After Alma, we began our trip to Halifax, stopping first at Hopewell Rocks in The Rocks Provincial Park. So cool. We hiked down to the beach and wandered around during low, low tide. I spent the whole time staring at the rocks, trying to figure out the patterns of weathering and how high the tide goes without consulting any of the signs in the visitors center.
I'm a nerd.
We drove into Nova Scotia and made it to Halifax by late afternoon. Our hostel was an old building, conveniently located across the street from another old building that housed a restaurant and bar. We had some really great food and Amanda and I had some really great beer from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Quebec.
Meanwhile, Mike had an interview for a teaching job in Arizona.
After dinner we decided to walk around the city, which really resulted in us wandering down the waterfront, taking pictures and acting ridiculous (surprise, surprise). There were a few large sculptures and anchors that we thought it was necessary to climb on, and the sunset was gorgeous. We went back to the same place for dessert and beer before unloading the car and turning in. We had left our wet shoes on the hood of the car to dry a little more (and stop making the car smell awful) as a social experiment, figuring if someone stole our worn out, soaking wet, nasty smelling shoes, they really, REALLY needed them more than we did. Well, apparently no one in Halifax was that desperate for shoes.
Around midnight Mari-time (11PM Eastern time, 8PM Pacific time), we received word: Mike got the job. Yay! Except that means he has to leave on Friday, at least two and a half days before I get home from Canada. While that is excessively unfortunate, let's focus on the yay job part! Congratulations, Mike.
This morning, we visited the Citadel in Halifax, a historic naval base. It was interesting to read a bit about the War of 1812 from another perspective... beautiful structure, interesting to wander through some of the creepy passages and look over the ramparts.
We took a creative route to Prince Edward Island, stopping in Stewiacke for a picnic lunch and a picture with a huge statue of a mastadon. The ferry was huuuuuuuuge. Thankfully, despite 50% of us being the carsickest people I've ever met, we didn't have too much trouble on the boat. It was a gorgeous day for a ride across the Northumberland Strait.
The drive into Prince Edward Island was interesting. Guess I should have review my Eastern North America notes, because somehow I was surprised by the myriad of agriculture happening around us. It may also just have been seeing things that I just associate with much different scenery-- corn, soy, wheat, other things that I see growing at home, or associate with the midwest, where the windbreaks are not spruce trees and they don't grow right next to the beach. Very pretty and peaceful here though, and I always enjoy a nice drive through farm country.
We watched the sun set on Brackley Beach in Prince Edward Island National Park, where I would learn what sand fleas are.
...
We are now settled into our enormous lighthouse suite. Seriously, there are multiple rooms and floors. If you are logged into facebook, and friends with me, you should be able to view our tour video:
And, in case you were wondering what the dancing was about, we did seriously spend our evening learning this (although we improvised some of the crazy foot work, especially at the end).
Tree of the day: Red Oak, the provincial tree of Prince Edward Island, as well as the state tree of New Jersey (more specifically the Northern Red Oak, one of many red oak varieties in NJ but the only one that grows this far north, according to my tree book and eyes)
Next up: Fredericton, New Brunswick, via Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and the Confederation Bridge, and giant lobster, rooster and magnet statues
26 July 2012
24 July 2012
Epilogue for Alma
I am overjoyed to be wearing dry clothes for the first time today.
We did go to Alma Beach, where the tide was pretty much right up to the deck where I took my first picture of the water further away than I could see. Mind boggling. Looking forward to sharing pictures. While Jamie and Katie went swimming, Amanda and I went to some of the places we visited in the morning to get shots of the high tide.We also visited our campsite to figure out just how bad the situation is... it's bad. We imagine the cleanup tomorrow morning will be pretty comical. We plan to wear bathing suits.
Seafood dinner at one of the little places in Alma. JAK seemed pretty pleased with their various forms of fish and lobster. I was pleased enough with my sexy iceberg salad (seriously, that's what it was called on the menu) and Katie's french fries. After dinner, Amanda and I made ourselves at home in the Village Laundromat, enjoying beers while our laundry washed (and more importantly, dried). I discovered late in the day that my suitcase did not fare as well as I'd thought; everything seemed dry when I rescued it from our flooded tent, but it turns out the jeans at the bottom had absorbed a lot of the water and slowly soaked everything else over the course of the afternoon. Thankfully I noticed this before dinner, and thankfully there was a laundromat in this tiny town.
And so, I sit here in my warm, dry pajama pants with warm, dry socks on, winding down for bed. We're all just kind of hanging out. It ended up being a really great day despite the weather plotting to ruin things for us. It's kind of a good thing that we all adore each other. I'm very fortunate to have such great friends and travel partners.
We did go to Alma Beach, where the tide was pretty much right up to the deck where I took my first picture of the water further away than I could see. Mind boggling. Looking forward to sharing pictures. While Jamie and Katie went swimming, Amanda and I went to some of the places we visited in the morning to get shots of the high tide.We also visited our campsite to figure out just how bad the situation is... it's bad. We imagine the cleanup tomorrow morning will be pretty comical. We plan to wear bathing suits.
Seafood dinner at one of the little places in Alma. JAK seemed pretty pleased with their various forms of fish and lobster. I was pleased enough with my sexy iceberg salad (seriously, that's what it was called on the menu) and Katie's french fries. After dinner, Amanda and I made ourselves at home in the Village Laundromat, enjoying beers while our laundry washed (and more importantly, dried). I discovered late in the day that my suitcase did not fare as well as I'd thought; everything seemed dry when I rescued it from our flooded tent, but it turns out the jeans at the bottom had absorbed a lot of the water and slowly soaked everything else over the course of the afternoon. Thankfully I noticed this before dinner, and thankfully there was a laundromat in this tiny town.
And so, I sit here in my warm, dry pajama pants with warm, dry socks on, winding down for bed. We're all just kind of hanging out. It ended up being a really great day despite the weather plotting to ruin things for us. It's kind of a good thing that we all adore each other. I'm very fortunate to have such great friends and travel partners.
Fundy
Dear Mom,
If I concede defeat and admit you were right, will you enjoy that feeling and get over it before I get home?
You were right. I was wrong. The tent leaks.
Love,
Colleen
After a pleasant morning and afternoon in Saint John, we drove to Fundy National Park, travelling via a road with a really creepy horse skelton statue. We sent up the tent and explored the park a little on our way into the nearby town of Alma for chocolate (we had marshmallows and graham crackers!). We decided on a chill evening-- campfire, a couple of beers, and a good night of sleep with the sound of the wind running through the spruce trees surrounding our little campsite.
Woke up early to search for moose. It was really, really overcast and the camp office had posted a weather report of 90% probability of precipitation. We decided to hope for the best and head out hiking anyway. We did three short trails: one called Caribou Plain, through some wetlands and peat bogs (no moose, though we hear it's a popular place for them to hang out), one along Dickson Falls (totally lovely, despite a LOT of stairs), and Shiphaven, which was along the Point Wolfe River with coastal views... that were largely obstructed by the heavy rains. By then we were all soaked, so we just kept going.
We decided to check on our campsite since we were nearby, and lo and behold, bad news, my sleeping bag was UNDER WATER, as I had slept at the bottom of the slight incline we parked the tent on in the first place. Everyone's things were soaked. We decided to go visit the low tide at Alma Beach and find a cafe in town to regroup and book a hotel.
I feel really silly for wimping out of camping in poor weather, but we don't really have any other option.
The beach was really cool. The tide was really, really far out so we walked down on the beach, which is covered in rocks of all colors, shapes and sizes. Can't wait to see it again at high tide, which is in about fifteen minutes.
We spent some time warming up in a little cafe, where we sorted out the hotel situation. We couldn't get into our room for at least half an hour, so to kill time we went searching for the "neaby" lighthouse at Cape Enrage. Terrible car ride, but lovely scenery. We've just been hanging out the rest of the afternoon, reading and napping. Right now we're gearing up to visit Alma Beach again for high tide (about ten minutes from now, about a ten second drive from here) and then visiting a heated salt water pool in the park that's apparently on the edge of a cliff or something pretty sounding like that. It's still rather misty out, but we're glad to do something.
Tent reconnaissance is scheduled for tomorrow morning since it can't really get any wetter.
Tree of the yesterday: red spruce
Beer of the yesterday: Rickard's Dark, a porter-style beer with a slight maple syrup aftertaste
Tree of today: Hemlocks, which I'm going to miss when the wooly adelgid totally wipes them off the face of the east coast in the coming years
Tomorrow: Halifax, Nova Scotia!
If I concede defeat and admit you were right, will you enjoy that feeling and get over it before I get home?
You were right. I was wrong. The tent leaks.
Love,
Colleen
After a pleasant morning and afternoon in Saint John, we drove to Fundy National Park, travelling via a road with a really creepy horse skelton statue. We sent up the tent and explored the park a little on our way into the nearby town of Alma for chocolate (we had marshmallows and graham crackers!). We decided on a chill evening-- campfire, a couple of beers, and a good night of sleep with the sound of the wind running through the spruce trees surrounding our little campsite.
Woke up early to search for moose. It was really, really overcast and the camp office had posted a weather report of 90% probability of precipitation. We decided to hope for the best and head out hiking anyway. We did three short trails: one called Caribou Plain, through some wetlands and peat bogs (no moose, though we hear it's a popular place for them to hang out), one along Dickson Falls (totally lovely, despite a LOT of stairs), and Shiphaven, which was along the Point Wolfe River with coastal views... that were largely obstructed by the heavy rains. By then we were all soaked, so we just kept going.
We decided to check on our campsite since we were nearby, and lo and behold, bad news, my sleeping bag was UNDER WATER, as I had slept at the bottom of the slight incline we parked the tent on in the first place. Everyone's things were soaked. We decided to go visit the low tide at Alma Beach and find a cafe in town to regroup and book a hotel.
I feel really silly for wimping out of camping in poor weather, but we don't really have any other option.
The beach was really cool. The tide was really, really far out so we walked down on the beach, which is covered in rocks of all colors, shapes and sizes. Can't wait to see it again at high tide, which is in about fifteen minutes.
We spent some time warming up in a little cafe, where we sorted out the hotel situation. We couldn't get into our room for at least half an hour, so to kill time we went searching for the "neaby" lighthouse at Cape Enrage. Terrible car ride, but lovely scenery. We've just been hanging out the rest of the afternoon, reading and napping. Right now we're gearing up to visit Alma Beach again for high tide (about ten minutes from now, about a ten second drive from here) and then visiting a heated salt water pool in the park that's apparently on the edge of a cliff or something pretty sounding like that. It's still rather misty out, but we're glad to do something.
Tent reconnaissance is scheduled for tomorrow morning since it can't really get any wetter.
Tree of the yesterday: red spruce
Beer of the yesterday: Rickard's Dark, a porter-style beer with a slight maple syrup aftertaste
Tree of today: Hemlocks, which I'm going to miss when the wooly adelgid totally wipes them off the face of the east coast in the coming years
Tomorrow: Halifax, Nova Scotia!
22 July 2012
Mari-time travel
I always knew that Newfoundland is half an hour ahead, in its own time zone... I just didn't know that it was half an hour ahead of the hour ahead that the rest of Maritime Canada is... meaning, it's 10:30 here while our brains are on 9:30. We didn't notice this till after dinner.
Aside from time travel, it's been a pretty laid back day. We drove almost exclusively on Route 1 from Portland, Maine to Saint Stephen, New Brunswick. Long drive, but really lovely. Maine this time of year can pretty much be summer up as blueberries, antiques and trees. Lots of adorable towns, lots of pretty views of bays, lots of seagulls.
No moose. YET.
We have arrived safely in Saint John, New Brunswick after a very exciting border crossing at Saint Stephen. I mean, mostly it was me just being really excited to be back in Canada, because I think this country is great and could see nothing but trees past the border station. Also, the border patrolman was very nice and stamped our passports, which was not the case traveling back and forth between Walpole Island, Ontario and Algonac, Michigan (which I have yet to tell you about, but aside from those being neat places, it was very disappointing that the border patrol REFUSED to stamp our passports, claiming that they don't do that for land crossings anymore. More on this another time, right now I'm excited that I did get a nice new stamp today).
We just returned from dinner at this great brewpub in the Uptown district of Saint John called Big Tide Brewing Company. We took a short stroll and saw some beautiful old buildings, and took a short drive and spent some time staring at the Reversing Falls, where the Saint John Harbour/Bay of Fundy meet the Saint John and Kennebecasis Rivers/Grand Bay and it's just madness.
Tree of the day: For lunch we stopped at a delicious Mexican restaurant on Route 1 somewhere near Northport, Maine. We ate on the deck out back, and enjoyed the gorgeous weather and the glorious shade provided by a very nice White Ash tree.
Beer of the day: Seaworthy IPA from Big Tide Brewing
Tomorrow: more time wandering around Saint John, and ultimately ending up camping in Fundy National Park.
Aside from time travel, it's been a pretty laid back day. We drove almost exclusively on Route 1 from Portland, Maine to Saint Stephen, New Brunswick. Long drive, but really lovely. Maine this time of year can pretty much be summer up as blueberries, antiques and trees. Lots of adorable towns, lots of pretty views of bays, lots of seagulls.
No moose. YET.
We have arrived safely in Saint John, New Brunswick after a very exciting border crossing at Saint Stephen. I mean, mostly it was me just being really excited to be back in Canada, because I think this country is great and could see nothing but trees past the border station. Also, the border patrolman was very nice and stamped our passports, which was not the case traveling back and forth between Walpole Island, Ontario and Algonac, Michigan (which I have yet to tell you about, but aside from those being neat places, it was very disappointing that the border patrol REFUSED to stamp our passports, claiming that they don't do that for land crossings anymore. More on this another time, right now I'm excited that I did get a nice new stamp today).
We just returned from dinner at this great brewpub in the Uptown district of Saint John called Big Tide Brewing Company. We took a short stroll and saw some beautiful old buildings, and took a short drive and spent some time staring at the Reversing Falls, where the Saint John Harbour/Bay of Fundy meet the Saint John and Kennebecasis Rivers/Grand Bay and it's just madness.
Tree of the day: For lunch we stopped at a delicious Mexican restaurant on Route 1 somewhere near Northport, Maine. We ate on the deck out back, and enjoyed the gorgeous weather and the glorious shade provided by a very nice White Ash tree.
Beer of the day: Seaworthy IPA from Big Tide Brewing
Tomorrow: more time wandering around Saint John, and ultimately ending up camping in Fundy National Park.
21 July 2012
It's Mari-time!
I couldn't resist.
Bags packed (record turnaround of arriving home from the Outer Banks at 2AM, sleeping, doing laundry, packing, showering and ready and antsy to get going). Totally stoked to be traveling with the amazing JACK again. Canada and the Lighthouse Challenges (though one lacked a vowel) have been really great experiences and I'm thrilled to be spending a few days straight with some of the best girls I know.
Things I'm most excited for, in no real order--
Bags packed (record turnaround of arriving home from the Outer Banks at 2AM, sleeping, doing laundry, packing, showering and ready and antsy to get going). Totally stoked to be traveling with the amazing JACK again. Canada and the Lighthouse Challenges (though one lacked a vowel) have been really great experiences and I'm thrilled to be spending a few days straight with some of the best girls I know.
Things I'm most excited for, in no real order--
- Spending time together. It's been hard with Amanda living a state or two away, me being all over the place, grad schools and various other challenges. I'm really thankful that Jamie and Katie live so close but it can be challenging to coordinate.
- New Brunswick. I thought it would be hilarious whilst attending school in New Brunswick, NJ, to say "Hey, going to New Brunswick for the weekend!" and leaving the country. That never happened, but I'm still amused.
- Seeing stuff I learned in college in real life. Thanks Dawn Bowen.
- Finding a moose. It's going to happen.
- Seeing the joy on Katie's face as we stop at some of the big things in eastern Canada!
- Helping Jamie rack up some miles on her new car.
- Seeing Amanda for more than a day!
- CANADA!
- EVERYTHING!!!
18 July 2012
quick rundown
I promise more details in the not-so-distant future (August at the latest, when I return home from all of this awesome nonsense!)--
lots of things around Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Camden and Burlington counties with NRCS
San Francisco to Reno in early June, including but hardly limited to REDWOOD TREES!
to camp to help with staff check-in at the beginning of their training week
Irwin, PA with Jr. High mission trip
Walpole Island, ON with Sr. High mission trip
Duck, NC with the Hennessey clan
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island with JACK
and then I will be staying still for at least a while, as this fall I'm teaching for Rutgers at Brookdale and am also taking a position as an adjunct professor at William Paterson. I'll be taking a class online through a school in North Dakota, and then hopefully will prove myself eligible for a dream job of some sort and start a whole new adventure in 2013...?
lots of things around Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Camden and Burlington counties with NRCS
San Francisco to Reno in early June, including but hardly limited to REDWOOD TREES!
to camp to help with staff check-in at the beginning of their training week
Irwin, PA with Jr. High mission trip
Walpole Island, ON with Sr. High mission trip
Duck, NC with the Hennessey clan
New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island with JACK
and then I will be staying still for at least a while, as this fall I'm teaching for Rutgers at Brookdale and am also taking a position as an adjunct professor at William Paterson. I'll be taking a class online through a school in North Dakota, and then hopefully will prove myself eligible for a dream job of some sort and start a whole new adventure in 2013...?
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