Goodbye Church Point Light..........

It comes with a sad and heavy heart that the first Lighthouse post for the 2014 season is a sad one.  After the "Juan-a-be" storm of storms passed through the Maritimes on March 26th it didn't do it without leaving a damage trail every place it hit.  Some places were lucky, just some snow, a few blown over trees here and there, power outages across the board, but with crews that worked hard to get it back for us and for as busy as they were, I think they did it in a timely manner. Other places were not as lucky, a ton of snow,  holes left in rooftops, entryways to some buildings completely destroyed...... but for this lighthouse enthusiast the most devastating news (as far as damage is concerned), was that of the Church Point Lighthouse being completely destroyed.

I would have flipped out, had I looked out my window one day and it being there and the next day it be gone. I can't imagine how the locals are feeling.  Yes it was old, yes it was run down, but it was still a local icon.  The fact that she was still standing as she was under the care of the Saint Anne University showed that she meant a lot to the area, when most would just say "tear it down", they kept her as she was.  With lighthouses being a huge tourist trend these days, I'm sure visitors will be sad to learn she is gone as well.

The Church Point Lighthouse was one of the first lighthouses I got to visit back in 2010 when I started on my quest to visit as many of the Lights in Nova Scotia as I could.  She was a classic red & white, wooden pepper shaker style light, yet her look was unique from all other pepper shaker lights I've seen.




Even old and run down, she still took stunning pictures though. As nice as she could have looked fixed up and all preserved, there was just something about her the way she was that added a ton of character and that really told her story of being a lighthouse and what she had been through over the years, the storms she had seen and the 'life' she had 'lived'.

 At that point in time when I was there she was in company of just one small wind turbine, these days there are two that were standing with her.  With any lighthouse, they look small until you stand right next to them, but even at 9.4 meters, this little light sure looked small standing along side those big guys no matter how close you got.





After having a few years of not getting the chance to visit new lighthouses the way I had planned and after looking at these photos of destruction, it has really been brought to Light just how important it is for me to get out there and get back on the trails to see as many more as I can.  With storms getting worse and taking their toll on these old structures, along with closures, and threats to tear a lot of them down it is important to me to get out there and see as many as I can while I still can.  So here's to hoping 2014 is a better year, and one filled with lots of Lighthouse Seeking Adventures.

The following is a News Article about the Lighthouse after the storm:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/church-point-lighthouse-destroyed-by-storm-1.2589000

If you would like to learn more about the history of the Lighthouse please visit my favorite resource, Lighthouse Friends and view their description:

http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=1346

I would also like to thank Dan Robichaud at this time for allowing me to use these 4 photos of destruction of his on my blog to share with my readers.


Safe Travels Everyone!
~Jenn

Bye Bye Trucky Rally

I am sad to pass along this announcement that there will be no more Fire Truck Rally in Digby.  If any of you were able to make it out to be apart of this the past two years I think you'd agree with me when I say that this was a great event for families and communities to come together and have fun and show their appreciation and support for not only the DFD but for all the Fire Departments and what they do for us.  I have to say I agree with and understand what has been said in the article and back these guys up 100%.  Thank You Digby for doing what you did do for the past two years! It was awesome. :)

On that note, I'd like to take the time to wish all my readers a Happy & Safe Holiday.  I look forward to sharing more sights and more fun in 2014.

~Jenn

Wharf Rat Rally 2013!!

Well folks, it's that time of year again.... Wharf Rat Rally is here!  Well I guess I should say WRR was here, as things will soon be coming to an end for another year. How did my WRR week start? Well, the same way a previous WRR started.... with my brother bringing home one of these from work! (the lucky duck!) Pure torture I tell ya having her sit in my yard and not take her out for a drive, but anyone who knows me knows how crazy I am about Mustangs and this one sure was a beauty (for not being a classic anyway).

It has been a good Rally this year, in fact the first one that I've really had the opportunity to enjoy, and even though I was a bit disappointed that the Beaver Tails Truck didn't show up this year, the Giant pretzels more than made up for it!! They were awesome!  Anyway, usually I don't get out to see the "night life" of the event because of the kids, but this year I have been fortunate enough to get some much needed free time. On the other end of the spectrum, we are moving, and I have had to use a lot of my time to focus on packing, we certainly we not able to move stuff this week, just too much hassle trying to get around the street closures, but hopefully I've gotten enough done to get a good head start as soon as everyone clears out.  With that said I didn't really get to take a whole lot of pictures this year like I have in the past, but I will share with you some of what I do have.

Crowd from far end of town.

streets and vendors

absolutely LOVED the paint job on the tank of this one.

I really liked the color of this one. So sparkly... yeah, sorry, leave it to me to make a Harley sound girly. LOL Speaking of Harley's I REALLY wish I took pics inside the HD tent... there was an Orange one I wanted to take home with me SO bad! :)

some fancy work being shown off at the custom bike vendors

One thing the kids and I couldn't get enough of was the Hub City Stunters.  It liked that they were close by down by the wharf. I could see them from my house, but as soon as the boys would hear a show start we'd have to take a walk down to watch.....nearly EVERY time! LOL  They even waited in line one of the times after the performance to get autographs from all the riders.  Pretty cool.  :)

One last thing I can't forget! A quick shout out to Jokers Right! I used to go see these guys every summer when I lived up the Valley, (usually around Apple Blossom time), and I really enjoy their music and style, so I was very excited to be able to get out tonight and see them preform. :) 

Ok, well, it's late...but the night is still young so I am heading out to enjoy my Saturday night by walking across town and entering Club 98 for the first time, a person who can count on 1 hand how many times she's been in a bar or club in her whole life, that isn't a fan of crowded places.... who drinks once a year( if she's lucky)...... things could get interesting!  For anyone who is reading that is nearby and also heading out, or just heading out where ever you are, play it safe! Tomorrow is worth waking up to see. :)

~Jenn

2013 2nd Annual Digby Fire Truck Rally

Year two of the Fire Truck Rally was a fun one.  I did find it to be slower this year, and though a lot of trucks showed up for the parade, not nearly as many showed up for the Show and Shine as last year, but you know what? That is to be expected, I mean it must be hard to be able to send a truck away for the afternoon for some places, and I'm sure the added non essential kms isn't something some places are too keen on, but for those who did show up Thank You!  I for one LOVE the Fire Truck Rally!  The boys really enjoy getting to see the trucks and get in them, and it brings back a lot of childhood memories for me, as my Dad was a volunteer firefighter for the Bear River Fire Department and I would always be down at the hall with him, truck washing days, or any time there was a parade he'd take the truck and I'd get to go with him.  The challenges remind me of the days back when Cherry Carnival was a week long event and they used to have the Fire Fighters challenge as part of their festivities and departments from all over would show up and take on the challenge.  So many great memories!  In my point of view the Volunteer Fire Departments all over the province are the heart of their individual communities, - the hardest working part that without it the rest just couldn't survive, so I'd like to Thank ALL the Firefighters across the province for everything they do to keep their communities together, and safe. :)

Now on to the festivities!  I took SO many pictures this year, of the things I did get to.... some things I skipped just because I had seen them the previous year and things were hot so I didn't want myself or the kids getting too much sun/heat exposure, but of the pictures I did get I have combined some in to one file so this isn't a post of photo overload!  You should be able to click on the images to make them bigger if you wanna take a look.  Enjoy!






Bucket Brigade

Group shot AFTER the Bucket Brigade, BEFORE the young Firefighters Removed their wet shirts (still kicking myself for putting my camera away after taking this shot). LOL

Parade of Trucks

I must say they made the right choice as this was one of my favorites for sure. :)

and I don't think anyone will forget about the Red Knights.....They led the Parade, they won the Fire Truck Pull (which was all anyone could talk about for the rest of the week-end), and reminded us that it won't be long before Wharf Rat Rally 2013 is back in town!

Now before I go, I have one more photo set to share with you..... a few quick photos of my boys, for how can I talk about the fun that they had without sharing a few photos too!

That's all folks!  Thank You Digby, for the memories, and thank you to my readers for following along.

~Jenn

La La La Lake

So as promised I am back to show you some places we've visited the past couple of days between events on our schedule this week-end.

Today's post is of our quick stop to Lake Midway.  This Lake is just outside of Digby, and we've stopped at it before but only for a pit stop, never to actually stay and play.  The swimming area is always full, so we just stopped to take a little walk and get out feet wet, throw a few rocks, take in the scenery...... the simple pleasures in life :)

 

 

 

These are truly the types of things I live for, enjoying the great outdoors and natural beauty that is around me..... and even better, seeing the kids enjoying themselves without electronic devices or by having to spend a ton of money.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow.....

Safe Travels

~Jenn

Here we go again!

I'm sure you are sick of my yearly photos that now that I think about it I seem to cover all the same angles but man I cannot get enough of Mavillete Beach!

 









Though it's early in the season to really enjoy this place to it's fullest and things are still a little cool (especially the water), what better way to get us revved up and excited about the fact that summer is just a few short weeks away than a trip to the beach!??!!

Fun in the Sun here we come!
Have Fun out there & Safe Travels!!
~Jenn

Checking in...

Hi there Folks!  It has been a busy week-end!  Baseball games and birthday parties, and visits to Grandma's house have us tuckered out!  We didn't get to see any major sites but we did stop by a few nice places and I will share those pictures with you this week, for now I am going to put these monkeys to bed and relax after a long drive home.

Safe Travels
~Jenn