Blah, BLah, BLOG
Sept 1-12/2017 Saying goodbye to family is never easy, but after a week of family bliss we must continue our cross-country journey as nights are getting colder and snowy days is not too far away. On our way to Ottawa, we booked into another AirBnb for 2 nights in Carlsbad Springs. What a pleasant stay it was! Our host was ever so kind and looked after Dudley while we headed into the city to visit the Canadian War Museum and check out the Byward Market Square. Oh the smells of fries, fudge and baked goods filled my nostrils with delight while all the arts and crafts was a colourful feast to my eyes. Markets are a great place to stimulate your desire for creativity, which I really had lost touch with for quite some time. I have to thank my sister in law Lee for helping me find my way back to art. While in Peterborough, we were sitting on the deck, she was painting different colours of maple leaves on her little travel art pad, while I aimlessly doodled on an old canvas I had. It didn’t matter that I wasn’t really creating anything special. What mattered was the time we shared, talking about art. I thought to myself, at our next opportunity to get to an arts store, I am going to buy some paper, pens and pencils. Back to Ottawa, as luck would have it, we were able to have a nice visit with our friends George and Shelley catching up with all the events in our lives. After 2 nights in Ottawa we headed east to Laval, Quebec. Our first sightseeing stop was on Mont Royal. As we stood on the lookout overlooking the city of Montreal, I couldn’t help but wonder what my parents were thinking when they first arrived in Montreal, immigrating to Canada in 1956. What an adventure it has been for them, like it is an adventure for Chris and I now. Canada is beautiful, diverse and abundant - I can see why my parents chose Canada as their new home. Speaking of which, we have to choose a place, but first, let's see more of country. Montreal is an exciting and beautiful city, lots of architecture of days gone by. As we walk through the old cobblestone streets, there stood in old Montreal, the Notre Dame Basilica chiming her bells on the 12th hour enticing me to come inside. Chris knew that I had the desire to see inside this magnificent iconic church. He walked up to the attendant and explained that I want to see inside the church and need assistance (Chris had to stay outside with Dudley). The attendant told Chris that all three of us could go into the church, even though he told her that Dudley was not a service dog. I couldn’t believe it! We walked inside and after several minutes of adjusting to the dim lighting, I saw just how magnificent it was - starting at the floors, with detailed tiles, the walls had carvings on the wooden panels, the rich colours of stain glass windows, intricately detailed columns to the cobalt blue celestial designs on the domed ceiling. I truly felt the loss of my parents and the loss of familial ties with my brothers. Chris and I lit a couple candles for all those we loved and lost and to those who are struggling, including Chris and myself. Hope is why we are here, it is that simple. We are born to hope, we live in hope and die for all we hope for. Onward to New Brunswick we stopped in Edmunston, it was a long day of driving, I can’t imagine for one minute that all this driving is difficult for Chris. We try to stop every couple of hours so it can a bit more comfortable, whilst it is not always ideal, but it is the best we can do with the circumstances. Edmunston reminded me of Port Alberni, once was productive, busy city that withered to a town that just keeps on. Papered windows showing its vacancies, streets looking unkempt while the pulp mill stacks in the background puffing away slowly like a pipe signal sending for help. You see some people standing on the side of the road talking to their neighbours about glory days, local gossip and gas prices (like all small towns do...only most here were speaking in French). I wonder what the rest of New Brunswick will be like? I booked our next AirBnb in Port Greville, Nova Scotia for 2 nights. We get up early, pack the car up readying for another long day of driving. Our first break was at Grand Falls, NB. We needed to get out and go for a walk, what better place to stop, to see the waterfall. After our little break, we drove on...the car droned on for miles and miles as we head further east, Port Greville was a long ways away. I think this was our longest drive yet. We finally pulled into the driveway of where we were to stay. The car bounced up and down, while the water jug sloshed and dishes clanged as we drove down the unpaved road on this dark rainy night. I had this vision in my head of us going to this place and never to return, like in a movie where suspense heightens as each minute passes and the hairs on your back starts to prickle. We see a little cottage in the corner all by itself waiting for us to enter. It was like a Venus Fly Trap waiting for us to come closer, waiting for us to be swallowed by its gaping hole. Okay, it is not like that really. It was a cute little vintage cottage welcoming us with lights showing us the way in. We enjoyed staying here, especially cooking meals in a kitchen and not eating in a restaurant. While staying in Port Greville, we explored in towns and parks such as Joggins Fossil Cliffs (part of the Bay of Fundy), Ottawa House by the Sea (park and beach), Bay of Fundy, FIve Islands Lighthouse Park, That Dutchman’s Cheese Farm and Parrsborro. While in Parrsborro, I picked up some art supplies. This time, I am going to try something new, ink pen drawings. Nova Scotia is a quaint, friendly and beautiful province. I love how it feels here. We have talked to so many people, wherever we stopped, for gas, groceries, parks and restaurants, people talked to us, and we enjoyed their stories as they enjoyed listening to ours. I have always heard about how friendly Atlantic Canada is. Well, it is true, the friendliest yet - I think it is a coastal thing. After a couple days stay in Port Greville, we head to our next destination Halifax/Dartmouth, NS. The drive to Halifax was magnificent, little communities lined the coast with adorable colourful houses on green pastures rolling alongside the coast, it was like a Norman Rockwell painting. Do you know why the houses are so tall with windows facing the ocean? I have been told they are Widow’s windows. Where the fisherman wives would go up to the top floor and watch and wait for their husbands to return from sea. Imagine those stormy nights while the wives anxiously waiting for their husbands return. Fog hauntingly forms ghostlike apparition hovering over their homes as if to protect them of what's to come. To pass the time, quilting feverishly, she looks out the window waiting for his return. What a hard life that must of been. Okay, back to reality, my imagination runs away sometimes (smiles) and find its way to another place, another time. Many years ago, I have seen a picture of a tall lighthouse sitting on rocks that looked like melted gray wax pooling and flowed into the sea. This place was Peggy’s Cove. Chris and I spent many hours at Peggy’s Cove, walking all over the rocks, crossing over cracks and crevices, listening to the waves crash as the sun sprinkles diamonds all over the water. It was such a beautiful place. It seems surreal sometimes when you see pictures of places you would love to see and finally years later you’re here. While visiting this quaint town, we decided to try a traditional meal that is popular in Atlantic Canada, that is the Lobster Roll. Not at all what I expected. I was thinking, hot lobster stuffed with something rich and saucy into a pastry roll. Uhm...no, it was just cold cooked rubbery lobster stuffed in an equally cold bun. Meh, I think I will leave this traditional dish right in Nova Scotia. I put that one down as ‘tried’ their iconic dish. Lobster rolls were EVERYWHERE, there was no escape from Lobsters here. Lobster stew, Lobster Roll, Lobster pizza, lobster, Lobster, LOBSTER! I swear I will never eat another lobster in my life. The next day we decided to explore downtown Halifax, so we walked along the waterfront, into the city and went inside the Parliament building. As we stood outside of the building, a security guard (named Chuck) came up to us and started to talk about the history of this old building and we were encouraged to go inside. Chuck looked after Dudley while we toured the Parliament building. Time and time again we experience the friendliness of Atlantic Canada. I can not believe how much I have seen in the last 7 weeks, Chris and I had planned to do this trip for several years and it is now happening, and in this journey, I bring my mom and dad with me, stored in my heart...creating memories. Onward and East we go...
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