Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Wide open spaces

I think the thing I love most about a quiet vacation by the ocean is the sense of scale it affords.  We visited a tiny town on the Bay of Fundy, which we've visited many times before, and I am always and unfailingly awestruck by the immensity of the landscape -- the vast tidal flats, the seemingly endless (and undoubtedly enchanted) forests, and the grey-blue North Atlantic that extends all the way to the horizon and beyond.  Sitting at home, as I am now at my little desk, looking out at the fences enclosing neighbouring backyards, the memory of that grand perception of space and time is fading back to a more familiar, much smaller scale.

We stayed at the tail end of a dead end lane, just steps from a path down to the beach.  That bit of craggy coastline, beyond the stairs and scruffy trees and just across the water? We were nestled in there, just below the trees.

We went for long walks on the tide flats.  This is low tide in a place called Herring Cove.  There are caves up there in those rocks, if you can get past the thick blanket of seaweed. 

Here we are at Herring Cove on a bright, warm day.  The husband is behind the camera and the girls and I have been instructed to find beach glass for my aunt back here in Ontario, who uses it to make jewelry.  My head is down, scanning the ground, in just about every single beach-related photo.  :)

We hiked, too.  This is a view from the walk that took us to Dickson Falls.

This, too.

These are the mighty Dickson Falls.  :)

And this is the path that led us to another waterfall, Third Vault Falls.  No doubt in my mind that there were faeries hiding in the underbrush and skipping along behind us when we weren't looking.

Third Vault Falls

And this is the closest we came to a family photo by the falls.  My sister is behind the camera and my nephew, in the foreground, is valiantly attempting to pull our youngest into the photo.  Which was supposed to take place up on that rock.  But didn't.

In the end, I'm grateful for the wide open spaces and the change of scenery - gorgeous new scenery at that.  Transporting two children across a thousand miles by car and keeping them mostly entertained during the quiet moments that come after the hikes and beach walks is not without its challenges.  I'll admit to feeling a little exhausted by the effort and a little disorganized on our return, but as is often the case I think, it was good to go.  And it's good to be home.

Next up, I'd like to write about a bit of a challenge I've encountered while looking into the creativity research I mentioned a few posts back.  I hope you'll stay tuned!

hugs,
Christie

2 comments:

  1. The Bay of Fundy is so fabulous. What a great place to spend your vacation.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gorgeous! This looks like a great place to re-energize and to be inspired!

    ReplyDelete

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