July 30, 2008

A Quiet Day Today...

Today we slept in til about 8am and since we are all feeling kind of tired, we decided to stay here...As I mentioned yesterday, it's a nice, new hotel with very soft towels, nice big rooms, flat screen TV, nice-smelling soap/shampoo, a pool with a waterslide and a very nice breakfast bar included too.

Kevin and the girls went swimming this morning while I went over to Walmart...had to get a few things and some snacks. When I came back, we headed downtown to do the dreaded laundry...feels like I'm at home, except I don't have to go downtown to do laundry at home.

Keturah isn't feeling well today---she has an earache and had a stomachache off and on, so it's probably best we didn't travel at all.

We had lunch at Wendy's and stopped by the mall so I could get some children's Tyenol and Dimetapp for Keturah and then we headed back to the hotel. We rested for awhile and then went down swimming and relaxing in the hot-tub...it felt really good.

We went to Swiss Chalet for supper and came back and watched a couple episodes of CSI. Kevin and Keturah are down swimming again before bed.

We hope to get up early tomorrow and head toward Sydney on Cape Breton Island.

I thought I would share some of my favourite pictures of animals from Shubenacadie Provincial Wildlife Park since I love animals so much!!!

1st -a groundhog munching on a carrot

2nd-an otter swimming around

3rd-a goose (Kevin was feeding him some corn)

4th-a deer watching us closely

5th-a chipmunk sampling the bird's food

6th-a baby duck resting in the grass (Mom was close by watching us)

7th-a bee on a thistle














































July 29, 2008

Another Busy Day!

I think we'll have to go back to work to get a rest!!! We are all enjoying ourselves so much and wondering if we should move down here! It would be nice! All this awesome scenery and the people are as nice as everyone says too!

Today we travelled towards the PEI Ferry to go back to Nova Scotia as we want to go to Cape Breton Island. So, we stopped in Charlottetown to stretch our legs, have some lunch and do some souvenir shopping in the little shops there.

We also visited Sand Land, which has a lot of Sand Sculptures made with the red PEI sand by artists from BC to Moscow...They are soo talented!

We left Charlottetown and went to Brackley Beach to go to Mill Stream Trail Rides...Yep, Keturah talked us into it...We ended up having fun and our guide who took us along the water and through the woods, asked if I was an experienced rider because of the way I handled my horse---I guess those lessons for Keturah are paying off all around..I had fun, but I hope I can walk tomorrow!

We then headed to the PEI Ferry and caught the 6pm one...it was VERY big...it holds about 315 cars. It was a 75 minute ride, but it seemed to go by fast. We had a COWS Ice Cream while we waited, walked around, took some pictures, etc, etc. Kevin and Keturah saw some porpoises from the Ferry, but I didn't see them!

We then landed in a small town called Pictou...We had some dinner at Tim Hortons as we were getting hungry by 7:30pm!

We then headed to New Glasgow, Nova Scotia to find a hotel. We had trouble finding a hotel, the first two we tried had no vacancy, and then when we did get a reservation, we couldn't find the hotel, but eventually we did...It just opened last week and is awesome--very nice and new- smelling! It's address is Stellarton, N.S. and is a Holiday Inn Express.

The gang are gone swimming again, but I'm not feeling well tonight, so am staying in the hotel room and enjoying the peace and quiet!

Here are today's pictures:

1st-a Sand Sculpture of two whales

2nd-Keturah picking up a lobster at the touch tank (on the street in Charlottetown)

3rd-A big scary lobster I found in the gift shop

4th-Brooke of Green Gables (she didn't buy the cute hat, just tried it on!)

5th-Keturah wanted me to take a picture of her funny T-shirt

6th-Horses waiting to be ridden at the Trail Ride today

7th-A PEI lighthouse taken from the Ferry

8th-A Ferry that we passed along the way--ours was very similar to it












































July 28, 2008

Avonlea

Today we headed to Cavendish, the home of Anne of Green Gables--we weren't all that interested in going there, but since it's her 100th year anniversary, we thought we should...

We went to a place called Avonlea, which is a pioneer village of sorts, highlighting life back in Anne's time....It is similar to Upper Canada Village or Lang Pioneer Village, but a lot MORE expensive! None of us were overly impressed and we only stayed there a couple of hours.

We also went to Cavendish beach(es) while there. We did alot of beachcombing and found sea shells and rocks. The girls also poked the washed-up jellyfish and liked watching the live ones swim around.

We then headed to Summerside where we planned to stay the night. We got a suite at the Quality Inn and it's great to have some extra room for a change. We have a skylight, a fireplace and two TVs, so the girls are in heaven.

We headed down to the Summerside Harbour for supper, walking along the boardwalk and checking out the shops.

We are now back at the hotel and the gang are swimming and I'm doing my usual blog stuff.

I will say that the Maritimes have amazing scenery. My head has been on a swivel every time we are driving, so I don't miss anything and my camera is in my lap the whole time too!

I've been shooting at least 300 pictures per day! Kevin's hard drive will be filling up fast! I also brought my external hard drive and have been faithfully backing up my pictures every day too!

Here are today's offerings:

1st---Some buildings at the Avonlea Village

2nd--Brooke, Kevin and Keturah playing with the stilts (it was hilarious)

3rd--Molly and Maggie who pull the wagon ride at Avonlea (me and my horses!)

4th--Brooke and Keturah checking out the red sand layers on Cavendish beach

5th---Orby Head Cove where the Cormorants hang out (I'm guessing!)

6th---Summerside Harbour

I'm not sure where we are headed tomorrow, but every day has been an adventure!




































































July 27, 2008

World Travellers?

Well, Canadian travellers anyway...Today we drove thru 3 provinces...Yep, we started in Nova Scotia, went thru a part of New Brunswick and ended up here in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island.

We started driving and noticed a provincial wildlife park in Nova Scotia, so we stopped and visited it...It was in Shubenacadie. Most of the animals there have been rehabilitated and can no longer live in the wild. We saw quite a selection. The only complaint, is that it was 33 degrees with the humidity!

After lunch nearby, we got on the road for a few hours and ended up here in Charlottetown at another Super8 Hotel.

We headed downtown Charlottetown and toured the habour and yep, even braved another boat cruise...this was a mild one, along the harbour. It was very peaceful and relaxing and we learned alot about Charlottetown too along the way!

We grabbed some veggie burgers at Harveys (well, the girls and I did, Kevin has to have his cow!) and came back to the hotel so the girls and Kevin could go swimming...me, I'm just looking through my pictures and updating this blog!

Here are some pics from the last couple of days...

1st & 2nd-pictures of the balancing rock---it was about 2km from the road and a nice hike, but then there were 230 stairs to go down...Not bad, until we had to climb back up them!

3rd & 4th-pictures from Upper Clements Wildlife Park where we went yesterday--a cute racoon and a sheep

5th-is from the Provincial Wildlife Park we went to today-it's a woodpecker that we saw in the tree

6th & 7th-pictures of the Charlottetown harbour and the boat we took a cruise on.


























































































July 26, 2008

Back to Civilization!!!

Well, Brier Island certainly took us back to "nature" and back to the 1800s,if you ask me--- without any Internet connection at all (not even in the lounge), NO Pool and NO Air Conditioning...I don't know how we survived two days and two nights there!!! heehee Well, they did provide us with our very own fan and we got to listen to a fog horn go off every 30 seconds or so to make sleeping really comfy.

The weather was really interesting there, one minute it would be foggy and you couldn't see a thing, next minute, sunny and you couldn't see a thing, then it would be a light mist and that changed every 10 minutes or so...The tides have been very interesting to watch too!

We did some hiking while we were there too. But, to view the seals in Seal Cove, we had to walk about 2kms in brush through a path that looked like it hadn't been used in years! Needless to say, I didn't enjoy that hike, even less, when I got bit by some sort of bug and my arm is still red, itchy and swollen..oh great! But, on a good note, we saw about 6 seals in the cove.

The island was quite smaller than I expected being only 2.5 kilometres by 6.5 kilometres long. It boasts a couple of gift stores, a lighthouse cafe, a general store (which did have internet for $3/half hour) and a couple of Whale Watching Cruises. We ate Breakfast and Dinner at the Brier Island Lodge where we stayed and lunch down at the Cafe.

Yesterday we went on a Whale Watching Cruise...probably, not the best day to go as it was overcast and foggy, but they said they were still going out. Little did we know they hardly ever cancel and the big 3 ft waves out in the Bay of Fundy, was "normal" to them. The first hour was okay, terrifying at times, but okay on everyone's stomachs, until about 1.5 hours into the cruise, when Kevin was feeling sick and another family were all feeling ill too, but the crew member just laughed and said make sure to get sick over the side. I guess it happens all the time. Kevin eventually felt better after standing for awhile, but the mother of the other family was getting sick (over the side of the boat). I'm sure she didn't enjoy the cruise!

Keturah and I were scared, because the boat was really pitching back and forth and when we sighted whales in the distance, our kamikazee captain gunned the boat so we'd get over to see them faster...I was scared to stand up as everyone went flying when he gunned it and I'm not really a boat person anyway...but my breakfast stayed down, so I was happy about that!

On the good side of things, I did manage to get some pictures of the whales. We only saw Humpbacks, but we probably saw about 6-8 different ones. We also saw some seals too. We caught the whales breaching too (jumping out of the water) and the crew member said that it doesn't happen very often and this is her first viewing of them doing that this season so far! My pictures are a bit foggy as that is the type of day it was and then of course, my lens was fogging up too as well as my sunglasses!!!

We watched alot of CSI in the evenings and last night they had a Whale Presentation in the Lounge, which was quite entertaining!

So, today we left as FAST as we could get off the island....like the title says, back to civilization!

We went hiking at the Blancing Rock Trail (I'll post those cool pictures soon) and then to Upper Clements Wildlife Park and Amusement Park..It was very hot today, but it was nice to see the animals..I will post them soon too.

We are now in Windsor, NS at the Super 8 and the kids and Kevin are hanging out in the Jacuzzi and the pool and I'm sitting here watching them and updating my blog, copying pictures to the hard drive and checking emails...

Tomorrow we are off to PEI!

Here are some pics of our whaling adventure! Brooke got some great shots with her little Kodak too!










































































July 23, 2008

Much Better...

Today's weather was much, much better...It started out cloudy, but by afternoon, we were complaining about the heat and humidity. We visited Lunenburg (1st picture below) and toured the Fishery Museum, wharf and went on a horse-drawn carriage ride of the town too! Lots of fun!

We then headed to Digby, about 2 hour drive and a bit boring drive as well--not much to look at, but I did notice an Osprey Nest up on a Hydro Pole (2nd picture). He was so cute.

3rd pic is that of the Digby Harbour, where we were walking around after yet another seafood supper (well Kevin and Keturah anyway)!

4th pic is the hotel where we are staying...it's called "The Pine's Golf Resort"...It's pretty fancy and a little expensive, but when we saw it from Digby harbour, up on the hill, we had to see how overly priced it was...Not too bad and we're enjoying it so far!








































July 22, 2008

Rain, Rain, Go AWAY!

Greetings from Halifax!! Yep, it's rained pretty much the whole time since we got to Halifax..It's not suppose to rain on your holidays is it? I think that should be against the rules!

We had an uneventful, short flight here (about 1hr 40mins), so I was happy about that. The girls were kind of disappointed that Halifax looked a lot like Ontario! Different from our last trip to Disney, last year, where we left blizzard conditions and were swimming in an outdoor pool on the same day!

Yesterday afternoon, we headed to Peggy's Cove and luckily, the rain stopped for a couple of hours so we could enjoy our visit there and take lots of pictures. We walked on the rocks alot and looked for shells. We had a fish dinner there too!

Today, because it was raining all day, we headed to the National History Museum or something like that and then we went to the Discovery Centre (science centre). We spent about 1-2 hours at both locations and went to the MicMac Mall, which was a very nice one indeed.

Everyone is swimming in the pool while I write this as the internet only works down by reception again..sounds like our trip to Disney!

We are heading to Lunenburg tomorrow and it is suppose to be a bit nicer weather, so let's hope so! We will then stay at Digby for the night before carrying on to Brier Island, where we plan to whale watch and do some hiking, regardless of the weather I guess!

Here are some pictures from our Peggy's Cove visit! Sorry if the colours are bit off, I'm not used to Kevin's laptop yet! (He says it is because mine is higher-resolution and his is cheap!!)















































July 20, 2008

From the Farm...

I took Keturah to the farm for her horse riding lesson and took about 300 pictures while we were there! It was VERY hot there though. I also gave out mints to a few of the critters.

Here are some of my favourite pics:

1st-donkey noses--they were smelling for the mints
2nd-Keturah and Abby enjoying the jumping
3rd-the Foal, Casey
4th-Neeko (I think that's his name), the dog
5th-Andy-who has a sore leg and has to be segregated

I have all my laundry done and am ALMOST packed...it's very hard to know what to take and how much to take for two weeks of travelling. Luckily I have a very big suitcase.

Well, I'm off to have a coffee and then get ready to head to the big city!

I'll post if I can (Kevin's bringing his laptop)! I will also be checking my email if internet is available!

Have a great two weeks!









































July 19, 2008

They Shoot, They Score...

They WIN! Brookie's team FINALLY won a game this past Wednesday! They beat Gray's IDA with a score of 6-4, must have been their new coach!

Today, we are off to the farm and then we will be busy getting ready for our trip---tomorrow we head off to Toronto before flying out on Monday morning...can't believe it's holiday time already (FINALLY)!

I will try to post some pics while travelling, but no guarantees. I do plan to keep a journal, like I did last year when we went to Disney, but whether I'll have time to post it on here, will be another thing! I think we'll be equally as busy down East!

We don't have too many things planned, just, three days in Halifax and 2 nights at Brier Island (Nature preseve) with hiking and a whale watching cruise. The rest of the time, we will be just going with the flow and hoping we can find accommodation along the way...hopefully, the car will be comfy in case we have to sleep in it! HA!

Everyone has been telling us where to go and what to visit, but I think we'd have to move there in order to see everything we've been told or that we want, but we'll do our best in the two weeks we have!

Now, on to today's pics..these are some pics of Brookie...I still have a hard time with action shots. I had some good ones, but they had other kids in them, so I didn't want to post them on here, so I just tried to find some of Brookie by herself.