Hangin' with my cousin

This is going to be one of those totally random blogs. I'm sitting here with my cousin Lindsay who is the fifth in regards to the ages of my cousin but she says she's first. However, as I'm the oldest in age I'm also the first for "coolness". We've spent a chunk of today hangin' out and discussing our many geeky commonalities such as Star Trek, Doctor Who, and of course even more Star Trek - what would life be with out those television series and movies? Anyway my cousin Lindsay is pretty awesome and I'm enjoying some quality time with her.

It's been a nice day, very relaxing, and I am already enjoying my vacation here in Calgary. It is great to reconnect with my family and friends and see the familiar sights and sounds of my hometown. There is a great deal of comfort in the familiar and it is very nice to be able to be totally at home and relaxed for my vacation. I have had some excitement this vacation as I am dealing with a stolen suitcase that has been found but apparently my stuff is in some dubious condition. This will be yet another story to add to my repertoire of exciting times in my life and possible sermon illustrations for future use. So, as I continue to enjoy a time of renewal and rest basically this blog is about how great my family is. Love you guys!!!

Oh The Places You'll Go

Did anyone else ever read that Dr. Seuss book? Someone gave me that ages ago, and there it sits on my bookshelf, and I pull it out every once in awhile to read it over. Since I first read that book I have been to many places, and this summer has certainly seen its fair share of travelling.

St. John's - we arrived here for Congress & Commissioning and I will fly out of there again. It is a great city and I've always enjoyed my time there

Gander - I've mostly stopped here for meal breaks honestly. We did stop by the flight training school once and I've driven past the corps and the quarters but that's about it - other than food.

Grand Falls-Windsor - Here is a frequent stop for me. It is only an hour away from Robert's Arm and an often sought location for groceries, supplies for the church and other odds and ends. I have also gone into GFW for no reason at all, and for a funeral at the citadel.

Pilley's Island - this town/island is just up the road from Robert's Arm and is a good stop for food as that's where the Causeway or Bragg's is. Sunday nights this is the hot spot for the Robert's Arm/Pilley's crowd

Triton - This is the biggest of the three towns here and boasts its own hot spot in a place called PJ's which has some great food. The scenery here is crazy beautiful as it's right on the water. It also has a home hardware and I've gotten pretty familiar with Triton due to helping out with their VBS

Brighton - Wow! This place is scenery central with houses right by the water and some of the most amazing views I've seen

Springdale - When you don't want to go as far as GFW here is where you head. There are grocery options as well as multiple restaurants. Here is also the location of the nursing home and retirement home that I visited in my time here.

King's Point - This town is just before Springdale and has one of the most beautiful places to eat. The food is good too but as you are sitting all but in the ocean (which would be quite wet) it's hard to notice the food. There is also a great pottery shop with amazing work there.

Rattling Brook - There isn't a lot to this town but there is a beautiful water fall there if you're

interested in the sights and a trail that takes you right to the top. There's also a great old fashioned store which involves wrapping your purchases with twine and a bottle opener on the door for the pop.

Coffee Cove - This tiny little town had some unexpected sights such as a field full of sheep and a seaside retreat which is very much a retreat as it's tucked away

Beachside - This has some of the most washed out roads I've ever been on and you certainly would need to enjoy isolation to live there

Harry's Harbour - Here is the location of the second corps on the King's Point/Harry's Harbour circuit.

Grand Bank - located on the Burin Peninsula Grand Bank is home to my officer here in Robert's Arm and has some lovely historical buildings around and a great sense of community.

St. Pierre - An island governed by the country of France this spot does a great job of maintaining its culture when inundated with Canadians

I've probably missed some places but these are a big chunk of where I've gone for the summer and some little snippets about them. I've enjoyed my opportunities to travel and sight see some of the area in and amongst my busy time here. A lot of these places are actually close together so we would simply take an afternoon to check them out.

Roadtrip

I love road trips and think they are a blast. I was fortunate enough to grow up travelling across Canada with my first plane trip at the age of 6 all the way to Newfoundland and we used to drive to Toronto for part of the summer as well. I think travel is great and look forward to every opportunity to go in a plane or drive some distance. I can sleep in a car or a plane although I find it easier to sleep in a car and I also love to stare out the window and daydream or meditate. Travelling for me is a fantastic opportunity and so I was really excited to pack up the car and head to another part of Newfoundland and then - excitement of all excitements this summer - go to St. Pierre.

St. Pierre is an island off the coast of Newfoundland that is still governed by France. There is a ferry that runs out there twice a day and so off we went and took the ferry in. Now apparently it was a bit rough but honestly I wouldn't know the difference and was fine on the boat ride. I napped for part of the time and enjoyed the experience the rest of the ride. When we arrived in St. Pierre we cleared customs and went on our way. It was very foggy so we just wandered around rather than taking a bus tour. I was impressed at the way the culture of France is retained on an island located in North America.

I enjoyed wandering around some of the stores, getting some French pastries and visiting the graveyard. The graveyard is filled with some huge family graves and some of them are very old and falling apart. With the fog the graveyard looked very spooky and made it more fun for me as I like a bit of horror every once in awhile. I also really enjoyed the museum that we went to which contained a guillotine used in an execution in the 1800's. The story associated with the execution is quite intriguing as well, but too long to type out here (I know, I know, what a tease). I also enjoyed seeing some of the other historical information from the island - yes I like history, who knew ;).

My French got a work out as to get into the museum we had to change some Canadian into Euro's and of course no one at the bank speaks English so I was able to see just how much of my French was still intact and it turns out...a good chunk. I had no trouble understanding their French and they were able to decipher mine as well.

ortunity.