Canadian Vacation
Aug. 19th, 2003 12:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meganursulaI just got back from a nice week visiting my parent's home in Nova Scotia Canada. I enjoyed the trip, and the company of my friend Heidi, and seeing family, etc.
Tues: got up early and flew to the east coast. The flight went through Newark. H got to see the Statue of Liberty, from a great distance above the city. Had to drive from Halifax to my parents house, which turned out to be a much longer drive (~4 hrs) than i had anticipated.
Highlights of the drive included donuts from Tim Horton's in Antigonish, seeing Mars, and catching glimpses of meteors.
Wed: On Wednesday we first went and watched Becky ride her newly purchased horse, Trausti. We then did a couple of hikes - Benji's Lake and the Bog trail. Benji's lake was an easy jaunt over the highlands to a dock on a lake side. When we got to the lake a Moose was hanging out on the edge. Later it went swimming in the lake, and we watched it for ever. It was really peaceful to sit by the side of the lake, hearing no civilization encroaching, and observing the moose.
The Bog Trail is a short board walk with interpretive signs. I had remembered it from before, and thought it would be interesting. It was good.
um... in the evening my mom went to weavers guild, and we cooked lasagna for dinner. My mom took us to a beach to look at stars, and Heidi and I sat around outside trying to see more meteors. The brilliance of the moon seemed to thwart us, though.
Thurs:
On Thursday we let Becky ride in the morning, and then we went to the Highland Village. The Highland Village is a historical reconstruction giving some of the history of Cape Breton. It is also a factor in preserving the traditions and cultures of the scottish people. It was interesting to walk around. The view of the water was absolute incredible, and really made me want to be on the water. I was not sure how to effect a sea kayaking trip, though.
Then we went to a dance, but Heidi and I were to shy to go in, so we mostly wandered around outside and looked at stars. While stars are cool, i think next time i either need to not go, or actually go in.
Made me think that we need to do some dancing out here though... perhaps the time is nearing for those ballroom lessons.
Fri:
On Friday we ditched Becky at the barn. Then we had planned on much more hiking. It seemed to take forever to get started. Finally, though, we did hike the skyline trail. I remember this trail from before (partly with the help of a picture my parents have on their wall...), and it was glorious. It goes out along a ridge, to a seaside cliff. The whole trail was beautiful, and the terminus was incredible. From up there we did some whale watching, and even saw a moose curled up in the trees. The air was so clear, and we hung out and ate lunch for a while.
On the trail we kept passing three guys, who were very friendly and pointed things out to us. They hiked faster than us, so they would pass us by. Eventually we would catch up with them while they were huddled at the side of the trail watching something incredible, which is how we saw two other moose quite close up. The guys were quite cute, especially when they were lined up peering around a tree trying to get a glimpse of a big bull moose in the clearning.
Then we drove around the northern end of the island. This was really too long a drive, but we did get to see some glorious sites, including sticking our toes into the Atlantic Ocean.
Sadly, as we arrived at Syndey to pick up my dad at the airport, my cell phone finally worked, and we found out he wouldn't be coming in. NOt only was the a huge disapointment, but it also meant we'd driven that far for no reason, would have to do it again, and it upset my mom.
Sat: Actually, saturday was a bit of a bust. We were supposed to do a great long trail, but we ended up sitting around and waiting for my Dad to call with his itinerary. I did get some work done on the quilt, but, i'm afraid it wasn't really what H and i would have preferred to do.
The afternoon was good, as we went to a beach, looked for rocks, and did a short hike. (We hiked up onto a bluff - no people around, great view of the sea, cool trees and thistle, and a huge wind.)
The evening was spent driving to Sydney to get my dad, which was too much driving.
Sun: On Sunday we woke up late, as we were all really tired by the end of Sat. We went up to Cheticamp for a birthday lunch at La Gabrielle. We were supposed to get lobster to appreciat the east coast, but chickened out of all the work, and got other seafood instead. Food was good, fun was had.
Then we went to a concert in Mabou. The concert was pretty good, although rain threatened the entire time. It was sort of an open mike with music and dancing pieces, and was enjoyable.
Heidi and I took one last run to the beach to view the stars. The beach was VERY dark, and a bit eerie, but beautiful. Mostly the stars were covered by clouds, but we stuck our toes in the warm waves, and ran away from the encroaching tide. I'm glad we went.
ON the way home my gas light went on, and my dad went to get us gas, which was quite a production. I still feel bad that he did that, but i'm quite thankful that he did.
I'd finished the hanging piece on my quilt, so my mom hung it up and took pictures.
We had more slumber party, and talked about home improvement.
Mon: We got up at 4am, to drive to the airport. Actually, the drive was not at all bad. We moved quickly, and it was peaceful early in the morning. We had some rain, which both H and i enjoyed. We got to the airport so quickly that we missed the exit for a supermarket.
During our layover in Newark, we took a shuttle in the NYC, and met my grandmother for lunch at Ollie's. I was thrilled to do this. H was excited to see NYC, which made me really happy. Lunch was good, and i got to hug my grandmother. We really wanted to stay longer, especially as we had no time to go and see any sites. I want to show H Central Park. I wanted to go to my friends' offices and surprise them. But, it worked out surprisingly well, and i'm glad we did it.
We got in a whole hour early, and were met by our very sweet boys. Josh had made dinner AND cleaned the house, which is more than i can possibly express my thankfullness for.
* Doing innumerable crossword puzzles with Heidi, and occasional input from others.
* spending quality time with my family, and seeing them smile.
* meeting Becky's horse, if only to see her pleasure.
* ocean, water, trees.
* open space, and no highway sounds.
* hanging out in the kitchen with Heidi.
* seeing tons of wild flowers, trees, animals
* the exhilaration of learning and travel.
* Not enough vegetables and too many bug bites.
* too much driving, and sitting with my knees bent.
* not enough hiking.
* not enough time.
I guess this should be 'the Ugly', but i prefer this way:
* A clear night of stars viewed from a peaceful location.
* slumber parties for a week.
* Family and friends who love you.
* a house cleaned by the man who you love.
* falling asleep with my arms around Josh.
*I rode my bike to work this morning, and will get to ride to quiz night in Freemont this evening.
*My stuff from Lockheed hasn't come yet, which is somewhat nice in that i can continue to play with things at work, which is what has made work 80 times more enjoyable recently.
*We have a lot of stuff coming up - visits from Josh's sister, and Mark Jense (!!! wheee), and H&Cs wedding. I also have many things i want to do - stuff to get the house into shape, personal projects, etc. etc. It is somewhat fun to think about it all, and plan, and hopefully get to do everything.
I want to grow thistle in my yard.
NPR was just playing some Guided By Voices. It makes me want to listen to more. Perhaps it is time to dig out my GbV cd?
I finally got some email and letters i've been expecting, which made me happy. Now i have to make sure i do my part and write to the people i've been thinking of.
But, first, its probably about time to do some work today!
Tues: got up early and flew to the east coast. The flight went through Newark. H got to see the Statue of Liberty, from a great distance above the city. Had to drive from Halifax to my parents house, which turned out to be a much longer drive (~4 hrs) than i had anticipated.
Highlights of the drive included donuts from Tim Horton's in Antigonish, seeing Mars, and catching glimpses of meteors.
Wed: On Wednesday we first went and watched Becky ride her newly purchased horse, Trausti. We then did a couple of hikes - Benji's Lake and the Bog trail. Benji's lake was an easy jaunt over the highlands to a dock on a lake side. When we got to the lake a Moose was hanging out on the edge. Later it went swimming in the lake, and we watched it for ever. It was really peaceful to sit by the side of the lake, hearing no civilization encroaching, and observing the moose.
The Bog Trail is a short board walk with interpretive signs. I had remembered it from before, and thought it would be interesting. It was good.
um... in the evening my mom went to weavers guild, and we cooked lasagna for dinner. My mom took us to a beach to look at stars, and Heidi and I sat around outside trying to see more meteors. The brilliance of the moon seemed to thwart us, though.
Thurs:
On Thursday we let Becky ride in the morning, and then we went to the Highland Village. The Highland Village is a historical reconstruction giving some of the history of Cape Breton. It is also a factor in preserving the traditions and cultures of the scottish people. It was interesting to walk around. The view of the water was absolute incredible, and really made me want to be on the water. I was not sure how to effect a sea kayaking trip, though.
Then we went to a dance, but Heidi and I were to shy to go in, so we mostly wandered around outside and looked at stars. While stars are cool, i think next time i either need to not go, or actually go in.
Made me think that we need to do some dancing out here though... perhaps the time is nearing for those ballroom lessons.
Fri:
On Friday we ditched Becky at the barn. Then we had planned on much more hiking. It seemed to take forever to get started. Finally, though, we did hike the skyline trail. I remember this trail from before (partly with the help of a picture my parents have on their wall...), and it was glorious. It goes out along a ridge, to a seaside cliff. The whole trail was beautiful, and the terminus was incredible. From up there we did some whale watching, and even saw a moose curled up in the trees. The air was so clear, and we hung out and ate lunch for a while.
On the trail we kept passing three guys, who were very friendly and pointed things out to us. They hiked faster than us, so they would pass us by. Eventually we would catch up with them while they were huddled at the side of the trail watching something incredible, which is how we saw two other moose quite close up. The guys were quite cute, especially when they were lined up peering around a tree trying to get a glimpse of a big bull moose in the clearning.
Then we drove around the northern end of the island. This was really too long a drive, but we did get to see some glorious sites, including sticking our toes into the Atlantic Ocean.
Sadly, as we arrived at Syndey to pick up my dad at the airport, my cell phone finally worked, and we found out he wouldn't be coming in. NOt only was the a huge disapointment, but it also meant we'd driven that far for no reason, would have to do it again, and it upset my mom.
Sat: Actually, saturday was a bit of a bust. We were supposed to do a great long trail, but we ended up sitting around and waiting for my Dad to call with his itinerary. I did get some work done on the quilt, but, i'm afraid it wasn't really what H and i would have preferred to do.
The afternoon was good, as we went to a beach, looked for rocks, and did a short hike. (We hiked up onto a bluff - no people around, great view of the sea, cool trees and thistle, and a huge wind.)
The evening was spent driving to Sydney to get my dad, which was too much driving.
Sun: On Sunday we woke up late, as we were all really tired by the end of Sat. We went up to Cheticamp for a birthday lunch at La Gabrielle. We were supposed to get lobster to appreciat the east coast, but chickened out of all the work, and got other seafood instead. Food was good, fun was had.
Then we went to a concert in Mabou. The concert was pretty good, although rain threatened the entire time. It was sort of an open mike with music and dancing pieces, and was enjoyable.
Heidi and I took one last run to the beach to view the stars. The beach was VERY dark, and a bit eerie, but beautiful. Mostly the stars were covered by clouds, but we stuck our toes in the warm waves, and ran away from the encroaching tide. I'm glad we went.
ON the way home my gas light went on, and my dad went to get us gas, which was quite a production. I still feel bad that he did that, but i'm quite thankful that he did.
I'd finished the hanging piece on my quilt, so my mom hung it up and took pictures.
We had more slumber party, and talked about home improvement.
Mon: We got up at 4am, to drive to the airport. Actually, the drive was not at all bad. We moved quickly, and it was peaceful early in the morning. We had some rain, which both H and i enjoyed. We got to the airport so quickly that we missed the exit for a supermarket.
During our layover in Newark, we took a shuttle in the NYC, and met my grandmother for lunch at Ollie's. I was thrilled to do this. H was excited to see NYC, which made me really happy. Lunch was good, and i got to hug my grandmother. We really wanted to stay longer, especially as we had no time to go and see any sites. I want to show H Central Park. I wanted to go to my friends' offices and surprise them. But, it worked out surprisingly well, and i'm glad we did it.
We got in a whole hour early, and were met by our very sweet boys. Josh had made dinner AND cleaned the house, which is more than i can possibly express my thankfullness for.
* Doing innumerable crossword puzzles with Heidi, and occasional input from others.
* spending quality time with my family, and seeing them smile.
* meeting Becky's horse, if only to see her pleasure.
* ocean, water, trees.
* open space, and no highway sounds.
* hanging out in the kitchen with Heidi.
* seeing tons of wild flowers, trees, animals
* the exhilaration of learning and travel.
* Not enough vegetables and too many bug bites.
* too much driving, and sitting with my knees bent.
* not enough hiking.
* not enough time.
I guess this should be 'the Ugly', but i prefer this way:
* A clear night of stars viewed from a peaceful location.
* slumber parties for a week.
* Family and friends who love you.
* a house cleaned by the man who you love.
* falling asleep with my arms around Josh.
*I rode my bike to work this morning, and will get to ride to quiz night in Freemont this evening.
*My stuff from Lockheed hasn't come yet, which is somewhat nice in that i can continue to play with things at work, which is what has made work 80 times more enjoyable recently.
*We have a lot of stuff coming up - visits from Josh's sister, and Mark Jense (!!! wheee), and H&Cs wedding. I also have many things i want to do - stuff to get the house into shape, personal projects, etc. etc. It is somewhat fun to think about it all, and plan, and hopefully get to do everything.
I want to grow thistle in my yard.
NPR was just playing some Guided By Voices. It makes me want to listen to more. Perhaps it is time to dig out my GbV cd?
I finally got some email and letters i've been expecting, which made me happy. Now i have to make sure i do my part and write to the people i've been thinking of.
But, first, its probably about time to do some work today!
