Apologies for my ancestor..

Happy Birthday, Heather!!! I traveled to Hall's Harbour on this day of the birth of one of the most spectacular Halls. The short story is I think Heather has built up enough good karma in this world to offset our less than stellar ancestor, Captain Samuel Hall, for whom this place is named.
For starters, I awoke near the trail head for Cape Split, made a little coffee and oatmeal. packed an apple and a peanut butter sandwich, and set off on the trail. It was meant to be about 8 miles round trip, but the part of my brain that can be obsessive kicked in letting me know that I was still in at least partial "work mode". I couldn't shake the idea that I had a deadline today. I was already about a mile into the trail, but I knew I wouldn't be able to fully enjoy the wander unless I backtracked to make that phone call. The deadline I had in my mind was a day earlier than the real one but was able to take care of the dangling details which cleared my mind for the morning. Accounting for the mile out and then back, the walk was an even 10 miles instead of 8. A piece of cake for my distance running friends!
One of the cool things about most of Canada is it is still easy to be alone. At the early hour of the day, even with my fits and starts, I saw only one couple on the whole hike. It was a beauty of a walk. Ferns unfurling, little hellebore, foam flowers, and the sound of the ocean were all part of the experience. About 1000m from the arrival to the furthest most point, I could hear the cacophony of seabirds. What made it weird was the fact that I was also hearing the twitter and chirp of songbirds. The middle picture shows the view that I had as the forest abruptly opened up to this seabird rookery. The cliff was covered with birds. I took off my back pack, sat down on the grass, soaking up the solitude and enjoyed the concert provided by the birds and the wind and the waves lapping at the cliff. It was then that I noticed that this cliff top also had at least two dozen tiny, gray puffballs toddling around chirping with tiny peeps as they moved. Why is it, with out a nest to contain them, that these little tumbleweeds don't walk off (or get blown off) the cliff? Honestly, I need an answer to that one. The return trip was uneventful and I climbed back into the truck, stopping at a beautiful beach to have a "bath", before heading to Hall's Harbour.
So here's the deal with Captain Hall. Not a cool cat. Apparently he was a pirate from New England who came up to the coast of Nova Scotia and found this skinny little harbor(harbour) to tuck his ship into. From there, he and his crew hopped off the boat and helped themselves to whatever they wanted. There are stories of the pillaged treasure being buried and/or hidden for return trips, as well as stories of the full on robbery of the local gardens. It is now an adorable little town with a famous seafood spot right on the inlet where Captain Hall hid. Keep that good karma coming Hall fam. See, I knew being helpful would account for something!Read more