Beaches

There's a sandy stretch of coastline called Melmerby Beach about 20 minutes from my house that is apparently very popular in the summer. My hosts last October, Bill & Donna, looked at me skeptically when I said I was going to the beach to take some photos because it was sort of raining a bit. I didn't realize what their skepticism meant until I got there.

The rain in Nova Scotia is not the same as Alberta. When Alberta rain hits your skin it's like little droplets of ice no matter how hot out it may be. It wasn't really windy but the waves were crashing in quite seriously and it was a great day to be out in the weather ...perhaps an umbrella next time.

The bad thing about that mist is that you don't realize how wet you are actually getting. Fortunately I was wearing a leather coat but my pants got absolutely soaked in about 10 minutes. It was an usual sensation to be wet through but not feel like it - although driving was a bit uncomfortable - hope they managed to get the water stains out of the rental car.

I returned the next day and took some more photos in the sunshine. Most of the shore along that northern side of Nova Scotia allows you to see Prince Edward Island on the horizon . It looks really close but is about an hour ferry ride away across the Northumberland Strait. At night you can see the lights on the distant coastline. The waves were much calmer the next day and I was pretty much alone on the beach. October is not really a beach bum month I guess. The rolling waves illicit a sort of internal quiet that is hard to find elsewhere.

Being from the prairies and all I was constantly fascinated by the beach itself. There is plant growth on the east coast I have never seen, or rarely seen, or have only seen in photographs. Just as I take the Rocky Mountains for granted I'm sure many Maritimers take for granted the simple beauty of the sand of the beach or the colors of their fall. That is a post all of it's own ... probably several actually!