Chaos Theory

So, although it all melted by today, it snowed yesterday. This didn’t thrill me too much, especially since it required me to haul snowsuits and winter boots out of the cupboard at 6:30 in the morning. However, there was one very excited person in this family.

For a good month Breanna has been waiting only semi-patiently for the snow to arrive. She was so ecstatic that I ended up taking outside before 10 am just so she could go and play. It wasn’t a ton of snow but it was enough for her to make snow angels, build a snow creature (it wasn’t quite enough for a snowman!), and generally have a ball.

I have to admit it wasn’t all bad. I suppose. At least it was pretty.

Okay fine, I lived. Just ask me how I feel about it by March.

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All this snow is a good way to get me to participate in the Best of 2009 Blog Challenge today. Every day there’s a theme and since I’ll be doing Holidailies like I generally do every December it will come in handy from time to time.

Today’s theme is “Trip. What was your best trip in 2009?” Well. Let me think about that. Ummm. Hmmm. Oh right. Duh, that would be our three week trip to Halifax.

I mean really. I got to attend my sister’s wedding, hang out with George’s cousin, and spent a lot of time looking at the ocean. The seafood was pretty good too.

Yes, I would definitely say that my trip to Halifax was by far the best trip I’ve taken in YEARS, let alone in 2009.

How about you?

(It should be stated for the record that looking at all of my photos of Halifax make my heart ache.)

I was in Halifax for three weeks. Originally we weren’t sure we could even go and I was considering the fact that I might have to fly out by myself, stay for three or four days so I could attend Amanda’s wedding, and then come back home. I wasn’t looking forward to flying alone and I was sad at the thought of George and the kids not being there with me (not to mention being sad about the whirlwind visit). Then it worked out, I took my work with me, and we got to spend three great weeks in a place that I love tremendously.

It wasn’t long enough but as far as getaways go, you can’t really ask for much more than that.

After the wedding we were very tired and just lazed around with Breanna napping and even I fell asleep beside her for 20 minutes. I was abruptly woken up by George who told me that it was the final day for a ride on Theodore the Tugboat, something we really wanted to do with the kids. After Sunday it was going from daily outings to weekends and we were due to leave on Wednesday so we had to rush to catch one of the last two rides out that day. It was crazy but we made it in time for the 3:30-4:30 outing and it was so worth it.

(That picture cracks me up because only George looks happy, but Hayley was just mid-blink while Breanna was temporarily nervous when we started to move; she was fine once we got going!)

He’s a rather pleasant looking guy isn’t he?

The whole trip takes an hour and a guide gives a history of the harbour and all the boats and whatnot in it. She does it in a way that is interesting for adults but still fun for the kids and they were all laughing. Hell, even I laughed a few times, like the time she warned us all to duck as we approached the MacDonald Bridge because Theodore had “bumped his head on it” last week, and the way she told us all to try to touch the bridge on the way back with the caveat to avoid sticky spots because people like to leave their chewed gum up there.

On Tuesday I had to pack everything up for our Wednesday morning departure but before I did that I asked George if we could go back to Point Pleasant Park one last time. I needed to see the harbour-turned-ocean once more before I could leave. And so we did, and as though we didn’t already have enough shells, we combed the beach for more, then we bought amazing fries and sat to eat them overlooking the water.

I wasn’t happy to be leaving on Wednesday but by 8:45 we were off, stopping quickly in Truro for breakfast at McDonald’s, and then we drove to Grand Falls, New Brunswick where we had decided to spend the night in a nice motel. The drive out had been too much for one person to deal with so stopping was a better idea. It was quite nice there, with comfortable beds, a nice standard of cleanliness, free continental breakfast, and a play area for kids which was nice after seven hours in a car.

We left at roughly the same time on Thursday. I don’t sleep well the first night in a strange place so I got very little sleep (and it was broken to boot) so I was too queasy to hang around for breakfast; George and I downed a coffee, the kids drank juice, and we took our muffins to eat in the car. The drive felt longer than it was, but we actually made excellent time, managing to avoid all traffic and arriving back in town before 3 pm. I hadn’t wanted to leave Halifax but by Thursday I just wanted to get the hell home already and it was good – or as good as it can be – to be home.

I had the best time in Halifax. It was the perfect blend of excursions, relaxing downtime, and fun. I’d say I’m hoping to do it again next year but frankly I’m hoping our next drive out will include a U-Haul trailer hitched to the back of the car as we journey off to our new Halifax home.

Keep your fingers crossed, okay?

We turned our time here in Halifax into a three-week vacation because we needed it, but the original reason we were coming out this way at all was because my sister was getting married. I don’t want to talk about it too much because it’s her story to tell more than mine, so she’ll eventually get the details up over on her blog when she gets a chance. But suffice it to say that the entire thing was beautiful – the bride, the ceremony, the reception, the love, the happiness, all of it.

I can’t wait to see all the other photos!

There are many reasons that I want to move to Halifax. The Maritimes are a friendly place to live; people talk to you and acknowledge you on the street, unlike Montreal where most people try to avoid even eye contact. The seafood alone is a good reason to move out this way. It’s still a city but it’s smaller. It feels like a community. Between my sister and George’s cousin and aunt, we have family out here which makes it less scary than it would be to move to a random place. But I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that the ocean is a big part of it too. Even if we didn’t live right beside the ocean, just knowing that it’s there would be enough. I blame my sign. I’m a Cancer, I’m a water sign, and I’ve been too land-locked in Montreal. And for me, the mountains out West are gorgeous but there’s nothing like the Atlantic for me.

A visit to Lawrencetown Beach.

The nice thing about our vacation is that it’s so extended. When you only have one week to be somewhere on vacation there’s a little bit of an urgency where you want – need – to do as much as you can in order to make the most of it. It’s fun of course, but it can be especially tiring as well. With three weeks to be here (dwindling down now though) we’ve been able to have a nice mix of going out to see and do things as well as just hanging out here and relaxing.

What he have gone out to do has been great though. For instance, one day we went downtown to check out the Discovery Center. It’s full of science fun for kids but what’s really nice about it is the fact that it was interesting for me as well. Obviously when you take your kids out it’s most important for it to be suitable and interesting for them, but when you can have fun as well, that’s always a bonus.

They both had a blast and it was cool to watch them learning and experimenting with things. We may go back again if there’s another rainy day ahead of us because it’s easy to pass a few hours. Too bad the parking meters only let you reserve an hour and a half at a time so that George ended up having to run out to refill it.

On Thursday we had a perfectly beautiful day. The skies were blue with very few clouds and the breeze was gentle. We hopped in the car after lunch and drove out to Peggy’s Cove. The last time I had been there was about ten years ago so I had almost forgotten how beautiful it is. Thanks to my camera I won’t make the mistake of forgetting ever again.

This photo from Peggy’s Cove is currently my wallpaper on my laptop so that I can always see the ocean:

There are a few more of them in the full set.

Needless to say we enjoyed the day.

Friday we had a BBQ and some friends came over. I quickly learned that I love Cranium. I’d seen the game and wanted one for years but we’ve never played board games with our friends before – I’m not sure any of them like to. It’s a lot of fun.

On Saturday we were invited over to my sister’s house for supper. It was weird to be there because I’d seen all the pictures before but had never been there in person. It’s strange to recognize something you’ve never seen for real before. It’s also the first time that I’ve ever been in a home that is hers because when she moved out of our parents’ place it was to move out here four years ago. Then again I went with Amanda to the store to get some dressing and realized it was the first time I’d ever been out driving with her ever. I don’t know why I never had before!

We had a nice afternoon there and a delicious supper. Neal grilled up some burgers and chicken for supper and Amanda had some mussels for appetizers, a big salad, and apple pie for dessert. It was a great time. It was unfortunate that Tropical Storm Danny was on its way up the coast when we left because we were pounded by heavy rain the whole way back to George’s cousin’s house and many of the highways around here have no lights so that was… an experience I’d rather not do again thanks very much.

The tropical storm wasn’t very scary in and of itself but strangely the winds seemed stronger than the ones for Hurricane Bill last week, at least in our area. I went to bed around 1:30 am and woke up in the middle of the night because the whole house was shaking. I’ve never experienced wind like that before. It wasn’t scary but it made it almost impossible for me to sleep for a few hours. At least it was entertaining.

Then I woke up this morning and the sun was shining – a totally beautiful day. I guess it’s true then, what they say about the Maritimes: If you don’t like the weather, just wait. It’ll change.

Very true indeed.