I was able to get our itinerary changed to two legs instead of three. Upon the advice of the agent at the Halifax airport, we tried Gravol (aka Dramamine) and 6YO managed both flights without getting sick. We hadn't looked for children's Dramamine before, but she knew that Gravol was available in a children's formula.
Due to a major snafu in Detroit - they apparently downsized the aircraft without regard for the number of people with assigned seats - we almost didn't make the second flight. They ended up giving us seats in different rows and center seats at that. Now, you have to understand that I buy tickets months in advance for a reason. I mark the calendar for 90 days out so that I can be sure to get an aisle seat. I told the flight attendant that if I had to sit in the middle I'd never fly NWA again. She asked an off-duty pilot who was seated in an aisle seat if he would mind moving over. He didn't say yes, he didn't say no. He mumbled, "It's a whole new world" and moved over, never saying a word the entire flight. Nice "face of NWA." Add to that the flight attendant who called me "sir" twice and I was not a happy camper. But, we made it back and our house was still standing. The cat was mad, but the house was still standing.
That's about it! I know I'll be traveling several times this coming year, but - for now- I'm glad to be staying put. I've been home two out of the past six weeks and while I'm really fortunate to have been able to make the trips, I'm tired! I need a vacation!
14 July 2007
12 July 2007
Travel Update
We were able to find another room in the area, but then the hotel we were in last night was able to accommodate us so we'll be here for another night. That makes things easier! And, I hear the hot tub calling my name.
I went over to the airport this morning because I can't get through to NWA by phone and it kept telling me that I couldn't re-book on-line. We are re-booked for tomorrow, but on three flights. Ugh! There seem to be plenty of seats on a number of Detroit to Minneapolis flights so if I can ever get through by phone... The agent at the airport here can't make changes.
The good news is that we have a car. The bad news is that the fog has usually lifted by this time and it's just pea soup out there. If NWA cancels tonight's inbound flight we're in a world of hurt. The good news is that I have Internet access.
That's about it. I just thought I'd post an update in case anyone is reading. Cheerio!
I went over to the airport this morning because I can't get through to NWA by phone and it kept telling me that I couldn't re-book on-line. We are re-booked for tomorrow, but on three flights. Ugh! There seem to be plenty of seats on a number of Detroit to Minneapolis flights so if I can ever get through by phone... The agent at the airport here can't make changes.
The good news is that we have a car. The bad news is that the fog has usually lifted by this time and it's just pea soup out there. If NWA cancels tonight's inbound flight we're in a world of hurt. The good news is that I have Internet access.
That's about it. I just thought I'd post an update in case anyone is reading. Cheerio!
11 July 2007
Weather
Well, be careful what you wish for. All day we were bemoaning the fact that we have to leave the Maritimes. Guess what? We're stuck here. We spent the day in Halifax - made it to Pier 21 and the Discovery Centre - and then drove out to the hotel right down the road from the airport. Perfect planning, right?
Because it was so foggy I checked the NWA website and, sure enough, they've already cancelled tomorrow morning's flight to Detroit, presumably because they had to cancel the flight that was due to arrive tonight. There's nothing else scheduled to go out tomorrow so we'll be here until Friday. The hotel is booked for tomorrow night, but luckily we found something else reasonable nearby. The good news is that since we're already into the fifth day of week two for the car it doesn't matter if we keep it until Saturday. The bad news is that nwa.com has a tentative re-book that involves three flights - Halifax to Detroit to Indianapolis to Minneapolis. But, it won't let us re-book on-line, nor can we get through to an agent! Lovely. I actually drove over to the airport, but the NWA person was gone for the night.
In related news, P was supposed to be in a one-credit, two day class, beginning Friday morning. 6YO had a dental appointment for Friday morning. And, the kennel is booked up so we have a friend picking up our dog - thank heavens - for us.
So, to recap, we have this room until noon. If they haven't had enough cancellations - we're fifth on the waiting list - we'll have to check out and move to another hotel. Somewhere in there we have to get confirmations for Friday's flights and hope we don't have another round of bad weather.
Keep your fingers crossed for us. We wanted to stay in Canada, but not under these conditions!
Because it was so foggy I checked the NWA website and, sure enough, they've already cancelled tomorrow morning's flight to Detroit, presumably because they had to cancel the flight that was due to arrive tonight. There's nothing else scheduled to go out tomorrow so we'll be here until Friday. The hotel is booked for tomorrow night, but luckily we found something else reasonable nearby. The good news is that since we're already into the fifth day of week two for the car it doesn't matter if we keep it until Saturday. The bad news is that nwa.com has a tentative re-book that involves three flights - Halifax to Detroit to Indianapolis to Minneapolis. But, it won't let us re-book on-line, nor can we get through to an agent! Lovely. I actually drove over to the airport, but the NWA person was gone for the night.
In related news, P was supposed to be in a one-credit, two day class, beginning Friday morning. 6YO had a dental appointment for Friday morning. And, the kennel is booked up so we have a friend picking up our dog - thank heavens - for us.
So, to recap, we have this room until noon. If they haven't had enough cancellations - we're fifth on the waiting list - we'll have to check out and move to another hotel. Somewhere in there we have to get confirmations for Friday's flights and hope we don't have another round of bad weather.
Keep your fingers crossed for us. We wanted to stay in Canada, but not under these conditions!
10 July 2007
New Brunswick, Part IV
Greetings from Moncton, where we are spending our last night in New Brunswick. Yesterday, Monday, we went over to UNB where E visited with the law school. Sounds like she had a good visit. 6YO and I walked around campus, stopped by the sociology department, and went looking for a couple of my colleagues in the psych department. They weren't in and as we were leaving campus I stopped by once more to check. As I was leaving the building they were parking right outside the door. We had a nice visit and made plans to have lunch on Tuesday. We had a casual afternoon in F'ton that included a visit to a nice little art supply store, Endeavours, and a walk along the St. John. Had the weather been a little warmer we would have rented a couple of kayaks, but, while sunny, it was cool. Not much else to report there!
This morning we drove around town a bit and met my colleagues for lunch at a great little place, The Palate. We had promised 6YO a visit to the toy store, ThinkPlay a "sister store" of the art supply store so, afterwards, off we went. We ended up chatting with the owner for a while, a nice young Fredericton native named Luke. The store was fun, too! In addition to some cool art and science toys there were a number of retro candies like fizzies, Mary Janes, Bit o' Honey, and this very flat taffy, the name of which I can't recall - but I remember it from the 60s! 6YO got some neat little animals that are cut in two and stick together with magnets. I sounds weird, I know, but they're entertaining.
After the toy store we made our way out of town and, after a brief stop in Oromocto for beverages, we were on our way. We arrived in Moncton around 5 and E and 6Yo went for a swim while I did some email. It's now almost 9 pm and soon I'll be sleeping! Tomorrow is our last day on the road. We plan to spend it in Halifax. But, as you know - anything is subject to change!
This morning we drove around town a bit and met my colleagues for lunch at a great little place, The Palate. We had promised 6YO a visit to the toy store, ThinkPlay a "sister store" of the art supply store so, afterwards, off we went. We ended up chatting with the owner for a while, a nice young Fredericton native named Luke. The store was fun, too! In addition to some cool art and science toys there were a number of retro candies like fizzies, Mary Janes, Bit o' Honey, and this very flat taffy, the name of which I can't recall - but I remember it from the 60s! 6YO got some neat little animals that are cut in two and stick together with magnets. I sounds weird, I know, but they're entertaining.
After the toy store we made our way out of town and, after a brief stop in Oromocto for beverages, we were on our way. We arrived in Moncton around 5 and E and 6Yo went for a swim while I did some email. It's now almost 9 pm and soon I'll be sleeping! Tomorrow is our last day on the road. We plan to spend it in Halifax. But, as you know - anything is subject to change!
08 July 2007
New Brunswick, Part III
This has truly been the vacation of changing plans! This morning we thought we'd go to the Mactaquac area, do some light hiking, etc. But, when it started raining, looking a lot more threatening than the forecast had predicted, we decided to drive down to St. Stephen and visit the Chocolate Museum. It was sprinkling a good part of the way and then it cleared! When we arrived we walked across the border to Calais, Maine. E and 6YO had never been to Maine so now they could "check off" another state. We stopped at their fabulous Downeast Heritage Museum and, discovering that the restaurant I had read about was closed on Sundays, we walked back across to St. Stephen. This time we used our PR cards to enter Canada. Woo-hoo!
Returning to St. Stephen we had lunch at St. Jerome's, in the building that used to be the chocolate factory. E had a "scallop burger" - scallops on a bun - and I had fish and chips with salmon as the fish. We then visited the Chocolate Museum - they have trays of samples at the admission counter and each of the other rooms. Yum! It's small, but really interesting with a couple of good videos. We then went to the other end of the building to buy, of course, a few treats.
When we left the chocolatier we drove toward St. Andrews by the Sea, a lovely little resort town on the water. Lo' and behold it was sunny! So much for those meteorologists! We followed the excellent signage and found Katy's Cove, a great little beach. They have toys, "butterfly/fishing" nets, a volleyball net, lifeguards, and a wonderful playground that 6YO didn't even bother with. Nope - he caught, and released, crill, crab, a miniature eel, and a jellyfish. Our little marine biologist. After a couple of hours we headed back toward F'ton, making it back before dark.
We decided to extend our stay - yes, changes again - so we cancelled our reservation in Halifax, and made one for Moncton. Now we'll be here Monday evening after all. Then we can spend the bulk of Tuesday here. In the late afternoon or evening we'll drive to Moncton and spend the night, breaking up the trip back to Halifax, but really, just giving us extra time here.
That's about it. Tomorrow we're going to visit UNB and have a quieter day here in town.
Returning to St. Stephen we had lunch at St. Jerome's, in the building that used to be the chocolate factory. E had a "scallop burger" - scallops on a bun - and I had fish and chips with salmon as the fish. We then visited the Chocolate Museum - they have trays of samples at the admission counter and each of the other rooms. Yum! It's small, but really interesting with a couple of good videos. We then went to the other end of the building to buy, of course, a few treats.
When we left the chocolatier we drove toward St. Andrews by the Sea, a lovely little resort town on the water. Lo' and behold it was sunny! So much for those meteorologists! We followed the excellent signage and found Katy's Cove, a great little beach. They have toys, "butterfly/fishing" nets, a volleyball net, lifeguards, and a wonderful playground that 6YO didn't even bother with. Nope - he caught, and released, crill, crab, a miniature eel, and a jellyfish. Our little marine biologist. After a couple of hours we headed back toward F'ton, making it back before dark.
We decided to extend our stay - yes, changes again - so we cancelled our reservation in Halifax, and made one for Moncton. Now we'll be here Monday evening after all. Then we can spend the bulk of Tuesday here. In the late afternoon or evening we'll drive to Moncton and spend the night, breaking up the trip back to Halifax, but really, just giving us extra time here.
That's about it. Tomorrow we're going to visit UNB and have a quieter day here in town.
New Brunswick, Part II
Today is Sunday. Let me try to catch you up on what's been happening since Thursday evening when I last wrote. On Friday I had a delightful visit with the chair of the sociology department here at UNB. Then, back with the family, we went out for a nice lunch downtown. So far the hotel and two restaurants have had "toy chests" where kids get to choose something. You can imagine what a big hit that is! Afterwards the skies cleared and we started at City Hall - there's a tourist office there - walked past the Historic Garrison District, down to the bridge, out to the middle of the St. John river, back down a few blocks, past some wonderful old homes, and back to the car. From there we made the obligatory trip to a bookstore. All in all we had a terrific day in Fredericton and got a much better feel for the area.
On Saturday we got up early, battled a busload of tourists who were trying to grab breakfast and get out of the hotel, and went to the W.W. Boyce Farmers' Market. To say it was terrific is an understatement. Cheese, meats, baked goods, produce - organic and not, woodcarvers, Birkenstocks, photographers, earrings, knitted caps, hula-hoops... you name it. And that doesn't include the samosa, mini-doughnut, waffle, kabab, and fresh squeezed orange juice vendors - to name a few. We walked away with strawberries, kettle korn, a fabric fortune cookie, mini-doughnuts, date bars, and two samosas. But, the real surprise was the guy who had St- Viateur bagels shipped in from Montreal. I had brought some back with me last summer and E loved them! So, yes, we picked up a bag of those, too. Needless to say we wouldn't starve on our road trip, even if we did run out of gas!
Around 9 am we headed out of town. We had planned to spend the day in the St. George- St. Stephen area, but when it looked like the skies were going to remain clear we decided to go to Hopewell Rocks. Fortunately I realized that Mapquest probably only gives you the fastest or "most-highway" route and decided to veer off and down through Fundy National Park. Oh my, but when you crest the road and see the bay in front of you- wow. It was spectacular. We drove through the park and east. We then spent the day at Hopewell Rocks, arriving minutes after low tide and leaving minutes before "official" high tide. We walked several trails, had lunch, and just "hung out." 6YO used his new "bug viewer" to catch and release ants, grasshoppers, flies, etc. The big attraction is the area with the "Flower Pot rocks." We also walked down the path to Demoiselles Beach. We didn't run into a soul going down or back. Down at the beach you could see how quickly the tide was coming in. I let a wave wash over my toes. That was just fun - to have the Bay of Fundy washing over my feet. Around 6:30 we made our way back via Moncton, returning to the hotel around 9. All in all, a great day.
On Saturday we got up early, battled a busload of tourists who were trying to grab breakfast and get out of the hotel, and went to the W.W. Boyce Farmers' Market. To say it was terrific is an understatement. Cheese, meats, baked goods, produce - organic and not, woodcarvers, Birkenstocks, photographers, earrings, knitted caps, hula-hoops... you name it. And that doesn't include the samosa, mini-doughnut, waffle, kabab, and fresh squeezed orange juice vendors - to name a few. We walked away with strawberries, kettle korn, a fabric fortune cookie, mini-doughnuts, date bars, and two samosas. But, the real surprise was the guy who had St- Viateur bagels shipped in from Montreal. I had brought some back with me last summer and E loved them! So, yes, we picked up a bag of those, too. Needless to say we wouldn't starve on our road trip, even if we did run out of gas!
Around 9 am we headed out of town. We had planned to spend the day in the St. George- St. Stephen area, but when it looked like the skies were going to remain clear we decided to go to Hopewell Rocks. Fortunately I realized that Mapquest probably only gives you the fastest or "most-highway" route and decided to veer off and down through Fundy National Park. Oh my, but when you crest the road and see the bay in front of you- wow. It was spectacular. We drove through the park and east. We then spent the day at Hopewell Rocks, arriving minutes after low tide and leaving minutes before "official" high tide. We walked several trails, had lunch, and just "hung out." 6YO used his new "bug viewer" to catch and release ants, grasshoppers, flies, etc. The big attraction is the area with the "Flower Pot rocks." We also walked down the path to Demoiselles Beach. We didn't run into a soul going down or back. Down at the beach you could see how quickly the tide was coming in. I let a wave wash over my toes. That was just fun - to have the Bay of Fundy washing over my feet. Around 6:30 we made our way back via Moncton, returning to the hotel around 9. All in all, a great day.
05 July 2007
New Brunswick, Part I
Yesterday morning, Wednesday, we got up and had yummy waffles, courtesy of our host, C. We packed up and, after giving 6YO a few more minutes to run around with 10YO and the snails, were on our way. 6YO was not happy to be leaving! Just up the road we made a brief stop at the Foxhill Cheesehouse and picked up some treats for the drive. We had originally thought about staying until Thursday, but thought we'd squeeze in a day at the beach.
We made our way back down 101 and cut across 14 to Truro. As we were leaving Truro, where we had stopped for beverages, the gas light came on. Paying attention to the road, etc., I hadn't even noticed. Well, let's just say that the road was pretty desolate. That is, pretty and desolate! I was getting rather nervous! We took the next exit that had a gas station only to find that the gas station had closed, for good. We made it to the next station and, by our calculations, probably had about 9 litres to spare. The signs started reading "New Brunswick" and we were on our way.
We stopped in Moncton just in time to see the tidal bore and then drove back toward Shediac. We went to Parlee Beach where 6YO, again, had the time of his life. He started playing with some kids from Montreal who speak French and attend an English immersion school! I hope he made the connection - that is, that he's not the only kid attending an immersion program. They were collecting crabs, mostly hermit crabs, and putting them in a pool they had made for them. After a few moments of looking threatening, it turned into a great afternoon for the beach. From there we decided to skip the festival, which appeared to be mostly music we wouldn't enjoy and the beer tent, and went to the Lobster Deck/Quay Homard on Main Street. In a reprise of Lunenburg, I had a terrific lobster roll and E had mussels and salad. From there we went to our hotel and I enjoyed the hot tub while 6YO played in the pool. First he played with E and then, while she watched, he played with two girls who had arrived with a beach ball. It was interesting to see them this morning and realize that they were probably Mennonites. Interesting to think about the two Mennonite girls and the boy with two moms playing together without other "stuff" interfering.
This morning, Thursday, we got up and had planned to visit Hopewell Rocks. If you've ever seen a tourism photo from New Brunswick, you've seen Hopewell Rocks. Well, it started raining and we decided to come to Fredericton where we knew that we could visit Science East and remain dry! We arrived before noon and were able to check into our room. Yea! After a few moments to unload, etc., we went for a drive around town, drove past the apartment we might view, and went to Science East. It's a great little science museum for kids. What I found interesting was the fact that up until 1996 it was still the jail. They've kept the basement as a jail museum - that was interesting. Hangings were done as recently as 1957! I had no idea.
Afterwards we drove around UNB and then across the river to Marysville. It was still really gloomy with drizzle every now and again. Unfortunately it's supposed to stay this way through the weekend, but Halifax looks to be the same. I don't mind the gray, but I don't like driving in the rain, especially when I'm trying to navigate my way around a new place.
I'm not sure what we're doing tomorrow - the skies will decide that for us! More as it happens!
We made our way back down 101 and cut across 14 to Truro. As we were leaving Truro, where we had stopped for beverages, the gas light came on. Paying attention to the road, etc., I hadn't even noticed. Well, let's just say that the road was pretty desolate. That is, pretty and desolate! I was getting rather nervous! We took the next exit that had a gas station only to find that the gas station had closed, for good. We made it to the next station and, by our calculations, probably had about 9 litres to spare. The signs started reading "New Brunswick" and we were on our way.
We stopped in Moncton just in time to see the tidal bore and then drove back toward Shediac. We went to Parlee Beach where 6YO, again, had the time of his life. He started playing with some kids from Montreal who speak French and attend an English immersion school! I hope he made the connection - that is, that he's not the only kid attending an immersion program. They were collecting crabs, mostly hermit crabs, and putting them in a pool they had made for them. After a few moments of looking threatening, it turned into a great afternoon for the beach. From there we decided to skip the festival, which appeared to be mostly music we wouldn't enjoy and the beer tent, and went to the Lobster Deck/Quay Homard on Main Street. In a reprise of Lunenburg, I had a terrific lobster roll and E had mussels and salad. From there we went to our hotel and I enjoyed the hot tub while 6YO played in the pool. First he played with E and then, while she watched, he played with two girls who had arrived with a beach ball. It was interesting to see them this morning and realize that they were probably Mennonites. Interesting to think about the two Mennonite girls and the boy with two moms playing together without other "stuff" interfering.
This morning, Thursday, we got up and had planned to visit Hopewell Rocks. If you've ever seen a tourism photo from New Brunswick, you've seen Hopewell Rocks. Well, it started raining and we decided to come to Fredericton where we knew that we could visit Science East and remain dry! We arrived before noon and were able to check into our room. Yea! After a few moments to unload, etc., we went for a drive around town, drove past the apartment we might view, and went to Science East. It's a great little science museum for kids. What I found interesting was the fact that up until 1996 it was still the jail. They've kept the basement as a jail museum - that was interesting. Hangings were done as recently as 1957! I had no idea.
Afterwards we drove around UNB and then across the river to Marysville. It was still really gloomy with drizzle every now and again. Unfortunately it's supposed to stay this way through the weekend, but Halifax looks to be the same. I don't mind the gray, but I don't like driving in the rain, especially when I'm trying to navigate my way around a new place.
I'm not sure what we're doing tomorrow - the skies will decide that for us! More as it happens!
03 July 2007
Nova Scotia
Wow, it's Tuesday and I haven't been able to post anything! This will have to be brief, but...
We arrived around 2 pm on Saturday. With the exception of 6YO getting sick, again, all went well with the flights, etc. As we were descending to the Halifax airport I was really surprised to see so much greenery. I knew that the airport was outside the city a bit, but this looked like wilderness! It was gorgeous. We got our rental car, found the hotel, and walked down to the waterfront. Perfect temperature, perfect weather, perfect city...! I'll skip all the details (e.g., fabulous seafood) in the interest of time. If I can I'll add more detail later.
On Sunday - Canada Day! - we got up and drove to Peggy's Cove, Mahone Bay, and Lunenburg. If you've ever seen a photo of the Nova Scotia shore you've no doubt seen photos of this area. It is as impressive as you would expect. 6YO was in seventh heaven running around the rocks at Peggy's Cove. I'll try to post pictures another time. We had a great lunch along the water - more seafood - in Lunenburg and then made our way back to Halifax. That evening we attended the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo which was different, but wonderful. Hopefully more on that another time, too. It got out around 9:55 pm and, as we were walking the few blocks back to the hotel we could see the Canada Day fireworks over the harbour begin. Turned out that the hotel had left the rooftop patio open late so we hurried to the roof and watched the rest of them. This was our first full 24 hours as permanent residents in Canada - when we landed we weren't there 24 hours - what an incredibly wonderful Canada Day!
On Monday morning we took the Theodore Tugboat cruise around the harbour, had lunch, and then started for Port Williams. We stopped briefly in Windsor, one of the places that claims to be the birthplace of hockey, visited Fort Edward, and got on the road again. We stopped again in Wolfville, home of Acadia University, and then made for Port Williams. On the way we stopped at a little farm market and picked up warm shortcake biscuits, strawberries, and whipping cream for our hosts - and a few other treats, too. By about 5 pm we arrived in Port Williams at the home of C, A, E, and L, a family that has already made the move from Minnesota to Canada. 6YO was having the time of his life - actually running around in a yard with trees, etc., not being "observed," and... finding snails, and more snails! We later had a nice dinner/visit and turned in for the night. Whew!
This morning we went down to Chester Basin/Mahone Bay where they keep their sailboat, which is getting its final prep to be put back in the water. 6YO, who is quite taken with L, the 10YO, had an absolute blast hanging out at the docks, finding rocks, shells, watching the fish, etc. After getting back the three of us took a short drive to Kingsport to drive by the vacation home of a friend from the UK. We spent a few minutes at the beach across the street - again 6YO was in heaven. Then we drive up to the Look Off where we could see great stretches of the Annapolis Valley. As you've seen me write before, I'm not even going to try to describe how beautiful it all is. Just take my word for it.
We all went for a delightful dinner in Kentville - yes, more seafood - and then came back to the house. 6YO and P are asleep and I decided to take just a few minutes to post something! Tomorrow we're going to Moncton, NB - hopefully via Shediac, NB which opens its annual lobster festival tomorrow. We'll see how the time and weather go...
So, yes, Nova Scotia is just as beautiful as you've ever heard. Green, green, green and we've had very good weather. A few showers here and there, but mostly blue skies, white clouds, and perfect temperatures. The next few days should be a little slower so hopefully I'll be able to post something with a little more depth. But, at least you know we're here and having a great time!
On to New Brunswick!
We arrived around 2 pm on Saturday. With the exception of 6YO getting sick, again, all went well with the flights, etc. As we were descending to the Halifax airport I was really surprised to see so much greenery. I knew that the airport was outside the city a bit, but this looked like wilderness! It was gorgeous. We got our rental car, found the hotel, and walked down to the waterfront. Perfect temperature, perfect weather, perfect city...! I'll skip all the details (e.g., fabulous seafood) in the interest of time. If I can I'll add more detail later.
On Sunday - Canada Day! - we got up and drove to Peggy's Cove, Mahone Bay, and Lunenburg. If you've ever seen a photo of the Nova Scotia shore you've no doubt seen photos of this area. It is as impressive as you would expect. 6YO was in seventh heaven running around the rocks at Peggy's Cove. I'll try to post pictures another time. We had a great lunch along the water - more seafood - in Lunenburg and then made our way back to Halifax. That evening we attended the Royal Nova Scotia International Tattoo which was different, but wonderful. Hopefully more on that another time, too. It got out around 9:55 pm and, as we were walking the few blocks back to the hotel we could see the Canada Day fireworks over the harbour begin. Turned out that the hotel had left the rooftop patio open late so we hurried to the roof and watched the rest of them. This was our first full 24 hours as permanent residents in Canada - when we landed we weren't there 24 hours - what an incredibly wonderful Canada Day!
On Monday morning we took the Theodore Tugboat cruise around the harbour, had lunch, and then started for Port Williams. We stopped briefly in Windsor, one of the places that claims to be the birthplace of hockey, visited Fort Edward, and got on the road again. We stopped again in Wolfville, home of Acadia University, and then made for Port Williams. On the way we stopped at a little farm market and picked up warm shortcake biscuits, strawberries, and whipping cream for our hosts - and a few other treats, too. By about 5 pm we arrived in Port Williams at the home of C, A, E, and L, a family that has already made the move from Minnesota to Canada. 6YO was having the time of his life - actually running around in a yard with trees, etc., not being "observed," and... finding snails, and more snails! We later had a nice dinner/visit and turned in for the night. Whew!
This morning we went down to Chester Basin/Mahone Bay where they keep their sailboat, which is getting its final prep to be put back in the water. 6YO, who is quite taken with L, the 10YO, had an absolute blast hanging out at the docks, finding rocks, shells, watching the fish, etc. After getting back the three of us took a short drive to Kingsport to drive by the vacation home of a friend from the UK. We spent a few minutes at the beach across the street - again 6YO was in heaven. Then we drive up to the Look Off where we could see great stretches of the Annapolis Valley. As you've seen me write before, I'm not even going to try to describe how beautiful it all is. Just take my word for it.
We all went for a delightful dinner in Kentville - yes, more seafood - and then came back to the house. 6YO and P are asleep and I decided to take just a few minutes to post something! Tomorrow we're going to Moncton, NB - hopefully via Shediac, NB which opens its annual lobster festival tomorrow. We'll see how the time and weather go...
So, yes, Nova Scotia is just as beautiful as you've ever heard. Green, green, green and we've had very good weather. A few showers here and there, but mostly blue skies, white clouds, and perfect temperatures. The next few days should be a little slower so hopefully I'll be able to post something with a little more depth. But, at least you know we're here and having a great time!
On to New Brunswick!
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