Nova Scotia Adventures with Kyria (Days Four + Five): Medford Beach, Cape Blomidon, Wolfville, and Goodbyes

At first I thought Day Four would have a bit of a chaotic start – Belle had an orthodonist appointment in a neighbouring town, Indy had to get to school, and Kyria and I wanted to fit in some morning adventures that were dependent on the tide. Thankfully, it all ended up working smoothly.

Kyria walked Indy to school which gave me an extra half hour to get work tasks done at home. I was racing to cross things off my list until the second Belle and I walked out the door, but we managed to make it to the orthodontist with time to spare!

When I dropped Belle off at school and went through the sign-in process I saw the previous student to arrive late was a Grade 1 girl. The reason? “Big feelings.” I chuckled…and also felt a pang of pity for her because I can relate. Feelings can be big whether we’re 5 or 50!

When I got home Kyria and I sat at the table and chatted for a while before heading to Medford Beach to walk on the ocean floor. I’ve blogged about this spot before, but it is one of our family’s favourite places to visit. These formations are only accessible by foot at low tide and kayak at high tide. We had fun exploring and there were kilometers of empty beach to stroll along at our leisure.

A nearby stream was full enough we were able to wash our feet to a reasonable level of cleanliness before hopping back in the car for a quick drive to nearby Cape Blomidon.

There is a lovely hiking trail, but I knew time was tight so we settled for a leisurely walk along the mud – all the way to the source of Indy’s beloved crystals. Kyria found a special one just for him!

Home for a quick lunch (pumpkin soup and sweet potato crackers), and then we rushed out the door because we had a tight timeline before the kiddos got home from school. We started at the Wolfville sign. A new addition to the waterfront, and a lovely place to be on a sunny October afternoon.

Next up was the post office where we bought some stamps for our postcard-mailing escapades.

Leaving the post office, Kyria reminded me I needed to pick up a few items for a birthday gift! (She preps food, makes coffee for my son, and keeps track of my to-do list; when can she move in?) She helped me find the various items (on sale of course), and then we headed to our final stop – homemade ice cream. I got salted caramel with Reese’s Peanut Butter chunks and it was so, so good. I forgot to take a picture before I had already inhaled half of it. My mouth is watering just remembering the flavour. Salted caramel can be overwhelming (too salty, too sweet) but this version was bordering on perfection. We savoured our treat at the waterfront and then headed home, just beating the kids to the driveway. Excellent timing.

Indy had a friend over for the afternoon so they played various and sundry games while Kyria, Belle, and I sat on the deck and talked through a series of questions from the appendix of Charles Duhigg’s book Supercommunicators. Kyria and I had started answering them on our return walk from Cape Split, but we spent hours (HOURS) going through these questions as a group of three. Belle couldn’t get enough!

We had a brief stop for supper (leftovers), Indy went outside to play street hockey with friends and then left for basketball (another mom kindly offered to take him). Aside from those minor disruptions it was non-stop talking.

Unfortunately, by the end of the evening Belle was feeling under the weather. Poor thing. Based on her symptoms and the fact she had gotten new orthodontic wires earlier in the day, we think it might have been an allergic reaction triggered by the change? Indy and I worked together to help her get comfortable and thankfully she slept through the night.

Once again I fell into bed exhausted! What busy days we were having. It felt like so many moving pieces with all the adventuring, work, and extracurriculars, but it was a satisfied exhaustion.

DAY FIVE

Belle was on the fence about school; in the end I told her if the answer wasn’t a clear Yes, she should just hang out at home for the day (she can access most schoolwork online now anyway). She was content to rest (and, let’s be honest, watch screens) while Kyria and I walked Indy to school.

It was another beautiful fall day!

We took a circuitous route home, hiking some wooded trails and drinking in more fall beauty.

We were home long enough to shower, do some more packing, and get things pulled together for Kyria’s trip to the airport. Belle was still contented to chill at home, so Kyria and I headed off to meet Joy for a coffee in Wolfville.

We spent a lovely hour or so chatting (Joy is also from California, so they had plenty in common!), before going home to pack the car and make sure Belle was fed and settled for the afternoon.

We stopped along the way to have a delicious lunch at one of my favourite local restaurants – Cumin – and split Korean-style cauliflower, a hot yogi bowl, and some pasta. Yum.

Our last hour together was spent in the car where we fit in final conversations before I dropped Kyria (and Bob) at their overnight airport hotel before they left on their next adventure.

What a wonderful time we had together. I know I speak for my whole family when I wish Kyria lots of fun and safe travels in her future globetrotting…but also sincere hopes those travels bring her back to Nova Scotia <3

Your turn. What’s your favourite flavour of ice cream? Do you like texture/mix-ins? Are you better at small talk or deep conversations? Which do you prefer?