Visit Nova Scotia: The Island of Lockeport

If I showed you this picture and said, "I visited here last week!" where would you guess I had been?

Would you believe me if I said I never left Nova Scotia??

That is right, on our mini-vacation last week (just a couple of days away before school started for the kids) we went to the other side of the province to visit another pastor's family...and managed to get some beach time in the process!

We visited the island of Lockeport, on the southeast shore of Nova Scotia. Here it is identified by a green arrow:

Just to give you an idea, the blue arrow shows approximately where I live. The drive over to Lockeport (following that red line) was a two hour drive.

We were able to spend a couple of hours at Crescent Beach. We had no idea we were going to get to experience a sandy beach! Made me miss my time in Florida!

Despite being only 60-ish degrees, the kids still got in to enjoy the waves. On our side of the province, the waves in the Bay of Fundy aren't very exciting. But on the Atlantic ocean side, they were "real" waves!

I just love everything about the ocean...the sights, the smells...ok, not the temperature, but everything else.

The ripples left in the sand were so neat!

See Justin waiting for that wave?

This one is my favorite. It shows the progression of the waves all in one picture.

This little man loved playing in the sand!

And eating it actually, which is really gross. I guess it was the salty-ness? Who knows...but he would not keep it out of his mouth!

Please tell me I'm not the only one that has to write in the sand. I can't help myself!

And while I dipped no more than my big toe in that frigid water, I did soak up the warm-sand feeling between my toes. I'm pretty sure heaven will be like a sandy beach. Just sayin.'

Besides the beach, we were able to go out to a point of land, called a "head" and take in a fun walking path.

Love it!

We were headed out to that tip of land in the distance. I didn't make it all the way out (call me chicken) because it was freezing cold and windy! Can we say wind? I'd never experienced anything like it. I thought it was windy at our house! After only a little while the wind was really hurting my ears, so if I had had a hat (and a parka, ahem) I probably could have made it farther. But what I did take in was gorgeous!

That lighthouse way out there on another island marks the entrance to the harbor.

I loved the waves. I tried to capture the sea spray as they hit the rocks. But you'd have to see it in person.

This part of the beach was rocky, much like we are used to on our side. Still beautiful!

Anyone want to buy a house?

Yup, those are the remains of an old stone foundation. I am told there used to be 3 or 4 houses out on this head. I can't imagine why they aren't there any more...

These benches dot the landscape. Just to give passers-by a place to park, rest, and take in the scenery.

I like that picture, too. A lone bench smack dab in the middle of amber waves of grain. Oh wait, wrong country. :)

There were cranberries everywhere, but unfortunately they weren't ripe yet. Ever seen cranberries in the wild?

We believe that these are bayberries. It would have been so neat to take some of this home and figure out how to use it! The leaves smelled so nice when you pulled them apart!

The brave kiddos that went all the way to the end found some empty sea urchins. The details on their "shell" was so exquisite!

Oh, I did I mention we were sharing the territory with these guys?

The man that owns this land keeps a team of oxen there. They were so neat! They seemed to fit right into the landscape...and of course we couldn't help but go pet them. They were so gentle!

Nearby was this house, owned by a marine biologist that spends her summers here. She clearly had this house custom built so she could take in the view! I would have loved to go up on that porch and take some pictures!

There were so many neat houses in the town of Lockeport that I would have loved to snag pictures of. The entire town was so cute and quaint, simply a small fishing village, really. They still blow a whistle at noon each day to let the men at the fish plant know its lunch time!

I did manage to grab a drive-by picture of this house. This is the family home of the original Locke family, whom the town is named for.

It was a huge, impressive house!

Next time I go, I'll be a better blogger and carry the camera diligently to grab more pictures of the town!

As for tourist-y info, there are lots of neat opportunities for you folks wanting to visit. Although we didn't stay there, there are cabins to rent right on crescent beach, and certainly lots of sights to see! It would make a great getaway spot!

Hope you enjoyed this virtual tour of some beautiful scenery! What is your favorite place to visit? What quaint towns have you visited?