Good to be back at the cottage!
We have been away a few weeks enjoying summer to its fullest. Ken's last day of work was June 30th so our goal was to pack up and head to the cottage in Cape Breton Nova Scotia. Canada day here ended up being very uneventful since it was the first day in weeks that neither of us had to go or be anywhere. So instead of heading into town we lounged around the house, played music and relaxed. The next two days we spent preparing and packing then Sunday July 4th,4:00 a.m., we hit the road. We told Sid we would be carrying her to the car early in the morning but She could go back to sleep.
Day two driving was a beautiful day but we made a critical error. We gave Sid a bottle of water to hold and she promptly drank most of it in about 15 minutes so we spent the next few hours stopping every 45 minutes. Finally we made it to the cottage in time for supper and a week of rest and relaxation. Here I will paste all the pics from "our" beach from the week. We took a walk down to the shore with the dogs every night after supper.
Sid unable to resist the call of the water. Off go the clothes, in goes Siddy
Next are some shots of life around the cottage
Campfires with music
Maggie doing what Maggie does best
Sid has been asking for Playmobile stuff for a while. We saw some last time we went to buy some Callico Critters and she has now decided she has enough Callico's and wants some Playmobile instead so this is what she is saving for. The forecast for the week showed temps of 17 - 21, clouds and rain so before we left I snuck out to the toy store and bought the Playmobile animal hospital and operating room and we hid it in the van. Luckily the weather for the week was sunny and 28 - 30 every single day, however, we did pull out the playmobile sets to surprise her on day 2 or 3 and oh boy, she was surprised!
One of my very favorite things to do at the cottage is fish. I don't know why I love fishing so much but I do and we have some really great fishing spots. Sid caught her first fish on her own off the wharf using worms. It is a salt water perch, look at those teeth!
Sid caught two fish I caught a small perch which I think I jigged more than anything. It was really neat to see all the jelly fish big and small swimming around the wharf. They are beautiful creatures from a distance, I sure don't like swimming with them though.
On of our other favorite spots is the bridge over the brook right at the edge of our property. The deer flies were out of control but I could see the big brook trout and felt them nibbling away at the bait.
Dad and Sid caught 4 beautiful brook trout. Mom, well, I caught zero. This was the day before we were heading home (Saturday I think) and Sid was running out of energy from such a busy week. Here is a picture of one tired kid waiting for mom to catch a fish so we can go back to the cottage.
Our other stop for fishing is the other end of the brook that runs right through the property. It was so hot the fish were hiding under the roots and rocks and I didn't see more than two. The water is really clear and you can usually see tons of trout. We gave up fishing quickly and had a splash fight instead.
Groovy loves the creek and takes off for her own adventures. We put bear bells on the dogs collars so they scare away any wildlife and don't go chasing after deer. The brush is extremely dense here and if it weren't for the bells I wouldn't know where Groovy was most of the time. Maggie on the other had hates water and sun so she parked herself under a tree on a dry bank and waited for us to pack up. I think I heard Maggie's bell once or twice!
Here are pics from our picnic after the creek at a private beach in Maskels Harbour. It is a safe harbour and you have to know about this spot to find it by land. Luckily Kenny knows all the secret spots. This is another very favorite spot of mine. It has really nice sandy beaches and the water stays shallow and sea weed free for quite a distance.
Just arriving and checking out the wildlife
Sid spots all kinds of sea creatures and is really taken by this purple star fish.
Mom out swimming and Groovy coming to meet me. I saw a huge crab out there chasing after my toes. I am glad I had my keen sandals on.
It was so hot Maggie even gave in and laid in the water. This is a miracle!
Here are pics of our one day trip to Ft. Louisbourg a cool reenactment of the French forces holding this position in the fort on the edge of the cape in 1745.
A view of the fort from the main land
It was 30 degrees on the side of the fort where we caught the bus but gale force winds at the fort. These blustery winds scooped my Tilly hat (I love my tilly!!!) and threw it into the moat. Bye Tilly..... there it is in the top corner of the moat with the green slime. The guards assured me this happened all the time and they would fish it out with a "thing fell in the moat" tool and return it to me when I left. I am happy to report that my Tilly was de-moated and returned at the end of the day. A bit greener than before but with a good tale to tell now.
Watching them fire the cannons. They were loud!
Lunch at the lower class restaurant where we were given a spoon and had to wear our napkins around our necks to protect our clothes. D-licious!
Sid and a soldier.
Sid and the Fifer.
Sunday morning it started to rain quite heavily so we packed up and headed the 6.5 hours back to the hotel in Fredricton. We made it there in time to watch the world cup final GOOOOO Spain! Then Monday we made it back home for one last week of swimming in our pool in the hot weather before Kenny had to go back to work.
I am so behind in posts. More to come soon.
