Impending Trip to Nova Scotia

This week I'll  head to Nova Scotia, a province not far from my native home of Maine. Despite the proximity, I just never made it across the Bay of Fundy (odd name for a bay. I keep thinking of fondue when I say it aloud).

I'm a bit nervous about this trip, and I find that unusual. I wasn't nearly this nervous when heading to Alaska or Costa Rica. I think my mountain climbing escapade into the wilderness of the Mt. Rainier National Park last year has me feeling a bit edgy. I'm  not planning on doing any crazy stunts or goofy adventures this time around.  Just some trail running, a trip offshore to Isle Haute, and lots of landscape photography.

Oh, and a quick 10k race through the muddy Bay before the super moon pulls the tide back in on Sunday morning. That's my birthday present to myself.

Savannah Bed & Breakfast

The significant other and I made a brief foray into Georgia, the land of peach fudge and Leopold's ice cream, earlier this week. The weather was somewhat merciful but the gnats were not. Georgia gnats. They should be the state bird.

But the weather was predictable, just like north Florida. Sunny and humid in the morning and some respite via a perfectly timed late afternoon thundershower. You can set your watch by our afternoon thunderstorms. 

We arrived in Savannah around 10 am and walked the city until about 3:00 pm. The old homes, perfectly blocked city streets and predictably laid out parks were lovely. I especially loved the shade you could count on in each park.  The temperature in the little parks was at least 5 degrees cooler than the surrounding city block thanks to looming old oak trees that spanned the block like a huge parasol. But if you stood still too long, the gnats would pick you up and drag you to one of the old cemeteries nearby.

I had watched the movie  Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil only about a month ago, so it was intriguing to see the same homes and parks that I saw on film.  
My favorite shop was probably the peanut shop on the waterfront. I tried all sorts of peanuts, my favorite being chili lime.  Leopolds Ice Cream was rich, super intense. Two scoops of that served as my lunch.

Trail Run: Little Talbot Island

Over the years that I've lived in Florida, I've been to Little Talbot Island State Park a few times.  I've gotten some interesting photos there, my most intriguing being the Snowy Owl that showed up in January 2014.

Somehow, though, I had managed to never run, walk, hike, or meander the Dune Ridge Trail.  It's about four miles and has some noticeable hills.  Up and down, soft sand, hard sand. Too much soft sand for me since I'm not accustomed to running in sand at all, but I'm sure it's good exercise. The hills definitely made my glutes start yelling at me. It really made me realize that I'd have a difficult time trail running in any state other than Florida.

It was a hard run for me. I enjoyed it  but it was a challenge.  Sunday's  are supposed to be my long run days.  Typically I run 90 minutes to 2 hours on Sundays. Thankfully, my training plan had me scheduled for only 60 minutes today, and even that was a little rough for me.  

I decided to reward myself by doing some bug and flower photography after my run.  There were plenty of critters to look at, mostly spiders.  There were Argiope, Spiny Orb weavers, and bunches of Golden Silk Orb Weavers (banana spiders).  It was a regular sea of spiders out there. 

Argiope, E. Gilley

There were also a few insects like grasshoppers, moths and butterflies.  I got a nice shot of a Gulf Fritillary. She seemed rather spastic, so it wasn't easy to catch her sitting still. 

I think I would like to camp at Little Talbot Island State Park so that I can take advantage of the early morning hours for bird photography, head out on a run, and then go swimming in the sea. It's a relaxing spot, and it wasn't overly busy either.

 Lookout for Gopher Tortoises.  They are everywhere.  I even saw a female traipsing down the shoreline as if she had a hot date.  They walk with such purpose and intensity.  I wish I was half as intense at any activity as a Gopher Tortoise is at getting from point A to point B.

Gulf Fritillary, E. Gilley