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Sept. 1-3 Hattie’s Visit

By on September 10, 2022 in The Pearl
“A grandchild fills a space in your heart that you never knew was empty.” – Unknown

Our little Hattie has been waiting all summer to have her special time on the boat. She’s been telling everyone that when she turned three she was going to Mimi and Poppy’s boat. Her time finally came and she was so excited and so were we. We truly love having your grandchildren spend time with us on the boat. It gives us time to really get to know them and they get to choose what they want to do and eat what they like. 

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Nova Scotia Lighthouses

By on September 5, 2022 in The Pearl
“We must never remain silent in the face of bigotry. We must condemn those who seek to divide us. In all quarters and at all times, we must teach tolerance and denounce racism, anti-Semitism and all ethnic or religious bigotry wherever they exist as unacceptable evils. We have no place for haters in America — none, whatsoever.” –Ronald Reagan

I’ve enjoyed taking pictures of lighthouses since we left Texas in 2011. I have a lighthouse map and an online photo album with 322 lighthouses. Nova Scotia has over 150 lighthouses along its shoreline. We didn’t go out of our way on this trip to find them, but we did stop and get a picture if we were close. Most of the lighthouses in Nova Scotia have a pepper-shaker-style tower and look very similar. 

The Cape Forchu Lighthouse, on a headland at the south western tip of Nova Scotia, is the light for the town of Yarmouth and its harbor. It was originally built in 1840 and replaced in 1961 with the current light.

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Aug. 24-26 Exploring the North Shore of NS

By on September 2, 2022 in The Pearl
“Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking in the moment and making the best of it.” -Gilda Radner

We decided not to find another place in Halifax, so we drove towards the north coast. We spent the night in Truro. It’s at the head of Cobequid Bay where you can see the tidal bore several times a day. This phenomena is produced by the huge tidal change in the Bay of Fundy. Unfortunately our timing didn’t allow us to see this again. We experienced it on our New Brunswick trip in 2019. 

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Aug. 23 – Almost Halifax

By on September 1, 2022 in The Pearl
“To be fully alive, fully human and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest.” -Pema Chödrön 
From Peggy’s Cove we drove up to Halifax. We spent the afternoon walking the boardwalk along the waterfront. There were no cruise ships in the harbor so it wasn’t too crowded, but it seemed like a lot of businesses were closed. We were not  impressed. 

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Aug. 21-22 Exploring the Southern Shore of NS

By on August 31, 2022 in The Pearl
“If love was water, I’d give you the sea.” –Unknown 
We really had no set agenda on this little adventure. We just wanted to see what Nova Scotia had to offer. So we left Yarmouth and headed east trying to stay as close to the coast as we could. We decided to visit a little spot on Cape Sable Island called Clark’s Harbour because many of the Monk trawlers were built there. We explored the boatyard a little and then spent a little time at the beach before heading east to Lunenburg. 

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Aug. 19 – Sailing on Penobscot Bay

By on August 29, 2022 in The Pearl
“I sail not to escape life, but so life does not escape me.” –Unknown 
On our last full day with our family we went for a sail on the Schooner Surprise on Penobscot Bay. We couldn’t have asked for a prettier day for a sail. It felt wonderful to be back on the water in Maine. It’s one of my favorite places we’ve cruise.

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Aug. 18 – Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

By on August 29, 2022 in The Pearl
“When a man moves away from nature, his heart becomes hard.” —Lakota Proverb

One day we decided to drive over to Boothbay to visit the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens. There are 300 acres of gardens and natural spaces to explore, which includes a native butterfly and moth house, a children’s garden and a fairy house village, just to name a few of the special features the gardens have to offer.

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Aug. 13-20 Maine Family Vacation

By on August 28, 2022 in The Pearl
“My family is my strength and my weakness.” – Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Summer vacations are about having fun, eating ice cream, swimming, playing games, exploring, riding bikes, hiking, experiencing new things, and enjoying good food. But most of all it’s about spending time with family and making lifelong memories. We’ve been doing all these things this summer and enjoying every minute. Here are the highlights of our first few days in Maine.

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Aug. 22 – Peggy’s Cove, NS

By on August 24, 2022 in The Pearl
“It is the set of the sails, not the direction of the wind that determines which way we will go.” –Jim Rohn

Although Peggy’s Cove is a very very small place and just one cute community we visited on this day, I decided it deserved its own post, because I have so many wonderful photos to share. It’s famed for its picturesque and typically East-Coast profile, with houses perched along a narrow inlet and on wave-washed boulders facing the Atlantic. This unique environment has been designated a preservation area, but yet it’s still an active fishing community.

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Aug. 20 – Ferry to Yarmouth, NS

By on August 22, 2022 in The Pearl
“Dance with the waves, move with the sea, let the rhythm of the water set your soul free.” –Christy Ann Martine 

We drove from Rockport to Bar Harbor and had a chance to catch up with cruising friends we haven’t seen since the spring of 2021. We had enough time to enjoy walking along the shore path before lunch at The Terrace Grille at the Bar Harbor Inn. It was so much fun catching up with Burt and Prue. They spend the summer on their boat in Maine and know all the great things to do and good places to eat.

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