Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Three Bloggers -- One Island




Last Sunday, Lynne, Dallas and I, headed over to McNab's Island for a Bloggers day out.  We agreed that afterwards we'd post our own experience of the day on Tuesday evening at 9 pm.  Well, here it is almost 8 o'clock and I'm still working on my post.
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Accessible only by ferry, McNab's is a 5 km. long provincial park located smack-dab in the middle of Halifax Harbour.  Despite it's proximity to Halifax, many Halegonians live their whole lives without ever stepping foot on its shore.


With a fort at either end, old homesteads, a pioneer cemetery, a storied history and abundant wildlife, there's lots to do there.

There were nature tours, fort tours, and a walking tour to "Hangman's Beach".

Dallas hooked up with an historical tour group heading up toward Fort Ives while Lynne zoned in on the nature tour and I sampled the "Hangman's Beach" tour.   There is a well-known book on the history of Hangman's Beach by Thomas Raddall, and I got the impression that everyone else on the tour had read the book.  Sigh ... I wandered off to see what the nature tour had to offer.  The answer is "a lot".   We had questions about every plant we saw.  The trouble was, we weren't walking very fast and ... and ... it was bitchin' cold...


... and raining.

Before I go on I should tell you that I was wearing jeans with waterproof pants over top, lined mini-boots, a sweatshirt and an insulated, water-proof jacket ... and mini gloves.

So Lynne and I set off on our own.  We just wanted to keep moving to get the blood circulating.

Since Lynne had never been to McNab's she was putty in my hands and my goal became her goal.
We walked for ages up the cobbled beach that lead to the lighthouse at the end of "Hangman's Beach".

Me and Lynne.
Lynne
After the difficult slog along the cobble beach, it was disappointing to see that further obstacles lay in the way.  The devastating force of the ocean had semi-destroyed the sturdy boardwalk leading to the lighthouse.  Lucky it was low tide !



The view up the harbour toward the city.
Lynne channeling "Max" from
"How the Grinch Stole Christmas"
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I am cognicant of the fact that it is now 9:16 and this post was s'posed to be up 15 minutes ago.  What to do ?  Just throw up the rest of the photos  ?  Keep plodding along ?  OK, I'll go for the latter.
BTW -- how much time do you spend on a Blog post ?
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We were determined not to walk back the way we'd come, so after investigating the defensive "Strawberry Battery",



 and a lovely sit-down-on-a-wall lunch,


we made our way back along a seldom-used path in the woods,


past a pond with a sunken boat,


to the main road back to the wharf,


and our boats back.

Dallas and mine to Eastern Passage,


and Lynne's to Halifax.


In spite of the almost constant misty rain and chilly temperatures, we all agreed that it was a wonderful day, and can't wait to return to McNab's Island.

Check out Lynne and Dallas's Blogs for their take on the day.

16 comments:

  1. Looks like I wasn't the only one who climbed up to the strawberry battery to avoid all of those stones! At least you guys didn't get lost, like I did!

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    1. We happened to see a gate and someone had told us about the path, or else we would have gotten lost too.

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  2. omg !! so jealous - you do so many cool things you ! see ya Sunday

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    1. Susan, "cool things" ? I walk -- you're an artist ... YOU are MORE cool. I declare it to be so.

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  3. Wow. That sounds/looks like a really fun day, despite the bitchin' cold! Great job getting the post up and ready.

    I hate deadlines, so I refuse to commit to any for my blog. I get my posts up when they're ready. (Often, I post them way too soon and when I come back and reread a few days later I want to pull my hair out.)But, I'm among friends here, not doing international research papers. ;-)

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    1. Thanks Linda. And the next day it was delightfully warm. Sigh ...

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  4. That looks like a great place to explore, if it were not so cold though. I really like the picture of the lighthouse, pilings and those luscious gray stones (such things do not occur here naturally). As to your blog post question, it depends on the topic. The ones that are just pics I can get done pretty quickly. The more involved posts I like to write, sit on overnight to re-read and edit in the morning, and I always find changes I want to make.

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    1. Les, you're right it is a great place.

      I think I should have started working on the post earlier ... that was my problem.

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  5. Thoroughly enjoyed your outing. We're in the middle of a heat wave so I can't imagine it being freaking cold over by your way!

    I didn't know Halifax has an island - so does Toronto! But there's is all built up with houses and a school and cafe.

    I write slowly and it takes me the longest time to get my posts out (and even longer if there are a lot of photos).
    Les's advice is wise. I should listen to it too. "Write, sit on it overnight and re-read and edit next morning."

    by the way Julie answered your question "why dogs aren't allowed at California State Parks" on the Segment 7 post.

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    1. Hi Rosie, the Toronto Island with the homes is marvellous. They're more like cottages aren't they ? As I recall there are three islands, one has houses, one is more like an amusement park and the third more natural. Porter Airlines (a small regional airline) lands on reclaimed land just off the shore. You fly in past the CN Tower and the SkyDome -- quite lovely.

      I agree that Les's advice is good. My best posts have been left to "ripen" over night and reviewed in the morning.

      I'll have to go back and check Segment 7 of your post ...

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  6. Thanks for that post, Sybil. Next time we're staying in Halifax we'll go there, we're always looking for new places. Does the ferry go often from Halifax? Jackie (had to sign anonymous, as it wouldn't accept Google or Wordpress)

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    1. I have NO idea why it won't accept Google or WordPress. I'm gonna try to figure that out.

      Yes, there are ferries from Halifax and Eastern Passage. Feel free to email me to get a bit more detail the next time you're in town and want to visit McNab's.

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  7. Isn't it amazing that I can be so far away from this wonderful place and still feel like I have experienced it? I wonder if when I'm even older and my brain gets a little jumbled, I'll be insisting that I really did go to McNab's Island. I already feel like I did, thanks to you. And once I check out your collaborator's posts, I'm sure I will have. :) Thanks, Sybil.

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    1. Cindy, you've gotten confused. You WERE with us. Remember when I stumbled coming up the hill and you grabbed my hand ? and how we laughed when we realized that we'd both brought hard-boiled eggs ?

      It was lovely having you along.

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  8. Blogger's day out! How fun! And I had to enlarge the picture of you and Lynn to look better at you both--how lovely and happy you both look. It sounds like it would be a magnificent excursion. So much to do in one trip...

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    1. It was great, but did you notice how much clothing we have on ? The next day was lovely and mild T-shirt weather ... sigh.

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Thanks for stopping by. I really do love to read your comments.