The Pre-Nova Scotia Trip Story
It’s been four and a half months since I posted anything here. Truth be told, the quarantine has had me stuck at home for the most part. But as things have eased, and the Atlantic Bubble was formed, I have had a few opportunities to do a bit of travel closer to home. Here’s a few highlights.
Wallace Falls
During a geocaching adventure with a couple of friends, I learned of a place called Wallace Falls. Located near St Martin’s, it is easily accessible from the Catamount Trail just off Cross Road. Me and some friends of mine had gone out to the trail there to find a half a dozen or so geocaches. Two of them were located at waterfalls, with this one being the easier of the two to get to.
I took the wife and kids out to this great spot and within only a few minutes of hitting the trail, we were on our way down to the water.
For those of you who may want to visit on your own, it’s an easy trail to walk, but the trek down to the falls is a little bit more rough. There’s a very rickety staircase that is not all that stable so be sure to take your time going down. Once you get to the rocks, you’re all set.
Between me and the kids, we swam under the falls and enjoyed the water. It was cold, but still really nice on a hot day. I definitely recommend this place if you have the chance to visit. Quiddy Falls can also be accessed from the same trail just further down.
Trout Creek Falls
During that same geocaching outing with the boys, we came across an unexpected gem. Trout Creek Falls is a small little waterfall that is literally just off the road. Not that far from Poley Mountain, we were working our way back from the middle of nowhere and spotted a geocache just off the road.
The photo shown here is of the little “pool” that was at the base of the mini-waterfall. The water here was so insanely clear that I couldn’t believe it. I’m sure other places have clear water, but the sight of this spot just blew me away.
During another excursion with the wife and kids, I returned here to explore a bit more. We waded through the water on both sides of the falls. The creek goes quite a ways in both directions and can easily be traversed by anyone adventurous enough. Between me and my kids, we walked along the rocks and in the water in both directions throughout the course of our visit. Again, the running water was a little colder than I would have liked. But we thoroughly enjoyed our time here.
Prince Edward Island
The quarantine has been harder on the kids than us. Sure, we have all had our struggles, but the kids have had it hardest with being separated from friends and school for so long. My son was having a hard time with the fact that we had to cancel our family vacation to Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls. When the bubble opened and we could travel outside of NB, I made arrangements for us to take an extended weekend to PEI.
We left on a Friday afternoon and returned to Moncton on Monday. It wasn’t going to be the same as going to Ontario, but we did manage to cram in a few great activities while we were there.
After hearing about Shining Waters & Sandspit for so many years, I finally got the chance to check these places out for myself. Both required you to purchase your tickets in advance.
The water park itself was pretty small in comparison to Magic Mountain but still had enough slides and attractions to keep the kids happy. I opted to partake on a few of the slides myself. With the limited amount of people allowed into the park, the lines to the slides went very quickly. Even with tubes, it felt like the line was a mile long, but it moved very swiftly and before you knew it, down you were coming.
Of the attractions at Shining Waters, there were two big highlights for us. The first being this “bowl” slide that we hit up as soon as we got there. At Great Wolf Lodge, there is a slide called The Canada Vortex. This was a favorite for both of my kids. So when we spotted this slide at Shining Waters, both of the kids immediately recognized it from our previous vacation. It was a big hit with all of us.
The other highlight of this park was the roller coaster. Both of my kids had spent a considerable amount of time at Crystal Palace in Moncton before it closed. Many of the rides and attractions were moved from Crystal Palace to other theme parks in the Maritimes. When we spotted the coaster here, we knew where it had come from. The kids must have ridden this a dozen times or so while we were there. It was a nice little, unexpected add-on to being at the park that day.
The following day we hit up Sandspit. I’ve been around long enough to remember when there was a Sandspit in Shediac (where Kent’s is now located). As a kid I always wanted to ride the go-karts but my family never brought me there. Instead we’d hit the beach, or occasionally hit up the Splish Splash water park that used to be located at the entrance to Parlee Beach.
Both of my kids had visited Sandspit in PEI with their friends. With us visiting the island, I opted to buy passes for this spot as well. Like Shining Waters, you had to buy them ahead of time, and there was a capacity restriction. We spent the better part of a day here checking out the various rides and just enjoying the day on vacation. I finally did get to ride the go-kart and got a bit of a smile as I whipped around the track.
They also had a roller coaster named the Cyclone. Named after a similar coaster in Coney Island, NY, this one isn’t made with wood but was a very similar ride to the one I took my wife on for her first trip to NYC.
We wrapped the trip up with a few other local visits then came home with no trouble returning to our home province. It was a quick getaway but was just what the family needed.
With the family trips now out of the way for the summer season, the next one is all about something for me.
On Monday I head out as part of the 4 Guys in a Car heading to Nova Scotia. Our task this time is to find a series of geocaches hidden along the entire coast of Nova Scotia. From Moncton to Yarmouth, to Halifax, to Sydney, to Port Hawkesbury, and then back home. Five days of hanging out with the boys, enjoying some much needed time away from work.
I can’t wait.