White Point Beach Resort, Nova Scotia...

One of the most beautiful places in Nova Scotia (and there are many of those) is White Point Beach Resort. I discovered this gem when we lived here before - a day trip out to the resort for lunch and a Christmas Craft Fair - I fell in love. The beach, the peacefulness, the old lodge (and the food was pretty darn good, too - my friend and I sat in the lounge, next to the huge stone fireplace, looking out over the ocean - amazing). The resort was a little over 70 years old then and the placed oozed history and story - I imagined there were also a few ghosts hanging out.

When I discovered my friend Frances Jewel Dickson was going to be writing a book on White Point, I was elated. I love history - I love Nova Scotia - and I love knowing how others lived their lives. Every time I asked, Frances said the book was coming along well, on schedule. Then, in November of 2011 White Point's main lodge burned to the ground. Frances' book, almost complete at that time, had taken on new meaning. And she felt it was only right to add to it - include the fire and the hopes, dreams and reality of rebuilding.

I am pleased to say that Frances is finished and her book Destination White Point is ready to order. She's doing an 'Early Bunny' promotion (bunnies play a significant role at White Point Beach Resort) - and I'm pleased to help her promote. The book will be released to the public after June 30th, so you don't have much time to get in on the pre-order - did I tell you that the 'Early Bunny' promotion is a signed edition of Destination White Point? Yes, it is. I'll let Frances explain - the video is great, with Frances at White Point and flashes of old pictures and a brief summary of the book.


Here's some links:

Frances Jewel Dickson: http://www.voicesetc.ca/index.htm

White Point Beach Resort Blog (about Destination White Point):  http://www.whitepoint.com/blog/2012/06/12/destination-white-point-to-be-released-order-yours-now/

White Point Beach Live Webcam (I love watching the ocean): http://www.novascotiawebcams.com/south-shore/white-point-beach.html

Have a great weekend, everyone :)

Windswept Beach...

There seems to be a beach theme this week. Yesterday way a blustery day here on the East Coast. 85K/hour winds (53mph) gusting to over 100K (65mph) made for many trees down, signs blown over and, because it was garbage day in some areas, garbage bags rolling down the street like modern day tumbleweed!

We took a quick trip over the river on the ferry. A large vessel, usually steady and smooth, bobbed up and down in the water as swell after swell hit the side. If one was prone to seasickness, the contant up and down of the horizon might have caused some quesiness. I loved it. The motion, the overcast sky, the howling winds took me back to my childhood when we would go overseas to visit relatives (Scotland - notoriously bad weather) and take as many boat tours as we could. My dad loved boats and water - inevitably, we would be out on the water in less than perfect conditions riding out the swells and listening the flap of our pants in the wind.

The Husband and I drove out to Hirtle's Beach - a beautiful stretch of beach that usually has some fantastic waves. The wind was so strong, I struggled to get my door open to get out. Then struggled to walk down the boardwalk to the rocks. Here's me leaning into the wind at the end of the boardwalk.

The pictures don't do the wave action justice. It was incredible! The sound of fury. The salt spray. But it was hard to keep the camera steady. If you're interested in seeing Hirtle's Beach on a calm day, head over to Dream Big - Sara had been there on Monday and took some fabulous pictures and a short video.

Have a great weekend, People of Blogland :)

Inspiration - The Beach...

Inspired by my run on Crescent Beach, here are some wonderful beach quotes - and my own photos of Oxner's Beach (with The Husband and Taz enjoying the walk), a small collection of beach 'gifts', and The Bay of Fundy taken at Burntcoat Lighthouse this past summer. I love the beach :)

I read and walked for miles at night along the beach, writing bad blank verse and searching endlessly for someone wonderful who would step out of the darkness and change my life. It never crossed my mind that that person could be me.” ~ Anna Quindlen

The sea does not reward those who are too anxious, too greedy, or too impatient. One should lie empty, open, choiceless as a beach - waiting for a gift from the sea. ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh

In every outthrust headland, in every curving beach, in every grain of sand there is the story of the earth.” ~ Rachel Carson

The cure for anything is salt water – sweat, tears, or the sea. ~ Isak Dinesen

At the beach, life is different. Time doesn’t move hour to hour but mood to moment. We live by the currents, plan by the tides and follow the sun. ~ Unknown

Post Race Report...

Took a long weekend there - needed it after my crazy busy Sunday. Yes, I did run a half-marathon distance in 2:28:14, which is a personal best! I decided to do a straight out course - there's something about getting out a distance and then turning around and knowing you have all that distance to cover again to get back to the start. Mind games! I convinced The Husband that he needed to come and get me. He arrived right on time.

The course I chose, from my place to Crescent Beach, was beautiful. And it was a beautiful day - I was 'unlayering' before I even hit the half-way mark. I ran along the LaHave River to where it meets the Atlantic Ocean, then kept going until I hit the beach. I've blogged about this beach before - the only beach in Nova Scotia that allows cars to drive on it (good thing, don't think I could have walked back to the parking spaces) - see here if you're interested in knowing more about this natural wonder or seeing some pics I took.

When I got to the beach, the watch told me I still had mileage to go - so down onto the hard-packed sand I ran with the waves spilling in toward me and the rhythmic sound accompanying the percussion of my feet. What an awesome way to finish a run!

Needless to say I was tired and could already feel my legs burning. An epsom salt bath was needed - as was the hot chocolate spiked with Swiss Almond Liquour (the running nutritionists will be having a fit with that post-race refueling). And I had to be ready to leave the house for an afternoon party in under two hours. I'm so glad I took the time to have the bath, though, or I wouldn't have made it through the rest of the day.

After all that excitement - the run and a marvelous party with friends - I was one tired puppy yesterday. Didn't even have the energy to blog! Still a little fuzzy around the edges today.

How was your weekend, People of Blogland?

Mom's Visit...

I promised you pictures of my mom's visit - I took so many, I'm going to have to do this in three batches (so either stay tuned or be warned).

The first batch of pictures were mostly taken on the first Saturday she was here. We all jumped in the car (including Taz) and headed southwest along the coast - destination Liverpool. What fabulous day! It could have been a little warmer, but we didn't get wet and we managed to walk on a couple of beaches along the way. Of course, most of the journey follows the coast and the scenery is breathtaking! We ended up at the lighthouse in Liverpool (built in 1855 - and the sight of deMonts' and Champlain's landing in 1604) and picniced on chicken salad sandwiches, veggies and dip and hot tea from the thermos!

This is my mom with Lunenburg Harbor in the background. We ventured there on Friday (before the picnic/beach day). It's such a great picture (hint to family members reading this - fab if you could print off a copy for mom :)

First stop and our longest walk - Risser's Beach. We had to have hot tea and a muffin when we got back to the car - it was a chilly walk, but well worth it with the sound of the waves and the tang of salt air.

Mom, me and Taz (don't look too closely, I have a bag of poop in my hand - thanks, Taz).

The Husband, Mom and Taz on the later part of the walk that winds its way back through the woods.

Picnic time - yeah, she doesn't like getting her picture taken. I could have used the other one, Mom - then you'd have something to complain about ;)

Taz enjoyed the picnic, too!

And you all know that you can click on the pictures to make them bigger - and I apologize ahead of time for any formatting difficulty (so much easier to apologize than learn how to do it properly - I'm lazy).

Any picnic fans out there in Blogland? I love to picnic, but always forget to do it. I have the equipment, hmm, must be that lazy streak ;)

Crescent Beach, Nova Scotia...

As you can see, there have been some changes at The Journal! I couldn't leave it alone - Blogger and their constant badgering about the new design templates available. Then going and visiting all my favorite blogs and discovering those authors have changed things up. Geesh, I'm such a follower. Anyway - what do you think?

As promised - pictures of Crescent Beach. If you're curious as to where it is, go to Google Maps and type in Crescent Beach, Nova Scotia. You can scroll around to see where it is in relation to Lunenburg or even Halifax. I tried to get the link for you, but the technology gods were not cooperating!!

The beach is 2km long.

The sand beach is separated from the tidal flats and salt marsh of Dublin Bay by sand dunes which rise in height from 2m in the west to 6.8m near the east end. A large wooden fence has existed between the beach and dunes since the 1930s.

This is Taz running back to me after she has retrieved her stick. There's not a lot of sticks on the beach - and she wouldn't leave me alone until we found one. Note to self: take stick with us when we go to Crescent Beach!!





The next two pictures are taken from the road that separates the dunes and the marsh. The road goes out to some of the LaHave Islands - and prior to it being built, the beach was used as a path out to George's Island.

Cars are actually allowed on this beach - not a standard practice on beaches in Nova Scotia.

Picture looking out over the marsh.

I found this wonderful website full of pictures (much better than mine) of Crescent Beach. I spent a great deal of time looking through them - there are some from the 20's and 30's (I love looking at old pictures and the old cars on the beach with families out swimming - of course anything to do with history and I'm in heaven). There are also pictures of the damage done from tropical storm Noel in 2007, wonderful wildlife pictures and a stunning sunset picture.

Ah, I love living in Nova Scotia (must be that Pisces' need for water). I hope you enjoyed the little glimpse into my 'backyard' (yes, I am only 15 minutes away from this beach - and the day we went, we had the whole place to ourselves).

Have a great day, People of Blogland :)