Nova Scotia update

After we hit the co-op, we drove through the Sunrise Valley and it was pretty with wisps of clouds hugging the mountains about 2/3rds of the way up and arrived at Meat Cove.  It was gorgeous, the camp site was on the edge of a bluff facing a cloud covered Atlantic Ocean with a carpet of dark green grass and breakers pounding the cliff-face below while the spruce covered mountains built a twisted outlet.  Notable wildlife that either we saw were grey seals, cormorants, a bird that dives from about 100 feet straight into the ocean to catch fish, two different types of eagles, one being the bald eagle while the second was a golden eagle I think, while our camp neighbor said he saw whales and moose just a bit earlier in the day.

We have met many nice and friendly people but the two fellow travelers we hung out with last night were tops.  Both were camping solo around the country side.  John works in marketing for Whole Foods in Philly while Jamie is a boat mechanic for a boat dealer in Ottowa.  We sat at Jamie’s table and chatted for a long time and then everyone migrated over to our site because we had a great view.  John and Jamie spent a good while building an amazingly hot fire while it was raining on us while I cooked dinner and Rachel took a few pics.  It was not a fantastic dinner because we had planned on finding fresh seafood somewhere in the park but John contributed some fresh green beans to the cause so it wound up being kind of like making rock soup.  Jamie, John and I exchanged stories about adventures, friends and family until about 11 that night when we crashed. 

It rained off and on from about 4 PM through the following morning but Rachel got up at 6 to take some sunrise pics since we were right on the ocean surrounded by sheer cliffs.  There were too many clouds to make a magnificent image so we ate a quick breakfast, packed up our wet tent, bid John good travels (Jamie was still sleeping) and left for our whale watching tour. 

On the way there we saw a couple of cow moose and Rachel took what I think will turn out to be some great images on the way.  Once we were there, Rachel was thrilled to learn that they would give us an insulated waterproof orange jumpsuit to wear on our zodiac ride.  That was a good recommendation.  I was not certain of what to expect on the tour/rid because while I have seen videos of seals jumping from bone-jarring wave after bone-jarring wave on their way to a mission, I did not think it would truly be like that, it was.  I have never been seasick before but I actually got a smidge nauseous because just like the seals, we were bouncing along over three foot swells with another foot of chop but it was worth it.  We got to see a lot of pilot whales close enough that I could have thrown the camera at them and hit easily.  We also saw a few more seals, another bald eagle and that one bird that dives into the ocean actually did his thing while we were watching.

After we were done with the tour, we said thank you and agreed that we needed a bit of time before we were ready for lunch.  We drove through the last of the park and at lunch at the Acadian place.  We had potato pancakes with molasses, (not like latkes), blood pudding, turkey pie, a fish cake, stewed potatoes, and a very light version of baked beans.  Rachel took parts while I took others.  Her favorite was the stewed potatoes while I was really surprised to learn my favorite was blood pudding after which I had a strange urge to pound on the table and exclaim, “Gar Tock!” or however you say yum in Klingon. 

After our meal, we stopped at a fish market we spotted as we left the park and then stopped at local grocer to replenish our stocks the previous night unexpectedly drained.  Next we headed south to prepare to take the ferry onto PEI (local acronym for Prince Edward Island) tomorrow.  We should arrive at our next site between 5 and 6 tonight which should give us plenty of time to set-up our tent to dry and cook the local haddock and scallops we bought.