The Stars Aligned

 We left Sydney yesterday and headed for Halifax.  What we didn't know when we started the trip was that Greg was in Halifax for a few days training for Drum Major.  Canada is finally going to have a pipe and Drum core in the military.  Greg and his buddies are creating the training program for future aspirants.

So, after we checked in to our hotel we headed to the Brown Hound Bar next door and enjoyed our Cape Breton beers while we waited for Greg.

He picked us up and took us to the Halifax waterfront.   It's a going concern, with lots of bars, restaurants and shops.

We joined his buddies at a Kitchen Party with 3 musicians and 2 Scottish dancers.

We also stopped at this memorial site for the tribute to the men and women sailors who were serving on the 70 Canadian warships that went down in the second world war and who took their last steps in Canada at this wharf.  A sobering moment!

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This morning we got moving early because Greg had gotten us envited to his welcoming ceremony from Nova Scotia's Lieutenant-Governor at Government House.  

That's the Lieutenant-Governor in the middle and Greg in Blue to the right.

A very proud mama!

And I got into the act as well, on the grand staircase of Government House.

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After we left Greg we headed to Peggy's Cove. where this guy was performing on the alphorn.

And we spent some time in the village checking out the shops.  It's a very pretty place.

Next up, we headed to the SwissAir Memorial for the plane that went down just offshore in 1998.   Always a moving experience to be there.

And then, on to Mahone By, a most beautiful view as the four church spires (United, Anglican, Lutheran and Baptist) come into view.

A glass of wine on a bar balcony and then it was back to Peggy's Cove and our home for the night.  Took time for a relaxing drink as we enjoyed the moment.

What an incredible vacation this has been!  Not only enjoying the places we planned to see, but the special moments with Greg that came totally unexpected.

Our visit to Lunenburg tomorrow may be diminished by rain, but I'm sure that we'll make the most of it.

Life is good.  Very good!

Stay well.

Trees, Rocks And Water

 Yesterday we planned to golf nine holes with friends of Kathy and Lorrie, but thunderstorms and a long afternoon period of rain changed our plans.  So we played cards instead.

I won at Skip-Bo, but Lorrie and I got our butts kicked at Jokers and Marbles (a good political move - happy wives, etc.).

Then we headed to Tracadie for dinner at Fin Folks Food.

This was our view.

This morning we said goodbye to our dear friends.  Our visit was more than we could have expected.  We saw things, and enjoyed meals that we would not have been able to do without the direction of Kathy and Lorrie.

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Tonight, after lots of trees, rocks and water, we're in Sydney, Nova Scotia in Cape Breton.  And enjoyed dinner at the hotel restaurant.  This is our harbour view from both the restaurant and from our room.

Since we arrived in P.E.I. my main meals have been either Lobster or Haddock.  And all have been delicious.  Tonight's Haddock and Herbed Potatoes included the best tasting cooked carrots I've ever eaten!  I'm totally spoiled!

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And the Blue Jays won again!  Yahoo!

Tomorrow we head to Halifax.

Stay well.

Down East

 So, after leaving Hopewell Cape we headed to P.E.I. across the Confederation Bridge.  Stopped for brunch at a Bakery/Diner and I ordered a Lobster Omelette - now I'm a downeaster.

We arrived at Lorrie's and Kathy's home mid afternoon.  They're located on a point with the St. Lawrence to the north and tidal bays on either side.  This is looking west to one of the bays.  That's my new friend Ginger in the foreground.

Lobster dinner that night.  Now I feel like an islander.

Yesterday Lorrie took us on a tour of the area as we headed to Green Gables for a round of golf.

It's a beautiful course, with a vicious attitude.  Sand bunkers everywhere, tilted rolling greens, and evil pinplacements.

Our host and hostess.

We finished off the day with a game of Euchre.  Kathy and I lost - sorry partner!

Today we head out for a Ceilidh on a fishing boat.  Lobster dinner and lots of music.  Can't wait.

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Love those Jays.

Stay well.

Hopewell Rocks

 I was able to check another item off my wish list on Sunday and Monday.  We checked in to the Hopewell Cape Motel (old but nice) at 3 p.m. and then headed to the Hopewll Rocks in time to see the low tide.

Contrary to what your eyes see, this walkway is perfectly level.

This picture is taken from the water line at low tide.

The tides in the Bay of Fundy are the largest in the world.  On the Nova Scotia side they can reach 46 feet.  Here at Hopewell it's only 40 feet!

From where Mardi is dipping her toes.......

.....to the base of the flowerpot rocks is 28 feet.  This is what we saw just before we headed for P.E.I. so the water has another 12 feet to go and those tourists are going to be shephered to safety in a couple of minutes.

What a lovely couple!

We're at Kathy and Lorrie's now.  That will be a story for another day.

Go Jays go!

Stay well.

We're On Our Way

 I've been AWOL for a few days and have a bit of catching up to do.  First off, happy birthday greetings to Rowan, who turns an ancient 5 today.  Awesome!

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On Wednesday, Mother Nature finally let me cut the grass.  Still wet in spots but no damage done.

I cut grass for three hours and spent another two completing three small projects.  Now I can leave with a clear conscience.

Thursday morning was golf time.  My driver is starting to cooperate - I hit 10 of 13 fairways and just missed one of the others by a couple of inches.  Now, if I could only remember how to hit my irons.

Thursday afternoon we had a visit from Mardi's gentle giant grandson Ethan.

He's just a few months away from completing his university courses and has just about completed 11 weeks of basic training.  Well on his way to being one of Canada's protectors.

And then, on Friday Mardi and I headed to Port Colborne for our second theatre experience of the week (the first one was in Port Dover with Bonnie and Steve).  "Secret Service" was a marvelous play, brilliantly written by the playwright, and hilariously performed by the four actors, whose facial expressions were incredible.  Most enjoyable play I've seen in years!

So, that brings us to Saturday.  We left Stoney Creek at about 9:15, and took a side trip along the 1,000 Island Parkway.  These are two of the 1,000 islands.

Arrived in Ottawa just after 3 p.m. and headed to the girls' apartment for card games and dinner.  Kathryn was visiting as well so I got to see all three.  But it was disappointing - I came last in the card game.  Fathers are supposed to be treated better than that!  Especially really old ones.

Yesterday morning, Yancy dropped by our hotel with the  birthday girl for a nice visit.  Rowan brought her new friend Abigail with her.  But Rowan's very shy around me and it was difficult to get a picture.

Then we headed to Edmonston, N.B.  A very scenic trip through farmland and hilly, wooded areas.  

Had an interesting experience in the afternoon.  We wended our way through the mountains and when the road turned left we encountered torrential rains.  When it turned back to the right we saw part of a rainbow.  And this repeated itself several times as we progressed.

Arrived in Edmonston and looked for #54 East 31st  and the next part was a second best to our Nap And Nibble story with Ed and Rose.

There was a #52 and a #56, but no #54.  Had we been scammed?  Mardi checked with the neighbour who informed her that the owner had created 4 - 1 bedroom suites and 54 and 54B were at the back of the house.

Then, we couldn't make the door code work.  Finally, had to contact the owner who drove over to help us.  Even he had trouble but eventually figured it out.  Enter the code, turn the knob LEFT at the first beep (subsequent beeps don't work) and push hard.

We thanked him and asked where a good place to eat would be.  He suggested Da Lulia and then told us that he owned it and we should tell the waitress that Dan wants her to give us a 10% discount.

So that's where we went.

We told the waitress about the discount but apparently she didn't believe us.  Full charge.  When we complained she went away and the next thing we know Dan has arrived.  He reversed the bill and gave us a 20% discount on its replacement to make up for the problem. 

And finally, we got back to our rooms and neither TV worked.  An experience we will remember!

Today we're heading for Hopewell Cape, N.B.

Stay well.

We Need An Ark

The most important news for today is the birth of Beckett, another grandchild for Lori and Frank.  A special event indeed!

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My intentions yesterday were to cut grass, but the third recent storm flood foiled those plans.  The flooding was the worst yet - even David's pond overflowed its banks.  These storms have dropped a total of 300 mm of rain (that's 11.8 inches in old guy talk - almost a bloody foot!).  So I gardened in the wet instead.  Sorry about the muddy clothes Mardi.

Now I hope that the wet, mushy conditions will improve so that the grass can be cut tomorrow.  I have other plans for Thursday (golf) and Friday (theatre) so it's getting a bit tense because we leave on our East Coast adventure on Saturday and I don't want to leave David and the boys in a mess.  

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Mardi's son Greg was in another band event recently.  He subbed on the Kingston Police Pupes and Drums as Bass player.  And he won Best Bass in his division of the North American Piping Championship.  

Congratulations Greg!

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Today we headed to Port Dover to meet Bonnie and Steve for lunch and theatre.  We ate at Callahan's on their deck....

.......and enjoyed "Liars At A Funeral" at the Lighthouse Theatre.  A nice day!

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The Blue Jays came out of the trade deadline with more starting pitchers than going in.  Didn't last long.  Yesavage came out of the game after just two innings with a knee issue.  They're losing as I write this and I think I'll skip the ending tonight.

Stay well.

Old Dirt

 A couple of years ago, a contractor installed a new drain line along the edge of the hill down front.  Unfortunately, after the drain line and a bunch of gravel went in, there was only room for the soil that came out of the trench last. 

So now, Trillium Hill has its own version of the  Cheltenham Badlands  - 450 million year old clay.  Even weeds can't survive in that environment.

As the trees along the driveway grow and I need to expand the footprint of the gardens, I use the sod that I remove to repair the wasteland.  Last year I fixed about 40 feet of the project.  Still have about 100 feet to go, but we'll get there eventually.

The clay is so hard that I had to use an adze to dig out enough to make room for the grass.  Worked up a sweat and the contacts for my heart monitor wouldn't stay on so I had to call it a day after a couple of hours.

 Pretty disappointing!😂😌

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The Blue Jays have now won three games in a row.  Just two days to the trade deadline and they could be buyers (if they have a lot of faith in the team) or sellers (to gain something from the players whose contracts end this season, if they don't have that faith).

Should be interesting.

Stay well.