Sunday Drivers - Off to Walton and the great beyond...

On Sunday we decided to head out and explore some uncharted coastline.  Our wanderings took us through Hants County and all the way to Truro in Colchester.  On the way we passed through Walton and took a few snaps.

This sign is on Highway 215, north of Brooklyn.  Interestingly, the halfway point lies on the 45th parallel- this places us on the same latitude as Bordeaux, France; Turin,Italy; and, Hokkaido, Japan.  We're even on a more southern latitude than that of Portland, Oregon!

The light at Walton.  Although it is difficult to tell from this photo, it was absolutely freezing cold!  Prairies "dry" cold. Out East is "humid" cold.  It doesn't really seem to matter to me - dry or humid - cold is cold and it was FRICKIN' cold!

The strand at Walton.

 Walton's condemned wharf. It was far too frigid to take more photos, as I was completely unprepared for the weather, but we really must return with the truck on a more pleasant day.  The beach was carpeted with generously sized, flat, blue rocks.  I would love to pave the floor of my shop with these amazing stones.

On our way through Wolfville, we stopped at Pete's Fruitique for a wee snack and a bevvie.  For those who are not familiar with Pete's, I think it could be described as Mark's and Spencer meets Whole Foods, with a dash of Herrod's (but mostly just the prices!)   All of us selected a portion of sushi and a fruit juice.   In passing I spotted a barrel of the most beautiful chestnuts I've ever seen. The sign indicated they were from Italy and I was immediately taken back to my Christmas trip to Switzerland in 1998.  It was during this trip that I fell in love with roasted chestnuts offered at Christmas markets in every town square.  I simply could not get enough of them at that time and was so delighted to find such a quality product again. Because I am the only person in our household to enjoy this early winter treat, I only purchased a pound of the delicious little devils.

Our day ended in Truro, where Laura was delighted to find a Taco Bell.  While the boy and I enjoyed some popcorn chicken, Laur was quite happy to order tacos.  The time was just after 1pm when we decided to head home - and what a fortuitous decision it was, too.  The first little snow squall of the season meant the roads had deteriorated markedly by the time we were safely home!

I popped the chestnuts into the oven and when they were ready, we all sat down with a treat and concluded our adventure with an episode of Doc Martin

Fresh Italian chestnuts!

 Slice an X on the flat side of each nut, roast at 425 for 20-30 minutes.

Once the skins begin to roll back from the X, roast for a few minutes more, then wrap tightly in a towel to steam.  The shells should peel quite easily away from the nut inside.

So good!