This update is long and long overdue. After returning from vacation, it took several days for Angelie to get back on her normal sleeping schedule (travelling and teething messed it up), and for Mommy to catch up on lost sleep.
So here it finally is, in its entirety…
Our trip to Nova Scotia
Wednesday August 23rd
Despite being rudely awoken by Mommy at 5:30 in the morning, Angelie fared very well with her first plane ride. She fell asleep just before takeoff, and woke only 20 minutes or so before we landed. We’d given her a dose of decongestant and it seemed to have worked, she didn’t complain with ear pain.
She also handled the five hour drive up to Glace Bay without much complaint. A couple of new toys, a new book, and lots of snacks, and she sat contentedly. And of course, she slept part of the way. Half-an-hour before we arrived she started to fuss because of a very wet diaper, but she didn’t complain long before she settled and sulked quietly.
We arrived at Auntie Joan’s in time to share a yummy lasagna supper. Ed made a valiant effort at keeping straight the names of all the family members he met, and Angelie got over her initial shyness fairly quickly, although Mommy was not to go out of her sight for a moment. Dear sweet cousin Tricia gave up her basement apartment for us, so we had our own space and could come and go as we pleased. It gave Angelie space to decompress after each busy day.
Thursday August 24th
Drove out to the Fortress at Louisbourg and spent the afternoon roaming around. Louisbourg became a French naval base and stronghold in the early 1700’s, after the English kicked the French out of Acadia and Newfoundland. They only managed to hold onto it for about 50 years, before they lost it too. Apparently it’s one of Canada’s largest historic restorations.
We ate lunch in one of the period restaurants -- the one which served food like the poor soldiers at the time would have eaten. Surprisingly good, though we had to eat every thing with a spoon -- no knives, no forks. We shared a table with three other couples, and Angelie received lots of attention.
We bought a loaf of “soldiers’ bread” at the bakery. It tasted okay, but was very heavy and hard to chew. We decided to save it for any ducks we might find later (and hope the ducks didn't eat it and sink).
After lunch we turned Angelie loose, somewhat, and she stretched her legs a bit. She found lots of things to climb like brick walls, wooden steps, and hills.
She ran up this hill, then down this hill, then up this hill, then down this hill…. and Mommy had to go too.
Here she is “chained” at the whipping post, and being freed by Daddy:
Angelie and Daddy looking at ducks:
All the running up the hills and down tired her out. She fell asleep in her Daddy's arms on the way out:
Had a nice potluck dinner at Auntie Pat’s. More names for Ed to remember, and people for Angelie to get comfortable with. She really hit it off with Cousin Allison (my mother‘s cousin) and Cousins Rebecca and Bailey (my cousin Tanya’s girls, in photo below).
Friday August 25th
Stayed in Glace Bay and went down into the coal mine at the Miners Museum. It was cold and damp and dark, and Angelie didn’t like it much. Ed’s a full foot taller than I am and so had the worst of it, carrying the diaper bag (which we could have managed without) and pushing an empty stroller. Even I had to stoop in most places and that’s tricky carrying a squirming baby. But she didn’t cry as long as I held her, until we got to the part of the journey when our guide shut out the lights to show us how truly dark it gets in the mines. He took pity on us (and the rest of the people in our tour) and turned the lights back on pretty quickly.
Afterwards, we stopped at the restaurant in the Miner’s Village and bought some clam chowder, and Angelie ran around on the grass for a while.
Saturday August 26th
Went into Sydney to do a little shopping. We booked a trip to sail out to see the whales on Sunday, and we didn’t plan ahead and pack warm enough clothes, so we needed warmer pants for Angelie and sweaters for us all. We also stopped to feed the ducks at the park. We fed them the heavy soldiers’ bread we bought at Louisbourg (none of the ducks sank). Angelie had a great time.
We spent more time with Auntie Joan, and with Auntie Gean, Uncle Michael, and Auntie Hubba, who were all staying with Joan. Here Angelie is playing with Cousins Hunter and Holly (my cousin Tammy’s children, in photo below).
Sunday August 27th
Woke early to drive up to Ingonish where we met the sail boat to go out to see the whales. Unfortunately, because there weren’t enough people booked, they cancelled the sail. We spent the rest of the day driving around the Cabot Trail. Gorgeous views!
Despite being in the car most of the day, and being put in and taken out, then buckled back in only to be taken out again, she tolerated it very well. Of course she tends to fall asleep in the car, so the trip only further wrecked her day-to-day schedule.
We stopped for supper in the little town of Baddeck - a very nice town on the Bras D’Or lakes. We window shopped a little and had ice cream. We planned to stay for supper at Baddeck Lobster Suppers, so before dinner we let Angelie burn off some energy and run around in the field next to the restaurant. Afterwards Angelie happily munched on lobster and steamed mussels, then didn’t fight getting back into the car for the ride back to Glace Bay.
Monday August 28th
Decided to have an “Angelie day” and do something that she’d really like. So on recommendations from Tammy we drove out to the Two Rivers Wildlife park in Marion Bridge. We got lost on the way out and ended up back in Louisbourg before we got proper directions from the tourist bureau there and finally found it. Angelie likes animals and enjoyed looking at them in their cages. Everything is a “woof woof” or a “meow” until she’s been informed otherwise.
Here she is checking out an emu:
Afterwards we popped over to Uncle Jack and Auntie Lois’s for a few minutes. Angelie found the playroom belonging to my cousin’s girls, but because of the detour when we got lost we didn’t have long to stay and still try and keep Angelie on some sort of a schedule. We didn’t stay long but made plans to go back the following afternoon to play.
After dinner, I left Angelie with her Daddy and went out to bingo with Joan, Gean, Hubba, Great-Aunt Bessie, and Allison. Angelie acted out and gave her Daddy a really tough time and Mommy didn’t win anything, so bingo was a bust.
Tuesday August 29th
Our last day in Glace Bay. We visited with Auntie Bessie (Mommy’s Great Aunt) and then went back to Uncle Jack’s to play with Rebecca and Bailey who we both there for the day while their Mom worked. They played really well together for several hours.
We made an early night of it, since we still had to repack all our stuff and find room for the extra that Angelie had been given while we were there.
Wednesday August 30th
Left Glace Bay by 8am. Another full-day in the car, poor Angelie.
With a stop mid-way for lunch, we got to the picturesque town of Mahone Bay (just south west of Halifax) by 2:30pm. We met with an artist named Tom Ward that Ed found on the internet. We purchased one of his paintings, which will be shipped to us in November after a showing he’s having.
Three churches at Mahone Bay:
After that, we checked into the Amber Rose B&B in Mahone Bay then made the short drive to Lunenburg for the rest of the afternoon. Lunenburg is one of Canada’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, as many of the original 1753 buildings are still standing.. The Bluenose II docks there, but left port the day before we arrived. It’s a beautiful little town built on a very steep hill. We found St. John’s Anglican Church, which was founded in 1753 and which burned down in an arson fire in 2001, and has since been restored. Very nicely done.
Lunenburg Harbour:
We had dinner in Mahone Bay. Angelie fell asleep in the car and we managed to carry her down the street and get her into a highchair without waking her.
Then she woke up in time to eat half of Mommy’s dinner.
Thursday August 31st
Our fourth anniversary and our last day in Nova Scotia. We had a lovely breakfast of oven-baked apple french toast (soooo yummy!) and Angelie had some egg and toast. Our hostess at the B&B took good care of us. After breakfast we loaded up the car and went to Peggy’s Cove, which would be our last real tourist destination before heading home.
Peggy’s Cove is a living postcard. Tiny but beautiful. We drove past the Swiss Air Memorial for the victims of the crash just off the coast several years ago, but decided not to stop there. We spent a little over an hour in Peggy’s Cove taking photos and letting Angelie stretch her legs a little bit before being trapped in her car seat on the airplane.
Then we went into Halifax to buy another piece of luggage. We’d been charged extra on the trip out because our suitcase was too heavy and with all the gifts of clothes and books and toys that Angelie received we knew it made sense to put our money into a new suitcase and not into the airline’s pockets. There is a Sears in the Halifax Shopping Centre, and so we headed in that direction. We got lost on Dutch Village Rd, which is one of those odd streets that is cut in half in the middle and not connected. And of course when there are two streets withthe same name it's only logical that you'd come across the wrong one first. We stopped at a small shopping plaza and Ed got directions in a Fabric Store, and soon we found the Sears and bought our luggage. Then we repacked our suitcases in the parking lot, and headed for the airport.
Angelie spent some time playing at a small play-gym that the airport set up for kids, and met a little friend. Great idea - she was able to burn off some steam before we got on board, and then she slept for part of the flight.
However, the flight home didn’t go nearly as well as the flight out. I’d forgotten to give Angelie a dose of decongestant before it went into our checked luggage (since you can’t take liquids on board anymore), and so she cried on the descent into Ottawa with ear pain. But when we landed and came down the escalator into the baggage claim, she saw Grandma and Grandpa waiting for us and she was all smiles (and so were they!)
All in all it was a great trip. We got to see everyone we planned on seeing and most of the sights we’d planned to see. We really didn’t see a lot, but to keep it in perspective, we did quite well since we had a toddler in tow. Hopefully it won’t be as long between trips this time.
So here it finally is, in its entirety…
Our trip to Nova Scotia
Wednesday August 23rd
Despite being rudely awoken by Mommy at 5:30 in the morning, Angelie fared very well with her first plane ride. She fell asleep just before takeoff, and woke only 20 minutes or so before we landed. We’d given her a dose of decongestant and it seemed to have worked, she didn’t complain with ear pain.
She also handled the five hour drive up to Glace Bay without much complaint. A couple of new toys, a new book, and lots of snacks, and she sat contentedly. And of course, she slept part of the way. Half-an-hour before we arrived she started to fuss because of a very wet diaper, but she didn’t complain long before she settled and sulked quietly.
We arrived at Auntie Joan’s in time to share a yummy lasagna supper. Ed made a valiant effort at keeping straight the names of all the family members he met, and Angelie got over her initial shyness fairly quickly, although Mommy was not to go out of her sight for a moment. Dear sweet cousin Tricia gave up her basement apartment for us, so we had our own space and could come and go as we pleased. It gave Angelie space to decompress after each busy day.
Thursday August 24th
Drove out to the Fortress at Louisbourg and spent the afternoon roaming around. Louisbourg became a French naval base and stronghold in the early 1700’s, after the English kicked the French out of Acadia and Newfoundland. They only managed to hold onto it for about 50 years, before they lost it too. Apparently it’s one of Canada’s largest historic restorations.
We ate lunch in one of the period restaurants -- the one which served food like the poor soldiers at the time would have eaten. Surprisingly good, though we had to eat every thing with a spoon -- no knives, no forks. We shared a table with three other couples, and Angelie received lots of attention.
We bought a loaf of “soldiers’ bread” at the bakery. It tasted okay, but was very heavy and hard to chew. We decided to save it for any ducks we might find later (and hope the ducks didn't eat it and sink).
After lunch we turned Angelie loose, somewhat, and she stretched her legs a bit. She found lots of things to climb like brick walls, wooden steps, and hills.
She ran up this hill, then down this hill, then up this hill, then down this hill…. and Mommy had to go too.
Here she is “chained” at the whipping post, and being freed by Daddy:
Angelie and Daddy looking at ducks:
All the running up the hills and down tired her out. She fell asleep in her Daddy's arms on the way out:
Had a nice potluck dinner at Auntie Pat’s. More names for Ed to remember, and people for Angelie to get comfortable with. She really hit it off with Cousin Allison (my mother‘s cousin) and Cousins Rebecca and Bailey (my cousin Tanya’s girls, in photo below).
Friday August 25th
Stayed in Glace Bay and went down into the coal mine at the Miners Museum. It was cold and damp and dark, and Angelie didn’t like it much. Ed’s a full foot taller than I am and so had the worst of it, carrying the diaper bag (which we could have managed without) and pushing an empty stroller. Even I had to stoop in most places and that’s tricky carrying a squirming baby. But she didn’t cry as long as I held her, until we got to the part of the journey when our guide shut out the lights to show us how truly dark it gets in the mines. He took pity on us (and the rest of the people in our tour) and turned the lights back on pretty quickly.
Afterwards, we stopped at the restaurant in the Miner’s Village and bought some clam chowder, and Angelie ran around on the grass for a while.
Saturday August 26th
Went into Sydney to do a little shopping. We booked a trip to sail out to see the whales on Sunday, and we didn’t plan ahead and pack warm enough clothes, so we needed warmer pants for Angelie and sweaters for us all. We also stopped to feed the ducks at the park. We fed them the heavy soldiers’ bread we bought at Louisbourg (none of the ducks sank). Angelie had a great time.
We spent more time with Auntie Joan, and with Auntie Gean, Uncle Michael, and Auntie Hubba, who were all staying with Joan. Here Angelie is playing with Cousins Hunter and Holly (my cousin Tammy’s children, in photo below).
Sunday August 27th
Woke early to drive up to Ingonish where we met the sail boat to go out to see the whales. Unfortunately, because there weren’t enough people booked, they cancelled the sail. We spent the rest of the day driving around the Cabot Trail. Gorgeous views!
Despite being in the car most of the day, and being put in and taken out, then buckled back in only to be taken out again, she tolerated it very well. Of course she tends to fall asleep in the car, so the trip only further wrecked her day-to-day schedule.
We stopped for supper in the little town of Baddeck - a very nice town on the Bras D’Or lakes. We window shopped a little and had ice cream. We planned to stay for supper at Baddeck Lobster Suppers, so before dinner we let Angelie burn off some energy and run around in the field next to the restaurant. Afterwards Angelie happily munched on lobster and steamed mussels, then didn’t fight getting back into the car for the ride back to Glace Bay.
Monday August 28th
Decided to have an “Angelie day” and do something that she’d really like. So on recommendations from Tammy we drove out to the Two Rivers Wildlife park in Marion Bridge. We got lost on the way out and ended up back in Louisbourg before we got proper directions from the tourist bureau there and finally found it. Angelie likes animals and enjoyed looking at them in their cages. Everything is a “woof woof” or a “meow” until she’s been informed otherwise.
Here she is checking out an emu:
Afterwards we popped over to Uncle Jack and Auntie Lois’s for a few minutes. Angelie found the playroom belonging to my cousin’s girls, but because of the detour when we got lost we didn’t have long to stay and still try and keep Angelie on some sort of a schedule. We didn’t stay long but made plans to go back the following afternoon to play.
After dinner, I left Angelie with her Daddy and went out to bingo with Joan, Gean, Hubba, Great-Aunt Bessie, and Allison. Angelie acted out and gave her Daddy a really tough time and Mommy didn’t win anything, so bingo was a bust.
Tuesday August 29th
Our last day in Glace Bay. We visited with Auntie Bessie (Mommy’s Great Aunt) and then went back to Uncle Jack’s to play with Rebecca and Bailey who we both there for the day while their Mom worked. They played really well together for several hours.
We made an early night of it, since we still had to repack all our stuff and find room for the extra that Angelie had been given while we were there.
Wednesday August 30th
Left Glace Bay by 8am. Another full-day in the car, poor Angelie.
With a stop mid-way for lunch, we got to the picturesque town of Mahone Bay (just south west of Halifax) by 2:30pm. We met with an artist named Tom Ward that Ed found on the internet. We purchased one of his paintings, which will be shipped to us in November after a showing he’s having.
Three churches at Mahone Bay:
After that, we checked into the Amber Rose B&B in Mahone Bay then made the short drive to Lunenburg for the rest of the afternoon. Lunenburg is one of Canada’s UNESCO World Heritage sites, as many of the original 1753 buildings are still standing.. The Bluenose II docks there, but left port the day before we arrived. It’s a beautiful little town built on a very steep hill. We found St. John’s Anglican Church, which was founded in 1753 and which burned down in an arson fire in 2001, and has since been restored. Very nicely done.
Lunenburg Harbour:
We had dinner in Mahone Bay. Angelie fell asleep in the car and we managed to carry her down the street and get her into a highchair without waking her.
Then she woke up in time to eat half of Mommy’s dinner.
Thursday August 31st
Our fourth anniversary and our last day in Nova Scotia. We had a lovely breakfast of oven-baked apple french toast (soooo yummy!) and Angelie had some egg and toast. Our hostess at the B&B took good care of us. After breakfast we loaded up the car and went to Peggy’s Cove, which would be our last real tourist destination before heading home.
Peggy’s Cove is a living postcard. Tiny but beautiful. We drove past the Swiss Air Memorial for the victims of the crash just off the coast several years ago, but decided not to stop there. We spent a little over an hour in Peggy’s Cove taking photos and letting Angelie stretch her legs a little bit before being trapped in her car seat on the airplane.
Then we went into Halifax to buy another piece of luggage. We’d been charged extra on the trip out because our suitcase was too heavy and with all the gifts of clothes and books and toys that Angelie received we knew it made sense to put our money into a new suitcase and not into the airline’s pockets. There is a Sears in the Halifax Shopping Centre, and so we headed in that direction. We got lost on Dutch Village Rd, which is one of those odd streets that is cut in half in the middle and not connected. And of course when there are two streets withthe same name it's only logical that you'd come across the wrong one first. We stopped at a small shopping plaza and Ed got directions in a Fabric Store, and soon we found the Sears and bought our luggage. Then we repacked our suitcases in the parking lot, and headed for the airport.
Angelie spent some time playing at a small play-gym that the airport set up for kids, and met a little friend. Great idea - she was able to burn off some steam before we got on board, and then she slept for part of the flight.
However, the flight home didn’t go nearly as well as the flight out. I’d forgotten to give Angelie a dose of decongestant before it went into our checked luggage (since you can’t take liquids on board anymore), and so she cried on the descent into Ottawa with ear pain. But when we landed and came down the escalator into the baggage claim, she saw Grandma and Grandpa waiting for us and she was all smiles (and so were they!)
All in all it was a great trip. We got to see everyone we planned on seeing and most of the sights we’d planned to see. We really didn’t see a lot, but to keep it in perspective, we did quite well since we had a toddler in tow. Hopefully it won’t be as long between trips this time.
posted by Dawn at 1:36 PM
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