Staff Picks: Beaches in Atlantic Canada

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We are so lucky on the East Coast to never be too far from the coastline. We asked our staff from all over Atlantic Canada for their favorite beaches in their home province.

Heading out for a day, or for an extended stay? Enjoy a worry-free trip with Wilsons Security. With alarm monitoring combined with home automation, benefit from the peace of mind that you can still keep an eye on your home while you’re out enjoying all that Atlantic Canadian beaches have to offer!

New Brunswick:

Kelly’s Beach

Kouchibouguac National Park, NB

Recommended by Jayne Lederman, Office Manager

Located in Kouchibouguac National Park, this beach has a fabulous boardwalk, great bike trails, and amenities like washrooms and food. You’ll love the dunes and the relatively warm water! It’s under 90 minutes from Moncton.

Caissie Cape Beach

Grande-Digue, NB

Recommended by Nick Sacobie, Technician

A classic beach day for the whole family, Caissie Cape offers tidal pools for exploring and lots of room for kids and dogs to play. There is also a nice wharf.  Make it a fun weekend and stay at the nearby campground! This destination is just over 30 minutes from Moncton.

Plage l’Aboiteau

Cap-Pelé, NB

Recommended by Matt LeBlanc, Technician

This supervised, sandy beach has a reputation for being clean and great for families. It has all the amenities, lots of parking, and beautiful sunsets! Get here in under 40 minutes from Moncton.

Newfoundland:

Middle Cove Beach

Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, NL

Recommended by Paul Whittle, Sales Manager, & Jonathan Pretty, Technician

This is a quintessential Newfoundland pebble beach! The 20-min drive from St. John’s is beautifully scenic (take Marine Dr!), and when you get there, you just might spot a capelin or a whale. A great place for exploring the seashore and sticking your toes in the water.

Sandy Cove Beaches

Elliston, NL

Recommended by Paul Whittle, Sales Manager

If lounging is in your plans, check out Sandy Cove Beach. This is a lovely spot 85 minutes from Clarenville and 3.5 hours from St. John’s. It’s great for picnics, and there are also cottages nearby if you want to extend your stay.

Rotary Topsail Beach

Conception Bay South, NL

Recommended by Jonathan Pretty, Technician

If you’re spending time in St. John’s, this beach is just 20 minutes away! With a playground and an amphitheatre, this vibrant park is a community hub on a sunny day. Offering amazing views and hiking trails, this is well-loved by outdoors enthusiasts, plus it has great picnic spots.

Nova Scotia:

Halls Harbour Beach

Halls Harbour, NS

Recommended by William Lees, Residential Security Consultant

This gem of a beach is just 10 minutes outside of Centreville, and under 90 minutes from downtown Halifax. Go if you’re looking for gorgeous views and stay for the ocean-to-table restaurant right on the water.

Roseway Beach

Shelburne, NS

Recommended by Cathy Levesque, Office Administrator

This lovely spot is secluded and peaceful; if you’re looking to recharge, then go here. The water almost looks turquoise, and when the tide is out, the sand stretches seemingly forever. Roseway Beach is approx 160 minutes from downtown Halifax. Pack a lunch and spend the day!

Rainbow Haven Beach

Cow Bay, NS

Recommended by Jessie Whorrall, Marketing Intern

This beach has soft sand, ample parking, and lots of room to set up for a day in the sun. It also has washrooms and a canteen, so it’s great for families. This beach is about 30 min from downtown Halifax making it very accessible from the city!

Conrad’s Beach

Lawrencetown, NS

Recommended by Blaine Wilson, Project Manager

Conrad’s Beach has beautiful, sandy beaches with boardwalks! You also might get to see some wildlife while you’re there. The parking lot isn’t huge, but it’s worth the walk. There is nothing like an evening stroll on Conrad’s Beach.

Prince Edward Island:

Brackley Beach

Brackley Beach, PE

Recommended by Postie Connolly, Security Consultant

Brackley Beach is a nice, sandy stretch of coastline with shallow sandbars that are great for children. Only 15 minutes from Charlottetown, there are also many cottages and some highly rated dining options nearby.

Cedar Dunes Beaches

West Point, PE

Recommended by Scott Ramsay, Security Consultant & Technician

Cedar Dunes Provincial Park has a scenic beach with that iconic PEI red sand. It has a very photogenic lighthouse and is great for strolling and exploring in a peaceful setting! There are also an inn and a restaurant close by. It’s under 2 hours from Charlottetown and just an hour from Summerside.

Covehead Beach

Stanhope, PE

Recommended by Scott Ramsay, Security Consultant & Technician 

On the Gulf Shore, this beach has a beautiful (working!) lighthouse, sand dunes, and pleasing views. Quiet and quaint, it is a great spot to head for a day in the sand. From Charlottetown, it’s under 30 minutes’ drive!

Photo by Cathy Levesque

Home Automation Made Simple

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A common myth that often comes up when we talk about home automation is the misconception that it will be too complicated to use. In fact, it is quite simple! This blog post explains the ways you can simplify your home automation and make it work for your needs.

You can set up your home automation devices to be as interactive as you want.  For example, you can control everything from your smartphone, or let the devices operate autonomously, with your alarm system controlling them. So let me explain both methods using the automated door lock as an example.

Complete Manual Control

You can lock and unlock a door at will with a smartphone or computer. Perhaps a relative from out of town shows up at your home while you’re at work. You can unlock the door for them from your smartphone without having to leave your workplace.

Autonomous Control

Your door lock is controlled by your alarm system, and is triggered by an event. Perhaps the door locks each time the alarm system is armed for going away. You can also set it so when coming home, after you enter your code into the keypad located on the door lock, it not only unlocks the door, but also disarms the alarm system automatically. This is the “if this then that” principle, where you can set certain events to occur based on actions you take.

Another easy way devices can be controlled is through schedules. This is where you create a series of events that take place over the course of the day based on the times of the day and days of the week you’ve predefined. Once the schedule is activated it continues to run until it is deactivated. Keep reading to learn more about schedules.

Control by Event

Imagine you’ve left the basement door unlocked. Alarm systems can detect whether you leave the door open or closed, but they can’t detect if you leave the door unlocked.  However, they can automatically trigger the door lock to secure the basement door whenever you leave the house, so you don’t have to worry about leaving doors unlocked. You can also have the system shut off the main water supply whenever it detects water leakage.

Control by Schedule

This is one of my favorite methods to simplify your home automation. In this example, you set a predefined schedule for your home to follow, making it easy to manage. There are two examples of schedules:

Work Schedule

This might be a schedule that runs Monday to Friday when you’re spending eight hours a day at work.

When arming the alarm system the following events may occur:

  • Alarm system arms for going away
  • Thermostat turns back to 18°
  • Side door and basement door of the house deadbolt
  • All basement lights turn off
  • Window shades open and close at different times during the day to allow the maximum amount of sunlight into the home thereby reducing heating costs

Vacation Schedule

This might be a schedule that you would put in place for those times that you are away for the weekend or maybe gone away on a full two-week vacation.

A vacation schedule may run something like this:

  • Patio lights come on at dusk
  • Outdoor lights turn on at dusk and then turned themselves off around midnight
  • Lights in rooms around the house turn on and turn off after dark to give the appearance that somebody is at home

As more automated devices show up on the market you are only limited by your imagination on how to get these devices to work together. If you would like more information on how you can automate your home please call our office at (902) 453-3388 and ask for me, Paul Ingram.