Not every weekend is spent sailing aboard Isola Naida—sometimes life calls us back to land. This time, we traded the mooring for a road trip along Nova Scotia’s South Shore. From fresh bread at LaHave Bakery to sandy walks at Crescent Beach, the weekend proved just as full and refreshing as any day on the water.
A Stop at LaHave Bakery
On Saturday, we picked up Jetta (our energetic American Staffordshire / Labrador mix) and set out from Halifax for a little road trip along the Lighthouse Trail, a scenic route along the South Shore of Nova Scotia. Our first stop was the LaHave Bakery. Noelle had heard about the LaHave Bakery and been wanting to visit for some time now. We checked out the bookstore and craft shop also located on the property before we stocked up on artisanal bread and cookies. The building, with the exception of the bakery and dine-in area, are dog friendly, so Jetta didn’t have to be excluded.
Crescent Beach Adventure
From there, we headed to Crescent Beach, one of our favourite beaches a little further down the Lighthouse Trail. Crescent Beach is a two kilometer stretch of white sand connecting the historic LaHave Islands to the mainland. Despite the adjacent roadway which runs the length of the beach behind the dunes, vehicles are allowed to drive right onto the beach and traverse its length. The grade of the beach is so gentle that you can walk out over one hundred feet and only be up to your waist – in the heat of the summer sun, the shallow water stays warm, making it easy to get into for a swim. Jetta had a blast splashing in the water and chasing us around in the shallows. Noelle went for a swim, which Jetta vehemently opposed the idea of!
Burgers, Fries and Sundaes in Bridgewater
After we ran out of steam at the beach, we packed into the Jeep and drove up to the outskirts of Bridgewater to try out Tastee Freeze, a small walk-up restaurant serving up burgers, fries, and soft-serve ice cream. Jetta enjoyed a pup-cup of soft serve and a big bowl of water. We both had bacon cheeseburgers and fries followed by sundaes. Overall, the food was good – not exceptional, but decent quality and enjoyable and the prices are affordable.
Visiting Deep Cove and Beyond
We departed Bridgewater for Deep Cove, a local hurricane hole that we’ve been interested in visiting for the last few weeks. There’s potential that we can secure a mooring in Deep Cove in the future, so we wanted to check out the area. The cove is quiet and completely sheltered from al sides. There’s a small cottage community at the south end of the cove and just around the corner is the community of Blandford.
After Deep Cove, we drove through Bayswater and Mill Cove. Both locations have very popular beaches at their centre. Both beaches were swarming with people beating the heat in the waves.
We continued the drive to the Upper Tantallon Pet Valu where we took advantage of the bathing facilities to give Jetta a much-needed bath. She was covered in salt residue from swimming in the ocean and we didn’t want to return her to her mom’s in that state. Jetta doesn’t love bath time, but she puts up with it. Afterward she was rewarded with one of her favourite treats, a pig’s ear, which she promptly demolished in the back seat.
Sunday Ashore: Chores and Catching Up
We had intended on departing early Sunday to get to Isola Naida and head out for a day sail like we had last week. We decided that we should make the responsible decision to catch up on chores and get supplies in preparation for the week ahead. Sometimes boat life has to wait while land life takes priority.
D’Arcy finally bought a new hat, a green Tilley LTM5. Noelle searched for sandals at multiple stores but stock is low as we head into the tail end of summer and she was resigned to needing to order a pair online. We went to Home Depot and gathered some supplies for the sanding work D’Arcy has begun onboard (more about that in a future post) and Noelle did a grocery run while D’Arcy stayed at the apartment installing wall hooks for our bikes and hanging shelves to organize the limited space we share.
Even though Isola Naida stayed on her mooring this weekend, the ocean still found its ways into our plans. It always does.
Until next time, fair winds.