Haley's story about her trip to Nova Scotia, July 15-25, 2004
Onie selected photos and wrote captions (everything in italics)
So Nova Scotia was a blast! I had so much fun. We went on hikes, sail boats, and whale watching tours. We saw a bunch of whales, bald eagles and moose. On our whale tour we saw three different species of whales. We saw minkie whales, fin whales and humpback whales.
Haley and Sarah on short boat trip out to whales. It's a little chilly and foggy!
Upper left, Tracy's getting the scoop on the whales from one of our guides.
Diana, Haley, and Tracy all set for the whales.
On our sail we saw minkie whales, and bald eagles.
Sail Away. The five eagles were difficult to capture on camera.
Onie, Memom and Aunt Diana on the wharf ready to sail.
Beautiful sunshine for our morning sail. Clouds were gathering as soon as our sail ended.
And on our hike we saw 7 moose. the first one of course was a bull moose he was laying under the tree branches very calmly not aware that we were watching him. Although he did have large horns. So after watching him for a while we moved along the trail aware and on the alert of moose. But after reaching the windy board walk and the fact of not seeing any more moose, we became aware that we would not see any more moose.
We thought we were going to be blown away with 70mph winds.. We didn't stay
here long even though this was a magnificent view of the ocean.
It rained during our entire hike but it was not cold.
But we just happened to take another trail and ended up seeing another moose! The only thing was it was another boy! He had even larger antlers then the first one we saw! He was eating and didn’t even care to notice us! So we mostly got pictures of his bottom.
Bull moose grazing. No more pictures on this hike since batteries died in the camera.
Wow we sure are lucky to be seeing 2 moose in one day! So another 20 minutes went by and me and Onie were way ahead of the rest of the group. Then suddenly Onie stopped dead in her tracks. As I got closer she pushed me back. Then as the other two got closer I peeked from behind Onie’s back and got a little uncomfortable. A mama and a baby moose right in front of our eyes! The baby moose seemed to have been a new born with all of it’s clumsiness. And the mama was even bigger than Memom! And the baby was as tall as me! So as they left we tiptoed back onto the trail. As we passed where they had been on the trail we saw moose hoof prints and skid marks. We figured the baby was so clumsy that it skidded to stop.
So now we have seen 5 moose and we beat that guy’s 3 moose record. I know this trail may seem long but it sure is lucky! But I don’t think we will see any, more moose. Oh really? As we walked on we saw another pair of moose. This time it was a mom and her TWO babies. As they pranced along back into the woods the mother gave us a warning look saying: don’t come near my babies. Or at least that’s what we figured. So as we ended the trail we thought it was pretty lucky to end up seeing a total of 7 moose on just 1 hike! And so that was really a good hike. Also told you we also went on a sail. That was our lucky day of seeing bald eagles/5 total.
And our real whale watching tour ended up being our lucky whale seeing day. Because of the fact we saw three different kinds of whales. The minkies were tiny the fin whales were huge. And the humpbacks were playful. And every time they blew out of their blowholes we got soaked with whale snot because we were at the top of the boat although when the humpbacks got playful they got real playful.
The whale snot (spouting)
And the people on the bottom of the boat got a lucky strike from the humpback whales. The hump back whales went under the boat and stuck their head straight out of the water. Some of the people on the bottom got to pet the whale. That was the first time I had seen a whale head.
Close enough to touch
They basically put on a show for us.
And then waved goodbye as they dove deep into the Bay of Fundy. And speaking of the
Bay of Fundy, the biggest tide fall in the world (the Bore Tide), here are pictures that
captured the low and high tide.
Tide is low here in Truro, Nova Scotia. "Bored," we're waiting for the bore tide to come in.
Bore tide creates a big wave as the mud and water come rolling in.
Another scene of low tide on the bay.
Later the same day at high tide--the exact same spot.
Oh right after we got to Louisburg, we went to Louisburg fortress. I got to see how the people in 1740 lived. it was awesome we ate at 1740 restaurants, 1740 houses and 1740 servants, soldiers, merchants, and regular people lived.
Fort Louisbourg and the Texas visitors. In early August the park employees went on strike
and the park closed. It would have been a BIG disappointment if we'd missed this.
And now back to the whale watching. So after the tour we went back to the motor home. There I played with Jenna my greatest pal. Right by Iyvon and Steven and their three legged cat meco’s camper. So it was very hard to leave NOVA SCOTIA!
More pictures
On our drive into Cape Breton on the Bras d'or Lakes trail, we
spotted this bald eagle perched in the top of the tree.
And we watched until he took flight.
We stopped for a break at the locks where boats can enter the salt water lakes
from the Atlantic Ocean.
Here we captured a number of jelly fish on camera .
Haley enjoys the view from our cabin deck at Ingonish Ferry. Almost bed time.
Tracy and Haley climbing rocks near the Louisbourg Lighthouse.
Tracy and Diana fight the strong winds at Louisbourg Lighthouse.
Onie, Diana, and Haley at Louisbourg Lighthouse
For a while we thought this was the only moose we'd see. Cries of
"moose, moose" generated some good laughs.
Believe it or not, there's a moose out there. "Moose, Moose, Moose" Don't look
too hard, I couldn't find it either.
On the Cabot Trail, we enjoyed spectacular views like this from the car.
And more, more, more.
And the MOST beautiful.
Tracy and Haley take care of one of those necessary evils.
Fuel costs about $3.00 a gallon.
And It's Showtime in Baddeck. "Spirit of the Island," with lively music and dancing.
We sat front row and center. Early reservations paid off.
All cast on stage.
Joanne performing her version of a "Real Canadian Girl."
The "Real Canadian Girl" came out in this lighthouse.
Later Haley posed for this picture.
And with Joanne--the "Real Canadian Girl." Joanne watched
Haley and told her after the show that she was keeping perfect
time as we clapped our hands during their lively performance.
Paul (creator of the "Spirit of the Island show), dressed in his
kilt, gave us lots of laughs.
Paul and Haley on stage after the show.
Haley, Diana and Haley visited St. Anne's Catholic church
(about 100 years old) in Church Point, NS.
Following are photos from Bellevieu Cove, a 3-mile hike through wetlands
and along the beautiful shoreline of Saint Mary's Bay.
Yvonne Boudreau and Haley take off on the hike. They became good
friends right away after we got back to the motor home at Belle Baie.
Haley poses on the Boardwalk.
Beautiful wild roses (they're very fragrant) grow all along the trail.
Hikers take a break at the small cemetery and chapel. Yvonne, Tracy, Diana, Haley.
Tom was there taking pictures.
The wetlands.
The beautiful Bay of St. Mary.
On our way back to the airport in Halifax, we dined in Lunenburg, and visited Peggy's Cove, a famous lighthouse on the South Shore of Nova Scotia. I didn't get the pictures off Tracy's camera to share, but we had a great day. Dined in the airport hotel restaurant and crawled in bed early. This had been a great adventure. THE END.