Last I left you, I had fallen into a deep, travel/food/wine induced sleep at Hannah's cottage in Cape George, Nova Scotia.
*Random thought of the day*: it's really funny sometimes what you can learn about a person once you've travelled with them. I once had a friend that seemed completely normal. We took a trip together, and BAM all the crazy came out. She was in a grumpy panic the entire time. People act very differently in new environments. The opposite has also happened. I've taken trips with friends I wasn't that close with, only to finish the adventure as better friends because of it. Thankfully, Hannah is not at all the grumpy type. But what I did learn about her, is that she is an early riser. THE EARLIEST RISER!!! I on the other hand, enjoy a nice sleep in every now and then. Alas, I was only going to be in Nova Scotia for 5 days, and knew I had to take advantage of every minute of me being there. So we compromised, and my second day in Nova Scotia began at the crack of 8am (which I was ultimately, thankful for).
While Hannah whipped up breakfast (cutest little cook!) I snooped around and checked out my digs for the next couple days.
After we ate, one of Hannah's friends, Luciann, joined us out at the cottage. It was her first time being there too, so Hannah gave us both the grand tour around the property.
I'm on a boat!
Hannah's step dad is from Switzerland, and fixes up air planes in his own plane hangar on the property. An interesting man indeed!
It isn't every day you find whole crab carcasses on the beach. There were like a bagillion of them, scattered all over the place! I thought it was so cool! It was totally normal to the girls. #perspective.
Then it was time to hit the road. We were beach bound, baby!
Hannah took us to Point Michaud Beach. It was AMAZING. Exactly the image that popped into my head when I was day dreaming about being on the ocean, and imagining what Nova Scotia would look like. Tall wild grasses, a rickety old fence, and the sound of the ocean waves crashing on the beach. PERFECTION.
Apparently Point Michaud is a great beach for surfing. While we were there the waves seemed pretty tame, but I still spotted a couple surfers.
My objective: to get in that salty ocean water for a swim, no matter WHAT. Where I call home, there are only fresh water lakes. They're beautiful, don't get me wrong, but there's just something special about salt water. I was going to GET IN DAT OCEAN, and I was gonna like it. Yessir. So to avoid chickening out, I didn't waste any time, and hopped right to it.
Mission accomplished.
We spent the day lying in the sun, munching on chips, and drifting in and out of sleep. Eventually, it was time to roll out. All tanned up, and happy, happy, happy!
Earlier in the day, Hannah's mom had given us instructions to pick up some lobsters from a local fishery on our way home. She said the man who sells them, Arthur, was quite the character, and that I had to meet him to complete my Nova Scotian experience. So, on we went.
We pulled into the fishery. I knew this before even opening my eyes. Without going into too much detail, something smelled a little fishy, and I don't mean this in the "suspicious" kind of way.
Inside the fish factory was a tiny storefront. Live lobsters sat in giant tanks of water, divided based on their weights.
Rare lobsters not usually found, like blue and yellow ones, lived in a special tank up top. Their own little lobster penthouse. Approximately 1/2 million lobsters are blue, and 1/30 million lobsters are yellow. The rest, are a dark bluish green, to a greenish brown colour.
Meet Arthur.
The cutest little man. He was very concerned that us getting a photo together would break my camera. Arthur, if you ever see this, the camera still works fine!
He packaged up our lobsters (very thoroughly, I might add), and we were on our way back home.
Back at Hannah's cottage, it was lobster cookin time! A bunch of her family was over, and we were going to feast. It was my first time having lobster dinner, and I. WAS. EXCITED. For completeness, Hannah's mom, Mary Anne, let me put my own lobster in the pot.
Do you know how to put a lobster to sleep? I do!! (I am now a certified lobster whisperer, no biggie.) Just give its head a light rub, right on top of where the eyes are. Its claws will stick straight out, and the lobster relaxes completely. I imagine it's probably similar to how I feel, when I'm getting my hair washed at the salon. Maybe.
All 24 lobsters were cooked in salt water, straight from the ocean. It doesn't get any more authentic than that. About twenty minutes later, they came out like this:
Time to dig in.
Lobster is tasty! I really enjoyed it. But some effort is definitely required. I'm not yet accustomed to the physical labour, and skill that goes with tearing open a lobster. You should have seen the Nova Scotians! I'm pretty sure Hannah could destroy one of these in under 5 minutes. I also wouldn't recommend eating lobster on a first date. After dinner, I found pieces of lobster in my hair, down my shirt, just all over the place. But in my opinion, the best meals are the messiest ones! Maybe just hold off on ordering the lobster until date #2, or 3 instead.
