East Coast Road Trip: Day 5

Grassy hills behind Hertle Beach, outside of Lunenburg on the South Shore of N.S.

Early morning on day 5 of our road trip we drove from our B&B in Mahone Bay to nearby Hertle beach just outside of Lunenburg.  I was actually pleased that it was an overcast morning,,,,the misty air made for some moody images at the beach.  When you arrive you see the beach is surrounded by vibrant green rolling grassy hills as seen in the first photo,,,then you walked along this weathered wood boardward thru the long grass which opened up to the beach.....   

Each of the boards on the long boardwalk was engraved from end to end with names of family members and loved ones in a memorial.  

The font was a simple contemporary style and there was no coloured paint highlighting used at all, just the relief of the engraving.  The effect was so subtle but so memorable,,,

At the end of the boardwalk someone had crafted this bird sculpture from sticks and dried seaweed.

Most of the beaches are unpopulated and except for maybe one or two other people you may have it all to yourself.  This view went on and on....

The wide sandy beach was bordered by ocean stones and the long wispy grass.

There was a lone surfer that morning, he was on a grass path heading back to his car in this shot.

I've always been drawn to this pallette,,,the soft bluey/greys, stone and sand. 

The houses in the area were perfectly charming,,,,shingled of course!  This one had a natural dark wood door which was unusual as most were coloured 

Next we headed into the very colourful seaside town of Lunenburg and started our walking tour at the St.John's Anglican church,,,,,,dramatic black & white.

The side of a garage at the end of a driveway for one of the local houses.

Every building in the town is painted in bold colour scheme with lots of contrasting trim.

Next to fishing, Lunenburg is known for its woodworking - almost all the buildings have fanciful corbels and trimwork painted out in contrasting colours.

This bright blue with yellow scheme was a favorite....

This red was so bright it almost glowed, often it was paired with this green.

The pier was a popular spot for artists to prop their easels up and paint for the day.  There were about 2 or 3 in the spot where I took this photo

The Dory shop where they make the small wooden row boats.

This black building had a modern look with the trim work painted out which highlighted the simple red doors with its galvanized hardware.

Cranberry!

The streetscape was a rainbow of colours

The boats in the harbour were just as colourful but I'm drawn to all the nautical hardware....

All Photos:  Carol Reed

East Coast Road Trip: Day 4

Fishing Village of Cape Saint Mary, purple lupin in front of weathered house.

The third day of our trip we travelled from Annapolis Royal to Mahone Bay, we drove the road along the coast as much as possible which took us thru lots of small towns, starting with the port of Digby which is known for their scallops - and I've had them every which way since arriving in N.S.!!!  Sooo good.   My favorite stops along the way are the colourful, charming fishing villages.

A great colour scheme!!!  Weathered grey shingled house, tourquoise trim and yellow doors.  My absolute favorite colour on this trip is this bright yellow, I call it slicker yellow because its the colour of a rain slicker.  You see this colour everywhere, wild flowers that dot the side of the road, boats, front doors and entire houses are painted this colour.   I'm crazy for it paired with any shade of grey.

Fisherman's rope.....

I think this are crab traps?

Mavillette Beach,,Cape Saint Mary point in the background.

The beaches we've stopped at have been unoccupied....it was an overcast misty day which I love for photography, especially along the water.

A brief stop at the pier in Yarmouth for lunch, I've love to return one day and explore it a bit further, it was such a pretty town.

Our first stop of the day was Digby harbour, you can see how low the tide is early in the day.

I can't resist the stopping at every church we pass,,,but there's so many.....

These two churches above were side by side and built in early 1800's...

I've never seen such an abundance of hydrangeas, they're everywhere especially in this bright purple colour.  This house was surrounded with them and was even painted to match!

There are gorgeous cedar shake houses and buildings everywhere!!  I love them.

There are entire little towns with houses as beautiful as this.....and nestled around an ocean front coves and inlets.

All Photos:  Carol Reed

East Coast Road Trip: Day 3

A few of my favorite photos from Day 3 of our road trip.  We drove from Moncton, New Brunswick to the town of Annapolis Royal on the Acadian Coast of Nova Scotia.  Basically this drive took us around the Bay of Fundy from the N.B. side into Nova Scotia.   The route we travelled meandered along the shore line and took us thru dozens of small towns.  I photographed the colourful old buoys on display outside an antique store in one of the towns, they look just like the ones that Pottery Barn was selling this season!

Stacks of old lobster traps outside an antique store.  I love the impact of anything displayed enmasse.

I've developed an obssession with photographing churches.  I've never seen so many in all my life, each and every small little town has at least 2, if nothing else in the entire town but a gas station.  They are almost always white with tall steeples, they're so graceful looking.  When you're driving thru the countryside you can see the steeples in the distance.   Some of them are close to 300 years old.   Its become a standing rule on this trip to stop at everyone or at least slow down for a quick scan.  About half of them have been retrofitted with new 'Home Hardware' basic insulated steel doors which is so unfortunate,,,when we see these we just keep driving....I think they ruin the entire character of the building.

We've been seeing about 3 or 4 dozen churches like this a day...

The shore line all around the Bay of Fundy looks like this during the day when its low tide.

Our first lighthouse sighting....

We stopped in the picturesque town of Wolfville and had lunch on an outdoor patio underneath a shade structure covered in grape vine.  By the end of lunch I had decided I MUST have one of these vine covered structures in my own garden one day - all I could envision was how beautiful it would be to have hanging lanterns or candelabras hanging down over a dining table at night under one of these.

The majority of the old churches had been restored, but even the one that were in disrepair had loads of character.

We spend a perfect evening in the gorgeous historical town of Annapolis.  One of the oldest and largest settlements in all of Canada.  It was full of charming historical homes all in pristine condition.

One of the guests at the B&B we stayed at had travelled there from New Brunswick in their vintage care.  It looked like it belonged in front of the house, permanently!

Before dinner we toured the Historical Gardens,,,I was crazy for these raised planter beds that were designed for accessibility, the elevated height makes them practical for seniors or anyone with disabilities as they eliminated the need for kneeling or bending.  How can you not love that - I think I'll have to do this in my next garden.....

I loved this classic planter bed, there were four of these installed in a grid pattern.  Each planter box is designed in a formal colonial style with plantings of herbs, flowers and fruit.

After my experience at lunch, I was gaga for this vine covered structure.....it was like a little oasis on this extremely hot and sunny day.

Another gorgeous vine covered structure,,the arch design was stunning.

All Photos:  Carol Reed