Halifax - Day 1

Not surprisingly, D and I were awake by 6 a.m., though Eli slept through until 7. When everyone was up and dressed, we headed down to the breakfast room. The menu was the same every day we were there: scrambled eggs, hash browns, sausage, ham, cereal, muffins, bagels/bread for toasting, yogurt, and for those willing to wait a little longer, waffles. There was definitely something for everyone. 

When I set up the schedule for our trip (yes, there was a spreadsheet), I had planned a couple of activities/places to see, but of course with lots of free time. Our agenda for Day 1 was the Maritime museum and Pier 21 Museum of Immigration. We only made it to the first and walked part of the boardwalk on the waterfront. There was salt water taffy to buy and a playground for Eli to enjoy. I had warned D there would be a lot of walking, and there was and both she and Eli ended up early in the day with blisters. . D was able to switch out shoes, but Eli's blister was on the bottom of his foot. 

In addition to this area, there was a climbing apparatus with slides, and a large concrete whale tail to climb. It was the latter that caused Eli's blister. He tried to climb it wearing his shoes but wasn't able to make it to the top. Barefoot he basically walked up but when he slid down, he tried slowing himself down, resulting in the blister.

Off we went to find a drugstore, and while D ran in to get what she needed, I searched for a restaurant for lunch. Some distance from downtown, we found Willman's Fish and Chips. The business was originally opened in 1946 at the same location, though has had two other owners since. The latest owners have rebuilt in the same location, a corner lot in what seemed to be a mostly residential area. It was quiet, just one other family was dining while we were there, and I can confirm the food was delicious!

Back at the hotel we spent an hour or so at the pool. I should mention Halifax was under a heat warning for the first couple of days, with temperatures over 30C (86F) and the humidity was high. I didn't get in the pool that day, but D and Eli enjoyed the cool water. When we headed back to the room, I napped for nearly 90 minutes - I guess I was more tired than I realized. After my nap, we headed out to a nearby Dollarama to pick up some inexpensive beach towels - the ones at the hotel were no bigger than hand towels. 

On our way back, we stopped at a local pizzeria, Tomaso's, touted as the oldest pizzeria in Halifax. Originally opened in 1969 in downtown Halifax, the current owner moved to the Bedford Highway location. The restaurant has no air conditioning, so we chose to take our meal back to the hotel. We ordered a combo, including a pizza, garlic fingers, and a 2 litre bottle of pop/soda. There was more than enough food for two nights, plus a snack or two. 

While the day didn't pan out the way I had thought it might, we did have a good day. D would have liked to have spent more time at the Maritime museum, and Eli would have liked more time at the playground area at the waterfront. I was happy with my nap. :)

The weather improved the next day, and with proper footwear and bandages, it was a busy one. 

Wordless Wednesday

 

School's out, time to travel

I'm starting this series of post from Monday, June 23rd as I neither had the time nor the inclination to post last week while we were away. It was a busy time!

Monday was busy; Eli had school in the morning and equine therapy in the afternoon. D and I had a long list of things to get done too, laundry, vacuuming, dishes, cleaning the kitchen, etc. in order to leave the house in decent shape. D dropped off her car at the dealership as the parts needed for a repair had been received, and they would take care of it while we were away.

We picked up Eli at school around 11:30. He delivered some small gifts to his classmates and teachers before the morning ended. I waited in the car, and when he came out of the school, two of his teachers followed him to give him hugs and wish him a wonderful summer.

I went along to his final session of equine therapy for this session (his mom has arranged for another session in the fall). Miss Stephanie allowed Eli to set the agenda for this session. First up was visiting the horses in the pasture. Ten of them! He has absolutely no fear of these large animals (only one is miniature) and has learned to move them away by waving his arms and making a loud noise if they start crowding him. While we were there they did, and he did what was needed.

Next up was visiting the young mama cats and their kittens in the barn. The first litter is old enough that three of the five kittens have been rehomed. The second litter of three or four are old enough to have their eyes open and are starting the toddling phase in the manger where they are located with their mama. We were also met by the tom, who is likely the papa of the second litter, based on his colouring. None of these adult cats are older than two years. 

Finally, there was a visit to meet the newest addition to the farm, piglets! There are fifteen of them! Eli demonstrated how to walk quietly behind them so as not to frighten them. Archie, the corgi, not so much. Eli also learned they don't like to be picked up and squeal...like a pig. :)

Back at home, there were more chores to finish before we left for the city at 6 p.m. Laundry was folded and last minute packing was completed. We managed to feed Eli, but ran out of time for D and I, so stopped for fast food before we went to C's. But before we ate, we played a round of musical cars so I could park in the garage. A single lane driveway can be a real nuisance.

Eli got to meet Sage (dog) and two of the roommate's cats (there are five). Kota, a black and white tom is the friendliest as I would learn as he landed on me a few times during the night.

We all settled into bed/couch by shortly after 9 p.m., but no one was asleep before 10. Too much excitement and anticipation. D's alarm went off at 2:50 a.m. and we were dressed and out to the garage to grab our suitcases by 3:20 a.m. Good thing, as the taxi cab I'd ordered arrived about that time.

At the airport we had a short wait before the check-in counter opened. All went smoothly, except both my and Eli's carry-ons were selected for secondary screening at security. The issues: a package of antacids for me, and an empty water bottle for him. I actually think there were new staff in training, so they were more vigilant.

Breakfast at Tim Horton's and time for Eli to play on the indoor play structure took up the time before we headed for the gate for boarding. We were last to board (intentional) and the flight was uneventful. We were early resulting in a slightly longer layover.

Again we boarded among the last guests and then we sat on the tarmac. While Eli and his mom amused themselves on their devices, I slept. When I woke, were were at least a half hour into the flight. I had no memory of the take-off.

We did hit a bit of turbulence about an hour prior to landing in Halifax. I was a bit worried that Eli would find it troubling but he didn't seem to even notice. When we landed, we discovered it was hot in Halifax, 32C/88F. Quite the difference from the 7C/45F we had left behind in Regina. Our immediate need was for a family bathroom were D and Eli changed into lighter clothing. 

We picked up our rental car and were on our way to Bedford (just outside Halifax) soon after. We stayed at a Comfort Inn that was clearly a converted older hotel. There were stairs in a few places in the hallways, the property had a lovely front porch with a view of the basin, and a single elevator at the rear of the property. It also had an unheated pool that we would make good use of, and offered a continental breakfast each morning. Finally, it was a reasonable distance from downtown Halifax and the waterfront. This is the view from the front porch.

The rest of our evening was spent quietly and we were all in bed by 9 p.m. (or 6 p.m. at home). It was early but we were all tired from the travel day and ready for a good night's sleep. Eli told me a bedtime story and it was lights out.

We're home!

We arrived back in Regina late on July 2, spent the night at my son's and then drove back to town the following day. I plan to post updates of our trip, and have the first blog almost ready to post - so be prepared to take a trip back in time. :) 

Yesterday, I dealt with the "math" related to the trip and paid off the credit card. It was easier to use my credit card for the majority of the expenditures and then split the cost between us when we returned. We did very well with the costs related to our accommodations, averaging about $225 a night. With the exception of one hotel, all had a continental breakfast available, so saved us on one meal a day. We didn't skimp on meals out, frequently having lunch at sit-down restaurants, though we usually brought something back to the hotel for evenings. 

Our rental vehicle was a 2024 Toyota Camry hybrid. I've never driven a hybrid or electric vehicle before and was very impressed with the fuel efficiency. In total we (I) drove about 1400 kms/880 miles.  I wouldn't want to drive this particular vehicle again though as the front end seemed so low to the ground in comparison to my SUV! Fuel prices ranged between $1.43 to $1.45 a litre, so the savings from the hybrid were appreciated. 

More on the rests of the trip in near future.

Things have been busy since we arrived home, unpacking, laundry, along with some yardwork. It is amazing how much things have grown in ten days or so. The tomatoes aren't yet flowering but the plants that were about 5-6 inches tall are now close to 18 inches in height. I guess some rain and heat will do that to them. 

I need to weed the flower and garden beds. The peas have flowered and are producing pods, though I think they'll need to be watered regularly to ensure we get a good harvest from them. The poor wee carrots and onions are up but almost overwhelmed by the weeds. The latter need to go, and I'll thin the vegetables this weekend. The lettuce that Eli planted at school is also doing well and we should be able to start using it soon. 

The peonies need to be trimmed too, as they seem to be close to finishing flowering, lots of spent flowers! I'm sorry we missed most of it. However the salvia is blooming and the holly hocks won't be far behind. My containers of annuals are doing exceptionally well too.

I was pleased to see how well the clover and grass is doing in the city. (No photo). There are areas that need to be re-seeded especially near the high spots by the neighbour's fence - I suspect the rains were washed to lower areas. And the weeds are doing well too. My son should be able to start mowing back there in another few weeks, and that will hopefully keep the weeds from going to seed. If/when I get this yard tidied up, I may head into the city for a few days to do a bit more work there.

If you've been reading my blog for a long time, you may recall that each of the properties my daughter and son purchased has had lilies growing in the yard. Lilies were my mom's favorite flowers (along with red carnations), and mom collected and grew many Asiatic lilies in her flower beds at home. Finding lilies has always been a sign that we're in the right place. When C and I visited the property he later purchased, we noticed three struggling lilies in the front flower bed. Last summer they were nowhere to be found, but this spring they reappeared. I had moved the rocks in the bed, and I suspect this may have created the needed microclimate, with the rocks heating up in the sun. All this to say, that the first bloom opened the day that we arrived back in the city. I had no idea the colour and it was pleasant surprise to find a white lily.

We'll be hanging around the house this weekend, as the town is expected 60 (!) baseball teams to attend a tournament here. I plan to spend a good amount of time out in the yard, D has a list of chores to complete as well, and Eli...he's happy to be home and have access to all the fun stuff here. 

And our newest addition to the household is my cat Saku, who was living in the city at my son's. However, the new roommate came with five cats, and we figured it would be easier to acclimate him to two others here. He did well on the trip home, occasionally reminding us he was in his crate in the back seat. He has seen Stanley and Spencer through the glass doors, and hissed a couple of times but otherwise ignored them. We won't be introducing them in person for awhile yet. The other two seem curious but aren't upset about the newbie. He's my lap cat and cuddle buddy, and I'm happy to have him with me again.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Crazy traffic and stormy weather

The week started off quietly as I've about finished with the projects I had planned here at my son's house. I packed some clothing to take home with me and packed some gardening items (tomato cages and a hoe) into the car. D asked me to make a Costco run for dry cat food and a jar of peanut butter. Both Eli and I like peanut butter, and the jar we had will be empty soon. There are no plans to return to the city for a couple of months.

As always Costco was a mad house; it doesn't seem to matter what time of day or day of the week one goes to the store, the parking lot is always full and the aisles are busy. The latter more so this week as the workers were clearly re-stocking shelves. With only two items, and having a good idea where they are located, I was distracted only once, by Deep Woods Off on sale. I picked up the third item and was through the self check-out in a just a few minutes and headed to the car.

One of my other pet peeves is the traffic in East Regina. My brother and I were chatting that morning, and he mentioned, I could likely take the highway just beyond the upgrader and turn off on Tower Road. Well, I turned the wrong direction on my way there and ended up in the traffic I dislike so much. However, I decided I'd take the route on the way home. It was fine on Tower Road though slower because the road turns from pavement to gravel. When I reached the highway, it became apparent that the traffic was busy there too...but instead of cars/trucks/SUVs, it was semi-truck traffic. Either way, I've got traffic to deal with, it was nice to return to our small town where traffic means three cars in a row. :p

I might have headed home sooner, but decided I wanted one more visit with the women at Stitch and Chat. There were five of us that day, including B. Her husband passed away unexpectedly a couple of weeks ago. As she said, she felt the need to be back to a more normal schedule. It was good to see her.

When I returned home, I'd barely been in the house for more than 10 minutes when the sky opened up. I could hear the hail pinging down the furnace chimney. I tried to link a video, but Blogger was having nothing of it.

Thursday morning I was up about 6 a.m., to get a hug from C before he left for work. There were a few chores to be completed before I left, but even so, I was packed up and heading out the door shortly around 7:30 a.m. I was heading east out of the city, and tried to avoid the construction and morning traffic. Ha! By the time I was on the highway, with a stop for an iced coffee, it was nearly 8:10. Normally a 90 minute drive, it was extended by a detour and later a bit of construction. The four seasons in the city are winter, spring, construction, and autumn. Not so in our little town, though they do a bit of road repair every spring and there is an occasional water main break.

At home, I unloaded the SUV and sorted out my room, before D and I went to the school to pick up Eli. He was very excited to see me, as I was him. Later we did a bit of packing for Halifax, determining what needs to be packed in our carry-ons and what will go in our checked bags. So far, I think we won't be overpacked, and will have room to bring home a few items from our trip.

We had a severe thunder storm on Thursday evening, about 9:30 p.m. I could hear the sound of continuous thunder, see the sheet lightning flashing in the windows, and then the rain came down. It continued for just over a half hour before the storm moved on. When I went out to check the rain gauge on Friday morning, it showed just over 2" (about 50 mms.). We did get a bit of water in the basement but it was mostly contained to the laundry room which has a cement floor. 

Friday was mostly spent doing indoor chores. I swept/vacuumed and mopped floors, unloaded the dishwasher and washed a few dishes in the sink. Eli was off school at lunchtime so he and I hung out while his mom got a short nap. We went outside for a little bit; while I did a bit of weeding in the garden, he jumped on the trampoline and attempted to catch bugs in a jar. I was excited to see a few carrots and onions growing...not a lot so I may plant a few things when we get back from our vacation. Only two of my sweet peas came up, so I'll definitely be adding a few more seeds this weekend.

Our peonies and poppies took a beating in the storm. I was glad I'd taken a photo of the poppies the day before. Look at the size of the bloom - it's nearly as big as my hand! 

 

Today, there is little on the agenda. More rain is expected so there won't be much outdoor time. I'll do a bit of knitting or crocheting, perhaps start a book, hang out with Eli, and watch football and baseball. In other words, an easy day. We'll finish our packing on Monday, while Eli is at school.

Have a wonderful week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Almost Wordless Wednesday

 Yes, the fence is new...but what I was trying to convey was the green of the clover coming up. :P