Visiting is fun... here's proof
So much stuff happened and so much traveling took place. Let's take a look at the week that was.
Tuesday
I started this day like any other Tuesday. Got up, showered, went into work. I left work at lunchtime and headed out to get Manda for our trip to get Kelly. It was a really warm, sunny day. The drive up was spent mainly talking and listening to music (Incredibad = Ka-blamo). We had to stop and wait at the Causeway for a boat to go through and again between Antigonish and New Glasgow for work on a bridge, but other than that, we made good timing. A quick stop in Truro for fuel and we were back on our way.
We got into Dartmouth and headed to the Mic Mac Mall. First stop... East Side Mario's (we were hungry). After we ate, we went through the mall to find a birthday present for a 3 year old that has everything. There wasn't anything really good at Toys R Us but there was this place called Scholar's Place that had some cool things. I won't spoil it in the event that my LJ is the most popular one in the world, but the kid should be happy with what he's getting. With a little more wandering around, we left the Mic Mac.
Next stop, finding a decently priced hotel. Holiday Inn... not decently priced at all. We headed to the Futures Inn in Bayers Lake and found out the price there. While deciding whether or not we'd stay there, we went to Pets Unlimited in Bayers Lake. This was highlighted by the idiot guy that didn't know anything. We left there and decided that we're probably not going to find a better priced place to go, so we went back and checked in to the Futures Inn. After checking out the room and trying to call Kelly, we headed to the movies and went to see You, Me, and Dupree. It was funny, but I still hate Owen Wilson. Back to the hotel and watched some CSI and Futurama.
Wednesday
We got up early enough to get ready and get Kelly in Fall River at 8:30am. It didn't take long to get there because we were right on the highway that lead straight there. When we arrived, Kelly was in the lobby and took us up to the room where her and her dad were staying. She was just finishing re-packing and her dad went down to check-out. We loaded up my car and her dad went in his rental to the airport for his flight. We were then off. With no reason to head back into Halifax, we headed for home. We made a stop at the Tim Horton's in Elmdale for breakfast. As we were leaving, some old guy in the line-up made a comment about enjoying the view. Kelly looked back at me as if to ask and I said I thought that's what he said. Ah creepy old men. :P
Next stop was between New Glasgow and Antigonish (not for the construction... though we did have to stop there) for a quick swim at a waterfall with some pools of water. The girls went in and up the waterfall where an old guy was watching the fish jump up the falls. While up there, Manda got a leech on her and the old guy pulled it off and helped Kelly get down without having to go in the water. The rest of the trip was spent listening to more music and hearing more tales of the camp in Florida.
We got back to Manda's and hung out for a while. Manda's mom made a big turkey dinner for us and Scott and Christine. After dinner, we went to get some ice cream and take a tour of the New Waterford area. While on the tour, Scott's mom called because his sister missed her flight to BC and it needed straightening out. After that, we went on a tour of the Glace Bay area and then off to Scott's house for a bit. After that, we went back to Manda's and I drove Christine home.
Thursday
Went to work. Came home. Took a nap. Woke up. The phone rang. I met Manda, Kelly, Scott, and Christine at the Dollar Store in town before we headed to Sangaree. We walked around the island there and had a campfire. Plans were finalized for the weekend and we watched Clio dig for treasure.
Friday
Went to work. Came home. Packed my bag. Went and picked up Christine and we headed out to Sangaree after confirming that we were still going out there. When we arrived, the guy at the gate said we were expected (and we didn't end up having to pay even though we were prepared to). Manda and Kelly we're canoeing around one of the islands. When they got back, we heated up some pizza and garlic fingers. It was misty out when we got there, and it started to rain heavier as we were there. We then went into one of the trailers and played some Crazy 8 countdown and some crazy drinking game for the rest of the night. Christine got sick when we were done and it was hilarious (but you had to be there). We then split off and went to bed for the night.
Saturday
It was (plesantly) surprisingly nice out when we woke up. We all got ready to go around the Cabot Trail (except for Scott because he had a wedding). We cleaned our mess and packed my car and we were off.
Of course, we passed the Lick-A-Chick and it was about here that I realized that I didn't have any tickets for the Englishtown Ferry. Got to the ferry and saw that it was $5 (I remember the good ol' days when it was $0.50). Got into Ingonish and I decided not to go for the day pass. Drove up and around the Keltic Lodge and Highland Links, then a quick stop at Dino's to get something to drink before hitting Mary Ann Falls. The falls were nice, but I forgot how far back in the woods they were. We walked in down the bottom of the falls and as Kelly was getting out, she lost her flip-flop and it floated down the river. Manda and I tried to get it, but it got away.
Next stop was Black Brook. This was my favorite beach as a kid, but it's not as great as it used to be. Manda and Christine walked in a bit. A quick bathroom break and we were off. Continued around the Trail, bypassing Neil's Harbour and going through the Dingwall area. We got over North Mountain and stopped at the Lone Sheiling. We walked down to the Sheiling (I didn't take a nap this time) and around the path. We stopped at the river for a minute (which was apparently so cold it was painful). Then back to the car. As we were getting to the car, there was a park ranger guy with his ticket book out writing me up. I said we just stopped to use the restrooms and he started asking me a bunch of questions. I told him we were only passing through, where we were from, where we stayed last night, and where we were going. He didn't give me the ticket.
We just continued around the Trail and I stopped to get an orange juice in Cheticamp. We then went through Cheticamp and passed Whale Cove. We stopped in Dunvegan to go swimming. We then headed into Inverness to get food. Initially, we were going to get some Greco, but it was just an Express in a convenience store. We drove down a little further to the Tom Cat Bistro. It wasn't a bad place. The prices were a little high, but the food was pretty good. We continued along through Mabou, Port Hood, and into Port Hastings. We took route 5 back and stopped just outside of Baddeck for gas.
We got back to Manda's where we watched Se7en and Manda's mom made us some food. Then off to sleep for the early start tomorrow.
Sunday
I was up at 4:50am to get in the shower. We were all ready and on the road by 5:45am. We went and picked up Scott and Christine and left for Halifax. We stopped outside of Baddeck to fill up the tank and get something at the Tim Horton's. Another fairly uneventful drive, but the weather was better (on the way to Halifax) than was expected. We arrived at the airport with more than enough time for Kelly to check in and we wandered around the shops for a bit. Kelly went to go through security and we started our way back.
We stopped in Truro at Frank & Gino's for lunch. Again, it was really good. When we left, Manda asked if we would mind taking a detour so she could stop in and see one of her friends from camp. So we were driving around Truro and she mentioned that we were looking for Masstown Market. Fortunately, I knew where that was, and it wasn't in Truro. We got back on the highway and headed towards New Brunswick. Masstown Market wasn't far, and it was packed (because it's open and it was Sunday and there's nothing else to do in Nova Scotia on Sundays). She found her friend and talked for a few minutes. When we left, we headed to New Brunswick because they had Sunday shopping, and we didn't have anything else to do.
The weather was less nice on this part of the drive. We also got pretty low on gas and filled up sort of last minute. We got into Moncton and went to Champlain Place Mall. Manda and Christine went off on their way, and Scott and I went ours. After the designated hour, we found them and they said they needed another hour. :P Scott and I continued wandering around the mall. We found them at some store just as the mall was closing. It was nuts how many people were in the mall and how quickly it cleared out. When we left the mall, we went over to Chapters where I learned there's a tag on my pants that is supposed to be removed before wearing or washing that set off the alarm at Chapters (it was a huge tag too... I don't know how I missed it). After leaving Chapters, we went to Wendy's and McDonalds before heading home. The weather was marginally better for the drive back.
We got home around 11:30pm.
Tuesday
I started this day like any other Tuesday. Got up, showered, went into work. I left work at lunchtime and headed out to get Manda for our trip to get Kelly. It was a really warm, sunny day. The drive up was spent mainly talking and listening to music (Incredibad = Ka-blamo). We had to stop and wait at the Causeway for a boat to go through and again between Antigonish and New Glasgow for work on a bridge, but other than that, we made good timing. A quick stop in Truro for fuel and we were back on our way.
We got into Dartmouth and headed to the Mic Mac Mall. First stop... East Side Mario's (we were hungry). After we ate, we went through the mall to find a birthday present for a 3 year old that has everything. There wasn't anything really good at Toys R Us but there was this place called Scholar's Place that had some cool things. I won't spoil it in the event that my LJ is the most popular one in the world, but the kid should be happy with what he's getting. With a little more wandering around, we left the Mic Mac.
Next stop, finding a decently priced hotel. Holiday Inn... not decently priced at all. We headed to the Futures Inn in Bayers Lake and found out the price there. While deciding whether or not we'd stay there, we went to Pets Unlimited in Bayers Lake. This was highlighted by the idiot guy that didn't know anything. We left there and decided that we're probably not going to find a better priced place to go, so we went back and checked in to the Futures Inn. After checking out the room and trying to call Kelly, we headed to the movies and went to see You, Me, and Dupree. It was funny, but I still hate Owen Wilson. Back to the hotel and watched some CSI and Futurama.
Wednesday
We got up early enough to get ready and get Kelly in Fall River at 8:30am. It didn't take long to get there because we were right on the highway that lead straight there. When we arrived, Kelly was in the lobby and took us up to the room where her and her dad were staying. She was just finishing re-packing and her dad went down to check-out. We loaded up my car and her dad went in his rental to the airport for his flight. We were then off. With no reason to head back into Halifax, we headed for home. We made a stop at the Tim Horton's in Elmdale for breakfast. As we were leaving, some old guy in the line-up made a comment about enjoying the view. Kelly looked back at me as if to ask and I said I thought that's what he said. Ah creepy old men. :P
Next stop was between New Glasgow and Antigonish (not for the construction... though we did have to stop there) for a quick swim at a waterfall with some pools of water. The girls went in and up the waterfall where an old guy was watching the fish jump up the falls. While up there, Manda got a leech on her and the old guy pulled it off and helped Kelly get down without having to go in the water. The rest of the trip was spent listening to more music and hearing more tales of the camp in Florida.
We got back to Manda's and hung out for a while. Manda's mom made a big turkey dinner for us and Scott and Christine. After dinner, we went to get some ice cream and take a tour of the New Waterford area. While on the tour, Scott's mom called because his sister missed her flight to BC and it needed straightening out. After that, we went on a tour of the Glace Bay area and then off to Scott's house for a bit. After that, we went back to Manda's and I drove Christine home.
Thursday
Went to work. Came home. Took a nap. Woke up. The phone rang. I met Manda, Kelly, Scott, and Christine at the Dollar Store in town before we headed to Sangaree. We walked around the island there and had a campfire. Plans were finalized for the weekend and we watched Clio dig for treasure.
Friday
Went to work. Came home. Packed my bag. Went and picked up Christine and we headed out to Sangaree after confirming that we were still going out there. When we arrived, the guy at the gate said we were expected (and we didn't end up having to pay even though we were prepared to). Manda and Kelly we're canoeing around one of the islands. When they got back, we heated up some pizza and garlic fingers. It was misty out when we got there, and it started to rain heavier as we were there. We then went into one of the trailers and played some Crazy 8 countdown and some crazy drinking game for the rest of the night. Christine got sick when we were done and it was hilarious (but you had to be there). We then split off and went to bed for the night.
Saturday
It was (plesantly) surprisingly nice out when we woke up. We all got ready to go around the Cabot Trail (except for Scott because he had a wedding). We cleaned our mess and packed my car and we were off.
Of course, we passed the Lick-A-Chick and it was about here that I realized that I didn't have any tickets for the Englishtown Ferry. Got to the ferry and saw that it was $5 (I remember the good ol' days when it was $0.50). Got into Ingonish and I decided not to go for the day pass. Drove up and around the Keltic Lodge and Highland Links, then a quick stop at Dino's to get something to drink before hitting Mary Ann Falls. The falls were nice, but I forgot how far back in the woods they were. We walked in down the bottom of the falls and as Kelly was getting out, she lost her flip-flop and it floated down the river. Manda and I tried to get it, but it got away.
Next stop was Black Brook. This was my favorite beach as a kid, but it's not as great as it used to be. Manda and Christine walked in a bit. A quick bathroom break and we were off. Continued around the Trail, bypassing Neil's Harbour and going through the Dingwall area. We got over North Mountain and stopped at the Lone Sheiling. We walked down to the Sheiling (I didn't take a nap this time) and around the path. We stopped at the river for a minute (which was apparently so cold it was painful). Then back to the car. As we were getting to the car, there was a park ranger guy with his ticket book out writing me up. I said we just stopped to use the restrooms and he started asking me a bunch of questions. I told him we were only passing through, where we were from, where we stayed last night, and where we were going. He didn't give me the ticket.
We just continued around the Trail and I stopped to get an orange juice in Cheticamp. We then went through Cheticamp and passed Whale Cove. We stopped in Dunvegan to go swimming. We then headed into Inverness to get food. Initially, we were going to get some Greco, but it was just an Express in a convenience store. We drove down a little further to the Tom Cat Bistro. It wasn't a bad place. The prices were a little high, but the food was pretty good. We continued along through Mabou, Port Hood, and into Port Hastings. We took route 5 back and stopped just outside of Baddeck for gas.
We got back to Manda's where we watched Se7en and Manda's mom made us some food. Then off to sleep for the early start tomorrow.
Sunday
I was up at 4:50am to get in the shower. We were all ready and on the road by 5:45am. We went and picked up Scott and Christine and left for Halifax. We stopped outside of Baddeck to fill up the tank and get something at the Tim Horton's. Another fairly uneventful drive, but the weather was better (on the way to Halifax) than was expected. We arrived at the airport with more than enough time for Kelly to check in and we wandered around the shops for a bit. Kelly went to go through security and we started our way back.
We stopped in Truro at Frank & Gino's for lunch. Again, it was really good. When we left, Manda asked if we would mind taking a detour so she could stop in and see one of her friends from camp. So we were driving around Truro and she mentioned that we were looking for Masstown Market. Fortunately, I knew where that was, and it wasn't in Truro. We got back on the highway and headed towards New Brunswick. Masstown Market wasn't far, and it was packed (because it's open and it was Sunday and there's nothing else to do in Nova Scotia on Sundays). She found her friend and talked for a few minutes. When we left, we headed to New Brunswick because they had Sunday shopping, and we didn't have anything else to do.
The weather was less nice on this part of the drive. We also got pretty low on gas and filled up sort of last minute. We got into Moncton and went to Champlain Place Mall. Manda and Christine went off on their way, and Scott and I went ours. After the designated hour, we found them and they said they needed another hour. :P Scott and I continued wandering around the mall. We found them at some store just as the mall was closing. It was nuts how many people were in the mall and how quickly it cleared out. When we left the mall, we went over to Chapters where I learned there's a tag on my pants that is supposed to be removed before wearing or washing that set off the alarm at Chapters (it was a huge tag too... I don't know how I missed it). After leaving Chapters, we went to Wendy's and McDonalds before heading home. The weather was marginally better for the drive back.
We got home around 11:30pm.