We left Sydney and faced a long drive to our next campground. We chose Hubbard,’s Beach as a halfway point between Halifax and Lunenburg.
My younger son (Kelvin) sent a courier delivery for pickup in Halifax. On our way through, we stopped at UPS and picked it up.
He said it’s “something for your travels” and when I opened it, I was surprised to see one of his cameras.
I guess it’s either a hint our photos are terrible, or he knew I was looking at buying a camera. I downloaded the manual, checked out a few tutorials, and got some practice using it’s many features.
We arrived at at Hubbard’s and checked into the campground for a few days. What a lovely central location for a few days. We took a walk down to the sandy beach so Chloe could have some fun in the surf after a long day of travel.
The next morning, we drove to Lunenburg to visit the maritime museum and learned about the Bluenose. She must have been an amazing sight to see under full sail.
On our way back, we drove through Mahone Bay, the streets lined with colourful Victorian houses, so typical of the maritime provinces.
We made a quick stop at Saltbox Brewing for a flight of beers to quench our thirst before investigating Oak Island.
The Oak Island Mystery has been a subject for treasure hunters ever since the late 1700s, with rumours that Captain Kidd’s treasure was buried there.
While there is little evidence to support what went on during the early excavations, stories began to be published and documented as early as 1856. Today, more than fifty books have been published recounting the island’s history and exploring competing theories. Crazy…
The History Channel aired a reality TV show called The Curse of Oak Island about a group of modern treasure hunters. The series has documented finds such as centuries-old coins, an antique brooch, and a lead cross that was allegedly made between 1200 and 1600 A.D.
After a lovely day, we returned to Hubbard’s for a Lobster Dinner at The Shore Club with friends – Phil, Julia and Audrey.
After a great evening, our bellies full of seafood, we retired for the night.
The next morning, I woke to a frosty 2oC. It was time to turn on the furnace, and holding tank heaters to prevent them from freezing.
After breakfast, we took a trip to The Swiss Air Flight 111 memorial site, and Peggy’s Cove Lighthouse.
On September 2, 1998 Swissair Flight 111 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Halifax Stanfield International Airport at the entrance to St. Margaret’s Bay. All 229 people on board perished. The crash site was 8 km / 5 mi from the shore, not far from Peggy’s Cove in the South Shore region.
We continued to Peggy’s Cove. The Lighthouse a beacon to shipping, and fishermen returning to their sheltered bays. When I heard the bagpipes, it gave me goosebumps.
We continued our trip into to Halifax, and made a stop at the Halifax Seaport Farmers Market.
We returned to our campsite so Susan could prepare for her trip back to Vancouver.
The next morning, we slept in. It was a relaxing day, spent mostly in the campground. We did our laundry, then Susan finished packing for her trip back to Vancouver.
The next day, I drove her to the airport for her flight back to Vancouver. She spent some time with her two sons, completed her pre-op checkup, and was prepped for surgery.
I remained in Nova Scotia, looking after Chloe and prepared to complete a long list of minor maintenance.
I repainted a few areas where they were marked up from items swinging around while towing.
Next, I washed the truck and trailer, removing 14,000 kilometres accumulation of road grime and thousands of bug splats.
I repaired the fog light wiring on the truck, damaged by the previous owner when they installed a bull bar.
When we bought the truck, the dealer had removed the bull bar and left them in the truck bed. We never reinstalled them because they looked tacky.
I replaced a few cupboard hinge screws, then repaired the cutlery box handle.
As soon as Susan was in the recovery room, I received a call from the hospital informing me that everything went well.
Later that afternoon, Jordan (Susan’s youngest son) fetched her from the hospital, and drove her back to her hotel where she spent a restless night. The next morning, she flew from Vancouver to Calgary, then from Calgary to Halifax. I picked her up (tired and in pain) after 9:00pm and we drove back to the campsite.
This is one tough woman – fly in for spine surgery and fly out the next day. Regardless to say, after she returned, she had a sleep in, happy to be back with us in our home on wheels. We spent the rest of the day in the campground, and prepared to hit the road in the morning.