the next day.  There was no way of sleeping in as the temperature in the tent was stifling and sticky.  It was only an indication of what was to come.  The temperature rose to over 30 degrees celsius and all we could do was sit in the shade of the maple tree next to the cottage.  It was too hot to do anything.  It was even too hot on the beach as the sand instantly burned the bottom of your feet, even with sandals on.

Weather was a key factor in the rest of the trip and I think the sweat in my eyes made it all a bit of a blur.  Washer toss, bonfires, smores, more beach time, and an enjoyable drive home.  It was a great way to spend a week and I felt truly blessed to have the chance to spend such quality time with my family.  I also felt very blessed in the way the kids all behaved throughout the week.  My own kids in particular bless me every day.  I love watching them grow and over this week I could witness that growth literally.

I want to thank everyone who made that trip so great.  You are all a blessing to me.  Thanks to Lindsay Thorne for the photos.

A T-Rex Size Adventure

Awhile ago I had read about an event that I thought my son would really appreciate.  It isn't something that I would have likely enjoyed as a kid but he is slightly different than I was.  I truly love him for this difference and when I see that side of him show, I respect him for how comfortable he seems to be with it.  I always had that side but was never comfortable as a youth expressing it and it makes me proud that he can so readily embrace his intellectual and artistic side more readily than I ever could as a kid or even young adult.

Where was I?  Oh yeah, the event I read about.  My son's five year old intellectual side loves dinosaurs.  So when I found out that a tyrannosaurus rex display was going to be at the Nova Scotia Museum of Natural History I immediately started planning a trip to see it.  It was a family weekend getaway.  I have to state that I was impressed with the organization of the Nova Scotia tourism websites as I surfed for information to plan the weekend.

Two weekends ago we made the drive to Halifax with anticipation and a sense of adventure.  It was likely the longest drive either of our kids had been on and luckily for me and my wife they travel really well.  We only stopped twice for pee breaks and only heard "Are we there yet?" twenty times or so.  Due to some car trouble we were late getting on our way on the overcast Saturday morning but we made Halifax and after some misguided site seeing of the city we found the museum. 

It took no time for Seth to get out of his booster seat; in fact he ended up being lectured on waiting until the car stopped before unbuckling.  We made our way to the entrance where the walkway was lined with whale bones and already he was having fun.  We stepped in side the museum and I was immediately impressed with how many people were there.  I never would have expected to see people lined up to get in on what turned out to be a sunny Saturday afternoon.

I started to feel like a kid myself as we stepped into the t-rex display.  Seth ran up the ramp and stood there wide eyed and mouth open in awe.  I'm sure my eyes were wide too as I was impressed with the size of the ancient reptile.  It was all we could do to keep up with Seth as he dashed from interactive display to display.  It took no time for him to see all there was to see and we were worried we wouldn't have time to see it all.  From the t-rex display we took in the other displays, including the bird display, the wildlife, and marine displays.

After we left the museum we took some time to walk through the Halifax public Garden and we were fortunate enough to take in some more great wildlife.  Geese, swans, ducks, birds, turtles, and some other questionable characters were all observed by the kids as we wandered around the wonderful green space.  The history of the trees and the obvious, painstaking, effort put forth to plan and maintain the space was as impressive as the size of some of the trees.

As we left the city, in which I spent two years living in sometime ago, I got a bit lost trying to find Lawrencetown and I ended up taking the long way along the shore.  This irritated the kids a bit but I resolved to enjoy it a little.  We were going to stay with my Aunt Pat and Uncle John and I made us a bit late for supper.  Sorry Pat and John.  We enjoyed their hospitality through supper before heading to the beach to watch the sunset.  This shoreline on the east coast often gets hammered by some of the biggest waves along the eastern Canadian seashore.  It makes for a great spectacle and I was hoping to share this with my family.  We were lucky to witness some surfers cashing in on some good size waves and Seth and Michelle were quite impressed, in fact for Michelle it might have been the best part of the trip.  It was windy and really cold though so we decided to leave before the sunset.

We returned back to my Aunt and Uncle's and spent a quiet night with them.  It was rewarding to watch as our kids, who seldom see this part of our family, interact so easily with them.  That is one of the best things about family I guess, they are always there.

The next day we made the long drive home and were tuckered out when we finally pulled back into the driveway.  Surprisingly we had other family obligations to attend and made them with little trouble but when night time came that evening, none of us had trouble falling asleep.

This video is a bit dark but I couldn't help but post it.  My daughter quickly  adjusted to being at my aunt and uncle's.