Back to School Shopping with Target
Back to School Shopping with Target!
#Target Back to School
*Disclosure: I received a gift card from Target for promoting this event. However, it also means I get to share one with you, too! See contest details below!*
Believe it or not, it’s that time of year again… Back to School!
Make your shopping easier with one stop at Target! And, to make it fun, head to the Dartmouth Target at the Mic Mac Mall where shoppers will be surprised at random.
TONIGHT! August 14th between 4pm and 10pm at the Dartmouth Target.
Shoppers at the Dartmouth Target will be randomly surprised with lots of goodies. You could win a free coffee, or even a free trip to Target!
So, grab your girlfriends, enjoy a solo trip, or take the family for a shopping trip in the city! You may come back a winner!
This week I went to Target to do my #TargetBacktoSchool shopping.
I may have gotten a bit distracted by the 50% clearance shoe sale!
However, I found everything I needed for the boys all in one place: sneakers, lunch boxes, drink bottles, and hoodies. The best find was raincoats! I have been looking for a year for rain coats for the boys and there they were!
Get yourself organized with these #TargetBacktoSchool tips before you go shopping!
1. Check what you own. Maybe the kids’ sneakers from June are still ok. Maybe their lunch box will last another season.
2. Make a list of what you do need.
3. Measure the kids. If you are not taking them with you make sure you measure their foot size. I also keep a list in my purse with their inseams and arm length. I also carry a tape measurer in my purse. However, I have been known to go to the hardware department to borrow when I forget mine!
4. Know what’s cool. If you are not taking the kids with you, ask them what characters are now cool. Is Angry Birds in? Is Spiderman out? You’ll be faced with a wall of choices. I had to make a cellphone call to the kids to make sure!
5. Make a budget. Know how much you are willing to spend. However, do realize that if you spend a bit more money, the quality is apt to be higher and they won’t have to be replaced as much. We go through several pairs of sneakers a year!
Drop everything! Head to the Dartmouth Target tonight for your chance to win great prizes! Get #TargetBacktoSchool ready!
Win With Target!
You can win a $100 gift card from Target! Click on the banner and enter your name every day until the draw date of August 22!
Cape Breton Family Fun
A Tour of Cape Breton
An Easy and Fun Family Vacation
This year our family decided to vacation closer to home with a trip to Cape Breton. The last time we were in Cape Breton was 8 years ago – before the boys were born, so we were well over due! We are lucky to have such diverse geography, amazing scenery and fun things to do right in our own province!
Before the Trip: Doing the research before a trip is one of my favourite parts. I read the Doers and Dreamers Guide for Nova Scotia and talked to lots of friends. Some friends hail from Cape Breton while others have gone there for family vacations. Our trip is a combination of all this information!
Day 1: The Drive
Cape Breton is surprisingly a long drive! It took us about 4 hours to get to our destination. En route we stopped at Columbus Field in Antigonish for a picnic and for the kids to play at the splash pad there.
Want to find out what is going on in Antigonish? Check out the Antigonish Kid’s Corner, much like Valley Family Fun!
I booked a cabin at the KOA campground in Seal Island. This is about half-way between Baddeck and North Sydney. In retrospect, I should have booked at the Baddeck Cabot Trail Campground not because there was anything wrong with where we were staying, but it would have been closer to Baddeck and the activities we wanted to do there.
The KOA campground had basic cabins – bunk beds and a double bed, lights and electrical outlets. We brought our camping gear for cooking and eating and our sleeping bags. The bathrooms were across the road and had full showers.
In front of the cabin was mini golf and a playground so the kids were happy!
There was a small swimming area, however, it was full of jellyfish so we couldn’t swim there – but we did have fun exploring the jelly fish!
Day 2: Alexander Graham Bell Museum and Dalem Provincial Park
In the afternoon we headed to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum to learn about all the amazing inventions he made.
The kids also took part in a kite making workshop. Read my blog post to get all the details HERE. This was a definite highlight of the trip.
After supper we drove down the road to the Dalem Provincial Park. It had a freshwater lake (with no jellyfish) and a nice sandy beach.
We also hiked the 2.2km trail around the lake.
Upon recommendation of my friend’s son, we stopped to eat at the Cedar House. This is in Boulanderie right after the Seal Island bridge. This is a great family-style, home-cooked meal restaurant that serves breakfast all day. It was affordable, tasty and the kids were happy!
Day 3: Cabot Trail
No trip to Cape Breton is complete without a drive around the Cabot Trail! We drove from Baddeck clockwise around the National Park.
Our family does a lot of hiking, but usually shorter distances. Therefore, I selected all the hikes that were 1km or less and featured different ecosystems. Our “toughest” hike we did first – the Buttereau. It was 2KM and went along the coastline with great views! This ended up being our favourite hike.
We also hiked:
The bog trail
Green Cove
Lone Shieling
We ended our day at Ingonish Beach (take the turnoff to the Keltic Lodge). The waves were high, the beach was sandy and the water was warm. This was the boys’ favourite part of the day. They were tossed around in the ocean and had a blast. Don’t swim out too far because there is a riptide.
There is a short walk from the beach to a freshwater lake. It takes about 5 minutes. We did not try this, but hear it’s great to go between the two spots. There is also a canteen on site.
Day 3: Glace Bay and Sydney
We left our rustic campground and experienced the “riches” of the Hampton Inn in Sydney. It was nice to shower without the moths! We chose this hotel because it has a waterslide (not to mention that my cousin could also get us his employee discount there!).
Our first stop was the Cape Breton Miners Museum. This was another trip highlight. Here, you can experience life as a coal miner and go down in the mining tunnel! Read about the museum and our experiences in my blog post HERE.
This museum is not to be missed!
From here we went to the Open Hearth Park in Sydney. This park is built on the site of the former Sydney tar ponds, and is an incredible facility! It really is in the centre of an industrial park, so you think you are going the wrong way – but you aren’t. The park has walking paths, an incredible playground and splash pad.
Day 4: Louisbourg
As a child, this was one of my favourite places to visit. We arrived on site just as it opened and took the shuttle bus to the fortress.
Louisbourg was a thriving seaport and capital of Île Royale (Cape Breton Island). The Fortress of Louisbourg was one of the busiest harbours in North America and one of France’s key centres of trade and military strength in the New World. Today, the site is an exciting and entertaining lesson in history.
We spent about 5 hours walking the sites, visiting each of the locations and talking to the people who were dressed in costume on site. From these “characters” we learned about sea navigation and how a musket worked.
There were so many great experiences for the kids including dressing in period clothes from the 1700s,
and quill writing.
The kids also enjoyed filling out their Xplorer booklets which gave them things to look for onsite.
While there, we also got to watch a military procession complete with the firing of muskets and the canons, as well as a public humiliation of a woman accused of theft! We bought bread baked on site and learned what a soldier’s ration would be.
For lunch, we ate in the restaurant onsite. We were given one pewter spoon that was to be used for all parts of the meal, as they were not rich enough to have anything else! We were served on pewter dishes a fabulous home-cooked fresh meal with incredible desserts.
The entire day was one-long learning experience that was so much fun. By that point, the boys were too tired to do any more, so after 5 hours there, we headed back! It’s definitely a place I would visit again, and each time we can do more and learn more based on their ages.
The boys are 6 and 8 and were the perfect age to get something out of the experience and really learn about Louisbourg. If you are going with younger children, bring a stroller, snacks, and prepare to take lots of breaks!
Louisbourg is a quintessential visit for any trip to Cape Breton!
Dogs:
I had wanted to take our dog with us during the trip. Most of the hotels and cabins will take dogs. However, there was no place to leave a dog while you are visiting the museums. The kennel in the Baddeck area does not take “day” dogs, however there is one in the Sydney area that might if you book ahead. In the end, we thought it was safer and healthier to leave our dog at home at the kennel here.
Overall:
We had a great time in Cape Breton. Our experiences ranged from history to nature to food to all-round family fun! It Is definitely a trip that I would like to repeat in a few years.
What are your favourite things to do in Cape Breton? Where should we visit next?
Cape Breton Miners Museum
Cape Breton Miners Museum:
A Must Do
When I asked my friends who have been to Cape Breton or who were from there where we should visit on our trip, they immediately mentioned the Cape Breton Miners Museum.
I have vivid memories of visiting the Cape Breton Miners Museum when I was a child, so I couldn’t wait to take my boys there as well.
Our family was offered a free pass to the Museum in exchange for sharing our stories with you!
About the Museum:
Situated on one of the most picturesque coasts of Cape Breton Island, on a 15-acre site filled with wild roses and grasses, the Museum pays tribute to the region’s long and rich history of coal mining. It is home to profound stories of miners and their families, and the resource that helped build a nation.
The Museum is also home to the famous choir of miners – The Men of the Deeps. (I’ve actually had the priviledge of singing with this choir through the Annapolis Valley Honour choir! Wow!)
Glace Bay is on the northern shores of Cape Breton, about 30 minutes north of Sydney.
Our Visit:
Before you enter the Museum there is a historic “village” that you pass through. There are several buildings which are open to the public that you can tour (for free) to catch a glimpse of what life might have been like when mining began in the 1800s. There is a general store and family home (divided so that one half is the 1840s and the other from 1910). Another building houses a restaurant which I hear is very good!
Inside the Museum we were greeted by the friendly staff who helped to book visitors on their mine tour. When we arrived mid-morning there was quite a long line and the tours filled up quickly. Their frequency depends upon demand, but when we were there, they were leaving every 30 minutes. My advice would be to go early to book your tour.
Before going on our tour of the mine we walked around the exhibits. Here you can learn how coal is made over time
and the history of mining.
There were several hands-on activities for the kids to do (fossil rubbings) and things for them to look at.
The boys went through the exhibits in about 30 minutes.
Tour of the Coal Mine:
The real highlight of our visit was the tour of the coal mine. We put on capes and hardhats and were then met by our tour guide – a retired coal miner!
Our guide, Abbie, was excellent! He had grown up in Glace Bay and was a third generation miner. He told us countless first-hand stories about the history of mining in Glace Bay and what the life of a miner was like. Abbie had us all captivated – listening and laughing and hanging on every word.
After our introduction, Abbie opened the door to the coal mine shaft. This was an actual shaft that had been used. The real deal.
We started out walking up right, but soon the ceilings began to drop. Only the children were able to walk without ducking. David is 6’2” and found it very uncomfortable. He said it really let you know what the conditions would have been like, and how hard it must have been to be in those conditions 6 days a week.
When it came time to explain the role of small boys in the mine, Abbie used Daniel as an example. He explained how Daniel would have to open and close the doors to the mine, watch for rats, and maybe take care of the pit ponies. Daniel decided that he would rather stay in school! This was a great lesson for the boys and they could fully understand the conditions!
During the tour we had a demonstration of the various coal mining tools and even saw a place where some of the miners started an underground garden!
On our way out, the boys even received a piece of coal as a souvenir.
This tour was definitely one of the best things about our trip!
Museum Information:
The Cape Breton Miners Museum is open June 1 to October 19 from 10am to 6pm. Admission: Adults $12; Children $10
Overall:
Although fairly well lit, the conditions are dark and chilly. Wear proper footwear and consider bringing a sweater – even in the summer. If you are at all claustrophobic, think twice about going under!
If you do go, it is well worth it! Run as a non-profit organization by the town and by the miners, this is money well spent. It was definitely a trip highlight.
Our boys (6 and 8) were perfect ages to understand the significance of the tour and the information. After the tour they could relay back everything they learned. They really got it! Our tour had children as young as 4 on it. Although they didn’t get as much information from the tour, they enjoyed the experience. Some children were scared of the dark and the loud noises.
If you are heading to the Sydney/Louisbourg area, add the Cape Breton Miners Museum to your list!
Have you ever been to the Cape Breton Miners Museum?
Alexander Graham Bell Museum, Cape Breton
Check out the Alexander Graham Bell Museum – Baddeck, Cape Breton
When I told my friends that we were going to Cape Breton for our family vacation, they all said, “You MUST go to the Alexander Graham Bell Museum in Baddeck!”
I approached the Museum and in exchange for tickets for our family, I promised to tell you all about our experience there!
About the Museum:
The Alexander Graham Bell Museum is located in Baddeck, Cape Breton overlooking the Bras d’or Lakes.
The Museum houses models, replicas, photo displays, artifacts and films describing the fascinating life and work of Alexander Graham Bell.
Although originally from Scotland, Graham Bell made a summer home for his family on the Bras D’or Lakes near where the Museum is today.
Best known as the inventor of the telephone, Alexander Graham Bell (1847-1922) did far more than that. He was also one of the outstanding figures of his generation in the education of the deaf and even worked with Helen Keller.
The Museum is divided into different sections from “Sound and Silence” (talking about Bell’s work with the deaf), “Ideas” (outlining Bell’s experiments and inventions), “Air” (showing artifacts related to Bell’s work with man-carrying kites and airplanes, including original parts from the Silver Dart airplane) and “Water,” (showing Bell’s experiments with the hydrofoil).
At the Museum:
When we arrived at the Museum the boys were given an Xplorers booklet. These books are available at all National Park sites and contain activities for children to complete as they go through the Museum.
The Museum is chockfull of information panels and exhibits. You can spend as little or as much time as you want going through and reading all the information and watching all the videos.
With the Xplorers Pass, the children were given the highlights of the Museum. They simply would not have the attention span to go through all the information. In each of the Museum sections the kids were directed to an interactive station where they had to perform an activity and answer questions.
Alexander Graham Bell experimented a lot with kites for his inventions and study of flying. Because of this, one of the first activities was to try flying a kite! Being on the hill above the Lakes made for the perfect windy spot to fly a kite!
Other activities included a touch-and-feel I spy game and learning about phones through the ages. One of my favourite moments was when Daniel came across the rotary phone and wasn’t sure how it worked! How quickly times and technology has changed!
The museum also included a life-size replica of the Silver Dart airplane that Bell invented and the remains of his hydrofoil invention which are preserved here adjacent to a full-sized reproduction of the craft.
Hands-on Workshops:
The Museum offers a variety of workshops for all ages. These range from white-gloved tours of the behind-the-scenes archival material to children’s and family kite-making workshops.
The boys participated in the kite-making workshop for kids. For $2.50 all materials were given to you with step-by-step instructions.
The best part – the kites actually worked! Later on in the day, we had a chance to test them out, and they flew!
Overall:
It took us about two hours to go through the museum (including the workshop) with the boys. Had the children been older, or we had been kid-free, I would have really taken my time to go through all the exhibits and displays. It’s a place worth going back to many times, for as they age, the kids will get more and more out of the experience.
I think that children as young as 4 can enjoy the museum!
Here’s what the kids had to say about their visit:
It was cool!
I enjoyed flying the eagle kite.
I liked making the kites. They worked great!
My husband is a history professor and thoroughly enjoyed the museum. “I liked how there was a great mix of the science and his personal life. It was a really good biographical museum.”
“The Museum is not about the man who invented the telephone, it is about a man who did so much more.”
Visitor Information:
The Alexander Graham Bell Museum is open from May to October.
A family pass is only $19.60. A great bargain for what you will gain!
Try These at Home:
The Museum website leaves you with these cool scientific activities to try at home! Try one and let us know how you do!
If you are heading to Cape Breton, add the Alexander Graham Bell Museum to your MUST do list! You will definitely learn something new and have fun along the way! It’s a great way to have family fun!
Strangers Gallery by Paul Bowdring
The Strangers’ Gallery by Paul Bowdring –
A Story of Newfoundland
*I received a copy of The Strangers’ Gallery from Nimbus Publishing to review. I enlisted the help of my friend and fellow book club member, Barb to review it*
This is a story about history, who decides how it is written, and who decides what records are kept.
It is the story about Michael Lowe, an Archivist at Memorial University of Newfoundland, his friend Anton Aalders who arrives from Holland in search of his father, and obsessive historian and diehard nationalist Brendan “Miles” Harnett.
It is about broken families and painful memories and historical inaccuracies. It is a story about betrayal, abandonment and loneliness.
It’s not all gloomy though.
The best part of the novel is about Anton’s search as told by Michael. The two men are likeable and quirky. Michael is as malleable as plasticine and simply bends to the whims of those around him. Anton is an amateur authority on almost everything, from botany to home repair.
I visited St. John’s myself last year and I kept thinking how wonderful it would have been to have these two as tour guides. They could expertly share every intimate detail of the city; historically, architecturally, socially and environmentally. But I don’t think they’d be much fun for a night out on George Street.
There is not so much of a “plot” to this novel as there is a progression of disclosures by Michael about relationships, families, lovers and friends, all revealed with the quiet dispassion you would expect from an archivist.
There are threads that don’t lead anywhere, like the staged meeting with Michael’s half-sister, and nothing is ever resolved. It’s almost like a diary, with bits of this and that one day, but no follow up the next. The author carefully weaves these threads as themes throughout the book and even points them out so you can’t miss them, but they never go anywhere. There is no culmination, no resolution, it just ends.
The progression of Anton’s story is interrupted in lengthy detail by the story of Miles Harnett’s unending campaign to keep the memory of the Country of Newfoundland alive and his resentment over the lost dominion and joining with Canada. This part of the novel feels like one of the long and painful road races that Miles is known for, with each step of the proceedings, all of the debate, all of the politicians and players and finally the referendum pounded out in unrelenting detail. I suppose there are history buffs who would appreciate this level of detail, but for the untrained reader it feels like walking a marathon, uphill all the way.
I was excited to read this book. Newfoundland has a wonderfully rich and colourful history of settlement and government with more twists and eccentricities than any other part of the country. The characters reflect the unique personalities that the region is known for and the author is obviously well read and his style of writing is seductive. But the historical detail and dispassionate voice just left me feeling that we’d walked around and around the city too many times, covering the same ground for years and never getting to a destination.
Here’s the book’s description:
St. John’s archivist Michael Lowe’s life is turned on its head when a Dutch acquaintance, Anton Aalders, arrives on his doorstep in 1995. Anton is searching for a father he never met, ostensibly a Newfoundland soldier who was part of the Allied forces that liberated the Netherlands at the end of the Second World War. Anton’s visit stretches from a few days to a few months, reluctant as he is to go in search of his father, and keen to learn as much as he can about Newfoundland, its history, and its people. Rabble-rouser and ardent Newfoundland patriot Brendan “Miles” Harnett, Michael’s friend and sometime bugbear, is obsessed with his own search for the lost “fatherland” of Newfoundland, which relinquished its political independence in 1934. Miles is only too eager to teach Anton—and Michael—the shameful, forgotten history (as he sees it) of the lost country of Newfoundland. The Strangers’ Gallery is a finely crafted, at times humorous, novel about the painful search for identity—both political and personal.
Cooking on a Coffee Can
Cooking on a Coffee Can
One of my memories from Girl Guide camp is cooking dinner on our own bunsen burner stoves. The boys and I decided to make one of our own.
Materials:
Tuna can
Corrugated cardboard
Wax
Candle wick (optional)
Coffee can with a metal top
Tin snips
Cooking spray
Tin foil
1. Cut strips of corrugated cardboard into long strips the same height as the tuna can.
2. Roll the strips into tight rolls
3. Fill the tuna can with cardboard so it is as jam-packed as possible.
4. Melt wax on the stove. You can use paraffin wax, or we just melted down an old candle.
5. Pour the wax over the cardboard in the tuna can. You can use a candle wick, but it is not necessary. Set aside.
6. Take the wrapper of the coffee can. We didn’t but should have as it will melt.
7. Cut a window in the bottom of the can where you can slide the tuna can underneath.
8. Take all your materials outside. Set on the pavement, stone, or we used a cookie sheet.
9. Light the wick (or the cardboard) on fire and put it under the coffee can. In a few minutes, the top of the coffee can will heat up.
10. We started by cooking a grilled cheese sandwich. It does cook quickly, so watch it carefully so it doesn’t burn. Spray the top of the can with cooking spray before you cook each item.
11. We next cooked an egg!
12. When we were finished, remove the can and place a piece of tinfoil over the tuna can to extinguish the fire.
We found that one tuna can burner would last for probably more than an hour. However, the coffee can (as the sides are now made of cardboard, and not metal like in my Girl Guide days!) would only last about three times before the inside melted.
If you are cooking for several people, make one tuna can and have several coffee cans on hand.
It was a fun, fast and unique way to cook supper!
More directions can be found here
What other ways do you know of to cook food outside?
