A Whale of a Tale

Today I was fortunate enough to have a Whale Watching experience without even having to get on a boat OR leave the Wharf in Digby! How cool (and rare) is that!?!?

Had the boys down to the wharf fishing this afternoon, and they weren’t getting any bites. I kept thinking I was seeing something in the water, it would just barely peek out of the water, I thought MAYBE a seal (because I tend to see them often there), or I also thought maybe I was just crazy and was seeing things. Then I noticed others looking out also, with the same look on their face as I had.

So I had the boys reel in their lines and then I saw it!!! I saw the dorsal fin pop up out of the water. Then I thought maybe a Dolphin?? HE kept circling this one area of the harbour, round and around and around… me I was snapping pictures like crazy! (I love my multi shot setting, it allowed me to be ready AND make sure I got at least 1 good shot every time he surfaced LOL).

It wasn’t until we moved to another spot to get a better view of him that we realized he was a Whale. I thought he must have been a baby, and I bet for the most part he was young, but after getting home and doing some research I learned that he was a Minkie Whale, and they aren’t very big whales anyway.

The crowd kept getting bigger all watching this guy make his rounds. Eventually he slowed down and we didn’t see him much, I think since the tide was going out at the time that he probably knew to get out of there before he couldn’t.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures, thank goodness I never leave home without the camera!!!… I just never know what I’ll see even just a short distance from my house.

Happy Travels

~Jenn

The ONLY Reference you'll ever need!

Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve been by with an update. Then again during the winter months, there’s not much opportunity to get out and see and do stuff without fearing the road conditions, so I really didn’t have much to report on anyway. Thankfully spring is here and hopefully another summer of Lighthouse adventures will soon be underway.

I did however come across this really cool book one day in the mall, "Lighthouses & Lights of Nova Scotia: A Complete Guide" by Rip Irwin (one of the founding members of the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society - VERY cool!!). JACKPOT! I was so excited about this discovery!! Whenever I would plan trips to see lights, I would always go to Lighthouse Friends, read up on the history, find out the accessibility, get my driving directions etc. which worked out GREAT! I also liked that when I decided to go see a light unplanned I had a place to go on my phone to find out whatever I needed. However this wasn’t always an option as I found myself in a lot of places where my cell service just wasn’t going to work. (plus reading all the info on my tiny screen wasn’t one of my favorite things to do). Now, as long as I keep my book in the car, I have all the info I need right at my fingertips because this book is PACKED full of information, photos, and the history of every light.

I think my favorite feature of this book is the map right up front. It breaks up the Lights in sections by Shore groups it also gives a quick reference as to where to find the Lighthouses within the book, which is much better than looking in the index. What I love most about it though, it that there are 178 Lights in the list… and you can see where they all are on the map.

I can see, just by looking at this map that last year I almost visited the entire Annapolis Valley. There are still 3 left (out of 22) that I need to get to. I did also get to one along the Fundy shore, and 2 on the South Shore.

So if you’d rather read a book instead of surfing the web for information about our lighthouses, this is a really great resource! You can learn more about the book HERE.

Happy Learning!

~Jenn

Just a Quick Update.... Yes, I'm still here! :)

I know it’s been a while since I’ve been in here to post much of anything. After last year’s lighthouse adventures there aren’t many left in a close distance from home that I don’t have to plan a special trip to go see. So I’ve been thinking and though this is and will always primarily be a blog about the Lighthouses of Nova Scotia I would also like to show you some other lights I have seen in my travels to other places, as well as share some photos of special events and points of interest in locations here in Nova Scotia so you can get a feel for other things this lovely province has to offer.

So stay tuned for some interesting updates!!!

~Jenn

Happy Holidays

Just wanted to stop by and send all of my readers & followers safe and Happy Holiday wishes.

I'd like to thank you all for reading and following along, and for all the wonderful emails and comments I have received.... it is truly an honor to write for you all and to know you enjoy what you see. I look forward to posting lots more for you in the year ahead.

As always, Happy & Safe Travels, may your own adventures be memorable ones :)

Thank You!

~Jenn

Bunker Island Light

Well lookie what I found! I was sorting through some files of photos on my laptop and when I found the pics from when I was on the CAT back in 2008 I had noticed a few photos of a Lighthouse listed in the directory that I didn’t remember I even had pictures of.

This is the Bunker Island Lighthouse. It is sitting on a bunker in the middle of the Harbour in Yarmouth. The CAT actually rode by pretty close to this light so it was actually kinda neat to see, it was a great way to get close to it and nab some pictures.

Now this lighthouse isn’t anything overly spectacular, but it does look neat sitting out there in the middle of the water, and if you’re in the area anyway, why not take a quick drive (or even better a nice stoll) along the waterfront and check it out.

Happy Sight Seeing & Tavels

~Jenn

Borden Wharf Lighthouse

Here’s another Lighthouse I didn’t even think of that I had already visited. This was from before I became a Lighthouse fanatic; we actually discovered it on a geocaching trip we were on in Canning. Supposedly there was a chache hidden somewhere near or on, or under the light (I really don’t know, we never did find it).

There have been a lot of “threats” that this one will be torn down and really I see no purpose for it as the water doesn’t even come near it anymore, but for a little town it is a nice little attraction and I never want to see or hear of and lights being torn down, so hopefully someone is willing to take care of her.

You can find out more of her history on lighthousefriends.com

Safe & Happy Travels

~Jenn

Digby Gut Fog Station

The Digby Gut Fog Station is listed as a “lighthouse” on the lighthouse friends website and since I live right in Digby I thought I could try and show it to ya’ll. It’s hard to see across the water, and without a high zoom lens on my camera it was difficult to get a good shot of it.

The best way to see this would be from the Princess of Acadia, or even one of the Whale Watching groups that goes out the gut.

Here it is, and along with a few shots of the Princess. I spent lots of time on this ferry in my childhood, never went outside on deck, (let’s just say when I was a kid I did NOT have my sea legs!) but I would very much enjoy traveling on her again and taking some pictures out on the waters.

I happened to be out at the Prim Point Lighthouse in Digby and got this shot of her heading out on her way to Saint John, NB.

Have Fun sight seeing and Happy Travels!

~Jenn