NOVA SCOTIA, Canada

Nova Scotia is a great place to visit in the summer time. My family and I took the Cat ferry which left from Portland, ME and docked in Nova Scotia. It was a half of day journey on the ferry, and it was the best night of sleep I ever had. I slept sound on the harsh, cold Atlantic while other members of my family puked the night away! The way back was all during the day, so one could just kick back and reminisce about the trip.

The trip was 3-4 days, and it was a nice break from America. Although, I don't necessarily count Canada as another country since it's so close to where I live, it was refreshing to see the Queen's face on the currency as opposed to Washington's. We stayed two hours away from where the ship docked. It was also nice to hear the French accents.

We booked a hotel in Halifax. It was similar to a lodge, and had many activities for all types of people. The package we had included canoeing, kayaking, and paddle boarding in the lake, access to the pool, hot tub, and spa treatments-which are a girl’s best friend. Also, the hotel was right on the beach, and one could walk out on the shimmering sand on a hot summer's day.

There was actually a place on the grounds of the hotel where one could stand on a hill of sand and on one side of him/her was the ocean and the other side was the lake. It was breathtaking as one experienced standing in the middle of two different bodies of water that did not connect but each had their own unique beauty.

The funniest story about this vacation was that our hotel room phone rang and my sister answered it. We listened while she said, "Yup, yup, alright, okay, thanks! Bye." Twenty minutes passed as we forgot to ask her who it was because of some conversation we were having. When we asked her who called, she said, "Oh it was the front desk. The hotel's on fire, and we have to evacuate immediately!" Now this was a log cabin type place like I said before, so this was usual business for the hotel, but naturally we all panicked and ran out thinking we'd be stuck in there because of my sister's forgetfulness. We were fine, and passed the time while the firemen were putting out the flames by playing with the rabbits. Now, I don't know why there were so many rabbits and bunnies running around, but those little critters were so friendly and fun to play with. However, in retrospect, they probably had rabies. Regardless, they are a huge part of my Nova Scotia experience.

Besides fires, lakes and oceans, Nova Scotia was a great place for outdoorsy people who love working out, learning about new culture through historic tours, and the seafood was remarkably tasty. There are also many art galleries that I perused into that were unlike any galleries I had been in before because they were publicly private. What I mean is that one gallery was actually the painter’s home. His home was open to the public and every room was filled with his work to show the world. I know I would not be comfortable opening my home to strangers and letting them roam around, so it was quite a unique experience. Nova Scotia has lighthouses galore! One cannot get enough of them.
(photo taken by: http://www.mvscanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/nova-scotia.jpg)

If you visit make sure to take a tour up a lighthouse. Each has its own history and story to tell equipped with a fabulous view of the Atlantic.

Travel to Nova Scotia! You may have traveled or are traveling to the same location I did, and came back with a completely different story. I’m interested, so share your tale!