Valley Daze

Yesterday, Saturday, was the final day of the Annapolis Exhibition. We started early with a drive to New Minas. Heather had some maps on her cell phone. She wanted them printed and laminated. We went to Staples.

Afterwards, I wanted to check out a book on the Acadia campus in Wolfville.The Bookstore, Student Union and Library were all closed. The town was busy with students being dropped off, by their parents or friends.

We stopped in Kentville for brunch at the Half Acre Cafe, before going to Greenwood. We needed salt for the water purification system.

At four o’clock, I was scheduled for a beer with John Wightman. We reminisced about the 1980’s at COGS. The involvement of Roger Tomlinson, ESRI. We talked about the changes in the family farms in the Valley. Also the socio-economic changes within the small towns e.g. Bridgetown, Middleton.

Afterwards, with a stop for a slice of pizza, Heather and I went to the Garnet Rogers concert at the Evergreen Theatre, East Margaretsville. We noticed that there were crowds of cars parked in Lawrencetown. The Exhibition was a buzz.

To get to the theatre, we took Highway #1 to Gouchers Farm Market, then North to East Margaretsville. It was a full house, started at 8 pm. Garnet was a musical delight.

The concert finished around 10:15 pm. We decided to return via the coastal road. Through Margaretsville, across Delusion Road, down Gates Mountain Road to Middleton. In Middleton, we hit Highway #1.

As we approached Lawrencetown, there was a stream of cars leaving the village. We decided to avoid the traffic. Left at the Mount Hanley Road, across the Annapolis River, right on the Middle Road. Pitch black. No street lights. Heather’s sharp eyes spotted the deer and the skunk crossing the road. Eventually, we joined Highway #201, street lights and home. It was past 11 pm.

We turned on the network news. Fires still raging in BC and NWT. We reflected on Andrew and family driving from Midland, Michigan to Rossland, BC. Remembering our earlier cross-Country drives from California to Ontario, BC to Nova Scotia.

At the end of the day, we recalled one of Garnet’s anecdotes.

“Life is like a toilet-roll. As you reach the end, it unrolls much faster than at the beginning”.
We have strong memories today, of the dark skies in rural Nova Scotia, whether Delusion Road or the Middle Road, at 11 pm.