Day One

             Welcome to the Maritimes!  Can you say rain?  No, make that torrential downpour with thunderstorms for most of the morning.  Everything is soaked (except the trailer, but everything outside).  Even stuff we thought was very safe if it did rain got wet.  So we hung out in the trailer and played games and read. 

            After the rain stopped it was cold and grey.  So we headed out to get a lay of the land.  The first thing we noticed as we headed into town (when I say town I mean Alma (pop. 10)) was the boats that were sitting on the ground.   You really don’t appreciate the effects of the tide.  It is the greatest tide change anywhere in the world.  Every 6 hours it changes for a height of 53’.  They even post the tide schedule for the next 3 months right down the minute for high and low tide.  I guess there are no excuses if you get caught out.

low tide

high tide

Hannah at Fossil Beach
at high tide

            We get some ideas for things to do and putzed around town.  The kids threw rocks into the ocean and took some pictures.  Did I mention that I forgot to bring the camcorder charger?  Yep, didn’t realize that until my battery died.  So I called (wait, no cell phone service here), I used a pay phone (wait, I have no calling card or number that I can bill to) so I called collect to Jim (wait, he does not accept collect calls).  So I turn to my trusty computer (wait, no WiFi).  Stymied at every turn I go to the ranger station and they assure that WiFi will work if I move closer to their station.   It did.  I researched some post offices in Nova Scotia (where we will be later in the week) and find one nearby.  Email Jim to pick it up at the house and priority it to me.  Hope I get it. 

Emily and Dad at Fossil Beach
(note the rocks on the wall in
the background)

            After lunch it started to clear.  We decided to head to a place called Cape Enrage.  It is a peninsula with a great view of the bay and it is very high up.  They have a place called Fossil beach with a million rocks.  When you hike to the bottom, you only have about 10 feet of “beach” (high tide).  We added our name to the rock wall and the kids searched for fossils in the rocks. 

The Guthries' immortalized

            After dinner, we went on a bike ride in the campground.  It is perfect for bike riding, just hilly enough for the kids and large enough to go out a while.  They even have a “mountain bike” trail.  It is perfect for Ryan, nice and smooth with some hills.  He loved it.  After we got back, he wanted to go out again, this time on his own.   He had a blast. 

            Fire, smores, bed.