The first vacation of the summer was a combination of relaxation and fun activities. We began with a pint at the local watering hole, The Foggy Goggle, to help celebrate a friend’s birthday on Friday evening.
Saturday saw us taking in our first ever Pride Parade with our friend, Shawn, in downtown Halifax which the boys really loved. It was so wonderful to see the city come alive with colour and love and just all around joy for life. I am so glad that our boys get to grow up knowing nothing but acceptance for loves of all kinds.
After the parade we dropped by the Seaport Farmers’ Market and picked up some local goodies then had dinner at the newest location of the Lower Deck Bar & Grill in Clayton Park. We ended the day on a high note with ice cream cones for dessert from What’s the Scoop in Eastern Passage. Not a bad way to start our vacation!
On Sunday we ventured to the Halifax Stanfield International Airport to surprise some relatives who were flying in for vacation. It was a last minute decision to go but we were glad we did! The boys got to see the plane arrive from the viewing area which was neat. After getting luggage picked up we all had lunch together at the Irving Big Stop in Enfield and got caught up on each others’ lives.
The boys went to daycare the first couple of days of the following week and Adam went to work as well so I had some free time to myself. I spent part of Tuesday travelling along the Eastern Shore with Shawn. It was a beautiful day and it was so nice to drive along an unfamiliar road with the windows down and the warm summer breeze blowing through my hair. For a few minutes I actually just closed my eyes and took in the sensation of the wind, the salt air and the sunshine to store away for a rainy day when I need a pick-me-up. We stopped at Taylor’s Head Beach and looked around before making our way back to the city.
Along the way we stopped at Pearl’s Family Fries for a take-out bite to eat (I had the fish burger) and then we stopped in Musquodoboit at Dobbit Bakehouse. Paul, the owner, was more than accommodating as we oohed and aahed over his baked wares. Unable to decide on just one or two items we both left with a bag full – lemon squares, apple turnovers, date squares, trail mix bars, a cupcake (Shawn) and some cookies for the boys. Everything was wonderful and I’ll definitely stop in again if we’re in the area.
On Wednesday, I convinced Adam to take the day off as an “us” day and take the boys to daycare. It is so rare that we get a day to be carefree together that it was heavenly. Is it sad to say that we took a long afternoon nap? 🙂 We enjoyed a drink at the new Starbucks that opened nearby, went shopping for a new tent and then picked the boys up. Vacation for all of us was officially about to begin!
On Thursday we packed the car up (which was a bit of a challenge as we have a hatch back and needed to pack a tent, chairs, bring-your-own-bed and all our luggage) and headed off to Antigonish to spend the rest of vacation with our inlaws.
We headed straight to the beach (Crystal Cliffs) and spent the majority of the afternoon playing in the sand and ocean. From there we joined other family members at Boyd’s Seafood Galley where we dined overlooking Cribbon’s Point Wharf on fish & chips and seafood chowder. Of course dessert was ice cream. Is there any other dessert in summer? That night the “boys” (Adam, my father-in-law and our two boys) spent the night in the new tent. Everyone enjoyed it until the farm’s resident rooster woke everyone up a little earlier than planned 🙂
On Friday we took the little ones in the family to a performance of Magical Mystery Munsch which is part of Festival Antigonish‘s Summer Theatre. Three actors performed five of Robert Munsch‘s books in play format with musical numbers thrown in. The kids enjoyed it and so did the big kids 😉 In the evening family visited the farm and we sat outside for most of the evening while the kids played.
On Saturday “the girls” ventured into town to the Antigonish Farmers’ Market to have breakfast and get some local goodies. We dined on Belgian waffles from Authentic Belgian Waffles (I had mine with bananas and local maple syrup), six (yes six!) loaves of yogurt bread for our freezer from Merigomish Market Gardens, oatcakes and chocolate chip cookies (a special request from Luke) from Michelle’s Baked Goods, various vegetables and then we picked up two wood fired pizzas from The Rolling Bricks for lunch. Quite a successful visit I’d say!
In the afternoon we ventured down into the farm’s orchard and set up a slip & slide and a blow up pool for the kids to play with and had fun watching them get wet! They also enjoyed some watermelon to cool off. In the evening we had a bbq and celebrated my mother-in-law’s birthday as we wouldn’t be there on her actual birthday. After supper we packed up the car and headed home.
The rest of the weekend and Labour Day was spent just catching up on laundry, getting groceries for the coming week and catching up on missed naps. 🙂 On Sunday evening we did take the boys over to the Halifax waterfront to take in some of the Busker Festival and the boys had fun there. We didn’t get to see many acts but the boys liked it so I am sure we’ll go back another year.
On Monday, Adam took the boys for a bike ride (they were in the trailer behind it) in the evening and I worked on nailing down some accommodations for my upcoming trip with my Mom to Newfoundland. So far we have our four nights in St. John’s booked and an O’Brien’s Whale & Seabird Sunset Cruise from Bay Bulls to St. John’s Harbour booked for the Saturday evening.
Things are slowly coming together. I can’t believe it is a little over a week away!
I think the boys enjoyed themselves and got to spend some time with family they don’t see very often which was nice. We saw some new places, experienced some new things and enjoyed lots of eating out at various establishments. I’m getting excited for Vacation: Part II. 🙂
