Family Vacation Memories

 So, this past week we were in beautiful Nova Scotia experiencing the finer things that Canada's seacoast has to offer such as clam digging, some of the world's highest tides, and a muddy good time had by all.  Grayson was truly creating some of his happiest memories as he traipsed through the mud anytime one of us would agree to take him down.  (usually Randy, because frankly, I enjoy being clean, but I did squish mud between my toes at least once)

We started our journey at Amherst Shores Provincial State Park which is near the northwest corner of Nova Scotia.  It was a bit drab outside, but we were thankful that the air was cool and that it was not raining.  We had a trail that led out to the beach, but the first time that we made our way to the coast, it was only a tiny little rocky beach, with no sand to speak of.  Later that day we headed back and not only was the sun out, but the tide had gone out and left us with this.

We played all day and had some yummy camp food that evening, including S'more's of course.


The next day we packed up our site and headed onto Cape Breton National Park about 6.5 hours northeast.  I have to say that this park was one of the most beautiful places that I have ever been to.  Dramatic vistas, ocean scenery, and even a moose or two.

We camped at Jumping Mouse Eco-Camping.  This was a truly unique experience and probably one of our favorite campgrounds to ever stay at.  The folks that maintain this private oasis do so with love.  The pit toilets  were very clean, recycling was encouraged, Internet was available, and the attitude that surrounded this property was that of trust.  We signed in and paid after we camped for two days.  I would encourage anyone to camp here.

 This was our site and yes, that was our view.  the picture does not do it justice of course.  If you head over toward the edge, you would see a ladder and rope, that says: Danger, climb at your own risk.  Randy made an attempt at it to see if it would be a good fit for Gray, but quickly assessed that it was in fact as dangerous as I had previously determined and we found another beach the next day, which even though it was cloudy, we found it to be quite beautiful. 

We continued on the following day due west toward the Bay of Fundy where those really high tides take place.  We stayed at a camp ground called Five Islands Provincial Park.  This was much bigger than either of the first two.  It was very pretty, but because of the size of the campground, it wasn't nearly as hospitable as the first two.

Unfortunately, after the first night here, I woke up feeling pretty yucky in the belly.  I stayed at camp all day while the boys dug for clams and chased waves all day.  Around 6:30 that evening we decided to pack it up and head to a hotel for the evening....thank goodness, because the port-a-potties would not have been a good fit that evening if you can catch my drift.  We continued on toward Maine the next morning and made it home to New Hampshire a day ago.  It was quite an adventure for our family and we are just so thankful that we got to experience this together.  I still find it difficult to at times to make major plans while we are in the waiting phase of the adoption because we just don't know when things are going to take place.  But, each day throughout the process, we continue to "do" life because if we don't, our story won't be nearly as exciting to be a part of.  Thanks for reading.  Happy trails!!