Cape Breton & Bayswater Nova Scotia | June 2022

Hi friends! I just wanted to share a few photos from our trip to Nova Scotia this June. We travelled from Fredericton to Cape Breton to attend Kris’ grandmother’s celebration of life.

This was also my first time meeting any of Kris’ family, and I got to meet them all at once when we arrived. The trip was bitter sweet in a lot of ways. Along with it being a celebration of life for his grandmother, I was also going with the knowledge that my grandfather was currently on his own death bed. Due to covid restrictions, I wouldn’t have been able to be there with him anyway, so I decided to go to Nova Scotia since there was nothing I could have done at home to change what was happening.

Mason was a great little ice breaker, immediately made a new friend, and talked to everyone there.

We stayed two days in an AirBNB by the water there, then drove back to his parent’s house in Bayswater along the South Shore. In Bayswater, we were able to stay two nights in Kris’ great grandparent’s old house, which is on the same property as his parent’s house and directly across from the ocean. We loved hearing the waves crash all night and the foghorn in the distance.

Our first day in Bayswater, we took a trip to the beach, which was just around the corner from where we were staying. While here, we discovered that we forgot our beach bag four hours away in Cape Breton. Thankfully, one of my close friends was travelling to the same area of Cape Breton the following week, and she was able to reunite me with my precious LL Bean boat and tote (and all of our belongings that were in it).

On our second day in Bayswater, we decided to take a trip into Halifax. While there, we took Mason on the ferry over to Dartmouth and back for fun, went to Cows, went to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, went to Kris’ favourite hobby shop, and of course went to Ikea.

We went home the next day, but not before one last stop at the beach. It was an extremely foggy morning and the beach was totally empty. The waves were perfectly crashing against the shore, the water was chilly, and we had the best time. We ran in and out of the water, sat on the beach for a bit, and shared some chocolate we got at Ikea. My grandfather was still alive back home, but not doing well. Kris took Mason for a walk down the beach, and I sat for a few minutes with my eyes closed listening to the waves. My grandfather loved nature, and I pictured him next to me, young again and staring out at the water.

It rained the entire drive home. I mean POURED. We thought we might drive out of it but it was steady until we were closer to home, where it let up a bit. Shortly after we crossed the border into New Brunswick, we hit a major pot hole- like MASSIVE pot hole that startled us all. When I got home, I learned that my grandfather had died around that exact same time. It was also my mother’s birthday, and she, along with my nan were by his side when he passed.

Although it was a somber week, we loved spending time with Kris’ family, and we can’t wait until the next time we go back.

D