Life in the fast lane

Our first night in Nova Scotia made us miss Newfoundland immensely. After getting off the long haul of a Ferry ( Connor & Ollie thinking they wouldn't need food on the 8 hour trip.) Starving, tired we went for dinner then headed to our free campsite that we found online. With the comments reading "Old campsite the city didn't want to take care of anymore, quiet and no problems from locals." We were excited for a much needed rest. It was a Friday night, and we rolled up and set up our tent, with lots of people who had vans and campers around us. The teenagers of Louisbourg was not going to let us get away so easily, people screeching their tires by our tent, yelling at us to get a campsite, and then they decided to bump it up a notch. Blaring the worst kind of country music, top volume from what seemed to be their family's boats in the harbor One by one the campers left, with them laughing and cheering and screaming "3 MORE TO GO!!." Stubbornly we were the last to get the heck out of dodge, straight to the closest good 'ol Walmart parking lot. From there we hit the famous Cabot Trail. We drove around Cape Breton on a rainy day, but stopped and did some hikes, mostly i didn't want to bring my camera as the drizzle never real ceased. The views of course jaw dropping, walking out onto cliff edges. With the wind blowing so hard, children were actually falling over. Feeling the power of the ocean tides and winds, jumping over puddles on the path, and hearing all the different bird songs. We saw mossy forests, waterfalls, boardwalks through tall grass and bogs, beach coves, swam in the saltwater swimming pool, ancient maple trees, the craziest winding roads, and a partridge in pear tree. 

From there we went to Halifax, we went to the museum and learned all there is to know about ships, the Halifax explosion and even the Titanic. Fun fact: Most of the people who died in the Titanic who weren’t identified or sent home to their families were buried in the Halifax cemetery. We learned our lesson bout cities at this point, on a road trip if there isn’t something you have planned to see or do its best to either do a big walk around and move on instead of forcing it and frustrating yourself. So it was hot, we came to see what we wanted to see and we moved on to some little unknown places on the south shore. To what quickly became one my favorite little spots. A little strip of land with the ocean and rocky beach on one side and marshes that are covered when the tide comes in on the other. We went for a swim and found a weird strip of bubbles that we played in for awhile, which the locals later informed us was methane coming through the rocks. We played Frisbee and had our first real wow moment as we really could see how quickly the tide was going out. Our shoes left at what was the crest of the water, splash around for awhile and look back and they are now way up the beach. I went to grab something from Saucy Jackson (our Mazda 3) and I stopped dead in my tracks. The light was gleaming through the marshes at perfect sunset hour, and up close and personal was a dazzling blue heron, one of my favorite creatures. The sunset was perfect, the morning such a treat to wake up too. It had a calmness about it that made you feel like time could stop there. 

 This was Oliver trying to find the leak in his air mattress. It didn't work out so well..

We went to so many beautiful little towns and beaches, going in and out of the local shops and then jumping into the water at heat of the day. Peggy’s cove, Mahone Bay, Lunenburg to name a few of the twinkling towns. Unfortunately, the last provinces were a tad rushed. With the boy’s tattoo appointments in New York looming closer and closer, we didn’t have much time to dilly dally. That being said, I am glad we didn’t get too crazy and took the time to relax before going back to the real world.  We did get to see the wild Bay of Fundy from both sides, those tides are so magical! After spending that amount of time with people, I am pleasantly surprised at how well we all got along. I am an introvert in the way of I need time to recharge in my personal space. Of course, there is no such thing when you live out of a car convoying with 3 boys. On one of the last days, Yoshi and I went on our own adventure into the Bay of Fundy National Park. It was a perfect hiking day, and I didn’t feel like such a brat when we met up with the boys later for dinner. We all didn’t realize until then, that it was our last camping night! We went to a man named Don’s land, he has a big FREE CAMPING sign on the fence, forcing people to screech to a halt and turn in all night. We were waiting to come across a place like this the whole trip. Often saying if you have land to spare for people to pitch a tent, why not? We walked over to this house and oddly found him laying down a jam playing elk bones. (?) He welcomed us and told us there would be lots of mosquitos, nice neighbours and to go find a spot in his field. Beside a graveyard that had been there since the 1700’s and some funny statues and an awesome home-made fireplace area, we set up camp. We met people from Nunavut, Germany, Toronto, and around. He said it was a different crew every night, and as we talked around the fire his old dog Sally coming by for pats and him announcing “Sally is my best friend.” I felt nostalgic and melancholy knowing that the adventure was such a memorable one and how special of a last spot we came across. We spent our last day in New Brunswick, walking around the muddy Hopewell Rocks at low tide. It was amazing seeing the ocean floor knowing 6 hours later it would be completely full of water and life again. We charged through Saint John, and headed over to America to give our cars a run for their money, and drive for 4 days across America. 

  People told us we were crazy for driving in New York city. I’ll be the first to say they were widely incorrect. Yoshi and Connor left early to get into Smith Street Parlour, it was time to drop a grand… or two. Ollie and I took our time and rolled In a few hours later, the whole time waiting for the crazy traffic jams and feeling eerie that we had no problems at all. Oh New York, one of those iconic places you think you know so much about, or at least you think you do. We walked 25K’s that day, through pouring rain of course most of the day. Through Brooklyn and Williamsburg grabbing a slice of mouth watering thin slice ‘za. We walked over the Brooklyn Bridge, getting excited as the city scapes got closer and closer. By the famous courthouse, Broadway we hit the hoards of people and fart and garbage smells. Then after what felt like years made it to Times Square, getting swept up and spit out again by the crowds, all senses going off like gunfire at the flashing lights. All until we saw the real “gunfire” everything stopped when we saw police marching around with Machine guns, and it reminded you where you are (to be honest freaked me right out.) After that, we went to Central Park, surrounded by amazing hotels, Juilliard, and museums. We stopped undercover and watched ducks, turtles and fish eat the gross scum on top of the pond, families coming and going and resting our feet in the weird silence of the park. We caught the Subway back to meet the boys, as they were inside the parlour for 10 hours. We went for my favorite Korean dish “Bibimbap.” In the fairy lights and laughter, I felt the magic of New York has that lures people in. The make it or break it city, with people coming and going from around the world. What New York lacked, Chicago compensated for with sunshine, street music, and flapper era buildings. 9 Provinces and 15 States, a 17-hour drive from Chicago to Saskatoon, the long haul was done and dusted. I am so thankful for the trip, there was so many challenges, so many changes that were made along the way, so many lessons learned. Somehow, we kept going, sometimes with all odds against us. I am so proud of all 4 of us, for growing in our own ways and having the most amazing summer we could have imagined. Thankyou to all the old friends we met along the way, and all the new ones we had the pleasure of making too. Canada isn’t perfect, nothing ever is. But I am so thankful to be from this diverse and amazing country that has such diverse people, land, and opportunities to offer. Thankyou to all my readers, I hope you enjoyed my horrible spelling and stories, another adventure to add to the memory bank.