Nova Scotia Is probably an unknown place to most people. For me it is a second home. As a child, my family would travel there every 3rd summer. We would start on the west side of Canada and travel cross country, sometimes through the states, all the way to the east tip of Canada. Nova Scotia is a beautiful mixture of forest and ocean. The cool fresh air is invigorating and the views are breath taking! Once there, life becomes slow paced and relaxed as you take in all the small world charms this province has to offer.

But getting there is a whole other story! Traveling with my family was, to say the least, interesting. We had a van that we lovingly called the " Mormon Extenda- Van" It was huge and had a bench in the back that folded out into a bed. It had no air conditioning, so traveling through the the central states in a heat wave was almost unbearable. Especially on those hot sticky humid nights when we drove so long that none of us wanted to get out and set up the tents. We would end up all sleeping in the van, curled up wherever we could find a spot. We left a window open once and we had the pleasure of meeting the state bird of Illinois.....the giant mosquito. Never again would we sleep with the windows open.

Our trips were never quick. My dad is a genealogist and so his planned route to Nova Scotia always included as many pit stops and cemeteries as possible. We would travel as far down as Kansas to find cemeteries of importance to his work. He would send out us kids with a name to find and we would each take a section of the cemetery and search for the name. It did not end there though. Because record keeping was not always so great, we would then make a copy of the stone by rubbing a charcoal stick or a crayon over a piece of paper laid on the grave stone, thus making a carbon copy.

Sounds like a wonderful time, eh! Actually those times we were traveling as a family are some of my most cherished memories. It was hectic some times and there were plenty of fights, but I loved it all the same.

Well now that I am all grown and have children of my own, I took the opportunity to travel to Nova Scotia again. My husband, myself, and our 3 kids jumped in our van ( actually our friends much nicer van......tanks Jolley's!!!!) and took a 3 day drive to my beloved Nova Scotia. It was the first time any of them have taken a trip like this!

I will be slowly posting pictures and details from our trip so as not to overwhelm you all with one big post.