Summer feels like it is finally here, and here to stay. Our weekends have been jam-packed with all sorts of events and adventures.
The Bluenose Marathon was circled in our calendars of the May Long weekend. Amy and I both signed up for the half marathon and spent the Winter/Spring preparing. What better way to celebrate the unofficial kick-off to summer like running an obscene number of kilometres, eh?
The race was Sunday morning. We were up bright and early to sure we had ample time to shake off the sleepiness before the 8:30AM start time. With a cup of coffee and some carbs to fill us up for our journey, we were ready. The start and finish lines were at the Halifax Commons, which was about 10 minutes from our place, so we got to warm-up and loosen our legs on the walk over.
(Left) Amy posing next to the route we were about to take. (Middle) We spotted our friend, Mandy, from church just before starting our run!
It was a few minutes before the start when we arrived, and we lined up according to our expected finish time. There were no more sections after the 2:30:00 pace, so we just hung out at the back of the line. We weren’t looking to make any PRs that day, just survive.
With the sound of an air horn, we were off! The crowd of runners moved at a shuffle pace in the beginning until we all could get more dispersed before picking things up. The course was a loop through Halifax proper and there were some incredible sights to take in as we put one foot in front of the other. We went through parts of the North End and then down to the waterfront, running along the boardwalk.
The final leg before making the return to the finish line was through Point Pleasant Park. The crowds cheering everybody on was amazing! At each corner, you had people holding up signs and cheering for you from the sidelines. It definitely kept us motivated as we braved the less than ideal temperatures for the event.
After we both finished the race, we both did what every runner would do after a big run. Eat Pizza. We spent the rest of the weekend sitting around, even rewarding ourselves with a hotel stay downtown. Thankfully, Monday was a holiday and so we slept in at the hotel. Then we had a big breakfast before heading home.
The relief to be done with the race followed by the best, post-run breakfast.
The weekend after the marathon, we hopped in our car and drove to Amherst where we caught up with some friends that we knew back in Manitoba. They spent the Saturday touring us around the area, even stopping in at a Blueberry farm, that was dubbed by their kids as “The Ice Cream Farm” (because they serve homemade ice cream). Amy and I got to go out to a local bistro for dinner, called “Bistro Le Chat Bleu” (“The Blue Cat Bistro”), close to the Northumberland Strait. Lucky for Amy, we did wind up spotting a cat outside the bistro, as well.
(Left to Right) Posing at Hopewell Rocks. Amy enjoying the view at dinner (mostly the cats). Justin and his new buddy, Clive, in Amherst.
The big event of the weekend, though, was visiting Hopewell Rocks, or the “Flower Pots” as they are dubbed. This is a provincial park located right on the shores of the Bay of Fundy. Due to the extreme tidal changes, you can literally walk on the ocean floor when the tide is at it’s lowest point. If you stay until high tide, you can witness the water rise up to 52 feet!
We stayed overnight at our friends place and got up bright and early in order to make it to the park during low tide. It was an approximately two hour drive, passing through Moncton, so we had to leave relatively early in order to make it for low-tide. It was a short hike down to the shore where the rocks were located, and there was a large staircase that we had to descend to get to sea level. There are tall cliffs at all ends of the park, meaning if you get caught out at high-tide away from the stairwell, you are stuck.
Witnessing the rock formations on foot was breathtaking. You can see the marks on the rocks where the water climbs to during high-tide, and how the lower portions are mostly eroded away save for a tiny trunk that is somehow still holding up the entire structure. You have to wonder how many more tidal cycles it will take to allow these rock formations to topple over.
We toured around for a good hour before climbing the stairs back up to the hiking trail. In order to see high-tide, you would have to wait an additional four hours. To speed things along, I found a time-lapse of the tidal changes in the park. This satisfied both of us. We left the park with our shoes caked in the red earthy mud that covers the bottom of the Bay of Fundy. Luckily there was a hose to spray our shoes down before getting back into our car and making the four hour return journey home.
As always, thanks for keeping up with our adventures! We’re excited that summer is here and know we’ll have plenty more stories to post soon!
With love,
J&A
J & A's Adventure 
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