Jim and I have had a wonderful summer at home in Nova Scotia. We spent city time in Halifax, cottage time on the Northumberland Strait between NS/NB and PEI, enjoyed trips to British Columbia and Ontario and PEI and Maine, and hardly missed Madcap at all.

On one particular evening earlier in the summer, we were feeling a bit mopey - missing our cruising friends and not really back into the swing of things in Halifax. We headed for the cottage and decided to stop for pizza in Tidnish. We had heard from a couple of sources that the bread and pizza at "Bev's Breads" were delicious, and that they were sailing folks. I was pretty sure Bev was the woman I had met a couple of years ago at Tiger Point Marine and that Jean was the guy who had challenged me over whether Tidnish was in NS or PEI. (Of course it is NS). Sure enough, as we walked through their flower filled yard, Bev met us, remembered us, and declared that we must come through to the comfy waterfront deck for a glass of wine and a chat before the pizza. We were instantly cast back into cruising mode as we sat with these two gracious people and reminisced about boats and lives and people we knew in common. The pizza and bread we took home with us were mouth wateringly delicious too. What a fine night.

We had visits from a few cruising friends and met a couple of new ones on the waterfront. Our own comfortable back deck was the perfect substitute for a cockpit on these occasions. We watched whales and dolphins from the ferry that plies the waters between Campobello and Deer Islands in New Brunswick. We listened to the gulls and terns and crows at the cottage. We frequented the Farmers Market in Halifax - both at the Brewery and the new Seaport site, and we regularly walked the waterfront boardwalk. In short, we managed to keep a connection with the water even as we enjoyed being landlubbers again for the summer.

Our beloved sailing ship stayed on the hard at Tiger Point Marine in Fernandina Beach, Florida, where we hope to find her all fixed up and ready to go again next month. As I chatted with Ken (Fair Wind) on the waterfront one sunny day, I mused that it would be nice to be tied up there making plans for a southbound trip, but by the time Jim and I walked back in the evening, we were both very happy to know we will be starting the cruise from north Florida this year. No more north east coastal weather concerns. As I write this however, the temperature has taken another swing upward. The picture shows the water at the cottage (Northumberland Strait) just after I got out of it. Imagine, swimming in Nova Scotia in October! (And now, by the time I am posting this, we are back to typically cool and sunny autumn weather.)

For the next couple of weeks, we will attempt to get to the end of our Halifax to-do list and say our goodbyes to the family here. We'll also drive to Annapolis, MD to attend the Sail Boat show (Oct 8 - 10) and do some visiting in the area. We sure hope to see lots of familiar faces there!

Our plans for getting to Florida have been changing daily, but we have now committed ourselves to a new route. We'll fly from Halifax to Boston on Oct 30, and take the train the next day from Boston to Jacksonville, FL, arriving there on Nov 1. An adventure on the way to an adventure.

We are both expecting another great cruising year (fingers crossed for fewer electrical challenges) with lots of new experiences. We will launch Madcap in early November and that's about as far as our planning goes at this point! Stay tuned for more!!