Most of our visitors have never see the East Coast or Nova Scotia before, so our hosting routine has become a bit predictable. We are getting out to the Waterfront and showing our guests all our favourite spots throughout Halifax. But, to save myself from sounding like a broken record, I’ll be highlighting some of the new things we have checked out.
A quick (but so lovely!) visit with two dear friends.
Our summer has continued to be eventful as the days get longer and warmer. We’ve been so lucky to have more guests from back home stop in for visits and let us act as their base camp while they explore the East Coast. In June, our friends Katy and David popped in for a quick visit, immediately followed by Amy’s parents who stayed with us for an entire week.
Speaking of predictable, we have been to Peggy’s Cove a lot. If you still plan on coming this way, you’re going on your own, because Amy and I have got our fill of it this year. We took Amy’s parents out to see it but on the way, a friend of ours had recommended a trail in Prospect Village, called High Head Trail. We headed out on Monday morning after enjoying an amazing breakfast at Dilly Dally.
Getting to explore High Head trail for the first time.
There really is nothing else in Prospect aside from a church, a mailbox and some views of the ocean. The trail was at the end of an old road and led you into a clearing of gentle hills and flat rocks that you can easily walk along. We took our time enjoying the views and taking in the sights of the ocean. It was also a relief to finally find another good hike after encountering so many of questionable quality. We spent a couple of hours on the hike before heading back to the car and continuing on to Peggy’s Cove.
Here’s Peggy
During the week, Amy’s parents borrowed our car to go check out Lunenberg on their own and we continued to work. At this point our car has been seeing more of the Maritimes than we have. It has seen Peggy’s Cove and Lunenburg multiple times, and even made a trip out to PEI in a matter of a few days with Amy’s brother and his girlfriend. If driving a 2009 Pontiac Vibe throughout Nova Scotia is your idea of a holiday, then get in touch with us while you can.
We have been walking a dog since approximately mid-April. Her name is Ellie, a blind elderly Jack Russell Terrier. Our walks with her consist of shuffling our feet 200 metres down the sidewalk and back to her house. Her street also has lots of other dogs and neighbours out for walks, and we’ve gotten to know probably half the block by now. Who knew walking a blind dog would be such a great conversation starter?
Enjoying our walk with wee Ellie.
Ellie lives really close to us, only about a five-minute car ride. It’s also basically the same amount of time on bike, but we don’t like that return journey as much. Ellie lives at the bottom of a really big hill. Going to her place consists of coasting our pedals for the majority of the ride down, and then biking home turns into one of the most grueling exercises (especially when you don’t realize that you have been driving around with flat tires for weeks). In the dead of summer there were multiple times where I needed to jump into the shower before I could continue working because I looked like I just ran around the city.
Unlike past maritime summers, the heat has been prevalent from June onward. Locals say the amount of heat we’ve had usually isn’t the case at this time of the year. Summer is usually on the more temperate side until August, but we have seen temps in high 20s for the past couple of months. Combined with the humidity, it has led to a much muggier summer than Amy and I were anticipating. Thankfully we have A/C in our place meaning we can go out and enjoy the heat, knowing we will have some relief when we return home in the evening.
A hot day for hiking and biking around Point Pleasant park.
While Amy’s parents were visiting, we experienced the warmest week of the summer thus far. On their last day, we planned to take the afternoon off and rent some bikes, but it turned out be a high of 37C. I’ve never felt air so thick with humidity as I did on that day. Luckily, getting on the bike provided some wind on our faces and once we got to Point Pleasant Park, we could feel a bit of a breeze off the ocean. Taking the bikes was a great time, and having a pair of nice bikes (compared to the ones we have back at our apartment) made all the difference when traversing the landscape of the park. The trees provided ample shade and to cool us down after the ride. We rewarded ourselves with a slushie and some refuge in an air-conditioned Cafe to cool ourselves down.
The last activity of note, while Amy’s parents were visiting, was a tour on the Harbour Hopper. Anyone who has spent time in Halifax during the summer months will have noticed the massive, green, amphibious vehicles that prowl the streets during the day. They are repurposed military vehicles that were used during the Vietnam war, with the gimmick of being able to instantaneously transition from land to water.
The beastly machine toured us through the downtown area of Halifax while a guide, over the speaker, shared tidbits of history from the busy streets up to the Citadel. Then, we hopped in the water and got a new look at the waterfront from what was now our makeshift boat. Overall, it was quite scenic and the guide gave a lot of great facts along the way!
It’s always nice to experience Halifax with our visitors. They point out something new that we hadn’t seen before, or take us on adventures that we may have otherwise never gone on. We are grateful for the memories made with each group and look forward to having more.
We thank you for keeping up with our journey!
Lots of Love,
J&A
J & A's Adventure 
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