We booked a week and planned our vacation to visit with both sides of our family. That means we needed to plan to drive from Fredericton to Cape Breton which is 6 to 8 hours, depending on speed, and the number and length of stops along the way. We did spend the majority of the week in Cape Breton, Chez Edmond Vacation House. It was a wonderful way to catch up with my family. You can read all about it in my previous blog post, Salt Water Therapy.
On Friday, we left a day before the rest of my family and headed for the mainland of Nova Scotia. We were going to visit Roy’s mother in Pubnico, on the South Shore, and had decided to make an important stop between Cape Breton and Yarmouth County. We wanted to be able to make a little visit with Roy’s father, and of course, the always delightful Nanny Webber! I did not take any pictures during the visit, but when I got home, I was surprised to find this news interview on my wall. She has since turned 110 in July, and you will see Nanny Webber and her son, Roland Webber, speaking to a reporter about her upcoming birthday celebration a few weeks ago in the following link.
I am glad to be able to share this here. She really is delightful.
The next day, we got in the car and headed for Yarmouth County. If you do not know about the geography of Nova Scotia, Cape Breton and Yarmouth County are on the opposite ends of the province. If we wanted to drive it in a day, it would be 8 to 10 hours, easy, and there would have to be rest stops, and a break for at least 1 meal. We stayed in Dartmouth Crossing in the middle to have a place to sleep on either side of the travelling.
When we arrived in Pubnico, Roy’s mother was not around. We went to his Aunt & Uncle’s place, and while there, Roy’s mother called. We went to visit. Roy’s Aunt had told us that his grandfather had suffered a mild heart attack, and things were a little off kilter because of this. We decided to climb back into a car and drive to Yarmouth to visit Roy’s grandfather at the hospital.
Before going to see him, we decided to find supper on the way. We ate at The Dinner Plate Family Restaurant. If you aren’t from the area, you might miss this place. It was amazing! I didn’t get a picture, but I highly recommend their Lobster Poutine. I know, it sounds unappetizing but there is no gravy on it. It has french fries, lobster and mozzarella. The sauce is similar to what is used in that part of the province to make ‘creamed lobster’ which is served on toast. It is a sauce that is not thick like gravy but does use lobster, butter and cream for the base. Similar to a broth used for lobster chowder. I really enjoyed this meal.
We made our visit at the hospital and stopped at the Bulk Barn before heading back to Lower East Pubnico. Roy and his mother got in the vehicle the family calls the bug and went up the hill across the road to check on the garden and orchard. I went and found my camera, and snapped a few pics while I waited for them to return.
Sunset Teaser from the backyard.
A Little Brown Sparrow in Lower East Pubnico.
Trees as seen from the Backyard in Lower East Pubnico.
Wildflowers in the backyard in Lower East Pubnico.
Wildflowers and a tree stump in the backyard in Lower East Pubnico.
A bench with flowers in Lower East Pubnico.
Roses in Lower East Pubnico.
Flowers and bushes in the yard at Lower East Pubnico.
Flowers in the yard at Lower East Pubnico.
Flowers in front of the house at Lower East Pubnico.
A close up of the red roses in Lower East Pubnico.
I did want to capture some sunset pictures that night, as the sun was setting on the end of our vacation. I took my time and tried some new techniques with the camera. I had a friend review them with me, and she recommended the best sunset picture of the bunch to be:
Sunset in Lower East Pubnico.
I am not a professional photographer, but I am having fun with the camera that I have borrowed to practice with. One day I might even know what all the different settings do.
From Lower East Pubnico, the sun is setting across Pubnico Harbour, which separates Pubnico East from Pubnico West. There is a rivalry amongst the two sides as to which one is better, especially if you grow up in that area. I didn’t, and have the distinct pleasure of taking in all of the views from a creative artist’s point of view. I will share some other pictures here to close this post. I hope that you enjoy the pictures because I do enjoy being able to share them with you!
Sunset at Lower East Pubnico.
Sunset at Lower East Pubnico.
Sunset at Lower East Pubnico.
Sunset at Lower East Pubnico.
Sunset at Lower East Pubnico. I know the sun is blurry, but I like this picture.
West Pubnico Church across Pubnico Harbour.
Dusk at Middle East Pubnico.
Last glimpse of the sun on the horizon.
After the sunset.
Down the trail, after sunset.
What did I learn about taking pictures on this vacation? A great camera can help you to take amazing pictures. There can be a perception of depth to the photograph if you focus on the grass in front of the scene you want to capture with your lens. Not every picture is worth keeping. It is really hard to take sunset pictures without flies in them. Finally, the horizon should be straight to make the picture perfect.
I hope that you enjoyed the conclusion of my vacation blog story for this summer! Do you have any photos or blog stories from your own summer vacation? Feel free to send me a link in the comments so that I can check it out!
Double Digits. Do you remember when you turned 10 years old? I remember that it seemed like a big deal at the time. I had lived through my first decade. I never had any real big parties for my birthday, it was in the summer, and I lived outside of town. I remember the day I found out in grade one that my phone number was long distance and nobody wanted my phone number to call me. That broke my little six year old heart. I didn’t understand what it even meant at the time, except that none of my new friends wanted to call me because of my phone number.
I am still feeling a bit out of the loop in the modern world. My household budget does not have room in it for a cell phone. I don’t NEED it to survive, I am getting along just fine without it. However, I work in the industry, and it is hard to not want to be connected in the land of text messaging as it happens, literally all around me every day.
I don’t want just a cell phone when I finally get the go-ahead from my hubby to get one. He manages our household budget, and I am eagerly awaiting the day when I can make plans for purchasing things like the next pet we bring home, 2 cell phones, attending an event that I really want to go to, my next bottle of wine, and a second car. For now, we make ends meet, and we work hard to get what we can within our budget.
One of the most important features for me when I finally do get a cell phone will be to get one with a really good camera. I use Pixabay and Canva as resources in most of my blog pictures. The picture above was actually taken by me with my Olympus 2.8 x Optical Zoom 5.0 Megapixel camera. I try to get good quality pictures with it, but sometimes they are a little out of focus because I am not a photographer. I will need a camera that is so advanced that it makes me appear to be a good photographer so that I can feel more confident about sharing my own pictures here and on my website. I am still working on that project in the midst of everything else, and I have a lot of the planning done in my head, just not executed on the internet. It will happen. I am going to plan a launch for it, and I hope that all of my current followers here will follow me and the blog to my website.
The other thing a cell phone is going to need for me to consider purchasing it is an ease of transferring the pictures for storage on my computer. I need the phone and computer to be able to work together. As I have a PC, I am guessing I may have to go with an android phone. I do know that there are many opinions out there about cell phones, and I would love to find out more information on which ones have the best cameras, work well for listening to music, and are easy to get to talk to my computer. It also needs to be reliable and wants to be easy to use. I have not yet owned a smartphone, and I am impatiently waiting for the day that I get to share my digits with my friends and family. It would be useful for blogging in my spare time, too, or checking out how the blog looks on a smaller screen.
With the recent change in Canadian Laws regarding unlocking cell phones, I am less restricted by what phone I can get, as I can use it with any Canadian carrier, including the company I work for; if I decide to go with that company. I am not as concerned with what provider I choose as I am about the camera. So I pose the question here: What cell phone would you be getting if this was your decision, with these requirements in mind? I know there are some people out there that are fiercely brand loyal, and that is OK, but if you only buy one type of phone, it may be harder for you to be objective in answering this question.
Double digits. Phone numbers. Megapixels. Optical Zoom. It all goes back to numbers. Which I am not all that crazy about. I am passionate about writing, and in the Blogging world, a good quality picture can mean the difference between someone choosing to stop and read your article or not. Blogging is something I am still fairly new at, but I know it is something that I enjoy. I will keep working with the tools I have until I can purchase something better. So, I ask you, Treasure Seekers, what would you be spending your gold on if you were in my shoes?
Friday after work I got the car. I do that sometimes. I get my co-worker to drive me to where it is parked, and I call it “Grand Theft Auto” even though it is my car and I have the keys, and my husband knows I am going to use it. I have to go and get him at the end of his shift at his work, so I don’t usually get the car on other days unless there is a reason I need it.
I found food and then went to Shoppers Drug Mart. Again. This makeup thing is starting to get a little serious. I got a fourth mascara and a blending sponge. I had found out that I was sold the wrong type of facial toner, so I bought the correct one and I got a double glow facial mask, that I tried Sunday. I am only supposed to use it two times a week. I will let you all know how I do with it. The skin care is Vichy, I like their products. I got another eye makeup remover, too. I do not like the ones I have. The products that I bought that are wrong for me will be offered to a friend that might be able to use them. I am thinking about a new Blog category. It is not going to be weekly, it will likely be monthly. I am thinking Makeup Monday (coming soon!) will be what I call it. I will then review different products, and maybe I will be able to do that in an official capacity when I launch the website.
I have had so many thoughts relating to the website this weekend, my head is spinning. I am going to work on it this week, with the million other projects I have on the go.
On the way home, I stopped in to see friends. They had told me not to buy a photo box for taking pictures of my Treasures aka Bling for the website. They had a DIY version, and they wanted to show me how to make it. I am sure I can make it, but I am still not sure how it will work. Once I have the box, then I will have to work on optimizing the pics from the camera I have; or find a new camera. I am watching the cell phones to see what one has the best cameras. I will be aiming for a new phone in 2018.
I stayed for a visit with my friends. We had a lovely evening, just chatting about makeup, cats, NaNoWriMo, and my book writing. My friend has gone a little further than I have into the land of makeup, and I appreciate learning all that I can.
Saturday was a slow start to the day. I got to sleep in, which was nice. I did a little work on the social media and got ready for a party. I am a Member of the Fredericton Science Fiction Society (FSFS). It mainly consists of a core group of friends that used to have official business meetings, and now just plan potlucks and events. I brought the ingredients to make your own big mac salad with me. People liked it. There were other treats and pop to drink. The Christmas FSFS party has a Ferengi Swap, for gifts. We also had a trivia contest, and a Sci-Fi themed ‘Pictionary’ game. It was a lot of fun, even though somebody I am married to didn’t want to do anything. LOL! Majority ruled!
I sometimes go swimming at these parties, as they are held at a hotel. This year I would have had to go alone, so I chose to stay with the group. We had a fun time, and there was a door prize that was not actually a door.
Sunday I continued with my challenge, and then participated in an online chat with the Happy Writing Group, both on twitter and facebook. I have been learning how to use twitter with this chat, and I think I am getting the hang of it.
That wraps another weekend up nicely in a bow. What did you do this weekend?
