Getting ready for Thanksgiving, son coming home from college, and I asked him what favorite food he wanted. His answer, “Rappie Pie”, a special food which harks back to a Nova Scotia vacation we took when he was a kid. Here’s the recipe: https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/rappie-pie

Grab a cup of coffee and take a trip with me. Been meaning to write this story for a while and today, with Impeachment Hearings droning in the background, seemed like a good day.

We’re going to Nova Scotia!

It was the late summer of 2004. Big T and I were a new item, dating, and Gunner and I were spending the summer in Boston. It was our first summer together as a couple, and we were still getting the house settled. We made it through July 4th, then, out of left field, Democrats descended on the city for their Presidential Convention. Big T was foul. The city was a big parking lot, every night a fundraiser for Kerry, and the news was impossible. We were at a neighborhood bar, eating pizza, and Big T was wishing we could bug out of town. We were both in the midst of long an arduous divorces however, and watching our pennies. Out of the corner of his eye, one of his clients (Paul), pulled a keychain out of pocket, ripped off a key, threw it to Big T, and said, “Here, you guys can use my family house in Nova Scotia for a little vacation.”

Well, I had never been to Nova Scotia. Have you? Big T looked at me. I shrugged, “Sure.” Gunner was about 5yrs old, “I want to go!!” And off we went to Nova Scotia…. the next day.

In order to get to Nova Scotia, we had to take a mini-cruise ship/ferry, with our car, out of Portland, Maine to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Okay, sounds great, right?

Understand, Big T is normally a nervous wreck on a trip, lots of schedules and plans (baggage from ex-wife). I really don’t care and everything is an adventure to me. We travel well together. I had never been up the Maine Coast before, so I was hanging out of the window, looking at everything “new” to my southern eyes. We hit super traffic at Kennebunkport, I wanted to stop and shop, he refused, I hopped out of the car, bought antique naval maps at a shop, and caught back up with him, still in traffic. Those prints hang in the Cabana today. We stopped again at Gap outlet and outfitted Gunner for school – whole new wardrobe at rock bottom prices. So far, this trip was great.

We made it to Portland, and gosh, the Maine Coastline is spectacular in late July. What a treat. Everything in field of view is sharper, crisper, and the air is magnificent. We were in the car line, waiting to board the ferry and struck up a conversation with the people next to us. He was my uncle’s business partner from Illinois………. small world, eh?

We boarded the ship and Gunner was beside himself. Great adventure for a little boy. The islands of Maine slipped away to open sea by nightfall. We had a stateroom for sleeping, but Gunner wanted to explore. There was a disco on the ship (hardly anyone there and extraordinarily family friendly). My five year old danced at the disco until past midnight. Great day.

In the morning, we arrived in Yarmouth, a lone bagpiper on the bluff to welcome the ship. How cool is that?

We drove off the ship and to the house in Yarmouth. On the drive into the little fishing village, I kept noticing the mailboxes….. everyone had the same last name as Big T’s client. It was foggy so I couldn’t tell very well. Was everyone in the town was related to each other?

We got to the house and it wasn’t exactly what I had envisioned. Big T was mortified but he was expecting a swank vacation home, and he usually stays at the Four Seasons when he travels. It was about 4 steps down from my old grandparents farm house… and in a strange way, comfortable and familiar. Built in the 1930’s and not renovated since then. It was quaint. Cold, with lots of quilts and a big fireplace. He was ready to leave, worried about impressing me. I didn’t care. I liked it. Gunner was bounding around outside, convinced he would see a Canadian bear.

After getting settled and unpacked, we took off into town for groceries, liquor store, a few supplies. We were going to be there for 10 days. Came home, made dinner, slept like lambs. Next day, up again, Big T and Gunner fishing off the dock…… no real luck. Not happy. Bored. I was back at the house, cleaning and organizing a few things. A family member stopped by with a pie to welcome us. How wonderful she was. We chatted for hours while the guys were fishing, and she invited us into town for dinner the next day.

We poked around town a little bit, not much there, but it was a fishing village. We played board games at the house, still foggy outside. In fact, Gunner and Big T went outside to play catch and the fog was so bad, they had a hard time seeing each other.

At dinner, Gunner hit a growth spurt. He decided he liked “Rappie Pie”, kind of like a Shepards Pie, and ate three full orders. He’s 22yrs old now and if I ask him for his favorite meal, he still says “Rappie Pie”. The relatives were an older couple and thrilled with the idea of a hungry “grandson”. “Sweet and genuine”, I thought, we were instantly welcomed into their family. I casually asked our dinner guests about the fog. She remarked, “Oh, it’s good this year. Last year we had 31 days straight.” My eyes went wide, “31 days straight?” “Yes,”, she replied, “but it’s not that bad at all this year.”

I don’t have seasonal affect disorder or anything close to it, but gheez, if we have three days of rain in Mississippi, people start to snipe at each other. I would never make it through 10 days of heavy fog. You couldn’t even see the top of the house. I started getting itchy, and the more I thought about it, the more itchy I got. Didn’t want Big T to think I was weird, but we were going to have to find a way to see the sun again. I started planning and bought a map.

Next morning, me to Big T, “Hey honey, I was thinking, since we were here and you’ve paid for this whole trip, it might be nice for me to make a contribution for a side trip adventure.” He nodded and Gunner’s eyes were bright. I continued, “I was thinking we should go see the whales in the Bay of Fundy. I can squeeze that one into the budget. What do you think?” Gunner was already all over it, “WHALES?” Off we went to Digby.

Digby is a long peninsula. We did our whale trip, orange suits, plastic boat with two 900HP Kodiak motors, German couple as a match to us who adopted GUnar, whale bumps and sightings, 60′ tidal surge in the Bay of Fundy. It was thrilling. Still a little foggy.

We went down to the end of the peninsula, Brier Island, and it was breathtaking. Kids rolling in the summer heather and a landscape which looked like the moon. Warm sunshine, had an early dinner and home by 10pm……. to heavy fog.

At dinner the night before, I learned about a spot a few miles up, where the seals came to bask in the sun. My ears perked up, “sun”. Thought that might be a good adventure for the next day. Off we went.

The “spot” was only about 20 miles up the interstate but then another 20 miles down small roads. Never forget it…. We stopped at the “Nature Station”. I was wearing a pair of red shorts, cute little espadrille shoes, blue and white shirt. The female “Ranger” looked me up and down and said, “You’ll never make it out there.” She disapproved of me. Apparently, it was a two mile hike to the Seal Point and rather rugged. I was insulted but yeah, not wearing the right shoes. As an afterthought, she suggested another place, “more suitable” for someone like me…… which was 2 exits up, “Carter’s Beach”. I looked on the map, no such thing. “Oh, it’s there”, she assured me.

My men were rather disappointed in me. Pretty shoes stopped their fun. They looked at me with the evil eye, and I timidly suggested we try to find “Carter’s Beach”. Disapproving nods, back in the car, up twenty miles, over twenty miles back off the interstate again…. into a neighborhood. We were hopelessly lost and stopped at a quickshop….. well, more like a mini-store in the bottom of a two story house. I asked about the Beach, and the lady behind the counter knew all about it. “Go down this road until it ends and take a left”, she said.

We bought sodas and a few snacks. I asked for a bag of ice. She pointed to a chest freezer and told me to “crack off what you need”. I opened the chest, filled with blue ice cube trays, took what I needed and we left. Yeah, I liked Nova Scotia.

Down a narrow two lane road we went, past house after house. Big T, deeply skeptical, we had to drive slowly, he thought we were on a wild goose chase. Gunner, antsy in the back seat. We drove for thirty minutes, to the absolute end of the road. A few broken down cars, makeshift, at the very end. There was nothing. Zero. I was defeated.

I got out of the car. We hadn’t taken any turns and the lady in the story was so sure and kind. Where the heck were we? We were off the map by that point. We walked around a little bit. I looked over the roof of the Montero at Big T, when Gunner disappeared behind a tree-line and started yelling. We followed him… down a narrow and shrub covered pathway, to the most beautiful beach we’ve ever seen.

The beach, top 50 in the world on a few lists, is actually three separate mile-long crescents, at the tips are spruce trees or a lighthouse, and it’s the home of the biggest sand dunes in North America. It’s practically deserted, a hidden treasure. On that day, only one other family, with two little Russian girls. Kids played in the warm tidal flow and we basked in the sun. It was only about 20 miles from our foggy house. What a difference. Spectacular Canadian beauty.

We learned the meeting of the tall ships was cancelled in Boston and had moved to Halifax. Guess we followed the tall ships. Of course, we had to go. We spent a day or so in Halifax, stayed in a hotel, saw the ships and spent the afternoon at the Citadel……..

As the end of trip was drawing near, we had to make a decision as to how we would spend the last few days. We all agreed. Days at Carter’s Beach and dinners with Rappie Pie and the “family”.

One of the best vacations we’ve ever had. All done on a very tight, shoestring budget. Not at all what we expected, and it was exactly what we needed.

Lesson learned. Even when times are tight, or during personal upheaval, it important to get away and adjust the mindset. We get involved in a trap, thinking the world or business cannot live without us. No, maybe we’re not that important. Especially when we have little kids, there are only so many summers before they are grown and gone. Make the memories while we can.