Right now I’m at an airport. Every new beginning comes from some other beginnings end. But I’m not going home yet. I’m going over to Scotland, from New Scotland. And I’ve got another three hours to wait for my flight.

Nova Scotia. It was amazing. I originally planned to write about each place once back in Calgary. I planned to write about each of the places in detail but I want to discuss this portion here. Now. It was amazing. Amazing.

I went to Alexander Keith’s brewery. There was music and beer and the tour guides were excellent. I went on the Harbour Hopper tour and while there wasn’t beer, it was a lot of fun as well. The guide knew what she was talking about. It was great, even if I felt REALLY touristy by going on it. But I learned a lot about the city and its history.

Eating: I had a lot of fish and chips. And lobster. And prawns. And a bunch of other things that came out of the ocean, served with deep fried potatoes. I also had a phenomenal donair. I said I would spend most of this trip eating, and I can still stand by that. I think I’ve had salad like, once and there was lobster on it. Amazing.

(Although as a note, I kind of dislike the way there is tank at restaurants where the lobsters are kept with elastic band around their pinchers. It makes me feel bad knowing I’m going to sit down and eat them. Not bad enough to not order them however)

Drinking: The Lower Deck was my favourite place to drink. I loved the way it looked like what it would be named after. I drank local beer. There were always a ton of people who were super excited to meet new people and I LOVE that. And I ate oysters, which were a messy and delicious experience.

I also went to a speakeasy. This gets a lot more detail. First it started as your standard desserterie. They had amazing cocktails that had at least five ingredients each, and I had two of them. Plus an amazing chocolate dessert. And a peanut butter dessert.

Then, I had to provide the phrase to a server (the phrase was “Turn your wounds into wisdom”) and after a short while the server led me downstairs, passed the kitchen, to a gorgeous little speakeasy. The tables had fabulous little menus with elaborate cocktails or desserts, the walls had vintage art and there was a beautiful old piano (although unfortunately not in use). I enjoyed another gorgeous little cocktail and the general ambiance.

(The reason I am providing the phrase is because the venue is only open three nights a week and changes its name every week. So by this time, it is an entirely different phrase. And if you actually don’t have the correct phrase, you don’t get to go to the speakeasy. It was so cool.)

Running: Like the west coast, it’s all about oxygen. Running feels like every breath fills my whole body with fresh air. I went to a provincial park to run and I could see the ocean at every turn. It is so beautiful. I ran at some point at every time of the day, so I saw it when the tide was in, when the tide was out, when the sun was just at the edge of the skyline, when it was blinding on the water, when it was a little cool and when it was blistering hot. What a beautiful province.

Today was my last day here. I went to the beach again and walked in the Atlantic Ocean. I’m still pretty amazed that I’m currently in the Maritimes. That the ocean I was walking in is the Atlantic. I’m so used to being at the Pacific. I’ve never been here before and I feel bad because it’s so stunning. The Atlantic was way warmer and also way nicer to me. I was wearing the same jeans as a previous experience with a certain ocean and the Atlantic did NOT knock me over and beat the crap out of me. Totally different experiences and both very much fun.

So here I am at the airport in Halifax. I’m guzzling coffee because I need to stay awake for the next two hours until I can snuggle into my seat on the airplane. I’m super excited to head over to Scotland but genuinely sad to leave Nova Scotia. This has been a wonderful experience, I would recommend it to anyone.

AND, on top of all the eating, running and drinking, I FEEL amazing. I feel the best I have in a very long time. I suppose travel therapy is more expensive than chocolate therapy, or retail therapy (or clinical therapy), but I know this is what works best for me. It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem small. I put my feet in the Atlantic Ocean. I ran a half marathon. I wasn’t perpetually attached to my phone. I’m excited to see what I learn on the other side of this ocean.