Nova Scotia: Highlights + Beyond

As in: the post where I absolutely do not do this trip justice compared to the detailed recaps I KNOW will be found on Kae + Elisabeth‘s blogs! (So, for the rest of this week as they share, I will keep linking to theirs because the pix and level of detail are amazing!)

I am back at work now — the miraculous nature of plane travel can be so jarring, but it’s also wonderful for having an incredibly special weekend smack in the middle of ‘normal’ life. I took one day off from work and Josh held down the fort at home from Friday through Monday, and I got this magical break with so much girl talk, relaxation, and fun.

I also got a HEARTY DOSE of FALLLLLLLL!

(Elisabeth and Kae are both completists and this post is anything but — but hopefully they will both forgive me because I am just so excited to share these beautiful moments + pictures!)

SATURDAY

Kae and I enjoyed a lovely hotel breakfast — the Tattingstone does such a great job with this! Then, after a super fun meetup with Elisabeth’s BFF Joy at the cutest coffee shop ever (seriously, MAJOR Gilmore Girls vibes), we all headed out to explore the market and then the Acadia campus so we could just soak in as much fall as possible. Elisabeth knew exactly the best places to walk — I have NEVER known an area as well as she knows her town and the vicinity. (And probably never will!)

We ended up having a lovely charcuterie picnic around Grand Pre winery and then relaxed for a bit before our nice dinner out — Kae and I took Elisabeth to Le Caveau. I thought we had a pic of all of us dressed up but could only find 2/3!

The conversation literally flowed . . . nonstop. We had INFINITE things to discuss and Elisabeth just added fuel to the fire with questions from 36 questions and more. So fun.

After dinner, Elisabeth headed home as she had church in the morning. Kae and I somehow had some energy left and . . . WE WENT TO THE PUB. This was 100% Kae inspired – I always love hearing about how she and Ivan often do this after a fun day of family travel activities, and it was so much fun to make it happen! (Elisabeth obviously would have been included and we had her in our hearts, but she definitely wanted to rest since she had an earlier morning!). We made it back at midnight but it felt a little earlier (fun fact: Nova Scotia is 1 hour ahead of Eastern Time — which absolutely is the right direction for a morning person like me!).

SUNDAY

On Sunday, we had hotel breakfast #2 (do not sleep on the belgian waffle called “Maplemania” if you go!) and headed to . . .Mars. Okay not really, but Medford Beach is like nothing I’ve ever seen. I also never would have been able to enjoy it without Elisabeth – she knew exactly where to go, what to do, and even had a BIN AND WARM WATER READY so we could wash our muddy feet at the end. If that is not A+++ planning, I do not know what is.

We showered back at the Inn and then headed out for a very civilized lunch at Luckett Vineyards. Day drinking is not usually my forte but thankfully the agenda was relaxed enough that it worked out and I got to enjoy a lovely glass of their famous Phone Booth Red. Fall decor was ON POINT.

The phone booth:

Afterwards, we headed to Elisabeth’s house and (at her daughter Belle’s request) played Scattergories and a drawing game. This was a ton of fun and her kids are so much fun. Seriously charming and fascinating kids and I wish they could hang with mine, I think they would all get along! We had a Canadian Thanksgiving dinner complete with pumpkin pie. Honestly, I think I might start celebrating Canadian Tgiving every year since it means an extra pie opportunity.

MONDAY

GAHHHH, time to go home — but not until after a really fun Starbucks breakfast with Belle, who really wanted to go! I did sneak in a BLP recording before we checked out, which was a relief (listen, podcast schedules do not stop for travel!).

I was thrilled to buy Belle a very elaborate caramel-cold-brew concoction. We then proceeded to the airport – Elisabeth drove us and once again there was no break in the flow of conversation. Kae and I actually got to enjoy the first flight together, and then I made my connection with about 2 minutes to spare (we were delayed ~1.5 hours in taking off and my layover was 1.5 hours long . . . so it was truly tenuous).

AND THEN, skip forward to ~9 PM and I was home! Early Friday morning to Monday night and I felt like:

• we packed SOOOOO much in

• but it was also EXTREMELY relaxing

• that was so much fun

• I got to know E + K even better than I already did (which was . . . pretty well, honestly!)

• it filled my heart with happiness.

HUGE thanks to both ladies, and especially to Elisabeth who is truly a gifted host and true friend.

Back at the homestead . . . I also loved being with my family last night and this morning — I missed them and I was ready to be home (even if I would love to continue the vacation schedule a bit longer, ha). The reuniting snuggles felt extra special. I feel so lucky to have gotten to share this weekend and have this experience and am so glad we planned it on an ambitious January day early in 2025! Here’s to more adventures to come!!!!

(And possibly more trips to Nova Scotia because I am pretty sure I sold Josh on it as a couples weekend destination plus there is a race this very weekend he could run!)

NOTE: Even though this post has far more photos/details than most of mine, there will be so many more on Kae + Elisabeth’s sites – so check those out if you’d like waaayyyy more detail!

NOTE #2: Photo credit goes to Elisabeth and Kae for 90% of these pictures — that is why my photography looks . . .well, WAY better than usual 🙂